Little pig, little pig, let me come in!

Not by the hair of my chinny-chin-chin.

 Well, okay.  If you insist.

All the way in.  There we go.

Much better.

Three years ago right now.

I was still waiting for Ella to come.  I don't remember the day very well.  Because, well, I was in labor.  I am thinking that it was right about now that I was asking for an emergency cesarean.

They said no.

But she did show up eventually.

So today we have been celebrating.

I have often asserted that birthdays should be celebrations of the mothers who did all the work on that natal day.

But, if you want the truth, even after all the work I did, I just want to spend the day celebrating that Ella is a part of our family.  We are so blessed.

So I let Ella choose the food for the day.  She requested cupcakes for breakfast.  We are both lucky that muffins and cupcakes are very similar.  And that she doesn't yet know what "whole wheat" means yet.  I did make cream cheese icing for the top, though.

Happy Birthday, Ella.

High Fashion

I did choose Ella's shirt. But that's it. Those are actually the baby's shorts. I think they're too short, but Paul says they're okay. So I'm just going with it. Sometimes you're just glad to leave the house. 

I didn't check. But I'm pretty sure she just forwent the underwear.

I don't really blame her.

My sweet life.

I don't know if you know this, but I am madly in love with my children.  My sister once told me that you feel the same way about your baby as you do your middle school crush, times a million.  And she's pretty much right.  I can't get enough of these two.  And if the situation required it, I would spend every possible moment lurking by their locker and learning their school schedule and drawing their names in hearts all over my homework.  But, I don't have time for those luxuries.  And luckily, I think the feeling is mutual.

Charlotte has really come into her own in the past month or so.  She is a hoot to be around.  She has recently learned the art of tickling, and when given the chance will tickle anything that moves and a fair number of things that don't move.  Including the couch and characters in books.  You know she is tickling you when she wiggles her little fingers and says "tickle, tickle, tickle!"

Ella is equally delightful.  She keeps up a running commentary on everything that happens, and it is always fun to hear things from her point of view.  The other day when we were driving, we had this conversation:

Ella:  Mom, why are we stopping?

Jess:  We have to yield to traffic here.

Ella (yelling):  TRAFFIC!!

Ella:  Mom, I yelled to traffic.

We have had a couple of conversations about yield and yell, but I don't think it is sinking in, because the other day when we were stuck in traffic, she asked if she should yell.  Thanks for the offer, Ella.  She's always thinking of others.  She is quite sweet to the baby.  (Although when I tell people this, Paul always jumps in to tell them that she isn't always sweet.  And she's not.  But she is usually sweet.  Sweet is her default setting.

They are starting to play together more consistently, which I love.  And I have started taking showers during the day and letting them play, which is a major step forward for me.  I have such control issues, that I feel like I need to be able to hear everything that happens, just in case.  Before now, I never showered alone (meaning, sometimes I would let the girls jump in the shower with me) when Paul wasn't home to watch the kids.  No, not even during nap time.  Because I was paranoid I wouldn't be able to hear the baby monitor over the shower.  I'm kind of a freak.  But at least I'm moving forward.

She discovered shoes.

Maternal.

Paul and I have decided that Laurel needs to have a baby. We fully agree that she should get married first. But as soon as January rolls around, she and Hunter should just go ahead and get cracking.

We have some very viable logic for this opinion.

First:

She wants to throw her dog a birthday party, and has actually researched venues that are dog-party-oriented for said party. This is an indication that she needs somebody to love and nurture and FAST. My kids don't even get a venue for their parties. Actually, I've never thrown either of my girls parties. That is because I am too busy nurturing them. They have more needs than dogs. We can safely say that they are filling my nurturing needs. Above and beyond, in fact.

Second:

She looks really beautiful holding Char. Just think what it would be like if it were her own child.

Breathtaking.

Just think about it.