Friday, September 19, 2014

33 weeks

Dear Baby Squish,

You are 33 weeks old. And yay...I am on time with writing you your letter. Just wait for a minute while I adjust my SuperMommy cape.

Just kidding! It is hard. And life gets crazy. But I am still constantly overwhelmed with how blessed I am to have this amazing family.

So what adventures did this week hold? Well, Saturday I had a meeting in Grand Rapids, so you stayed home and played with Daddy.



You kept him on his toes, and had lots of fun playing outside with Ellie and Truff. You just LOVE your swing.

When I got home, I couldn't help but cuddle you, even if it did mean that I missed a good portion of the ND game. They won, and I got sweet Scarlett cuddles...perfect!

Sunday we went to church, where I had to take you into the hall because you were making too many little happy cooing noises. You are the happiest, sweetest baby. People were even commenting on it in the hall, my little Squish!

This made it extra hard for me to leave again for the afternoon to go to the gym. I just wanted to stay and play with you. But, again, you had a good time with Daddy. Of course, being up way past bedtime is still awfully hard on you. Princess. Sunday are just SO hard schedule-wise.

Monday was our recoup day. We hung around the house and played. I love those days with my girls. We dressed up, and played with play doh, and went on walks, and read books. I cannot think of a better way to spend a dreary Monday. But, again, I had to go to the gym to help with the start up for our younger classes, so it was Daddy-time again. You were quite the stinker for Dad and would not go down. I felt so bad as everyone was pretty upset when I got home. Let's not do that again, okay?



Tuesday we stuck around home too and played and enjoyed the nice weather. You are SO mobile these days, it is crazy. And you are FAST. You sure keep me on my toes!

You also took your first bath in the big girl tub! Now truth be told, that was mostly because you, Miss Kickypants, make a MESS in your whale tub. You and your sister had a blast.



Wedensday we had a busy day where I went to the gym, and then Ellie and I went to swim lessons. You got some one on one time with Grandma and Grandpa, which I think everyone likes.



Speaking of liking things, you are ALL about food these days. Pouches, in particular, are a big hit. You just suck them down. Chicken, pasta, veggies, you are such a great eater!

Thursday we had a house guest come visit...Ginger the PUPPY. I need to specify because your sister thought we were getting Ginger, the rabbit from Sophia the first. She was VERY upset when we did not go to a castle to pick him up. And also very upset that despite her standing in front of him and telling him to HOP, he does, in fact, not really jump. Oh silly Bean. You guys are proving to be quite a bit of excitement for him!



Today, I got a hair cut, so you got some more Grandma and Grandpa time. You were having a ton of fun watching Ellie play on the inflatable slide. Oh, and the giraffe toy that Grandma has that spits out balls? I total hit. You were belly laughing up a storm.

So, baby Scarlett, that was this week. I must say, I really did hate being away from you guys so much. I really do enjoy spending time with you guys. You guys bring such love and laughter into my work, and I am so lucky I get to spend as much time with your girlies as I do.

I love you, Squish!
Mommy


Wednesday, September 17, 2014

My sweet sweet muchkin

So I just have to sit down and write a quick note about last night.

We've got bedtime routines down pretty well these days. Ryan gets Scarlett ready, while I play with Ellie a bit, then I nurse Scarlett and get her down while he gets Ellie ready for bed and reads her as many bedtime stories as needed. Then I get her, she nurses (yes, we are still doing that!) and she goes to bed.

Last night was sweet overload. I came in and nursed her. He of course requested that I sing. Which I did. Just like every night. After awhile, I asked if she was ready for "tuckas" (I tuck her blanket in all around her). She told me "No, pray!" Of course, I forgot that step of the routine. So she laid her head on my shoulder and we prayed. "Cuddle." She wanted to cuddle more. Sweet baby girl! She snuggled into me soooo tight and I just held her and rocked her. Any time I tried to move my face away, she told me "NO. Cuddle." and pushed my cheek back against hers. This went on for at least a half hour.

Even though I didn't want to, I forced myself to get up after quite some time (and a couple texts from Ryan asking if I was OK) and tucked her in. When I told her she was snug as a bug in a rug, I got a happy smile and a "Thanks, Mama."

It doesn't get better than that.

Love. That. Girl. To. Pieces.

I am so lucky.


Friday, September 12, 2014

32 weeks

Dear Miss Scarlett,

Yay! We are back on the weekly letter train! I romise, I will try to be better. SOmetimes, being the Mommy of you awesome girlies just gets the best of me!

So what happened this week?

Well, Saturday was game day! The last ND-Michigan match up for the forseeable future, and you and your sister were READY!



We did a family run to West End, where you got doted on and your sister got donuts, and then we went grocery shopping. You get to sit in the cart like a big girl now, which you love. Although you do try to gra your sister's snack right out of her hand. I am sure you'll be eating your own goldfish soon enough!

Then it was home for naps and play time around the house. Since you are craling all over the place, you are also getting into EVERYTHING. Nothing is safe from your grasp, little one.

We ut you guys to bed and watched the game. Woooohoooo! Shut out! Go Irish!

The next day we did church like normal. You were fussy so you spent time with Dad in the hallway, then zonked in the car and stayed out for over an hour. I barely had time to feed you before I had to run out to practice.

You did get to come to the gym for a bit, which you enjoyed. I think you missed your cheer family too.

Sundays are hard on us all though, and you were VERY overtired by the time you got home. I don't like you being that upset and it was incredibly hard on me to hear your sniffles as I fed ou before bed too.

Monday was a much needed recoup day. We spent lots of time outside enjoying the swinset and the beautiful weather. I don't think we have many days this nice left!




Tuesday I had a doctor's appointment, so you went to see Grandma. You love watching Ellie blow bubbles. You give all sorts of belly laughs for that. And you are almost going from a crawling position to sitting. What? Slow down, little Squish!

Wednesday I had to meet with Janel and Lori at the gym, so you and your sister tagged along. You guys had a blast getting into mischief. Then, you hung out with Grandma while Ellie and I went to swim lessons. I think you enjoyed some 1-on-1 time without the blonde monster there.

Thursday I worked out and then we all came home and hung out at home. It was a dreary, nasty day. I don't know what happened to summer! Then when Daddy got home, we took off to the hospital since Great Grandpa Walt was in there due to some broken ribs. You guys were both dolls, and you especially hammed it up for him, giving him lots of belly laughs while he tickled your toes. To reward you guys for being so good, we hit the Chocolate cafe afterwards. Daddy even snuck you some cookie, while your sister chowed down.




Your sister proved again she has quite the memory, running through the cafe looking for the Easter bunny. Of course, the last time we were there with you guys was Easter, but I still can't believe she remembered that from April. She doesn't forget anything! You better be careful, squish!

The weather still stunk on Friday, so I worked out and then when Daddy got home, we headed to the Y again to go swim. You loved it and were so content floating around in the warm water. It was awesome to spent time swimming with my favorite little fishies!

So, Miss Scarlett, we are back to these updates, and I hope to continue being much more "on time". But I will say, whether I have time to sit down and blog or not, that I love every minute of being your Mommy. You are such a sweet girl, and so much fun.

I love you Squish!
Mommy

Monday, September 8, 2014

Two months later...

Yes, we are still alive! Life has just been hectic, and blogging has taken a back seat. I am getting back on the wagon, though. I have a lot of posts in draft mode, and I'll be plugging along on even more in the next couple weeks.

In the meantime, I can just say the kids are exhausting. But they are the best!

Thursday, September 4, 2014

The swingset

So, we've been going back and forth for a good 6 months now about swingsets. Build it vs. buy it. What do we want? Why are they like a billion dollars?

So we settled for getting a Step 2 plastic play "castle" this summer. Ellie seemed to like that just fine. We actually picked up another similar plastic play structure at a friends' garage sale.

But then, the week before the BIG birthday party, Ryan was looking through some stuff of Craigslist and came across an ad for a used Rainbow playset. And it looked AWESOME. Big, spiral enclosed slide, 4 swing areas, another slide, etc. So even though it was still expensive used, we decided to take a look.


Well, Ellie fell in love. And so did we. So the weekend of the party, Ryan, with the help of both Grandpas, set out to transport this behemoth of a swingset.


So, over 2 days, it got torn down, loaded on a trailer, and reconstructed in our back yard. 


Ellie "helped" and/or watched wistfully out the window...





But, after all was said and done, and after Ryan got one heck of a sunburn...we are all loving the swingset. And now, after having it a couple weeks, I can say we've already gotten more play time on this one than the other one did all summer. Ellie LOVES it (Scarlett too, actually)




Plus, it was a big hit at the party. Now if we could just get the neighbors to stop referring to our yard as "Edwardsburg Disneyland"...

Monday, September 1, 2014

Dear Ellie,

Dear Ellie,

You are 2 today, sweet princess! It is so hard to believe. Time really does go so fast. You are not a little baby anymore. You are a spirited, funny, smart little girl who has me laughing about a million times and day, and sometimes wanting to pull my hair out too!

Sometimes when I am rocking you to sleep, and you remind me that I need to start singing, I think back to sitting in that same rocking chair with you when you were a tiny little one. I remember how your face would twitch into a smile as you fell asleep. And I wonder how my little baby bird grew up so fast. But the coolest thing is, as much as I miss tiny Ellie, I just love toddler Ellie so much that it isn't even funny. The conversations you have, how you have tea parties, and tickle fights and rock your baby dolls to sleep...those things are just so amazing to see. So while I sometimes wish you wouldn't grow up so fast, I also wouldn't exactly wish to keep you little.

Every day I still feel incredibly overwhelmed and blessed that I get to be your Mom. You bring so much joy to everyone around you, and your Dad and I could just not be more proud. Of course, I can also throw in that you are the world's best big sister...most of the time.

I hope you always stay as curious as you are now. I hope you never lose the imagination that dreams up dragons outside your window. I hope you keep your Dad's memory, so you remind me 3 months later that we saw a frog on THAT window. I hope you continue to care about others, just like you care about me and bring me my pretend coffee to drink. I hope you stay fearless. Or at least mostly fearless. My poor heart can't take your fearlessness sometimes. And I hope you always keep the energy to go down the slide again. Or two more times. Or five more times.

You are one amazing little girl, Miss Ellorie Mae Mason. And I love you to pieces. Happy birthday, princess!

I love you,
Mommy