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!

Eat Your Peas Louise

Ella has her first taste of peas! At first she thinks they are pretty yummy, but changes her mind (as all girls are allowed to do) and decides to spit them out! At least she does it with a smile on her face!

Music Together

This summer I stumbled upon the music class of my dreams for Ethan and Ella. We have tried several different ones over the years, but this one was the perfect fit! Every Monday this summer we have gone to a Music Together class. Being a teacher myself I have always known that even if you have a great curriculum the teacher is the one who can make or break the learning that takes place. Well, that belief was hammered home to me again in this class. Our teacher's name was Ms. Phyllis, and let me tell you she was like the pied piper of music! When we started Ethan was his usual hesitant self in new situations! He likes to sit back and take it all in before he joins in the action. Ms. Phyllis recognized this right away and never once pushed him to do anything he might feel uncomfortable doing. By the end of the six weeks Ethan would march into the room, say a big hello to Ms. Phyllis, and even make song requests! On the last day I stood back and watched the boy who on the first day clung to my leg dance around freely, laughing and following not his mommy, but Ms. Phyllis around the room. He played instruments (the triangle is his favorite) and even opted to take a turn strumming on Ms. Phyllis' guitar when she offered it to him. Ms. Phyllis brought out the best in Ethan and instilled a true love for music in him. Even though we only had Ms. Phyllis for six weeks in our lives this summer she is truly someone we will never forget!

Firsts

There have been lots of "firsts" going on around our house the past few weeks. Ella rolled over for the first time, however she only does it at night in her bed so none of us can see!! Today she sat in her big brother's high chair and ate rice cereal for the first time! Believe it or not she loved the stuff! She kept eating spoonful after spoonful. Ethan was very excited that his sister was eating real food just like him! Tonight when I said I needed to feed Ella, Ethan asked, "Is she going to eat more cereal like me?" It is hard for me to believe that my sweet baby girl is ready to eat real food. It is even harder for me to believe that in a few short days she will be half a year old. I can't even remember life without our little sweetie! So even though she has had a few firsts lately I know that there are many more that lie ahead. We have walking, talking, and crawling just a few mere months away. I try as hard as I can to watch her and imprint these moments and many more with her in my memory forever. It still seems like Ethan should be doing these things for the first time. How quickly these firsts go by, I don't want to forget a single one of them or anything in between!