Fall Family Pictures

I have a love/hate relationship with family pictures. I love them once they are finished, but I am not a fan of all the planning that goes into them. I had these scheduled since June and changed the time at least five times. It was so hard trying to figure out what time would be best for Paige. I planned our outfits around my shirt, which ended up being full of static. You win some, you lose some. October finally rolled around, and we had a beautiful day for pictures.   We used Captured Studios, and her pictures never disappoint. I love love love how they turned out. These were our first pictures as a family of four so I will always treasure these. 

Paige || 6 months

Paige is six months old!!

How can it be!? Where did the time go!? Last year at this time I think I was 14 weeks pregnant. We had no clue if she was going to be a boy or a girl. I was scared to death and worried about every little thing imaginable. I never in a million years could have guessed how much joy and happiness Paige would bring us. 
We were blessed (seriously blessed) with a very content, happy baby. I expected the worst, and we given the best. I have never seen a baby as happy as she is. She is always smiling. All you have to do is look at her, and she will shoot you the biggest grin ever. 
She has fit right in with the family. Sometimes I often wonder what we ever did without her. We have only had her for six months, but some days it feels like an eternity. She is and always will be the best surprise we have ever received. 
This is Paige at 6 months old:

Height: 

Weight:

Clothes: Paige can still fit into 3-6 month clothing and size 6 months. Some six month pants seem a little long on her. We have a feeling she will be shorter than Ella, but time will tell! 

Diapers: Paige is in size 3 diapers. 

Sleeping: I'm still missing my days of sleeping all night, but I know they will come again..Someday. Paige stays on a really good schedule. She typically wakes around 6:15/6:30. She is ready for a nap around 9 and sleeps until 11. She is ready for a nap again around 2 and sleeps until 4 and is ready for bed at 6:00. I have transitioned her into napping in her crib which was no big deal at all since she has been sleeping in her crib since she was a week old. She loves sleeping in her zipadeezips. My friend told me about them, and they are wonderful. She can move freely, and they keep her warm. She knows when I zip her up it's time for sleep. She is still waking up once per night to eat. It's always around 1:15 or 3:30. On rare occasions she will wake at 5:00am to eat, and I definitely consider that all night. That is very rare though. I can't complain too much. In the past six months she has never once been fussy at night. She always eats and goes right back to sleep. 

Eating: Paige takes a 6 ounce bottle usually every 3-4 hours. I have noticed she is going longer between bottles. She always takes a 7 ounce bottle when it's time to nap or go to bed at night. I have tried some baby foods, and she doesn't seem very interested yet. It won't be long!

Milestones: She has come such a long way in the past month. She grabs her feet and loves to play with them constantly.  She can roll both ways. She also can sit up but not for very long. She can tell who a stranger is and starts crying if she doesn't recognize someone. If she does recognize you you better believe she will give you the biggest grin and start waving her arms with excitement. 

Likes: There isn't much this girl doesn't like. She loves baths, playing with her hands and feet, playing in her exersaucer and play mat, stroller rides, watching the dogs, being sang and talked to, swinging outside, watching Ella, and smiling at anything and everything. 

Dislikes: Strangers, being out of the house close to bedtime, loud noises

Thoughts from mom: My life has changed so much since Paige has come along. I'm busy and tired most days, but it's definitely worth every single second. I never thought I wanted to have another child, but I am so thankful for our little surprise. She fills my days with plenty of smiles and laughter. I am living up every day I get to spend with her, because I know she will be in kindergarten before I know it. 

I can't believe how much Paige and grown and changed in the past six months. I know the next six months will fly by as well. 

Halloween 2015

I am not one to wish away time, but I am glad to see October go. I don't know why, but I have never been a fan of October. Maybe it's because I love, love, love the holiday season!? As of November 1st, I can feel the excitement start to build. This year is even more exciting, because we have two kiddos to celebrate with. There is something so special and fun seeing your kids enjoy the holiday season. Before the holiday season starts I better recap Halloween!
This year I had a ninja turtle and pumpkin...

This picture didn't take any bribery...yeah right! I'm not sure why, but Ella is still a little unsure of holding Paige. It sure looks cute when she does though! 
Halloween was on a Saturday this year so my family came over and we trick or treated in our neighborhood and ordered pizza. It was so fun! We thought it might rain, but the weather ended up cooperating with our plans. 

It took the girls a little bit to get in the trick or treating mood. They were both a little nervous to go up to stranger's doors. Once they got going there was no stopping them. They had so much fun! 

Paige had a wonderful time watching from her stroller. She made it around the whole neighborhood without a peep. Such a good girl! 

I'm pretty sure Autumn was excited that they gave out whoppers at this house!

This is by far my favorite picture of the night. 

Ella had a visit from two boys from her class that live in our neighborhood. We trick or treated at their house as well. Their dog gave my mom quite the trick that night. She bent down to pet the dog, and he hiked his leg on her leg. Seriously!? It was the funniest thing I have ever seen. 

It was a fun Halloween, but November is a welcome sight in my book. I am already seeing Christmas decorations at every store, and I have even have heard Christmas music. Bring on the holiday season! I am ready!! 

Ella and Paige | Week 24

Last week started out with a bang. Poor Ella did not feel good. Monday night she started sounding stuffy. She woke me up five times, because she couldn't sleep. She was ready to get up at 5am and ended up falling asleep again around 6:30/7 after I figured out she was running a temperature. Once she woke up she felt a little better but definitely couldn't go to school. You know Ella doesn't feel good when she is still crying after telling her she doesn't have to go to school. She loves school but still welcomes a day when she doesn't have to go. Ella is a good little patient and laid in bed all morning. I tried to keep Ella and Paige separated as best as I could so Paige didn't get her germs. 

 Paige obviously had no idea what was going on that day! 

This was Ella by mid afternoon. After I changed Paige's diaper I looked out the window to see Ella with her skate board out on the sidewalk. She was obviously feeling better. Needless to say she was back to school the next day. :) 

I have been having so much fun dressing Paige in her holiday attire. This is one of my favorite outfits, EVER! 

She has also been working on sitting up. She definitely prefers sitting up to laying down these days! 

How can I keep this sweet face a baby forever!? 

Paige loves to roll around and grab her feet. 

Sweet Ella is growing up SO fast and looking so much older these days. We have all loved seeing her with that snuggle tooth that sticks out when she smiles. Little did I know this would be one of the last pictures I have of her with that snuggle tooth!

My mom got these for the girls. They had fun ramming into each other after school one day. 

Ella and Paige | Week 23

Last week was an exciting week full of firsts and tooth drama!! 
Let's start with the tooth drama since we dealt with that almost ALL week. Ella had a bottom tooth hanging by a thread that was driving her nuts.  I don't blame her for acting how she did, because I know it was making her miserable. She didn't want the tooth to fall out, because she was afraid of the blood. Ella would not let anyone try to help her. She would not eat since her tongue was hitting it. Her teacher had to talk her into eating lunch one day at school. She couldn't concentrate. She would come home from school and cry. It was making her miserable and everyone else miserable too. She wrote this on the patio "No tooth is going to fall out." 

By Thursday we knew that tooth had to go! I told her teacher at lunch (I was volunteering) that we would have it out that night. After crying for two hours after school Adam finally assisted her in getting it out. It practically fell out of her mouth. It ended up being no big deal for her. Once the tooth was out life (and Ella) returned back to normal. Thank goodness!

Paige has blossomed in the past couple of weeks. She started rolling from back to belly, grabbing her feet, and sitting up for small periods of time. She is growing up way too fast. 

Paige loves to roll onto her stomach and whine until you put her back on her back. She can roll from her belly to back, but she always seems to get stuck. I think she likes to just keep me moving. I have to watch her like a hawk these days. 

Paige is officially out of her swaddle blanket and into a zipadeezip. Whoever comes up with this stuff is a genius! I was worried Paige might not sleep well in this thing, but she loves it. It hasn't helped her sleep all night (as some people have raved about), but at least she is happy in it. 

We have been out enjoying the weather as much as possible. I love that Paige can sit up in her stroller now. She enjoys watching the dogs walk, and they especially love getting out of the house! 

Last, but certainly not least, Ella has been acing her spelling practice tests. If you get a perfect score on the practice test on Mondays you don't have to take it on Fridays. She is on a roll and aced the practice test for six weeks now. She is so proud of herself, and we are proud of her too!