Me and Ella on our 1st Mother's Day together!
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Mother's Day
Today is my first Mother's day as a mother. Brandon had to work today but that's okay, I know that we will spend the evening together as a family. I was a little blue in the days leading up to today because I really wanted to spend the day as a family, but I now understand, after talking with Brandon last night, that for now it is necessary for him to work almost all of the time. He is doing his absolute best to provide for us and for that, he is the most wonderful husband and father. So instead of feeling gloomy all day, we went to eat lunch with my mother, sister, step-dad, and niece. We had some wonderful Chinese food and afterwards we met Brandon for dessert on his lunch break. It has been a very joyous day and I am so very thankful to be a mother. This time last year I was getting very antsy for Ella to get here already, but now looking back I wish I had been more patient in that time. I know that if we have another baby, I will try to be more patient and enjoy every minute of her being on the inside. I know, easier said than done! Happy Mother's Day to all the fellow mommies out there!
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Sunday, Sunday...
Today has been wonderful thus far. We went to Church this morning then met Brandon for lunch at Schlotzkys where I had a mini pizza and a slice of very yummy chocolate cake. I am so glad that it has been so beautiful lately. Clear skies and warm weather! But I know that the dreaded summer heat is just around the corner...sigh. But with the dreaded heat comes lots of change this summer, and I am so looking forward to it!
Ella is growing and learning so much. She is starting to wave her little hands and she bangs on the table when she wants more food. It is so very cute. She is doing well in the nursery at Church, something that I never expected to happen. She is on a great schedule and I love it. My little niece, Nevaeh weighs 14 lbs now and is rapidly catching up to Ella. They are so sweet together, they like to talk and hold hand(:
We have been studying the book of Jonah in Church service the last couple of weeks and I have learned a great deal about what is going on in my world. I love learning why the things in our lives happen the way that they do. Sometimes I need to just step back and look at the big picture! God is so good to me, so very good!
Ella is growing and learning so much. She is starting to wave her little hands and she bangs on the table when she wants more food. It is so very cute. She is doing well in the nursery at Church, something that I never expected to happen. She is on a great schedule and I love it. My little niece, Nevaeh weighs 14 lbs now and is rapidly catching up to Ella. They are so sweet together, they like to talk and hold hand(:
We have been studying the book of Jonah in Church service the last couple of weeks and I have learned a great deal about what is going on in my world. I love learning why the things in our lives happen the way that they do. Sometimes I need to just step back and look at the big picture! God is so good to me, so very good!
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Good enough..?
Quite often, I, like most moms, find myself wondering if I am a good enough mother. I read so much online about these amazing women who have time to do things that I can not even fathom. I continue to look for comfort from my husband as I face this discouragement. I continually seek praise to know that I am doing what I should be. When I make dinner, I ask at least a few times every night, "Do you like it", "Is there too much garlic", "Does this taste burnt/under-cooked to you?". Quite honestly, I am a terrible cook. Just terrible, i'm getting better but when I watch my mother-in-law cook healthier, more appetizing meals, I get discouraged. I compare myself to other moms and I feel that i'm not good enough.
I read something the other day that i'm trying to apply to my life. God designs each mother to meet the needs of her children, just as us wives are designed as help meets for our husbands. I am taking comfort in the fact that I was designed to raise my children. God made me for this job, so I must be good enough!
Even though I am terrible cook, my husband and my daughter love me. We love, because he first loved us! Isn't that wonderful?!
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Teething
So Ella has been teething this week and it has been a terrible few days.. I also suspect that she is going through a growth spurt. So she wants to nurse all of the time but it's uncomfortable when she's teething so she's constantly fussy. I hope that this ends soon, I want my happy little girl back!
I went to watch "Mirror Mirror" today and I did not expect to like it as much as I did. I would not recommend it as a children's film but for adults, it was pretty good. I am very picky though to as what Ella will get to watch on TV. The movie reminded me a lot of "The Tenth Kingdom" which I watched a few months ago with Brandon. I enjoyed that series a lot as well. Also something I will not let Ella see until they are older. But again, i'm very picky. I'm very uncertain about the movies that have been hitting theaters lately. I was originally hoping to see "October Baby" but it was no longer in my local theater.
Today was Tuesday and is dollar-off day at my local theater! So it was only $3 for me to go today, what a deal!
Monday, April 9, 2012
Easter Sunday
Yesterday was Easter and it wonderful. We were planning on making it to Sunday school but we didn't get up on time.. Oops.. We went to church and Ella was a little upset in the nursery and I went to nurse her. She did better after I nursed her and took a nap. Here's a pic on our way to church in her Easter outfit..
Her cute new bow lasted all of about 30 seconds. Oh well!
Her's a picture of her opening her Easter basket.
We went to visit family and here is a pic of Brandon holding Ella. I was sad that I didn't get a family picture but there's always next year.
Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter!
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Brandon's Finals
April 5, 2012
Brandon had his final exams this week. He passed all of them! I am so proud of him. He has one semester left and then graduation on July 31st. I am so ready for the next phase of our life to begin. He has been very busy this semester but I think next semester will be even more crazy. He is doing fingerprinting tomorrow for his background check. The background check has to be done before he can to take the NCLEX. He will begin looking for a position in June and then in July I will probably begin packing and looking for a new home.
On a different note, we have began the sleep training process with Ella again. It's rough starting out but I know it will get better. Tomorrow she will be 8 months old. I am amazed at how our little baby seems to be growing into a toddler. It is lot easier now than it was in the beginning. Partly because I have learned her ques but also because she has become more independent and better at showing me what she wants. I think tomorrow I will take some 8 month pictures, so be looking for those this weekend..
Brandon had his final exams this week. He passed all of them! I am so proud of him. He has one semester left and then graduation on July 31st. I am so ready for the next phase of our life to begin. He has been very busy this semester but I think next semester will be even more crazy. He is doing fingerprinting tomorrow for his background check. The background check has to be done before he can to take the NCLEX. He will begin looking for a position in June and then in July I will probably begin packing and looking for a new home.
On a different note, we have began the sleep training process with Ella again. It's rough starting out but I know it will get better. Tomorrow she will be 8 months old. I am amazed at how our little baby seems to be growing into a toddler. It is lot easier now than it was in the beginning. Partly because I have learned her ques but also because she has become more independent and better at showing me what she wants. I think tomorrow I will take some 8 month pictures, so be looking for those this weekend..
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Motherhood
April 1, 2012
I recently read a very interesting article about Motherhood and decided to put in my own two cents about my views on the subject. I have been mothering for a mere 8 months and am definitely still a newbie, but I think I have figured out a few things..
1. Laugh it out. When things get too stressful, it helps me to just laugh it out. When I feel like i'm so ready to cry, I laugh and things seem way less serious/scary/frustrating.
2. Don't compare your baby to other babies. I am guilty of this and it will drive you crazy. All babies are different and do things on there own time. When they're ready to be born, when they get teeth, sit up, stand, crawl, walk, the list goes on and on. Truth is, if you look at it this way, you will do nothing but worry until they reach this milestone and miss all of the fun getting there.
3. Find time for your husband and for yourself. In Ella's early months she had separation anxiety and would not let others hold her. So, I was home with her all of the time. To this day, I have not been away from her for more than 2-3 hours at a time. But, after getting very frazzled and frustrated, my husband and I decided that to keep me sane I have to find a little time for myself. I don't get it every week, sometimes not even every month, but it's important for me to get time for myself. It's also so important to keep up time with my husband. We love each other, and want to spend time together. When we don't get that time, we just feel off.
I will add more as time goes by. Again, i'm still a newb here:P
I feel very grateful that God decided to give me the gift of motherhood.
I recently read a very interesting article about Motherhood and decided to put in my own two cents about my views on the subject. I have been mothering for a mere 8 months and am definitely still a newbie, but I think I have figured out a few things..
1. Laugh it out. When things get too stressful, it helps me to just laugh it out. When I feel like i'm so ready to cry, I laugh and things seem way less serious/scary/frustrating.
2. Don't compare your baby to other babies. I am guilty of this and it will drive you crazy. All babies are different and do things on there own time. When they're ready to be born, when they get teeth, sit up, stand, crawl, walk, the list goes on and on. Truth is, if you look at it this way, you will do nothing but worry until they reach this milestone and miss all of the fun getting there.
3. Find time for your husband and for yourself. In Ella's early months she had separation anxiety and would not let others hold her. So, I was home with her all of the time. To this day, I have not been away from her for more than 2-3 hours at a time. But, after getting very frazzled and frustrated, my husband and I decided that to keep me sane I have to find a little time for myself. I don't get it every week, sometimes not even every month, but it's important for me to get time for myself. It's also so important to keep up time with my husband. We love each other, and want to spend time together. When we don't get that time, we just feel off.
I will add more as time goes by. Again, i'm still a newb here:P
I feel very grateful that God decided to give me the gift of motherhood.
Saturday, March 31, 2012
The Day in the Life of..
March 31, 2012
I thought I would take this chance to write out what our days are like around here. I know that she will grow up all too fast and I want to be able to remember these times.
She is still waking quite a bit at night right now. She is teething still and I do not do sleep training while she is teething.
Wake up around 8ish and nurse Ella, then I lay here back down for maybe another hour of sleep. I know that I am very lucky that she sleeps this late and I am sure that it will change as she gets a bit older.. But I am enjoying it for now.
Around 9:45 we go to the kitchen for breakfast. Ella is eating cheerios like a champ so I put a handful of them on her highchair tray to eat while I prepare her cereal. She usually has Earth's Best Organic Wheat Rice Cereal with a fruit mixed in. This morning she had apple blueberry puree mixed in.
I feed her her cereal and then let her finish off her cheerios while I prepare my breakfast. Then I take her to her play area where we play and I eat my breakfast.
Around 11 she goes down for her first nap. She is napping for 1 1/2 hours right now, and I love it.
While she is napping I try to clean up a bit. Also, I try to get some laundry done and get my lunch prepared, if i'm lucky.
When she's up from her nap I take her to the kitchen to feed her her lunch. We usually finish whatever fruit we had with breakfast. Then I eat my lunch while she plays in her highchair or in her play area. She is doing a lot of exploring these days. She rolls around looking for shoes to chew on or whatever else she can get her hands on. The only thing that I can think to compare it to is a new puppy trying to get into everything.
After lunch is when we run errands, if we have any. This is the best time to get out of the house because she is rested and fed. Otherwise, I may have a cranky baby in the car. And, that's not fun..
Fun things that we do out of the house include; story time at the library, splashing in the baby pool outside, going for a walk, & swinging on her swing. I also take her to the park to swing on occasion and after she is over swinging we take a walk over to the pond and look at the turtles and ducks, if there are any. Unfortunately, there are not a whole lot of things to do in our town, especially on a budget. But, the blueberry farm opens in June and I am looking forward to making a few trips out there to pick some fresh blueberries. I so wish that we lived closer to a Zoo. I would love to have a season pass to one and go often but that doesn't seem to be the case anytime soon.
After errands get done and we are home it is usually time for nap #2, so I nurse her and then she's down. This nap is a little more spontaneous than nap #1. It can be anywhere from 30 min. - 1 hour. While she naps I usually watch a little TV, blog, or catch up on Facebook.
After we are up from nap #2, we play some more with toys and wait for Brandon to get home.
Once Brandon is home, he usually helps with Ella while I get dinner ready. We eat dinner together and feed Ella a veggie or fruit. After dinner we have relaxation time. During this time we may play together as a family or do our own separate thing for a little bit. I love it when it's nice outside and we go out back and chat while we push Ella on her swing. He is one amazing man, and I love chatting with him about anything and everything. Plus, I have a lot to say after a long day of only have an 8 month old to talk to..
After our down time, it's bath time around 7 o'clock. We let her linger in the tub(supervised by both of us) a little longer so she can splash around and then I get her in her jammies. Some days we read a bedtime story, depending on how ready she is for bed. I nurse her and then put her to bed. After kisses from mommy and daddy of course!
After Ella is in bed, it is finally time for me and Brandon to have our time together. We watch TV or a movie together and make a snack. Right now we are eating a lot of cantaloupe and pineapple as our snack. But we also eat a lot of popcorn.
Anyways, after a long day, it's time for bed.
I am loving this time with just one baby and I am truly cherishing every moment with Brandon and Ella. I am a very blessed woman and I love my life. I do look forward to having more babies with Brandon, though..
I thought I would take this chance to write out what our days are like around here. I know that she will grow up all too fast and I want to be able to remember these times.
She is still waking quite a bit at night right now. She is teething still and I do not do sleep training while she is teething.
Wake up around 8ish and nurse Ella, then I lay here back down for maybe another hour of sleep. I know that I am very lucky that she sleeps this late and I am sure that it will change as she gets a bit older.. But I am enjoying it for now.
Around 9:45 we go to the kitchen for breakfast. Ella is eating cheerios like a champ so I put a handful of them on her highchair tray to eat while I prepare her cereal. She usually has Earth's Best Organic Wheat Rice Cereal with a fruit mixed in. This morning she had apple blueberry puree mixed in.
I feed her her cereal and then let her finish off her cheerios while I prepare my breakfast. Then I take her to her play area where we play and I eat my breakfast.
Around 11 she goes down for her first nap. She is napping for 1 1/2 hours right now, and I love it.
While she is napping I try to clean up a bit. Also, I try to get some laundry done and get my lunch prepared, if i'm lucky.
When she's up from her nap I take her to the kitchen to feed her her lunch. We usually finish whatever fruit we had with breakfast. Then I eat my lunch while she plays in her highchair or in her play area. She is doing a lot of exploring these days. She rolls around looking for shoes to chew on or whatever else she can get her hands on. The only thing that I can think to compare it to is a new puppy trying to get into everything.
After lunch is when we run errands, if we have any. This is the best time to get out of the house because she is rested and fed. Otherwise, I may have a cranky baby in the car. And, that's not fun..
Fun things that we do out of the house include; story time at the library, splashing in the baby pool outside, going for a walk, & swinging on her swing. I also take her to the park to swing on occasion and after she is over swinging we take a walk over to the pond and look at the turtles and ducks, if there are any. Unfortunately, there are not a whole lot of things to do in our town, especially on a budget. But, the blueberry farm opens in June and I am looking forward to making a few trips out there to pick some fresh blueberries. I so wish that we lived closer to a Zoo. I would love to have a season pass to one and go often but that doesn't seem to be the case anytime soon.
After errands get done and we are home it is usually time for nap #2, so I nurse her and then she's down. This nap is a little more spontaneous than nap #1. It can be anywhere from 30 min. - 1 hour. While she naps I usually watch a little TV, blog, or catch up on Facebook.
After we are up from nap #2, we play some more with toys and wait for Brandon to get home.
Once Brandon is home, he usually helps with Ella while I get dinner ready. We eat dinner together and feed Ella a veggie or fruit. After dinner we have relaxation time. During this time we may play together as a family or do our own separate thing for a little bit. I love it when it's nice outside and we go out back and chat while we push Ella on her swing. He is one amazing man, and I love chatting with him about anything and everything. Plus, I have a lot to say after a long day of only have an 8 month old to talk to..
After our down time, it's bath time around 7 o'clock. We let her linger in the tub(supervised by both of us) a little longer so she can splash around and then I get her in her jammies. Some days we read a bedtime story, depending on how ready she is for bed. I nurse her and then put her to bed. After kisses from mommy and daddy of course!
After Ella is in bed, it is finally time for me and Brandon to have our time together. We watch TV or a movie together and make a snack. Right now we are eating a lot of cantaloupe and pineapple as our snack. But we also eat a lot of popcorn.
Anyways, after a long day, it's time for bed.
I am loving this time with just one baby and I am truly cherishing every moment with Brandon and Ella. I am a very blessed woman and I love my life. I do look forward to having more babies with Brandon, though..
Friday, March 30, 2012
Sippy Cups and Finger Foods
March 30, 2012
I am beyond proud of Ella, she has started actually drinking from her sippy cups and she has started eating her cheerios by herself as well. I knew she was close to eating finger foods but I did not think she would start drinking from her sippy anytime soon. It's a very nice surprise!
Brandon got out of school early today and spent the afternoon running errands with us. It was very nice to have him home again today. We went to the movie store and got the next disk of Castle. We have been watching this series for a few weeks now. We are really liking it but we're almost out of disks so we will have to find another TV show to watch soon. After the movie store we went to get some groceries at Brookshire's. I did not like shopping there at all and will stick to Walmart for grocery shopping. Way more options and less expensive. Not to mention that Brookshire's is freezing cold and I can not stand it.
We also stopped by the convenient store and bought our first lottery ticket. We never buy these but hey, the jackpot is 640 MILLION!!! Makes me think of what we would buy if we ever won a large amount of money... But for now we will have to stick to earning our money:P
I will be looking for opportunities to continue working on the dress that I am making for Ella. It is meant for the summer so I hope that I can get it done by then! It's just hard to find time with all that happens in my day..
Until next time...
I am beyond proud of Ella, she has started actually drinking from her sippy cups and she has started eating her cheerios by herself as well. I knew she was close to eating finger foods but I did not think she would start drinking from her sippy anytime soon. It's a very nice surprise!
Brandon got out of school early today and spent the afternoon running errands with us. It was very nice to have him home again today. We went to the movie store and got the next disk of Castle. We have been watching this series for a few weeks now. We are really liking it but we're almost out of disks so we will have to find another TV show to watch soon. After the movie store we went to get some groceries at Brookshire's. I did not like shopping there at all and will stick to Walmart for grocery shopping. Way more options and less expensive. Not to mention that Brookshire's is freezing cold and I can not stand it.
We also stopped by the convenient store and bought our first lottery ticket. We never buy these but hey, the jackpot is 640 MILLION!!! Makes me think of what we would buy if we ever won a large amount of money... But for now we will have to stick to earning our money:P
I will be looking for opportunities to continue working on the dress that I am making for Ella. It is meant for the summer so I hope that I can get it done by then! It's just hard to find time with all that happens in my day..
Until next time...
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Easter Pictures
Since Brandon was home today, we decided to get some Easter and Bluebonnet pictures of Ella. They turned out way better than I ever expected. I think all women think that their baby is just the darn cutest and I am no exception! Here are a few:
She loved playing with those plastic Easter eggs! I am very pleased with how the pictures turned out. I have not had any professional pictures of Ella done yet because it is not in the budget, so I just do them myself.
I love days when Brandon is home from school. Even though I usually don't get much of anything done! He is very good at distracting me! For dinner we made pizza, cookies, and cut up a cantaloupe. It was very good.
I am more than halfway through the semester now and am finding it hard to stay motivated to get things done. I can't wait for summer.
Brandon graduates July 31st from nursing school and we are getting very excited for that. We are hoping he can get a job at the hospital here in our town. He is driving over an hour one way to get to his school and hates it. I don't blame him. This summer is going to be terrible. It gets up to 110 degrees here and he has no air conditioning in his car:(. So a job here in town would be ideal.
I have already started thinking about Ella's 1st birthday party and not even until August! We're doing Minnie Mouse themed and I bet it's going to be really cute.
Have a blessed week!
She loved playing with those plastic Easter eggs! I am very pleased with how the pictures turned out. I have not had any professional pictures of Ella done yet because it is not in the budget, so I just do them myself.
I love days when Brandon is home from school. Even though I usually don't get much of anything done! He is very good at distracting me! For dinner we made pizza, cookies, and cut up a cantaloupe. It was very good.
I am more than halfway through the semester now and am finding it hard to stay motivated to get things done. I can't wait for summer.
Brandon graduates July 31st from nursing school and we are getting very excited for that. We are hoping he can get a job at the hospital here in our town. He is driving over an hour one way to get to his school and hates it. I don't blame him. This summer is going to be terrible. It gets up to 110 degrees here and he has no air conditioning in his car:(. So a job here in town would be ideal.
I have already started thinking about Ella's 1st birthday party and not even until August! We're doing Minnie Mouse themed and I bet it's going to be really cute.
Have a blessed week!
Sunday, March 25, 2012
March 25, 2012
Today was Ella's first day in the Church Nursery. We haven't gone to church in a few months because she has had separation anxiety and going was just not feasible. I really didn't think she would last the whole time without the nursery beeper going off. But she did!! She did wonderful, I was so proud of my little baby. She has never been in any sort of daycare, even my mother in law has watched her for no more than a couple of hours. I think she really enjoyed playing with the other babies.
Well the service was also wonderful. I always enjoy attending Ridgecrest Baptist Church. The congregation is always so uplifting! I am so glad that I will get to go to Church again. I am fairly new to this Church and will hopefully eventually become a member.
"This is the day that the Lord hath made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!" Pslam 118:24
Well the service was also wonderful. I always enjoy attending Ridgecrest Baptist Church. The congregation is always so uplifting! I am so glad that I will get to go to Church again. I am fairly new to this Church and will hopefully eventually become a member.
"This is the day that the Lord hath made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!" Pslam 118:24
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Beautiful Day
March 24, 2012
Today was a gorgeous day! I started the morning with the yucky allergies that I have been experiencing the last few days but it got better. We got ready this morning and went garage selling. It was so fun! I only took $5 and only spent $3.50. I bought Ella a Taggies toy similar to this one:
$1!
I also got a pair of Children's Place jeans for Ella for $1 and an Oshkosh B'Gosh sun hat and some Robeez infant shoes similar to these:
$1!
Driving around looking for sales with Ella was way fun! Then we had the usual Saturday lunch with hubby at Chick Fil A. It was such a clear beautiful day today. God is so good!
Tomorrow I am going to attempt to put Ella in the Church Nursery for the first time. I am excited/nervous.. I hope she does alright, her separation anxiety has been letting up this last month. If it doesn't go good we will try again another time, but here's to hoping!
Here's to hoping we have another beautiful day tomorrow!
Shout joyfully to God...How awesome are your works. Psalm 6:1,3
Thursday, March 22, 2012
First Post
March 22, 2012
Ella's Stats this Week:
Weight: 15.4 lbs as of her Dr's appt. on Tuesday.
Height: 25 3/4 in.
Food: Still nursing wonderfully, eating lots of applesauce, pears, and squash. Also, some Plum Organics Puffs and Mum Mum's.
Likes: Eating, Swinging on her new dolphin swing, playing with toys with mommy, bath time, and Daddy!
Dislikes: Green Beans, strangers, and being in her carseat too long
Teeth: Her third tooth(upper left) popped in a couple of days ago.
Words: No words yet, lots of babbling and "singing"
Movement: No crawling yet, I am not sure if she will crawl. She is rolling tons though. She is definitely mobile!
Cousin Neveah(In the Bumbo) and Ella
In other news, cousin Neveah and Aunt Stephanie came to visit yesterday! We went to story time at the library(first time) and we loved it! We will hopefully go often. Ella was one of the youngest babies there but I really didn't mind. She loves to watch and babble to the other babies and children.
Since we have been getting tons of rain(!) lately the bluebonnets are starting to bloom. This is one of the prettiest times of the year to me, and hopefully we will be going to take some cute pics in the bluebonnets next week, weather permitting.
Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see. (Hebrews 11:1 NLT)
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