"the" nightgown

The past week Ella loves wearing her nightgown. For a few days she even wanted to change into it for nap time. I think she looks super cute. Even though she is very active and crazy, she definitely has a girlie girl side.

This week...

I have not posted due to the fact that nothing exciting has happened this week. We do have a few tid bits of information that happened yesterday, which is why I am actually posting something.

Let's see... Jonathan has been rather interested in tying his shoes. It has been frustrating for him learning this skill, especially since I am right handed and he is a lefty. Mommy has not been the best teacher. However, he has picked it up and announced one morning that he was wearing his Tony Hawk shoes... shoes I bought back in late November but he has hardly worn to school because he could not tie them. Anyway, he ventured out to school in them with no emotional frustrations about the laces coming undone. He wanted to wear them so he could demonstrate he knew how to tie them. He wanted a shoe tying certificate from his teacher. He met his goal because I found the certificate in his backpack yesterday. Way to go Jonathan! Just another milestone out of the way.


Last night the local high school was having an activity for turning off the TV night. We went there for an hour and the kids seemed to enjoy themselves. Jonathan befriended a boy and his Nana. They taught him how to play Yahtzee. Ella made a bookmark, watched two turtles swim around in their tank, made a cookie and did not hesitate in eating it. We were fortunate to see Ryan on the road and beeped at him. So he was able to join us. The poor guy has been working so hard the last three months and I try desperately to give the kids some Daddy time.

I had a baby check up yesterday. They are always boring, which is good for pregnancy...means everything is going as planned. While waiting for the doctor, I checked Ella's weight and height. I did not write them down at her 2 year check up. I also never get percentages from the doctors so I am wondering how other people I know get them. Ryan keeps telling me the percentage doesn't matter. The doctor looks at the growth curve. Anyway, she is about 30 lbs with her clothes on (28lbs only diaper a month ago) and her height is 34" or 2' 10" tall.

Last but not least, I have been "nesting". I realized a few weeks ago I downsized a little too much when we moved and do not have the baby clothes I thought I had... even though I still think there is a box of clothes hiding somewhere in this house. It's OK though because I also realized due to the season's actually changing here, Ella's baby clothes won't work due to being summer items and this baby will only get a taste of summer and then the cooler weather will come quickly.

We started a budget three months ago and I have been trying desperately to stay on it. I have been a lot more concerned about how much things cost and getting more for our money.

Lately I have been looking at Craigslist to find some needed items. This morning I went to a yard sale and found a winter jacket for Ella (trying to think ahead), some baby clothes and clothes for Ella. Most of the clothes were 5 for 1 dollar and Ella's jacket for this coming winter was only 4 dollars... great deal considering it is from babyGap. I walked away only paying $7.00 for everything.

Ella had a great time playing with two other little girls while I sorted through the clothes. She didn't want to leave! I don't blame her. It is a beautiful day out and this house had a swing set and sand box... a little kids dream come true.

Our Garden

We have had some beautiful weather lately and I cannot help but just get outside to enjoy the sun... finally! Today I had planned that we would plant our garden. I wanted to get an early start so we would not be stuck in hot weather. The kids woke up earlier than usual even though they went to bed late... go figure... but we did get out early.

I let Jonathan choose what we would be planting. He picked watermelons, corn and tomatoes. Watermelon and corn for the kids and tomatoes because he knows I like to eat them.

About a month ago we weeded the area so it was not too hard to get the soil prepared for planting. It was interesting having two little kids help. Ella was more of a nuisance to Jonathan than help but she had fun for awhile. She loves playing in dirt so this is an activity made for her. Jonathan was a hard worker. He prepared the soil, dug the holes and then planted the watermelon and corn seeds. By that time he was hungry and needed a break so we called it a day and ate lunch. Hopefully all of this hard work and the work to come will bless us with some yummy food. We'll find out in about three months.

ok... switch

I finally switched rooms on the kids. Jonathan had last Friday and Monday off, so I thought it would be the perfect time to paint the rooms and switch the kids. I wanted to get it done before I got too big and tired.

I'm almost done painting the rooms. I had to paint them because I did not want to stick Jonathan in a pink room. I must say I really like the color choice of his room. It really looks like a big boy room now. I am trying to save up to buy him a desk, the only request he has. He wants a space where he can do homework without GorElla bothering him, which I totally understand because she currently like to destroy anything he makes with legos, blocks, etc.

The girls room will look cute too once completely finished. Taking care of these things is making another baby coming into our home seem very real and that we're getting closer to the due date. It's crazy to think we'll be a family of five soon and I am getting rather excited about it. I already went through the baby clothes and realized we do not have warm clothes for a little baby. Didn't really need them in California. So I'll be looking around the next few months trying to find some good deals. Exciting times!

Easter

Even though the kids went to bed late, they still woke up early in the morning. Unfortunately I stayed up until 2:30 am painting, cooking, baking, cleaning and other preparations for Easter;) I was awake in the morning for the festivities but fizzed out rather quickly.

Anyway, we had a blast. The kids enjoyed the goodies in the Easter baskets and then went outside to find some eggs. It is a tradition of ours to put a piece of paper in in each egg that has a scripture about Jesus inside. When all the eggs are gathered, we sit down together and read the scripturs. This year I made cinnamon rolls so we ate as we read a few but then Ella wasn't acting right. She had some gooey mucus stuff sh was trying to cough up. I asked Ryan to come over and after some docor investigating he found out she had some food, Reese's peanut butter egg, stuck at the back of her throat and could not get it down. So he scraped it out and then she was able to drink some milk to clear the rest away. Hopefully we'll get to the scriptures today.

A little later I got the kids ready for church and Ella looked so cute n her dress. I wish we took a picture. She did some twirls for us that just melted Ryan's heart. Jonathan looked very handsome and is getting better at tying his shoes... he can almost do it completely on his own.

Church was nice and afterwards we drove around a bit because the day was so beautiful. Some of the trees have bloomed and others are beginning to show buds. It definitely felt like spring.

All of us felt extremely tired due to having late nights the last few days so falling asleep was not a problem. It was another great day!

The kids seeing their Easter baskets for the first time.

Ella loves lollipops... she calls them pops.

Jonathan's present was a Magic Tree House book, which he began reading after looking through his basket.



Ella also loves bubbles and was able to blow some. Too bad I could not get her bubble making skills on camera.


Daddy blew some which Ella and Jak Jak had fun popping.


Then came the Easter egg hunt, which the kids found all the eggs in record time.

Just a fun day

Today was just a great day. In the morning we received a surprise package at 9am. Nana and Papa (thank you!!!) sent the kids Easter candy and presents. I let the kids open the box and once Ella realized there was chocolate, she started grabbing any candy she could get her hands on. So it was a race between the two of us. She didn't even care that the wrapper was still on... until she took a bite of the foil and said, "yuck!" Once I took the wrapper off she was a happy camper again.

After a few chores I set up the kitchen table to dye some eggs. Jonathan has been looking forward to this for a few days now. He enjoyed making them while Ella watched.
Around 12pm Ryan came home from work and we are thrilled to have him around for the rest of the day and he'll be here for Easter!

Later in the day we went to an Easter egg hunt and the kids had a blast. Again, when Ella realized there was candy inside the eggs she kept asking for an egg. She was quite content sitting in the swing while eating a chocolate candy. Jonathan had fun running around with some of the other boys. It was just a great day.

Also, we had a surprise for Jonathan and let him know about it today. The surprise has been sitting on our dining room table for two days now and Jonathan said NOTHING about what was inside the box. The announcement is... we have a Wii.

A friend of Ryan's approached him a few days ago and asked if we would like his Wii. He would not be using it since he was going to buy a new game system. So they struck a deal and Ryan told Jonathan the news today. This is a BIG DEAL for Jonathan. When he finds out someone has a Wii, he wants to play it every time we go to that person's house via being my brother, a friend, or even one of Dad's friends. Then after being at their house Jonathan begs for a Wii for 2-3 days.
The boys are currently playing a game now. Needless to say we will need to set up some rules so no game addictions occur.
Personally speaking, I'm going to have fun creating a little Amy for the game. Too bad I can't make it look pregnant and waddle around.

Included are some pictures taken of the day... they are probably out of order but enjoy them anyway.

random pictures of Ella

Ella opening her b-day present from Grammie and G'pa.

Ella fell asleep during part of conference last weekend. See, miracles do happen.


Last Sunday Ryan came home from work and wanted me to stand on his back to try and crack it... dude find a DO for that... it's a lot safer than a pregnant lady. Anyway, Ella wanted in on the action so she got on his back after me and would jump off or jump and body slam Daddy. Lots of giggles went on during this fun moment... just don't try it on Mommy.

Ella had to throw in some cuddling to get away with using Daddy as a trampoline.

Ella's up to something else...she has the shifty eyes look.

new shoes

Last week Ella found a pair of shoes she liked but unfortunately they were not in her size. Today we went to Target and while walking past the shoe section, Ella wanted to stop and try some on. Yes, Ella, definitely not my idea although I secretly wanted her to get white shoes because she needs some new dress shoes but once again she found "the" shoes... purple jellies. This time they had her size. She tried them on and once again fell in love.

Ella did not want to take them off. Luckily I was able to separate the two shoes and she happily walked around the store while we finished shopping. One time her shoe fell off in front of a few store workers and one replied that Cinderella lost her slipper... very cute. I think she felt like Cinderella because when home, she danced around and took a look at herself in the mirror.

The positive note about her shoes is they have a real buckle, no Velcro, so she can't take them off. The downside is they are clear so I can't get away with mismatched socks anymore.

painting

I am trying to get a few birthday presents out today and it will probably be unsuccessful... we'll see though. I made two of the cards last night, Jonathan signed them in the morning and then I packaged the gifts up. I quickly went upstairs to get something and I came back downstairs to a guilty looking dog and toddler.


What were they up to:

Ella was under the table, got out, then showed me a ribbon she found. At first I said, "pretty ribbon", but then realized it was the ribbon to Emily's present. I then looked at the tabletop and sure enough, I found the mailing envelope pried open, the envelope to the card ripped to shreds, some of the card was torn off but luckily she had not opened the gift yet. I should be able to fix it.


The dog was lying down in our entry way. I looked around and saw Ella's zip lock baggie covered with dog slime but I caught him before he could get to the snacks. That dog just waits for me to leave the room and then goes into sneaky, mission impossible mode trying to get whatever food has been left out. I seriously already have three kids, not counting my current pregnancy.


So after all that stuff, Ella worked on an art project and I took a few pictures. I wanted to get some pics of her hands because they won't stay small forever.

The results are in.

Jonathan's read-a-thon ended Tuesday night at 8pm. He read until the last possible minute. He read every day and the outcome added up to 1,248 minutes... more than double his original goal of 500. The wrap-up ceremony will take place April 8th and Jonathan should receive his gold medal.

Thank you family members for sponsoring him. He was able to raise $32.00, which goes into providing some wonderful field trips and events for the kids.