Am I the only one?

Who totally missed this amazing engagement story?

Seriously. I had the biggest smile on my face... and then just tears upon tears. What an amazing thing.

ABC's of me. The Lazy Post.

I've saved this post for a day just because. A day where I'm lazy to post anything of some sort of quality material. I apologize for this in advance. But some days? I need a bloggy day out.

Let's consider this my day out.

A. Age: 25

B. Bed size: Queen

C. Chore you dislike: Does this mean I actually like chores if I just pick one? Can we choose : check all. I mean if I had to choose one it would probably be putting laundry away.

D. Dogs:  Yes, one. But the headache that he gives us at times is the amount of 10 dogs. He's a boston terrier mix... and although, I have to say he is probably the most handsome dog I ever did see... he is a terrier at its finest. 

E. Essential start to your day: Makeup. 

F. Favorite colors: White, grey, pink, turquoise

G. Gold or silver: Gold {recently}, but I will forever adore my silver.

H. Height: 5'3"

I. Instruments you play(ed): My voice? Ha. The flute? I don't know... none.

J. Job title: Intensive Care Unit RN

K. Kids: 2. Elliana, 19 months. Teddy graham, 11 weeks gestation.

L. Live: The Hoosier State. 

M. Mom’s name: Same as my name... my "real" first name.

N. Nicknames: Beknuts. Nuts. That's it.

O. Overnight hospital stays: Giving birth to Elliana.

P. Pet peeves: Napkins. When people play with them. The paper kind. So gross.

Q. Quote from a movie: I'm bad at this kind of stuff... I can't think of one.

R. Righty or lefty: Right.

S. Siblings: A brother, 28. Sister, 17.

T. Time you wake up: 630-730.

U. Underwear: What's that? Kidding. GP to the end.

V. Vegetables you don’t like: Cauliflower and broccoli. 

W. What makes you run late: My husband.

X. X-rays you’ve had: Chest. 

Y. Yummy food you make: Everything. Soups. Lasagna. Spag and turkey meatballs. Crockpot chicken. Pork chops. Salmon. And some great cakes.

Z. Zoo animal you like: I don't know... dolphins, zebras, and elephants.

Thursday Randoms, Bachelorette, and Pictures, and More.

1. I love that my girl is the only kid at the pool with sunglasses on. She is such a diva and stylish and so good about keeping her shades on.

2. The other night, I had this amazing dinner cooking. Potatoes cooking to later be mashed. Chicken in the crockpot. I go upstairs to shower, and then E distracts me with her cuteness... and next thing I know we are laying down cuddling to take a nap... and wa-la the fire alarm goes off. My potatoes are burnt. And in the midst of me jumping around trying to flame off the smoke from the alarm, I quickly realize that I'm not smelling the amazing smell of chicken as I normally do. You want to know why? Because I never even plugged in the crock pot. OKAY pregnancy brain. OKAY. You win.

3. How about all the twitter/blogger drama.... does it ever end? My answer is no. So the solution? Just ignore it. No one is going to win. No one is right. And no one is getting in the better post about it. I would say drink a bud light lime... but... since I can't have any... I don't even want to talk about it.

4. I have the potentiall of making a little bonus at work. And by little, the bonus would equal to $1K. Problem is? It's 4th of July. Second problem? If I worked this night... it would put me at 4 nights in a row. So, question of the hour, sleep versus shopping money? Sleep or shopping money.

5. The bachelorette. Jef is precious. Chris is a nut. Just go down to the final 3 already. And please tell me Jef wins... I adore him. Although, I have to be honest here... he's not what I would have ever imagined for Emily. But definitely a pleasant surprise, and I am a huge fan.

6. We went to Cleveland this past weekend and had an amazing time with family. I have a post coming up with tons of pictures. Also? We experienced a 5 hour car ride there and back with E....10 hours.... without.... drumroll.... a single breakdown! She was a rockstar. Whined probably two times, that lasted 20 seconds each. That gives me hope for August when we go down to SC!!

7. I spent 250 at the grocery store yesterday. Organic food doesn't mess around kids. It's serious business. But by now we are used to it and have accommodated the other finances. It works and it gives us a peace of mind. But still. Doesn't mean I like seeing that number go up and up.

8. My sister sent me this email the other day. Christmas ideas. Girlfriend really knows how to work it.

9. Elliana and I went to toddler time at the library the other day and I seriously, almost, maybe I did, cry because my big girl was absolutely amazing. She sat through the whole story time {3 books} without making a peep while the other kiddos ran and were definitely a distraction. And then she sat down through craft time and really focused. Oh boy what a difference from before. I am looking forward to weekly toddler time!!

10. Pickles. I picked up a jar at the grocery store yesterday. I honestly haven't had a pickle in years. And here I am... devouring 4 slices. YUMMMMy. Can you tell I'm pregnant?

11. Speaking of pregnancy.... here's a glimpse of the 12 week bump. No worries, official bump attack post to come tomorrow.

Scheduled Posts


Friday: Bump attack; 12 weeks
Monday: Why I switched Doctors
Tuesday: Motherhood Randoms part II
Wednesday: Happy 4th of July
Thursday: Randoms
Friday: Bump Attack; 13 weeks

What keeps me from getting my best night's sleep.

What keeps me from getting my best night's sleep?

Sleep is an important thing in my life. Seeing as how I work night shift and juggle the daily adventures of toddlerhood and taking care of our home and my loving husband, I don't get quite as much of it as I'd like to. So on the nights that I am off? You better believe I try to make up for all the lost hours of precious sleep.

But in order for me to get the appropriate sleep that I so despirately desire and need, there are certain factors that need to be set forth such as daily "must do's" checked off the list so I'm not constantly thinking about them, my belly nice and full and satisfied, and the husband next to my side as my "big spoon. All of these are crucial in me getting a good nights rest. One thing off? And I'm doomed.

You want to know what will most definitely, 100% gaurantee, me from having a good night's rest?

One word. Elliana.

Yes. That child of mine. I'm not talking about her getting up in the middle of the night. Thankfully she hasn't done that since she was 3 months old. And it's not because she goes to bed late or gets up super early. Thankfully she gets on average 11-12 hours of sleep.

What I'm talking about here... when it involves the "lack of good sleep" department... is her actually sleeping with us.

Now, we have never been fortunate as far as "co-sleeping" goes so we don't even try to push it anymore. On a rare occasion I will attempt it in hopes of her changing, but each and everytime, it's a big fat fail.

The only times that we are forced to "co-sleep" is when we are traveling and she just doesn't do well with the pack-n-play. Not always, but sometimes.

And then my friends, the tossing and turning begins. One minute she's at the foot of the bed, the next she's at the head. One minute she's jabbing me in the stomach, the next my face. And she's loud. Oh man is she loud.

So as a result, we try to avoid this situation as much as possible. And thankfully? We've only had to battle the sleepless nights with the toddler approximately five or six times.

Thankfully.

Download a coupon for Zzzquil http://kroger.com/zzzquil


 I was compensated for this post as a member of Clever Girls Collective. All the opinions expressed here are my own.

Deals of the Week... LOTS of them!!

1. Hurry! I just received an email from The Limited about their huge additional off clearance 40%.  Items are marked down from $80.00 to $10.00!

2. Also, as always, Zulily has some amazing deals for moms and babies... and women in general! Like Marc Jacobs sunglasses, sun gear, dresses, shoes, etc. If you spend 50 dollars or more, use code RETAILZU628 to get an additional $5.00 off your order!

dresses

nursery prints

Even stuff for the furry animals!!

3. Totsy is having some great deals today too! Remember, if you are a new member you get free shipping on your first order no code no minimum purchase required!

Amazing deal on todder/little girl rain jackets!

Halo zip up sleepers for baby's! greater than 50% off!

Toddler/little kid outfits

Tom's shoes look-a-likes, for a much lower price!

4. Buy 1 get 1 free dresses and shirts, and more at Forever21! You can get two dresses for a total of 16 dollars. And two shirts for the price of 10. That's a steal my friend! And if you spend $50.00 you get FREE SHIPPING! Hellllooo Christmas for my sister!

5. Express huge sale. Up to 70% off sale items, plus take an additional 30% off!

6. Last, but certainly not least... one of my favorite places to buy dresses from is Victorias Secret and now... they are having a huge sale on dresses {and other items}! Plus free shipping when you spend $100.00. Plus take an additional 20% off clothing sale using code 20STOCKUP

Now... I must get to shopping... my credit card needs some usage out of it.

Why Now is the Right Time... For Baby #2

Shortly after giving birth to your first child, you can almost garuantee that people will soon be asking you... "when's the next one."

And the, "time to have another one!"

And my all-time favorite... "now you need a boy!"

Variations of these sort of statements surely will come out of the mouths of your family, friends, co-workers, and even complete strangers. Oh for the love of strangers. 

Although they have never once bothered me, because I have to imagine I've probably asked the same question to a mother or two, they did however make me think about when exactly is the right time?

What does the right time even mean?

You see, just hours after delivering Elliana into this world, I looked over to my husband with the biggest smile on my face and said... "I'm ready to do this again." Whether it was shock that I had just went through a 3.5 hour labor, or the fact that I had already forgotten all about the morning sickness and pain of contractions, whatever it was, in that moment... I felt ready.

Of course it was not realistic, and definitely not a possibility, but it did make us think about it and come with the conclusion that we wanted to wait until winter time.

And as Elliana turned one and we neared the "date to prepare" I soon realized that it just wasn't time. Again, I didn't know when the time would be right, but then? The now? Was not it.

But months later, I got to thinking. Will I ever be ready?

And that is how my thought process went. I felt that I had reached a point in Elliana's life, our lives, that  I felt comfortable. I loved this stage. I loved every stage. With every month that went by, I completely soaked it all in and all of its bliss. I felt complete.

So then I would ask myself... what is missing? I felt complete, remember? And the truth of the matter.. I did. I do.


The love that I have for this child of mine... the love that she gives me and fills my heart with... it's more than enough. I felt as though my heart couldn't hold any more love. I didn't want to hold any more love. Unless it was from Elliana.

But Becky.... really? Do you hear what you are saying here?


Coming from the person that wants 3-4 kids... you are sitting here saying you are complete? What has gotten into you.

And thats when it hit me. I wasn't allowing myself to be ready. I was so caught up into being Elliana's mama, that I couldn't even imagine being someone else's mama as well.

Elliana was now 16 months old. It takes 9-10 months to grow a baby. I always wanted our first two kids to be close in age... 26 months seems pretty close in age. So, I ask you again... is this the right time?

And the answer was yes.

Because to be completely honest... I don't think any time is the "perfect" time. I don't think that my life or heart will ever agree that its ready, when in reality, it's not.

Not because I didn't want to embrace another child. Not because I didn't think I could love a second child just as much as Elliana. And certainly not because I didn't think we could do it, as parents.

Not because.

But...

Because no one can prepare you for a first child, second, third, or fourth.

What I do know?

Is that we will be ready when that time comes. We are ready now. We are overjoyed, happy, excited, and full of anticipation for this bundle of joy to come. We will make it work. We will show this child a life full of love and happiness. And the blessing of a sibling.

Is there ever the perfect time?

I don't have the answer to that. But is now perfect?

It's as perfect as it'll ever get.

The Puppy Love that we've all been through... and the kind our children will too.

We have all been there. Fallen in "puppy" love. You know what puppy love I'm talking about, right. The kind where you're barely old enough to be called a teenager because you just graduated from a training bra a couple months prior. The kind where you have a picture of him with a large red heart around his face in your locker, not to mention the ten others stashed in your agenda book. All while blushing at the site of his mighty good looks. Each and every time. You know the kind where you run to your mom's room at night and profess your love to her, for him. And you SWEAR you are going to get married. No matter what she says.

That's the puppy love I'm talking about.

So children, my dear children, when you're older and somewhat wiser, please read this carefully as I will tell you how your puppy love will not be your first real love {unless you are like your grandparents who have dated since 7th grade}, because yours truly has been there, done that, and screamed at the top of her lungs, THIS IS THE REAL DEAL.

I'm here to tell you, it's not.

Let me take you back when... yours truly, just graduated from a training bra {I apologize if I have a son who is somewhat embarrassed at the thought of his mother in a training bra. Or any bra for that matter}.

You see, I had just finished 7th grade and I would, in a few short months, be at the top of the school. The big 8th grader. The before high school year. The big deal.

And this particular summer my parents had planned a big family trip to Hilton Head island, and I was so excited I made my dad take me shopping. My poor dad.

I was determined to get my very first bikini {you see what I mean... poor dad}. And I remember the day like it was just yesterday.

I found one at Macy's that was bright yellow. String. And gave me some.... va-va-vooom {Okay, who am I kidding.. there was no va-va-voom to be had}.

I packed it in my suitcase and thought about it the whole drive down to South Carolina. I just couldn't wait to put it on and hit the sand on the beach. I was going to be like the big girls you know.

And the very next day, Sunday, I did just that.

Within hours of being at the beach, I spotted a boy. A tall, handsome, scrawny little boy that had a movie star smile. Insert blushing teeny-bop.

He eyed me too. Must have been the little yellow bikini. IT WAS the yellow string bikini. I was certain. And for the next couple of hours we would glance at each other and flirt from afar.

I had already, at this point, made up my mind. I was in L-O-V-E. Yes, the mind and heart of a 12 year old. I had butterflies, I was certain this was the "real deal."And I hadn't even spoken to him.

And as I am packing up to head back to the condo, his friend and him come up to me. And they do the whole, we're "15 or 16" deal. Older kids {turns out they were my age}. And the whole, "want to go to the pool" and "nice bathing suit." Pick up lines I believe?

MELT. I knew it... he DOES love my suit. Insert more gushing from the teeny bop.

So we ended up spending the next two days, him, me, and his friend at the pool. At the beach. Eating lunch together. Back to the pool. Back to the beach.

And then when he was supposed to go back home and decided to stay a couple weeks longer with his grandmother "just so he could hang out with me more" well... that is it. He could have proposed right there and then, and I would have said yes.

The hand holding began, and I was just the puppiest of all in love.

And on my last day, I cried my little eyes out, carved a big heart in the closet of my room {in the condo that was not ours} with our initials, and then wrote an entry in the journal that the owners have for guests...

"Thank you for having us here. This has been the best time of my life. I met a boy, and I think I'm in love.

Thanks to my little yellow bikini."

-Becky, Indiana 7/12/2000

Now, lets talk about the after thought. You would think that I met a boy on the beach for a week, innocent flirting, and once the vacation was over... then that was that.

Oh no.

Hello, princess love stories don't end like that right?

No. Lets just say said boy sent me a mushy gushy pre-teen, I barely have hair under my arm pits, email, that said something around the lines of..." I had the best week ever, and I can't stop thinking about you."

And there went my heart. For the second time. Jumping to the moon and back. Over and over again.

And so the for the next two years. Gulp. Yes. You read that right. Two years. We emailed. We chatted. We talked on the phone daily. We were... in puppy love. The poodle canoodle kind of puppy love.

And yes, I do recall being that girl running to my mom, jumping on her bed, and proclaiming that I was going to marry him. You shall ask her yourself.

So how do we put an end to this love story? Why you bring them back together.

I told him when my family was vacationing back there... gave him the dates... and wa-la... almost two years to the date... we meet back again at the very same beach we met.

Insert fireworks.

Except this time? Wasn't exactly the whole "princess and prince fairytale" that I had envisioned in my head.

In fact, it was the complete opposite. So much so, that I left that week realizing that... well... he's not going to be my husband after all.

The love story?

Ended.

My first puppy love story. Just like that. Over.

I'm pretty sure I cried some unhappy pitiful sobbing tears. Pretty sure. And I'm pretty sure I said at one point or another that my life was over now that I couldn't have my prince. Pretty sure. And I'm pretty sure that I told my mom to "get out" when she tried to explain to me that..."honey... there are more fish in the sea."

Pretty sure.

And you know what? She was right.

Because before I found MY one fish... I had to go through plenty others.

So children, when I tell you that I've been there... trust me when I say... I have.
And when I say that he/she is probably not "the one"... trust me... I know.
And when you have your heartbroken and you cry your eyes out?....
Trust me when I say...


There are plenty more fish in the sea.

My Do-Over Moment

Do you ever have moments or memories in your life that if given the opportunity, you would do-over. Maybe you would change who you were with. Maybe what you did. Maybe you wouldn't do it at all. Whatever it may be, when you recall that certain day or moment, you focus on what you would have done differently. And then you imagine it differently. What it could have been like.


For me, my do-over moment was my freshmen year of college.


Now, this may be a hard one to understand. Difficult to wrap your head around. It may even be difficult to explain for me. Mainly? Because of the fact that it was one of the best years of my life.

That being said, you might in return ask,

 "why on earth would anyone want to re-do the best year of their life?"

Great question.

Because after all, it was the year that I met Andrew. My best friend. The love of my life. The year I fell in love, and knew this would be the man that I would marry.


It was also the year that I lived life to the fullest. I did things for me. And me only. I made the first big "adult" decisions. And with my parents being a 100 miles away... I felt freedom.


And freedom is great, when you know your limits.


Thats what brings me to my do-over moment. And by moment, I would say would be my freshmen year. Specifically, my first semester. Before I met Andrew, before my life would change forever.


The thing about it, in high school, I was always the straight A student. I was the one that focused on school, being perfect, and doing things the right way. On time.


In college? I was the opposite. I didn't care about grades. I didn't care about going to class. Doing things the right way on time was the last thing on my mind. My friends and having fun however? Was the first.


And although I am glad I was able to have fun and experience my first semester of college at the fullest, I do regret the fact that my grades suffered because of it.


As a result, by the end of the school year, I was forced to leave my sorority and even take out loans for school as a last resort from my parents. It was the big wake up call.


The rest of college went the right way. I got the great grades. I had my amazing husband. I was out with my wonderful friends. I experienced it to the fullest.


So although I can't get those first 5 months back. Although I can't change what I did or what I didn't do. I can't help but wonder how things may have turned out differently.....


A do-over moment. We all have them. Any that you would like to share?

From Frididaire: The Frigidaire Gallery™Dishwasher gets dishes fully cleaned the first time, so there are no dish do-overs. Nearly half of adults admit to re-washing and/or re-drying dishes after the dishwasher cycle has been completed. To prevent dishwasher do-overs, Frigidaire® is stepping in with its new Gallery® Dishwasher featuring the OrbitCleanTM Wash Arm, ensuring dishes are cleaned right the first time.

I was compensated for this post as a member of Clever Girls Collective. All the opinions expressed here are my own.

Bump Attack: 11 WEEKS

Weight gain: None

Symptoms: The nausea and food aversions continue. Slightly better from last week, but still definitely there. Husband keeps insisting on grilling out, but that to me, by far, sounds like the worst possible idea on earth. Peeing like crazy. 

Appointment this week: On Monday saw the doctor...heartbeat was 171. Everything looked beautiful!

This week has been an okay week. One of those weeks where I have my good days, and then I have my bad days. For the most part though, the days start out good... and then at some point get bad. Its the food that really bothers me. It's like, I can't stand the thought of eating it... but then when I dont, my belly starts to hurt bad. And then the only food that I can even think about putting down is fast food {so strange}. Which doesn't really make me feel much better. So I'm spending lots of money and wasting precious calories on terrible food. 

We celebrated Father's day on Sunday so that was fun. Elli got papa a sweet little album full of papa and daughter pictures. He really enjoyed that. 

We also went to a "splash pad" park and although Elli fully enjoyed watching all the kiddos and running around, she would NOT partake in the "splashing" part of the pad. You know, all the sprinklers. Water splashing in your face. No way. Girlfriend does NOT like things splashing in her face. Strange, seeing as how she LOVES to splash water at the pool. But regardless, she enjoyed herself.

We also went to grandma and grandpa's house on Saturday, she made mama and Elli baby some delicious chicken noodle soup, which we ALWAYS enjoy, and we had lots of fun swimming at the pool. During this time, papa got to enjoy golfing with his guy friends who drove a couple hours to see him. He LOVES to golf and enjoy time with the guys. We love how happy it makes him too.

Gender predictions: Still jumping back and forth from boy to girl. Initially, I had thought boy. But lately, I've been thinking we will have another mini-Elli. Just because for some reason, I cannot imagine a boy in a our family right now. Would LOVE to have a boy. But would also LOVE to have a girl. So we shall see....

What's coming up: Appointment in less than 4 weeks. Trip to Cleveland to see some of Andrew's family. Trip to Cincinnati to see his grandmother. And mama's birthday in a month! 

Vegetable fruit smoothies... hello GENIUS.

Image Source

You know what is really really stinking clever? Smoothies.

You know what I never knew existed? Vegetable smoothies.

You know what I'm amazed by? The fact that they taste good.


And you know what's even more awesome than the taste? My child drinks them too.

After all, this was the reason behind my most recent google search term: force vegetables down my child's throat any way possible.


Okay, maybe that wasn't my search term. But it was "vegetable fruit smoothie." It was the "talk" all over the social media. And we all know that the social media is full of brilliant ideas, right?


Well this one was just that. Brilliant.

Problem is... I didn't own a blender. Problem solved: I went out and purchased a blender.

Now. Being the cheap-o that I am when it comes to stuff that I don't know anything about, I purchase the not the cheapest but definitely close to it blender. The one the husband definitely insisted on me not buying. Oh husbands, what do they know anyway?


Well friends, food for thought...  spend the extra money.

Anyway, it does its job. I follow the recipe to a T. Ha. Lies. I twirk it a little bit, as I do with just about every recipe I run across. Grapes. Banana. Apple. Spinach. Carrots. Vanilla Yogurt. 


Then I have Andrew mess around with it [since it wasn't working for me by pressing the blend button]. Turns out, he had to shake it to make it work. Again, reminder, spend the extra money.

And then we taste out the product. Yum. Yum. Yum. Lick those lips, yum.

And then we give it to the little person standing next to us, wondering... moment of truth... will this work?

IT WORKED!

She scarfed down that smoothie quicker than speed.

I'm pretty sure she licked her lips afterwards. Yes. Pretty sure.

So? Moral of the story?

1. Spend money on a quality smoothie. 2. Look up some great recipes. 3. And pour that stuff down your child's throat.

Or your throat.
Or the dogs.
We all could use some nasty vegetables hidden by the delicious taste of fruit in our lives.
Fact.

This week in pictures and words. {Thursday Randoms}

One of my favorite parts about Thursday Randoms... is that there are no rules. It can get as random as random gets. And today? Well I'm focusing on the picture part to tell the story.

Because sometimes? I just don't want to talk. Or write. Or blabber blabber.

So? The pictures will talk for me.

And this past week.....

We took belly pictures.

I took walks with my belly and my elli girl. Elli belly.

During our walk we would stop to enjoy a smoothie. A first for the Ell bell.

Ate fruit after a busy day at the park including a splash pad {which.. splashing water is not E's cup of tea}

Made a vegetable fruit smoothie for the very first time {post to come on this}.

And the toddler devoured it... obviously.... while in her fancy schmancy robe.

We slept funny. Real funny.

Went to the pool... with the prego belly

Went to the big one day sale on Saturday with my mama at Macy's & H&M and purchased tons of great goodies! 4 dresses for me... a pair of shoes... 4 PJ's for Elli and outfits for her and my nephew.

Total spent: $50.00

Built castles at my parent's house.... my baby did obviously. She's talented.

Took driver's ED.... clearly Elliana is a pro already.

Girl time at my parent's pool with E, my sister, and ME

Practiced our sass skills.

Snuggled with grandma

Fed each other raspberries. 

Made amazing crockpot dinner recipes.

Estrea Winner

Chelsea T- you should be receiving an email from Molly soon. Congrats again!

Scheduled Posts

Friday: Bump Attack 11 weeks

Monday: Puppy Love

Tuesday: Why now is the perfect time for baby #2

Wednesday: Motherhood word vomit part II

Thursday: Thursday Randoms

Friday: Bump Attack 12 weeks

19 months Elliana {a litttttle late}

6.08.12
Dear Elliana,

We can officially say on here now that you will be a BIG SISTER!!! Although we already knew last month when you had turned 18 months old, we still hadn't told anyone so I couldn't quite write it in your letter. But here we are, my beautiful darling baby, you will soon be one amazing loving big sister. Can you believe it? Of course not! I don't think you really care, nor understand... but one day you will realize how important this is to our family, and to you. I hope that you form an amazing bond with your brother or sister to be, and that you two always are close and true to one another. It brings tears to my eyes just thinking about how special our family is going to be. A family of four. And although I do have my moments where I worry about whether or not you will adjust well, and whether or not you will think that mama isn't giving you enough of her time, I know that all will be okay. But, anywho, this month is all about YOU so lets talk about YOU.

You have been a talking talking TALKING machine. You repeat just about everything we say. You say so many words every day and are able to communicate with us with what you want, and then you jibber jabber the rest of the time. You have been a dancing, twirling, and KISSING little nugget. It has been such a fun month with you darling.... but then again when is it not?

It just gets better and better with time.

We love you to the moon and back, forever and ever, to infinity and beyond.
Love,
Mama and Papa, and your baby brudder or sista.

Weight: 25 pounds {75th percentile}
Length: 33 inches {75th percentile}
Head: 48 cm {90th percentile}

Size 5 shoe
Size 4 diaper
Size 18months-24 months clothes

We had your 18 month visit this past month and you again passed with flyijng colors. The doctor is amazed that you have yet to be sick and have never had to go in besides your well visits. We knock on wood and thank the Lord to keep it that way.

You did however, shortly after your appointment, catch a little cold and had a low grade fever. Of course it only lasted a day and it didn't phase you one bit. My little cuddle stink monster.

Saying more new words {we are up to 50-75 words}: apple {appa}, stop it {sop-it}, please {peas}, thank you {ten you}, teeth, baby, ni ni {night night}, miiine, naase {nose}, beach, boa {boat}, swim, poo {pool}, sween {swing}, knees, head, hair, hairbow, pee pee {pee}, poo {poop}. perrr {pear}, keys, pashlee {lets go in russian}, lego {lets go}. And all the other ones that you know.

Into this weird twirling phase. We will just find you twirling and twirling around in the living room until you flop down and make youself belly giggle up a storm. Then? Get up and do it again. You think its the funniest thing EVER.

Kissing like crazy. You hand out kisses like you are getting paid. And if you were? You would be one rich lady right now. We don't even have to ask for them. You sit there on the couch and turn around and smooch. You will come up to us randomly and smooch. Then another after another. And now you give them out to other family members and absolutely love with spoil them with kisses. Of course I think they love it even more than you do.

You give tons of hugs too.

And you get SO upset if mama "fake cries." In fact, for the first time ever you broke down in tears when I did this and it absolutely broke my heart. I felt so bad because I didn't realize that you would be so sad for mama. Of course it touched me that you care so much about me.

You reverted back in the eating department. Again, you aren't doing great with your dinners... just eat about half. And now you are picky wtih your lunches too. EVEN peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, you eat about half your plate. We do however make up for it during the day by incorporating lots of fruit and snacks.

As far as sleep, still doing wonderful with a couple of bumps in the road. A few times now {and by a few I mean like 7-10 days} you have woken up at 630 instead of your usual 730. Not sure about where this change came from, but either way, you are up and ready. However.... you are MUCH more crankier and needy because of this time change, which again, just confuses me. Also, you have fought naps a few times. You would go down just fine, and then randomly you would just start crying and whining and then as far as yelling for me. A few times, I have done just that... went and got you, played for a couple hours, and then put you down again. However, I quickly learned that you just figured ou that you could get out that way. So within no time, you would fall asleep and nap your usual 3-4 hours.

You completed your swim lessons. And if I'm going to be honest... we skipped just a couple... due to the fact that the neighborhood pool is now open... and well... thats a whole lo more fun.

Speaking of the pool, you LOVE the pool. LOVE. We can go for 2-3 hours at a time, and you still are as happy as the minute you arrived. You love to sit at the top of the steps and splash at the mama, point to the kids, jump into my arms, and shriek with excitement. You think you are such a big girl. But all the kiddies at the pool come up to you and call you baby. Well, thats because you are still a baby :)

You grandma S came to visit you for a few days and you showed off all your tricks, loved on her, and had an absolute blast.

Wagon rides have been an absolute must in his house ever since mama whipped it out from the attic. You adore your wagon.

We went to the zoo again, twice actually this past month, and as always, you loved it. However, the most recent time you were grouchy and not feeling your best so you were being feisty and did NOT enjoy the dolphin show one bit. In fact, mama had to take you out. Which is strange because the first time, you sat there with our mouth dropped in amazement throughout the whole performance.

Like I said last month, you have all your teeth {all the spaces are filled}, however you still drool a ridiculous amount. You can saturate a shirt in just an hour or two.

You have been extra cuddly with carson. I will walk into the room and you will just be laying on him and rubbing his head. It is super sweet.

Itsy bitsy spider is still your favorite song ever. You will put your hands together and imitate the spider as a request for us to sing it. And we do.

You are into this attachment phase {will go into depth on this on another post} and it's all "mama mama mama." No one else. And if your eyes aren't on me at all times? Meltdown city. I don't know baby what's going on, but your papa hasn't been too pleased with the constant neglect and thrashing out of his arms. We will work on this. Promise, baby.

Again, a beautiful amazing fun month. I look forward to the more summer months to come!!

If you spoke to our neighbors.....

{All these are things that I make fun of us for... and assume a neighbor would think. But all in all, we are pretty close with our neighbors... actually Andrew is... and they have nothing but sweet things to say to us... Now... who knows what they say behind closed doors}

-Becky and Elliana live outside. Rain or shine. Cold or hot. I think their only criteria is above 20 degrees and below 100.

-Sometimes we hear the mom singing songs while pushing the little girl in a red wagon. Someone needs to tell her that she isn't quite a talented singer. At all.

-Speaking of said red wagon, it's kind of large. Like... are you going to go abduct children large.

- Andrew grills out in the front.... in his garage.

-And the family of 3? Sometimes lounge around on their driveway with other family members in what looks like to me to be tailgating chairs. Hmm... time to make an investment.

-That mom character.... she sure picks up the mail in some strange outfits. Boxers. Boy undies. Baggy t-shirts {pretty sure she doesn't wear a bra}, a towel on her head, a robe, no shoes, a bikini.

-That Andrew guy, he works in his yard an awful lot. Watering the flowers daily. Mowing the lawn up to 3 times a week. Chopping this. Chopping that. The mom? Nowhere to be seen in the landscaping department.

-They have this swing on one of their trees that their daughters swings on... and all you hear is "weeeeeeee" and "weeeeeeeeeeeeee." Weeee weee weee shhhhhhh.

-And the dog. Lets talk about the dog..... ANNOYING. Sometimes, when they are all outside, they will bring him out and tie him around the basketball goal... and all he does is howwwllll.

-It's funny to watch that family try to leave the house for something. Usually the wife is hollering at the husband "Go back in and get this." "Hurry up, we're running late." "Ohhh Annnnnddrewww."

-One time they set up a sprinkler for their little girl {who clearly doesn't enjoy sprinklers as she has a look of horror on her face}, and no one apparantlely told the mom it probably isn't wise to set it up next to the road where cars drive by. Yaaaa.... it got me wet when I drove by with the windows down.

-The little girl and her mom will walk around the circle holding hands. Which is cute and all. But then you have the mom singing and then the girl's shoes squeaking. You have to go inside to get some peace and quiet around here.

-Lets talk about them taking pictures. IF my wife brought out some sort of stand contraption outside and made us take pictures on a self-time every time we went to some sort of an event... we'd be talking divorce.

-Speaking of pictures, one time, I saw the husband taking pictures of the wife in some outfit. Like she's someone important. Really? Is she going to post some sort of fashion blog? Ha.Ha.Ha.


-Theres a lot of smacking of the butt and groping going on at the house. Someone needs to tell them to take their business inside.

-As crazy as that family is.... they don't seem quite too bad. I think. But hey, we'll take anything compared to the family that lived there before....I mean, if it tells you anything... let me just say... I TP'd their house {prior family} 20 years ago... True Story. 

Mornings are the best when you have this lady....

Mornings are the best time of day.
We get to be lazy.
We get to lounge.
We get to giggle and have fun.

Mornings are the best because its us in our element.
Just E and I during the week and hubs on the weekend.

Even if I worked the night before...
mornings are still my ultimate favorite.

I don't do dishes.
Or laundry.
Or cook {on some occasions, I do}...
mornings are just solely made for us to be lazy.

So thats exactly what we do.

And something I love even more... is Elliana in her PJ's.
If I had it my way... she would stay in them all day.
Because she's that adorable in them.

Mornings are moments I treasure.