I'm in love ...

with this precious baby boy!

Happy 3rd Birthday Ella Chase!

This past weekend was a fun-filled birthday weekend for Ella! We celebrated in three parts for each of her three years! :)

Each year mom and I take Ella to Toys-R-Us to get her birthday balloon and crown from Geoffrey the Giraffe and let her spend her $3 gift card. She loves every minute of it!


We also took her to P.F. Chang's for a delicious birthday lunch which I think mom and I enjoyed the most! :) I love the veggie lettuce wraps and really enjoyed Ella's chocolate birthday treat!

One thing we knew for sure is that we wanted to have Ella's party away from home this year. We looked into several places and decided on Chuck E. Cheese for several reasons: the price, the amount of children you can have, and fun! Ella had a blast as did everyone who attended! :)

Since we had Ella's party a few days before her actual birthday, Kermie and I decided to take her somewhere fun on her birthday. We headed to Jalepeno's for lunch and Monkey Joe's for the afternoon. We all had such a fun time and I have a few battle wounds to show how "hard" we played! :)

Dear Ella,

Three years ago, I couldn't wait to meet you and see your beautiful face. I had always dreamed of what my little girl would be like and you have most definitely been a dream come true. I love every minute we spend together and cherish every moment. You are not only a beauty on the outside, but on the inside as well. The past three years have been incredible and I can't wait to enjoy the years to come. I love you and thank God every day for such a wonderful blessing!

Love,

Mommy :)

From the Mouth of a 2 Year Old

I have debated whether or not to put these stories on the blog due to their content and I've finally decided to do it! Anyone who knows Ella knows that she is quite comical and will comment on anything "out of the ordinary" that she observes. And lately, she has been quite the observer. So, everything you are about to read are her latest observations and reactions... enjoy!


Boys vs. Girls:

We spent a lot of time with Ashley and the boys this summer. One day we decided to go to Sejla's house where she had filled up the baby pool for both Ella and Brayden. As Brayden was getting changed Ella noticed there was a little something different about him. "Mommy, what's Brayden got?" she asked. And I proceeded to tell her that all boys look different down there. That was basically the extent to which the conversation took us until.... we were at home a few days later and Ella began her usual drawing of smiley face families. She drew a head, face, arms, legs, hair, and then a stick right between the two legs. "What's this Ella?" I asked her assuming she would respond with something like "he has three legs". But, no, she responded with "Boys have long peepees mommy." We then extended our talk and spoke about how we don't draw peepees regardless of whether it is a boy or a girl. I'm hoping she learns how to draw clothes before kindergarten! :) A few days later, Ella was spending some time with her Nana and they were doing some drawing. As Ella's Nana walked into the room Ella very quickly covered her paper. Nana asked, "What did you draw Ella?" already aware of what had happened with the previous smiley face. Ella replied with, "Boys have long peepees Nana." As my mom tried her hardest to hold in the laughter she also gave the whole "we don't draw private parts" speech. Ella has drawn a few more long peepees since these incidents, but I think we are finally overcoming this hurdle! I think having a baby brother has helped tremendously!

My Baby Can't Suck a Bottle:

Yesterday morning I was putting some lotion on when Ella walked into the room with her baby doll. I had noticed that she had been strolling her around and stopping to change her diaper, but was unaware of the next thing. As Ella entered my room, she said, "Mommy, my baby can't suck from her baba yet. She has to suck from my boobies like Emma sucks from her mommy's boobies." I looked at her not knowing what to say. She continued, "And, you are her Nana so she needs to suck from your boobies since they are bigger." I tried my hardest not to laugh and told her that babies only get milk from their mommy's boobies and that she needed to go find the baby's bottle right away and teach her to suck from it. :) As she walked out of the room she tried to console her baby who was apparantly upset that her NANA would not feed her!

My daughter never ceases to make me laugh!

A Bump in the Road

Today started out terrific for several reasons:

1. Grayson slept terrific last night (including an almost 7 hour stretch).
2. Ella was chipper and patient all morning.
3. Ella dressed herself and did not throw any fits about clothing choices probably because she was allowed to wear a dress (the one she wears everyday now).
4. I was able to get the entire house picked up.
5. I munched on a few chocolate donuts and got in a glass of Coke! YUM!
6. We were all excited about heading out to see Sejla and Emma for some catch up time.

Then, the day hit a slight bump and knocked us all for a loop for these reasons:

1. Grayson screamed the entire time I gave him his medicine (he developed a case of Thrush which is new to me and absolutely hates the medicine).
2. Upon pulling into Sejla's driveway Grayson threw up (projectile) all over himself and his car seat. This was the first major throw up and was a little scary.
3. His throw up continued to seep out of the car seat and all over Sejla's floor so I had to take apart the seat and do a load of laundry at her house.
4. Grayson was quite fussy which is very unlike him! I am assuming the medicine might be upsetting his tummy :(
5. Ella began transitioning into "meltdown" mode while I was trying to get Grayson to sleep in Emma's rocking chair so I decided it was time to go.
6. Ella started the whole "I don't want to go" fit and cried as we got in the car.
7. I realized I still needed to take a trip to Wal-Mart for a few things with two fussy children! YIKES!
8. Ella cried the entire trip to Wal-Mart... and when I say cried.. I mean screamed!
9. She fell asleep on the way home, but woke up the minute I tried to put her down in her bed. Oh.. and did I mention she peed in the car while asleep???
10. When it came time for bath time, I was splashed and hit several times by one very cranky 2 year old who lost her brand new Strawberry doll and Barbie for the night.
11. Grayson cried again when I gave him his medicine.

So.... up until this point the road was smooth and an easy drive! After today, I'm hoping these kind of days are few and far between! Wouldn't trade any minute of the maddness for the world though :)

Our Life: The First Month

Tomorrow marks one month for Grayson and our first month with our new and improved family of four! This first month has brought many things with the days that passed: hugs and kisses galore, lots of dirty diapers, the wonderful scent of baby lotion, dry hands from bottle washing (I did not breast feed this time around and have been very happy with my decision so far!), a few jealousy issues and quite a bit of moaning and groaning from Ms. Ella to get her way, some crying from pretty much every member of the family, lots of laughing, visits from friends and family, the addition of being thankful for baby Grayson in Ella's prayers, a little fatiuge, loads and loads of laundry, the use of my rocking chair, the rekindled love for the Boppy, and the list continues. We are all beginning to get the hang of our new life and to be honest, it's been much easier than I thought! Grayson is a wonderful baby and Ella is a huge help! We've had our moments of course, but I wouldn't trade them for anything! It is already going by way too fast and I'm sure the last 5 weeks will fly by! But, one thing I know for sure is how blessed I am to be able to spend so much time enjoying both of my children! God is GREAT!

Here are a few pictures from some of our outings this past month. I haven't been the best about picture taking!

Brayden and Ella


Emma, Keaton, and Grayson


Jackie and me at Evan's Orchard

My lovelies! :)

Grayson's exciting day at the park with mommy and Ella.

Ella at the park. She refuses to wear anything but a dress these days! It's like pulling teeth!

Ella and Ava at the Orchard.

Ella and Grayson sitting under a shade tree during one of our daily walks around town.

Grayson Jack Donovan

Ella loving on her new brother.


Mommy, daddy and Grayson.


Our family of four!

My chubby cheeked mohawk man! :)

Grayson is here! He's actually been here since August 6th, but being a mommy of two has kept me a little preoccupied the past week and a half so that is the reason for the delayed blog post.

So, here's the stats for those wondering... He ended up being 9 pounds 5 ounces, 20.25 inches long, and was born at 2:23 pm. We were shooting for 2:19 pm since Ella was born then, but Grayson's "largeness" got in the way! :)

I was honestly expecting the worst as far as deliveries go since Ella's seemed so "easy," but Grayson's birth has hers beat by far! We went to the hospital around 5:30 and were placed in a room and started meds within an hour. Upon arriving, I was already 3 cm dialated and about 85% effaced if I'm remembering correctly. Going in this time I knew I did not want any pain meds before the epidural and I think that is what made this experience so much better! I felt so alert and very aware of everything going on around me unlike the "zomielike" state I was in with Ella! I received my epidural at about 4/5 cm and other than being able to feel it this time around, the epidural itself was perfect! Not too strong, not too weak. I could not move my legs the next day because of my epidural with Ella (slept through labor and pushed 3 times), but with this one I could move my legs, feel the pressure of contractions, but never felt an ounce of pain. The lady knew what she was doing! :) My blood pressure got low again this time around, but they quickly fixed that and we were back in business. As time went by, I began feeling quite a bit of pressure and sure enough, Grayson was making his way into this world! They let me watch the entire birth through a mirror and we were all a little bit shocked to see the "big" baby that appeared after about 10 minutes pushing! He was the most beautiful baby boy I had ever seen of course! :)

Our stay at Central Baptist was terrific! Our labor and delivery nurses were great and one happened to be a friend of our family which made us all feel very comfortable. When they moved us into Mother/Baby, Kermie and I were tickled too death to see the full size Tempurpedic bed! I was so excited to get to sleep beside him :) I remembered feeling bad for him sleeping on the chair the first time around! My night nurse, Dee, was absolutely amazing during our two night stay. She did everything in her power to make sure we were comfortable and the baby was doing well.

So, we've been home for over a week now and things are going well. I have dealt with the emotional overload much better this time although I have had a few meltdowns. I think having done it before makes everything much easier. Although, adding an almost 3 year old to the picture adds a new dimension! Kermie went back to work Monday after being off for 3 weeks, so that was a little hard. I think Ella had the most difficult time with his return than anyone. She really enjoyed his company! Overall, she is doing great with the transition. I love the age she is at because she has been such a big helper! She can get diapers, wipes, clothes, etc., etc., etc. and actually enjoys doing it! She kisses on Grayson and asks to hold him quite a bit. She is learning that she has to share her time with Grayson now and that babies require lots of attention. She's going to be a great big sister!

I have another 8 weeks at home from school so I will try to take pictures as I can and keep everyone updated on my life with two children! :)

Sharing... Empathy... Sympathy

At the age of 2... almost 3... I know that the thought of sharing, being empathetic, and sympathetic for others is nearly impossible! While sharing is a must, learning empathy and sympathy are probably still a few years off in terms of age appropriate development. On the other hand, I do think it is a great time to start teaching these things to children.



As most everyone knows, my grandpa has been in the hospital since last week due to a bad fall/stroke/broken leg. Therefore, we spent many hours there comforting family and praying for healing. While we were at the hospital, there was a family who appeared to be living in the ICU waiting room. The most obvious family member was a young girl who was only 8 years old. Each time we were visiting, she was there (usually in her pajamas) watching tv. Ella really took to this little girl and enjoyed her company and gadgets! While we sat, we tried to get some information from this little girl about why she was there and so on. It turns out, they had been there for two weeks because her father was having seizures and suffering from lymphoma. This little girl was a very mature 8 year old and was willing to tell all about her life struggles. You could tell that she was "forced" to grow up at a rapid rate and was in need of love and attention. What 8 year old wouldn't after spending two weeks plus sleeping in a hospital? As we got to know Sophie, we realized that she was excited for school, but was missing a few last minute school supplies. So, Kermie went out on a little shopping spree so she could be prepared for school and a fresh start to the year. School supplies were probably the last thing on her family's mind!



To make a long story short... when Kermie returned with the belated birthday gift, Ella was very confused! We hadn't told her we were going to give Sopie a gift and hadn't shared with Ella Sophie's circumstances before hand and honestly didn't think she would even understand if we had told her. As Sophie unzipped her new backpack and began taking out all the goodies, Ella starting throwing a FIT! I was completely humiliated to say the least. She couldn't understand the fact that those were not for her, couldn't be "shared," and that her daddy wasn't going to give her something out of the bag. I immediately took her out into the hallway to begin explaining this very complicated situation to a 2 year old and when she finally gained composure I took her back in. Once inside the waiting room again, she starting getting upset and wanted to open everything inside the bag, so we said our goodbyes and left.



My inital thoughts were "what have we done wrong" and "have we spoiled our child so much that she can't give to others?" I know that Ella is very blessed to have the things she has and know that she is "spoiled" to a certain extent. I also know that she is only 2 and is at a very selfish age, but I also know that we need to be working harder to make sure she knows just how blessed she is and that there are many less fortunate little girls in this world.



On top of our sharing issues and this incident, we have also been looking to find something in addition to TIME OUT, to reinforce positive behaviors from Ella. I am not a fan of constantly say "no", "don't", etc. etc. etc. So, Kermie and I put our heads together and came up with a Stick System. This system is purely positive reinforcement and does not involve any type of punishment whatsoever. The only materials needed were a plastic cup and ten sticks. We explained to Ella that she could earn 10 sticks for doing "big girl and good girl" things around the house and outside of the house. Whether it's picking up after herself, not complaining about not getting her way, sharing, etc. etc. she can earn up to 10 total sticks. When she gets to 10, she is allowed a "special" treat. She also will be getting the same "special" treat to give away to someone else. So, basically, by displaying positive behavior, which will hopefully cut down on TIME OUT time, Ella will be rewarded for doing good things and will get to give her earned reward to another person.



Since we have started the Stick System, Ella has been in TIME OUT 1 time! It's been a total of 4 days now, so that's a record! She has helped out around the house more than usual, refrained from using "mean" words when she is angry and gotten super excited when she earns a stick! She is currently at 9 sticks and has one left to earn before getting her "special" treat. She has mentioned a piece of candy and talked about sharing the extra treat with her cousin Ava or Brayden, so we will see what she decides. I know it's only been a few days, but the immediate results have been so rewarding and more than anything, I am hoping that she learns to share more with others (less fortunate or more fortunate).

P.S. We are being induced tomorrow at 5 a.m. :) Grayson will be joining us soon!