Ellie's First Day of Preschool!

I cannot believe we're already here! This is totally going to be the run of the mill sappy mom post, plus, pregnancy hormones, plus insomnia. Ridiculous.

I remember thinking how far away preschool is, but it's here! It does fly! Why does no one tell you that it really really really does fly?! You're right, they totally do. Granted, this is only her first year, but we're officially on a school schedule and as long as the boys stay on the same schedule, we are tied into a half day schedule for the next 6 years, AT LEAST!

But you know what? She's so ready. She loves learning. She's so social. Mom and Fitz just aren't cutting it anymore, and that's ok. It just doesn't make it any easier. I haven't done any crying, but that whole morning I had a lump in my throat and a knot in my stomach as we were getting her ready. I made sure to get up before her so I could get ready and focus all of my attention on her. I was in the bathroom and I heard her feet hit the floor, a gasp, and then a squeal of PRESCHOOL! She ran right into the bathroom, had her blue dress in hand, and asked for Elsa hair and pink lip gloss. I happily obliged, and loved listening to her chatter about her hopes and expectations.

I do need to rewind for a moment, the night before school, her dad gave her the sweetest father's blessing. He blessed her to be kind and brave. To find good kind friends, to have an enthusiasm for learning and a desire to make good choices. He also blessed her that it wouldn't hurt when mom put in her new earrings because apparently that was the biggest deal of them all. It was perfect and gave her the exact confidence boost that she needed.

Ellie loved having her picture taken with the sign and loved it even more that her backpack was involved. She's been waiting months to use it. And yes, she really does want to be a mermaid when she grows up...as long as Fitz will come with her. After snapping a few pictures, we dragged Fitz out of bed (he's such a good sleeper now!!!) and took her up to the school. She was almost shaking with excitement. We found a hook for her backpack, she took my hand, led me into the classroom, gave me a kiss, and found her friends. She didn't even look back. It's exactly what I had hoped for her. Fitz was actually the only one who did any crying that day. He was yelling for his sissy and for the trucks and none of it was fair at all. He actually kept trying to get back into the car for the whole 2.5 hours she was gone. He would point out the window, say "car" and "sissy". Darn it.

I have to remember her "about me" bag. They sent her home with a white paper bag that she was to decorate and fill with 4 things that describe her. I (mostly) let her take the reigns on this one and we were both very content with what she chose. She put in a ballet shoes because she loves to dance, an avocado, because they're her favorite. She chose her swimsuit because she loves swimming. The best part, and I swear she picked this all on her own, was the family picture that she wanted to include, because she loves being with her family the best. Oh, I hope she always feels that way. I hope we're her happy place.

I held my breath as I walked back in to pick her up. She immediately ran out with the biggest grin and hug. She could only tell me about recess (which she calls sesame for some reason?) and what she ate for snacks. But you know what? That's good enough for me. She loves it and I love that she loves it. I'm sure her spongy little brain is soaking up all the necessary preschool things.

So while I don't think I'm completely ready to let go of her hand, she's ready to let go of mine, and I'm so so happy for her. She's going to have so many amazing experiences and I can only pray that I can create the safest haven at home for her, where I'll be ready and waiting to listen and help.

I'll always be here for you baby girl. I love you so so much.

Ellie & Fitz at this moment in time

These 2 children of mine never cease to amaze and entertain me. They constantly have me laughing right now and I'm hoping I can remember some of their sweet moments to record as I sit here crunching ice and eating pretzel M&Ms (pregnancy!). Oh, and watching Felicity, again.

Ellie: This girl is a hoot. I love watching the way her mind works. A few nights ago my mom was here visiting and Ellie was shining a flashlight up her nose and stopped and said: "Mimi, why do you have spider webs up your nose?", referring to her nose hairs. Haha. Her favorite name is 'Lovely' and all of her stuffed animals, babies, future real babies, and her name while in princess persona. She's always planning or pretending something. Every morning when she wakes up she asks where we're going and who we're seeing. She's the biggest social butterfly and about dies on Sundays when she can't play with friends. Honestly, this breaks my heart a little because I'm not ready for her to need anyone else but me. A little selfish, huh? She loves saying our family prayers at night and she loves praying for the baby boy to make sure he's a boy, that Grandpa Lasater loves heaven, and that we say, "no no Satan, you can't come into our house today.". Her prayers are full of gold and I need to start voice recording her. One big difference between her and Fitz is their tidiness. Ellie is a tornado who loathes cleaning up after herself. Fitzy closes all the doors, puts away everything and wipes up his sisters spills. How do they even come like this!

Fitz: OK, so this boy had me worried for a little while. He was not, and still isn't, a huge talker. I had him evaluated at early intervention and while he was a little behind, it wasn't enough to qualify for services. This made me feel both good and bad. Good because he wasn't as far behind and bad because I felt completely guilty that I hadn't been putting the time in that I should have with him. He is such an easy going kid and Ellie is...well she demands more of my attention..so needless to say, he doesn't get as much of me as I should. The amazing thing is that once I started reading to him one on one every day his words went through the roof. He has about 40-50 words now, which is all he needs by the time he's 2 and he LOVES books. It's so fun to sit down with him and look through all the of the pictures. He's an observer. When we're outside he's always on the hunt for birds, bugs, cars, or planes (which he lovingly calls 'copters). When he sees one of these things, he stops, makes sure you stop, and points it out with the utmost excitement. He's still loving his pediasure and I'm not sure how I'll ever get him off of it. We actually call it his morning coffee because you don't speak or interact at all with Fitz until he's gotten his morning cup. He spends his time inside lining up his trucks on the arm rests of our couches and chairs. He makes different sounds for each of them and takes turns driving them around. He's such a boy and I love watching him.

Baby: I might as well throw in a few updates on this pregnancy while I'm at it. We're officially less than 100 days and I can't even believe it! He's making us a little nervous by measuring small, but we're getting another good look at him tomorrow to make sure everything is ok. I'm sure it will be. Around 10 p.m. every night he lets me know that he's there and kicks around like crazy. I'm starting to be able to feel him on the outside too and can't wait to let Ellie feel him. I'm pretty sure I'm set on a name, but Jeremy keeps throwing new ones to the list, so who knows what his name will end up being. Hopefully we can pin something down before he gets here.

They're all changing so quickly and I want to freeze time but I also want to get all of my babies here. Seeing them together is the things dreams are made of, seriously. I hope they always choose each other.

Ellie's Spring Recital

Ellie has almost officially wrapped up her first season as a ballerina. Apparently after their recital they have a month of dance parties. Oh to be a tiny dancer. She lives the life. We have loved Project Move and her teacher Miss Melanie is the gem of all gems. We recommend her studio to anyone and everyone that will listen.

Monday night, Ellie had her recital, which was the cherry on top of it all. I don't think there are many things cuter than 3 year olds in sparkly tutus attempting a choreographed dance. I had so much fun getting her ready. She is definitely my girly girl. She couldn't wait for me to curl her hair and put on all the makeup that she begs to wear on a daily basis. She has gotten much better as sitting still while I do her eyes. Last time she looks like a sparkly purple raccoon, darn it. After she was dressed and ready she was more than willing to pose for a few photos. During the whole process she kept saying that I was her biggest fan and she was mine. It couldn't be more true. I am by far her biggest fan and I wouldn't rather have anyone else in my corner.

We got to Viewmont High School nice and early to get some good seats, but of course I forgot Ellie's ballet shoes, so Ellie and I raced back home and made it back just before the show started. She ran right into the staging room and cozied up next to her friends. She was lucky enough to have 2 friends for outside of dance in her class this year. Ruby and Abby made dance a little extra fun. They loved singing Moana and talking dress ups on our drives to class during the week. I'm so glad she's already making such good friends.

I always worry that Ellie will freeze once she's up on stage, but of course, she started shaking her hips the second the music started and didn't stop until she was ushered off the stage. She is so fun to watch! She loved watching the rest of the dancers and told me each girl that she wanted to be like when she grows up. I wonder if she will actually stick with it.

 After her dance I went to pick her up and she immediately asked when she got to go back on stage. Luckily, there was an encore this time and she got to take her final bow and hang out with all of the other dancers. Even better, she got to sit right in the front and got a rose from her favorite Miss Melanie.

Ellie was lucky enough to have Aunt Tori, Nana, Papa, and Mimi join her. Mimi had to leave early so no pictures, but she didn't leave Ellie empty handed. She pulled out a huge peanut butter chocolate egg that was devoured in seconds. Mimi always has a good treat hiding in her purse.

Nana and Papa gave Ellie a pinwheel in place of flowers and I wish I would have gotten a picture of her face when she saw it. Best idea ever Lisa! She loved having her adoring crowd with her and was so excited to invite everyone over for cake after!

I had to snap a few pictures with Ellie's friend Abby. They are 2 peas in a pod and I've loved watching them dance and play together. We're keeping our fingers crossed for many more spunky years to come.

We did have a quick cake party after but I didn't get a single picture because I was a useless lump on the couch. I think everyone was in and out within 30 minutes because we were all pooped. We're so grateful to have such supportive family and friends. This is the good stuff of parenting and life.

Life at Home with Ellie

As most of you know, my Ellie Bean is a social gal. Every morning when she wakes up she comes into my room, sweetly says, "rise and shine mama!" and then promptly asks where we are going and who we are seeing that day. After I ruin her day before it even starts, by telling her no where and no one, I coax a few more minutes of shut eye by handing her my phone, sending her to make her bed, and then snapping a picture to show me. It's only about 5 minutes, but this girl has gone from feeling totally incapable to a rockstar bed maker. Her photo skills are also improving.

But, because I have my annoying pregnancy energy crisis, we don't get out as much as she's used to. She's coming to terms with it more and more and has gotten very creative in the process. Above, she's doing her own form of exercise. It's lasted for about 30.5 seconds. Besides that, she spends her time bossing Fitz, evading naps, and asking for every snack under our roof. She has come up with "bedtime snacks", which she always needs right after I've told her it's nap/bedtime.

Tori moved home and every since then Ellie has been all about her Aunt Tori. She puts up with Ellie's most ridiculous requests and will even play endless games of ispy with her in the car. I don't know where Tori gets her patience. Where ever she gets it, it never goes unnoticed or unappreciated. Ellie happily shoos me out of the house anytime Tori is over. She doesn't quite get yet that I also like to spend time with Aunt Tori and isn't happy when she has to share.

My favorite thing about spending extra time at home is watching Ellie and Fitz learn to play together. There are times when he drives her absolute nuts and she tries to stick him in time out. On the other end of the spectrum she cries actual tears of sadness when she finds out I've put him down for a nap. But really, for the most part they do pretty well. Their favorite place to hide out together is in Ellie's bed. She's load him up with lots of books and they'll spend tons of time just giggling and looking at pictures. The best was when she came down from one of their hangouts and she told me Fitz smelled like a smelly honey badger and needed a diaper change. That one gave me a good laugh. I've also noticed that when Fitz gets hurt or gets in trouble (by yours truly), he runs straight to Ellie's arms. It melts me into a puddle. He always has the best hugs and biggest puckers for her.

Ellie still misses her Uncle Cale and asks me to take pictures of her to send to him everyday. Cale and I share a love for The Office so we thought he would love this picture and Ellie was happy to oblige.

Anytime we do need to leave the house, she also thinks it needs to be documented...though I swear it's not that bad! Last week was particularly rainy (and snowy) so before she left she said that she looked so cute so we needed to get a porch picture! Haha, have I ruined her or what?

Tomorrow she's made me promise that we'll snuggle on the couch and watch Brave...after we go out and play with friend of course!

Ellie Ellie Ballerina

Ellie started ballet at the beginning of September at Project Move in Centerville. I knew she needed something to do this fall, and was hoping ballet would do the trick. Turns out, I was right! She loves ballet and spends her days dancing through life and can't wait for Thursday mornings.

I stayed to watch her through the windows during her first few classes and I just have to say, she has the most patient and sweet dance teacher on the planet. Miss Melanie is one of Ellie's favorite people in the world. She has so much fun with the girls and gives them good cuddles when they need it. Ellie is also lucky enough to have a few of her little friends in her class as well.

I've loved having Ellie give me recaps of her dance classes every week and she loves showing Fitz a thing or two. I've loved finding cute little leotards for her and the ballet shoes just give me all the heart eyes. Ellie wears them most days of the week. Every week when we get her ready she very thoughtfully picks out her outfit and is very specific on the type of "ballet hair" that she wants. I honestly never thought I would be lucky enough to have a daughter so believe me when I say, I'm loving every single second of her ballet bliss.

In December, she had her very first recital. She practiced her dance for months and months and I think we have the song "Susie Snowflake" etched in our brains. The day she got her costume I could see the tingles of excitement run down her spine. We had dress rehearsal, upon dress rehearsal (in our living room) and on December 10th she finally got to make her debut. I was a little teary walking her in to Viewmont! She is getting so big. I asked her if she was nervous as we were walking in and she said, "yes! I don't want to fall and get a hole in my tights!". Silly girl. However, she was totally telling the truth. She walked on stage hand-in-hand with the other girls in her class and gave it her all. I don't think there's anything cuter than 3-year-olds dancing. It was heavenly. She had lots of family there to support her and her daddy even surprised her with roses.

We're so proud of you Ellie Bean! Keep dancin' your heart out little lady!