Are You Ready?

We are having another baby! I'm sure most of you reading this already know but just in case this is our big news! I am 16 weeks and doing/feeling great. I went to the doctor today and heard a strong heartbeat and the doctor said, "This is a good size baby!" Great...I don't need a "good size baby" at 16 weeks...yikes! I am due January 10th and Rane will turn 2 on January 9th so we will be busy that month and the previous two. Ella Ann's birthday is November 16th, mine is the 19th, then we have Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Rane's birthday and this baby's birthday. I guess we will stay in debt 3 months out of the year from here on out and do nothing for the other 9, well we do have Spencer's birthday in May but that's about it! We find out the sex on August 17th and I can hardly wait! Stay tuned!

What A Week

Warning: Long post ahead! We have been quite busy this past week with traveling, shuffling kids and making plans. We started our week of travels last Friday, July 16th. I had my friend, Megan, ride with me to Hertz (Spencer was working) to pick up a rental car for me to drive to Louisville. I drove a lovely bright red Carolla 6 hours to Louisville Friday (left at noon) and when I arrived I had a huge headache from all the shaking! Needless to say, I was still happy to be there and I made the trip ALL ALONE! Ahhhh....6 hours of silence, well besides my music blaring! I left the kids with Spencer because my best friend/sorority sister, Andrea, is having a baby girl in August and she was having a shower on Saturday. My three other best friends/sorority sisters, Emily, Katie and Laura, were also there and I hadn't seen them since July of last year. We always try to get together more often but with babies and schedules it makes it very difficult. Andrea and her husband, Mike, had a cookout at their house on Friday night and we enjoyed some great food and conversations. Of course the girls and I stayed up super late talking and just trying to catch up with each other. The shower was at Mike's parent's house Saturday at noon and Andrea got tons of great stuff! Mike and Andrea took us to their favorite restaurant in Louisville and all of us agreed that it was one of the best places ever! We had a blast at dinner and a good time that night. I had so much fun with the girls and I love it when we are all together....it is a rare occasion these days! My Mom drove to Louisville to spend the weekend with her sister so Andrea dropped me off at Valerie's house Sunday morning so I could ride home with my Mom (will get to the reason as to why I was driving a rental in a minute).

So Spencer was a champ and had a great time being the sole caregiver for a full 24 hours. His parents drove down Saturday to help him (which he informed me later that he would have been fine without them because he was doing such a good job and having so much fun). So they had some good family time and after church on Sunday and lunch Gary and Gayla kindly drove our children back to Kentucky with a stop in Tennessee to pick up Carter and Seth....can you imagine the ride???? ha! Gary and Gayla wanted to keep the older kids for a week this summer so this was the week. Mom and I picked up Rane on Monday morning and took him back to their house for the week. I really, really enjoyed my time with Rane. He was such a good boy and became extremely attached to his Mimi. In fact, I know he held a grudge against me for leaving him on Friday because him AND Ella Ann ran straight into my Mom's arms Monday morning when they saw us pull into the driveway! I could not even get a hug, kiss or even a smile out of Rane until late Monday afternoon! I felt terrible! He finally forgave me and became my sweet, loving little boy again! We played around the house during the week, my friend, Sara, and her two kids came over on Tuesday for a visit and on Wednesday Mom and I drove to Evansville to shop and eat lunch. Rane was a trooper the entire time and was great. He got very upset, though, while we were at the mall but we just thought he wanted out of his little car cart. That was certainly not the case because when it was time to leave and we got him out of the car we saw that he had pooped through his shorts! Poor boy! So he went to lunch at Chili's in a white polo shirt, a diaper and brown sandals! Leave it to me to not have any backup clothes! We went to dinner on Thursday night at a new restaurant in town and on Friday we drove back to Gary and Gayla's house to trade kids.

We picked up Ella Ann Friday morning and left Rane with the Jensens for the weekend. Spencer arrived at their house on Thursday afternoon so he rode back with us to my parent's house. Side note....Ella Ann couldn't stop talking about all the fun she had at her Nana and Papa's house! On Thursday they took the kids to visit Nanny in Central Kentucky, to Dino World and made a stop at Chuck E. Cheese's on the way home! Yes we will have a difficult time adjusting both our kids to our normal, boring days at home! My Dad met us at the house and we loaded up the cars and drove to the lake, a.k.a., Barkley Lake for my non-Kentucky readers. This is the reason I drove a rental to Kentucky because Spencer was driving up later in the week and we didn't want to take two cars home to Atlanta. We have been planning a trip to the lake with just Ella Ann (Rane couldn't handle it yet) for a very long time and I know my Dad has been looking forward to it for months and months! I grew up at the lake and my parents have never been without a boat....they go every weekend in the summer and have since I was born. I hadn't been since I lived in Kentucky (5 1/2 years ago) so I was looking forward to enjoying some time out on the boat and seeing familiar faces.

We went out on the boat, just the 5 of us, Friday afternoon to let Ella Ann experience the lake for the first time. We thought she'd go banana's over having to wear a life jacket the entire time, swimming in lake water, riding on a boat, etc. but she proved us all wrong and loved every second of our time on the lake! She couldn't wait to get in the water and once she was in she never got out! She had a blast both Friday and Saturday! We ate dinner at the boat dock restaurant Friday night and for breakfast Saturday morning. Ella Ann was ready to get back in the lake on Saturday as soon as possible! After we loaded up the boat we headed out for the day, along with all of my parent's friends. Ella Ann loved playing with Brylee, the daughter of some friends of ours, and playing in the water with Grandpa, Mimi, Daddy and all the other little kids and adults in the water. It was good to see everyone that I hadn't seen in so long and hang out with my parents on the boat. Everyone ties their boats together in a bay close to our boat dock so it was a lot of fun and a lot of boats/people! Late that afternoon, after dragging our pruned little girl out of the lake, we headed in to grill out at my parent's place. Ella Ann was SO tired she nearly fell asleep during the short boat ride back to the dock. We enjoyed some wonderful food courtesy of my Dad and he cooked breakfast for us Sunday morning that Spencer really, really loved. Ella Ann went across the street to give hugs to some of our friends, mainly Brylee, and off we went to pick up Rane. We met Gary in Madisonville and we were finally back together as a family of 4. I missed us all being together for an entire week but it was worth all the traveling and planning for all the fun that was had. It was good to get home and I am ready for normalcy but we will all surely miss the good times we had last week. Thanks again to my parents and Gary and Gayla for taking such good care of us and especially our kids!

Another warning: Lots of pictures ahead!

The amazing red velvet (my favorite!!!!!!) cake at Andrea's shower.

Andrea with some of her loot!

My dear friends/sisters: Emily, Andrea, Me, Laura and Katie at the shower.

At dinner Saturday night.

Rane lovin' on Sebastian.

Rane was NOT happy at all when Mom or I held Jay (Sara's little boy) and he would come barreling toward us and practically sit on Jay! Ummm...jealous a little???

He didn't like Lucy, Sara's daughter who is one month older than Rane, in Mimi's lap either!

Rane's sweet ride at the mall in Evansville. Side note, I have the same picture of Ella Ann riding in it when she was 2.

Mom just got Rane up from his nap and I had to snap a picture because he looked so precious.

Rane and Dad were playing with a balloon and when I snapped this picture it was perfectly in front of my Dad's head....what a shot!!!

And we're ready for Ella Ann's first ever boat ride! We ride their golf cart down to the boat dock and I think Ella Ann loved that the most! She put her life jacket on as soon as we arrived!

She was having so much fun!

Ella Ann even drove the boat with Grandpa!

Dad had his music going before we even left the dock Saturday morning so Brylee and Ella Ann were busting some moves!

They were so cute together!

Ella Ann, Elle (in the back) and Brylee screaming and hollering!

Trying to dunk Spencer! They actually were doing a good job!

Ella Ann loved Gracie and got to sit with her for a while.

The end! Bless you if you are still reading this!

Friends Week

This week has been a very fun-filled week with friends. On Tuesday we went to Anjuli's princess and pirate birthday party. Ella Ann was so excited to be able to wear one of her princess costumes out of the house and was dressed in full gear ready to go by 7:30 a.m.! Once we arrived the the kids played for a bit then they all sat down at the kitchen table and made scones with chocolate chips, blueberries and raisins. I didn't think Ella Ann would go for eating a scone after Ruth cooked them but it ended up being the first thing she ate on her plate! The kids had high tea, but of course Ella Ann was the only child to not try the fantastic mango tea Ruth made! The kids feasted on cookies, pie, veggies, meringues (Ella Ann's first and she loved them), sandwiches and cake, of course. After Anjuli opened her presents it was time for us to go because Rane had had enough and was screaming for a nap. She wasn't too happy to leave her friends....she had a blast! It was so great for me as well to see my friends and get to catch up with them.

On Wednesday we headed over to Janelle's house for an all day play date. Janelle lives about 18 miles away from me and in Atlanta that is VERY far so we don't get to see her family that often except for at church. Her daughter, Anna-Kate, and Ella Ann are close in age and have always been good friends. As I have mentioned before, they are kindred spirits, as are Janelle and I, so we were thrilled to be able to spend the day with them! First thing that morning we headed to her neighborhood pool, which the kids loved. Ella Ann was excited to practice some of her swimming lesson skills she had learned and Rane (finally) enjoyed sitting in a float for a while. After we fed the kids lunch back at the house, we put the boys down for a nap and the girls played quietly in Anna-Kate's room for 2 1/2 hours. It was glorious to be able have hours of uninterrupted conversation with Janelle! We have so much in common and it was so nice and relaxing to be able to just sit and chat. After Rane woke up we drove back to our house to beat the rush hour traffic. It was such a fun day and we cannot wait to do it again in a couple of weeks!

The party people making their scones.

The high tea feast!

Rane enjoyed playing in Anjuli's and Keona's kitchen.

I failed to take too many pictures at Janelle's because the girls were busy playing upstairs and the boys slept.

This is a side note picture.......

On Monday night Spencer and I made shish kabob....our fist time ever and I really don't know why because we did a great job! We had chicken, peppers, shrimp, onions and mushrooms (forgot the cherry tomatoes) and Spencer marinated it all with a great recipe we found. It was such a pretty dinner I had to take a picture. The best part was that Ella Ann absolutely loved it and kept asking when we were going to have it again! Soon!

Happy Half Birthday

Sweet Baby Rane is 1 1/2 today! I took him in for his 18-month checkup this morning and he is a normal, healthy boy! He weighs 24 pounds and is 33 inches long. He's in the 25th percentile for weight and 75th for height....he has stayed on that course since the day he was born and is obviously taking after his Daddy!

So a day in the life of Rane is pretty typical and includes lots of curious exploration of things that are always off limits, being told "no" one hundred times a day, rolling around the floor with his precious blanket, walking around the house with his blanket completely covering his entire body as he bumps into walls trying to find Spencer or I's legs to latch onto so he can be picked up while all wrapped up, waking up at 7, taking 3-hour naps, going to bed at 7 but laying in bed winding down for about an hour, opening up several DVD cases and bringing me the DVDs, trying to make his way into the bathroom or Ella Ann's room to cause massive amounts of destruction and being all cute and cuddly to make up for all his craziness! He is the sweetest, most loving baby and we adore all his hugs and kisses that we receive all day long. He loves his Daddy so much and takes off on a dead, wobbly run towards the door every time he sees him walk in, all the while yelling "Dada! Dada! Dada!" Spencer will pick him up and he immediately lays his head down on his shoulder and tucks his hands in between himself and Spencer's chest. He is constantly on the move and never really sits unless he is playing on the couch or sitting to eat. Speaking of eating, he goes through periods of not eating at all, which today the pediatrician told me was completely normal at his age. Ella Ann never, ever missed a meal or a snack so having a child refuse food is very strange and frustrating. One day he'll like a particular food and then never want to eat it again. However, he does love whatever I make for dinner, like ravioli, pot roast, Mexican dishes and spaghetti. He is so different from Ella Ann in the food department because she still sticks with her beans, cheese, rice, pasta, fiber cereal, fruits and vegetables....all very plain and boring to Rane. Rane does absolutely love any kind of fruit and will eat it until he can no longer stuff anymore in. He's pretty good with vegetables too.

I am greeted every morning when I walk in his room to get him out of bed with a huge smile across his face and often times he's standing and will say "Hi!!!" while waving at me. It is fantastic. He nearly has ALL of his teeth....at 18 months! Today I gave him his very first sucker after the pediatrician's visit...you know, since it's his half birthday and all. He didn't know what it was but he knew it would be something awesome because his face lit up like a light bulb and he immediately shoved it in his mouth! He still had it in the car and Ella Ann yelled to me, "Mommy! He's crunching it!" I couldn't believe that he was actually eating the sucker....mainly because Ella Ann didn't finish a sucker until she was at least 3 1/2! I guess that's what a mouth full of teeth at 18 months will do for you!

He loves causing trouble and we are always having to keep a third eye on him. He loves getting into wet showers, bathroom cabinets, cleaning supplies and his two favorite loves are toilets and toilet paper. A few weeks ago I found several of my kitchen utensils floating in the toilet! I have found a couple of times an entire roll of toilet paper thrown in the toilet or completely unraveled on the floor or in a heap in the potty. Those are the moments when I have to take deeeeeeep breathes and not scream!

We love our sweet little boy and are thankful for him every day. He lights up our days and keeps us laughing with his good humor and nature. He follows Ella Ann around like a lost puppy and she usually obliges and plays with him. I couldn't imagine our life without him!

Sweet Time

Finally we made it to visit Jana and the girls today! After two attempts that were canceled due to vomiting (yes, Rane caught Ella Ann's virus but luckily he only threw up once) we headed north at 8 a.m. this morning so that Ella Ann and Mara Kate could have some much needed play time, Jana and I could really catch up in person and I could finally hold little Evelyn! We had such a great time today and were so sad to leave. Ella Ann cried, of course, but it was to be expected. The girls immediately holed themselves up in Mara Kate's room with the door shut....to make sure Rane couldn't get to them! He was quite a trooper and I was very happy with his good behavior, especially since all I did was sit and talk to Jana and he had no one to play with. He mainly just wandered around and explored. Evelyn is such a good, adorable baby and I was thrilled to be able to hold such a teeny tiny little thing because that time passes so fast. After we fed the kids, Jana and I ate ourselves, we stayed for a bit longer and then headed home around 2 p.m. Rane was exhausted and screaming for a nap. He slept all the way home. We stopped at Sonic so Ella Ann and I could have a pick me up for the drive home, which helped to keep Ella Ann's mind off of her sadness. When we got home Ella Ann was moping around and when I asked her what was wrong she said she was sad the day was over and she wished it was back at the beginning of the day and we just walked into Mara Kate's house. Bless her heart, she misses her best friend SO much....as do I!

Rane was actually really good with Evelyn...mainly just curious. When she was in the bouncy seat he would rub her belly and head.

Ella Ann found Mara Kate's leotard and that absolutely made her day! She begs for a leotard all the time, which is why she is taking gymnastics starting in August....JUST for the leotard!

Favorite thing for the girls to do: Play dress up!


Mara Kate and Ella Ann are so incredibly happy to be together and it is always written all over their faces. They are sisters in every sense of the word.

Poor Rane, this was the only time he managed to cross the threshold into Mara Kate's room and he tried to dig everything out and make an even bigger mess as quickly as possible!

Fun On the 4th

I'd say this past weekend is going down in the books as one of the most fun times we have had....just the 4 of us. Spencer was off all weekend so we took advantage of that and enjoyed our time together. This weekend of fun was well-deserved after the week from ____ that we had. Ella Ann came down with a violent stomach virus in the middle of the night Monday night and from the first time she threw up in her bed she continued to throw up every 1-2 hours. She never once kept down a single sip of water until the middle of the night Tuesday night when she woke us up dying of thirst. I bet she tossed her cookies 20-30 times. Bless her little heart. She was so tiny and pitiful looking....pretty much until Friday. She threw up one more time on Thursday but mainly it just took forever for her little body to recover from being so sick. Her chest and throat hurt for several days because of the continual vomiting. I'd say she was finally back to her old self by Saturday. What a week, to say the least. Fortunately the rest of us managed to steer clear of the nasty bug.

Saturday morning we were invited to go over to one of Spencer's friends house to watch soccer and let our kids play together, who are close in age. They had breakfast for us and it was very fun to spend some time with people we do not normally see and for Ella Ann and Rane to hang with some new people. That afternoon all of us went to the grocery...my dream! I love it when Spencer goes because he puts Rane in the car, puts the groceries in the car and carries them all in! Ahhhhh! We grilled out that evening and ate dinner on our porch. Ella Ann and Rane LOVED eating outside at their own table and I especially loved dining outdoors because I didn't have to clean up!

Sunday morning I made monkey bread and a crab dip for later that afternoon. We stopped at Starbucks for drinks on our way to church, which we actually never made it to because our church is off of Peachtree Road and the entire street was blocked due to the Peachtree Road Race. I don't know why we even attempted to go because we should've known the street still would not have reopened by 11 a.m. So we turned around and headed back home after stopping at Whole Foods for some splurges. I made a fabulous, I mean f-a-b-u-l-o-u-s, strawberry cake when we got home to have after our dinner. We tried our best to force Ella Ann to take a nap so that she could stay up when it got dark to do sparklers and fireworks, but after 2 hours of trying we gave up. Once both kids were up we spent the rest of the day/evening in the backyard. The kids played on the slip-n-slide and in the pool while Spencer and I played with our new phones and chatted. We grilled out again and Spencer got the fire pit going so we could toast marshmallows. Ella Ann was thrilled! She does a good job and could probably eat the entire bag of marshmallows! I gave Rane untoasted marshmallows, his very first, because I couldn't handle the mess! Once we put Rane down for the night and it got a little darker outside we lit the sparklers and fireworks. I got some really nice sparklers, unintentionally, that were like 2 feet long and would change in color and make their own little fireworks as the flame went down the stick. I thought Ella Ann would be afraid of the sparklers and fireworks but she couldn't get enough! Spencer would light the barrel of fireworks and we would clap and cheer when it was over. Ella Ann said it was the best night ever so it was the most fun for Spencer and I to see her have such a good time with just us.

Doing some art with her new friend, Ella, Saturday morning.

Before we left for Starbucks/church Sunday morning.

In this picture it looks like Ella Ann knew what she was doing on the slip-n-slide but Spencer was at the other end and he pushed her legs so she'd sail down the slide, otherwise it wouldn't happen and 95% of the time she'd never even make it to the end! Maybe next year! Rane, on the other hand.....

loved it!

Ella Ann has since asked me if we could eat dinner outside every night. Rane thought he was such a big boy sitting at the picnic table!

Ohhhhhhh......yummmmm! Look at that! :)

Toasting her marshmallows.

Her very first sparkler!

I joined in on the fun too!

Our fireworks!