Because every princess...

...needs her very own princess gown.

Mother/Daughter Day: Dress-up

Ella's first day of school...

She cried. I waited to cry until I got in the car.  I worried about her for the entire day. I felt like a piece of me was missing. I kept telling myself "it's only two days a week." But, we both survived. She loves her teacher. She actually hugged her and blew her a kiss when we left which made my heart feel so much better. I was so happy to hear that she took a good nap there and seemed to enjoy the other kids. I am going to be a complete mess when she starts kindergarten...

Her first report card

Because every girl needs a lunch box with her name on it...

Dear Ella,

*sniff, sniff*. The hardest thing I have had to do so far is to start pushing you towards independence. All I really want to do is hold you in my arms for forever and protect you from harm. You will always be my baby. You will always have my heart...

Mommy

Splish, Splash...

Our summer with Ella has pretty much revolved around water activities. This is partly because she loves it and partly because it completely wipes her out...which means she takes a great nap! I have yet to come up with any cold weather activities (besides going to the park) that will utilize all her energy and also let us get some fresh air. It has been so wonderful having a daughter who loves the water!

We have really enjoyed our neighborhood pool this summer now that we have a little tyke who can enjoy it. It has been equally great having the fountains to play in at the park down the road. All this sunshine has given my daughter a great tan and continues to leave me with pasty legs. I am completely baffled how someone who wears SPF 50 has a better tan than me. She must get that from her daddy. As for me, I will continue my love/hate relationship with the sun...sigh...but, I digress.

Here are my favorites from the past two weeks of water play! 

Because every girl needs a pair of high heels...

...and an evening bag to go with it.

Friday Fun...

So, I have officially declared most Friday's from here on out as Mommy/Daughter (M/D) day. It will be a day of no cleaning. It will be a day that is all about enjoying my little angel...doing things that are all about her!  On this particular M/D day, we started out our morning at the park. We swung on the swings, we slid down the slides, we walked around the lake, and finished with a snack on a bench. Ella must have really enjoyed herself as she was sound asleep within 2 minutes of being in the car. After a 30 minute power nap, we shared a lunch at Chili's...I wish I had a picture of Ella eating corn off the cob. Where is the camera when you need it?

We finished our outing with a ride on the train in the mall. She had a good time, although I think next time we'll try out the carousel. At this point, we were getting close to nap time and Ella was in meltdown mode...so we made a dash for the car.

When Andrew got home, we decided to enjoy the little personal park we have...our backyard. Ella finally understands how to throw bread to the ducks. I wish I had a way of recording her little squeals of delight! SO, that is the conclusion of M/D day. It was so wonderful and I am glad that I have started this tradition for us. Andrew said he was jealous of the things we did. It makes me realize that I am so lucky to be at home most of the time with my little girl.

Sorry that I do not have any pictures from our day. I know it's shocking!! Me, without my camera?! 

Catching Up...

I know. It's been a VERY long time since I have posted. I almost don't even know where to begin to catch up. In summary, Andrew and I have a speed walking, very energetic 14 month old who loves constant attention. At the moment, she knows the following words: Mama, Dada or Da-Deeeee, "gat" (translation: cat), "dat" (translation: that),  "a done" (translation: all done), and "buh" (translation: bye). Although she is not talking a lot, her understanding of instructions constantly amazes me. She seems to understand most simple instructions and (for the moment) obeys. Of course, along with good comes the bad...we are also now dealing with little temper tantrums. *Sigh*

All in all, she is becoming a lovely little girl who is very social. She absolutely loves the water and the outdoors. She also loves her baby dolls and enjoys feeding them fake, plastic food. Have I mentioned that there is nothing better than watching your child enjoy themselves? Watching her pretend play and use her imagination make my heart feel so good. This must be the phase where you start to see the fruits of your labor.

Anyway, what's a post without some pictures of the little princess?...

...although the days are long, the weeks go by fast. What a joy this little girl is...even on those days that she is being difficult! 

For this child, I prayed...

Exactly one year ago, I felt pain. No one told me it would hurt so much. No one told me that it would completely change me. No, I'm not talking about labor. I'm talking about what my heart felt that evening at 6:5opm... A love so great that it caused my heart to physically hurt because it had never been filled with joy like this. While most new mothers are counting their babies fingers and toes, I was looking through her eyes into her soul. I remember thinking, "I get it. I understand why God loves us so much..." Or, at least, I had a small understanding of God's love.

No one told me a year later, that I would love her even more than the first time I looked into those eyes. No one told me that my heart would still ache from this love. No one told me that the best part of my day would be walking into her room and seeing her smile...and knowing that God had granted me another day with her. 

One year ago...

And today...

My heart...

so much more than I deserve...

Dear Ella,

I could try and explain it, but you wouldn't believe me...but, one day, you will. You have changed me. You have filled me with joy that I did not have...a joy I didn't even know was missing. For you, my daughter, I prayed! Happy First Birthday!

Mommy