First White Dress

Since I didn't get to see Ellie in her blessing dress, we had a little photo shoot a couple weeks later. That girl!! She is so dang cute. If I waited any longer, the dress would not have fit! She is much bigger than Brinley was at this age. Enjoy!

Linking up with Lindsay @ Hello Hue

Ellie's Blessing Day

It was our plan all along to bless Ellie over the holiday break, but at home or at Church, we weren't too sure. Ryan's family were flying back into town from being in Idaho a few days before the last Sunday we were going to be in town. Everything was going great.

Until that Saturday night/early Sunday morning, I got hit with a gigantic sick bus and thought my life was ending. Ryan, the girls and I stayed home from Church and the dream of having a home Baby Blessing came true. See, I was blessed at my grandparents home just days after I was born, so it was pretty special that Ellie was blessed at her grandparents home.

I was so sick. I couldn't do anything except have wild spats of crying because I had a fever, chills, so congested, muscle aches; the works. I was a train wreck! Ryan did the best he could watching the girls, but I had to still nurse Ellie. I wore a mask when I did, but since I wasn't eating much or drinking much, my milk was not doing so good. I tried to pump, but she probably took 3-4 bottles throughout the day.

siiiiick!

After church, Ryan's family came over to my parents house and they blessed Ellie. I was sitting upstairs with my sister (who was also sick) watching the blessing go on. Brinley was asleep and missed the entire thing too. I'm sure someday it will hit me that I wasn't there for Ellie's blessing, but I knew that we couldn't miss it. It had to happen while we were there, and she was surrounded by all her loved ones. 

She sure did cry, though. The moment where she needs to be a peaceful little cherub babe, she lets it rip. Holy cow. I just kept laughing because honestly, she is not a crying/fussy baby, so for her to have this moment was so cute. Brinley was quiet during her actual blessing, but she was a mess during pictures. Fun to look back and compare! Poor Ry had to keep his words short, and I'm sure none of us heard anything. But, our mission to have her blessed was complete!

Julie, Stuart, Larry, Ryan with Ellie, Dolly, and Hayley

Dad, Cassandra, Jared, Ryan with Ellie, Mom, Grandpa and Grandma Steele

Jill and I upstairs!! It was pretty hilarious sitting up there watching people

After everyone left, I tried to nap, but just kept crying. I have never been that sick before and I was just so emotional about it and thinking about not being able to nurse Ellie. Ryan came in and basically carried me downstairs into my parents bathroom and stripped me to take a bath. It was the best thing I could do. It broke my 102 degree fever and really soothed all my aches and pains. We all slept well that night and I woke up the next day feeling like a new woman. Still tired. Still achy. But functioning. Hallelujah. 

We made the drive back the next day and were all pretty crazy by the time we made it home. Our girls are champion travelers. Brinley never has a hard time. As long as a movie is going on and she is constantly having a snack, she is happy. and Ellie seemed to just sleep off and on the entire time. We didn't get Brinley into bed 10:30pm and we just sat on the couch until midnight. My mom included some sparkling pomegranate juice and so I busted that out right before the ball dropped. It was fun to reminisce about the last New Year's we've spent together. We have rarely stayed up until midnight, and we've rarely done something fun! But it was our 6th New Years kiss together and we feel pretty lucky and grateful about that.

on the drive

when we got home. YIKES! there were piles everywhere!

so happy to be out of the car!! 

bedtime snack

Cheers to the new year!! 

Ellie: 3 months

3 months, already?? Each month is flying by, and this month it hit me. This girl is a baby. No longer a newborn! She is smiling all the time. She is laughing. She is baring weight on her legs. She loves, loves, loves to stand! She loves tummy time and is swaying back and forth trying to roll over. She tracks me all over the house by moving her head back and forth. She smiles and makes eye contact with Brinley. She is reaching for toys. She plays with the ball hanging from her lay-and-play mat. She sucks on her fingers. She blows bubbles. She is CUTE all the time!!

She has changed so much in the past month! She is sleeping more and more at night (thank goodness!). She is getting herself on a schedule during the day. Thankfully, we make babies who like to sleep. She fights for 10 minutes max, but then passes right out. I appreciate that! It is hard to imagine that in the next 3-6 months she will be more than likely crawling!! and mobile!! This time is already flying by! Yesterday, Brinley was playing with some little boys in the ward and I got this ache inside for her to have a brother. WHY does that happen when you just have a baby?? You yearn for another? It has only been 3 months, for the love. I'm happy to wait for awhile thank you very much!

two months

one month

linking up with Lindsay @ Hello Hue

Family Pictures 2012

While we were in Charlotte over Thanksgiving, our friend Hailey took our family pictures! She has a blossoming photography business, and I knew she had to be the one to capture our wild family of four. I am still unsure why I thought it was a good idea taking pictures only 6 weeks post-Ellie, I am glad I did it. And even though my chubby cheeks are in their full glory, everything else about these pictures makes me smile. We decided to take the pictures around my parents house. The pictures with the big fireplace behind us is actually at my parents neighbors house. They built this amazing outdoor fireplace that we've also used for our family pictures two years ago. We then made our way down to the lake. The sidewalk pictures are the path leading down to the dock. Pretty amazing! and of course, our lake pictures. We thought it was even more special to have the lake in the background considering that is where Ryan proposed! and now we have almost 5 years of marriage under our belt and two little girls! She did a wonderful job and I can't wait to get these pictures blown up and framed on our bare walls!!