Day at the Lake...and Bath Time!

On Saturday we went to Lake Arlington with Mark's after school program. It was a beautiful day! It was also a great experience for Mark's students. A lot of them had never been fishing before. Fishing has a special place in my heart. My papa (Gardner) used to take me fly fishing all the time. I have so many fond memories with him and fishing. One time we were fishing in the Ausable. We were wadding in a shallow area and it was a good thing too because the waders were way too big for me. I decided to go a little further away to find fish... next thing I knew, water started flowing into my waders... I felt like I was in quicksand. I made it to the other side of the river completely drenched. We had a good laugh... but we didn't catch anything. Anyway, here are a few pictures of the day!

Lake Arlington

Foti's puppy, Minnie

Ella loved being able to sit in her bumbo and look out

Big ole honkin feet!

Sunday has been pretty lazy. We went to The Owl and watched some football and then went home and spent some time together. Mark snuck some pictures of Ella. It's hard to get a picture of her smiling. She looks at the camera smiling and as you press the button she becomes so interested in the camera she looses her smile. Mark started playing with one of the features on the camera that takes a series of pictures. It worked perfect...

One of the reasons we took it easy today was because I am working at Mark's school. I started last Friday and I am working until Wednesday. I am helping with testing. We are very lucky that Ella is able to go with me. Last Friday wore us out!! We both came home so tired. Ella has slept almost ALL weekend. Last night we all went to bed a 10 and we didn't wake up until 8:30 the next morning. Ella didn't even wake up to eat in the middle of the night. I wonder if it was exhaustion or maybe a new schedule?

I just gave Ella a bath. She loves the water. Today she was extra fun, splishin' and splashin'! We took a video. It's pretty cute.

The Joys of Being a Homeowner...

Update on the air conditioning:

Still not working... Monday was TERRIBLE! It was so hot in the house. Ella and I ran around 1/2 naked all day. Thankfully Ella stayed cool and happy. She doesn't get very grumpy - I am SO lucky. The worst part about Monday was when the power went out. We had a wicked storm come though here and it knocked the power out around 9pm. Ella was not happy about this. She didn't like that it was not bed time and she couldn't see. We had flashlights and candles burning but it wasn't enough. With no fans going Mark and I decided to go for a car ride. I think Ella was asleep before we got out of the driveway. I was nice to spend time with Mark without technology. We talked!! haha. It seems when we are both home we are working or on facebook or watching TV and we don't really talk. It was also nice to have a conversation with an adult. Ella is a good listener but doesn't make any sense with her response! The picture on the left is Ella when the power went out - pre crying. :)

On Tuesday I called our home warranty place and scheduled an appointment for today. Tuesday was a very cool day in Texas. The storm got the temps down to 75. BEAUTIFUL! I love the fall! The house was cool.

They came today and found the problem (I hope). The motor is broken. He had to order parts so hopefully it will be back up and running tomorrow morning. It is 70 right now so hopefully we'll stay cool.

Ella has been doing some really cute things lately. She is really starting to discover the things that are around her and the way things work. It is very entertaining. She likes to "hold" her bottle. She put her hand around it like she is holding it or she moves her hands around the bottle to see what is feeding her. She is grabbing at things in front of her and now that she has rolled over she can't stop!!! On Monday she rolled over and her octopus landed on her head! She was stunned. It was so cute. When she is in her gym or her boppy no matter where she is in the room - she finds the TV. I think she likes the bright lights.

This weekend Mark's after school program is meeting at a local lake to fish and have a BBQ. Ella and I are going to go up and visit. I'm really excited. It will be one of Ella's first outings with Mark's students. Some of our friends are going to meet us there too. It should be a good time!

1 week from tomorrow my family, my grandma, aunt Suzie, cousins Elizabeth & Cath, and Mark's family are coming to town for Ella's baptism. We are so excited. I miss my family so much and it really makes me sad that they are so far away. Ella is growing leaps and bounds and I wish we were back in Michigan so we could share the joys with them. They will be here Thursday-Sunday. A quick trip but we will make the most of it. It will be the first time my brother Mikey is in Texas. We are planning on taking him around to show him where we live. He wants to go to Delly Plaza in Dallas and I want to take him to the Stockyards in Ft. Worth. I can't wait!!

She Did It!!!

My little Ella did it! She rolled over for the first time! At almost 3 months she is rolling over! The first time she did it Mark and I were both there cheering her on. Of course, I cried. I am so proud. I absolutely LOVE being a parent. I know not all moments are as great as this one... but man oh man... what a great feeling! Now as soon as she gets in her gym she starts the process of rolling over. The second time she did it I was able to get it on video!!

Yesterday after Fantasy football at "The Owl" we got home and... the air conditioning was not working. First thing we did was change the filter... nasty. Still not working. This morning when we woke up Mark checked the outside unit. The tube going to the house was frozen. Mark called his Grandpa and his suggestion was to turn off the air and let the tube defrost. We'll give it a try. Thankfully it's a cool Texas morning. It is going to get up to 90 today but tomorrow it is going to be 76... I probably would prefer the air off then!!

Speaking of Fantasy Football... I won in my head-to-head game... Very happy about that. I definitely didn't come close to winning in the league... oh well. We had fun with friends. Ella likes the outing too. Here are some pictures from the past few weeks. The boys in one of the pictures are our friends kids... they LOVE Ella and Ella LOVES them... too cute!

Busy!

We have been so busy lately. Just adjusting to Mark's new schedule. He is working an after-school program that helps at risk kids. Every night during the week he works until 7. The long day is exhausting for all of us. When he gets home Ella tries her hardest to stay awake. She kicks and punches but, sleep always wins.

Next week is Ella's 3 month birthday!! I can't believe how quick 3 months has gone by. She is getting so big. I measured her today and she is almost 24 inches. Amazing. She has been trying SO hard to roll over lately. She is so close!! She will get half way and then SCREAM! She gets so frustrated - she is so much like me... scary! I hope soon I'll be posting a video of Ella rolling over!! :)

Today I baked a "test" cake. I'm getting ready for Ella's baptism (2 week from tomorrow!!!) I'm going to be making a Pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting and chocolate buttercream fondant. Should be interesting. The cake and frosting are delicious but I'm still unsure about the fondant. It is very tasty but it is not as hard as I thought it would be. I put it in the fridge for the night. I think I'm going to cut it into a football and bring it to fantasy football tomorrow. BTW - Last week I came in second place in our league!! I like to take all the credit but Mark is really the one doing all the work. If I win - he wins! :)

I've had the itch to do some scrap booking. I am so far behind on Ella's Book. I made a few pages yesterday. Check them out:

The text says "Daddy, I may find my Prince Charming - but you'll always be my King"

Ella's first official picture (I hate it) footprints, bracelets, and crib card

Ella's First Day Ella's Second Day On her way home! It was 105degrees and our air conditioning was broke. Thankfully Aunt Paula saved us and we stayed there until it was fixed!

Rally sons of Notre Dame, Sing her glory, and sound her fame Raise her Gold and Blue

Today is the Notre Dame vs. Michigan game. Being a Michigan girl you'd think I would be rooting for UofM. Nope. Today I root for Notre Dame. My papa was a HUGE Notre Dame fan. He also was a Michigan fan but today he would be rooting for Gold and Blue (Well, at least that's how I remember it... he died when I was 8).

This is a picture of my papa and I when I was about 5 months old. The day my parents told him that they were pregnant with Mikey. He was so mad and told them it was not fair and he would take care of me. My papa was very protective of me. My mom bought be some patent leather shoes before I could walk. He didn't like that they were so slippery on the bottom and he was afraid I would fall (remember I couldn't walk yet) so he glued sand paper to the bottom of them. Problem solved.

So today I remember my papa by rooting for Norte Dame!!

Proud Mama's Blog

Ella got a package in the mail today from her Grandma... a BUMBO!! So far she loves it. She spent about 15 minutes in there before she started to get pretty tired. I put her in my arms and she fell right asleep! Not much else new but I wanted to share this picture of Ella. I can't believe my 2 month old can hold her head up and sit like a big girl with a little help. My over-achiever.

We also got a package from our photographer! Our family pictures from when we were in Michigan. They were taken by Corinna's Camera. She also was the photographer for our wedding. Just amazing work. Here are some of my favorites.


I just finished dinner. As soon as I put the burgers on the grill it started lightening and pouring!! yuck! I am soaked. Burgers weren't great either. Wet for nothing. I am SO happy it is Friday and I get 2 full days with my hubby!! :)

Stress and the Office

I've been a little down the past few days. I guess I'm having a hard time adjusting to being home. 4 weeks ago I found out that I was able to keep my job but work from home. It was great news until I found out the details. I had to take a huge pay cut. After being really pissed off I remembered that being able to be home with Ella is priceless. So I got over that. For the past 4 weeks I've had to quit my old job and be re-hired. A lot of hoops to jump through but oh well, it was worth the effort to be with my girl... at first. I've missed the date to turn in my hours to be paid at the end of September because I wasn't techincally employed (I was working because the kids needed their work enlarged. The beginning of the year is CRAZY in the Vision Dept.). Ugh. I needed to get this figured out. So I emailed and called and heard nothing. Today (after I had to get the Asst. Director of Special Ed involved) I found out I've been employed since 8-28. Wouldn't that have been nice to know?! Oh well. It's figured out. Now I'm left wondering how we are going to get through October on Mark's pay check. ... yikes!! Mark keeps reassuring me it will be OK but it's hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I'm really in a WAHHH mood. I wish I could snap out of it... but I'm struggling. The good news is I have my little Ella that smiles at me all day... I can't wait for the weekend so Mark will be able to spend more time with us. He is working really hard trying to make extra money... such a good hubby!!!

I took this picture over the weekend. Ella and Mark's favorite thing to do... SLEEP! They are very good cuddle buddies. I have so many pictures of them sleeping together. Too cute!!!

Yesterday I got season 5 of The Office. It has been non-stop Office since then. I can't believe I forgot about Dwight and Angela!! haha... I love to watch the episode commentary. One of the episode commentary was with the Kraft Services guys telling what the cast members like for breakfast... Eggs whites and onions... mmm... I think I may need to try that this weekend.

Football starts tomorrow!! I can't believe I am saying this.... I'M SO EXCITED!!! Mark and I joined a fantasy football league with people from work. Mark tells me I have a pretty good team. We shall see this weekend. Wish me luck!!! :)

Sleeping Through the Night

Recently we started giving Ella 6oz of food instead of 4oz. I never realized she wasn't getting enough food. She didn't fuss after she finished 4oz so I just assumed she was getting enough. Since I started giving her 6oz she is now sleeping through the night. Now I know all the books say that sleeping through the night is 5 hours - not our little girl. She is sleeping 7-8 hours a night!! Just another reason why she is the best baby that ever lived!!

Along with sleeping through the night, & trying to sit Ella loves to stand. She likes to go from sitting to standing and she loves to plie! (getting ready for ballet classes!!)

Last night we were watching Food Network Challenge (again). And the challenge was to make a cake using different rides for different occasions at Disneyland. I am a HUGE Disney fan. I can't get enough. Anyway, one if the families that was on the show had a daughter. It was her first trip to Disney. As soon as I saw the pin on her shirt that read "1st Visit" I lost it! Tears running down my face... sobbing. I can't wait until I can share Disney with Ella. I know the first time we go I'll cry the whole time - Ella will be wondering what's wrong with her mommy!! Disney is the happiest place on earth. Mark and I went on our honeymoon. I cried when I got there and I cried when I left. Mark just shakes his head. My cousins are going to Disney this week. They are coming from all over the country to see Mickey Mouse! I hope they have a wonderful time! I can't wait to see pictures - I know I'll be crying when I see them :)

Labor Day is today. And that means FREE Chick-fil-A sandwiches!! Today is going to be a good day! Last night Mark started to feel a little sickness in his throat. He ran to CVS at 9:30 to get Airborne. There can't be any sickness in this house!! Say a little prayer!!

Ella's New Trick

Ella is growing leaps and bounds. She is watching us from across the room and is smiling almost all day. She recently has gotten sick and tired of laying down. When we put her in her boppy pillow next to us and starts working those little abs and moves her body to an upright position. Her head is so big that she can't hold it up so after a few minutes she falls to her side or falls forward. When she is laying at an angle where she can't move her body upright she cries and cries. It's amazing. My 2 month old is a little over-achiever. She must get that from her daddy! Here is a video from last night:


Since it's Labor day weekend Mark has 3 days off. Ella and I are enjoying having him around the house. We have been watching a lot of "Food Network Challenge". The last one we DVRed was about burgers. Mark was inspired!! He has been spending the morning looking at different concoctions. Should be a good dinner!! I'll post the recipe and a picture later.

Mark has been begging since the beginning of baseball season to get MLB game day. The price finally went down to $20 so I let him get it (haha... "I let him"). The Tigers are tearing it up right now! It's looking like they will get to the playsoffs. We are very exicted but at the same time we won't be there to cheer them on. In 2006 Mark and I were able to go to Game 4 of the ALDS when the Tigers beat the Yankees. What a great time. Oh, well. We'll have to enjoy it from Texas this year.

2 Weeks ago Mark noticed something wrong with Nola's paw. At first we just dismissed it as her getting into something she shouldn't have and getting cut. A few days later her paw was not looking good. So Ella and I took her to the vet. Apparently she had be bit twice by a bug. $120 in meds later we were told to come back in 2 weeks. One night I was looking at it and found a new "growth" on the bottom of her hurt paw. Like the infection has moved from the top to the bottom. We shall see what the Dr. has to say on Thursday. Hopefully it won't cost us another $125. Silly puppy. Doesn't she know I don't get a pay check until the end of October (hopefully)?!

Blogging...

Well, I've decided to blog. Last time I blogged I was in high school... blogging on Dead Journal and Live Journal. Seems so long ago. My life has changed tremendously. I am now married and have a beautiful daughter. I would say who would have thought? - not the case here. Ever since I can remember I've wanted to be happily married and a mommy. I have all of that and could not be happier.

I wanted to start blogging to keep my Michigan family up to date with what is going on in Texas. We had a baby in June and being so far away it can be hard to keep up with her growth. I will try to update as much as possible so check back as often as you'd like. Hopefully you'll have something new to read.