Mommy & Ella Evening Out

This evening was so much fun! Ella & I were invited to a Mommy, Daughter & Dolly Punch & Cookie Party. It was a fundraiser for my friend Tia McNelly's family who is going on a mission trip this summer to Kenya. My wonderful in-laws came to watch Vance so Ella & I could go. We started the preparations by painting our fingernails & toenails. Then Ella napped so she would be well rested for our evening out. We put on our dresses along with Baby (her dolly) and headed to the "cookie party."
When we arrived they had gloves & hats for the girls.


I don't know who was happier to be there, Ella or me?


Now that she was properly dressed it was time to find the cookies & punch.

The cookies & punch were a real treat for Ella since we rarely eat them at our house. She asked for seconds & thirds but I stopped at 2 cookies & 2 cups of punch that had to have the raspberries in them.

The cookies were adorable.


She looks so grown up here drinking her punch like a big girl. I was amazed she didn't spill it on her dress.

During the party the girls played with their dolls, painted, made necklaces and of course ate lots of cookies. Tia is very passionate about the Kilgoris Project & the work they are doing in Kenya. Ella & I are going to support them by hosting our own Mommy, Daughter & Dolly Punch & Cookie Party. If that name is too long for you go with Ella's version, a Cookie Party. If you live close I hope you & your daughter will plan to join us for our party.

After the cookie party we went to Chick-fil-a. We don't get to eat out since Vance has food allergies. This was a special treat for us. Ella & I enjoyed chicken nuggets & waffle fries. I have to say she did really well. It wasn't till the last 10 minutes that she became obsessed with seeing the cow & did not want to sit still. Sadly, the cow was sleeping. We'll have to go another time to see him.


This evening was just another reminder of how blessed I am to be a mom. I look forward to more Mommy/Daughter outings and future date nights with Vance. God is good! He really gave me my dreams!

Too Sweet!

This morning Ella woke up & walked into the living room like usual. But she paused at the door and looked around. When she finally walked in she asked, "Where is Daddy? I see Daddy." I explained that he had to leave before she woke up but that he was sad he couldn't see her this morning & loved her very much. Next Ella said, "But I give Daddy a hug." So I convinced her to settle for a phone call. While talking to her daddy she kissed the phone then wrapped her arms around it to give him a hug. That was so sweet! Later when Vance woke up she kept kissing him and saying, "Good morning Vance!"
What a great way to wake up. It is precious to see my little girl become so loving. I hope that continues.

Go to work with Daddy

I couldn’t resist sharing this. The kids are sitting beside me as I type this. Normally I wait till they are asleep but I didn’t want to forget any detail.
While I was changing Vance’s clothes Ella brought in a pair of socks & hand-me-down shoes that are at least 5 sizes too big for her. She sat on the floor & began putting them on. She then announced, “I going to go to work with Daddy.” Now Daddy left for work almost 2 hours ago. She then explained further, “I going to drive Mommy’s car and go to work with Daddy. I’ll be back in a little while with Daddy.” I asked her if she thought she could drive my car & with confidence she thought she could. So then I asked if she knew how to get to Daddy’s work. She said, “I drive Mommy’s car.” I informed her I knew she was taking my car but did she know where his work was. Ella replied, “In the TV (said like TB).” I tried hard not to laugh and explained that yes when he is at the race track it is on TV but today he was in the office. So she proudly said, “I go to Daddy’s office.” I tried my best to explain that I just didn’t think that could happen today. Then once again with the determination that she was going to go to Daddy’s work she said as she stood next to the baby gate, “I got to hop over so I can go with Daddy.” Even though this isn’t going to happen today her desire & determination has not slacked off. Since starting this several times she has said, “I gotta go work for Daddy. I’ll be back in a little while.”
I love the mind of a child. I love that she wants to be with her daddy. I love that I get to be home to experience all these cute sayings of hers.

Ella's outfit for work!

Grandma Nails

I hardly ever paint my fingernails, even though I like the way they look and so does Byron. But there was something about painting my nails this time that made me want to do it. I figured Ella was big enough that I could possibly paint her nails. I mentioned it to her but she didn’t really get it. Then when I sat down to paint my nails with extreme excitement she shouted, “Grandma Nails!” She had just seen Grandma with her nails painted and that was the first thing she thought of. So after my nails were dry she very willingly sat in my lap so I could paint her nails and she too could have Grandma Nails. She very proudly showed them off to her friend Lauren at Bible Study and couldn’t wait for her daddy to see them when he got home. We actually had to touch up a few nails before Daddy could see them. At the end of day two with these new nails of ours she pointed out that one of them needs redone. That is the very reason why I don’t typically paint my nails I hate that within days they are chipped and need to be repainted. I believe my future will now be spent frequently painting & touching up two sets of nails and I don’t think I will mind. I look down at her precious hands and smile. Those are the hands of my daughter and she wants to have nails like Grandma! This is one of those special little treasures God has given me with the title of Mommy.

Just a Little More Time with Grandma

This is a week overdue but I had to share the finale of our trip to Grandma’s house.

My plan was to get up at 3:30am in order to leave between 4 & 4:15 to head home. I went to bed at a descent hour and slept great till about 2am when Ella woke up…for the first time. Not sure how long I was up that time but she woke up again & finally at 2:45am she was clearly sound asleep. I was looking forward to the last 45 minutes of sleep before my alarm would go off. I glanced at the monitor to check on Vance. Sadly he wasn’t curled up sound asleep like I hoped. Instead he was sitting up banging his head on the side of the pack-n-play. He was quiet so I decided to close my eyes and hope for the best. The best was 15 minutes. By 3am he was wide awake crying. I jumped up, went into his room, found his paci on the floor and tried desperately to get him back to sleep. Nothing I did worked, not even the rocking chair. Fortunately my mom woke up. She offered to hold him so I could get ready & load the car. Since I wasn’t the one holding him I turned on….. BARNEY! I know that is cruel & unusual punishment for an adult, and who should really do that to their own mother but like I said, I was desperate. I tiptoed away to get ready when I heard the cries of Ella. Yes, it was 3:25am & my alarm to get up had not even gone off and BOTH of my children were WIDE AWAKE!! I walked in and with the cutest smile she said, “I watch a movie.” Normally there would be no movie watching at 3:25am but since I had to load the car and Vance & Grandma were already up watching “a movie” I let her. I instructed her to quietly go in the living room and sit on Grandma’s lap. Thankfully they both enjoyed this extra 45 minutes of Grandma-time while I got us ready to go. Even though Grandma was exhausted I think she too enjoyed having just a little more time with them.



Here is a quick recap of the actual ride home.
- Vance cried uncontrollably when he left Grandma & her cell phone
- After drinking some milk & listening to the Sing Over Me CD (which is the best lullaby CD ever) he drifted off to sleep within 30 minutes
- Ella stayed awake quietly for about an hour
- Then she started to get loud, not wanting her to wake Vance I gladly put in the Choo Choo Soul CD to calm her down.
- Ella slept from 6:00-6:42 & never went back to sleep in the car
- Vance woke up around 7ish.
- I had to pee about 2 hours into the trip but Vance was asleep & I wasn’t going to wake him up. Even when he did wake up I refused to stop.
- We arrived home happy & safe around 8:15.
- I ate breakfast, left the kids with their daddy, went to Bible study (alone) and then out to lunch with a friend (alone)

It was great to see Grandma & PaPaw but I have to admit since the kids were sick I was very, very tired when we returned home.

A Much Better Day

Today was a MUCH better day! No diarrhea through the night! No diarrhea all day! Yeah!!! Both Ella & Vance slept all night & I got 8 hours of sleep! Yippee!
This morning we went to church with Grandma. Ella & Vance had a good time in the nursery. Well, Vance did after he stopped crying because I left. Ella & Vance met several of Grandma's friends who have heard a lot about them & prayed for them. Vance took a good, long nap when we got home (that's why he is not in the pictures above). We had a great afternoon playing with Grandma & PaPaw and watching the race. Both kids went to sleep early and I plan on going real soon! So thankful God allowed this sickness to pass quickly!

Not Quite Healthy at Grandma’s

The day started out great. We all had a good night's sleep… well, Vance woke up early & Grandma took care of him so I could sleep. (I know I am spoiled.) No fevers. Both kids ate a good breakfast and kept it down. We had fun playing this morning & even got out of the house for a while. When we got back I turned around to unbuckle Ella from her car seat and realized she had runny poop on the front side of her clothes. The diarrhea I had thought escaped us didn’t. Poor thing, she never even said anything to us. After we got out of the car with minimal mess I rushed her to the bathroom, hosed her down then let her take a bubble bath. Grandma pulled out a bathtub Cabbage Patch Doll that floats and has its own shower. Ella loved it! Just what my sick little girl needed. Then she snuggled up on the couch with her dolls, both blankies & a stuffed sheep (Grandma’s decoration) to watch a movie. Unfortunately the diarrhea didn’t end there. It felt like I changed her diaper 10 times in a 2 hour block of time. Her poor bottom was red & raw. I finally put her in her pajamas & night time diaper in hopes that it had stopped for the night. She was so tired she fell asleep before I finished singing in our night time routine. Both kids were asleep in their beds by 7pm.
My challenge tomorrow is going to be figuring out how to put the car seat cover back on. It had to be washed! The problem was I unhooked so many things I am hoping it will make sense in the morning when I put it back together.