Brennan is here!

Well 10 days past my due date we went for an induction and the newest member of our family arrived. Brennan Steven arrived on November 30, 2010 at 6:38pm. He was 8lbs 11ozs and 21 inches long. He has just a little dark hair and looks just like his big sister! So far he has been a really good baby! Only really cries when he needs something and sleeps pretty good at night. He does like to eat...a lot...so I can't wait to see how much weight he has gained in the last 2 weeks. Ella is adjusting well to being a big sister, she is pretty helpful when I need her and is patient when I can't meet her needs right away. She has started carrying around her own "baby", and mimics everything I do with Brennan, diaper changes, feedings, etc. It's pretty cute :) It's definitely a lot of work being home with kids and some days I'm not sure where the time goes. Whenever Brennan is napping I try to do fun stuff with Ella and we have done A LOT of Christmas crafts in the last few weeks. Ella is very excited about Christmas this year and I look forward to seeing her excitement on Christmas morning!

38 Weeks Along....

Well I am 38 weeks along now and so far everything is going great. I'm healthy, baby is healthy, and other than typical pregnancy related aches and pains I feel pretty good. I am still working full time and plan to until Nov. 19th, unless I deliver sooner. While my official due date is Nov. 20th, my gut feeling is that he will arrive late just like his sister! My guess is a Nov. 23rd birthday :). So until then we wait.... My doctor has offered me a induction at 39 weeks, but I would prefer to wait until he is ready to arrive on his own as long as baby and I are doing well. Until then...my hospital bag is packed, his room is all ready and we are looking forward to meeting him :).

Happy Fall

Well as I imagined once school started I got so busy I have had a hard time keeping the blog up to date. I am back this year teaching 3rd grade again and Ella is enjoying her 3 yr old preschool class at school. I am constantly amazed with all the new things she learns and love that she is old enough now when I pick her up to tell me about her day. It makes for an interesting car ride home! For fall this year we did quite a few things....We took a trip to Verhage to the apple orchard where we enjoyed cider, doughnuts, and a hayride. We went to the Zoo Boo at Binder Park Zoo where Ella liked the trick or treating, the train ride, and of course all the animals. And of course what fall is complete without a trip to see Gene the Pumpkin Man! We went just before Halloween and let Ella pick out a few pumpkins that we carved the next day. This year I was also able to go to Ella's Halloween party at school. It was fun watching her play with her friends and I loved the impromptu performance of songs, too cute! After her school party her class came over to my school to participate in trunk or treat, which of course she loved. Finally we took Ella trick or treating on Halloween. She liked going up to all the houses, but was a bit to shy to say trick or treat, maybe next year! Everything was fun and we enjoyed celebrating Halloween but I am ready to move on to Christmas. I can't wait to put out all our Christmas decorations!

27 weeks and counting....

Well I am now about 27 weeks along and definitely feeling and looking very pregnant! I am tired ALL the time and it doesn't help that this summer has been SO hot. I still get occasional morning and evening sickness, yea... and have been having some cramps/pains from what I am sure is my uterus stretching. This little one is VERY active, he moves and kicks constantly. Ella was a lot quieter than this little boy. As for Ella she is very excited for her brother to come. She has helped us with the baby's room by making some paintings and often will kiss and hug my belly. This week we brought the swing out of storage and when she saw it she said "when my baby brother comes out of your belly can I rock him in this?". I hope she ends up being the great helper I am imagining her to be.

Florida Vacation

The first week in August Ella and I went to visit my family in Florida for a week. Ella did great on the plane. This was her fifth time flying and she is really starting to understand everything. She pulls her own carry on bag and even knows to take her shoes off at security. She understands the seatbelt stays on till we are "high in the sky" and that when we land the plane has wheels and can "drive us to the building". On the trip down she even got compliments from the people around us on how well behaved she was. That really got the trip off to a good start. Being pregnant I was a bit worried about the heat, but since my parents have a pool it was fine (no swollen ankles the whole trip!). Everyday the weather was pretty much the same around 95-98 degrees, with about 80 humidity, with a chance of afternoon thunderstorms. The weather forecast doesn't vary much this time of year. So needless to say I am so glad we had a pool. I'm not sure how you would survive living there without one! We spent A LOT of our time in the pool and Ella is turning into a very confident swimmer. She is very close to swimming on her own! She loved the water and spent hours each day in the pool. While we were there we also visited a state wildlife park called Homosassa Springs, where we saw all kinds of neat animals, a hippo, lots of alligators, manatees, flamingos, etc. It was neat for Ella to see in person all these animals we don't get to see around Michigan. We even got to watch them feed the hippo. I had never seen a hippo in person myself and was surprised how huge it was! The day we were at the park it was VERY hot, well every day was hot, but this day we were actually walking around. A lot of the park was shaded so that helped but to get there you have to take a boat ride in which is slow and places you in direct sun. I thought I might die at one point, luckily the boat ride was only 20 minutes! We also went to play mini golf at a place called Congo River, which has live fish and alligators. I also saw my sister and her husband and we all had a cookout on our last night there. Beth is definitely starting to look pregnant and we found out she is having a boy too. It was a fun week! Hopefully we can go back after our little one is born and Beth has her baby, I can't wait for them to meet!

July in review...

This summer is going by WAY to fast, I can't believe it's already the middle of August! Despite how fast it's gone we have had a lot of fun. Shortly after the fourth of July my sister Beth came to visit from Florida for a week. It was fun to see her and her growing belly, since we are due only about 6 weeks apart. We went to the zoo, chuck e cheese, gymboree....we had a lot of fun. The week after Beth left Ella and I went to my hometown to spend the day with my dad who was also visiting from Florida. Ella even went on her first ever boat ride. We also managed a few trips to South Haven in July and I found out this year that Ella LOVES the water! We spent most of our time at the beach in the water. All in all July was a fun month, but it went by way too fast!

Gymboree!!

This is our second summer taking Gymboree classes and Ella loves it! We do both a play and learn class and an art class. We also stop by often for their open gym times. She loves all the fun equipment there and it's great because it's all age appropriate. Here are some pics from our latest trip there.

More interesting words from my curly headed beauty!

I think perhaps she is watching too much TV with me....the day after watching a "toddlers and tiaras" episode with me (Yes, I know it's a stupid show, I like it anyway)....as we were walking down the bread aisle at Walmart Ella looks at me and exclaims "You rock it out mom!"....good times.

Today at Babies R Us, she wasn't listening to me and I told her to come stand by me...she said "Now don't do anything radical mom"...seriously where does she get this stuff ?!

ELLA'S DICTIONARY......

cumbrella = umbrella

canola bar = granola bar

bessert = dessert

sumpersault = summersault

strawberry lemonade = Hi-C Orange drink at McDonalds

My own McDonalds = The McDonalds at Crossroads Mall

The castle = Menards

ba-mato = tomato

pammers = hit ( I have NO clue where this came from!)

Swimming like a fish

Well we recently finished our most recent round of swimming lessons and Ella had a great time and also made a lot of progress in the water. She is a lot more confident and seems to really enjoy being in the water. With a float block on her back she can kick and paddle by herself back and forth around the pool. She is always exclaiming "I'm an awesome swimmer!". I think according to her skill she is ready for independent classes, but since she is still pretty shy I'm not so sure she will get into the pool without me. We'll keep practicing our skills at home though. :)

IT'S A BOY!!!!!

Well we recently went for our ultrasound and our hunches were confirmed, it's a boy! We are very excited to be adding a boy to the family and really looking forward to having one of each. Ella seems to understand she is having a brother and has started asking when he is coming out. Today I went shopping with her to pick out some new "boy" baby things and she really enjoyed finding things for her brother. She kept saying things like "I bet my baby brother will love this" and "This is good for a baby brother". We bought a few outfits, and she picked out a bib and hat ( she was very proud of her selections!). We have decided to do the room in blue and chocolate brown and have already picked out a bedding set. I am really excited to start setting up the room. We are even going to have Ella make some art for his walls, a sort of first gift to her brother. As for names, we like Brennan, but are keeping our options open (we have till November after all) and the middle name will almost certainly be Steven (Craig's middle name), Ella has my middle name so it's a nice trend.

Whitecaps Game

For Father's day this year Ella and I got Craig tickets to a Whitecaps game and we recently went. We also took Ella to a game there last year and she did pretty good so with her being a year older I was really hoping she would be as good if not better. We had great seats again this year, front row behind home plate. This is nice because it gives Ella a little more room to move around without annoying anyone in front of her! The Whitecaps games are fun because they throw in a lot of fun activities between innings to hold the interest of the kids. Ella loved watching the mascots dance and even watched some of the game this year. We would like to take Ella to a Tiger's game, but let's face it the cost of tickets, plus the drive are not worth it yet when she probably can't sit still for a game. So we figure a Whitecaps game is a good start for her. She can see baseball, have the experience and it doesn't cost a fortune! She also enjoyed some snacks (of course). I think the snacks might be her favorite part. She did start to get a bit hard to manage in the middle of the game, but I suppose this is to be expected after a 20oz pink lemonade and a half of bag of cotton candy :). It's all part of the experience right?! The game ended with fireworks which Ella had been looking forward to all night. All in all a fun family night out!

Ella has a way with words...

Now that Ella is just over three she talks constantly. And I mean constantly....especially if you are trying to talk on the phone or to someone else ;) Her speech developed pretty early and she has always been pretty easy to understand. She started participating in conversations and speaking in complete sentences pretty early on. However just like any three year old in some areas she still speaks her own language. Here are a few of my favorites and their more traditional translations:

What she says = What is really means

"backum" = vacuum

"cramra" = camera

"potstickle" = popsicle

"big bed" = mom and dad's bed

"rectangle doors" = the cupboard where all the snacks are

"that is yuck for me" = there is no way I am going to eat that

"I have a really great idea" = I want to do something I am not supposed to

"cheese with stuff in it" = cheese quesadilla

"I love you in the whole wide world" = I love you a lot

A cute side note....recently Ella has been into "telling secrets", basically we whisper silly things to each other. The other day I told her I had a secret to tell her and whispered "you are going to be a big sister", she with a big smile whispered back "no I'm not". Things like this crack me up! Hopefully in a few months she be a bit more excited about new little on on the way :)

First Trip To The Dentist!

Well this week I took Ella on her first trip to the dentist. It started off good...she was really excited to go the night before and the day of (granted she has no idea what the dentist is). She was still happy in the waiting room, even walked back to the room and hopped in the chair herself. She got her bib and glasses on and seemed to be doing really well. Then they asked her to open her mouth....forget it, she refused. And I mean refused! I couldn't even pry her mouth open. Oh well, she got a toothbrush and sticker for her efforts and well be back to try again in 6 months. :) Maybe next time!

Summer Vacation!!!

Well summer vacation is finally here and I couldn't be happier! No work, no more getting up early, and no more long to do lists. I'm looking forward to doing lots of fun things with Ella again this summer. Last summer we had a blast and I expect now that she is a year older this year will be even more fun. This will also be the last summer that she is an only child so I'm going to take advantage of only having one and do all we can! One of the things we are doing again this summer are swim lessons and Ella is enjoying them even more than last time. She smiles the whole lesson and even remarked "this is awesome!", many times. In this class they wear a float block on their back which helps them be more independent and she loves that. She can kick and paddle her way back and forth across the pool without any help from me. However she is still not to thrilled with putting her face in the water so we're working on that. Other things we are doing include classes again this summer at Gymboree. This year we are taking art and a play and learn class. She really enjoyed it last year and she is already excited about going again. We will also take some trips to the zoo, the beach, library, museum, and any other fun spots. She has never been to the Grand Rapids Children's Museum, so I also hope to go there. In mid July my sister Beth will come to visit so we are excited to see her and her growing belly! (We are due a month apart!). In early August Ella and I will fly to Florida to visit my mom, dad, and Beth. This will be my last trip down until after the new baby is born so I am looking forward to going. As for baby #2, he or she is still cooking. I still feel sick from time to time, but I'll live. We find out in a week and a half what gender our little on is. Can't wait for the big ultrasound. I'm still guessing boy :)

Memorial Weekend

We had a great time over Memorial weekend. The weather was beautiful and we spent lots of time outside. We got out pool set up and planted our garden. This year we are growing tomatoes, peppers, jalapenos, watermelon, pumpkins, and cucumbers. I also have a strawberry plant potted on the deck and am going to do some herbs in pots as well. We spent a lot of time enjoying the sun and relaxing and had friends over Sunday for a cookout and bonfire. All in all it was a very relaxing weekend. Ella enjoyed helping in the garden, splashing around in her pool, running through the sprinkler, and playing in her new sandbox, a birthday present from Grandma Barb and Grandpa Bruce :). I can't wait until summer break when this can be our new normal. As for baby #2 he or she is coming along nicely :), I'm starting to feel sick less often and seem to have some energy back. Nearly 16 weeks along now and looking forward to our BIG ultrasound in a few weeks :) My guess is still boy....

Here comes baby number two!!!!

Well it's official, we are expecting baby number two! I am about 13 weeks along and due in November. We are VERY excited!!! We started planning to have a second one in the winter and I was lucky enough to conceive on our first cycle trying. So far this pregnancy has been very different than my first. I was way more exhausted and am also experiencing a lot of headaches and morning sickness. In fact I am experiencing morning sickness and evening sickness...it's grand. I've heard morning sickness is supposed to start getting better at 12 weeks....well I'm still waiting on that. Also with Ella I gained a lot of weight and I am hoping not to repeat that. So far I've only gained about 3lbs...so far so good. We heard the heartbeat for the first time last week and also got a surprise ultrasound which was really neat. It's amazing the detail and features you can see in the baby so early. I'll have my next ultrasound around the fourth of July and we are definitely finding out the gender of the baby. No matter how much I kid myself, I know I can't wait to find out. Basically I can't wait to start shopping for new baby stuff! As for what we are wishing for....truly just a healthy baby! I always knew I wanted to have at least one little girl, so when I had Ella that dream was complete. So now I truly don't care either way. It would be fun to have a boy, and one of each. But it would also be fun to have 2 girls. I do however have a feeling it's a boy, of course I thought Ella was a boy too. The heart rate was about 168 so based on old wives tales that means girl. Chinese gender prediction chart also says girl. I know I'm thinking about it too much! Either way we are thrilled! Also on a side note I found out a few weeks ago my sister is expecting as well. She is due on December 28th just a few weeks after me! So fun :)

A vacation and a wedding!

We are just back from our most recent trip to Florida. This time we went down for my sister Beth's wedding, in which I was maid of honor and Ella was the most adorable flower girl ever! We left on Wednesday night and got there late. Ella did great on the flight and had her own seat for the first time. She loves to fly and is always amazed "we are up so high!" she declares...over and over. She was also very inquisitive this time and asked a million questions..."what's that sound?" "Can we get off the plane yet?" "Do planes have arms?" .....so fun. We spent Thursday at my parents house enjoying the sun by the pool and relaxing. On Friday we headed to the beach to start wedding preparations. Friday was the rehearsal and dinner at the Tradewinds Resort where Beth was getting married. This place was BEAUTIFUL! It's a huge resort right on the beach and was a perfect location. AFter rehearsal we went back to our room to get some sleep. Saturday I got up early and went to Beth's room to help her get ready and get ready myself. We spent the morning getting ready and taking pictures and even had some time to walk down by the beach. The ceremony started around 4 and was right on the beach, it was gorgeous. Everything was perfect! We then took more pictures...more pictures and more pictures. Then we joined everyone else at the reception which was located right on deck next to the ceremony site. Again it was perfect and in fact I've never been to a nicer, more classy wedding. The setting was gorgeous, the tables were beautiful, the food was amazing, and a lot of fun was had by everyone! And while it's good to be home, I miss the sun already! I'm already looking forward to our next trip down this summer. :)