The Magic Wand

Yesterday morning, I was sleeping on the couch desperately trying to sneak some extra sleep while Ella hit a milestone. All on her own, she went #1 & #2 on the potty chair! We've been trying to get her to do it for awhile to no avail. We've even tried bribery, of course. A couple of weeks ago, she saw some Magic Wands at a store in town and wanted to get one. Daddy promised that as soon as she did poo poo in the potty he would buy her one. Until yesterday, the promise of a magic wand wasn't enough to get her to do it. But somehow it all clicked yesterday. So, we had a celebration of sorts. We went for a walk, bought the wand and then got pastries! The excitement has continued into this morning. Right after she woke up, Ella wanted to put on her white dress and play with her wand. I must say she looks pretty adorable!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! For me, Ella & Lucie, it has been a nice day so far since we got to go to MOPS this morning. It has been another story for Brett though. He has been sick in bed all day. He came home late last night and thought he was coming down with something. Sure enough, he has a fever and feels incredibly weak at the moment. Needless to say, we won't be heading out for a Valentine's evening. Not that we would anyway since we have a nursing baby at home...but the festivities will be even more low-key than originally planned. We hope that you all have a great day with whatever you have planned!

One Month

Well, Ella has been a big sister & Brett and I have been parents of TWO for a month. Today is Lucie's ONE MONTH birthday! We've survived this far and hopefully it will get easier. If only I can get Lucie on a better sleep schedule, I will be a more normal human being.

You can't tell in the picture but Lucie's face has absolutely EXPLODED with baby acne. (I guess her reddish skin tone helps camouflage the zits!) If I didn't know that babies get it, I would be concerned that she has some horrible disease. Her forehead, temples and even scalp are just covered...plus other zits are scattered around the rest of her face. Brett asked me last night if Ella had it that bad. I can't imagine that she did. Lucie must have gotten a serious dose of hormones!

This month Ella has developed a love for her little sister and for dancing. She loves to kiss the baby, help burp her and she even shares her precious blankies. And when Momma has been busy with Lucie, Ella has kept herself busy with DANCING! She loves to put on dress up clothes and dance around the living room. I think she's been influenced by the Angelina the Ballerina books & videos. I have to say, I think she has some natural talent with it too. She has done some very graceful moves...especially for a little girl who can be rather clumsy at times.

Lucie: 3 Weeks

Lucie turned three weeks old on Friday. In her third week of life, she got her first breakout of acne! However, because she has such a red complexion the acne wasn't as noticeable...at first. Now, she has many more zits and boy can you tell. Last week she also really started smiling in response to us (I think). She has a very sweet smile.


Also of note, she still sleeps A LOT...but has now decided that her awake period should be between the hours of 8pm and midnight. Obviously, her Momma is not digging this! I've quickly learned that regardless of what else I need to get done during naptime, I need to forgo that and take a nap! I've tried in vain to keep her awake but nothing I do seems to help. She even slept through my washing her face with cool water! Let's hope that she gets on a better schedule this week.

Ella's 3rd Birthday

The internet appears to be working again so finally I'm able to post about Ella's Birthday -- she turned three on Saturday. Since we're still adjusting to sleep deprivation, we didn't throw a party but we had fun nonetheless. Papa Randy came up for the day to celebrate with us and see Baby Lucie -- he hadn't seen her in three weeks.


Shortly after Papa Randy arrived, we headed over to another birthday party. Ella's friend Harry was having his party (his bday was Friday), so we headed over there for a couple hours in the afternoon. I made the mistake of not preparing Ella for what was ahead...a party with OTHER children. It was her first experience at a little kid party. When we got there, they started a Blue's Clues hunt. Well, she doesn't know about Blue's Clues and got a bit overwhelmed by all the other kids. So, she headed to the playroom to play with Harry's toys for a bit. Later, she reemerged just in time for the pinata, presents and cake. At the party, Harry said, "Ella's my best friend!" It was very sweet.


After the party, we headed home for naptime and found a special delivery tied to our door. Auntie Jamie had some balloons delivered just for Ella. The big mylar balloon was almost as big as Ella! Ella was very excited about them. That night, we had a tri-tip dinner at home. I attempted to make a cool cake like my sister Jessica does for her kids. Well, it wasn't quite the success that I had hoped. The frosting recipe I had was a bit too gooey which I didn't realize until I put it on the cake. Let's just say that it looked like an earthquake hit the cake -- the layers were slipping! But, it tasted good...and Ella like the Dora the Explorer decorations.


Like most kids, Ella enjoyed opening her presents...but boy did she take her time! She had presents from us as well as from some family. After opening each present, she wanted to play with each thing! It was nice that she wasn't acting greedy, but I almost fell asleep waiting for her to finish! But, given my lack of sleep lately, it doesn't take much for me to want to sleep.

Snapshots

Our Family

Sisters

Papa Jack & The Girls

Nanna & Lucie

Papa Randy, Brett, Grandma & Lucie

Auntie Jamie & Lucie

Auntie Aimee with Lucie, Ella & Cousin Amelia