Grayson's Baby Shower

Ella in her "Princess" dress that she just had to wear mid-shower and present bow in her hair!


Grayson's adorable cake!



Ella helping open presents :)

Me with the terrific hostesses! :) Thanks a bunch girls!

This past weekend we had a baby shower for Grayson at my parent's church. My sister-in-law Jackie and BFF Ashley threw me a shower in honor of our new baby boy coming the first week of August! The shower was beautiful and everyone who came seemed to really enjoy themselves... how could you not when the food was delish and company was so great!

When I first thought about the shower I hadn't planned to bring Ella due to it being at nap time and her being in her prime tantrum phase and all, but then decided to let her come and enjoy some of the celebrations for her baby brother. To put it simple... she had a blast! One of the biggest issues right now is making sure Ella doesn't think that life from this point is about Grayson, but wanting her to enjoy his arrival and her being such a big girl and huge helper! She received quite a few presents, one being a dress that mom bought and she insisted on wearing and even a book that was created especially for her about being a big sister. She enjoyed every last minute of it! :)

Due to the fact that I did not have a boy the first go around I was a little worried about having enough clothes for Grayson, but my fears were relieved after opening a ton of clothes!!! He will for sure be one well-dressed little boy! :) Now just to figure out where all of his gifts will go! The majority of them are still in my car because the nursery is a wreck at the moment. We are hoping to have it completed for the most part by the end of the week. I will be sure to post pics as soon as it is finished! :)

Yay for Grayson joining our family in six more weeks!! :) We can't wait to meet him!

My Sleeping Beauty

So, I have been really bad about taking pictures and blogging this month! We have been extremely busy around here with finishing school, homework, and getting a few house projects out of the way. I did, however, manage to capture Ella in her Sleeping Beauty dress a few days ago! There hasn't been a day that she hasn't put it on since she got it a few weeks ago. :)

A Little Ranting and Raving

Okay... so I absolutely love being pregnant! I loved it with Ella and couldn't wait to get pregnant the second time. However, I do not remember being this moody, emotional, angry, unpatient, etc., etc., etc. the first time around!!! I know that I am driving everyone around me nuts, but I just can't help it. I just hope they can make it through the next 3 months alive! (lol :) )

Of course teaching full-time during the last few weeks of school with 30 very excited fourth graders wears on my patience, but I'm usually such a patient person. Not so much these days and I dislike this part of pregnancy so much! I pray every morning before entering the building that I will be patient and upbeat, but it is a struggle not to lose that patience within the first few hours. Then, when I get home (exhausted and with little to no patience left) Ella decides to be two! [haha] Bless her little heart because she is such a sweet child and I am so blessed to have such a well-behaved daughter, but her tantrums these days are out of this world! She yells and hits and pouts and says "No" and says "Stop" and throws herself on the floor and never ever wants to leave any place she stays and don't even mention bathtime!!!!!!!!!!! Maybe it wouldn't be SO bad if I didn't work with children all day????

So, this felt good to get out all of my frustration and to laugh at what I wrote when I was finished. Prayers are welcome in order for this mommy to make it until August! :)

Kindergym

Ella and I have been going to Kindergym class every Wednesday night for the past three weeks now. Due to the fact that Ella's only interaction with other children is when she sees Ava on Wednesdays and Thursdays, I felt it was time to get social (not that she has any trouble being social!!). Plus, I think it's very important for her to start on some structured type of play and have to follow directions! I know she's only 2, but preschool/kindergarten will be here before we know it!

As a child, I was always very into dance, gymnastics, and cheerleading! In fact, they have always been a passion of mine and I loved the idea of being able to share this with a daugther some day. While I know Ella may not choose this as her "thing", I figured it wouldn't hurt to give it a try! So, I looked for something inexpensive to do a "test" run with and found out that the Pavilion offers a 2 and 3 year old Mommy and Me Kindergym class for dirt cheap!

Our first Wednesday was quite amusing! Ella immediately loved her classroom and started exploring before anyone else had entered. She's definitely not shy in that sense! During the class, Ella participated fairly well but had her occassional moments when she would excuse herself from the lesson to do something she thought would be more interesting (like walking on the balance beam or crawling through the tunnel). She did her best to keep up, but became frustrated a few times saying "I can't do it!" Some of the things they did the first class were throwing bean bags, popping bubbles, front rolls, walking forward and sideways on the balance beam, rolling down an inclined wedge, straddle position, "stretch, tuck, and roll", walking on their hands, and various fun dances! Ella didn't really get into talking to the other girls in the class, but I found it refreshing that a friend from highschool was there with her little girl! When we left, Ella practiced the whole next week. She was very proud of her newly learned moves!

I was honestly very nervous about going back the second time! I don't expect her to be completely attentive, but chasing after her in the middle of class (6 months pregnant) didn't seem too exciting! On the other hand, as soon as we got there Lerin's little girl started up a conversation with Ella and I was excited to see how the rest of the class went. Thankfully, this time they had the tunnel collapsed so that Ella wouldn't get distracted as easily! To my surprise she did not run off one time, listened to every word her teachers said, tried every move, and even got to be an example a few times! I was a very proud mommy! She was able to show off her mastered front roll, straddle position and tick tocks! During this class they learned how to do a back roll, bridge, and angel touch. When it came time to leave Ella cried and did not want to go!

Tonight's class was just as successful as the time before. She was super excited to go and show her teacher how much she had been practicing! They actually started cartwheels and the crab walk tonight which were easier than I thought they would be! She loves all of the singing and dancing and has decided that the Hokie Pokie is her new favorite song! Some of the girls went out a bought cute little tutu's for class tonight so we may have to find a new outfit for the next few weeks! :)

Three nights in a row!!!

On Saturday night, we decided to go ahead and give the big girl bed a try. Ella has been sleeping in her bed for all of her naps, but night time has still been with us. I have always loved Ella being with us and probably would let her stay there forever if I could, but with Grayson on the way... it's only fair that they both be in their room since our bed is not big enough for four!! I honestly did not think it would be as easy as it has been!

Saturday night she slept until 4:30 and I heard her yelling, "Mommy, I need you!" Keep in mind that I have her baby monitor still set up so that I can watch her and hear her all night long. She definitely got more sleep than I did that first night! So, as soon as I heard her calling, I ran into there to get her, but she insisted we stay in her bed.

Sunday night was a weird night! She skipped out on nap that day due to Easter and the beautiful weather and ended up falling asleep at 5:45! I was worried she would wake up in the middle of the night to play and she kind of did!! She slept from 5:45 until about 2 and called for me to come lay with her. We laid, I gave her some chocolate milk and then she went back to sleep. At about 4 I noticed it was very wet on her side of the bed!!! I guess the chocolate milk combined with the long period of sleep caused her to leak through her diaper so we headed to mommy's bed. Once in mommy's bed she tried to wake up her daddy who had to go to work the next morning!! She wanted cartoons, chocolate milk, to play, you name it!! So, the lesson of the day came to be.... Ella either naps or we force her to stay awake past 7!

Last night Ella did really well! She fell asleep around 9 or 9:30 and slept through the night until about 4 again. She called for me to come lay with her and I did for a few minutes and then came right back to bed. This morning at about 7:00 I felt a little tug on my shirt and it was Ella coming to wake mommy up for the day!

This is a very bitter sweet accomplishment for me! I love that she can sleep in her own bed, giving Kermie and I time to ourselves and room to breathe, but dislike that she doesn't need me like she did before! She's turning into such a sweet little, big girl! Yay for Ella! :)

Easter Weekend

What a beautiful Easter weekend! We spent the majority of it outside enjoying this gorgeous weather. On Saturday, we headed over to Geoff and Jackie's house for the annual egg hunt. All the girls had fun coloring and hunting for eggs.

On Sunday morning, we woke up and Ella opened her Easter basket! She was a little bummed the Easter Bunny left without saying hello, but thrilled with all the goodies he left.

We also headed to the 11:30 service and were actually very early for a change! We even had time for a mini photo shoot. Ella loves ringing the wind chimes and looking at the waterfall.

Nana and Pa bought Ella her Easter dress which she was very excited to wear today! She stared at herself in the mirror for quite some time before we left the house!

Now that Ella is 2 and a half, we've finally figured out a Sunday service solution to crazy toddler behavior! We find a front row seat, bring lots of snacks and toys, and let her jump around and act crazy before the service starts. Sometimes she still acts crazy during worship though :) Here is her "crazy" this morning!

Since my family is out of town for the weekend and will not get to celebrate until next weekend, Daniel and Jessica came to church and lunch with us to celebrate the holiday. Here is a cute picture Ella took of them at lunch! Thanks for coming guys!

Overall, this was a wonderful Easter weekend. I am so thankful for all the wonderful things we have been blessed with in our life and even more thankful for the sacrifice Jesus paid!

And, the verdict is......

Ella's baby brother now has a name! After much deliberation, we have finally come to a verdict on the whole name game! So, before I fill you in on the big surprise let me fill you in on the whole process of how HE got a name.

Before we even knew we were having a boy, we had compiled a list of top names that we BOTH agreed on. If I'm not mistaken, I believe I listed these on here a few posts back. And, although we had our top name list, we continued searching for names that we liked. I found a few... Kermie found a few. I shared mine with him... he shared his with me. One of the names he found that he really liked was Wyatt. I loved it too! One of the names I found was Grayson. He loved it not so much! The conversation was over and Wyatt became part of our top name list. Then, a few weeks later, Kermie asked, "What do you think about the name Grayson?" My immediate reaction was... duh.... and... are you kidding me? In my mind, I had already dismissed the name due to the fact that I knew he didn't like it. In fact, I was gearing myself up for the possiblity of Wyatt becoming our next child. Low and behold, last night on our date night we decided that Grayson would be his name!!!! And, although we had many possibilities for a middle name, Jack was always the definite being Kermie's dad's name.

So, for those that were waiting in suspense (haha)............. Grayson Jack is the final verdict!