"Stay in Neverland many moons . . . "

Having another little-one in the house has caused me to reflect upon my older child. It has been an absolute joy watching Ella grow up, and Addi is bringing the same joy to our home. But why do our children have to grow up so fast! Addi is really growing and I finally took out some of Ella's paperwork to compare their growth, and yes, Addi is ahead of the curve. : )
Having all of Ella's stuff out caused me to reminisce about all of her milestones and to reflect upon how easy each transition has been . . . except for one. Allow me to elaborate.
Nursing Ella was a breeze. She was born with quite the appetite and also the skill to get the job done. So, she remained in her bassinet in our room until she was 6 months old. At that point Landon had to gently tell me that it was time she moved into her crib. Because she was such a good eater, and silent sleeper, I enjoyed having her close. When I finally caved to the need to transition her into her own room and her crib, it was I that had the difficult time, not Ella. Then again, at 10 months, when it was time to cut out her one and only night-time feeding, it took only two nights to make that transition and she was sleeping a solid 11-12 hours at night. Once again, I think it was more difficult on me than Ella.
Transitioning to solid foods was also a breeze. She literally lapped up anything I gave her. Some of her first favorites were black beans and vegetables (pretty much all of them). To this day, she prefers to have a loaded salad over a hamburger and french fries.
At the the age of 2 1/2, Ella transitioned from a crib to a toddlers bed. I lined the floor next to her bed with several soft blankets in anticipation of the inevitable roll out, but it didn't come. She had no problem at all with her new sleeping arrangements. She also didn't take advantage of the new "freedom." I had feared that she would hop out of bed the moment we turned our backs after tucking her in for the night; she never did.
Just before her 3rd birthday she has transitioned out of diapers (you may recall my post on potty training). Once she was ready, the transition was done. One day she was wearing diapers, then next day she was wearing big-girl panties. She doesn't even have accidents in her pull-ups at night!
Most recently, she transitioned to the roll of big sister. She has been a very caring and attentive big sister. She is very helpful when Addi is "calling for help." It is often that I find Addi snuggled up with her binky and then Ella's blanket and teddybear. When I ask Ella about it she tells me it's because Addi was sad. "When I'm sad my num-num, teadybear and blanket makes me feel better." . . . What a good sister to give her little sister what comforts her.
This brings me to the final transition; the one that has yet to happen. Just before Ella's 2nd birthday, her binkies started cracking. And you may recall that my daughter not only slept with one binky but with three! But as each began to crack, we would have Ella throw it away. She didn't even seem to notice the loss. It was fabulous! But let me just say that we have been down to one binky for over a year! This thing is indestructible! And if you ask Ella, she will tell you that she "NEEDS" it. I have decided that because all of her other transitions were so seamless, this is to be my nemesis. As much as I would love to have my children stay little, this has got to stop!

Expressions

Ella continues to grow in her independence.

Today when she dressed herself she evidently had a theme in mind . . .

A Day on the Beach

A few weeks ago, my family made the trek over here to see my family and me. It is always fun when Grandma, Grandpa, and Tino come to visit. (If you ask Ella, they are a unit. When one is present, the other two better be there!) During their visit, we decided to take a day and drive over to the coast and spend a day on the beach. We have one spot in particular that we love to go to, and as luck would have it, it was a wonderful day. The weather was perfect. I couldn't believe how blue the water looked that day. Usually, the Oregon Coast is a bit grey, but not that day.

Here are the three most important people to me.

I love this man, and the two little girls are the light of my life!

When we were packing up in preparation to leave, Ella insisted on wearing her bathing suit. Which I had absolutely no problem with, but I was sure it would be unnecessary. As it turns out, I'm glad that my little girl is so enthusiastic about her adventures. It was a perfect day to play in the sand.

Two Weeks Old

Our beautiful daughter is two weeks old and has us all wrapped around her little finger. She is such a pleasant girl that loves - actually she prefers - to be snuggled. Her doctors appointment went well, and she has gained her birth weight back and then some. She is now a healthy 9 pounds 1.5 ounces. It's so nice to know for sure that she is eating well, like there was any doubt, just look at those round cheeks. : )

The next few photos are of some things that we have been doing.

Getting ready for the first bath at home - 6 days old.

Enjoying some sunshine after the bath.

Addi Lynn

Our beautiful Addi Lynn has finally joined our family. She was born on Tuesday, March 10, at 10:04 p.m. She weighed in at a healthy 8 lbs 10 oz and is 20 3/4 inches. Both Landon and I are very grateful for all the wonderful help all of our friends and family have been over the past few weeks to help us prepare for her delivery.

Daddy and his little girl enjoying some peaceful time together.

A beautiful morning welcomed our beautiful girl.

Ella has donned the big sister roles and responsibilities with joy. She is very attentive to her baby sister.

Addi Lynn is a blessing to our family. We are so excited for the adventures to come.

Pay It Forward

So, here's how this game works-the first 3 people to leave a comment on this post will receive, at some point during the year, a handmade gift from me. What it will be and when it will arrive is a total surprise! The catch is that you must participate as well. Before you leave your comment, write up a pay it forward post on your blog to keep the fun going (or be lazy and copy and paste like I did). Then come back, let me know you're going to play and sit back and anticipate the arrival of your gift! Send me an email with your address, landon.shellie@comcast.net

Remember, only the first three get a gift, so you have to be super fast!

Nesting

Two months ago, it finally hit me . . . I am having a baby! I slowly began working on projects like sewing Ella some dress-up princess dresses. Then as time progressed, I started thinking of all the things that I needed to get done for our bundle of joy. The projects just kept stacking up. Here are just a few of things that have been going on in our home:

The bags are now packed and the batteries in the cameras are charged. Let's have a baby!