I didn't plan to share this until a little later, but Ella was SO excited that she couldn't stand it. I am amazed that although I ordered every piece from somewhere different, all the boxes managed to litter my front porch on the same day. Ella wanted an Olivia the Pig birthday party this year, so we've pretty much been planning since January. I can't wait to fill you in on all the details. Much like last year, we'll be dressing up for the party and then recycling pieces of the outfit for Halloween. These pictures show the Halloween look. For the birthday, we'll be wearing sandals and a birthday tank instead. The shirt is from Mini Boden, tulle skirt from eBay, tights from eCrater, shoes from Puddle Jumpers {thanks, Nana}, the noses can be found at just about any costume shop ...
ella
Photo Update
Other than celebrating my anniversary {all by myself} and missing our Sweet Daddy while he traveled for work, we haven't been doing too much around here. We cleaned the house, designed some new stationary and party invitations, snuggled with Garan, and tried out every "baby-occupier" we had in the house! Despite a rough start to my day, its been the best one all week. I had a light day at work, yummy lunch at Panera with my bestie, retail therapy that someone else paid for {thanks, Nana}, sleeping babies, yummy crock-pot tacos and the arrival of SD in less than thirty minutes! ...
Table Manners
On Sunday, we celebrated Nana's birthday by eating lunch together after church. We had a huge table full of kids and grandkids and lots of fun. Our kids were really well behaved, but acted like the preschooler's they are. They moved around a little, dropped some crayons and all had to potty at least once. Alston managed to break away once and attempted to sit with another family... it was pretty funny! A few minutes into lunch another booth near us filled up. Two of the occupants appeared to be grandmother and grandson. He was crying when they got there and his behavior only got worse. He bucked and wiggled and screamed at the top of his lungs. Once when I was in the bathroom changing Sophie, she brought him into a stall and attempted to calm him down. I'm guessing you know by now that ...
Airplane
Guess who LOVES flying high? ...
Giggle Girl
On Saturday, we spent the day at the pool... just us girls. Sophie slept through most of it, but Ella and I had a nice day together after twelve straight days of working for mommy. She climbed up in my lap and asked that I tickle her, so she could try not to laugh. How do you think that worked out for her? ...
Naptime
How sweet is this? ...
Pretties
I forgot to mention that we got a big box of goodies from Aunt Lane a few weeks ago. It's just that I've been waiting for somewhere special to wear these pretty dresses. Yesterday, we had the pleasure of helping with a baby shower at church and it was the perfect excuse for getting these girls all dolled up. What do you think? ...
The Last Day
The day before I went back to work, we soaked up every second of our time together. We woke up early and stayed up late. We spent the whole day playing in the water with our family and friends. We snuggled on the couch and talked about how tomorrow, everything would change. Even though maternity leave is supposed to be that time when you rest and recover and get to know your new arrival, this time it was about Ella, too. It isn't often that I get to spend days on end with her, doing exactly what we want to do all day long. Lucky for us, Sophie is the sweetest baby with the most wonderful disposition. She was happy no matter what we were doing, so we took full advantage of our time together. Instead of being cooped up in the house nursing every two hours, her four feedings a day ...