Thankfulness!

So it's the month of November....the month of Thankfulness. And I have so much to be thankful for. I was reminded how thankful I am for Josh after spending a whole week of just Ella and I!

Josh left Monday morning at 5:50am. I can't really complain too much. Ella did fairly well. We kept up with our normal routine during the week. Thursday was Halloween. I let her wear her Minnie Mouse costume to Beth's house. Beth's house is in a very popular neighborhood in Lynchburg....well I didn't think about it...but it was Halloween! So I got to Beth's house around 5:15 and it was already packed out with kids trick-or-treating...they were coming in droves! Ella was scared of the kids in masks...glad we didn't go! I took her to my work just to say, "Hi" to the few people who were still at work and then we headed home.

Saturday morning Ella and I went to a vendor show....had some pictures done...

It's this booth where they have all kinds of props that you can put on and take pictures - it was cool. Ella enjoyed it! We went outside and got to go in a big bounce house. She jumped for about 20 minutes and then I took her to the mall where she got to go in a place called, "Bounce About" that had 7 BIG bounce houses....that was pretty cool!

We stayed there for about 1.5 hours. Then we went to the food court to Chick-Fil-A to get lunch. We walked through the mall. And then it was about 1:30...time to get Ella home for a nap! I sang songs with her the whole way home to make sure she stayed awake in the car! I thought for sure she would sleep for at least 2 hours....nope...1 hour - that was it! So when she got up we played for a bit and then went to the grocery store. Josh called around 5:40...I thought to tell me that he was home....nope...instead told me that their car had broken down about 35 minutes from our house....on their way home from Chicago....great just great! A tow truck was called and I went and picked them up....again THANKFUL that they were that close to home...could have been much worse!

Sunday - went to church. Josh found a great new way to get Ella to go to the nursery...so he brings her as it's a little easier than when I try to drop her off. So he brings her and she is just screaming MAMA...I can hear her as I am walking down the hall! He ended up taking her outside and they talked. He told her that he would let her go down the slide 2 times...and then she had to go to nursery and play while we went to church. She agreed...he let her go down the slide twice...and he said that they went to nursery and she walked right in and did absolutely great - no tears! And had a great morning....now hopefully that works every week! I did 6 hours of laundry! All of Josh's clothes, towels, bedding....my washer and dryer were non-stop! I cooked a few meals, made muffins, made brownies. I was busy but was LOVING having Josh home to help entertain Ella!

Ella can talk really well. She is forming sentences. Oh....I went to lunch with mom and dad on Wednesday as they had a trip to Lynchburg. We went to lunch and it was free pie day! So I brought home a piece of pie. Ella said, "Pie? I like pie!" And yes she did...they few bites she was allowed to have!

She is such a routine girl. She has a mini muffin and yogurt with milk EVERY single morning....routine like her Mama!

She did great with the time change....although this morning she was up about 30 minutes early. Talking of sleeping....making me super sleepy...time for me to go to bed!

Go, go, go!

Go, go, go! That's what this weekend felt like! We both worked all week. It was a COLD week. Saturday we got up and played/cleaned around the house for a bit. Josh then took the puppies to go get their pedicures and took Ella with him (the vet is about 1.5 miles from our house). When they got to the vets office he let Ella carry Bella's leash. Well the receptionist, techs, and even the vet were all swooning over Ella and her two adorable chihuahua's. The vet was even carrying Bella around saying that they were two of the sweetest dogs. And they gave Ella a kit-kat. It was her first ever kit-kat (the snack size) - she liked it a lot! Once they got home, I was ready and we went to an apple orchard that is about 15 minutes from our house. It's a small little orchard but they had goats, and a donkey that Ella was in love with. She kept petting them and just laughing away. We got some fresh cider and some apple cider donuts. Then, out of the blue, Josh says, "let's go to Roanoke to the gun show." So...why not! We drove to Roanoke and went to the gun show. We looked around and saw lots of pink guns (Ella and I checked those out!) We saw a few people we knew from church there. And Josh found some powder that was a good buy. So he bought that. By this time it was about 2:30...and we had not had lunch yet. So...I told Josh to just pick where he wanted to go...he chose Red Robin...which is pretty much all gourmet cheeseburgers (his heaven!) I did eat a cheeseburger and it was very good...Ella had a corn dog (she loves those and only gets them on occasion). I let her choose between broccoli or apple slices and she chose broccoli! She actually ate some of it too (good girl!) Then we headed back to Lynchburg. Ella fell asleep...and so did I! We stopped at a tool place on the way home...Josh wanted to get some work gloves - he's clearing out some brush behind our house. Ella slept, I stayed in the car, and Josh went into the store. Then we went to TJ Maxx....Ella slept, Josh stayed in the car...and I went shopping! :) Ella woke up just as I was walking out to the car....we came home and had just enough time to get changed and head back out again! We were going over to a friends house for dinner and a campfire (and to make S'mores!) Well it was a late night! Ella stayed up til 10!! The latest I think she has ever stayed up! I felt bad having to wake her up Sunday morning!

Sunday morning I had nursery at the 8:30 service....so I had to wake Ella up to get her ready and to have a bath (to get the campfire smell out of her hair!) We went to church, then stopped at the grocery store. Josh took care of the trash while I made lunch. I did a bunch of laundry. Ella got a good nap in....then it was time to go to a Fall Festival! Ella got to wear her costume....

What a cute Minnie Mouse! It was at Hyland Heights church. It was from 4-7. We had a trunk or treat at our church tonight....but it didn't start until 7:30 (which is actually Ella's bed time) - so we opted not to do that and instead go to the Fall festival. They had a "kiddie-zone" area for Ella's age...2-5. So she got to play some games and got to get a few pieces of candy. We went on 2 hay rides! She did get to bounce in a bouncy house for just  minute but then they let some bigger kids in and she got scared so she wanted to get out. The hay rides were her favorite. They had pony rides too - we brought her over by them - and asked her if she wanted to do that -she watched them for a minute and said no. It was a long line - I wasn't going to stand in line and have her back out! It was fun....we stayed for about 2 hours.

And now I'm getting ready to go fold all the laundry. Josh is leaving for Chicago first thing in the morning and will be gone for a full week :( He'll be home Saturday night. So another week of just Ella and I - whew - I'm tired already!

Fall Weekend!

Well it might just be our last Fall weekend...I looked at the weather this week...a high of 49 on Wednesday...what is up with that??

After a week of getting up at 5am, working full-time, being a mommy full-time, and cooking, cleaning, etc, etc....by Friday night...I'm done! I was falling asleep on the couch by 7:30...I did manage to stay awake for another hour or so...and was asleep by 8:45! And what time was Ella up...5:41 on Saturday morning...what?? Josh got up around 5:15...he had to work...so I don't know if she heard him...but when I heard her start making noise...I thought oh man! So I jumped in the shower so I could get that out of the way before she was fully up. I was really hoping she would go back to sleep....but no...she was up for the day. So we had breakfast and got ready...and really it was only 7:30...nothing was open of course! So we hung around the house and played for a bit....then we went out and I had looked up to see what time TJ Maxx opened...and their website said 9...so that is what time we were there....well their website lied...because the sign on the door said 9:30...well I wasn't going to sit outside for 30 minutes...so we went to a different store instead, Ollies, and walked around. We looked at books. And found a couple of good deals. Ella got compliments galore there. "What pretty eyes. What a good little girl. She sings so pretty." Yes, Ella was singing in the store...I kept saying..."shhh remember to use your inside voice!" She was a good girl though! Then we made our way to Kroger to do our weekly grocery shopping! It was only 10am...and really quiet at the store...it was nice!

Saturday at 5pm was when we went to the birthday party for Ellington. They had 3 bounce houses, games, painting pumpkins, hot dogs, and cupcakes. Ella was loving every second of it!

She talked about it the whole way home! "Had fun!" And this morning she got up and wanted to see her pumpkin.

We went to church this morning and then after church they had a Fall festival. So we ate there and then played on the playground. They did have 3 really big bounce houses set up...but Ella was too scared to get on it...they were much bigger and there were a LOT of kids!

At least we got a few more fun activities in before the weather gets really cold!

A full night's sleep!

The coughing has stopped at our house! Well at night at least. Ella's cough is completely gone. Josh's is almost gone. Mine is gone at night...during the day I still have a decent cough....but I do think it's finally starting to get better (today being the first day I didn't have a coughing fit!)

The princess and me....

Ella is quite the talker now and is saying all kinds of funny things...

Last week I was putting her in her car seat and I said, "Ella you are as cute as a button." Her response, "I know" (pause) "pretty too." Well she has self-confidence! Actually after this picture she grabbed the sides of her dress and she was dancing around saying, "I'm cute." Silly girl!

I made dinner this week and we had tacos...well let me start over...I normally just buy the taco kit and make tacos...well I didn't pay attention and I apparently just bought the box that had shells...no sauce or seasoning....so I had to create my own seasoning...healthier I know...but it was lacking a little in flavor...I used black pepper, garlic powder, chili powder, cumin, paprika, and a touch of salt. I was impressed with my quick culinary thinking! ;) Anyway....Josh had a few tacos and I made a little taco salad....and I had fixed something different for Ella. Well she took one look at our plates and said, "what you have?" "What's that?" So I told her that Daddy and I were having tacos. She said, "I like tacos. I want taco too!" I've tried to give them to her before and she never wanted it....so I made her a taco....with the soft shell....and she ate the entire thing! Guess she does like tacos!

This past weekend it was pretty rainy....so it was kind of a bummer weekend...we didn't get to do anything fun outside. On Saturday we went and got Josh's hair cut. Which Ella and I went inside to the Barber shop too. Well the lady barber let Ella pick out a "sucker" - I guess that's what they call lollipops in the South! I do believe it was the first one Ella has had (that we have ever given her) - it was one of the real small ones...well she was in 7th Heaven! So I let her have it in the car...and I watched her like a hawk while Josh drove :) We went and checked out a house....it was already under contract....but we thought it would be fun to just go see. It was up a side of the mountain....literally. It's not really a place I would ever want to live (now that I have seen the drive) but it was a really pretty drive. Just too far away for me. There were some beautiful houses up that way though! Saturday afternoon I had a baby shower to go to. So Ella and Josh both had naps that day...Josh let Ella sleep for 3 hours! She didn't wake up til 5pm! Sunday we went to the early service at church so Josh could get back to go to a shooting competition with his friends after church. Then Grandpa and Gigi came over in the afternoon....well Ella and Grandpa played and played and played....that's her new favorite playmate! :) By 5:30 that afternoon she was rolling on the ground saying, "I tired." I think Grandpa wore her out!

This coming weekend Ella has a birthday party to go to for one of our friends...I'm excited about it! I think she'll have fun. They are going to paint pumpkins.

Sickness All Around!

Pneumonia for Ella. Bronchitis for Mama. A cold for Daddy.

That has been our life the past 10 days!

We ended up taking Ella back to the Doctor last Monday. As her cough was really not getting better at all and actually getting worse. So I called first thing Monday morning and brought her in. The Doctor listened to her lungs for like 3 minutes straight (which felt like an eternity trying to keep Ella quiet and calm). She FREAKS out at the Doctor's office. Does NOT like it. So he listens to her lungs and says..."well she has pneumonia." He did however say thankfully it was caught early and she wasn't going to be hospitalized for it. He put her on an antibiotic and said she had to be at home for 48 hours. Oh just great! So I took her to get the prescription filled....and she got to pick out a whole pack of stickers for being a good girl (well kind of a good girl) at the Doctors. Josh took the rest of Monday off and Tuesday off to stay home with her. I brought her back to the Doctor this past Monday for a follow-up visit. Everything was good. Her lungs cleared up. We have started her on an allergy medication regimen. So now she gets Zyrtec everyday. That is something we are going to have to do for Spring and Fall as apparently she is going to have allergies in the spring and fall as that is when the complications start up for her.

Last Monday I started out in the afternoon with a slightest cough....it slowly progressed over the next few days. By Thursday I was hoarse. And Saturday night I couldn't take it anymore. I went to a walk-in Doctor's clinic as it's hard for me to take off during the week to go to the Doctors. I got told...sure enough you have bronchitis. So I started my antibiotic regimen. Today was my last day of it. However, I'm not quite sure it worked. I am coughing almost just as much as before! We'll see how the next few days go!

Ella has discovered that the top comes off of her table and it turns into a LEGO TABLE!

It's her new favorite toy. She keeps says, "Daddy wanna play Lego's with me??" How can you resist that?

Well I am ready to go read a chapter in my book and call it a night. I'm so tired! I've been so sleep deprived these past few weeks! Lots of coughing in our house!

Fall Fun!

I love Christmas...but not really a fan of winter....but I LOVE fall and wish it would stay like this for months!!

Josh came home around 9 on Friday night. Ella was up around 6:50 on Saturday morning...I was hoping for at least 7! She still has a pretty bad cough. It's mainly at night and then when she first gets up. Then if she starts running around and getting worked up it flares up and she gets to coughing. So when she first got up Saturday there was lots of coughing and I kind of waited a bit to see how she was going to do...and it slowed down...so we made plans for the day. We decided to go to Drumhellers Orchard Apple Festival. We got there probably about 10:45 - it's about 20 minutes north of us. They had live music, all kinds of vendors, bounce house for kids, apple slingshot, and a hayride. We bought tickets for the hayride (but missed the sign that you had to buy a ticket to get a pumpkin - so when we got to the pumpkin patch we just "posed" with the pumpkins!). We'll be going to another festival in October so we'll be sure to get one there. Ella wasn't too disappointed....she had fun just walking around picking them up!

We got lunch there...Ella had a hotdog and some chips, Josh had BBQ chicken, and I had a BBQ sandwich. We sampled the cider and called it a day!

We then went grocery shopping. Then came home for "resting time" for everyone! Ella took a 2 hour nap. Even Josh and I laid down and slept for about an hour! I was so tired from the week getting up with Ella every couple of hours...one day this past week my alarm was set for 5:00....I remember turning it off...and apparently I went right back to sleep! Oops!! I ended up sleeping for an extra 40 minutes....my morning routine went right out the window...I was rushing around to get ready. I made it to work on time....but I was so exhausted all day...I had a few people ask me if I was ok...I think the couple of weeks of 4-5 hours of sleep each night was catching up to me (if you know me - you know that I need 8+ hours to function well!). I am so happy that last week is over!

Last night we got invited to a bonfire/fall party. It was held at one of our friends grandparents house. Ella got to roast a hot dog over a fire (yesterday was hotdog day!)

Ella said the fire was HOT!

She got to hit a pinata!

And then she got to collect the goods! A little bit of candy and some toys. She came home with some stick on tattoos - which her Daddy helped her put one on today! On her hand...it's a "sticker."

Then we all posed for some pictures....the girls being cute....the boys being silllllly!

We stayed til 9....past Ella's bedtime...and she was getting cranky...so we headed home....her coughing got bad around 12....and I was up til about 1:30 with her. She stopped and we all were able to sleep for a bit...and she was up at 6:50 again! I thought she might sleep in a little....but no.

 Her coughing was bad this morning so we ended up staying home from church. Josh said he didn't want to bring her to nursery with that cough as we'd end up getting called out anyway. So we watched church on the computer!

I did lots of cleaning today....and lots of laundry! We just laid low. Ella took a 3 hour nap. She got some honey cough suppressant tonight, Vicks on her feet, humidifier on, propped up on 2 pillows....here's hoping for a good night!

Ohhhh....Ella really likes Veggie Tales....we were sitting at lunch today and Ella says...."look Mama, Bob is wearing sunglasses."

On Veggie Tales....Bob is a tomato. Josh and I cracked up laughing...she's observant!

Pictures

This was the picture I tried to upload last time. So yes...there she is...playing on the tablet. It was early one morning...and it was cold in our house...not time to turn the heat on yet...so she asked for her jacket :)

Let's see...Josh is in Maryland this week for training...so it's Ella and I for the week. He left Sunday...however Friday night he went over to a friends house to help on a car...and then on Saturday he was there from 9:30-6 working on the car...then left Sunday...so we haven't seen much of him! Saturday...the little girl picked out her own outfit...

She was very proud of herself! And we went to Target, the grocery store, and to the bank. :) Ella took a really good nap...after 2 hours I did go wake her up as I was afraid she wouldn't go to bed at night! Oh and Saturday morning....we all slept in....til 7:45!! I could believe it! I woke up to, "MAMA!" I thought ehh probably around 6:30-6:45...and then Josh says...wow she slept late....and it was 7:45...that's the latest I have slept in at home in quite some time! I got a solid 10 hours of sleep....it was fantastic....it's probably been the only night I have slept through the night in the past 2 weeks. Poor Ella can't shake this cough....it's only at night...of course. So she keeps having little coughing fits through out the night..some nights it's worse than others. I'm up with her usually every 2-3 hours...I feel like I have a newborn again! And I'm beginning to feel like a sleep deprived zombie! :)

Sunday we went to the early service. Josh left for Maryland after church and Ella and I headed to the lake. Grandpa was working...so Ella and I hung out with Gigi. We did go visit Grandpa at the store after lunch though. Ella was excited to play with all the tiggers....and Big Bear...

After going to see Grandpa at the store....we stopped and had a little Sweet Frog....

 

She only ever wants to eat out of the blue cup....which is the biggest size....of course. So I'm sure I put way too much in there...but Ella was loving it!

She slept on the way home...and was super grumpy for about 30 minutes after coming home....she didn't get enough sleep....but it was ok....I just let her do her own thing for a little bit until she got over being grumpy. Then she was just fine.

Tonight we talked to Josh on the phone...Ella was doing a great job talking to Josh. I had to prompt her a little....but she could get across what she wanted to say. She was telling Josh that she was coloring a picture and it was of a rainbow, Bella, and Brinly. She told him exactly what she had for dinner. She told him what she did today. I was impressed at how well she remembered and could really tell him about everything! Then the temper tantrum started when I started talking to him on the phone and she no longer held the phone...I mean on the ground screaming, pounding her fists on the floor....wow! She got sent to time out until she could say she was sorry. Which she did and then changed her attitude.

Whew....yes only 8:40....but I slept horrible last night and my alarm is set for 5am. Time for bed!