Lazy summer days

... Gotta love 'em! The weather has been so beautiful the last couple of days! We have been outside as much as possible, trying to soak up the sunshine and enjoy the big, blue sky. Ella and Cade are loving it! One happy, sunkissed girl here... And check out my handsome pool boy. I just cannot get enough of his cuteness! Letting the imagination run free! (By the way, do his parents feed him anything?! Look at those ribs!) Ella has been busy working on her cartwheels... And hula hooping (or "hoopa looping" as she says =) Cade has spent lots of time playing ball... And checking out the bugs... And in a moment of generosity, Ella even gave him a turn on the hoopa loop! However, he decided it was more fun to take off with it while Big Sis went crazy fussing at him! haha! I wish you could have heard his cackles as he ran away from her! What a rascal! Hope you're having lots of fun, sunny days, too! Much love!

Among other things...

I got a kick out of this card Ella made for me in Sunday school yesterday. They are learning about obeying and honoring their parents. Haha! Among other things, I hope?! She is so funny! And since when did she start calling me Melissa?!

Good family weekend

We had a fun family weekend. We are so excited to become a family of five, but are also trying to treasure our remaining time as a family of four. We tried to spoil the kiddos a little extra this weekend. On Saturday afternoon, we went to see Cars 2. Ella thought it was "awesome!" and we were pleased that Cade managed to sit still through at least half of it! I'm sure the abundance of pop, popcorn, and candy didn't hurt! And because that wasn't enough sugar for one day, after the movie we decided to treat them to ice cream and quarter rides at The Cone. They are both so crazy about that place! On Sunday, we went to church, lunch, did some shopping. We had some friends over for dinner Sunday evening. Luckily, it quit raining Sunday evening, so the kids finally got to get out and run wild for a bit before dinner. The only picture I took the whole weekend was of Ella, Cade, and their buddy, Kylie, after dinner last night. Love that grin on Cade's face! What a great couple of days! I am hoping for more like them when I am off on maternity leave in a few weeks!

Sisterly wisdom

Ella to Cade the other night at bedtime-
"Well, Little Buddy, I know you're scared of the dark outside, but what do you expect? God has to turn off the lights at night-time, Honey. He can't sleep with all that sun shining in his eyes!

I just love the way her little mind works! =)

Cade and Baby's new ride

Of all the baby gear we have bought or pulled out of hiding for our new little gal, this new stroller is what I am most excited about! We looked forever and when I found this one, I loved it! We were so close to ordering it in the store, but then I found it online for almost half the price- even better! My main issue with all the others is that they were so bulky and heavy- almost 40 pounds. This one is only 22 pounds and so easy to lift and push. Kind of corny, I know, but I can't wait to use it!

ENT visit

We took Cade to see an ENT last week. He has fluid in both ears right now. They did several hearing tests and diagnosed him with mild hearing loss. Those two things alone qualify him for tubes. However, two pieces of good news is that 1) the hearing loss doesn't appear to be permanent and should go away once the fluid drains, and 2) right now the fluid looks thin, which could mean the new medication he's on could be working and clearing it out. The doc gave us the option of doing tubes right now or waiting and seeing if the fluid goes away on its own. We've decided to wait and see. We'll go back in August to have him rechecked. If the fluid's still there, we'll go ahead and do tubes then. We know tubes are not that big of a deal, but it is outpatient surgery and not something we want him to go through if it's not necessary. We're definitely hoping and praying that it won't be! Fingers crossed!

One month and counting!

We are one month away from meeting our baby girl! Or maybe less than that if she decides to come early! We are so very excited to see her precious face, count her little toes, kiss those sweet cheeks. I'm looking forward to finding out what her temperament will be, whether she'll be our laidback child or be as spunky as her big sister and brother. Of course, we're a teeny bit nervous about how everything will go in the next few weeks, and though I'm itching to hold her in my arms, I am enjoying this special time of anticipation, too. It is going to be so wonderful to watch our whole family fall in love with this baby girl!

Family weekend

Chris, Ella, and Cade headed to southern Indiana over the weekend to see family for Father's Day, as well as to celebrate Grandma and Grandpa Martin's birthdays. There was a party on the river Saturday night, and Ella told me, "Mom, the birthday party was SO fun! And there was a lot of just really, really good food." haha! I'm willing to bet she took only five bites all night, but I think it's cute she said that. She apparently was the designated dog walker for the evening, so you know she was in heaven! I sent the camera along and Chris even took two pictures! =) It looks like they are opening Ella and Cade's cards here- Ella worked long and hard on those! This is Sunday after church. I think it's so sweet!! I know my kids will cherish photos like this when they are older.Grandma and Grandpa Martin are so special to us and I'm glad Chris and the kids were able to go. They also got to spend some time with Chris' dad on Father's Day, as well as give my dad a hug for me. Happy Father's Day to both of you! We sure do love our Papaws!!

We love you, Daddy!

Happy Father's Day, Daddy!! The kiddos love to buy gifts for any occasion, so they were super excited to go shopping and pick out a couple special things to celebrate their wonderful daddy. Ella was so tickled when she found a Snoopy card for him, too, and worked so hard to make it "just right". =) Chris is such a terrific father and provider for our family. I thank God every single day that he's my teammate & partner in this life, that we're raising this family together. We love you so much!!

Bathtime treat

We combined two of Ella and Cade's favorite things last night- bathtime and ice cream! They were thrilled! What in the world could be better?!

Doctor visits

Ella had her five year old check-up this week and, I have to admit, I'm glad that's over! She knew in advance she was going to get booster shots, but all I can say is that whatever overcame my daughter in that doctor's office is something I've never seen before- kicking, punching, screaming- and like I said, I'm so glad it's over! Other than that drama, she is 46 lbs (75%) and 45 inches (90%)- woohoo! I'm crossing my fingers this little girl gets some of her daddy's height! Her asthma is well-controlled and she's off her daily medication for the summer. She is strong, healthy, bright, and growing!

Cade also saw the doctor for a recheck on the fluid in his ears. The hope had been that the allergy medication was going to dry it up, but his right ear is still full of fluid. So, based on the length of time it's been there, plus the fact that he failed his hearing screen in that ear on Tuesday, Dr. Schneider referred us to an ENT. It makes us feel bad knowing he's having to deal with it on a daily basis and is not always able to let us know how he feels, and now we don't know exactly how much he can hear out of that ear. He occasionally tells us his ear hurts, but for the most part, he is so good and doesn't complain. Anyways, we have an appointment to see the ENT next week and hopefully make a plan to get this straightened out!

And yesterday afternoon, the whole family piled into the truck and headed to our 35 week OB check. I can't even tell you how many times Cade said to me yesterday, "Go to doctor, bum-bum-bum, baby sisser!" He was so excited to hear that heartbeat again! When they dopplered my stomach and he heard it, his little grin stretched ear to ear. I just love that! I think it's finally making a little more sense to him. My blood pressure, weight gain, and measurements all looked great. We're pretty sure she is head down, but will know more when they do a pelvic next week. I can't believe it's already time to start going for weekly visits. The countdown is on!

Preparing for our baby girl

We have spent some time the last few days trying to wrap our minds around what all we need to do to get ready for our new little gal's arrival in a little over a month (!). We finally pulled out Ella's baby clothes, and I was happy to realize we actually kept quite a bit more than I remember. Just looking through them made me so excited- there is something so sweet about our two little girls sharing some of the same special clothes. We went shopping and let Ella and Cade pick out a few new items for their sister, too. We also stocked up on diapers and wipes, and now I'm feeling a bit more prepared. Today, I washed and folded everything, and man, if laundry isn't kind of fun when the clothes are so darn tiny and cute! Now I'm patiently waiting to fill her closet once we get all Cade's things moved into his and Ella's room. This is one of my favorite new outfits. So simple and precious!! And this is what she will be wearing home. It's so sweet and dainty! I can't wait to see her in it!Now we just need to decide on a simple, sweet, and dainty name for her to wear home, and we'll be all set!

Kings Island

We decided to head over to Kings Island Saturday afternoon for a little family fun. Ella has been asking every week when we were going to go, so when we pulled off the exit and she realized where we were, she was more than a little excited! She and Daddy were practically running to the entrance and she couldn't talk fast enough about all the things she was going to do! =) Family picture in front of the fountains We headed straight to Planet Snoopy, of course! First up, "the little carousel". This little boy and his thumb crack me up! Racing along in "the hilly cars" (I love the names Ella has come up with for all these rides). Ella's all-time favorite ride is "the blue roller coaster", aka Woodstock Express. She and Chris took off to ride that while Cade and I went in search of a few rides for him.
Self-portrait on the Snoopy trains On the Beetle Bugs- look at these faces! They squealed and laughed so loud every, single time they turned the corner. It was so fun watching them! Strolling hand-in-hand. Love it! Sally's Sea Plane was next. Check out Ella hanging out the window! haha! I cracked up, too, when we went to this ride. Pregnant women are prohibited from riding anything other than thrill level 1- this is thrill level 2. Looks pretty fast and crazy, huh? haha! On the big train. Love that grin! And this one, too! My two favorite boys Another picture with her beloved Snoopy Ella had it stuck in her mind that she wanted a Snoopy bracelet "really, really bad". We stopped by a little boutique and look what we found- a Snoopy bracelet with her name on it! Usually when we come to places like this, I'm the one leading the way and waiting on others to catch up. Well, not this time! As pitiful as it sounds, I was so glad we decided to go over in the afternoon and not try to spend the whole day. Cade was happy to help out and take over the stroller for this big ol' pregnant momma! We took one last spin on the Grand Carousel before settling down to watch the fireworks. I always like seeing the fountains all lit up at night. What a great day together! Chris and I always laugh about how times have changed. If someone had told us ten years ago that we would go to Kings Island and not ride a single roller coaster, we would have said they were crazy. Of course, Chris would have jumped on Diamondback in a heartbeat if we had the chance, but it really doesn't matter. We love making memories together and watching these kiddos have so much fun!

Fashionista

Chris and I couldn't help but chuckle the other night as we walked up to bed and saw this- Our little fashionista is all about planning the complete "perfect outfit" before she goes to bed at night. It's usually just clothes and shoes, so I love that she even set her purple watch and sunglasses out here. We get such a kick out of her. =)

Christmas in June?

Nope, just an afternoon spent digging to the bottom of the toy chest, finding all kinds of fun and "new" things to play with. Gotta love that!

33 weeks

33 weeks already! We will be meeting our baby girl in no time! I have to call her my "baby girl", because Ella is constantly reminding me that once her sister is born, her sister will be my "baby girl" and Ella will become my "big girl". Glad we've got that straightened out. =) We are all getting so very excited. It's fun to talk about her with the kids and hear what they (Ella mostly) think she will look like or act like. Cade loves to poke at my belly button and "kiss the baby", but we're pretty sure he still doesn't really get it. Whenever anyone asks him where his baby sister is, he lifts up his own shirt and pats his tummy. It is the cutest thing! However, yesterday, I took both Ella and Cade with me to my OB appointment, and all Cade could talk about after hearing her heartbeat was his "baby isser" and "bum-bum-bum". He couldn't wait to tell Chris all about it. I think he was a bit disappointed, too, because as we were leaving the doctor's office, he kept saying, "Where baby isser? Baby come my house!" I think he thought we were bringing her home right then. I know these two are going to love this little girl so much! She has no idea of all the hugs and kisses she's in for! =) And after fighting a horrible sinus infection for almost five weeks, the doctor finally took pity on me yesterday and gave me an antibiotic. I was so thankful, I could have cried! I can't wait to be healthy and get back to feeling like myself again (I'm pretty sure my husband can't wait either!). This momma's got things to do! Summer is always so busy, and this one will be no exception. It's funny though, because people have been talking about/ inviting us to certain things over the summer, and we'll say, "Sure! That sounds great!" Then we'll look at each other and say, "Wait, isn't that the week the baby's due?" or "Wait, won't we have a two week old then?" I know we've had loads of time to prepare, but it still feels like it's going so fast! Both Ella and Cade came almost a week early. If that happens this time, too, we could be meeting our baby girl in just six short weeks!

Memorial weekend- Sunday and Monday

On Sunday night, we went to Jason and Carla's for a family get-together/ birthday party for Dad and Ella (seems like this little gal's bday partying has gone on for weeks!). Ella always looks forward to playing with her cousins. She couldn't wait to get out there and play with the boys. She, Aidan, and Carson were a mischievous, little threesome... Had to include this one just because she's so darn cute (and such a big girl)!! Cade mostly hung with the smaller kiddos, but he was a hot and sticky (and muddy) mess, too! Us two pregnant mommas were just trying to stay cool- these little baby ovens were really turning up the heat! I'm 32 weeks here. April is 17 weeks. She and Chad just found out they're having a boy!! Yay! We are so excited to have another nephew! Happy birthday to Pap and Ella! Ella got $30! She's all excited to take Chris and I out to dinner. Not that we would let her, but I think it's super sweet that that's what she wants to do with her money. =) Gram and Pap gave her new roller skates! Boy, was she thrilled about those! She also got lots of candy, a new watch, moon dough, and another Snoopy shirt! Thanks for all the great gifts, Everyone! It was so great to see Lindsey and her new baby, Ava. I couldn't get over how tiny she was, or the fact that we will have one that tiny in just a few weeks! Little Owen enjoyed himself some birthday cake. haha! Such a cutie! Thanks, Uncle Jason (and Aunt Carla!), for a great time and for spoiling this little girl once again! On Monday, we hung out at Mom and Dad's and basically let the kids run wild. haha! It was so blasting hot, so they loved getting to play in the sprinkler. Everyone gathered around the koi pond, trying to spot a huge frog. Lexi finally caught it and all the kids passed it around. Cade thought he was big stuff hanging with the big boys. I love this one! I can remember so well when Jared was as small as Cade (tear!).Even though we were only away from home for three days, it kind of felt like a mini-vacation to us. It's times like these that make me wish sooo much that we all lived closer!