A Visit with Santa - 12.12.09

We went to see Santa on Saturday.  We walked to our downtown area (which is the reason that Kate's nose is so red!) to see him.  There was no line when we got there and the girls were able to just walk right up to him and sit on his lap.  We weren't sure how Ella would do.  She, of course, likes the idea of Santa, but we didn't know if she would climb up on his lap.  But she did - didn't mind at all.  I put Kate on his lap too.  The baby that needs Mom all the time was just fine with Santa.  She did pull his beard but other than that the trip was a success.  No tears what-so-ever!  Ella told him that she wants Tinkerbell and a candy cane because they were right next to him in a basket.  Santa gave her one and she ate the entire thing!  I say yuck, but she loved it!

Still here...

It's been so long since I have updated...not sure why.  Just haven't found the time.

Kate is now 8 months old!  And completely a Mommy's girl.  She loves to socialize with everyone - as long as Mommy is holding her.  If she is exhausted it's Mommy or bust, but she can be convinced to allow Daddy or Aunt Annie to hold her if she has had sleep throughout the day.  (Although she always wants Aunt Annie to hold her during church because Ann lets her have the bulletin and books.  She doesn't forget this from week to week either.)  Last week while Pete was holding Kate and I was waiting to get Ella from Sunday School, a lady came up to us and told us that if she was deciding to have another, watching Kate in church would definitely influence her to have one.  She said that she watches her every week - at the beginning of Mass she is watching everyone and socializing (mixed with a little yelling to get a little extra attention) and then she falls asleep.

Ella is definitely trying out her Big Girl-ness.  This is a very trying stage for me and Pete (and anyone else that may be trying to be in control).  She is not consistently taking naps anymore.  A tired Ella is a very stubborn Ella so some days are rough.  She also picks up on EVERYTHING we do...she and Aunt Annie were having a phone conversation across the table from each other.  Ella:  "Hi Annie, what is going up?"  Annie:  "Nothing, what is going up with you."  (What's going on or what's up with you)  Ann and I were doing everything in our power not to crack up.  And the Christmas lights, she can't get enough of them this year.  She loves to drive around and point them out to us.  It's fun to see her get so excited.  She makes us laugh everyday.

Here are some pictures from the last month or so...

Peace at last...

Our Zoo Lights Trip - we go every year but never again will we go on opening Zoo Members night.  Who knew there were SO many Zoo members.  It was miserable!

Downtown Gahanna has a Winter Wonderland which includes some kid-sized community buildings - Ella couldn't get enough of the bank.

What we thought would be our Christmas card picture...guess not.  Pictures are hard with Pete being nearly a foot taller than me.

Kate LOVES to eat - really doesn't care about the bottle at all.

Updating...

Let's see, where to start...

Kate is nearly 7 months old! She has 2 teeth and she is working on her top two. We got through lots of outfits and bibs! She is rolling over all the time and is enjoying a little more independence. She can *almost* sit up by herself and is just starting to push up when she is on her belly. She really isn't very motivated to be mobile. She prefers to be held by Mommy. She is DEFINITELY a Mommy's girl. She's fine with whoever until she sees me. Then it has to be Mommy - Daddy can be feeding her but the minute she sees me, she cries until I come to finish up! While I love it most of the time, it's really hard for me to get much done -and- many times Ella would like to have Mommy's attention, but Kate just isn't happy about sharing. Poor Daddy just feels helpless. Kate also really knows her sister. Whenever she sees Ella, she busts out in laughter. Kate thinks Ella is the funniest person ever! Ella dances for her and Kate cracks up. Then they are both laughing. We have tried to get it on video but when the video camera comes out, Ella automatically stops what she is doing and has to see what we are recording.

We went trick or treating last night (and the previous weekend when we visited Grammy & Grampy). This was the first year that Ella really got into it and was excited. She was a "pumpkin witch". I have no idea what a pumpkin witch is, but that's what she insisted she was. We just went on our street and to Aunt Annie & Uncle Zac's. Then she came home to pass out the candy. She would giggle and jump when she saw more kids headed our way for candy. I think that she enjoyed handing out the candy as much as getting it. Kate just hung out and watched - but by 7:00 she was done - she zonked out quickly!

Ella is really growing up. I keep hearing from people that 3 is much more trying than 2 - and so far I can vouch for that! Too bad that she JUST turned 3! She is constantly trying to see how far she can push us and see what she can get away with. And if she doesn't get a nap, watch out - it's going to be a LONG evening! But she still makes us laugh all the time too. This morning she woke up and said, "Mommy, my hair is a WRECK!". She was right, it was a disaster, but I had to laugh. Guess she's heard that a time or two! She told Aunt Annie a couple of days ago that she didn't match and that the thing in her hair didn't match either. We went to my Grandma's last weekend. She was playing with a remote controlled toy. She kept telling it that it lied. She wanted Grammy to spank it because it told a lie. Mom was cracking up. I don't recall having a conversation with her about lying but maybe she heard it at the babysitter. And she remembers EVERYTHING!

Ann & Zac are expecting a BABY!!! We are excited. We have known for a while now, but they are now sharing the news! Her due date is May 23rd - which is really close to my birthday - I told them that I would share! Ha! (By the way, she's feeling GREAT! No morning sickness at all!!)

I think that's about it. We are looking forward to getting some fall chores done at home this weekend. Last weekend was my 15 year class reunion so we got nothing done! We had a good time though and enjoyed spending time with old friends (new friends for Pete I guess!). I laughed so hard that I cried on multiple occassions!

Kate is 6 months old!

Our baby is already 6 months old! I love this time period when they change so much and become more aware of things around them. Kate thinks that Ella is the funniest person in the world. As soon as Kate spots her Kate cracks up. Ella likes to entertain her too so they are a good pair. Daddy made the mistake of calling Kate, Kate-a-rooni one day. Ella picked right up on that, however she thought that he said Kate-a-rudy. Now this is her name. Ella calls her Kate-a-rudy nearly everytime she is speaking to her or about her. She will ask people, "Do you want to see my little sister, Katarooti?" So it's official, she's Kate-a-rudy. And Mommy & Daddy, (and Aunt Annie) have been heard shortening it to Rudy (which was my Grandpa's name!)

At Kate's 6 month appointment she weighed15 lbs 7.5 oz & was 26.75 inches long. This puts her in the 25th % for weight & 90th % for height. She also had both bottom teeth and is working on the two top ones. She rolls over with no problem and is getting stronger at sitting. She will be on the go before we know it!

Make sure you read below - there are lots more posts!

It's Fall!

Ella & Daddy worked on Saturday cleaning up the yard to get ready for the winter. Her favorite part was walking through the leaves after Daddy worked so hard to gather them (always a big helper!). She also liked being in the bag and jumping on the leaves to pack them down. Kate and Mommy just observed all the fun! Next year Daddy will be lucky enough to have 2 big helpers!

Daddy's Birthday and Odds & Ends

Pete's birthday is one week after Ella's so he kind of gets the short end of the stick. We usually talk about upcoming birthdays for weeks and celebrate for at least a week. But poor Daddy's birthday is always crowded by Ella's. This year we did go camping the weekend before his birthday so that was sort of a birthday celebration. Grandma & Grandpa H. watched the girls while we went so Pete was able to enjoy some adult beverages without having to get up early in the morning! We celebrated on his birthday with pizza and a cake. Of course Ella had to help him blow out his candle!

And some random pictures...

Ella's Birthday

Birthday Princess

Ella is 3 Years Old! It's hard to believe that she can be 3 already! For her birthday we let her choose if she wanted to go to the zoo or to a pumpkin patch. We were at the zoo the previous week when Hudson visited so she chose the pumpkin patch. We went to Leed's Farm in Ostrander. She enjoyed going down the slides, jumping on the "Giant Pumpkin", but her favorite was playing in the straw. That evening we grilled, opened presents, and had cake.

Jumping in the hay (or is it straw? I always get it wrong!)

Hanging out waiting on Ella (as usual!)

She showed this much excitement with everything that she opened - cards included! And generally she said, "Oh Mommy, it's SO beautiful!"

Barely any spit on the cake after this big blow!

Daddy is being a good sport - it's hard being the only boy in the house!

Happy 3rd Birthday!

Happy 3rd Birthday to Ella - our big girl. We had a fun weekend in celebration - went to a pumpkin patch, ate cake & ice-cream, opened gifts, made cupcakes to share with her friends today, and played! She had an entire birthday weekend! So bittersweet for Mommy (& Daddy), but so much fun for our big girl. Where did the time go?

A Visit from Hudson (and Andrea & Jesse)

Andrea, Jesse & Hudson came to visit us on the 11th. Ella & Hudson had so much fun together. They don't see each other very often, but as soon as they pulled up Ella ran to the car waiting for Hudy (pronouned like Rudy - Hudson was born on our late Grandpa's birthday (Rudy) therefore Hudson's Grandma nicknamed his Hudy and it stuck!) to get out of the car. And the running and yelling and playing didn't stop for many hours! On Friday we ate some pizza, took a walk to feed the ducks (although both Ella & Hudy ate the bread that they were supposed to be giving to the ducks), and ate some ice-cream. On Saturday we got up and went to the zoo, played outside, watched some football and grilled. It was a really fun weekend. Ella & Kate were both exhausted on Sunday!

Kate was so good all weekend!

Hudson & Ella were so funny in the stroller

Visting Uncle Ted & Aunt Christy

Labor Day weekend we visited Uncle Ted, Aunt Christy, Kelsey & Kaiser. Kaiser's 8th birthday was September 10. Since I'm his Godmother and we haven't had the opportunity to celebrate with him for a couple of years we decided that we would do it this year. Aunt Ann & Uncle Zac made the trip too. Kelsey broke her arm cheerleading the Tuesday before we came so we were "allowed" to sign her cast. Oh to be 13 again...I noticed a signature that said "Christy". Apparently Ted & Christy were allowed to sign but they had to sign their names - not Mom & Dad so my request to sign Aunt Addy was quickly denied. But in Kelsey's defense, she tried to make it seem like a space issue - she didn't think that she had enough room for that many letters...ha ha!

Just Pictures

Here are some random pictures...

Ella doing "Ballet"

Kate LOVES her toes...

but she loves her big sister even more!

She can't wait to drive...

Trying to crawl

Working with Daddy (notice the winter boots - she thought they were necessary)

Cereal time

Falling asleep at the foot of the bed

Reds Game 08.29.09

It's been a while since I have had a chance to update...life's been busy!

The last weekend in May we met Mom, Dad, Ann & Zac in Cincinnati for a Reds game. Scott Rolen (from my hometown) was recently traded to the Reds. Ann & I wanted to see him play. Pete and Zac are Reds fans so they just wanted to see the Reds. Mom stayed at the hotel with Kate and Dad went to the game with us. He walked around and played in the playground with Ella (yes, they had a playground in the stadium!) We spent the night at a hotel and Ella, Daddy, & Uncle Zac got to swim in the morning before we left. We stayed at Embassy Suites for the first time - which was ideal. They have a separate living room and bedroom so Ella could go to sleep without us having to go to bed too. They also have a Manager's Reception (aka free drinks!) in the evening which of course everyone (but me) enjoyed and then a breakfast buffet in the morning. We were all impressed and we all concluded that Embassy Suites will be our hotel of choice in the future. Here are some pictures from the weekend.

Our Little Baker

Ella loves to help us make dinner or bake - anything in the kitchen. My Type A personality and patience are sometimes tested when she is helping me stir or dump in the ingredients!

Laying out the bread for crustinis


Making zucchini muffins

Aunt Annie Turns 30!

Aunt Annie turned 30 on the 26th. Ella woke up that morning and said, "It's my birthday". I told her that it wasn't her birthday but it was Annie's. When we called Annie to tell her happy birthday she told Annie something along the lines of Annie's birthday night. Apparently Annie and Ella were going to share the birthday after all - Ella would get the day and Annie would get the night. And as usual, Annie graciously gave Ella the day.

Ella blowing out Annie's candles


Oops...still lit, better try again

We are all in a Nascar Fantasy League (none of us watched Nascar before this) and since we have been watching we have all picked our favorite driver. Annie picked Jimmy Johnson and Pete found this shirt - it's a little loud!