Party Time!

We had Ellis' first birthday party on May 25th and it was so much fun! We did a Very Hungry Caterpillar theme since it's been one of our favorite books to read to her. She was so sweet at her party and had a lot of fun. She especially enjoyed opening her presents and with every new present she would say, "Oooh". She was such a lucky girl to have her grandparents, 2 of her great grandmas, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends there. Here are some pictures of her party. 

Party Invite

 Welcome to the Party!

A Caterpillar Collage of her monthly pictures birth-1 year

Family Picture (You can even see Baby Nora)

Ellis with her Great Grandmas

Ellis & her friends playing on the blanket

Smash Cake

She loved everyone singing "Happy Birthday"

"Mmmm, looks yummy"

She wasn't quite sure about the cake, so mom & dad
helped her get her hands dirty

She wasn't too thrilled to have icing all over her hands

Time to open presents!


She had plenty of help from her cousins

We got this slide/swing combo for Ellis and she has really enjoyed it

Lincoln & Aiden having fun "playing" ladder ball

Graham wanted to play too

Family picture the next day that included Adrienne, Mike & the 

boys. Graham was still sleeping when we took family pictures at the party. 

Ellis at 1 Year

One year. I can't believe that it's been one year. It's taken me a few weeks to write this blog because I just was a little overwhelmed by it. I didn't know if I should do a one year post and then a birthday party post or do it all as one, so I've just been avoiding it. (Not like it really matters either way, ha) Anyway, I decided to do two separate ones so be looking for the birthday party one in the coming days. 

On May 30, Ellis was one. The days leading up to her birthday Matt and I were reminiscing about the few days before Ellis' birth. Things like, "one year ago today was our last night sleeping in our house without a child, one year ago today was our last night of sleeping straight through the night, one year ago today we were laying on the couch when my water broke, one year ago today we excitedly drove to the hospital, one year ago today we met the sweetest little girl" and on and on. In the past year we have been so blessed and have really grown as a family. Every day that we have with Ellis we learn more about how to love her and how much the Father loves us. Sometimes it's difficult being the people that are solely responsible for this child that's been entrusted to us but it also comes with so much joy and happiness. We're so excited for the years to come with this little girl!

Ellis at one you are:

• 18 lbs, 3 oz and 28 inches long
• Constantly moving and you are quick
• Eating like a little piggy. Some of your favorites are: turkey, spaghetti, green beans, peaches, applesauce, cereal bars, watermelon, cheerios, yogurt, any kind of bread, fruit pouches
• Drinking out of a sippy cup, we're working on adding in milk and dropping bottles
• Walking along furniture and while holding our hands
• Saying "Uh Oh, DaDa, MaMa, Bye, Hi, BaBa (bottle)" You also have your version of "What's that?"
• Mimicking sounds 
• Signing "All Done" and "More"
• Learning to sort shapes and put toys away
• Dancing anytime you hear music
• Playing hide and seek, your favorite part is when we scare you
• Riding in a big girl carseat
• Iffy about the feeling of grass
• Loving when daddy throws you into pillows on the bed
• Riding on the "cars" that you got for your birthday
• Pulling up to look out the windows
• Giving us toys when we ask for them

 

Such a big girl sitting in her chair!

 This was the only picture I could catch before

she rolled over

"Mom, I really prefer to sit"

One year pictures at Hendrix

"Look what I can do"

Ellis,
It seems like you learn something new everyday. You are constantly laughing, talking and exploring. You love to play with your toys and want us to be right there with you playing along. You are such a smart, loving little girl. We are so glad that God chose us to be your mommy and daddy. We love you!
Love,
Mommy & Daddy

Baby D #2 Is A....

BABY D IS A GIRL!!!!

We went to the doctor on April 30th for our 20 week ultrasound. As always, it was so wonderful to see our healthy baby. And on top of that it was so nice that she cooperated so that we know we're having another little girl. We are so excited to be having another daughter. It will be such a blessing for her and Ellis to be so close in age growing up. We're just praying that they get along well and that they will be best friends.

Here's Nora Grace DeMott:

She's absolutely beautiful already!

20 weeks, May 4th

"Pink for girl or blue for boy? Which one?"

"Girl?!? I'm so excited to have a sister!!!"

Ellis wanted to get in the pictures too

Ellis at 11 months

On April 30th, Ellis was 11 months old! She is getting to be such a "big" girl and is a lot of fun. She has an opinion about most things but to our delight is still a sweet, cuddly, loving little girl. This past month has been kind of rough on her because she's had the stomach bug and then an ear infection pretty much back to back. And on top of that this girl has the craziest allergies and it's tough to stay ahead of them!

Ellis, at 11 months you:

• Weigh 17 lbs, 4 oz (per your most recent Dr's visit on 4/26 for your stubborn ear infection)
• Pull to stand on everything!
• Cruise a few steps around furniture
• Are very curious, you follow mommy & daddy all around the house, exploring everything
• Are an expert at crawling
• Are a social butterfly, everywhere we go you wave "hi" & "bye" to people and stare at them intently to get their attention
• Only wanting to eat off of a "real" spoon, no more baby spoons for you!
• Give lots of kisses (especially to daddy)
• Still jabbering and "singing" 
• Like to get ALL of your toys out of your bins so you can play with all of them at once

Waving "hi" to mommy

We had a rare snow day on May 3rd! (and on the 4th too but it didn't accumulate) 

It was a first for NWA.

Ellis,

Every day you seem to be learning and growing. We love playing with you and watching you explore. You are such a fun little girl with a spunky personality! We love you!

Love,

Mommy & Daddy

Ellis at 10 months

10 months! I can't believe that I'm writing about Ellis at 10 months! Matt and I were talking the other day about how fast it's gone by but at the same time it seems like she's been in our lives for forever. This month has been a big one for this little girl. She is learning so much and changing so fast. She continues to be the happiest little girl we know.

Ellis, this month you:

• Have 2 bottom teeth
• Started crawling on hands & knees
• Crawling over things (our legs, pillows, any barricade we put up)
• Pulling from sit to kneel (so we lowered your crib)
• Pulled from sit to stand (only one time that we've seen, to get the iPad)
• Are starting to string "phrases" together
• Had your first ear infection and bronchitis at the same time. Even though you didn't feel good you were still happy for the most part. You even took your medicine like a champ, inhaler and all! You didn't eat very well for about a week but your appetite has come back.
• Started playing chase, we say "I'm going to get you" and you crawl the other way. Or sometimes you just stop and laugh until we get there
• Wave hi & bye, and it's so cute because you turn your hand toward yourself when you wave
• Give kisses when we ask, but you're starting to get more picky about when you give them
• Have started hollering to get people's attention, especially other kids
• Still love your softie & paci
• Love stuffed animals/soft toys, especially your hog, "Sue". You get more excited about stuffed animals than any other toy
• Nicknames we have for you are: Ellis Bellis, Belle, EB, EC,

The last few times I've put her in the basket
she gives me a look like, "Are you
serious? I'm too big for this"

This is her "Oh Sue, I just love you so much

and am so glad to see you" face

"See my two teeth?"

She can finally get the toys out of the bins by herself

So proud of herself for getting the animals

Ellis,

Your personality just continues to grow each day. You are definitely starting to get more opinionated and we love it! You smile at everyone that says, "hi" to you (and even those that don't) everywhere we go. Even when you didn't feel well you were still the sweetest little girl. We love you so much!

Love,

Mommy & Daddy

Easter 2013

Easter was so much fun this year with Ellis. There's just something about you and your hubby getting to take your little girl to church on Easter Sunday. It makes you realize the sacrifice that God made, it's unimaginable. It's just amazing the love that the Father has for us! And we are so grateful.

Easter morning we got up early (when do we not wake up early!) and went to church. We now have 2 services, so we went at 9 and then were home in time for Ellis' nap! You'll notice below that Ellis didn't participate in an Easter egg hunt on her 1st Easter. It was scheduled the weekend before Easter and the weather just didn't cooperate (it was snowing)! But she did get to "hunt" for her basket after church. The rest of the day was just a fun Sunday of playing with Ellis. That evening we continued our Easter tradition and ate dinner with the Latimers. They came over to our house and we had great time watching the girls play.

A little serious on Easter morning, it was early for pictures

We hid her basket in her room next to her sleep sheep that she 

loves. We thought she'd be so excited to see the basket with 

a new toy, but she crawled over and wanted to play with

the sheep, ha!

Baby D #2

This week marks 14 weeks with Baby D #2! I can't believe how fast this pregnancy is already going by! On January 13th Matt and I got quite the surprise when I took a pregnancy test (or 3) and it (they) were positive. We weren't planning on having another baby this soon but we are definitely excited. The new baby is due September 18th, so Ellis will be 16 months old. We've heard from everyone that the next few years will be a blur but that we will survive. We know it's going to be crazier than we could ever imagine but it's such a blessing that our children will be so close in age and hopefully best friends. 

So far this pregnancy has been different than with Ellis. This time I'm tolerating sweets (yay!) but I have a lot more morning & evening sickness (boo!)   I'm hoping that the sickness will subside soon but am thankful that I feel well during the day for work. At 14 weeks Baby D is the size of a lemon and weighs about 1.5 ounces. I think it's amazing that this little baby can already squint, frown, grimace & possibly suck his/her thumb! So far everything is going well and we're just ready to meet this little guy/girl!

January 27, 2013: 6 week belly bump

8 week ultrasound at first doctor's appointment

We couldn't see much but the heartbeat was definitely strong at 165!

Ellis announcing our newest addition

March 24, 2013: 14 week belly bump