Playground and Play date!

I am a little behind on posting some pictures from last week. I have been busy doing other things, and my blog has been suffering. This past Friday Adam took the day off so we decided to take a little trip down to the playground. Ella had not been since last fall, and she was raring to go! She loves to play, and she is even more excited when she has her daddy along with her. 

She was a little unsure of the slide at first. 

Who is the bigger kid here!?

She had a major meltdown when we had to leave. I think I have heard "ground" (she leaves out the play) about 50 times a day since then!

Today we met Barbie and her daughter Katie for lunch at Pizza Hut. I used to work with her at IHBS, and I miss her greatly. (Kelli if you are reading this we missed you today, and we will have to get together again soon. I am sure you are having more fun in Disney World though).  Barbie is pregnant with her third baby girl! She loves being pregnant and loves newborns (she is a saint).  I enjoy getting together with Barbie, because she is just real. She doesn't try to sugar coat things about her kids or life in general, and that is so refreshing! I love hearing stories about her daughters and her animals. She definitely has her hands full! Barbie and I had a great time eating and talking while the girls had a great time playing! 

Smile Pretty!

It is not an easy task to get Ella to smile for a picture. I have been trying to teach her to "smile pretty" when I take a picture.  I will admit I have bribed her with candy a time or two. Whatever works, right!? 

Take #1 - That is her idea of smiling pretty!

Take #2- She might have had some candy in her mouth.

Take #3- Starting to get the hang of this smiling thing!

Take #4- That may or may not be chocolate on her face! ;) 

First Steps update

Ella had her weekly visit with Kathy (speech therapist) BRIGHT and EARLY this morning. Last week and this week Kathy has mentioned how far Ella has come since we began this process. She is so pleased with the clarity of Ella's speech and the content. She told me today that she is not worried about Ella at all, and if at any time I felt like stopping we could. She said in the next month she will probably recommend stopping services since Ella has pretty much caught up with where she should be. That makes me so happy, because I was a little worried in the beginning.  She said Ella is like a different child. Her attention span has improved a ton in the past couple of months, and she listens so well.  I am so proud of how far she has come!!  Even though I hate getting up early, I will hate to see Kathy go. I have learned so much from her, and Ella really enjoys playing with her. It will definitely be a bittersweet ending to this little journey. 

Mother's Day Weekend

We had such a nice weekend! Friday night my parents came over and watched Ella while Adam and I went out to eat. It is always nice to go out and eat with just Adam. I consider it my one peaceful meal of the week;) Ella really enjoys herself while we are gone. My dad brought his fishing pole and caught a fish. Ella was thrilled. If you ask her how big the fish was she will put both of her arms out and say, "big fish." You have to catch her at just the right moment though. When we came home Ella and my parents were dancing to the Sesame Street theme song. There is never a dull moment when they are around! 

Saturday night Adam's mom, step-dad, and sister came over for a Mother's day dinner. My sister in law was so sweet and brought me flowers and a card. It was such a nice surprise! For dinner I made fried tacos (yum!), mexican rice, and homemade salsa and chips. Lacey made some really yummy sugar cookies for dessert. We ate and went down to the lake to throw rocks. Ella loves to go down to the lake. 

Sunday we headed over to my mom and dad's for lunch. We had a really fun day. I always enjoy watching the girls play together. It's amazing how much love they have for each other at such a young age. I don't think I have ever heard Autumn laugh as hard as she did yesterday. 

It wouldn't be a "normal" day at the Pennell household unless something out of the ordinary happened. I was trying to get the "perfect" picture with Ella. I thought sitting on a bench their neighbor has would be a good place for a picture. The bench is cerement. It looked like it was leaning a little bit, but I didn't think anything of it. Ella and I sat down and I feel the bench start to collapse. I am not quite sure if I went into shock, or it just happened so fast that I didn't get up in time. The bench scraped my leg as it went down. It hurt, but I was still determined to get a picture with Ella. I was standing for a little bit when I realize I have blood running down my leg. I was bleeding pretty badly. My mom cleaned and bandaged it up, and I was good to go. It hurts, but I think I will survive. 

We tried to get a picture of the five females yesterday, but it didn't go as well as we would have liked. It is not an easy task to get a picture of two tired two year olds!

I was able to crop a pretty good picture of my mom, Ella, and I. I am so glad I was able to spend Mother's Day with my mom. I hope she knows how much she means to me! I strive to be the mother she is every single day.  My mom has been through a lot in her life, and she is one tough lady.  She has been a great example for me throughout life. Unfortunately, I am not as frugal and simple as she is, but I think I  turned out pretty good otherwise;) Love you mom! 

I think I tried 100x to get a picture of Ella and her Mammy yesterday. This was my favorite. Ella is such a lucky girl to have "Mammy" in her life. It's so fun watching them together, because it reminds me of my mom and I when I was a kid. My parents love Ella and Autumn to death, and I know they would do anything for them. 

Last, but certainly not least, me and the little girl that made me a mother. She is one special little girl! She is the light of my life and makes everyday fun. All the blood, sweat, and tears are and always will be worth it. My life has changed in every way since I  had her, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I love her more than life! 

Ella riding her tricycle for the first time!

My funny girl

Ella is my daily entertainment. She always gives me a good laugh whether it be something she says or something she does. There is nothing that makes me laugh harder than this.....

She ALWAYS has to be holding on to something when she poops outside. It cracks me up! I'd say it's getting pretty close to potty training time!

Saturday Randoms

I just wanted to jot a few things down about the past couple of days so I wouldn't forget in the coming years. 

That is my Mt. Dew from this morning. I am a caffeine junkie! Ella saw it and immediately said, "Mammy." My mom ALWAYS has a fountain drink, and Ella must have realized this. Every time I get a drink from the gas station Ella says, "mammy" or "mammy's." My mom has been drinking fountain drinks since I can remember. It used to drive me crazy when I was younger, because no matter where we went she had to stop and get a fountain drink first. These days I understand why. Sometimes my fountain mt. dew's are what gets me through my day:) 

That's Ella on the "putt putt" with my dad. She decided SHE wanted to drive yesterday. She did a pretty good job of driving round and round in circles. She will be mowing their yard by age five! She has been riding on this thing since she was a baby, and she loves it! 

Last night my parents came over to watch Ella while we went out to eat. My dad brought his fishing pole. He caught two fish. They said Ella could have stayed out their all day. She loved it and even wanted to kiss the fish. I wish I would have been here with my camera to take pictures. She had the best time. I need to get her her own little fishing pole. I had my own fishing pole when I was younger. I still remember fishing with my grandpa at their camp when I was younger. I have a feeling Ella is going to be the exact same way! 

This is a picture of the girl's I took yesterday. Aren't they getting so big!? It kind of makes me sad:( They are growing up faster than I thought they would! 

Ella went for her first ride in daddy's truck today. They drove home with the windows down, and country music on. She was in hog heaven! He said she was bobbing her head to the music. She is always up for an adventure!