Merry Christmas!

Christmas has always been one of my favorite times of the year. When I was little I remember thinking it took forever for Christmas to get here. As an adult it feels like it all happens at warp speed! This was an extra special Christmas for us because it was sweet Ella's first Christmas! Her gift to us...step after step after step! Here she comes...look out Ella is walking! She is after the tree and after the presents, but most of all she is after her brother! Yes, there were lots of presents under our tree this year, but I think my favorite presents of all were the white snow that covered everything. I can't remember the last time we had a white Christmas. My other favorite present...Andrew spent Christmas morning with us. The two of us got to watch my sweet babies experience Christmas magic. Santa couldn't have delivered anything more perfect!

New Friends

During our trip to Pittsburgh we were fortunate enough to be able to see several of our close friends. When I first met my friend Shawnee many years ago it was a friendship at first sight! I must say I think the same has happened between our children. Ethan, who is normally a sit back and take it all in kind of kid, joined right in on the Ogrowdowski dance party that took place in their basement! He and Drew also invented a new game called, Mix It All Up. I am sure that my always organized friend, Shawnee, really appreciated this game where Ethan and Drew took literally every toy they had in their house and mixed them all up! What a mess, but a fun mess to make and clean up! My heart couldn't be happier watching Ethan, Drew, Ryland and Ella play together. My only sadness is that we live so far away and don't get to do this on a regular basis. Even though many miles separate us friends we will always be!

Up, up and away on Turkey Day!

This Thanksgiving our family has a LOT to be thankful for! I am betting if you ask Ethan what he is thankful for he would say the airplane ride he took on Thanksgiving Day! We were fortunate enough to be able to fly to Pittsburgh to see Jared's family for Turkey Day! It was wonderful to be able to spend time with friends and family that we don't get to see often enough. This was Ethan and Ella's first trip on an airplane. Ethan loved every aspect of flying. He loved the airport, getting the suitcases, boarding the plane, and of course all the fun snacks he got to eat on the plane! He also loved being able to spend time with his Mimi, aunt, uncles and cousins. I would have to say this Thanksgiving I am most thankful for my two beautiful children. This was Ella's first Thanksgiving, and she of course made me feel like our family was complete. She is the perfect addition to our family. Ethan and Ella are the bright spots in my day! I couldn't think of two more perfect children for me. I feel so very blessed to have them in my life! So, even though this is one day where we all stop to give thanks for all the blessings in our lives, I have to say this has been a year where not a day has gone by where I haven't said thank you for my two most precious gifts!

Trick or Treat

I know why Peter Pan didn't want to grow up! Go trick or treating with a two year old and you will know why too! Ethan was so excited to get dressed in his pirate costume that you could feel his electric energy in the air. I must say he looked pretty darn cute in his swashbuckling attire! We went to some neighborhood friend's house for dinner and pre-sugar fest before the real action began. Once we got started trick or treating it was like watching Ethan walk on air. He bolted from door to door each time saying, "twick or tweat." His face must have hurt from smiling so much! Those big brown eyes were as wide as could be as he admired his bountiful stash of candy. A pirate he was, and he got something better than gold to a two year old...lots and lots of candy! My sweet little Ella tuckered out before she ever got started. Luckily she made it into her cat costume before falling fast asleep. She and her daddy spent the evening rocking on the porch and handing out candy. It's funny how as we get older the magic of trick or treating starts to fade. Luckily a young pirate unlocked a lot of fond memories for me and helped me make some new ones. If I could bottle this night and save it for a bad day I would, as it was truly a night of treats for all of us!

On the Move

Guess who is on the move at our house this week??? You guessed it...Miss Ella has decided one way or another she is going to keep up with her big brother. She has taken off crawling all over the house. Needless to say life has changed for everyone around here. Mommy and daddy are trying to make sure the house is securely baby proofed again while Ethan tries to protect his toys from his sister shoving them in her mouth. It is fun to watch her chase after us with her little head down going as fast as she can. It is amazing to see her get faster and faster each day. It is hard to believe just a few months ago I was holding this tiny little infant in my arms, and now she is on the move with the rest of us! My baby girl is growing up way too fast!

The Great Pumpkin

It's October, and you know what that means....it's pumpkin time! Every year since Ethan has been born we have gone to pick pumpkins at a local pumpkin patch. This year it was Ella's first trip. She absolutely loved it! Even though she doesn't like to eat food very much she definitely enjoys a good handful of dirt or leaves! Notice her laying on the pumpkins...we decided she looks like she is posing to be Miss October! This year we were fortunate enough to go to the pumpkin patch with our friends Dave, Melissa, and Boston Porter. This was Boston's first trip to the pumpkin patch too. Ella and Boston had lots of fun sitting among the pumpkins watching Ethan race around looking for the perfect pumpkin. Ethan and daddy found three perfect pumpkins for our family. I can hardly wait to see Jared work his Halloween magic and transform our pumpkins into friendly Jack-o-lanterns! I always thought summer was my favorite season, however as I have gotten older fall has definitely found a special place in my heart. Nothing is better than that cool crisp morning air, a hayride, a cup of apple cider, and of course picking pumpkins. Happy Fall Y'all!

The Keeping Quilt

If you have ever read the children's book, The Keeping Quilt, by Patricia Polocca you know that it is the true story of how Patricia came to own a beautiful quilt that was passed down from her great grandmother. The quilt was hand made and used to get married under, wrap new babies in, and be a comfort for Patricia's great grandmother at the end of her life. I have always loved this story, partly because I can relate to it so well because my own mother was a quilter. I have several quilts that she made and I truly cherish each and everyone of them. It has often made me sad that my own children will not get to experience the gifts she possessed in the area of quilting and creating. However to my surprise this is not exactly the case! My mom had a sewing room in our house growing up. I could always find her in there working tirelessly on her latest project. It often seemed like Santa's workshop! The room was filled with cloth and thread, just waiting to be made into the next great creation. I remember she had a corner on one of her shelves with some of my favorite fabrics on it. I often admired them and one day asked her if I could have a quilt out of them. Her answer was, "maybe someday." Little did I know that the "someday" she was talking about would come years later after her death. When my mom's sewing room was cleaned out I often wondered what happened to that fabric that I loved. I assumed it was given to friends who would use it to make something special to remember her by. However, to my surprise two special grandmother angels used that fabric to make a quilt for my own angelic daughter. My wonderful step mom,Cindy or "Granny C" as Ethan and Ella like to call her, found this fabric and must have known it was special. She used it to make Ella her very first quilt. On the inside of the quilt she embroidered the words to Ella Suzanne from your Granny C and Granny Suzanne. It gives me goose bumps just thinking that in her own way my mom made sure her granddaughter had a special quilt from her. It is truly one of the best gifts anyone has given me! Late at night when I go into Ella's room to rock her back to sleep I wrap us both in that quilt and I can feel my mother's arms wrapped around both of us. Even though she can't be here with us, I can feel her spirit gently rocking both of us saying everything is as it is meant to be. That quilt is like a little piece of grandmotherly love that I know Ella will cherish forever. It is her keeping quilt. I know that someday she will rock her own daughter and granddaughter in this quilt and my mom will be there with them all rocking them gently and wrapping them in her love.

I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream

I grew up in a very small town on a very small street. Not once did I ever hear an ice cream truck make its way by my house. Now that my old house has turned into "Grandpa's house" I guess magical things, like ice cream trucks can happen. On a random Friday visit to see Grandpa and Granny C we were outside playing when we heard the tinkling sounds of an ice cream truck. We were all blown away to hear it's merry tune traveling down Stone Drive. We rushed out to see it, and of course get some ice cream. Ethan was so excited to get ice cream from the ice cream truck for the first time. He chose a very yummy and messy red, white and blue popsicle. The funnier part to this story is that Ethan has an ice cream truck shirt that he loves to wear. Before we went to visit grandpa he insisted that he wear this shirt. If you look closely at his picture you can see it beneath all the sugar and drips. Yes, magical things happen when you are at grandpa's house...it must be kismet!

Halvsies

It's hard to believe, but my little sweetie, Ella, turned half a year old this month! How did that happen so quickly??? It is amazing to watch her grow and develop right before my eyes. She is now sitting up independently, can pick up small objects with her tiny little fingers, babbles as if she has endless things to talk about, and constantly smiles and giggles showing off her bubbly little personality! I often stop and look at her and think, how did I get so lucky? When I was a little girl I constantly played with baby dolls. I would feed them, change their clothes, and rock them to sleep. I must say I feel like a little girl again with my own sweet baby doll, only this time it is the real thing. I truly believe she is an angel put here on this earth to do great things. Ella's middle name is Suzanne, after my mother. I will tell you there have been many days that I have looked into her sweet little eyes and seen my mom smiling back at me. Ella is a healer, and even though she has only been on this earth for six months she has healed my heart immeasurably. Ella is our tiny little miracle, a true gift from God. It is hard to remember our lives without her!
Conversely, Ethan turned two and a half in July. He is the other half of our miracle family. My little baby boy, who I still think should be the same size as Ella, has turned into a big boy. He is fiercely independent, soaks in new knowledge as if he were a sponge, is curious about the world around him, asks at least 1000 questions a day, his favorite word is "why", jumps, runs, rolls, laughs, begs to play outside, loves art, sings at the top of his lungs, devours books, and is the keeper of my heart! This month for the first time he looked at me with his deep brown eyes and unprompted said, "I wuv you mommy!" I truly thought my heart would burst out of my body.
Being a mommy is one of the hardest yet most rewarding things I have ever done. It can't be done half way, it is a true blessing that I am thankful for everyday. I can't imagine my life without my two little halvsies, who combined make up my whole heart!

Beach Bums

We spent the first week of August being beach bums! There really is nothing in the world better than this! We are fortunate to be able to spend a week with our family on Figure 8 Island. We spent time building sandcastles, playing in the waves, and soaking in the summer sun. For a two year old little boy it doesn't get any better than this! Ethan had his two favorite playmates (daddy and Uncle Andrew) all to himself on the beach. It was fun watching him splash in the ocean and brave the waves with daddy in tow! Ella spent her time on the beach relaxing. I strolled her up and down the beach until she fell fast asleep. She slept and slept under the umbrella. Now that is my kind of beach excursion! Ella was not a fan of the sand or sticking her toes in the water. She much preferred a nice walk and snooze on the beach...a girl after my own heart! I must say that the only thing better than our days on the beach was the time we spent with our family. Ethan and Ella loved being with Grandpa and Granny C, as well as Uncle Andrew. It was also a treat to have daddy all to ourselves for a whole week! Vacations are the BEST, the only bad part is that they have to come to an end. Luckily we have our memories to tide us over until next summer!