Shoe Love

Trying on Nana's shoes

Elle has become obsessed with shoes recently, and any high heels within her reach are fair game! She's actually a lot better at walking in them then I expected, so I guess we already have a diva on our hands!

Morning Craziness

As I mentioned before, for the next few months, I'm watching two other children full-time, and Elle has really enjoyed having her friends around. She usually wakes up after they're already here, since she sleeps a little later, and when she comes downstairs, she gets really excited. This week, every time that Sam has come over after she's been awake, she starts running around the house excitedly and then gives him a big hug. Elle and her friend Coral also love to give each other hugs, and they love to sit together pretty much anywhere. So many people have asked me what it's like to have all three of them all day, and I have to say that it gets crazy at times, but it's a lot of fun. I definitely have to do a lot more structured activities to keep them entertained, and as I always tell Kyle (and as anyone who has or works with toddlers knows), I feel like I'm with a bunch of crazy people all day. One minute they are hugging and loving each other, and the next minute they're trying to bite/scratch/pinch/hit each other! It certainly keeps me on my toes, and I know it will help prepare me for having a second child. So, above are some cute pictures from one morning this week (yes, they are still in their pajamas) and here are a couple of videos:

Celebrating the 4th of July

In case you haven't heard...

I'm sure most of you who look at this blog have heard, but we found out a little over a month ago that we're having another GIRL! We're very excited, and I know that Elle will love having a sister so close in age.

Elle has been showing me more and more lately what a great big sister will be! Since I now watch two extra kids, she a lot of practice sharing and being gentle to other children. This past week, she's started using the word "otay" (okay) a lot. We were in the store the other day, and there was a baby doll that made crying noises, so she patted the baby's hand and said, "It's otay, it's otay." It was so sweet! She now also does this to Coral or Sam (the other two children I watch during the week), if they start crying. This weekend, I was dry-heaving in the bathroom (yes, I'm 24 weeks pregnant and still get nauseated!), and she came up to me, patted my back, and said, "it's otay, mama, it's otay." Then, she grabbed a tissue, pointed to my mouth and said, "boo boo?" and tried to wipe it off for me. She really has a sense of compassion!

She has also been such a good helper. She puts out and folds up the changing pad for me and holds the wipes while I'm changing diapers (she would love to actually help change the diapers, but I don't think she's quite ready for that yet!). She makes sure that everyone has their shoes and hats on before going outside and helps fetch anything I ask her to get. She still loves to be the boss, and tries to teach the other kids a lot of things. Yesterday, we were going through some flashcards, but Sam wasn't interested, so he was running around the room. She kept running after him, showing him the train card and going, "Train, Sam, train...choo, choo!" There are some other cute things she's been doing lately that I've been meaning to write down before I forget, so I'll have to add more later, along with some other pictures from the month! Plus, I have some good videos to add!

Here she is wiping off her friend's face.

It's Been too Long....Our Beach Trip Last Month

So, I keep putting off posting anything, since it's been sooo long since I've updated, but I decided to just go ahead and start with our trip to the beach last month. We went to Savannah at the beginning of last month to attend my dad's ordination to the deaconate. It was a beautiful ceremony, and it was so nice to see him complete this journey he's been on for the past four years! Then, we headed to Hilton Head for a week at the beach with the Mongan family. Elle had a blast with all her cousins and did not want to leave "beba" (Bella) at the end of the trip. At home, she usually sleeps until 8:30 or 9AM every day, but on vacation, she woke up at 7AM every morning! I guess she just couldn't wait to have fun! She loved the ocean and sand and was very brave about running into the waves, although she was a little scared of the pool after going under the water a few times. It was a very relaxing and fun week for all of us, and we can't wait for next year!
Here are a few pictures from the trip: