instaLOVE

Here is a little bit of our summer days via instagram...

1. Ella being cute with her lovey

2. Rainy day snuggles

3. Jaxon got his summer cut

4. This is the face I get when I take her foot out of her mouth....

Happy Summer!

A New Normal

I am so thankful that a new normal is setting in. We were incredibly blessed with a wonderful woman who watched Ella while I finished working and I am so grateful for a great school that I was able to be part of for 3 years. With all of that being said, I am so grateful to be in my dream job and get used to this new normal. I know that every job has its ups and downs, and I know that being a stay at home mom will come with some very difficult and very rewarding days, but I could not be more excited to buckle up for this journey. 

Yesterday, Ella and I went to "Baby Bounce" at the Bookmarks store in Northpark with some wonderful friends and their little ones. It was really fun to bounce around with Ella and play with all of the fun music toys. It had it fair share of cheesiness, but we just embraced it! 

Her personality is developing more and more everyday and I am looking forward to being here to see her continue to grow. 

Here are some fun pics from recently...

 She loves to play airplane! 

 Anytime I turn the iphone camera around where she can see herself she usually giggles..it is pretty funny!

 In her swimsuit and ready to go swimming!

Sweet giggles!

So, other stay at home mommas...what are some of your favorite things to fill your days?

4 months

This past Saturday Ella turned 4 months old! She has developed SO much personality this past month and is always smiling and giggling. She had her 4 month shots and did great! She was a little fussy that night, but seemed to get back on track with her normal schedule quickly. She currently weight 13 lbs. 10 oz and is in the 50th percentile for weight. She is also in the 75th percentile for height....growing like crazy!! She is eating 4 times a day (and takes a small 5th feeding every now and then). She sleeps from 7:30-7:30 and loves her naps. (James and I are sure one day Baby #2 will never sleep as payback for such a great sleeper!)

After her 4 month appointment, we started her on solids. Our pediatrician recommends starting at 4 months and I know some people prefer to wait until 6 months, but we felt very comfortable starting with where she is developmentally and she has LOVED it! I am so excited to break open my BEABA food maker and try some fun stuff for her! For right now, we are starting out simple with basic pureed veggies. 

Ella has also started rolling this month. She rolled from her tummy to her back about 3 weeks ago and rolled from back to tummy a week ago (right before she turned 4 months). She is one strong girl! She is sleeping on her tummy now and pretty much always wants to be on her tummy when she plays. She still LOVES bath time and I can't wait to get her in the pool soon and see how she likes it!

 This is one of my favorites. We just finished taking her pictures and I went to pick her up and James captured this. I just love her so much! It is hard to believe that she is already 4 months old! I am loving each new stage and excited to see how she grows this month! 

I will post this weekend about my first Mother's Day. I am so blessed to be a momma to Ella! James went above and beyond to make me feel loved and appreciated for Mother's Day!! 

a trip to the zoo

We took Ella with us to the Zoo yesterday with my second grade class and she did such a great job! She took a couple of naps and loved all of the things she could stare at! It was so fun to have her with us for the day and helped the week go by really fast! 

Here is our baby girl with her fan, so she can stay nice and cool on a hot day!

When she got home daddy did some tummy time with her! She is getting so strong and I can't believe how long she holds her head up. 

The Zoo was really fun, but definitely something I think we will wait to do again until she is a little older. The kids in my group did so great with Ella and loved pushing the stroller. It was really sweet. 

Here are some other pics from recently....This one melts my heart!

 Ella and her buddy, Jaxon ready to go! 

Hope everyone has a great Thursday...exactly 4 weeks until I am staying home with my baby girl! 

3 months

Ella turned 3 months this past Thursday and we did our usual picture in her glider. I can't believe how much she is growing every day! We are loving all the smiles and watching her personality develop! She is such a joy in our lives. 

This month she has been sleeping like a champ (although we know the first year is full of its ups and downs.) For right now, she is a good sleeper and still loves to snuggle. She loves for anyone to sing to her and still prefers to be anywhere but her carseat! She is getting so close to rolling over on her own...any day now! 

Here are some fun pictures that our friend Logan captured while they were over for dinner...

Here are her 3 month pictures...She is such a big girl!

 Love that sweet face!

 And our usual, "Okay, mom...no more pictures!" pose! 

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! 

goodbye maternity leave

Today is officially my last day on Maternity Leave. How do I almost have a 3 month old? How does her delivery seem SO long ago? How does it feel like I don't even remember what it was like to be 9 months pregnant and counting down each day before she arrived?

Since I love a good sleeping pic I though I would show you how much she has grown with some of my favorites... Here she is a few days old...

 And now my big girl...(look at those cheeks!)

I can honestly say that my life is filled with more joy each day having Ella around and I am so humbled that God picked me to be her mommy. My maternity leave was absolutely wonderful. I will miss our morning snuggles and naps, our 9am Starbucks runs that went from a crying baby in the drive-thru to one that doesn't stop talking and cooing, our infinite number of Target runs, our lunch dates with Nana, afternoon walks, playdates, and all of the sweet smiles and cuddles. I am so thankful that God has provided a wonderful woman who will be with Ella while I finish out the school year with my 22 other babies. I am grateful to end the year with such a sweet class, but feel very confident about our family's choice for me to stay home in the Fall. 

So, adios Maternity Leave! Come June 1st I will be a stay at home momma and maybe we will get in a 9 am Starbucks run every now and then. 

Here is us cuddling yesterday...we have been soaking up the snuggles...

This is another random picture I just had to share. They look like twins. 

We are so lucky to have Ella and I am looking forward to what God will teach me through this next stage and looking forward to being home with my baby girl full time! 

Look Alikes

Now that Ella is getting a little older and definitely getting more distinct features, everyone in my family thinks that her and Brinley look so much alike. There are moments where I see it and moments where I think Ella just looks like a tiny girl version of James, but here, I think I can definitely see the similarities between Ella and her cousin Brinley...

Here is Ella...

 Here is Brinley...

So, what do you think? Look alikes? 

It will be fun to see how Ella changes and if she continues to resemble Brinley!