Pictures

So I really have the worst luck. I needed to get new pictures of the girls since it has been well over a year and Nellie was just a little bald baby in the last ones I did. So I talked to some people around here about where I could go. There aren't any studios here in Concordia and the people that do them here are way over the price that I am willing to pay, so I had to go to Salina to Sears (one of the only places there.) It really stinks to live in the middle of nowhere for these sorts of things.

Well I decided to do it the weekend that we were staying down in Salina for the Parent Seminar, because I just didn't think the girls would take very good pictures after an hour drive, (they are really terrible in the car.) So I went to Sears because it was in my price range, but wouldn't you know that I got the new guy. Of course and Nellie wasn't very thrilled about getting her pictures taken, In fact she was pretty much freaking out. The guy didn't really know what he was doing and didn't really know how to work with small children. After over an hour of working with the girls we ended up with some pretty good pictures. But there were a lot more that could have been better if he even knew the first thing about framing a picture. There was one that would have been really good of Nellie , but he didn't frame up the picture and she was over on the edge of it. Plus I don't really think the closeups look as good when they are horizontal rather than vertical.

Oh well I am pretty happy with the pictures that we did get although I wish we could have gotten one of the girls together where Nellie was smiling, but that is my luck. I think next year I will get our pictures done when we go out to Utah. I got ours done there last year and I was really happy with the photographer and loved the pictures.

This and That

I am tired of trying to play catchup and not getting there, so I am just going to include a lot of posts into one, so then I can relax.. mostly, I still have one or two left, but at least I am getting there.
This past summer was a lot of fun with the girls. I think because they are older and we got to do a lot of fun stuff together.
My little monkeys. They feel like if I am in the kitchen cooking they need to be on the counter with me. I love that they want to be with me and I am glad they are wanting to help me cook, but every single time? Seriously, it can really drive me crazy when I am trying to hurry and get dinner made. Lizzy was helping me cut up watermelon. She loves to eat everything! I don't know another kid that loves fruit and veggies (ALL of them) as much as Lizzy does. Although the other day she asked what we were having for dinner and we were having leftover soup from a few nights before, and I told her and said "is that okay" and she said "Actually Mom, I don't like that soup." She still ate it though.
Nellie wearing her shades, she loves wearing her sun glasses and wears them quite a bit.

We went to the pool quite a bit this summer. It is so nice that it is only a block away. But I was really tired a lot this summer and there were some days that I just didn't have the energy to get us all packed up to go swimming, so I turned on the sprinklers and Lizzy just loved it. She became quite a little water bug this year. She thought it was so fun to lay on top of the sprinklers.
Nellie wasn't quite as enthusiastic about the sprinklers. She loved the pool, but after the first day in the sprinklers she decided that the best place was on the porch with me.

We brought these hula skirts back from Hawaii for the girls. They didn't really care for them that much at first, but one day a couple of months later they decided they just had to wear them and it was the cutest thing.

Kevy brought home this dresser that we are going to refinish for the girls, but it was sitting in the living room for a few days and the girls thought it made a great toy to climb on.

This was my Lizzy on the first day of school. She was SO excited to go. She goes three days a week for three hours, and it has seriously changed her attitude. I think before she was just needing some social interaction. She has two very special friends from last year, Taye and Tarin, both boys. For such a girlie girl she loves to play with the boys. Nellie was fine the first few times Lizzy left, but now she cries every time Lizzy leaves for preschool. She was crying the other day "Come back my Zizzy. I want my Zizzy!" It was so sad, but so precious that she missed her sister.

Once a week the girlies and I go to the library. It is so nice to live in a place that has a library. The girls really look forward to it and have learned to LOVE books. They want to read them all the time.

We have been saving up for quite a few months so we could buy the girls a new bed. We decided to get a trundle instead of a bunk bed because it is less dangerous and it takes up a lot less space during the day. The day we got it Nellie was ecstatic. We went and bought her new bedding that she got to pick out, which was neat because usually she gets hand-me-downs and Lizzy gets the new stuff. Nellie just loves her new bed. Me on the other hand, I really miss the crib, and wish I could bring it back, I got so much more sleep before. I know it will be better in the long run to do it now before the baby comes, but it has been a rough couple of weeks.

At first I was laying down with her until she was falling asleep, but some nights she would jack around for two hours before she would finally fall asleep and then I was so tired I would pretty much go straight to sleep and Kevin and I got no time together. So finally we decided that we would just shut the door and let her cry until she goes to sleep, and that works, if Lizzy cooperates and goes to sleep, but if Lizzy doesn't then Nellie won't go to sleep, and they both just jack around forever. Then Nellie gets up in the middle of the night and won't go back to bed unless one of us lays with her. It has been pretty rough these last few weeks. She is finally getting adjusted and until last night she was doing better, but last night she wouldn't stop screaming, it is so hard to listen to your child sob your name for an hour and not go and comfort them, but I didn't. I went in there to check on her once she had fallen asleep, but she didn't crawl into her bed, she was in bed with Lizzy. It was so sweet.

This is me a couple of weeks ago at 21 weeks. It was really weird for me to take this picture. I am not the biggest fan of pictures of me pregnant, but I wish I had some belly shots from when I was pregnant with the girls, so I decided to take some this pregnancy.

All About Nellie

My sister Chanelle did this on her blog when it was her boy's birthdays and I thought it was a great way to record what they are like at that age.

Nellie is such a joy to have. It is amazing how much she has grown in the past year. She is now 21 pounds, which I am sure sounds small, but Lizzy was 23 at the same age, so Nellie has pretty much caught up. I am not just talking about her size though, I am sure everyone knows how difficult her first year of life was. I really didn't know if I would make it through, but you always do. She has just blossomed this past year into such a sweet darling little girl. Kevin and I find ourselves saying everyday "I just can't believe how grownup she is getting"

Nellie loves to play with her sister, they are the best of friends. When Lizzy goes to school, Nellie runs and grabs her own little backpack and tries to go with her, and she is soo sad when Lizzy leaves without her. I can tell she is starting to feel like she is missing out on things, so I try to make our time together as much about her as possible.

Nellie gives the very best hugs. She wraps her little arms around you so tight and then she lays her head on your shoulder. She has the sweetest little voice and I just love to hear her talk. She didn't start talking much until about the last few months but she has really picked it up quick. She is saying full sentences now and she is actually really easy to understand. The other day she said to me "Mommy, I want to go see Ebony." Ebony is a dog at her Daddy's work. I am just amazed at how she already is saying all the little words as well. Some of the funny things she says, she always is telling me when something is "my favorite" even when it may be something she doesn't necessarily care for she still says it. She also says her own name so cute, "Newwie" It is also really cute because she apologizes for everything, if I get hurt or frustrated she always says "Sorry Mommy, sorry." It is so sweet. She also always tells me if she gets a little bit cold that "I'm freezing Mommy"

She loves to sing with her sister, Lizzy sings a lot so and Nellie has picked it up as well, it is just the cutest thing ever when they both sing together.

Nellie is a huge animal fan, if she sees even a picture of an animal she has to hug and kiss it. She loves Dora and Diego, I think mostly because of the animals in them. She is not nearly as into girly stuff as Lizzy is, but she still likes it, she just also likes other stuff too.

I look at her everyday and I can't believe she is that tiny little baby that came early, she has no signs that she was premature, except her fighting spirit. She sure is a stubborn one with a will of iron. She needed that iron will to go through what she did, but man I thought I was stubborn, I don't hold a candle to my Nellie. Although when it comes to battles with food I mostly win because I don't give in, and that has made for a much better eater, she could have been a really picky eater, but I wouldn't let that happen. She loves treats and would eat nothing but junk if I let her, but she does like other food too. Eggs are one of her favorite. She loves cake, but not ice cream, it's too cold she loves candy, and sometimes I have to resort to giving her some if I need her to let me do her hair, she doesn't like me to do her hair very much right now. The thing she loves most of all though is her milk, she wants like 10 glasses a day and I have to limit it, because that is all she would live on if I let her, well that and treats.

She is such a joy to have and I feel so blessed to have been given her. I can't imagine my life without my darling little Nellie Belle.