Silly moments.

I've notice that motherhood isn't always sweet moments, cuddles and giggles. You can get caught up in the chores, potty training/diaper changing, and disciplining and sometimes you loose site of why it's fun to have kids. Well last week we did some grocery shopping at Trader Joes and as usual the cashier gave Ella an arsenal of stickers. As we were driving home I noticed she was quiet, which is very unlike Ella. So I turned around and this is what I saw. I laughed so hard that I almost forgot that I was sitting in traffic. At that very moment I realized how lucky I am to be able to stay home with Ella and enjoy these moments. I need to enjoy the silly moments more and be less concerned with the chores and running errands. A day will come when stickers don't seem as fun to her

My little helper

The past two days have been beautiful. Its looking more and more like spring, so I got the bug to plant some flowers in the front of the house. After we picked out our flowers I promised Ella that she could help plant them. She was so excited she actually ate her lunch in under 30 mins! A miracle!! I let her put the soil in the bottom of the pot and hanging planters, and showed her the root systems and described the rest of the planting process. She was really intrigued by it all. Now if she was only tall enough to help me water the hanging baskets I could enjoy the fruits of HER labor. Maybe we will start her a little garden of her own to maintain?

Conversating

Sometimes Ella will completely surprise me and say something that seems so unlike a toddler. As I was cleaning the kitchen up this afternoon Ella came in from the living room and said " would you like some company, mommy?". Of course I said yes. Then at dinner just as we sat down she asked for her doll. I told her toys were not allowed at the dinner table because it's a time to eat, not play. She replied " oh that makes sense!"
It's crazy all the things she says and talks about. Yesterday one of our neighbors stopped us on the sidewalk and complimented Ella on her pig tails. She said thank you then proceeded to tell her that she got new "big girl outfits from grandma Mac." and that she would wear the new outfits tomorrow and show our neighbor. She ended the conversation by saying " See you later!". Looks like I have a social butterfly.
Incase you are wondering Ella is enjoying a girl scout cookie in the pic because she ate her dinner like a good girl tonight.

12 week Ultrasounds, and belly pic

You all have to be patient with me during my pregnancy. I'm not responding to emails or making posts on the blog like I should. Something about the extra hormones makes me feel very scatter brained lately. So at the moment I am 13 weeks pregnant. I have another OB/GYN appointment tmw which I am looking forward to, but last week I had my first trimester screening. Everything looked great. Baby is healthy and growing well. We even saw the little one open and close its hand. It looked like an active baby. Bouncing off the walls already.

The ultrasound tech said she would be able to tell the sex if we wanted to know but Ben wanted to hold out until the next ultrasound when it would be more definitive. I'm trying not to make any assumptions on what the sex might be because I was horribly wrong the first time. Tmw I will get to listen to the heart beat again, and the MD will measure me to make sure I am growing on track. I'm not to terrified about being weighed this time though because I know I weigh less now then I did when I was pregnant with Ella. Over all my first trimester symptoms have been getting better. I feel like I am more productive during the day, and not experiencing anymore "Morning sickness". Evenings can still be rough though. Which makes me a little nervous for Bens departure tmw. He is my relief in the evening time. Not only does he help take care of Ella in the evenings but he is her entertainment and the dishwasher some evenings. Ella gets all her energy out when daddy gets home from work. They chase each other up and down the house and he throws her around , while she climbs up on him like he is a jungle gym. Things that I don't have the energy for nor could I do even if I had the energy for it. But hopefully the next couple of weeks will fly by. I have been trying to make an itenarary for us to keep us out of the house and free of boredom. So .... on that note, I might actually get around to posting those Tahoe pictures I keep talking about, or the pictures from the zoo, or the Valentines party we hosted. Who knows?
But don't wait by the computer for it............ ;-)

Potty training !

Warning... If you don't like hearing about bowel movements then maybe this isn't the post for you to read.

Last Thursday we really started the potty training process. I had this idea in my head that I was going to do nothing for 3 days but stay home and focus on Ella using the toilet. By the end of that first day I quickly aborted my original plan. I was so exhausted from being stuck in the house all day. Training Ella was not difficult or stressful but not being able to leave the house exasperated all my pregnancy symptoms. I was tired, nauseous, and achey. But thankfully that one day set the ground work for us to keep working on it without any major accidents or set backs. She has only had 4 accidents since we have started this process.

Ella loves wearing her big girl underwear. She even likes picking out which pair she is going to wear that day. Unfortunately not all of potty training has been easy or fun for Ella. For the past few months Ella has been dealing with some painful constipation. She will tell me over and over again while crying that she is going poop. This goes on for about a day and half sometimes two before she has a successful bowel movement. After playing around with her diet and pushing her to drink so much water she could be a fish, I got tired of it and took her to the doctor. The doctor suggested using Miralax . Finally after a week of mixing it in to her milk we are having some improvements with this particular function. As you can see on her potty chart she received her first two stickers in the "poopy" column today! I'm so proud of her and excited for me. I finally see the light at the end of the tunnel! I feel like now that we have crossed this hurdle I can be confident to keep her in underwear when we leave the house now. Before she would cry every 5-10 mins saying she had to poop on toilet just to sit down and quickly jump back up and say "All Done!" or "No, I'm afraid". On Tuesday while grocery shopping she yelled out in the middle of the dairy aisle " I'm REALLY going poop!!". Embarrassing ...yes, productive ... no. Still no BM when we got home. So maybe by the time we have ran out of spaces on this chart I can stop talking and hearing about crap all day long. Well..... Until baby# 2 comes around.

Crock pot lasagna

I don't know why I feel compelled to blog about food lately. Maybe because I'm pregnant and all I think about is food, or maybe because I've been finding new recipes on Pinterest. So as you can tell by the title I found a new crock pot. I can't live long with out one. It's the easiest way to cook, and I was really surprised how well this lasagna turned out. Normally Ben makes the lasagna in this house. For some reason I always feel intimidated by lasagna so I have shied away from it. But I think Ben and I found our new favorite way to make it. What was strange about this particular recipe is that is called for cottage cheese instead of ricotta and I placed uncooked noodles in the crock pot. It cooked on low for 4 hours and the noodles were perfect and we didn't even miss the ricotta cheese. It even got the stamp of approval from Ella, which is great coming from a picky toddler;-)

Happy Valentines Day! <3

What could be better then spending Valentines day with your two most favorite people in the whole world? How about eating Cuban food with your two favorite people then taking your littlest sweet heart out for frozen yogurt!
We met daddy in Alameda for some lunch and then Ella kept asking about ice cream. So of course, because it's a special day and the fact that I'm pregnant and can't say no to sweets I took Ella to yogurt walk and we shared a cup of yogurt. I knew nap time was already shot anyways since she fell asleep in the car so what does it matter if I fill her up with some sugar? Anyways, it's not valentines day if you haven't eaten some chocolate. Hope y'all got some chocolate today!

Home made chicken pot pie.

So here is one benefit of my crock pot dying. Being forced to try new recipes. Tonight I made a home made chicken pot pie. It was a good day for it since it was kind of gloomy. The only thing that would have made this pie better would have been a good stout. But I guess I have a few more months till I can enjoy one of those ;-)

Nap time does not = play time.

So as you can see here Ella decided to use her nap time to play with all the toys in her room. She didn't fall asleep until the last 15-20 mins of her nap time and by then it was time for me to get her up for a 4:30 appointment. She used to lay nicely in her bed until i came and got her but the past few days I keep hearing little footstep and laughter coming from the second floor. But I guess what happened today is partially my fault. I was so proud of her for using the big girl toilet today that I gave her a sugar cookie before lunch. She must have still been on her sugar kick when I laid her down for bed. How can she sleep laying on top of all that crap?! And she had the biggest stinky diaper on too! By the way... Ella used the toilet 3 times today with out me coaxing her. Next week will be the big test as we will try and do away with diapers completely during the day.

I have lots of other pictures to post but probably won't get around to it till next weekend. Ben will be working on the computer and I don't dare touch anything while that process is going on. Maybe I will make some more posts from my phone. Have a good weekend!

R.I.P. Friend

Tonight I lost a good friend. My crock pot. I had a feeling she wouldn't last much longer. The cracks on the bottom of the porcelain bowl were signs that it wouldn't be much longer before she called it quits.

It happened this morning while I was putting my ingredients together for Carnitas. The recipe called for hot chicken broth to be poured into the empty crock pot then to add the seasonings and pork. I thought twice about this action as I looked at my old crock pot but decided the call for good Carnitas was too great. As I poured the broth in the final crack in the bowl pierced my ears. I held my breath and didn't see anything leaking so I continued on with the cooking. Finally after the meal was done and we started our clean up I found the evidence that the crock pot had cooked her last meal. I have used this crock pot AT LEAST once a week for the past 3 years. She has made some great meals. And now that she is no longer functioning I will have to succumb to standing infront of the stove for awhile. R.I.P friend.

My morning with a toddler.

So this picture is obviously not taken in Dublin. This picture was taken in Tahoe. Which, I will post more about at a later time. (I know Im behind) I just wanted to show you the face I have seen all morning. We must be in our terriable twos because Ella has just been so challenging lately. Yesterday I took her to the Zoo, which wore me out! I'm still in my first trimester so it doesn't take much to make me tired. So today I thought we would just stay home, and I could get some housework done. WRONG.

Here is how my morning looked:

7:30 am - I go into Ellas room to find a happy, rested little girl. I ask if she wants to get dressed..."Yes, Mommy!" Great! I pick out her outfit. " I don't like that! I want something cute!" ok..... pick out another outfit "No mommy I dont like that too!" ugh......... ok one more option. "No, I want this one!" She picked out the first outfit I showed her!!!! WTH?

8:00 am - Downstairs about to eat breakfast. Yes..... it took us 30 mins to get dressed and head down stairs. No wonder I never get out of the house till 10. I asked her if she wants oatmeal....."No" ok..... Waffles ?"Yes !!" awesome... something easy. After I give her some milk... "No waffles mommy. Oatmeal!" ALRIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!! FREAKING OATMEAL THEN!

8:30am- "Would you like a toasted bagel with butter?" Ella-"No butter." "Do you want cream cheese" "Yeah ...... CREAM CHEESE!!! " I made the bagel, and gave her the smallest amount of cream cheese and put it infront of her. Now look back at the picture in this post. This is what she looked like ....... total disgust and horror on her face when she saw the bagel. Slammed her hands down and cried that there was cream cheese on her bagel. I ended up eating her half too. Im already tired an I have only been up an hour.

8:45am - Just done with breakfast. " I want to watch Calliou." Me-"Calliou is not on yet honey. Wait 15mins and Calliou will be on. Ok?" " No... I wanna watch CALLIOU." (this time not yelling but whinning. "Just be patient Ella and go play with some toys till its time" Ok done.

9:30- Crying from Ella on the couch "Calliou is over !!!" "Ok ... you can watch some word world while Im cleaning" Content for another 30 mins. Nice.

10:00 am- Show is over and I figure it's time for Mommy and daughter time. I get out some paper and start some Valentines crafts. I ask her if she wants to learn how to cut. "Yes !" "Ok... watch mommy first. I will show you how." Ella -" NOOOO..... I WANA CUT!" "Yes I will let you but let me show you first." Another fit, I finally give up and break out the crayons to keep her occupied till the cutting is done.

11:00 am- Valentines crafts are done with some help from Ella. I need to get some laundry done but Ella will not stop whinning for me to pick her up. I set up a huge kids tent and tunnel in the living room to keep her occupied. She has never seen this toy before. We have been saving it for a rainy day so I figured she would be entertained for at least 30 mins. After 20 mins of setting the damn thing up its ready to play with. Ella plays for 10 mins, and its back to crying. "I don't like the tent!" Me-"Why not?" Never gave me an answer but turns out she didn't want to play with it unless I was in the room with her. Took me another 30 mins to switch the laundry over and start a new load because she kept following me around asking for me to hug her on the couch. Sometimes I give in (thanks guilt)and other times I tell her to go play. How are you going to deny your kid a hug?

12:00 pm- Lunch time. "Ella do you want a Hotdog or veggie burger?" " Hot dog" That was easy. Lunch is ready. Food infront of child. Cue tantrum. You guessed it.... " NO HOT DOG MOMMY!" I convince her to eat half of her hotdog, and then she says..... "Mmmm, Hotdog good!"

12:30- NAP TIME KID!!! Her usually nap time is 1 or 1:30. I've had all I could handle today.

Finally it's quiet in the house, I can get some work done but instead Im too frustrated with the events of the morning that Im on this blog venting. I don't vent often but today I feel it's justified. I love being a mom 95% of the time. But its that 5% that makes me shake my head and wonder what is going through her head, and makes me question my competence as a mother. So anyways, I guess I have work to do. I only have another hour before Ella wakes up again. Maybe this is why the house never gets cleaned to my standards. The hell with it. Maybe I will take a shower instead and try again tomorrow.

And so it begins.....

Saturday was the beggining of my 6th week of pregnancy. It was also the begining of my pregnancy symtpoms. I woke up like any other morning feeling OK. Ben and I greated Ella and he began changing her diaper. I sat down on the floor next to them. And as usual I had to inspect what was in Ellas diaper. For those of you who don't have kids yet.... trust me, this is normal. Poop becomes your life. I feel like if Im not dealing with Ellas poop, it's Baxters. I need to know how often they are going and if she is getting enough fiber, so I have to check it out. But I digress. Somthing I do casually everyday all of a sudden became the catalyst for "morning sickenss" . I was ill all morning and afternoon after my "inspection". I skiped my spin class, and weight lifting, and even felt ill walking around Costco when usually the smell of chocolate chip cookies and baked bread make me feel like eating the whole store. I even took a nap while watching a great playoff game! That is when you know Im sick. I'm even getting short of breath climbing the stairs in our house, and while doing the same exercises I've done for the past 3 months.

But don't take this as complaining. Im never the type to gripe or morn my pre-pregnancy body. On the contrary I feel pretty special that Im having symptoms. It means that everything is working as it should. I was actually nervous last week that I was not having many symptoms. I almost questioned wether or not I should have disclosed to everyone that Im "in a delicate state". But Ben and I are not the type to keeps secrets when its over somthing so joyous. I have not gone to the OBGYN yet so I guess there is still always a chance of somthing not going well but I don't live in fear over the possablilites. I just take it as it comes. So on that note we are excited to hear a hearbeat soon and get the first ultrasound.

It will also be exciting to have Ella along for this pregnancy. She always asks to see the baby. So I will lift up my shirt and she will touch my stomach and say " Don't cry baby" and give it a kiss. I've been prepping her that babies cry a lot. So that way she isn't so suprised when I bring a wailing kid home. By the way I will always try and incorporate Ella in the belly photos. It's an idea I got off of Pinterest but it looks much better on the site then it does with our camera. Maybe the fact that I have a very impatient toddler makes it difficult to take these pictures as well. She never seems to want to look at the camera. More pictures to come next week.

We are headed to Tahoe and Ella is excited about making a snowman. Stay tuned!

Father and daughter time.

Daddy wanted me to post some pictures of Ella at our new favorite playground. When I go to the gym on Saturday and Sunday mornings Ella and daddy get to spend some quality time together. Sometimes they ride their bikes to the park or they drive but either way I always hear about the fun they have together. It's a win , win for the whole family. Mommy gets some alone time and Daddy and Ella get outside for some fresh air and fun. Her favorite, as you can tell by the picture, is the swing. And she loves picking up sticks. Today when she came home she ran through the door excited as can be and said "MOMMY MOMMY, I have a suprise for you!" It was a stick from the park. Thanks......... I guess I have to wait till spring to get some flowers. But it still made me feel nice.

Playing dress up!

Grandma Mac bought Ella some dress up clothes for Christmas, and she loves it! It's the perfect activity for a cold, rainy day. If we ever get one of those around here. But regardless, Ella likes dressing up as a "Princess Fairy". She was waving her wand around sprinkling daddy with fairy dust to help him wake up and then pretended to rub some on her face. I just love her imagination.

Happy News!

Well, I think this picture says it all. We found out on New Years that Ella will be getting a brother or sister. We keep asking her which she would prefer, and she says BOTH! Lets hope there is only one in this belly. Ella will be a great big sister. She already talks to the baby and gives it kisses. And she loves Brielle, which is Amelies little sister. She gives her kisses and tries to tickle her when she is nearby. This will be an exciting time for all of us. Lets hope this pregnancy goes as smoothly as the last one.

Santas cookies

These are by far my favorite cookies that I have ever made. Chocolate with peppermint....Mmmmm! I could eat these year round.

Christmas 2011

It's been a little while but I finally got around to looking at the Christmas pictures, and here are just a few. We had a very peaceful holiday. We stuck to tradition, and went out for a nice dinner on Christmas eve, came home and had dessert , and opened presents. Well..... most of them. Ella received so many gifts this year that it took all of Christmas eve, and Christmas morning to open them all. Maybe next year we will put a limit on how many presents Santa is allowed to give. ;-) Ella is still talking about Santa too. I keep telling her that he is on Vacation now but she doesn't believe me. He must have really made an impression on her.

Ella the next morning.

Perfectly well rested and waiting for mommy.

Big girl bed!

For weeks.... no let me take that back... MONTHS we have been talking about breaking Ellas bed down into the toddler bed. We want to start urging Ella to be a little more self sufficent not just because she is getting to be a big girl but also because, she is a BIG GIRL! Ella is 30lbs now and we pick her up a lot. Everyone knows Bens back is still on the mend and mine at times feels like its on the way out. I have to remind myself that Ella is capable of climbing and descending the stairs on her own and give her the opportunity to use her body and give my body a break. But that is not always easy mentally. Ella is still my baby so when she had a meltdown over having a toddler bed I had a bit of meltdown too. Sure, I look happy in this picture but inside I was freaking out just as much as she was. I think I was smiling because I was stupified that she was reacting so strongly to having a different side rail on her bed. I had hoped that she would be excited over having a "new bed" but when I saw how scared she was I had doubts if we were ready for the progression.

Thank goodness for fathers though. Ben stepped in and told me to take a break. He sat with her for almost an hour talking about her big girl bed and how everyone would be so proud of her the next morning when they found out. Luckily she calmed down and gave into the fatigue from her fit and fell asleep. She hasn't made one fuss about her big girl bed since. In the morning when I woke up she was still laying in her bed quietly waiting for me to come and get her. I wonder when that will change?

Next step... potty training. UGH....... Lord help me.

Train of Lights.

Last Sunday we took a train ride on the Historic Niles Canyon Railway. Every Christmas they decorate their train inside and out, and take people for an hour and half train ride while they serve hot chocolate and played Christmas music. Even Mr and Mrs Claus made an apperance. Ella loved the trip. She is still talking about her train ride.

Santa Claus

Today was a special day. Ella met Santa for the first time and she did suprisingly well. Not one tear but rather all smiles and laughs. She even made sure to tell Santa that she wanted "candy" for Christmas, a wish which Santa promptly fulfilled by giveng her a yummy Candy Cane. It's amazing, each year, to consider how much she has changed, how big she has gotten. The differences, year to year, are incredible, and we constantly marvel at how much two people can love one littel girl... Happy Holidays to all our loved ones, may the coming year bring you great happiness.

Baxter

I guess this is a perk about having a small dog!

I don't always take Baxter on my long walks with me because he normally can't keep up due to his short legs. Today I took him because I have been on the mend from being sick so I thought he would have no problem keeping up. He was doing well for awhile but I think his paw starts to bother him the longer we walk and he was beginning to limp a little. This is from an old injury when he was a pup. So to give him a break I stuck him on top of the stroller and he really seemed to enjoy the view. I can't say the same for Ella. I think Bax might have been encroaching on her head room. It was cute regardless. Maybe I will get a double stroller sooner then I thought and let Bax ride with us from now on. ;-)

Sweet gestures.

Every once and a awhile Ben will do something nice for me like set out my coffee and cereal bowl in the morning or bring home flowers and I always appreciate it but yesterday it really surprised me. I have been feeling a little under the weather lately and this little gesture made my morning. What's even more impressive is that he thinks of this stuff at 6am! I have the sweetest husband in the world.

Family day at Blackhawk!

Yesterday we took a trip to the Blackhawk museum and saw a European model train exhibit. Ella loved watching the trains go in and out of the little cities. Next weekend we are riding a real train so this was a way to get her excited for our next holiday excursion.
Daddy also liked looking at all the classic cars the museum had on display.

Afterwards we ate lunch and then fed the ducks and swans. It was a nice winter day at a beautiful place. More pictures to come next week!

Ellas Halloween.

This year was Ellas first time trick or treating. I have put it off for as long as I could. I really don't care for the holiday and never did as a child. I think the only reason why I would dress up when I was young was so I wouldn't feel left out. And I don't want Ella feeling left out either so I have been talking it up for the past couple of weeks trying to get her ready for the event. We talked about her costume, pumpkins, and what to do when you approach someones house. And I will admit it was cute seeing Ella dressed up and having fun but Im not thrilled about all the extra candy laying around the house. Her bag was so heavy she needed help to carry it on the way home. And we didn't even get through 1/2 of the neighborhood! Here are some pics of Ellas all dressed up. As you can tell she didn't like us trying to paint her face.