Halloween, a little late

 

just wanted to post this photo of Ella at Halloween. She was standing in our yard that the tenants had decorated with various halloween items. She was a doctor, kind of in honor of her great-grandfather Carl Gillies, also because i figure this may be the last year i will get to choose a costume for her and wanted to keep it gender neutral.

SSSS..no

 

We had our first snow a week ago. Ella loved it. loves it. she wants to put her coat, mittens, hat, and boots on all the time in order to be able to go outside. i don't love it but i will put up with it for her and the joy she displays. what mom/dad wouldn't.
we've been under the weather this week. we moved back home last saturday after moving from one side of the duplex to the other then staying with Bill and Mary for a week while carpet was installed. the carpet is such a treat. i have never lived in a home with new carpet. we have a lot to do to make the home organized BUT it is livable now and that is good. i am trying not to stress about it because i have a month left and don't want to stress so much that i end up having the little boy too early.
updates on Ella...she is officially sleeping in a bed on her own now, and not just a mattress on the floor of our room. she is in her own room and i found a toddler bed for $30 at Target. it was a web-return that was marked down for that reason. it is perfect for what we need right now. didn't want to invest in something more yet since we are already facing some major money issues with the newbie.

this life is draining...

i am exhausted all the time. between being 31-32 weeks pregnant with the most active fetus around, running after Ella who is up at 6 am and doesn't go to bed until 7 pm, a full time job, and being a wife i am just too busy.
We will be moving to the other side of the duplex early next month. that will be fun. no point in REALLY packing but we have to figure out some way to get things out of the way so we can clean rooms. Carl has been trying to finish off projects around the house.
Ella has been showing us some new skills. she is mimicking the sounds of almost everything we say. Her vocabulary is rapidly expanding. she can clearly say many words, and mumbles many others. my favorite is thank you. Ank-oo. Ella also loves taking her little friends with her everywhere. at this point we have Rueben Sherman, little bear, Woofington, Baby, Monkey, and Giraffe. i started placing them in a bag so i could handle them easier as we moved from house to car to daycare/grandparents.

Sleep

Ella has been throwing a curveball into our sleep schedule. Over the weekend she was up at odd hours. Last night Carl got up to use the bathroom at 5 am and when he was coming back he encountered Ella at the door. She happened to be soaking wet from her constant night-time urination so he changed her diaper with my help and i brought her into the bed to warm her up as her body was cold. She thankfully fell back to sleep until 6 when i got up for my shower.
The night before, though, was fun. Ella woke up a few times through the night. i remember Carl putting her back into her bed and telling her it wasn't time to wake-up yet. Then awhile later (hours later?) i heard her moving around the bedroom. i think she was playing with her 'babies'. Then, around 3:30 am, i heard her moving towards the door, that was open a crack, and i heard her baby doll's head hit the door. i scrambled out of bed and found her with her arms full with woofie and Rueben Sherman, likely trying to take them downstairs or to the other room. I picked her up and put her back in her bed. She started crying so i grabbed her and put her in bed with us. She sniffled a little and moved around but after awhile she finally fell asleep. i was up for an hour longer as i heard her breathing and Carl snoring and my baby inside moving around.
Yesterday, during her naptime, i fell asleep downstairs while watching TV. When i woke up i looked at the clock and noted that Ella had been up napping for about 1 and 1/2 hours and becasue i was feeling too lazy to check on her, i stayed on the sofa resting for 10 minutes or so. at that point i figured i should check on her and perhaps wake her so she would sleep at night. When i peaked in the room, i found an empty bed and room. i panicked for a moment then i thought to check the other room and i found Ella in there playing with Woofie and Rueben at teh rocking chair and smiling up at me. What a good girl. I don't know if she slept for 10 minutes or 2 hours but she was quiet the whole time and didn't get herself into any trouble. She was ready for bed at 6:30 though so perhaps she didn't sleep long.

Big Girl Bed

okay, Ella hasn't quite made it to a big bed, only because we haven't invested in one yet, but she is out of her crib and has been for about 2 weeks. We took her mattress out of the crib and set it on the floor for her to start "transistioning". She has done suprisingly well. The first night she did get out of bed in the middle of the night but when i heard her and got out of bed she immediately jumped back on her mattress. Later that same night she was upset (bad dream?) and started crawling out of her bed towards nothing in particular. I picked her up and took her back to her bed and she was fine the rest of the night. In fact, she has been fine since.
i noticed this morning that she stayed on her mattress after she woke up until i approached her and said good morning. She is such a good kid.
Going to bed has been just as easy. If i go through the whole routine (diaper change, brush teeth, pajamas, grab woofie) then Ella seems to know what the last expectation is and lets me cover her with her blanket and leave the room without any battles.

wow, where is the time?

i have been busy and need to post more. i want to write lots right now but i am at work so a promise is all i can get out.
Briefly, i had a 22 week ultrasound last Saturday. there was some concern with a Quad test that pointed to some possible genetic issues but that was all clarified with this exam because the correct due date matched one that was determined at the last ultrasound about 3 weeks ago and based on those numbers, and the actual images of the baby, everything looks as good as it can for now.
the world knows this already, but it's a boy. i have been buying lots of clothes, including the outfit i would like him to wear home from the hospital. i am also already buying diapers when on sale, and am prepping Ella by encouraging her new liking of taking care of her "baby", a stuffed dog Carl bought her months ago.
on her own, she started putting him to "night, night", then i bought her a stroller to push him around in, and then i showed her how he fit in her highchair so she could feed him, and last night i put him in a diaper and gave him a pacifier so he could go to bed with her. she didn't like the diaper part but this morning she was keen on giving him a pacifier. very cute.
i have lots of photos of all of these things and i PROMISE to put them on here soon.

happy Fourth!

3 days weekend. what a nice thing it is to have a holiday. Yesterday we spent the day with Beth at Bill and Mary's house (they are out of town). Between the three of us we watched Ella while managing time to read and relax.
Ella was in a good mood for most of the day. She is very active and wants us to be a part of her endless activity. i just can't handle it. i am more of a nap and read person but i somehow manage to make it through each day and to feel some pride about not being an awful parent.
Today started out gray and rainy and because it was my day to sleep in while Carl attended to Ella i didn't think twice about it until i finally did wander downstairs at 8 am and found Carl frustrated with Ella. She loves to go outside but for obvious (to us) reasons she couldn't today and this put her in crying/whining mode. Carl put up with it as long as he could but as soon as i came down he went back to bed. i understand. Ella does that to me too. Right now they are out at the gym where Carl has been taking Ella on Sundays to swim so i can have some quiet.
i don't know what we will be doing the rest of the weekend but it is nice to not have any plans since every weekend for the rest of the month is already packed with plans.