Easter

Easter Weekend, our section of the neighborhood, Dahlia Park, had an Easter Egg Hunt. These folks know how to go all out! There were so many kids around Ella's age, which made me happy. Now, we just need to meet some of them so we can have some play buddies this summer!

 Yelling for Daddy to hurry up!

 Waiting in line behind the Easter Bunny waiting for him to hop us to the egg hunting site

 First egg of the day

 She wanted to see him then when he came to talk to her, was scared.

 Hopping back home is quite exhausting!

Checking out all her loot

 

Sunday, we spent the day at the park

Happy 3rd Birthday Ella Grace

Our sweet pookie bear is 3 today! I can't believe how old she is - it makes me sad:( I jumped out of the bed at the butt crack of dawn to get her some balloons, flowers, and pancakes - per her request. By the time I got home, she was up!

 So, we started off in her room checking out what Grammy and Grampa gave her.

Then we ate some pancakes followed by a bath. Those pancakes can be sticky!! We then dug into tons of presents from family. She was so funny - I think 90% of it was clothes and she just looked at us like "really?! this stuff isn't very cool." But, she got so many cute things. Thank you everyone! And, with a birthday party next weekend, I'm sure she will get toys galore (so I'm not too concerned, ha!).

 This singing card was her favorite. I believe it was from Gran & Pop.

 Told you she got a lot of clothes!!

 Watching her new movie before we headed to the zoo

 We went to Cougar Mountain Zoo by our house. I was surprised at how small it was but honestly, it was perfect for a waddling Momma with an aching back. I do prefer the Woodland Park Zoo but this one worked for today. I think she had a lot of fun! We then had lunch at Panera and are now back at home. We're going to have her cake tonight and her birthday party next weekend.

This Momma is pooped so apologies for the short post. Wishing she would take a nap so I can take a break...but, shelves, a mirror, curtain holdbacks, and whatever else needing a drill needs to be completed, so I'm off to use a drill for the first time. Wish me luck!!


**Update** Forgot to mention that on our way home from lunch, she got a "surprise"...we went through the car wash! She went with me last Saturday and loved it! I guess she had been telling her Daddy all about it since then so he decided to take her today, haha! So, it made Ella happy and my car is the cleanest it has been in like 2 years!!

32.5 Weeks

 8 months

 Ella's Glamour shots

At this point, I've crossed the 32 week line and am not far from 33 weeks....no more than 7 weeks until baby brother is here. Crazy to think! Especially, since we've had little time to even think about a baby coming.

Are we ready?

Not Really.

Worried about that?

I guess not. We're about half way with his room. And, I want Ella and our room complete before he's here. My only concern is that I lost this weekend to get things done due to the car issues, next weekend is Easter, the next is EG's 3rd birthday, and the last weekend of April is her party. So....um, yeah, not a lot of time to get stuff done.

I finally placed an order on Amazon today for a few things for him - socks, swaddle blankets, and some onesies. I also signed up for Subscribe and Save for wipes. I guess I'll hit up Target for some diapers, pacifiers, etc and get the bottles out and washed. I'm finishing up ordering a few more clothing items and we should be ok. Oh, and if we EVER decide on a name, I want to order him some monogrammed burp clothes, etc.

Honestly, I don't think any of you will know his name until he's born. We've waited this long so now it's kind of fun (once we finalize) to just not tell you:)

What are you going to do with Ella when the times comes? Ehhhhh, haven't thought this one out. I AM nervous about this. My sweet friend, Laura, offered to help even if that means getting the wake up call in the middle of the night. So, now we just need to lay out the game plan as best we can. I hope he comes during the day because Ella will be at school and all we'll need is for someone to pick her up and stay with her until my Mom gets in town. But, if only we could plan like that:)

Are you taking her out of school for some time after baby is born? No. She will hang out with us some once I move to recovery but I don't want her schedule messed up. Or, to put the stress on her when I'm unable to give her all of the attention she is used to having while I'm home with the baby. She'll be out of school maybe 1 or 2 days total, depending on when he comes. This will be the best for her and for the rest of us:)

How do I feel?

Fine 99% of time. No issues. No bedrest which is so awesome. It's weekends like this one when Brian is out of town, you deal with car issues, Ella throws a tantrum while dealing with those issues, you're then stuck in the house for 1.5 days, and I swear I get up every 10 minutes to help her with something. If you were to stand outside and stare in our kitchen last night, you would have counted me getting up from the table 20 times in 30 minutes. So, my back is completely shot! And, I'm really disappointed because I finally got back into the workout grove last weekend and then messed up my shoulder. I've been out of commission since Tues and it hasn't gotten better. So, that kind of sucks. But, overall, I'm good and no complaints.

I will say that my appetite is slim to none. I have to eat 6 small meals, which is what I did before baby, so no biggie. But, I now find myself unable to even eat those. Most nights, I skip dinner or just eat a bowl of cereal. A lot of it has to do with baby brother hogging all the room and me having no stomach left. The rest has to do with indigestion. It started with me not being able to eat chocolate, tomatoes, and onions. Now, it's everything. Me and Mylanta are best friends!

My weight gain has been minimal so we'll see what I come in at this week (have an appt). I've always been on the low end but hope I don't get in a little trouble for not gaining much. I've gained 21 to-date and Dr. Pray said I was on track compared to gain with Ella. We shall see!

Here's me at 32 weeks with Ella - haha! Could be the angle because Brian swears I'm larger this time, but I feel so much smaller with this one.

Then

Now