30 years old! 12 weeks pregnant!

Ellison enjoying some yummy vanilla Birthday Cake with peanut butter frosting that my mom made. This was one of my requests of birthday cakes, the other being Angel Food cake with a citrus drizzle. I know, 2 birthday cakes, I couldn't choose, so my mom made me both!"more please" one of Ellison's favorite sayings

Here I am holding my sweet nephew Jack at my Birthday lunch at Pappadeaux's Seafood Restaurant. Ellison wanted to see her cousin plus get my attention Tim, Marcy, Jack, and G.G. (aka Great Grandma June) - sorry to cut Jenna out.

Also at lunch, Jer and Laur.

Being shy for the camera - it is really hard to get a good "smiling" picture of her these days.

Our attempt at a family shot while everyone else was busy eating. We thought this was pretty funny that Ellison's head was completely cut out, nice aim Jonny! -good thing we get lots of other pictures of her!

I was so lucky to spend my 30th b-day with my family!

Here are some funny shots of Elle playing around on the couch.

Lots of static during winter! I'm constantly licking my fingers and pasting her hair down!

Watching TV for most people is a sedentary activity, but not Ellison! She loves the Backyardigans! She will tell you all 5 of their names, what animals they are and the sounds that they make!



Playing with her shadow

(check out her new hair-cut that Grammy gave her)

This morning as I was putting her laundry away, we came across her swim suits, she just had to have this one on (which is a little small on her).

Ok, time for the pregnancy pics! Here I am today at 12 weeks and 5 days!
Everything is going great! I go to the doc. on Tues!

comparison picture:

12 weeks pregnant with Ellison

Cute, Cute, Ugly!

Here are a bunch of super cute pictures from today. Jenna and Jack (7 weeks) came over this morning to hang out. Jack had fun watching his cousin Elle in action. Elle enjoyed helping her Aunt Jenna hold the bottle to feed Jack, she also watched very closely as Jack got his diapers changed.

Jack and Elmo meet!Jack did a great job in Elle's Bumbo seat for his first time! He took it home with him to work on his posture!
Of course Ellison had to get in the Bumbo too! We hid it for a while because it had become a little bit of an obsession, so when I got it out today she was so happy to sit in it. She still fits great, but she can tip it over to get out in a matter of seconds.

"I don't want to get out"
"Peek"

The cute stuff was up there, now prepare yourself for the UGLY...

I guess this baby opossum is our new neighbor... he was walking around our back yard on Monday around 3pm. We think he had come out of hibernation for a snack break. It's hard to tell from the picture, but he is a little bigger than a squirrel. Adult opossums can get to be around the size a large cat. Usually baby animals are cute, not this animal!

When Ellison woke up from her nap she got to see him walking around our yard. We asked Elle if she thought the opossum wanted to go down her slide, she said "Yes" and thought that would be a great sight to see. But, he just wondered around and dug in the snow looking for some food.

-Later, we called my dad to tell him about the opossum in our yard. Elle talked to him, I told her to tell her Grampy what she saw in our back yard, she said "a hippo"!!!

check out some interesting facts about opossums here: http://www.opossum.org/facts.htm

My pregancy so far...

Anyone who knows me knows how much I LOVE being pregnant. Jonathan and I had a plan that we would like to "try" for another baby in the fall, and for me, fall couldn't have come soon enough. We were/are so blessed to have been able to get pregnant again for our second time (I took the pregnancy tests 11/30/09 - 2 positive tests). Weeks 5-9 have been the most challenging as I was constantly nauseous and my energy level was at an all time low. Knowing those were normal symptoms of a healthy pregnancy, I was able to stay positive and cruise through (with the constant care and consideration of my dear husband) to our first doctor appointment/ultra-sound at 9 weeks. We brought Ellison along to our appointment and we all got to see the future member of our family together! Since that appointment I have been feeling better physically. My energy is coming back slowly and the nausea comes in waves. Being a stay at home mom has definitely had it's advantages with this pregnancy since I have been able to take some naps when Elle naps. However, Elle's nap time is my workout time, which means my workouts have taken a back seat (lately I've only been working out every other day).

We told Ellison about the pregnancy right away (she was actually the first person we told). We told her that "mommy has a baby in her belly" and her immediate response was, "like Aunt Jenna"! Which led to our next challenge, explaining to her that Aunt Jenna's baby came out (Jack was born 12/2/09). She gets it now (for the most part, or at least as much as a 20 month old can understand). She will sometimes say to me "mommy has a baby in belly" out of no where and we both smile. We know already that Ellison will make an amazing big sister since she loves to help when she is given a task, she cares lovingly for her dolls and animals; changing their diapers, wiping their butts, getting tissues for their noses, and wanting to give them her pacifier, not to mention all of the hugs and kisses any doll or animal could ask for.

So here I am at 10 1/2 weeks! I'm really looking forward to feeling the baby move and also to having a "baby belly" (instead of my current bloated/thick look). I've started to wear my maternity pants already, and why not, they are so comfortable (by the way, I think all pants should be made like maternity pants with an elastic waste band like yoga pants)! *side note: I was not in maternity pants (in my pregnancy w/ Elle) until around 15 weeks. Speaking of my stomach, my appetite has been totally crazy! I don't have any specific cravings, but if anyone were to mention something they ate or a food idea, it always sounds great and I usually want it at that second (my mouth starts to water). I go from wanting naughty fast food things like salty french fries, to wanting a crisp apple. I also found these pina colada frozen fruit bars which have been really hitting the spot lately, but for the most part, any carb will also make me feel good. My only turn-offs are mint flavored tooth paste (so we use cinnamon) and sometimes leftovers are not an option for me. One thing I know that always makes me feel better is keeping food in my stomach, and since I love to eat, this really isn't a problem. Looking back to my pregnancy with Ellison, this is the exact same way I felt.

I have been able to listen to the baby's heartbeat recently through the doppler stethoscope that I have inherited from my cousin Steve and his wife Danielle (along with the hundreds of clothes and other baby items they have given us along the way - for which we will be forever grateful). Listening to the baby's heartbeat really gives me a peace of mind in between the 4 week doctor visits, which always seem like forever.

Well that's enough for now, I will be posting a 12 week belly pic of me in about 2 weeks, but in the mean time, I'll continue to post pictures of our adorable little Ellison. She has been talking up a storm lately (making Jonathan and I crack up) and also becoming even more independent when playing with her toys and during bath time.

Elle found her beads and put on ALL of them!

Elle talking on her play phone and illustrating how she never stops moving!

Our BIG Annoucement

I didn't want to post this any earlier for fear that I would jinx things, but now it is time to report that our daughter is FINALLY sleeping through the night!!!!! That's right, for about 6 consecutive weeks Ellison has been sleeping a solid 8 hours at a time - I made sure to note this in her baby book. Jonathan and I are relieved and happy (more me than him, since he wasn't really affected by this change).

Uncle Erik and Brooke got Ellison a new Dora bike!

Jonathan and Elle playing Wii tennis - I think Elle was winning!

Ellison helping Jonathan install a new hall light with her new Handy Manny tools!
Oh yeah, one more BIG announcement...











We are having a baby/Ellison is going to be a big sister!

Baby 2, is upside down in the picture (you may also be able to see the little arms out to the sides, he/she waved to us during the ultra-sound). "Jr. Matta" is due August 8, 2010,
and we couldn't be happier!

*hope you all caught our trick...we wanted to throw you off with the news about Elle first (it is true, she is sleeping through the night), but our BIG news IS our new baby.