Many new things!!

The past couple of weeks Ellie has changed dramatically! First she stated blowing raspberries. This is soo cute...except when she has food in her mouth :-) She stated scooting around on her belly a couple of weeks ago. Now she is crawling on her hands and knees! I can't believe how fast she is changing. Yesterday, she was trying to pull herself up to standing. She is going to be walking before I know it!!
We went to the zoo today! Ellie is a scardey-baby :-) We went to the dolphin show and she liked them until she got splashed. Then she was scared of everything! Even the fish. We took her to the gift shop and showed her some stuffed animals. She was afraid of those too! I guess we might have been a little young for the zoo :-)

Another year older...

Yesterday was my birthday! We had a very good day. I had to go to the dr in the morning and hopefully that is the last time I am there in a very long time! When Tyler got home from work we went to my parents' house. My mom cooked me all my favorites and we had a good time visiting with my mom, dad, sister, and her new stepsons. I got something for my birthday that I have been wanting for a long time...a Wii fit! It is very cool! It tells you your weight and BMI and makes a graph of your progress. There are a lot of games that really do give you a workout! There is hula hooping, running, yoga, and strength training exercises. Hopefully, this gives me some motivation to loose some weight. I think about 10 more lbs is all I need. I'll keep you posted on my progress!

Six month pictures!

Here are a few of Ellie's 6 month pictures:

Time for the big girl bed!

So, since Ellie has been born she has been sleeping in a pack and play in our room. Since she is 6 months old (and over the weight limit) I knew we needed to make the transition to the crib soon. I have just been putting it off because she doesn't sleep well and I still like having her close. Well, last night I found that I can put it off no more. She has been sleeping so terribly that I decided to let her cry a bit and try to learn to put herself to sleep. Well, it was not fun and at one point I went in to her and she has up in her knees holding on to the side of the pack and play! I didn't know she could pull up to her knees! She could have fallen out! So, today we made the transition! I went and bought a breathable crib bumper because I was afraid she would plant her face in her other one and suffocate. So tonight I turned on a white noise machine and put her in her bed...there was a lot of crying. I finally gave in and just nursed her to sleep. I put her down and she started crying so I just stayed and patted her until she fell asleep. So I guess she didn't out herself to sleep, but it was much less traumatic for both of us. Hopefully she likes her new bed and stays there all night! :-)
This weekend my sister got married! It is hard to believe but she looked she happy and beautiful! Here are some pictures from her big day.

Four years ago....

Tomorrow is our four year anniversary! In one way I can't believe it has been 4 years; then again it feels like we have been together forever. So much has happened over the last 4 years! I think that if you would have told me on my wedding day all that we would go through in the first years of our marriage, I wouldn't have believed you. We have been through so much! I think we are different people than when we were first married, but I would like to think that we have grown closer in the process. Here are the big events of the beginning of our marriage...the good and the not so good :-)

1. Graduating College- We got married right before our last year of school. I prayed and stressed a lot about whether we should get married then or wait until we graduated. Although it was a tough and busy year, I don't regret that we didn't wait. We were ready. We have some great memories from that year, although it was kind of a blur! :-)

2. My mom's breast cancer- About 6 months after we were married my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. This was quite traumatic for me. It made me realize that bad things don't just happen to other people, they can happen to my family too. She went through chemo and a mastectomy, through all of which Tyler was very supportive of me. I am happy to report that she is now cancer free :-)

3. Moving to Florida...and coming back :-)- This is another thing that I am very glad we did. We loved living in Florida, and hope to again someday. It was a good time to establish our independence and strike out on our own. We proved to ourselves that we could do it. We also gained great experience in the classroom that we wouldn't have gotten otherwise. This was a very tough year for Tyler with his class...I do wish that he would have had a better experience. We came back for many reasons...we are glad to be around our families. They are resources that can't be replaced!

4. My health issues- Up until about 2 years ago I would have considered myself a very healthy person. I had never been in the hospital, never had anything wrong with me at all. However, I told Tyler the other day that my 20's haven't been very good to me; I hope subsequent decades are much healthier. :-) It all started when we were in Florida and I found out that I have MS. The whole onset and diagnosis is a story in itself, but Tyler really established himself as my caretaker and let me know that we could get through anything. Although things are going well now, MS is very scary because you can be completely fine one day and very much not the next. I stopped taking my medicine when I got pregnant with Ellie, and occasional symptoms remind me that I really need to get back on it soon.
As for what has been going on lately...I don't know what is up! :-) Since Ellie has been born I have had 2 completely unrelated surgeries. Hopefully, my body is on the mend now and there will be no more setbacks.

5. Ellie's birth- What a life changing experience! Nothing could have prepared me for how much life would change or how much I would love this little person. We are no longer just a couple, but a family. We have a little girl who is a little bit of each of us and has bound us together forever. What an amazing journey this has been!

So, I think those are the major events. I can't believe how much has happened. I can't imagine what the next 4 years will hold for us. One thing hat has been proven to us over and over that I know will remain true...God will always take care of us. He has gotten us through quite a few messes so perfectly, I truly believe that He will always get us through.

Surprised by sadness

So...I didn't expect to feel this way. I realized today that this will be the first school year I have not started school since before I was in Kindergarten. Don't get me wrong; I am so glad I get to stay home with my Ellie, but part of me longs to be in the classroom. I became a teacher because I love it. I love the kids, the books, even the schools supplies :-) (Don't let me forget that there are some things I don't love as well) I feel like I learned a lot in my first few years teaching and working in schools. I am afraid I will loose all these skills and have to start back at square one. I just need to keep reminding myself that for everything there is a season, and this is my season to be a mommy. The teacher season will return.
Another thing on my mind is that I have been longing for more church. I have always been so involved in church. I don't think I have ever been less involved that I am now. Since Ellie has been born, I haven't quite found my fit. I always have her with me because of Tyler's work schedule and I am always worried about her being a distraction to other people if I bring her with me. So, my goal is to worry less and do more. I am tired of sitting on the bench of the kingdom, time to get in the game :-)

Sleep and a great weekend!

Last night was the first night in a long time that Ellie slept all night! Yeah! It was much needed :-) I had plans to rest and watch a TV show after Ellie went to bed, but I fell asleep with her at 8:30! The best part is, she slept until 7 this morning! It was wonderful! She has had two teeth pop through in the past week....I am hoping this is the source of the sleep problems.
I had a wonderful Saturday this past weekend! Tyler and I had a much needed day together. Since Ellie has been born, we have kind of been like two ships passing in the night. We are busy with her and he has been working a lot. One of the sacrifices we are making so that I can stay home is that he has to work another job for now. So some days he leaves at 8am and doesn't get home until midnight. So, needless to say, we haven't talked much lately. Our anniversary is Thursday, so we decided to have a day together. We went to Edinburg and went shopping at the outlet mall! I was in need of new clothes. I watched many episodes of What Not To Wear in preparation. I think I did ok. I ended up with 3 new shirts and some jeans. It will get me through for awhile :-) Next, we went to Target because I love Target! Last, we went to our favorite restaurant, Carrabas! It was sooo good! It was a great day to reconnect with my husband and remember why I love him. We'll have to do it more often!

I have moved!

So....I decided that I didn't like the format of my shutterfly page (mainly that I couldn't put pictures in my posts), so I have moved to Blogspot! I copied all my old posts below so that I am all in one place :-) I have never been much of a journaler, and I wasn't sure that anyone would want to read about the happenings of my life and random things that cross my brain. However, I have found that it is therapeutic! :-) It is good to have a place to sort your thoughts even of no one else reads it. And I realized that I read other people's blogs on a regular basis. I guess it makes me feel like I know people better. So, here I am! I have some things to write about later...but for now, I will leave you with a picture from this weekend...

What a crazy week!
The past week or so has been sooo crazy and has gotten us off of out routine! Tuesday morning I had to get up at 4am to go to the hospital. I had surgery to remove a 5lb cyst from my belly! I had to stay in the hospital for a few days, so poor Ellie is so off. Tyler was with her while I was in the hospital, but he brought her back and forth to the hospital so that I could see her, but still try and get her regular naps in. Since I have been home I haven't been able to take care of her still. I have an incision a little bit bigger than my c-section scar, so I am not able to lift Ellie right now. So, since Tyler went back to work, I have had either my mom or sister here to help me. Poor Ellie is so confused. At bedtime she just stares at whoever else is here like, "what are you doing here?" She has just been staying up later and later and trying not to sleep. Hopefully I will be feeling better soon and we can get back on our routine. I am so thankful for my family and for Tyler! He has done everything; going to work, taking care of me and, doing everything for Ellie. What a blessed woman I am!

First trip to the fair!
Yesterday Ellie took her first trip to the fair! She laughs every time she sees our cat, Pippin, and my sister's dog, Zoe, so I figured that she would like to see the animals. She wasn't very interested in the rabbits. But she watched a pig for a long time. I held her right up to a horse, but I don't think she realized it was alive; she was more interested in the streamers hanging from the stable. We also looked at goats, sheep, and cows. We looked at the 4-H exhibits, but she was most interested in chewing on her stroller seatbelt. However, I think she had a good time! She got to experience all the new sights (and smells!). The best part was that I got to eat some fair food! Yum yum! :-)
I have a cute picture of her in her hat and cool sunglasses that I will post when I get it uploaded.

We have a roller!

Finally! Just days shy of 5 months, Ellie can roll both ways! She has been rolling from her belly to her back for quite some time now, but she just hasn't been able to get over her arm to roll the other way. I think she has been able to do it for a while, she just hasn't tried too hard because she doesn't like to be on her belly. But, she finally did it tonight! With her new found rolling, she also started to scoot! However, she is scooting backwards, so we'll have to work on that :-) I am not ready for my little girl to be growing up so fast!
We had much success tonight in bedtime! We have been having a lot of trouble because Ellie fights sleep so badly! She doesn't ever want to sleep, but she will only when nursing. But, it is 8:30 and she is sleeping!! Yeah!!! Now, we just hope she stays asleep....

Filling you in up to now

Hello everyone! Since everyone else in the world has a blog, I guess we need one too! :-) In case we haven't spoken awhile, here is what has happened in the last 5 months:
Tyler and I were overjoyed to welcome our little girl, Elliana Grace, into the world on February 9th. She was born at 8:15 pm and weighed 8 lbs 5 oz. She is the best thing that ever happened to us! It is hard to describe how you feel about your baby...or how much life changes! All I can say is that I am totally amazed by the whole thing and I am completely enamored with my little girl.
Ellie is now almost 5 months old...which I cannot believe! Her smiles and laughter are the highlight of my days. She is now eating some solid food and starting to sit on her own! Time goes so fast! I am trying to cherish every moment!
Thank you for reading...hopefully I will be good at updating and this will be a good chronicle of our life with Ellie.
Blessings on each of you!