Pregnancy Update

If I ran the world, I would measure a woman's pregnancy by her comfort level, not by trimesters. Here is how I would classify each stage:

1) Sick as a dog
2) Feeling like a rockstar
3) It's getting uncomfortable
4) I am miserable

With that said, I am retiring my rockstar status. Things are starting to get just a little big uncomfortable...and feeling rather top-heavy. According to my weekly pregnancy email, baby is about 10-11 ins long, 1.5 lbs, and roughly the size of a papaya. :)

Ella the Disciplinarian

I bet you've never seen someone put a recyclable bag in time-out before. Lecture and all. :)

Horsin' Around

It's a relief to know that no matter how techy this world may get,

there will probably never be a replacement for an old fashioned horsey ride.

Making Conversation

Me: "What'd you do today, Ella?"
"Ella: "Camry!"
Me: "You played with Camry? Cool! What else did you do?"
Ella: "I got a warning."
Me: "A warning? Did you say warning?" (knowing we have never used that term in this house!)
Ella: "Yeah!"
Me: "...Were you naughty?"
Ella: "Yeah!"

Snow Day

One of the many perks of working at AEA is a periodic snow day here and there. Friday was the first snow day of the school year, and Ella and I had a fun time together!

We made a nice hot breakfast
We spent about 5 minutes outside
We watched SuperWhy, one of her favorite shows right now (compliments of being able to check out things from the AEA library before leaving work Thursday!)
We napped
And we cleaned and shared laundry duties--Ella was in charge of towels

We Hate Snow

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words... and this one says "I hate winter!"

My little snowbunny

Believe it or not, there is a teeny weeny little child in that sled, beneath about 6 layers of clothes. Haha!

Wild Sleeper

I'm starting to use the term "sleeping in the big-girl bed" very loosely. Ella's sleeping positions are getting ridiculous. Recently, after falling out of her bed, Ella asked to sleep on her fluffy white carpet. We allowed her to set up a bed on the floor ever since. Last night, Derek followed some whimpers into her bedroom only to find her halfway-under the bed.

A Quick Service

"I wanna go to church!!" - Ella tearfully yelled after waking up from her nap and remembering Daddy escorting her out of church today. Luckily he only had to walk her across the street.

Orneryville

We have been living in Orneryville for the last 7 days. Last Monday, Derek went to Mexico and that is when things really got bad. This family does not function well with chronic crabbiness, little sleep, vomiting, terrible diapers, and now, FINALLY, a symptom we can work with: a leaky, gross ear. We have a trip to the doctor scheduled tomorrow, and hope to get some relief from this ear infection.

Looking back, Ella had a cold three weeks ago, moved to her big-girl bed two weeks ago, and has been dealing with the lastest illness for the last week. It is very probable that I have not had a solid night of sleep (and that is exempting bathroom visits from the equation) in more than 3 weeks.

This Baby is Nameless.

If you're wondering about our progress with selecting a baby name, let me give you a little clip of our last unproductive attempt:

Me (reading from a list): "Marianna?"
Derek: "What? Marinara?"
Me: "Emory"
Derek: "Memory?"
Me: "Nora?"
Derek: "Dora!"

Friday Night Highlights

If there is one thing I love, it is cheap entertainment!

For example, who needs a gown to dress up in when you have your daddy's Adidas shorts?

Or who needs a bounce house when you're moving furniture around the house!

Toy Box!

You know you had a good Christmas when Derek has to build us a big ole' toy box to unbury our living room!

Vanna White :)

Time-Out Chair

I am happy to report Ella's time-out chair is being used less and less. There was a while there that it felt like we were using it every night! (I feel like I might jinx that just by talking about it.) Now, her behavior will usually straighten up as soon as we even mention a time-out.

This week, she has started occupying her time-out chair (voluntarily) whenever she gets told something she doesn't agree with. At first I was in shock because I didn't tell her to go there....... and then I thought she was confused... but tonight I watched her a little more closely and she is actually going there to decompress a little! I suppose it's an ideal spot for some quiet time if you wanted to step away. Sometimes it's tough being a 2 year old.

It's a Girl!

We are very excited to have another little girl!! In the 5 days we have known, there has been little progress:

• In ten minutes, Derek and I slimmed the "Top 300 Baby Girl Names" down to 5. We might need to look a little further until we find the perfect one.
• There is a serious misinterpretation of the term "baby clothes" in this house. Today, I purchased 4 items of clothing for this baby, and they've all ended up on Ella's dollies.
• Since Derek uses our spare bedroom closet, the closets are the first step in working on the nursery. We have been trying really hard to condense all of our shirts into our bedroom, and Derek has had to add in more closet rods. :/ Mission Impossible.
• Ella now has both her crib and toddler bed in her room. We hope to transition into her big bed soon, fingers crossed!