Happy Slurpee Day!

I experienced a first today: We went to 7 Eleven for free Slurpees in honor of 7/11.  It was a little crazy...there was quite a line, but it was fun just the same.  My Slurpee wasn't frozen enough, but hey, it was free so I'm not complaining!  I'm just glad I didn't get any of the red Slurpee on my white pants...that was a miracle.  Anyway.  Thanks, 7 Eleven!

Proud to be an American!

We had such a great holiday this year!  Landen got an extra night off so we had a really long weekend together.  It was awesome.  We started the celebrations on the 3rd at the Manning's Pool Party.  It has been really hot this summer so it was so great to cool off in the pool.  Ellie loved it!  And she was the cutest little baby in her swimsuit and hat!!!  Oh my goodness.  Just let the pictures do their job. The Logan fireworks were awesome!  Ellie slept through the whole show.  It amazes me what babies can sleep through.  Oh, and we had cute matching red painted toenails :)

On the 4th we headed down to Springville to visit Jared and Megan.  It was so nice to spend a few days with them!  I hate being so far away from them now.  We had a cookout and homemade ice cream.  That night we went up by the Provo Temple to watch the Stadium of Fire fireworks.  It was pretty crazy up there...so many people!  But we had a great time.  Funny story:  Poor Rylie.  We may have scarred her for life.  She had to go to the bathroom really bad, but there weren't any restrooms close by...so I said I had a diaper she could use...yeah, I think you can figure out the rest.  It was hilarious though!  She didn't mention it the rest of the weekend...so maybe we didn't scar her...  Anyway. 

On Friday we went swimming at the new Provo Rec Center.  They have indoor and outdoor pools, it was awesome.  I stayed inside the whole time with Ellie, it was so nice to not have to worry about the sun with her.  She loved the water.  We had so much fun in the lazy river...but it wasn't too lazy, it was pretty fast.  She didn't mind getting water splashed in her face, which I am really happy about.  I don't want her to be scared of water.  (Sometimes in the bath I let water run down her face so she can get used to it...I hope that doesn't make me a mean Mom...)  While we were just sitting in the shallow water she was kicking her legs a lot and just seemed so happy.  So fun!  It was so much fun to play with Nathan, Rylie, Maya and Juliet.  Nathan and Rylie LOVED the water slides!!!  It was so cute!  That night Jared did some little fireworks at home.  The kids loved the sparklers!  Maya really loved them until she grabbed the hot part...poor baby.  Luckily she just had a few small blisters and the band aids sure seemed to help :)  I loved spending time with all of them.  Rylie just loved Ellie.  We call her Ellie Belly a lot (thanks to Adri) and Rylie loved calling her that.  She would say, "Ellie Belly, where's your belly?!"  So cute.  I just love those kiddos.  I can't get enough of them.  Even though I have my own baby now I still NEED them.  It was so fun to hang out with family and eat and swim and watch fireworks all weekend.  I'm so grateful for our families! 

I'm also so grateful to be an American.  We are so blessed to live in this country and enjoy the freedoms that we have.  Especially the freedom of religion.  I'm so grateful for all those men and women who have fought and who are still fighting to help protect those freedoms.  Happy Independence Day!

Grandma's House

My Grandma has sold her house.  My Mom grew up in that house.  I spent a good portion of my early life in that house since we lived around the corner from my Grandparents and then we visited often after we moved.  It holds so many memories!  I'm glad I was able to see it one last time while I was home in January...even though it was already empty.  Mom sent me these pictures from her last visit to the house before the sale is final.  I got choked up thinking about it...I didn't think it would affect me so much.  I always loved going to Grandma and Grandpa's in South Bend!  I'm sad to see it go but luckily we can keep our memories forever.  Mom reminded me, "Lots of sitting on that front porch, kiddo!"  And I remember all the batches of oatmeal without raisins (just for me) in that kitchen, watching Notre Dame football games, birthdays, Easters, Christmases, iced tea sitting out on the back deck, bird feeders, planting flowers, Werther's candy, spice drops and so much more!  We had some great times together in that house!

This is Mom's tree.  She got it in the 4th grade on Arbor Day.  She said it looked like a stick!  I would say it's reached its full potential!

Ellie's 2 Month Check-Up

We took Ellie to see Dr. Horkley for her 2 Month Check-Up today.  It went really well.  By the way, we really like Dr. Horkley, it has been a really good fit for us. On one of our first visits he said that he can usually tell pretty quick what parents are like and he said we'll be just fine and to trust our instincts.  He then told us that he has some parents that he wants to say, "No, please don't use your common sense...just call...during office hours...when you can talk to my M.A.!"  Ha.  It was hilarious...and I totally agree with him!  I'm grateful we found a good pediatrician!  He says she is doing really well and growing perfectly. 

 

Here are her stats: 

11 pounds 5 ounces ~ 52nd percentile

23 1/4 inches ~ 73rd percentile

 

She really is long!  She is almost too long for her 3 month pajamas already!!!  Luckily it is summer so I can usually keep her in a long-sleeved onesie at night.  She isn't too chubby yet, but she's getting some little baby rolls!  They're so cute!  She had to get her first round of immunizations today.  It made me really sad.  I tried to hold it together, but it made me cry a little to see her so sad.  I'm glad the nurses are good at what they do and get it done as quickly as possible.  I'm so glad Landen was there with us.  He's my rock.  I'm sad I couldn't help her feel better by treating her to ice cream or something...when she's older I'm totally doing that!  She did pretty well the next few days, she slept a lot.  We helped her out the first 24 hours with some baby Tylenol...so grateful for that stuff!  Overall, she did great!  I just got to hold her a lot and enjoy the cuddles.

Landen's First Father's Day!

Landen is a Daddy.  That is crazy!  And I'm not the only one that thinks that :)  Everyone says things like, "I can see Aubrie being a mom, but not Landen being a dad!"  HA!  It's been pretty funny.  But he is a dad...and a great one at that.  He loves Ellie so much!  I love watching him with her, it makes me so happy.  I'm so glad he has someone else to pick on now!  And it will be even better when she starts reacting more and more...he's looking forward to that.  We had a pretty low key Father's Day.  I made him breakfast on Saturday morning to celebrate.  Anita had us out for dinner on Saturday for Father's Day.  It was fun to spend time with family. 

I'm so grateful for Landen.  He's such a great husband and father.  He's so laid back which I love...and NEED.  He loves me when I go crazy and when I cry.  He is just a good guy.  I'm really lucky to have him!  Ellie is lucky to have him for her Daddy.  He's still so happy that our first baby was a girl. I think she already has him wrapped around her teeny tiny little finger ;)  I love you, babe!

I'm also so grateful for my Dad.  He is incredible.  He is one of the most giving people I know.  I'm so thankful for his example to me and all he does for me.  I love his cooking, his fixer-up skills, his spiritual nature and watching him with Ellie.  I sure wish he wasn't so far away!  I love you, Dad!

I'm grateful for my father-in-law, Wayne.  The more I get to know him the more I appreciate him.  He is such a great man.  Landen is a lot like his father and if he turns out as good as Wayne I'll be one lucky girl!  I love you, Wayne!  (One of my favorite stories about Wayne:  After they had Derek Anita handed him to Wayne.  He looked at him and said, "You'll be a lot of fun in about 6 months," and handed him right back! HA!  He still hasn't held Ellie, but it will happen soon...he just likes them so much more when they interact...she's gonna love him!)

Ellie ~ 2 Months Old

Time is flying by!  I can't believe Ellie is 2 months old already.  She just keeps getting cuter everyday and I keep falling more in love with her everyday.  She has been such a great baby.  Don't get me wrong, she has had her fussy moments.  I hate those moments, when she just cries and cries and I can't do anything to fix it.  It breaks my heart.  Luckily when that happens it is in the evening so Landen and I can tag team it.  I just remind myself that I am grateful it isn't 3:00 am! 

So, this past month has been great!  Ellie is starting to sleep longer at night, which I love!  She's had a few nights where she's gone about 5 to 6 hours between feedings, then she eats and goes back to sleep for another 2 to 3 hours.  That makes me one happy momma.  As I mentioned in another post, she has started smiling :)  She's starting to interact a little more.  I love watching Landen with her.  He's so cute.  I love cuddling with her!  She has been going through a phase where she won't nap during the day unless I'm holding her.  It sure makes it hard to get anything done, but I just try to enjoy it because I know there will be a day when I will wish she would let me hold and cuddle her.  Babies grow so fast.  Sometimes I tell her to stop growing.  She doesn't listen.  When I'm holding her she has started to like being held facing outward so she can see what's going on, though I don't think she can see a lot.  Hey, if it keeps her calm I'll do it!  She doesn't care too much for tummy time...which makes me really bad about doing it.  Grr.  I know I need to do better.  I'm working on it. 
Overall she is growing healthy and strong!  That is what is important.  We're so blessed to have her in our lives.  Happy 2 Months, Ellie Beth!

Reunited and it feels so good!

Ellie finally got to be reunited with her best friend from the pre-earth life, Abby!  We were finally able to get together with Tiva and Ryan and it was so fun.  We got to swap baby stories and these two girls are identical.  It is quite hilarious!  It made us both feel better that our babies weren't the only ones doing what they were doing.  I still can't believe we had babies due on the same day and they were born 4 days apart.  They were meant to be best friends.  Of course they did a lot of sleeping on this first meeting, but one day they'll be getting into trouble together.  They're lucky they are cute!  I'm so glad we finally got to meet Abby.  Too bad we had to bail out a little early because Ellie decided to have a crying fit where nothing helped...oh well, such is the life with a newborn!  Can't wait until we can hang out again!!!  We love you guys!

Above: This is what it would be like if I had twins...AH!  I don't think I could do it!

Below: Oh what a difference 10 weeks makes!!!  Pregnant bellies to babies!

BEST FRIENDS ~ Abby and Ellie