Ella starts Dance Class

Ella started her first dance class today.

She was thrilled to wear her ballet shoes, tights, and leotard with skirt.

I was a little nervous about how she'd do but I was certain she'd love it.

The first thing she told me when it was over was, "mommy, can I go back there again?"

Definitely a great first experience for my little munch.

Oh my Ella, how she's growing up, yet next to some of the other girls in there she seemed so little still. Sometimes I forget that with only having Amelia as a reference point. Anyway, she was adorable. We are looking forward to more dance!

Happy 1st Birthday baby Amelia

It's hard to believe our little Miss is now one year. She is such a joy and delight and the perfect balance for her three year-old strong spirited sister. Amelia is mild and mellow, but she's beginning to exert some of her opinions too. She's not afraid to go after what she wants, whether it's nana's diet coke or whatever toy Ella has. She has her own spunk, but she goes about getting what she wants with a smile and a dimple. I love that kid. I love both of them. They are the joys of my life!

Nana and papa went to Texas the day before Amelia turned one so we celebrated before the left. Then we did a small cupcake for Amelia on her actual birthday. The first set of pictures was our celebration with nana and papa. Amelia blew out her candle with a little help from big sister and me.

And nana's probably whispering she'll slip her some diet coke to wash down all that chocolate... don't worry, I didn't let her.

Mmmm mmm good. There's nothing like shoveling chocolate cake into your mouth:)

The "after" shot. A little rinse off in the kitchen sink. I love the face, but I really love the hair.

And here she is with her cupcake (Ella helped me make them and chose the pink frosting) on her actual birthday. Too much celebrating for one? Never. We make birthdays an event around here. Why not start at one?

She enjoyed the cupcake just as much I think. We just took her shirt off before to be safe.

So happy birthday beautiful girl! We love you oodles and oodles and we are so glad you came to join our family.

PS: Amelia's one year check up stats- 50th percentile weight @21 lbs, 25th percentile height. Two top teeth and two bottom teeth. Healthy and crawling all over the place, pulling herself up, babbling, drooley, and happy

Mermaid Anatomy 101

Today Ella was having a little conversation with her friend, Maggie. Ella had her new mermaid with her. It went something like this as reported by Maggie's mom:

E: "This is the mermaid's bum, and these are her boobies," pointing to the correct anatomy

M: "And this is her tummy and her"pagina"."

E: "No, that's her tail."

And this conversation took place in sacrament meeting of all places. Glad these girls are learning their mermaid anatomy in time for pre-school.

Girls Just Wanna Have FUN!

Sing it like your Cindy Lauper loud and clear... "Girls just wanna have Fa-un"

And that's exactly what we did. Ten girlfriends from church, all of us with young children, decided it was time for a girls weekend- no kids, no babies, no husbands. We headed to the beach for a two day, one night relax fest. That's right, no stopping to change diapers, head up to the hotel for naptime, or leave the beach when your three-year old screams all of the sudden, "Mommy, I have to go potty."

I literally think I sat on the beach more in the two days we were there verses the entire week we were in South Carolina. Now don't get me wrong, I enjoyed our family trip, but this was fun in a different way, and yes, dare I say, a more relaxing way!

We giggled, laughed, and got the scoop on all of our husband's funny quirks (some more than we wanted to know).

We enjoyed the ocean, only to come back and share twizzlers, m&m's and other goodies.

We headed out for Mexican our first night and followed it up with a dance party in our hotel room (or lack there of). Thirty-something mothers are all talk. Most of us were too tired to actually dance but we laughed and talked some more.

Yes, it was girl bonding the way girl bonding should be done. I felt like I was single again and it was a beautiful moment. But a moment was all I needed. I was ready to come home and kiss my babies good night Saturday.

I was glad to have some time with some wonderful women and the beauty of those kind of weekends is that they make you appreciate your family, and they make you appreciate friendship, especially the friendship between women!

Thanks ladies for a lovely time! I'm already looking forward to the ladies beach trip 2012!

Balance

They say at the end of the summer most people feel they're best. We naturally eat more fresh foods because they're more readily available, we get more sun, we get more exercise. I have to admit feeling this most every year around this time. My skin isn't as pasty white as it gets in the winter, even my feet feel a little better, and I have gotten more rest. But I think for me it's not only the gifts of mother nature during this time of year, it's the fact that most often I have most of July off. This summer I only worked two days in July, making this my most stress free summer to date. I feel... balanced. I've been able to spend time with my girls, spend time taking care of myself, spend time working on my calling at church, I've gotten more rest, and I've been able to take care of my home. I have been more than content and haven't had one moment of boredom. I've barely even thought of work outside the home. I've stayed plenty busy right here, and it's given me a lot of fulfillment to take my girls places, to make healthy meals for my family, to take care of my body better. I don't feel run down, and I know I owe that in part to just getting outside more, but I think owe it just as much to getting to be at home.

So where am I going with this? I feel very strongly that before we have our next baby we need to prepare ourselves financially and otherwise for me to be able to stay at home. Up until now I've been our primary bread winner and carried the benefits but I pray and hope that within the next few months, Shaun's oh so important job we've been waiting to come through will do just that... it will come through. With that there will be distinct opportunities for him to move up and within a few years I think it's entirely possible for me to be able to stay home. I've prayed about this and feel it is the right thing. Of course I've learned every timeline I give to the Lord has ended up just being a little laugh for him. I know it's hard to put timelines on your life, and you'd think by now I'd have learned to stop doing it. But this is a righteous desire, and I sincerely hope and pray we can be ready to make that sacrifice within a few years time. I really enjoy my family and even though my job has been very good to us, I know my heart isn't in it as much as it used to be prior to kids. I still am very consciences but I just know ... I just know where I'd rather be. In three years I will be done repaying my student loans so to me, that's a very good sign I've put my master's to work (literally), and I made a good investment in my education. So I know time will tell. Obviously I wont do anything reckless like quitting without my family having the support they need, but as we look towards buying a home within the next year or so, and as we make financial decisions, I want this to be the number one priority! So there you have it. Maybe some of you moms can weigh in on the subject, both those of you that work and stay home. I know many moms in the church talk about the sacrifice of staying home with their children, but for me, the ultimate sacrifice has been NOT staying home even though I have so badly wanted to. I just hope it's something that can change in a few years. I pray for that. I pray for the strength to make choices to support that (it's awfully hard not to on-line shop or want the best home or new car, but I think it will be worth it). So tell me what you think. And keep us in your prayers!

All in all I'm very content right now. I'm slightly sad as I know I will be working full time in just one short week. I love the people I work with and I love that I get to work with children but the children I want to work with most are right here in my own home. So anyway, this is where I'm at. I feel content. I feel balanced. I feel certain that as soon as I go back to work it will all come back... the feeling pulled and tired and like I can never keep up. But for now I will revel in the beauties of summer!!

Peek a Who?

Little Amelia is coming into her own these days. She is very interested in what everyone else is doing and does not like being left behind, alone, left out. We will put her in her crib for bed time but she's keenly interested in peeking out from between the bars. Ella enjoys joining her sometimes.

These two girls of mine... they are the light of my life, and the reason why I am exhausted every day by 2pm, and if I get energy back, I'm exhausted again by 9pm. Today I don't think I got that energy back. Too much bending over to pick food up off the floor. Does that count as doing my situps?

Amelia is babbling constantly and often says "mama" "dada" and "baba". She has become more determined when she wants something. She's quite the tenacious little bug. She crawls like a catepillar sticking her butt up in the air, and most recently she bruised my ankle in her cruiser- OUCH! You've got to watch out for her in that thing. She's determined.

Ella is hilarious. I told her brushing her doll's hair was a "pain in the butt" and she then pulled out her barbie and told me it was okay, she had "paint on her butt" too. Ella changes outfits about twenty times a day and refuses to wear shorts. When I put shorts on her once for the sitter, Miss Jen told me she took them off after an hour and said, "I not wear these. They are yucky!" So my diva prefers dresses, skirts, and all things fruify, especially if they are purple or have Ariel on them.