Thursday, September 30, 2010

Precious Baby...

I can't write about my firstborn without sharing more about my precious baby! Oh our sweet sweet Alexa Joy! What a GIFT she has been to our family... Look at this beautiful little face!!!

Alexa is my little Mommy's girl, morning person, and laid back cuddler. I am absolutely smitten with her! Alexa and I get some great bonding time every morning while sister is still sound asleep... Usually Alexa wakes up around 6:45am every morning ready for her day to begin! She smiles and talks and kicks her little legs like crazy. Wherever I am, she turns her head to see me. I laugh because if I am behind her, she will tilt her head SO far back just so she can see where I am. She tries not to let me out of her sight for a second...
This has been a big week for Alexa! She rolled over for the very first time on Tuesday. She also discovered her thumb this week and has become quite the thumb sucker, which right now, I think is cute! And today was her first day to really enjoy being in her jumparoo! So, I of course, had to take several pictures to capture the moment!
She's already getting so big and grown up, but all I want is for her to stay my little baby... They sure don't stay that way for long...
Having two girls is more fun than I ever could have imagined in my wildest dreams... Enjoying these days and hoping that God will slow them down just a little, and even more than that, I'm praying that He'll help me remember every precious moment that is passing by... All the trips to the park, the belly laughs, the sweet faces of two little girls sound asleep, the hair bows and cute little outfits, the list goes on... God has been so good to us!

Friday, September 24, 2010

Beautiful Firstborn...

Spent time today thanking God for my precious firstborn... Ellie Hope... It's crazy to think that three short years ago, God knew he was getting ready to bless our lives with this curious, creative, and courageous little beauty...but we had no idea what an incredible journey we were about to embark on!
I love these "thinking" pictures... I am pretty sure I have several of her Daddy doing the same thing...
Look at those pretty pink toes...

and beautiful chubby pink fingers...
and those eyes! perfect to me in every way... thank you Lord for the firstborn you chose just for us... please use her to continue to teach me patience, kindness, gentleness and selflessness as we walk through these wonderful yet sometimes challenging days of toddlerhood. Help me to teach her, train her and love her the way You would have me to. So thankful for this good and perfect gift...

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Sister Love...

This morning (our college student in the making didn't wake up until 11am :) when I went to get Ellie out of bed, instead of anxiously wanting me to get her out of her crib she said...
"Alexa? Hold her?" so I went and got the baby and put her in the crib with Ellie...
I just LOVE the way that Ellie loves Alexa... She is so sweet to her and loves her and snuggles her and kisses on her... Alexa is the only person that Ellie will snuggle with. Makes her Daddy just a wee bit jealous. My prayer is that my girls will always be the best of friends!

Sunday, September 19, 2010

AWANA and POTTY TRAINING!

Oh what a big week in Ellie's world!!!
First of all... tonight was the FIRST NIGHT that Ellie went potty in the BIG GIRL POTTY all by herself! Yay Ellie! Okay...now i need to get serious about this potty training stuff... :/ Not sure I'm ready for this! Ready or not...it's definitely time!

Good Job Ellie Hope! This will be a picture that I'm sure she will love in years to come! Ha!
And then as if potty training wasn't big enough... Ellie also started AWANA this week! At 2 years old, Ellie is now a PUGGLE :) It was so cute when we picked her up from her first night. She said "Mom, Puggles fun!" I asked her what she did and she said "snack...play..." Then after we got her packed in her carseat and headed down the road, she started singing "Jesus Loves Me" in the back seat! I love it!
Our little girl is growing up before our eyes... If only I could slow the days down... I'm not ready for her to be a big girl yet! But she reminds me daily that she's getting big with her big vocabulary and sharp little mind (yes, she figured out the child safety locks on the cabinets and can now also let herself out the front door... :/ )
Oh what a blessed woman I am! :)

Alexa at 4 months!!!

The months are just flying by and our baby girl is now 4 months old!!! How quickly the days pass! Our sweet Alexa Joy is getting to be more content and precious by the day! We are smitten with this little beauty!
Yes, it's true! She definitely looks like a little McCulley. :) Some days I think she looks like my Dad...other days like one of my brothers! But either way, she favors my side of the family!

Look at that sweet little face... Alexa has come to be a very content little baby. She is a morning girl to the max and likes to get to bed early. The complete opposite of her big sister! Wouldn't you just know it? :)
Mommy and Daddy sure do love our little bundle of JOY!
A few other fun facts about our Alexa at 4 months...
  • Just found her thumb and seems to sometimes prefer that over her binky!
  • SMILES a TON in the mornings! She usually wakes up around 6:45am to eat and then just stays awake and coos and smiles for 2 hours straight before she is ready for her morning nap! She usually gets her morning nap in before her sister even budges for the first time in the mornings! Ha!
  • Is ALMOST rolling over! If she could just get that darn arm out of the way! :)
  • Is incredibly observant. She loves to watch everything and everyone around her. She gets very easily distracted from eating if she senses there is something else going on!
  • Alexa is really beginning to warm up to people and let others hold her now... For her first 3 months she was quite the Momma's girl and wasn't too sure about anyone else! :)
  • Alexa has a very keen sense of hearing! She is easily startled by sounds - loud or soft ... especially when her sister runs in by her bed and starts screaming "BABY!" trying to get her to wake up! Then in turn looks at me and says "Baby Awake, Momma!" hmmmm...wonder how that happened? :)

Loving life with our tiny beauty!