Our Elf On The Shelf

I did Elf on the Shelf last year with Ella, but honestly with Layla being 7 months old and being tired having two little ones I really only moved him around to different places. We read the book every night and she would get excited to find him, but I didn't do all the extra activities. 

This year we moved on December 2nd, but I was determined to do some fun activities, especially since we had spent the last four months in a tiny apartment. I got out the book and we read it and talked about him coming the next morning. I told her she didn't name him last year so we really needed to name him, she decided on Sparkles. Sometimes we call him a he and sometimes a she, I am pretty sure sparkles is a girls name, so we will say she is a she. 

She made her appearance the first morning with a trail of glitter. I thought that only seemed appropriate. 

The next day she bought two ornaments for Ella to pain and hang on the tree. Ella LOVED it!

She painted all of it and then I went back and did a little fine tuning. She wrote her name on the back and we put them on the tree. 

 

Pretty cute! I got these at Hobby Lobby, they were 0.90 and were 50% off and provided us with about two hours of fun! Of course we had to do it while Layla was napping or both of the ornaments would have been broken and there would have been pain every where! 

A few morning I just moved him to new places. One morning she bought us all the ingredients for cookies and we made sugar cookies with sprinkles.

The morning after we made the cookies Sparkles got into the cookies and ate some of them.

Of course he had to wrap the tree in paper one morning. Neither of the girls knew what to think.

One night she almost caught me moving him. I had to get the broom to get a strand of red beads up high hanging off the fan and had him swinging from the beads. She came out of her room because I was making too much noise.

We had a lot of fun with our elf. I forgot to take some of the pictures, but these were some of my favorite ones anyways. Ella was so into the Christmas spirit this year and I enjoyed teaching her Christmas songs and we read the story of Jesus every night. She even sat in Santa's lap this year!

Happy 4th Birthday Ella!

I have not been a regular blogger lately. Life has just gotten a little busy around here! We are finally in our new house and somewhat settled. Ella is the reason I started this blog. I wanted to document everything so that I would have a way to go back and remember things. The other day she and I sat and read some of my old posts about her and she loved it! 

So, for her 4th birthday I am back so that one day we will be able to read this one and I will be able to remember just how she was at 4 years old!

Ella, you are four years old today! This morning when you woke up you found princess birthday balloons, one present to open (because your party isn't until this weekend, but I wanted this day to be special for you!) and a dozen cupcakes! You ate two cupcakes for breakfast, that was a first! I sang Happy Birthday to you and then throughout the day you requested that I sing it at least 20 more times! 

Where do I even begin? You are beautiful, inside and out! You are very caring, nurturing, loving, cuddly, and sensitive. You get your feelings hurt pretty easily. You are also very dramatic! If I turn off a cartoon that you are watching you break out into a hysterical cry as if the world is over, but as easy as you turn it of you turn it off as soon as I ask you to race me up the stairs. You love to race. You do NOT like it when you don't win (soooo like your Momma!) 

You are a Momma's girl! You love doing everything with me, helping me in any way you can. You love everything princess, barbie, sparkly and girly! You prefer to wear skirts and dresses and get upset when you have to wear pants. You get dressed every morning and spin for me and say "How do I look?" of course my answer is always BEAUTIFUL!

You are very smart! You can write all of your letters, you can write your whole name, you know your address, and your birthday. You are constantly asking questions (sometimes I would like a little peace and quiet!). You love to read, color, draw and paint.

You are a tall girl! You wear a size 6 or 6X and a size 12 shoe. We are gong to the doctor tomorrow so I will get your official height and weight. You are as tall as a lot of 6 year olds though. When I tell people you just turned 4 today they are shocked at how much older they thought you were. 

You are a true joy to have in our lives. You brighten my day in so many ways! I look forward to what this year holds and can't wait to spend every day with you watching you learn and grow. I thank God for you everyday for you and that I am able to spend all my time with you. 

January 2012

Feb 2012

March 2012

April 2012

 May 2012

 June 2012

 July 2012

 August 2012

 September 2012

 October 2012

 November 2012

December 2012

Halloween!!

We had a very fun, very busy Halloween. We started the morning off by going to a play date with 9 or 10 other kids and let me tell you...they were wired already for Halloween!! It  was insane, fun, but insane! 

This year I asked Ella what she wanted to be and she went with Rapunzel. Sticking with the theme of princesses, Layla got to be Ariel. 

After the play date I drove to a local park, hopped out and took some pics of the girls. Taking pictures of a 3-1/2 year old and a 17 month old is NOT EASY! I mean, people pay me to do it for their families and I have no problem doing that at all...in fact I do a pretty darn good job of getting their attention. Well not mine! This time did go a little better though.

My beautiful girl! 

Usually when Ella gives Layla a hug she screams and gets mad, but I was happy to see her smile. 

This little one is full of personality. I told her to smile and this is what I got. I have another one with her finger all the way up her hose with the biggest smile. Not very lady like!

We went home, took naps, I cooked empanadas for a friend's party and then we were off to eat dinner at her house and go trick or treating. Ella was Merida from the movie Brave that night. I LOVED this dress, she looks so pretty. I bought some spray to spray her hair red, but luckily I tested it on a Barbie's hair first. It was horrible!

I loved seeing how may little girls we could get at a little table. The other girls were 1st graders, so Ella thought she was so cool getting to hang out with the bigger kids. Honestly though I don't think she knows she is younger. She is just about as big if not bigger than most of them and has an amazing vocabulary.

She LOVES her Melody! She just lights up when she sees her and I love that!

All the big girls and little girls ready to go.

Daddy got off work to takes his girls trick or treating. We took turns carrying Layla and chasing after Ella.

This is what it looked like most of the night. Ella just ran her little heart out. After every door she would yell "Momma I got a treat!! Momma I said Thank you!".

About half way through the girls slowed down. I think they ran themselves to death. Layla had countless suckers, but did wonderful. She didn't say trick or treat, but she did say thank you every time. That makes me much more happy!

My Girls

 

Oh my girls, I don't even know where to start! I feel like time is just flying when I look back at pictures. We were in the car earlier and Ella said "Layla is getting so big". Even she is noticing!

 

These girls are my joy and my headache! Trying to get a picture of the two of them together is alost impossible. I can NOT believe I have a photo where they are both looking and neither is crying!

 

 

They can fight and make each other cry, but they are fiercely protective of one another. Layla is a hitter and a bitter! She is 100% ornery. She does not like Ella to sit in my lap and tries to claim her territory (me). If you take a toy away from her she screams. She is quite a spitfire!

 

Ella is very sensitive and has a sweet heart. She is so ornery too though. She is more sneaky, not like Layla who will hit right in front of me, or even try to hit me. When Ella was little I could give her a stern NO and she would cry. If I do the exact same thing to Layla she looks at me like "Come and get me bc I am going to do it anyways!". Ella is incredibly helpful and still full of hugs and kisses. We were in the store the other day and Ella said "Mommy" and I answered yes, and she said "I love you Mommy" and a group of women heard her say this without any prompting and just died over how cute it was. 

 

When they are being sweet though they play so well together. Layla just cackles at Ella and Ella loves to entertain Layla. Ella is very concerned if we are out somewhere are Layla gets more than a foot away. Which is a little frustrating when you are chasing a roaming toddler and you have a three year old crying saying "Get Layla, Momma, get her!!".

I could use a little less drama, but I am sure the older they get the more drama will come.

Building A House

We looked at a lot of houses in person and a ton online before deciding to build a house. I still think it was the best decision, but after two months in an apartment and about a  month and a half left  to go I am going a little crazy!!

This is what it looked like when we purchased it...dirt.

We went to the design gallery and pick out our selections. This is our carpet, tile on the first floor (kitchen, breakfast, powder room, utility, and master bath) our granite, cabinet finish (very scratched and dinged up sample, but you get it!) and the decorative metal accent that will be in our backsplash.

I received this photo from our builder while we were in Colorado on vacation. Finally framing!

Once they started it went pretty quickly. This was taken three days after the previous photo. (Yes, I stay in my car and take the pics bc I always have the girls with me!)

I am going to see what we can do about keeping that port-a-potty directly in front of the house, it just looks so good there!

They finished HVAC, plumbing, and electrical and we are supposed to get insulation soon. It has been fun to watch it go up, but I am so ready for it to be finished!! Living in a two bedroom apartment with two little ones has not been easy! 

Meet the Teacher

On Thursday Ella, Layla and I went to school to meet Ella's teacher. The wonderful part about First Baptist is that a lot of the teachers that work at weekday school also work at MOPS. Ella's teacher for weekday school watched Layla in the nursery last year in MOPS, so Layla and I already know her.

Ella is in the older three year old classroom. Almost all of her friends from her class last year are in the middle threes. I was a little sad about that at first, but she will just get to meet even more friends. Plus most of the kids from her class last year are still in her Sunday school. She loves  going to school, so I am pretty sure she doesn't care what class she is in and I do kind of prefer her to be in the oldest classroom.

So I weighed and measured her this morning so we would know her official going back to school size! She weighs 41.4 pounds and is 43-1/2" tall. She wears a size 5/6 clothes and wears a size 12 shoe. I did buy her a pair at Crazy 8 that were size 13, they must run a little small. She is so tall, most people this she is 5!! Plus she acts like she is 16.

Layla was not in a picture mood! I am glad she is not old enough to go to school! I will hate having both of my girls gone next year. 

Trying to get a picture of these two together now is almost impossible!

And usually this is what happens!

I am excited for Ella. I honestly would prefer for her to stay at home, but I know how much she loves going. I miss her when she is gone!