Mother's Day

“Making the decision to have a child - it is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body. ”
― Elizabeth Stone

I love this quote, it is able to capture just a glimmer of how Elle holds my heart.  She has it with her every day for the rest of my life.  My view on celebrating my own personal mother's day as a mom is that it's a celebration of this sweet girl who made me a mom.  I'm eternally grateful that God placed us together.  Every night as she's falling asleep I look at her and it baffles me that she grew inside me, it baffles me how much I love her, it baffles me that any person can be this happy.

I vividly remember being pregnant and sitting at the island at my parents house and my mom talking about the love a mother has for her children and to be prepared for that crazy amount of love.  I remember saying something along the lines of "I know mom, obviously I'm going to love her so much!".  I didn't know.  I had absolutely no idea until that night she was in my arms...and it just continues to grow everyday.  I finally know how my mom feels about her 3 kids.  I now understand her worries when we would go on trips or are driving, flying, going off to college, sick, etc.  I get it.  She's not a worrier (well, she is a little bit :)...she's a mom....the BEST MOM in the world! 

Eric and Elle spoiled me on Sunday with flowers and a "mom" necklace that I love (and dropped a pretty strong hint for :).  More than anything I wish I could be a fly on the wall and see these two out shopping together.  Considering Elle has a fairly strong opinion on things she likes and dislikes I'm guessing it's pretty comical.

We met the family for brunch at McGurk's on Sunday.  The babies were so excited to give their gifts to MawMaw.  They each picked out an item all by themself to give her.  Elle picked earrings and Henry picked a green scarf that he immediately wanted mom to try on.

Check out those curls!

 

 

Charlie Bear snoozed through brunch...

and Will boozed through brunch! :)

 



 

We are all so so lucky to have Momma Rita.  She not only is good to us 3 kids, she spoils Eric, Nick and Paige too and don't even get me started on Henry, Elle and Charlie. :)  She would do anything for any of us in a heartbeat no questions asked.  She is simply the best.

He Did It!!!

Will graduated! Woohoo! Cue the trumpets air horns and silly string!

Eric, Nick and Charlie weren't able to make the trip so Mary and I loaded up Elle and Henry and hit the road Saturday morning. Elle wasn't the most cooperative on the way there; she was SO READY to get out of the car.

The babes ended up getting squirmy during the ceremony so we left our seats and let them roam around...hand in hand. :)

When they called Will's name we screamed and cheered and Mama Rita blew an air horn. :) We are so proud of this guy! The college world tour is officially over!!

 

 

After graduation Mom & Dad treated us all to dinner to celebrate Will. After dinner Mary and I gave each babe a can of silly string and set them loose on Unc. Elle was still talking about it 2 days later. :)

Our ride home was a little bumpy but this time not because of Elle. ;) Both babes passed out almost immediately and about 30 minutes into our drive our phones went off that a tornado warning was in the area and to take shelter immediately. Of course we called Mom and Dad to see what we should do, Dad said keep going! Mary was booking it! haha A majority of the ride home was spent discussing what to do if we see a tornado, we had a game plan to make sure those babes stayed safe. Once Elle and Henry woke up the rest of the ride consisted of fighting over which song to listen to on repeat. We heard "What Does the Fox Say", "Who Let the Dogs Out" and "Bananas" several times. :)

That bad weather couldn't dampen our day though, so glad we made the trip and were able to watch T walk across that stage!

April

April is one of my favorite months, not just because it's the month of my birthday.  I love the colors and the weather when it cooperates. Nice days aren't taken for granted since your just coming out of winter.  Between our trip to Chicago, Easter and celebrating my birthday the month just flew by.

A stomach bug hit Eric and my mom so Elle got to spend a fun day with MiMi, Henry and Charlie!

Elle is still really loving her baby dolls.  We change their diapers a lot as she insists that they have pooped. 


We are still in the middle of her Elmo obsession.  Our bedtime routine consists of watching the same episode of Sesame Street (Grandparent's Day).  It's really Elmo heavy at the beginning so it holds her attention.  She falls asleep every night in our bed, sometimes I carry her over to her crib once she's sleeping, sometimes I just let her cuddle in bed with me all night. :)

She enjoys trying on my wedding ring...

One of Elle's favorite things is playing with our phones.  I have the cutest video of her having an imaginary phone conversation with Mary.  It's so cute how she paces around and uses her hand while talking.  She also uses my phone to take pretend pictures of herself.  She lifts the phone above her head and says "cheese!".

She still loves to help me feed and let the puppies outside.  One of my most favorite things is how she talks to the dogs, she is very serious when telling them "no!" to things they shouldn't be doing.

 

 

These days she can say almost anything or at least she tries. :)  She's slowly starting to string words together.  Her first case of doing this was "Henny Doctor Hotdog".  One day when Henry was being extra silly he referred to himself as doctor hotdog. #crazycousinHenry  When Eric is being silly she says "dad-eeeeee", it's adorable.

 

Elle is still a great eater although she is starting to have her days where she doesn't eat the greatest at a meal.  It maybe happens once a week.  Some of her favorite foods right now are string cheese, bananas, grapes, yogurt covered raisins, chicken hot dogs (just rolled up deli lunch meat, MawMaw started the trend of calling them hot dogs), Pirate's Booty (a baked somewhat healthier version of cheese puffs) and Mac & Cheese (I try to buy the organic Annie's brand which makes me feel better about her mac n cheese love). And she loves just about any treat known to man...kitkat's, M&M's, cookies...all big hits with Roni.

We have been working on manners, if I ask her "What do you say?" she knows to say "Please" and will say "thank you" but needs to be reminded. :) She also loves pointing out any kind of mess, even if she's the one who made it.

If you ask her who's girl she is, she always says "PawPaw" :)

One of her favorite ways of playing is to vacuum.  She has her little mini vacuum and she wants me to get out our big one and we pick a room to clean.  She loves it and I love a freshly vacuumed room so no complaints on my end.

 

 

This is how Elle and MawMaw share a cup of yogurt :)

This little girl is growing up so fast...too fast.  She's turning into a big girl and I know times with baby Eleanor are coming to an end soon. I truly love each stage more than the next but I hate how quick each one goes by.  I get a lump in my throat each time I pack away clothes from her closet that are too small and know that those clothes she's waiting to grown into at the end of her closet will one day look so tiny to me. I'm beginning to understand why my mom would always cry at big milestones, it's not always easy watching your baby grow up...but it sure is fun. :)