Awesome Autumn Afternoon

Yesterday I wanted to take advantage of the gorgeous weather and Ella and I spent part of the afternoon at a park up the road. She had a ball! I just let her run all over and she loved roaming free...climbing on the jungle gym, digging her hands in the sand/dirt, and playing in the leaves. I am going to try and remember this day when it is snowing out and we are stuck inside:)

...To Grandmother's House We Go!

This past Saturday Ella got to enjoy some special Grandpa and Grandma time! We had an open house that afternoon so G&G Koning watched her while I was doing the finishing touches on the house (Brad was gone at a church retreat so I needed a little help:) and then we hung out at G&G Rotman's while the open house was going on. She absolutely adores her grandparents so she had a blast spending the day with them, especially since it was a gorgeous day and she could play outside with them!Picking up the leaves with Grandpa KoningPlaying with the "birdy" at G&G Koning's house - it is a wire bird they have in their landscaping and she thinks it is so fun to look at and touch whenever she is outside there:)
Outdoorsy girl at heartGetting a lawnmower ride from Grandpa Rotman

Ella loves to play with these decorative twine balls in my parents kitchen - she likes to take her time tearing them apart...and Grandma lets her. You know that I would never be allowed to do that when I was little, but when its her grandchild it's like - sure, go ahead! :)Grandpa's little peanut!

Kissing Cousins

Ella loves giving "smooches"...and apparently loves sharing them with her cousins:)Ella and Lil Ella and Kolter

Ella and Kennedy - cute little chicks:)

Happy Halloween!

This Halloween our darling Ella was a chicken:) We had a fun day "trick or treating" to her Grandmas and Grandpas and visiting her friends. I was a little nervous she wouldn't like wearing her costume but honestly I think she just thought she was wearing a coat with a hood so she didn't mind a bit and the best part was it kept her super warm on such a frigid day! She is such a cute little chicken - I could just eat her up! (no pun intended:)

We went to visit our Grandma Essenburg who was in the hospital recovering from having shoulder surgery with Betsy, Jake, and Caterpillar Lily:) Hope you feel better soon Grandma!
Great Grandpa Essenburg spoiled Ella by "treating" her to some vegetable chips/sticks instead of giving her Halloween candy - it was really sweet and of course Ella loved them!

Grandpa and Grandma Koning with Ella and Lily at their house
Ella laughing at Auntie Kylee who was modeling part of her "cloudy with a chance of rain" Halloween costume:)

Ella stopping by our neighbors to wish her buddy Grah a Happy Halloween! Gotta love the cute boy next door:)
Ella with Grandpa and Grandma Rotman at their house

At night we went to the Heukers for a Halloween party. Here are the 3 little wild animals that attended:) Ella, Layla (monkey) and Jonathan (giraffe)
Here are the 3 little kiddos appearing to pass out the Halloween candy to the trick-or-treaters. (After this picture Ella proceeded to try and eat 4 mini candy bars with the wrapper still on them - she is more of an indian giver apparently).
Can't miss a photo opportunity to show off my three prego friends - Julie, Lindsey & Mere

(Julie & Lindsey due in March, Mere due in February) Can't wait to meet the little honeys!

Sad on Saturday, Sick on Sunday

We should have realized that our Saturday wasn't going to be a good day when we had an Open House in the afternoon and no one showed up. We have spent a couple of weeks getting the all the odds and ends fixed in the house and every nook and cranny cleaned so that it was primed for any interested buyers... so it was pretty disappointing that no one came to see it. However, we are bound and determined to stay optimistic! It only takes one special person, right?

The day went from sad to worse when Ella woke us up screaming at midnight. We rushed in to see what was wrong and she proceeded to throw up all over Brad and her crib and the carpet. The night went on in similar fashion until about 5:30. It was a rough night...I'll spare you the details but lets just say we had about 5 loads of laundry to do, no sheets or blankets left in either of our rooms, and I woke up soaked in her pee. Poor Ella ended up sleeping in just a diaper b/c of the constant mess and her diaper must have come off while she was cuddled up next to me. It was incredibly rough to see her so sick and feel so helpless to stop it...it was every bit as horrible as I had imagined. Thankfully Brad and I have not gotten sick so far and Lord willing we will have a healthy house for a while.

The irony of it all was that we were out for dinner Saturday night with the Lucas' and we were discussing how awful it would be to have our children throw up and that maybe our kids wouldn't get sick this season. In addition, later that night Brad and I said that although the open house was a bust at least the house was in perfectly clean condition...not such the case last night/this morning:) Just goes to show how little control one has in life:)

One sweet moment from today that made everything seem better:)

OPEN HOUSE (SATURDAY 2PM-4PM)

That's right - I'm taking a break from some last minute picking up here to mention that we've got an open house tomorrow from 2pm - 4pm. If you know anyone who might be remotely interested tell them to stop by and take a quick look!

One Year Appt.

Today Ella had her 1 year appt at the pediatrician. All went well.. besides having some "poopy problems" to discuss... she is as healthy as can be! She really likes our doctor and it was so cute, before the doctor left she was sitting in front of the computer typing and Ella walked up to her and gently patted her on the back and was jabbering away at her:) She weighed in at 23lbs 12oz (80th percentile) and her height is 31.75in (off the charts yet) and her head came in normal at 46.7cm. The poor thing had to have had like 6-7 shots today so it was a little rough. I don't think there is a worst thing to do as a mom than to hold down their child while someone else inflicts pain on them. Protecting our child against sickness is very important...but it is just so awful when you know they are hurting. She calmed down shortly after and apparently it wasn't too sore later b/c I found her on the floor slowly pulling the bandaids off (and putting them in her mouth to chew them - so gross!) One year of good health down...hopefully many more to go!