SNOW much fun

Mother nature finally cooperated with my wishes and laid about 6 inches of snow Sunday night into Monday. Finally! I have been wanting one good snow storm, and now I'm ready for spring. 
Ella was already off on Monday for President's Day, and she was off Tuesday and today (Wednesday). We got one more inch of snow this morning which did not help road conditions around here. 
Monday was a beautiful day to just sit inside and watch it snow. I love those kinds of days. Ella and I did venture out to play in the snow for about 20 minutes. She loved it, and I froze to death. 

Yesterday, Ella and I picked up Autumn and my mom, and we headed to Chuck e Cheese. I had to get out of the house. One day is all I can handle. The girls had the best time! Ella had been wanting to go for awhile, and it was even better that Autumn was there too. 
Afterwards we headed to my parent's house to play in the snow. 

It has been a fun week so far.  I'm ready for school to be back in so I can take a nap and get my  house clean. :) 

Valentine's Party

Ella had her last party of the school year this past Friday for Valentine's Day. She LOVES parties. Ella was so upset when she woke up that morning, because she had to wait until after lunch and recess for the party. Luckily, she said her day went fast so it wasn't a major catastrophe. 
Adam and I both were able to go to her party. I have always been able to go to any school function so I am kind of old news. Ella loves when Adam is able to come to school. He also had to take her to school that morning, because I was not feeling well. That was a treat for her. 
The party was so cute. All the parents brought in food. They read a book, did a craft, and played a game. Ella was so excited to finally take home all of her valentines. 

Notice how genuine her smile is in the picture with Adam compared to the picture with me?! She is a daddy's girl through and through. She said she wants to marry him when she is thirty. :)

 Ella loved playing this game until the girls lost. They played boys against girls, and the boys had one more q tip than the girls. Ella is super competitive and about had a meltdown over it. She at least got two q tips in herself so that was a bonus. 

It was a great little party. I can't believe that was it for the school year. Only a few more months and kindergarten will be over. Time is flying! 

Pregnancy and such

I have been a terrible blogger lately. I'm afraid it may only get worse when May rolls around. I hope I have time to do updates and blog as much as I did when Ella was little. We will see!
My pregnancy has been going really well. I don't think I have talked about it since December. After seeing a soft marker for downs during my 20 week ultrasound, I decided to have a quad screening done. Luckily, it came back negative which was such a relief. I'm just trying to take this pregnancy in stride. This will definitely be my last pregnancy so I'm just trying to enjoy it while I can.  This picture below is months four, five, and six (left to right). 

I'm feeling pretty good these days. I was dreaming quite a bit and waking up 5-10 times per night which was getting really annoying. That has thankfully ended, and I am enjoying sleep while I can. I usually go to bed around 8:30/9. I'm guessing those days will be ending soon. 
I have been working really hard trying to get our house the way I want it before May rolls around. I have almost painted our entire downstairs, and I plan to move upstairs soon (I think).  Our upstairs is around 700 sqft.  so it's not going to be an easy task. I know I can do it though. I'm giving myself until 8 months pregnant, and then I'm going to quit doing my house projects. 
We have a name picked out for our little lady. We are naming her Paige Leigh. We have had the named Paige picked out since I first found out I was pregnant so as soon as we found out the gender we knew that was going to be her name.  I just love it!
This past Tuesday we purchased our first minivan. It's a Toyota Sienna SE. 

I said I would never be a minivan mommy, and I am eating my words. I really appreciate all the room it has. It will be so much easier to get two kids in and out of this compared to my other car. Ella loves it so much she named "her" "Beauty". Ella loves to sit in the very back. 

We are going to Florida in March, and we can't wait to test it out on a long drive. My car was not the best at road trips. Yesterday, Adam drove my car (which will be his car) to Terre Haute for the first time. Keep in mind for the past six years my car has never failed me. It has always started and gotten me where I needed to go. Adam got right outside of Vincennes and had to pull over due to car problems. Once he turned it off it would not turn back on. He had to have it towed to the Nissan dealer in Vincennes, and that's where it is right now. Poor Adam. 
Ella is continuing to grow and prosper in Kindergarten. They celebrated the "100th day" of school a couple of weeks ago. I can't believe her first year of school will be over in three months. In some ways it has flown by, and in other ways it has not. She was having some trouble speaking in class. Her teacher and I discussed it, and after a few weeks of a reward system she is no longer having problems. It has just become her routine now so we no longer have to reward her for speaking in class. Sounds simple to most, but Ella is not a fan of speaking in front of people. I can't blame her! She will probably always be a little bit quiet, but she has definitely come a long way. I am so proud of her. She is growing and learning and seems to love school.

Ella is also still doing swim lessons. She was terrified to go under water, but she has recently conquered her fear. I'm amazed at the progress she makes each week. She can jump in the water and go completely under. She can float on her back by herself. She can pick up rings at the bottom of the pool on her own. It's amazing how far she has come!

We have been busy lately, but I know our life is not going to slow down anytime soon. We are just trying to enjoy each day as a family of three until Paige comes and rocks our world. It will definitely be a change, but it will be a change I know we can handle.  

9 years

Adam and I have been married for nine years today. Crazy! Looking back we were so young when we got married. Adam was 25, and I was 23. We were practically still babies. I thought I knew what I was getting myself into, but I actually had no idea. 
Marriage is not easy. It takes work every single day. Adam and I have been through some tough times together. Some of those tough times could have easily tore us apart, but somehow we always come out on top. I definitely think we are stronger today because of the tough times we have endured. 
Adam and I are completely different in almost every aspect. It seems to be a perfect mix though. Thank goodness Adam has a lot of patience. He has needed it the past nine years. 
So here we are 9 years, two houses, two dogs, two kids(almost), and a minivan later and still as happy as the day we married! We are blessed to have each other and the life we live. 

The biggest surprise of 2014

We ended 2014 with a bang! We found out the gender of baby #2!!
I thought it was a girl for awhile, but then I changed my tune. I swore up and down it was a boy. I told everyone I would be shocked if it was a girl. Ella thought it was a boy too. She wanted a brother SO bad. Adam never really said what he thought, but I knew he would love another girl. 
On December 30th the three of us headed to the doctor for the ultrasound. It didn't take her long to see that baby #2 is a GIRL!!

We could all see plain as day there was no denying this baby is for sure a girl. Ella started crying, but quickly got over it when she said she knew it was a girl. I still can't believe that I will have two girls. I never in a million years thought we would ever have another baby or another girl for that matter! I can only imagine how different they will be. 
We already had her named as soon as we found out. Her name is Paige. We both really love that name. We are still debating on a middle name, but I'm sure we will figure that out soon. 
Mostly everything looked great with the ultrasound except one little thing. They found a Choroid Plexus Cyst. It's most likely nothing to worry about since everything else looked great, but I will still worry. I had some blood work done so hopefully those results will be normal. 
We are so excited to welcome this little girl into our family.  I just hope and pray Paige is healthy, and I stay healthy as well throughout my pregnancy and after delivery. 
I can't imagine what 2015 has in store for us, but I'm pretty sure it will be a crazy year! 

Christmas 2014

Christmas Eve Ella was up and raring to go to Mammy and Peep's house for Christmas. I absolutely love Christmas at their house. It has changed a little over the years, but it's always a good time. Our Christmas Eve lunch is one of my favorite meals of the year. I love walking into their house and smelling the food. It seriously always smells like Christmas!

Before we left I had to get a picture of my belly. This child wanted to make itself known (didn't know the gender at the time). My belly popped out overnight it seemed. I still have a hard time believing I am pregnant, but I feel little kicks every once in awhile to remind me that there really is a baby in there. 

The girls wasted no time once we arrived to start opening gifts. I think this was my favorite year to date watching them open gifts. They were both really appreciative and loved all of their gifts. It's so cute watching them. 

Christmas would not be fun without these two! 

 Elliott and Brody were there to partake in the fun too. We can't leave out the boys! Santa brought Brody a new bed, and Elliott got a coat. 

 After spending all day at my parent's house we headed home to prepare for Christmas morning. I didn't think Ella would ever go to bed. She kept asking when Santa would be there. After she finally fell asleep Adam got to work on her drum set. Santa also ate the cookies, drank the milk, and left Ella a special note. Ella woke up around 11:30 to use the bathroom. We had just laid down and were afraid she would go in the living room to look and see if Santa had been there yet. Luckily, she went to the bathroom and went back to bed. Little did she know what was in the living room waiting for her....

 She was up around 7am which is probably the earliest she has ever been up on Christmas day. She had a great Christmas. Pretty sure she received everything on her list and more. 

 I have no idea what Santa was thinking bringing her a drum set. The poor dogs would not come in the house for hours. They were terrified. 

We started our own tradition this year of staying home during the day. Adam requested Turkey and dressing so that's what I made along with a few other sides. This was my first time to make a turkey in 32 years, but I would say it's about time. Everything turned out so good. I was pretty proud of myself. 

At around 4:00 we were ready for round two at Maw and Papaw's house. 

Ella had a good Christmas there too, and even got her beloved ninja turtle she has been wanting. 

 I can't believe it's our last Christmas as a family of three. Yikes!

Friday, we had lunch with Poppy, Nana, Wayne, and Lacey. We kept it simple by ordering pizza. Adam, Lacey, and Poppy spent most of the day putting together Ella's basketball goal. Luckily, the weather was fairly nice that day, and they got it finished.  

 This was Ella making her first basket. 

 After a full day of fun we quickly got ready for our annual Christmas dinner with the Ice's. I think this was our fourth year doing this, and we always have a good time. This year we went to Cork n' Cleaver. 

 We are so lucky to have such great friends! 

I am so thankful for a wonderful holiday season. I can't wait for next year!