one true beauty.

since i didn't get to watch little women this past christmas, i figured a post title was in dire need. anyway, this morning marked ella's 4th official hair cut. i can't stand to pay $12 for a TRIM, but i broke down since her hair was practically rapunzel-ish. the production of getting two kids out of the house takes major planning and multiple trips to the car, but this trip was a definite must. ella was very excited AFTER she realized that she wasn't going to get 'cut' like i got 'cut.' yesterday as i was brushing her hair i told her i was going to take her to get a hair cut and she said 'NO! i don't want my behind cut!' a look of serious concern enveloped her face and it took me a minute to understand what she was saying. she heard the word cut and automatically assumed she was going to get a c-section boo boo like me! the behind part i still do not know. i then reassured her she was not going to get cut like me, and that seemed to work, hence the mounting excitement. the glam-shots...
before

during

after

♥

play school, pig tails, and the park.
yesterday was g-to-the-orgeous. made me really impatient for spring to come, hence the two walks we took. since ella is almost 3 and a half and practically an adult, i decided it's definitely time to start a little play school at home. we practiced naming and spelling the colors, picking out different letters, sorting beads by color, counting the beads in each category, and finally using our fine motor skills to string a bracelet. she loved it. i loved it. i predict more home play school in the future.

while she was stringing her heart out, i decided that it was definitely time for me to learn how to french braid. i mean, how can i be mom of the year without knowing how to french braid?? i got the gist, but they were far from perfect. however, they served their purpose...hair out of the face as she soared, quote 'higher than the trees.' the girl loves to swing, what can i say?

♥

pirates say yo ho.

well this captain hook can't yet, but he is 3 weeks old today. so strange to think about. three whole weeks. he is still a pro sleeper at night, waking up only twice. however, during the day it is a much different story...that is unless he is in his car seat which he adores. his umbilical cord fell off 2 days ago (amen) and he loves how ella is constantly poking and prodding him while he lays there helpless. okay the last part is a complete lie, but that is how ella shows her adoration...poking and prodding. he has the largest big toe known to baby and he does the cutest, and i mean cutest quiver lip when he gets really mad. his eyes are still blue, and not a gray blue, but a blue blue. did you get that his eyes are blue? we ♥ our captain. the other day i asked ella if we should give him back...her answer was 'no, we love him.' i agree.

♥

a little of this, a little of that

this post is an ode to my eldest ...ok ok that sounds insanely old and like i might have really important things to say, which i really don't...and a note-to-self.
ella wakes up around 7am everyday. her favorite thing to do is watch toons in the morning, which is fine by me...especially since i feed captain twice a night and am a little sleepy at 7. why so sleepy panda bear? (haha) well, while i only feed the captain twice, he usually wakes around 6am for a cry fest. it's the strangest thing, and something i definitely hopes he stops soon immediately! back to the point. well i got smell dressed and ready to go and for some reason this morning she was calm. so i took this as my opportunity to seize some pictures of my eldest without her obnoxiously shouting cheese and NOT looking at the camera and/or jumping up and down in the process :)

she'll be three and a half on march 4th...which in turn also means captain will be one month. holy cow does time fly by. she wants to know how captain drinks milk without a cup and how i feed him out my elbow. she loves knock knock jokes and is constantly repeating quotes from toons or books. her favorite book is the berenstain bears get the gimmies and she doesn't so much as have the gimmies, but wants to buy things from the store with her own money. hmmm. she loves to tell me when captain is crying and will repeat what i tell him in this funny voice, aka she's inadvertently making fun of my baby talk without knowing it. she loves play school and everyday when i ask her what she did at play school, she replies 'i played.' she can sing the abc's while enunciating every letter. she makes up these ridiculous stories whenever she sees a fire truck, police car, or ambulance. someone is always hurt or she'll tell me about the time she saw the bad guys in jail. she would eat mac and cheese for every meal and panera is still a fav. along with jamba juicies and starbuck's cake pops which she pronounces fake pops. she still runs laps daily and falls hard core at least 2-3 during the course of her pre-olympic training. she loves to play cinderella or teacher and i like this too cause she actually listens and does exactly what i boss her around to do. she knows how to say her prayers but usually refuses and delegates the duty to whomever she chooses. she loves to play outside and go to the park. lately she's been dying to go to the zoo. probably because she's been a zoo-goer since the young age of 8 months. whose mom takes them to the zoo at 8 months?? hey, it's all about the experiences in life alright. and all about babygap :) she's lived in more houses than she is years old and is obsessed with captain's toys, dogs, and making lists (more like scribbles).
can you believe she's almost three and a half?
now to the note to self...

thank you etsy for the inspiration, not that our house is exploding with decor, and thank you god for the time i spent anticipating captain's arrival giving me the nervous energy to complete a few projects.
♥

happy valentines day.

i'm not as tired as i envisioned. captain seems to be adjusting to life in this crazy household. ella would smother him with kisses 24/7 if she could. and valentine's day is here once again.

+ we made the crayon valentines for becki and cindy 'Happy Valentine's Day for 'crayon' out loud!'
+ my two very special valentines ♥
+ we went for donuts this morning...ella's most favorite thing in the world. well, besides those sunglasses. very chic dontcha think?
+ so i don't know how to flip the pictures when they turn out sideways...very annoying...but those are the valentine's we made for ella's playschool 'i dig you' and yes ella knows how to write her own name...sometimes she gets too many little legs on the E, but who's counting. learning how to write her name has also proven something...she is VERY left handed. thought that'd make you happy.
+ we made dipped oreo cookies with ella being my sprinkle wing man. within the first 5 minutes she dropped her bottle of sprinkles A-L-L over the ground. which then led to her crying. which then led to her completely giving up on doing the sprinkling and just eating the sprinkles. pink hands and tongue? check.
+ the mr. potato head looking drawing is her baby brudder. ella was so excited the other day...she ran out and handed me the paper while simultaneously exclaiming 'this is my baby brudder!' the big brown blob is his eyes...not what you were thinking...dirty!
happy february 14th ♥

a photo shoot and a walk.
of course the photo shoot was by yours truly. and the walk was a nice necessary change of scenery.

♥

ye ol captain.

i have read a number of birth stories. some sad. some frightening as heck. but one thing that is always the same is that every one is different. i guess i could write mine. i guess i could elaborate on each and every detail, but there's no need. i went in for an induction. ended up that pitocin was administered right from the beginning. i would have awesome contractions for an hour and then they'd stop. cold turkey. so frustrating. and when i was finally ready to push, that was not god's plan. two hours into it, a c-section was the only the way face up, non descending captain was going to come out. the ending was quick, most painful thing i've ever recovered from, but produced the most beautiful and huuggeee baby boy ever.


and the journey began...

15 hours later the captain arrives weighing in at 9 lbs 12 oz, 21.5 inches long...

the proud big sister emerges...

 of course he would want to see her drawings right?

 first family pic...

 she wanted to touch him...he would 'tickle' her aka she would tickle him...and she'd give him kisses constantly...

 not that he was a fan at first...

 and home finally beckoned us...

now the true journey begins.

♥