Summertime

I want to share some pictures of Ella enjoying her summer. Ella loves to be outside, and would probably be good being outside all day long. I enjoy having a reason to be outside in the water (as long as it's not too hot!).

She loves to be in the water and doesn't mind having water splashing in her face. She has a baby pool at home and her cousins have a slip and slide she gets to play on, and she loves them both!!

Todd and I have been taking her walking, and she sits up so big in her stroller just watching everything.

The only thing I've found about outside that she doesn't like is grass. But, she is getting better because at first she would scream when she had to touch it, but the other day she actually sat in it for a few minutes! I was so happy!! I'm sure this phase will pass soon.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY TODD

I know this one is very, very late, but it's better late than never. Todd is such a wonderful dad he deserves to have a post about his first Father's Day. I love watching Todd and Ella together because they have their own little things they do. Todd takes her on "adventures" all the time whether it's taking the dog out in the morning or walking through the neighborhood. He just has a way of making everything fun and exciting for Ella and us. I know Ella will one day tell him herself that he is the perfect daddy!!!

Thankful Tuesday

Here's my list of what I'm most thankful for at the moment:

1. That we finally got Sampson groomed!! He was starting to look a little rough and smelled even worse. Now, he looks so good and smells nice too.

2. That my husband wants us to have Sampson professionally groomed. He does ok in a bath at home, but it is so much nicer to drop him off and pick him up clean and dry. I hate brushing him and he hates it too so this is so much better.

3. That I have started to do those sudoku puzzles. I was intimidated by them for a while, but my sister let me borrow her book of puzzles for me to try out. They aren't that bad at all. I feel this will help keep my brain a working since I'm not working!

4. That my sweet baby girl is now laying down to take naps!!!! I know most moms get this pleasure from day 1, but Ella has never wanted to lay down during the day. I didn't start this, but I didn't push her to lay down either. I really enjoyed holding her all the time, but I realized too that I would really enjoy her to lay down for her naps...and I do!

5. I am so thankful for air conditioning!! I love coming in from the hot outside to a cool house and turning the AC up in the car as soon as I get in!

6. I am thankful for old friends. I got to talk with a great friend, Brandy, from high school the past couple of days. I love my friends. There are many types of friends, but I especially love the friends that no matter how long it has been since you've last talked you can just pick up where you left off with no awkward moments.

7. that I have the food network to watch. I love this channel so I can get ideas to cook. I enjoy cooking, but usually don't know what to make.

8. that my husband takes care of all the yard work and actually enjoys doing it!!! I hate yard work so I love that Todd wants to do it and doesn't mind me not doing it!

9. that my sister and her family are having a good time in Florida. This was my nephews first trip to the beach and ocean, and they are loving it. I'm also thankful my nephews got into the ocean!!

10. I'm glad that I am no longer peeling from a sunburn I got a week ago!! I can't leave it alone when I'm peeling so I'm constantly pulling at the skin to get it off. So, that's done, and will definitely wear sunscreen next time!!

My newest fave recipe

I thought I would share with all of you my new favorite recipe I have right now. It is a dessert (my favorite things to make and eat!!) that I got from Paula Deen. It is for a Chocolate Chip (Cookie) Pie. I've added the cookie part to the name because it is pretty much a cookie recipe turned into a pie. I love chocolate chip cookies, but do not like to bake them from scratch because I hate the back and forth to the oven to make each batch. Here goes...

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

2 3/4 cups AP flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 Tbs vanilla
3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 cups chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees & grease 2 9 inch pie plates

In large bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Cream butter, brown sugar and sugar in mixer. Add eggs 1 at a time to mixer. Add vanilla. Add flour mixture a little at a time until mix is combined. Fold in chocolate chips and walnuts.
Divide dough between 2 pie plates and smooth the tops.
Bake about 30 minutes or until golden brown and slightly firm to touch but still soft. Cover with foil if too brown before done.

I've also made this with pecans, and it was just as good.

I hope you try this, and like it just as much as I do.

Thankful Tuesday

Today started out with Ella's contact on my mind because it tore, and it has continued to stay on my mind all day. So, I've decided to list 10 things that I am thankful for regarding Ella's eye condition.

1. I am so thankful that her eye is actually seeing!! The doctor's did not know if her eye would have any vision, but she can definitely see some things. She reaches for toys, crawls to toys, and smiles at people. I'm also thankful that so far there haven't been any other medical problems with the eye.

2. I am thankful for the eye doctors we have seen both in Jonesboro and in Little Rock. They have been amazing. They have all listened to our questions, explained everything so we could undertand, and know where we were coming from. I know God intended on us seeing these specific doctors to treat Ella's eye.

3. I'm thankful that Todd and I can work together to get Ella's contact in and out. Todd can get it out, and I can get it back in with Todd's help. I couldn't do this without Todd!

4. I'm so thankful that Ella's surgeries went so well. It was so scary handing her over to the surgery nurse and having to wait the 2 hours to know how it went. But, both times Ella did great!!

5. I'm thankful that the patching we have to do is going good. Ella doesn't usually mess with the patch on her eye, and for the most part she does really good with it. The hard part is getting the time in she needs everyday.

6. I'm so thankful that Ella's eye is the only thing that didn't develop all the way. There are so many things that could have happened that didn't. Ella is a healthy baby girl that probably won't see 20/20 in one eye, but she has a perfect other eye.

7. I'm thankful that Ella started her life with this condition so she will only know to see like this and won't know any different. It's hard for me to imagine seeing good with one eye and seeing some with the other eye, but this is how she is learing to see so it's normal for her.

8. I'm so thankful that I had Todd through all of this. It was so scary at the beginning, and he was so strong for me. He is always taking care of me. I am also thankful for my family and friends during this also. It's so wonderful to know that you have people who love and care about you, and who are there for you when you need them.

9. I am so thankful that I am able to stay home with Ella for many reasons, but especially because we have to deal with her contact and patching everyday. I can't imagine sending her to a daycare for strangers to take care of her and rely on them to make sure she getting the attention she needs for her eye to get stronger.

10. Finally, I am so very thankful that Ella is as strong as she is. She has amazed me at every turn of this process. When she was only 2 weeks old and the doctors were using a tiny metal tool to hold her eye open all she needed after was to be held to stop crying. And, after the nurse put the contact in her eye for the first time she laughed! Ella has been so patient with Todd and me putting drops in her eye and putting the contact in. Ella is so good with the patch and when she does get fussy with it all she usually needs is some Mommy time and to be held. I can see how this could've been much more difficult if Ella weren't to wonderful!

11. I need to add another one...I'm so thankful that I know that God is control and is taking care of Ella and us. God has been with us from the beginning of this, and I know he has a plan and purpose for Ella. There have been times through this that I have had to remind myself that God will not give me anymore than I can handle, and because of that I know we are going to be okay!

Although there are still days when it is hard to remember all of these things, I know that we are a blessed family. Sometimes it takes looking at the difficult times for the silver linings for us to realize how blessed we really are.

A quick catch-up

I've missed a few posts lately, so I've decided to just list some things that I wanted to post about, but just didn't get around to. This is just a list of things that have been on my mind and would've been on a Thankful Tuesday or Thirteen Thursday post. So, here goes...





1. I have been loving the past two weeks with Ella so much because she has learned so many new things. I love to just watch her play because you can pretty much see her thought process by watching her face. It's amazing how fast babies learn and grow. She has started crawling, and she hardly sits still anymore. She has started pulling up on anything that will be still long enough for her to get there. Ella loves to fake cough now, and her cousins love to encourage to do this all the time. Ella has started to clap for pat-a-cake and to say "yea" and she loves to play peek-a-boo!! So, cute!! She has also started to wave bye-bye, and this is the sweetest thing to watch!! As much as I don't want to get bigger and grow up, I am so excited to see all the new things she learns!!


2. This goes along with #1, but I think it deserves a spot all it's own...Ella has said her first word and second word...neither of which is Momma! She said Daddy first, and the same day she started waving bye-bye she said it!! I'm a little sad that she hasn't said Momma, but am 100% okay with Daddy being her first word. Todd loves her so much, and everyone knows that moms have this special bond with their baby that the dads don't have, so I'm happy Todd got to be Ella's first word. Now that said, I'm saying Momma to her all the time so I'm not too far down on the list of her new words!!!

3. I am realized this past week that is has been almost 1 year since I have worked, and started to think about how different my day-to-day is than when I was working. Before Ella, I often thought how awful it must be for moms because they have to get up so early when their kids get up. But, now that Ella is up by 7 every morning (I know this is not all that early) I don't even think about it. It's just the way it is now, and Ella is so sweet and happy and playful first thing in the morning that I love it when she wakes up. I love that we have carefree days most of the time instead of me having to be at work at 8 am. I love that I don't have to wear dress clothes everyday. I love that I don't (usually) have to be someplace at a certain time everyday. I love that I am a stay at home mom!!

4. I've also been thinking about how Todd works so hard all the time. It amazes me that he likes to work so hard. This is a catch 22 for me because I am so thankful that he works hard so I can stay home with Ella, but wish he could be home with us more to enjoy Ella growing up. I am so blessed to have a husband that has such a strong work ethic. I know I need to do a better job of encouraging him and letting him know how proud I am of him.

5. I've got Ella's first birthday on the brain all the time. I love thinking about her party, and trying to get it all figured out. I've got the theme down (cupcakes), and about to start practicing on making her little cake for her to destroy on her special day. I also want to attempt to make some part of her outfit that day, like maybe her hairbow or maybe a tutu. This may not pan out, but I'm enjoying thinking about it.

6. Todd and I both have new floors for our house on our minds. My sister just bought a house and replaced the carpet and put laminate floors in the living room. Todd and I have wanted to put laminate floors in our house since we've moved in, and with my sister replacing her's this has reminded us that we want to get ours replaced. I guess I better stay out of Target and Children's Place so I can save up!!!

7. I have started baby-sitting a friend's daughter for the summer, and have been enjoying it. She is very helpful with Ella by entertaining her while I do things around the house, and she picks up toys and folds blankets without being asked to do so!! It's also nice to have someone here to talk to that can talk back to me. We have been hanging out with the nephews also, and they are hitting it off! It should be a fun summer!!

8. I haven't been to bootcamp in about 3 weeks!!! This is from a combination of being too tired (lazy) to go and my baby-sitter being out of town. But, hopefully, this coming week I'll get back on track. I keep trying to remember the phrase "Nothing tastes as good as being skinny feels" to try to help me not snack myself through the day.

9. I have been getting my pictures developed and getting them organized to put in photo albums, and have realized what I had thought is true...there aren't many pictures of Ella and me together because I'm always behind the camera! I don't enjoy having my picture taken, but I love pictures of Ella and me. I will have to make a point of having our picture taken more often!

10. I've realized just how long this post is so I'm going to stop now!! Hopefully, I won't get so far behind anymore.