Merry Christmas!

I am going to finish up Ellie's 25 days of Christmas after Tuesday.  We are having so much fun, and I just haven't had any time to update anything.  I am not going to worry about posting over the next couple of days; we are hosting Christmas this year and are so busy getting everything prepared.  I am enjoying my time with Mike and Ellie so much!  My loves!

I hope you all have a great Christmas with your families and friends!  I am so thankful 2000 years ago the Lord sent His one and only Son to be born, live a sinless life, die, and be raised to life!  He is our Hope!  He is our salvation!  

Collage of Days 13-16

Minus day 15...I never got a picture!  I cannot believe it!  I will have to dress her in it again...oops!  Day 15 was Saturday, and we drove to San Antonio and were busy all day and then Mike and I went to the Riverwalk to go to his company's Christmas party.  We spent our first night away from Ellie and we had such a good time!  We sure did miss our baby, though.  I may, or may not, have sent a text to my siblings around 2:30 am asking someone to make sure the booster seat was strapped to the kitchen chair.  Some people may not admit that, but I am just keeping it real.  And when future generations read this they can feel better about themselves for, hopefully, not being as crazy as their mom/grandma/great-grandma, etc.  

Here are, in order, days 13, 14, and 16!  They are horrible pictures...I don't know what is wrong with my camera phone but it is taking the WORST quality pictures lately.  Boo.  Time to bring out the camera.  Day 13 doesn't appear to be Christmas-y, but it is our take of a holiday dress!  We have another one coming up this week, but we have cute tights to wear with it.  The day she wore the purple one it was, once again, hot and I just couldn't put tights on her.

We went to the zoo on Friday with our friends, Shelby and Finn, and I snapped this cute picture. (no she is not wearing a Christmas outfit because that days outfit was a dress and I didn't want her wearing that to the zoo)

Sweet little redheads!  Love them!

See y'all soon!

Day 12!

Welcome back!  We are almost halfway through with the month; can you believe it??  It is going so quickly.  Ellie has been very busy lately perfecting her walk, eating lots of fun foods, and helping me sort the mail.  I kind of like her method...

Most of it is garbage anyway!  She has been doing the cutest things lately.  If I say 'hmmm', she does the same thing.  She loves touching our noses and mouths.  She loves to play peek-a-boo, and will do it all day long if we play along.  The other night at dinner she was grabbing my hand, and Mike's, and putting them together.  Each time we stopped holding hands she would grab them and put them back together.  It was so, so sweet.  She plays with her bows and tries to put them in her hair.  When she can't get it she will hand it to me and duck her head so I can put it on.  Then she removes it and does it all over again.  I love that she plays with them, but I wish she would leave it in at some point.  Ha!  It seems every day she is learning something new.  She LOVES to read...some days the only things she pulls from her toy bin are books.  Love it!  I can say one line from a book and she will go pick that book up and start to 'read' it.  Smart girl!  I love this stage so much, and it seems each age gets better and better.

Let's look at her OOTD!  (outfit of the day!)

Ellie has lost several pounds since she started walking, and she is starting to even out.  Which came to our advantage today because I accidentally bought today's outfit in a 6-12 month.  Oops.  I bought it at a local consignment store so no take-backs.  Ha...figures.  It fit her just fine though!  It came with little bloomers, but it was a bit too chilly to wear them so I threw on leggings instead.  She even got to wear her fun new shoes.

She loves gathering leaves, and that is what she was doing in the first picture.  It is so funny!  As long as she doesn't try to eat what she picks up outside I am fine with her gathering.

I am having so much fun with her little outfits...I better live it up this year, because I can guarantee Mike will not allow any repeats...

See you tomorrow!

Days 8-11

Does anyone else feel this month is flying by?  We have so much going on, and Mike has been so busy at work lately he hasn't been getting home till after 7.  I'm sure you mommies out there can agree that makes for a very long day!  I feel we have gotten absolutely nothing accomplished!  I know that is not true, but our to do list is a mile long and not getting any shorter!  Let's catch up on Ellie's 25 days of Christmas!  

Day 8!

We had to run to the store to get one item so I let her ride in the basket.  I love the pouty face in the middle. Haha!  So sad!  I love this little outfit, and I love the picture where she is reaching for the teddy bear ornament.  It has an E on it, and it is the one ornament she knows she can pull off and play with.  It is so cute to watch her try and put it back on the tree.

Day 9!

Mike and I had a Christmas party to attend so my sister, Allison, took these pictures while babysitting her.  She was watching Bubble Guppies.  Haha...I love the second picture.  Mike watches TV the same way.  Nature or nurture...you decide....

Day 10!

I took Ellie to see Santa at Bass Pro Shop...we were going to do it at the mall, but I was appalled at the price of the pictures so we went to Bass where the pictures are free!  I know my picture of the picture isn't the best.  She didn't scream, but she was too distracted to do much else.  Her little shirt says "Santa loves me", and this sweet Santa said, 'yes he does, little one'.  Ahhh...melted my heart.

After our trip to see Santa we went to Target and played around in the baby clothes...

Day 11!

My little poinsettia in front of my fake poinsettias.  Ha!  She is so sweet, and I am in love with this Baby Lulu outfit.  So cute!

I've mentioned before our little scare last year at Christmas that landed us in the hospital for 10 days with Ellie receiving IV antibiotics.  I am realizing the lasting effects of that this month.  I don't know if it is because I have so much to look forward to and I am scared of our plans being thwarted, or if the season is just going to invoke this fear in me for awhile.  I feel every little thing that Ellie seems off in scares me.  I'm sure I'm driving our pediatrician crazy, and I'm sure she regrets us moving down the street and giving me her cell.  I sure appreciate it though.  After our hospital visit I counted down the weeks between when she got sick...so I would always tell Mike how far away we were from that each week.  Oh, we are 2 weeks out, 4 weeks out, etc.  I was so, so, so thankful as each week passed and we had our sweet, perfect, healthy Ellie with us.  I loved getting further and further away from that time.  I will confess I have not been an easy-going mom.  I have read so many sad stores, and my sinful worry nature shines each time I read one.  Shines ugly.  I lay at night wondering if she is okay upstairs or if those spots on her back could be signs of meningitis.  I know.  Crazy.  She wasn't drinking a lot over the weekend, and I was trying everything.  I even offered my orange soda, and she would have nothing to do with it.  It scared me!  I freaked!  It turns out she just wants to hold all of the drinks herself.  Silly mommy!  I don't know what it is about being a mom that makes me so psycho.  It could be because I love this child so much, more than I could ever have imagined, and so much about her life is out of my hands.  Sometimes, at me weakest moments, I have to constantly remind myself that even though I don't have control over every aspect of her life, I know Who does.  I have to remind myself Jesus holds my sweet baby in His hands, and He has this under control.  He has this!  It isn't always easy, and as we creep close to December 15th...our own D-day...I have to remind myself again that she is healthy, happy, and here!

I know one day it will be a distant memory.  I want to move past the fear and worry, and just focus on remembering that time as one where we saw God's faithfulness.  We witnessed His provision first-hand, and we are so, so grateful.

I will do better the rest of the week with posting our outfit of the day as she wears them...not days later!  I hope y'all are having a great week!

Day 7!

Today was a great day!  We had a doctor's appointment this morning, went to Target to shop for presents for my sister's pseudo baby shower tomorrow, and then SOMEONE took a 2 hour nap!!!!  I am pretty sure the angels were singing along with me.  It was great!  Ellie hasn't napped like that in months, and this mama was so happy her baby realized how good a long nap feels.  Here's hoping for a few repeats!

So onto the fun stuff...

I realized tonight while we were getting ready to put Ellie in her pj's that I hadn't taken a picture of her outfit. Fail.  It was then I realized I am not very good at documenting things I intend to document.  Haha!  I never have the camera at times most people would remember their camera...or at least their cell phone!  I guarantee I will have a ton of pictures of Ellie eating, shopping, playing with her toys, and reading her books. Stuff she does every single day.  But the special stuff, events, outfits?  Good luck!

These pictures feature one very tired baby...and for your viewing pleasure I am including a super blurry picture so you can see how cute she is mid-walk.  I know.  Ridiculous.  I'm thinking it, too.

She is just wearing a sweet shirt from Carter's with a pair of brown leggings.  As much as I love her boutique and smocked outfits, there is just something about Carter's!  I feel they hold up so well to everyday wear.  I also feel they grow with her better than most clothes.  I just love them.  For those wondering, she is holding her diaper rash cream in one picture, and trying to eat it in another.  It is the small things.

I have asked Mike to remind me to take her picture in the morning tomorrow when she is bright eyed and bushy-tailed.  We will see if either of us remembers!

I hope y'all have a great weekend!

Days 5&6!

I am a bit behind, and I will confess we missed a day of our 25 days of Christmas.  Tuesday we had a monsoon, and Ellie didn't get dressed or leave the house.  She was in pj's all day long!  That's okay.  Let me stop for a second and debut my new graphic for the rest of Ellie's 25 days of Christmas...I love it!  Isn't this a fun way to add flair to this months' posts?  (thanks, Leslie!)

We picked it back up on Wednesday, and we even got to go have lunch and meet a sweet newborn baby girl.  My friend Rebecca had Charlotte on election day, and she is just the sweetest!  We had so much fun!  Ellie helped herself to some puppy toys, and Charlotte's paci.  Oops.  Sorry, Charlotte!!  I had not taken any pictures of her cute monogrammed peppermint shirt so I decided to do a video before getting her ready for bed.  It isn't great quality, and if you prefer to not hear my voice then I suggest you mute your speakers!

Today we ventured out to the mall to check out some sales at the Vera Bradley store.  Today is the 30th anniversary and they had different sales for different time blocks.  The first one was from open to 2pm.  50% off one item!  Yay!  So we went, and we waited in line for 45 minutes to pay for our one item.  Call me crazy, but I love me some Vera Bradley!  Poor Ellie.  She was so good until we were about 5 people from the registers.  Then she lost it.  After we paid I let her walk around this little area that had benches and Christmas trees.  She had so much fun!  Today's outfit is in honor of the non-traditional Christmas colors.  I love the fun colors...teal, purple, pink, etc., but Mike hates them.  We only have traditional Christmas colors in our house, but when I saw this shirt I thought we could pretend the deer is Clarice from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer!

Fun, huh?  She walked around for about 20 minutes until it was time to head home for nap.  She was so good, and such a trooper to suffer through our Vera Bradley experience.  I love my new purse!  :)

Thank you for stopping by...I appreciate you reading my seemingly shallow postings on Ellie's Christmas wardrobe.  We don't have too much exciting going on right now, but we are thankful for healthy days this December.  See you tomorrow!

Marriage after baby...and more Christmas!

I've been thinking a lot about my marriage: how it is now and how it was before Ellie.  I love being married.  I love my husband...he is still so handsome and so funny to me, and that 'spark' is definitely still there.  After Ellie was born, and she wasn't sleeping at all and our days were so off, I wondered if we would ever get that husband and wife time back.  I missed it.  When you have no sleep, and can hardly tell your days from nights it is easy to become fatalistic.  Ha!  Our nights eating dinner together and talking at the table, or eating in front of the TV watching our favorite shows were some of my favorite times.  Ellie started sleeping through the night a little after 10 weeks, and we quickly found ourselves in a new normal.  We were able to eat together, clean the house, watch TV, etc.  It all became very routine, though.  

There is nothing wrong with routine, but I also want there to be some special times.  Most of all I want Mike to feel loved and respected as the man of the house.  I want to start making his special meals, and pack his lunches again.  Maybe even get up and make him breakfast.  Mike, if you happen to read this please note I said MAYBE...I make no promises so don't get your hopes up.  I think one of the most important things I can do for Ellie is to love her daddy.  I want her to see my priorities as serving the Lord first, loving my husband second, and being a mommy to my kids third.  I think the first two are necessary for me to successfully do the third.  I want to show her a marriage full of love, passion, and fun.  I want to show her that with God's help, a marriage can last till death do us part.  Marriage isn't always easy, but spending a lifetime with my best friend is worth all of the 'discussions'.  Ha!  

I will leave you with some super cute pictures of Ellie on day 3 of our 25 days of Christmas mission!  We didn't do anything 'festive' yesterday except for some Christmas shopping.  I am about halfway done with gift buying, and my goal is to finish before every place gets super crazy.

She is applauding herself for smiling for the camera in this last one...haha!  Whatever it takes!

See y'all tomorrow!

Day 2 of Ellie's 25 Days of Christmas!

I had planned on doing a couple of different things today out of the house, but poor Ellie is majorly teething.  She is getting two HUGE teeth.  There have been many breakdowns in this house today...and not just by Ellie. ;)  Oh the fits!  Today was the first time she has thrown herself on the ground and kicked her legs.  It was both funny and sad.  These teeth, y'all.  They are winning.  We ended up staying around the house all day, finishing the tree and working on the outside decorations.  

The teeth are seriously right there, so I am hoping we will be a little happier here in the next couple of days when they finally push through.  Ellie still looked so, so cute in her little Elf smocked outfit.  I love this outfit!  It came with pants, but since it was 81 degrees today she wore it with the bloomers that were made for her birthday outfit.  Thank goodness I had those!  They matched perfectly!

Ellie was not about to humor me by looking at the camera...

I tried to help her out by giving her a strand of lights to play with.

The bow was gone at this point. :(  Breaks my heart.

The picture fun ended when she did this...

No baby was hurt in the taking of these pictures.

Here is a picture of our almost finished tree.  I have some gaps to fill, but I ran out of ornament hangers.  I love how it looks!  The bottom only has ornaments I don't mind her grabbing if she happens to sneak one past me.  I have a stuffed felt nativity set and glittery snowflakes down there that won't hurt her, or won't be hurt by her.  Ha!

Tomorrow we are going to finish the decorating the inside, and hopefully, the outside of the house.  I cannot wait to show y'all!  

I hope y'all have a great Monday!  See you tomorrow!

Ellie's 25 Days of Christmas

Happy December!  I am so glad it is here...even if it did get close to 80 degrees today.  :(  Last year, for Ellie's first Christmas, we didn't get to do exactly what we had wanted to.  December 15th, when she was 8 weeks old, she contracted group B strep.  It was a bacterial infection that could have been deadly, but it was caught in time and we are forever grateful.  They weren't sure how she got it, one doctor said it was late onset from birth (I tested positive for it, and was given many rounds of antibiotics during labor), and another doctor said it was contracted environmentally.  We will never really know, but those 10 days in the hospital while she was on IV antibiotics were long and scary.  We felt so blessed though, and so thankful it was caught when it was and nothing permanent came from it.  

This year I am determined to live it up, as much as she and Mike will let me!  We are doing 25 days of Christmas outfits!  Yay!  Most of you know how much I love dressing my little one up in super cute clothes, so this is really a perfect fit for us.  (I figure I might as well do this now while she has no say!)  We are also doing all of the little events I can talk Mike into!  Tonight we went to a little neighborhood Christmas party.  They turned on all of the lights, and Santa was there.  There was also a DJ who played all of today's greatest hits...and not a single Christmas song.  Strange, no??  Ellie had a blast walking around the park, watching the big kids play, and dancing to the music.  We also got to snack on cheese, crackers, and cookies.  It was really nice!  The lights are beautiful!  I was a horrible mom/blogger and forgot both the camera and my phone but I did manage to bring my glass of wine.  I will take pictures of the lights this week when we are out for a walk.  

Today's outfit is Christmas plaid, and I love it!  We were coming back to town after being at my parents' house to celebrate their 35th anniversary (more on that to come!), so I didn't manage to get a picture till tonight.  She was not at all cooperative!  

Ignore the unfinished tree in the background!

Please come back each day to check out our 25 days of Christmas!

Also please check out Leslie's blog for a Spark giveaway.  We love Spark over here!  Don't forget to follow my blog for another giveaway opportunity!