The Matta's

I'm on a roll now...

2011-08-16T16:19:00.000-05:00

First things first, here is our new niece, Sophie Lynn, who was born today, Aug. 16 and looks exactly like her big brother Jack when he was born!

On July 3, we celebrated the baptism of both Nolan and Daphne! We are so proud to also be the Godparents of little Daphne.

L to R: Ellison, Jonathan, Nolan, Erin, Megan, Daphne, and Josh.

We were honored to have my brother, Erik, be Nolan's Godparent.
A family pic with Laur and Jer too!

Here are some pictures on the pontoon, from late July when the kids and I took a trip to Wausau (Jonny joined us later in the week).

Noli and Elle

Me and my kids

The brothers and their new baby's, I mean bikes! (Jonny now...technically, these are BMC racemachines rm01. Full carbon, Sram Red, Easton EA70 wheels and bars - to summarize, RIDICULOUS!)

looking back

2011-08-13T22:20:00.012-05:00

The picture below is the most current of the 2 kids, after that you will find pictures of them from the last 4 months; all the way back to Easter and Elle's 3rd birthday up to Nolan's birthday.

Both of the kids love sitting/spinning in J's chair, not together though...

Birthday Boy Nolan James turned the big 1 on July 14!

Marcy Lynn Powers
September 1 1954 - July 13 2011

Courage, perseverance, strength and unrelenting love; our beautiful warrior paved the way for our own struggles.

so many amazing memories...

Ellison Leigh turned 3 April 22

Easter...

-not sure what is up with the big gaps between pics...tried to fix them like 100x, oh well.

Working on a new post, stay tuned....

2011-07-15T22:07:00.003-05:00

It's been too long...

2011-04-21T11:24:00.002-05:00

I'm not really sure where to start, so I'm just going to tell about the pictures and hopefully I'll make sense along the way and get caught up.

This is an unusual sight. We were on the couch watching Jonathan outside. At first Elle didn't want Nolan to look out of the window, but than I changed the subject and asked her if she wanted to hold Nolan, and surprisingly she said yes. So, I quickly grabbed the camera and had a little photo shoot!

Ellison was having fun trying to hold Nolan (I was really encouraging her) and Nolan soaked up every second...it's not too often his big sister lets him get this close. He is such a HUGE fan of his sister. Anytime she gets within arms reach he tries to touch her/her hair/her clothes. He smiles when he sees her, if he hears her voice he has to search to find her. If she cries, he cries. Elle is still hot and cold with him, more cold than hot. We keep telling her that they will have so much fun together when he gets a little bigger and can actually play with her. She can't imagine that yet.
Love it!
Love them!

This picture is from over a month ago, right after Noli turned 8 months - also post tubby!Here's Nolan doing one of his new favorite things, looking through the cabinets.

Elle looked so cute before her dance class one day, that I just had to snap a couple pics. She really loves her class and teacher. We are looking forward to her recital at the end of the month.

Brothers with their boys...Nolan (8 months) and cousin Jack (15 months).

An overhead view of Nolan in his highchair. Here's Elle's signature dance move. When asked what she does in her dance class, this is what you will get from her, she calls it her "arabesque" (Grandma Marce taught her that word). Funny thing is, she learned this move from Wii dance - not her dance class.

"In your Easter bonnet with all the frills upon it,You'll be the grandest lady in the Easter parade."

Jer and Laur got this Easter bonnet for Elle, but we had to put it on Noli for fun!

Daphne is HERE!!! Megan (J's sis), Josh (her hubby/our bil), Daphne (their daughter), and dogs Boscoe and Peter have finally moved here from Colorado! We are so excited to finally meet Daphne Leigh Shaw (now 7 mo), she is so cute and tiny and makes the best sounds! Being able to hang out with them anytime we want is so awesome. Family get-togethers now have a whole new meaning with the Shaw family joining us.

J and Daphne have a special bond, they share the same birthday!It was so fun to finally get the 2 babes together, they exchanged looks, movements and sounds, it was so sweet. Cousins...only 5 weeks apart.

The grandchildren are even as far as gender; 2 girls (Elle and Daphne) and 2 boys (Jack and Nolan). In August, one team will go up by 1, when another Matta baby is born!

*Did I get any one's jaw to drop??? Ha! It's not us ----Tim and Jenna will be adding baby #2 to the family!

Nolan has had a couple of big changes from 7 to 9 months. I started transitioning him from nursing to the bottle/formula around 7 months. He protested for the a couple weeks, turning his head and tightening his lips whenever a bottle was near him. We tried a bunch of techniques, but he just wasn't ready. Then I started putting him in his car seat and giving him the bottle. He reluctantly drank an ounce or 2 for the first couple days, but slowly started to warm up to it, and let me/us hold him and drink. The biggest challenge was getting him to eat more than an ounce or 2, but after a few weeks he added an ounce, then another. As of April 2, we made the complete transition and he set me FREE! Now, at 9 months, he drinks 4, 5 oz bottles a day. Along with that he eats 3 meals of baby food in between his bottles. Nolan really loves to eat. He enjoys his baby food - not picky at all. He loves puffs and any other food he can feed himself. He watches everything we put into our mouths with his mouth open. He does not like it if we eat in front of him, we either have to share our food with him (which we've been doing more and more) or give him some baby friendly food so he is included.

Another change in Nolan's life happened at 8 1/2 months, a new tooth. It came in on the bottom left/front and it is sharp, it came in just after I quit nursing him thankfully! Just after Nolan turned 9 months, his second tooth came in (bottom right/front) next to the other one. By the way, Ellison also got her first tooth at 8 1/2 months too.

Nolan did a good job at his 9 month appointment. He wasn't a fan of laying on the table with the paper crunching under him. The first time I layed him down on it was to change his diaper, he ripped up the paper and the nurse had to throw it away and pull on new paper. The next time he was on it was when Dr. Roig examined him, he didn't like the the paper under him, nor the cold stethoscope on his body and cried a bit. I held him for his one and only shot, he cried for about 5 seconds, and then was fine when I cuddled him up. Overall, he did great. I can't believe that at his next appointment he will be 1!

Nolan's 9 month well check stats:
weight: 20 lbs 8 oz (50th percentile)
length: 28 3/4 inches (75th percentile)
head: (50th percentile)

Since 7 months, walking around (with help) has been Nolan's FAVORITE thing to do. His Grammy (Laur) taught him this and it's all he wants to do. Even though he is content to sit and play, he would rather be walking around. It is so fun to see him so happy exploring, but this activity comes with cost, a fatigued lower back for his assistant. Also, he now, has absolutely NO interest in crawling or being on his stomach for that matter. It seems he is following in his sisters footsteps, as she never crawled and did the same exact thing. She was, however, walking at 9 1/2 months. We don't think Nolan will be walking as early though. He can stand and balance on his own (for a few seconds), but I don't think he knows he is doing it. So, until he makes that connection, we/I will have a sore lower back.

He was 7 months in this picture, I will have to get a more current pic and compare to see if his legs have slimmed down at all!

Swiper the fox came and hung out in our backyard one day!

J horsing around with the kids!

This is the carousel at the Elk Grove Pavilion that Ellison rode a good 15+ times during our spring break outing with Jenna and Jack. Ellison loves merry-go-rounds. She loved picking a different horse every time...sometimes she would change her mind on which horse she would ride 3 times before the next ride would start. She absolutely loved it and never got dizzy either, even though I was starting to from watching her. Nolan and I took a couple rides too, but I don't think Nolan really realized he was on the ride since all he could do is watch his big sister. Jack, on the other hand, was not a fan.

Here's Elle and her Uncle Erik on his new motorcycle! Erik has been working on it for a while, hopefully by summer it will be "street legal!" And last, but not least, Ellison's dance class in costume!

-I'm going to do my best to not get so behind on the blog, I'm not making any promises though.

I don't know how you do it (Jenny, Katie, and Jen) - you guys are good).

Ellison's 3rd birthday post coming soon!

A bunch of fun, random pictures and some videos

2011-03-07T19:00:00.002-06:00

Nolan loves pickles, just like his sister did (so did J when he was a babe). Pickles are one of the best teething foods by far. By the way, no teeth yet, but it has to be any day now.

Comparison pic of Elle around the same age as Noli

We recently got together with the Hatfield kids (and their mom, Mary).

Here's friends Ava and Elle together. It's great how close in age they are, Elle is only 6 weeks older.

Here's a pic of the girls together from when they were around 8 months old.
And, the little brothers!

Nolan 7 months, Aidan 11 months.

We had seen some deer, even big bucks walking/running through our yard the last couple months, so we started putting some corn out so they would stay a while (plus we figured they were hungry).

Here's Nolan in Ellison's play tent/market in her room

Look who's peeking out the window!

Here's Ellison's dance class friends (the girls are 2-3 yrs old). Elle absolutely LOVES going to her class each week and adores her teacher, Miss Tammy. Nolan and I watch the class on a TV in the room next to the studio and are impressed at how well Elle follows the moves perfectly and stays on task. She is literally in Miss Tammy's shadow and doesn't miss a beat. Their song for the dance recital is "Don't Worry, Be Happy" (the kids version). We have yet to see the costumes, but I did get to preview the routine for the last 10 minutes of class last week to record it, it was sooo cute. I keep trying to explain to her about the recital and how they are going to be on a stage, but I don't think she quite gets it yet.

Nolan has been playing "peek" just like Elle did as a baby. I finally had the camera near by to capture it on video.

Comparison video of Elle when she was 6 months.

Getting out!

2011-02-18T15:12:00.004-06:00

The kids and I took advantage of the mild February weather the other day! Elle didn't take a nap so I had to take my workout outside. We didn't have to bundle up much at all, which was nice for a change. Elle took her position up front (of course) with her snack, and Nolan sat right behind her with wide eyes. Nolan has already been on his share of stroller rides, but that was in the fall and he was so tiny and asleep most of the time. He just loved being upright and looking around, seeing the outdoors as if it were his first time, he loved it! Elle and I had fun looking for melting snowmen/"Frosties"!

Last week we were in Wausau. Here is a picture of my parent's back yard...Do you see all 8 deer?!!

(you might have to double click on it to make it bigger)

Happy V-day and Happy 7 months to Nolan!

2011-02-14T15:26:00.004-06:00

Snow Days

2011-02-07T15:21:00.000-06:00

Here's what we were doing inside, while the weather outside was frightful...

bouncing

putting things on our heads

(comparison pic of Elle)
playing Wii - Just Dance

working in the tool shop

hiding in the closet

shoveling

exersaucering

-Nolan loved looking at that baby in the mirror

doing the laundrybefore pic of our driveway

after

-note, you can no longer see our neighbor's cars across the street, let alone their garage

Even though we have this great snow blower (from my parents), it was only able to do the finishing work since the snow was higher than the mouth of the snow blower. J had to do most of the shoveling himself. Elle and I did get out for about 45 minutes to help while Nolan napped. Elle had fun with her beach pail and little shovel (sorry no pics). The whole snow removal took about 2 hours. Later, J had to go back out and clear the driveway apron after the plows went by and dumped all of the snow from the street back into our driveway! Jonathan thinks they purposely wait until he is done and in the house to come by and plow!

-keep scrolling for another new post!

Pics from my birthday (3 weeks ago)!

2011-02-07T14:17:00.000-06:00

Elle and I with the cake she helped make!

Elle had to make sure the frosting was ok to put on the cake, I think it passed the test!

Elle was done with the beater and onto the bowl. She loves helping her Grammy, plus they both share a love for frosting.

Elle posing with her new hair cut (from Grammy) and new My little Pony making the Taylor Swift heart hands (she thought of this pose and placement of pony on her own).

-in case you didn't know what the Taylor Swift heart hands looked like

Laur, Nolan and Jer

(Nolan had a tight grip on Laur's hair)

I bet I can make you smile!

2011-02-03T21:32:00.003-06:00

6 month update

2011-02-01T22:13:00.000-06:00

A little photo shoot after his 6 month appointment...

Here are Nolan's 6 month stats:
-weight: 18 lbs 0 oz (50th percentile) Elle was 15 lbs 4 oz
-length: 26 1/2 inches (50th percentile) Elle was 24 3/4 in.
-head circumference: 43.5 cm (50th percentile)

Bear fans!

Noli loves when we have fires

Other things Noli is up to:
-sitting up on his own

-likes to stand (we have to balance him of course)

-likes to play in the exersaucer

-Eating! Nolan nurses 5-6 times/day and eats 3 jars of "2nd" baby food/day we add cereal here and there too.

-Still spitting up, this is slowing down a bit, I think

-Naps about 3 x/day (falls asleep with his pacifier, but it usually falls out after being asleep for a couple minutes.

-Goes to bed around 6:30pm and is up and happy at around 6:30/7am (with 1-2 wake-ups at night). Falls asleep without his pacifier and wants nothing to do with it during the night.

-No interest in rolling/crawling, he is content with just laying there kicking and playing.

-Still likes his car seat (which I can hardly carry), usually falls asleep in the car. If he's awake, he either plays with a toy or watches Elle.

-Likes to cuddle

-Loves ANY attention from his big sister

Speaking of the big sister...

We listen to a lot of Kieth Urban and Taylor Swift. Ellison has also taken a very strong liking to both. She has her favorite songs which she requests over and over. Her favorite KU song is "Days Go By" and her favorite TS songs are "Back to December", "Mine", and "Ours", but Elle calls it "Things that Shine". She does not like if I sing along, however Jonathan is allowed. Ha! We had a Keith Urban Live DVD that we recently showed her and now she is hooked. We put it on for her and she dances up a storm! We also pull up Taylor Swift music videos for her, she loves to sing along and sits there watching Taylor in awe!

Nap time cuddles

Ellison started a ballet class for 2 and 3 year olds in January called Tiny Twirlers. She loves it and seems to always be showing off her new moves. Elle loves her ballet outfit and calles it her "dance costume", she would wear it all of the time if she could. We are really looking forward to the recitle at the end of April!
Ellison doing her version of "downward dog" or a push up, neither of which she has learned in her class.

J with the kids

Christmas pics and videos too

2011-01-05T13:25:00.013-06:00

I wanted to get this post up asap. Sorry, for the lack of captions, I'm just hoping the pictures can tell the story.

Pre-Christmas

Christmas

Post-Christmas

Eating, decorating Christmas stuff, more eating, and the funny things Elle says

2010-12-16T14:47:00.009-06:00

Here's Noli getting ready to eat his cereal/sweet potato mix! He LOVES eating cereal and now after working on it for 2+ weeks, he's got this eating thing with a spoon down! We've mixed cereal with sweet potatoes, peas, carrots, bananas, and apple. His favorite is the banana and his least favorite, the peas - not a surprise. He wants his food to be shovelled into his mouth as fast as possible and gets upset when it is gone. I have given him seconds and it seems he would even want thirds! He's usually pretty mellow, but not when he eats! Now that he is eating more than just breast milk, his pooping has slowed to 1 - 2 blasts a day, which for the most part stay in his diaper (except for last night at 4am, what a mess).

This is his first cereal feeding! He wasn't too sure what to think.Elle really wanted to help spoon him the food, and wipe his mouth. She couldn't stand to see his face so messy (wonder where she gets that from)!!
I had to capture this one time cuddling moment! Elle has very hot/cold feelings toward Nolan. At first when he was born, she really could care less about him. Lately the jealousy has come out. She will say things like "Noli can't read this book with me". She is mostly jealous when anyone other than me shows Nolan any attention, especially Jonathan. Jonathan will tell Nolan he loves him, and Elle will say "No you don't, you love me" with attitude. If Nolan's hand touches her, she will say "no" and push him away. However, in the blink of an eye, Ellison's attitude can change...if he's fussy, she will try to put his pacifier in his mouth. Or if he wakes up from his nap, Elle will yell to him "don't worry Noli, we are coming". Anyway, the picture below was right before Elle's nap time. We usually read books in her bed. If Nolan is awake he lays on one side of me and Ellison is on the other. Well, while I was picking out books, I looked up to see Elle going by him, I was worried she would be possessive of her bed (like she sometimes is), but instead she cuddled right up to him. Of course Nolan loved it, she always makes him happy! I praised Elle for being such a great sister and told her how happy that makes Nolan and Jonathan and me.

Cookie Monster! Elle helped me with cookies this year. She helped make the dough and eat it, roll the dough (and eat it), use the cookie cutters, bake the cookies (and eat them), and frost and decorate them (and of course eat more)! Here she is with one she frosted and decorated.

Noli the Christmas Elf!

Elle and I had fun building and decorating this gingerbread house, guess what...she loved to lick the icing!

Here she is with the naked gingerbread girl (Jonathan's contribution to this post: please note the NFC Divisonal and playoff standings in the background...GO BEARS!)

Now she is all decked out!

Fun with snow people. Check out this outfit! (Jonathan's 2nd contribution to this post...she wears the colors and GSH close at all times)

Elle has been saying some funny stuff lately and I've been writing her lines down to post (my friends Jenny and Katie are really good at this and I always get a kick out of what their kids say).

Background story - Elle likes pigs and deer/reindeer...

Elle- "I can't get my hoof in" -she was trying to get her shoe on!

Me- laughing "honey, you have feet"

Background story - We were making eggs for breakfast, as we were cracking the first egg...

Elle- "Maybe there will be a chick in there"

Me- "the mother chicken didn't get a chance to sit on these eggs"

Background story - Reading a Dora the Explorer Book. The book reads something along the lines of "will you help Dora find her way home?"

Elle- "But, I'm not in the book"

Me- "you're right, but if you could help her you would right?"

Elle "yeah"

Background story - Elle was playing with a little toy and asked what the fine print said on the bottom of it, the only part I could read was "Made in China"

Elle- "that's where panda bears live"

Me- "that's right, did you learn that from the Wonder Pets"?

Elle - "yeah"

(Who says TV is bad for kids?)

Background story - Elle is really into Max and Ruby books/shows. Anyway, Max (the little brother bunny) has a stuffed slug, called the Can't-Sit-Up Slug, who slumps over whenever it sits. She laughs whenever she sees it.

Elle - "Nolan is kinda like the Can't-Sit-Up Slug!"

Me - laughing of course "he will sit up some day soon"

On a much more serious, yet sweet, note...

Background story - I've been calling calling Nolan "Noli" and Elle has been correcting me saying "Not Noli, Nolan" Sometimes she says "Not Noli, Nolan James". This is funny on it's own, but it went further the other night when Jonathan was explaining to Ellison where her and Nolan's middle names came from. He explained how her middle name, Leigh, is the same as mine and her Aunt Megan's and cousin Daphne's. Then he went on to say that Nolan's middle name is from her Grandpa Jim, who she never got to meet since he is in Heaven.

Elle's response "and I live in Cary and Grammy and Grampy live in Wausau!"

5 months old with 4 month stats and comparison pics of Elle

2010-12-12T16:00:00.017-06:00

By far, the best present we will get this year!

Nolan and Marcy

(nice roaring fire in the background by J)

Check out the big boy in the high-chair

Comparison pic of Elle in the same outfit HOWEVER she was 9 months when she wore it! Noli after his 4 month appointment

Nolan's 4 month well visit info:

- weight 15 lbs 10 oz (55%)
- 25 1/2 inches (55%)
- Head circumference 41.5 cm (25%)

- Nolan's appointment went great, he only cried for a brief moment after his shots We were given the go-ahead to start cereal and baby food.

Other things about Noli:

- rolled over from stomach to back once, because he majorly dislikes being on his stomach - which is mostly my fault for not putting him on his tummy, since he spits up so much

- still spits after every feeding, sometimes it's a little, sometimes it's a lot. (Elle was the same way)

- No signs of teeth yet. (Elle didn't get her first tooth until 8 months)

- loves to watch Elle, he always hears her coming and immediately is looking for her

- loves being in the Baby Bjorn

- he is constantly reaching/grabbing everything, loves being in the exersaucer and in the rain forest play mat/gym

- loves to talk, and once he gets started he can't stop

- he does great in the bath, kicks and splashes the whole time

- wakes up in the morning happy and talking

- still a great sleeper, loves to nap in his car seat, takes shorter naps in his crib

- sleeps at night from 6:30 pm - 6:30 am (approx). Wakes up once or twice a night, I will give him his pacifier if it's before 2am, if it's after I will feed him. He will ONLY fall asleep and sleep in his car seat or crib.

- Nurses 5 times a day - 6am, 10am, 2pm, 6pm, 2am (these times can vary 30min-1hr depending on the day and nap times). I don't ever wake him to feed him.

- Uses pacifier to fall asleep most of the time, it falls out within about 5 minutes of falling asleep. Other than that, he rarely wants it.

- Barely fitting in size 6 month clothes. Recently in size 3 diapers - he was blasting out the size 2 (For 2 reasons; they were a little small and breast milk acts like a laxative with my kids. Like Elle at this age, Nolan has bowel movements after/during almost every feeding - very regular.)

- He is a very happy, easy, and cuddly baby.

There are only a few things the 2 kids share at age of 4 months, their looks and our love for them... Pics of Elle below when she was 4 months!

Big Girl Underpants, 4 months old, Laur's B-day, and our Anniversary!

2010-11-29T15:02:00.014-06:00

I've been slacking big time at posting, but don't worry, we've still been snapping pictures! Sorry this post is kind of all over the place, but I just had to get this done before the holidays.

We got out all of our Christmas decorations this past weekend. Here's Elle with her favorite thing, her snow globe. It plays a bunch of different Christmas songs and Elle loves to sing and dance to it.

Marcy came over to help decorate one of our trees! We actually have 4; a real Frasier Fur 7+ ft, a fake 7 footer (in pic below), a 3 ft pink tree in Elle's room, and an 8" miniature tree that I've had since I was 12.
Nolan is 4 months old! -stats coming soon.
I love it when he folds his chubby hands.

We went to Wausau, WI for Thanksgiving J took this pic on his phone, otherwise all of the other pictures from the week are on my parent's camera. Since Wausau got their first snow storm of the season, they gave the kids a new sled! We didn't get to try it outside since it was SO cold, but look forward to trying it out soon (at least Elle does).

Jer and Laur came here 2 weeks ago to help us celebrate our 4 year anniversary, plus it was also my mom's birthday! Here's a pic of Jer playing peek-a-boo with Nolan.

Ellison helped Laur make the birthday cake! We love Angel Food Cake with Fluffy White frosting, but we dyed it pink - Elle's choice. Oh, and check out Elle's new hair cut,

given to her by the Laur, the birthday girl. Nolan showing off his skills holding his toy! He's been holding, grabbing, reaching and swatting at his toys for the last few weeks!
Elle wearing her dad's Bear's cap after another big win!

The Foley's came over a couple weeks ago, Elle and Jackson had fun dancing...

... and snuggling. Even after Halloween, they both wore their spooky pj's!
Nolan loving his exersaucer!
Elle likes it too, but she didn't want to smile for this pic!

Gotta love a baby after bath time!

Nice arm rolls!

Look who's wearing big girl underpants AND keeping them dry! Here's Elle showing off her "Tinkle Chart" and princess tiara and jewelry - her prize! It was the best anniversary gift!

I asked Elle to give me her best princess pose...

4 years! Last but not least, a happy 1 year anniversary to Megan (Jonathan's sis) and Josh!

Family pic! Since this picture, there are 3 new grandchildren!

From L to R: Nancy (J's cousin), Craig (J's uncle), Jenna (and Jack in her belly), Tim, Marcy, Megan, Gram June, Jonathan, Elle, Erin.

Halloween Tricks and Pics!

2010-10-31T15:19:00.013-05:00

All 4 of us got in costume to go to our friends, the Zeliasz's, Halloween Party!
From L to R...

Fairy Princess Ellison, Cowboy Jonny, Pirate Erin, and Nolan went as Baby Jonathan (he wore some overalls that Jonathan wore as a baby - so happy Marcy saved them for 29 years)!

Cousin Jack the Lion and Elle the Bee getting ready to Trick or Treat

Grandma Marcy and Nolan (wearing J's baby clothes). Marcy and Nolan handed out candy to the Trick or Treaters while we were out.

Nolan smiling in his sleep!

We went Trick or Treating on Saturday in DT Cary; here is Elle after we got home with candy in her pink pumpkin pail. Don't let that face fool you, it was all an act for the camera, she was actually very proud of her accomplishment. I was very proud of her too, she said "Trick or Treat and Thank you" to everyone!

This is a special Bee pose she hopped into before we left for Trick or Treating DT.
She picked out this sucker to eat after her lunch!Here's a picture from a Halloween playdate with our friends from the Cary Mom's Group.

Close up of Noli the baby bee

(a special thanks to our friend Jackson Foley for letting us borrow the costume)

The little head piece barely fit around his chubby cheeks and under his double chin.

Elle before the playdate, not wanting to wear the full bee costume, still looking cute.

Pumpkin carving...

Jonathan's famous "BOO Pumpkin" - I think his best ever!

The Jim Matta tradition lives on!!!

Helping mommy

scooping out the slop...nice face ElleEllison picked this out at Old Navy, and Grammy Laur couldn't resist.

We took Ellison to Rainforest Cafe when Jer & Laur were last in town. We had never been before, and decided to go only for Ellison's enjoyment. Turns out everyone but Elle enjoyed it...nearly everything scared her except for "frog man" and the fish. We ended up being asked to leave as Jonathan tried to wrestle the robotic alligator and sit on frog man's lap.

Grampy and Nolan. Grampy went through every shirt he brought with him in 1 day...Nolan loves spitting up on him!

Grammy and Nolan

Story time with Dad (note Ellison sitting in Nolan's seat)

Nolan James

4th visit to Lincoln Park Zoo this year. Nolan is absent from the picture as he was taking a bath in the hippo tank.

Ellison on her favorite thing...the endangered species carousel at LPZ. Special guest appearance by Dr. Cassandra (Erin's friend).

Ellison and the fish. The last 3 times we've been to LPZ the Hippo has been swimming around the tank constantly. It's great for Ellison to see, and as previously mentioned, Nolan and the Hippo have acquired a mutual admiration for one another.

So this explains a lot regarding Nolan's relationship with the Hippo...Jonathan sat on that Hippo for about 3 1/2 hours, and then threw an absolute tantrum when we threatened to leave him at the zoo. It was embarrassing. He tried to climb the bamboo poles and hide in the hut that is above him (not pictured). The zoo politely asked that we not return again this year.

Ellison enjoying the Hippo after Jonathan was "removed"

Look who's 3 months old

2010-10-14T12:31:00.010-05:00

Here's our happy little guy on his 3 month birthday...

Comparison pic of Elle in the same chair on her 3 month b-day!

More Noli!

Lately Nolan has been very happy and smiley! When he is not sleeping, he is either eating or smiling. He is such a good napper; loves to sleep in his car seat or just about anywhere and nap from 2-5 hours at a time. He is pretty much doing the opposite of everything his sister did at this age. He travels well, she didn't (she cried in her car seat). He sleeps anywhere, she mostly slept in our arms. He sleeps for long periods of time, she was the queen of the 30 min. nap. He goes 4-6 hours (more at night) between feedings, she would eat every 2-3 hours. He's content just hanging out in a seat/swing, she would only sit for a few minutes and then need something new. He is wearing 6 months clothes and size 2 diapers, she was just into 3 month clothes and just fitting into size 1 diapers. Elle was rolling over at 3 months and could stand holding on to us with just one hand, and Nolan just likes to sit or lay (and watch us/his sister). We love how different they are and love them for who they are...so special in their own way.

They do, however, share one characteristic, chubby legs!

Elle at 3 months rolling around

and standing

Easy go'in Nolan!

Almost a "Sunken Ship"

2010-10-05T20:06:00.010-05:00

First a couple pictures of the kids, then the "Sunken Ship" story...

Elle riding "Ozzy" at the Long Grove Apple Fest - definitely the highlight for her

We were in Wisconsin visiting my parents during the heavy rainfall that lead to extremely dangerous flooding conditions. We (especially my mom and dad) were so worried about their pontoon boat. It held on tight even though WI River was up over 10 feet.

The rushing water was tearing out trees and pulling docks and boats down stream. The plank that usually angles down (at a 45 degree angle) was inverted...everything that used to go down was going up. We usually can't see the boat from my parent's house since it hides down low behind the river bank, but since the water was so high, we all watched it and hoped it would hold on. We explained this all to Elle and would hold her up to the window to see the boat. Upon her review she proclaimed "it's not a sunken ship yet Grampy," trying to make my dad feel better.

The back story on the "sunken ship" that makes her comment so cute is that we had recently gone on one of our monthly Pet Store loitering outings and found ourselves in the aquarium accessories isle. She was fascinated with all of the fun things that went inside a fish tank, with pirate ship decor being her favorite. I showed her that they had a hole in them and that they were "sunken ships." So cute...she never forgets anything!

Our baby boy is 2 months old!

2010-09-17T14:35:00.006-05:00

Our little guy had his 2 month check up on Tuesday! He did such a great job, even though I had to wake him from his slumber. He only let out one little yell with the first shot, and cried for about 10 seconds with the second shot (Elle got her flu shot and cried longer than Nolan). He drank the other vaccine with no problem and passed all the other checks with flying colors! Nolan weighed in at 12 lbs 1 oz (55%), his length was 22 1/4 in (25%), and his head circumference measured 39 1/2 cm (45%). He is 2 lbs more than his sister was at 2 months and 1 inch longer.

Nolan has been such a joy since the day he was born. Nursing is still going very well as he eats every 4-5 hours during the day and has recently gone 8 hours between feedings at night! He slept through the night last night for the first time - it's official! He ate at 8:30pm fell asleep around 9:45pm and woke up at 5am. I was ready to burst, with excitement and in other places! I was so happy, well rested and felt great when he woke me up, I was on the treadmill at 6am and got my 30 minute run in (I even got to shower - major score)! Not sure if this was a one night thing, I'm not holding my breath as he is still young, but wow, how great to get some solid sleep! Before last night he was going between 5-6 hours at night, which isn't bad at all. Elle didn't STTN until she was 8 1/2 months (and it WAS a one time thing until she was almost 2).

Nolan continues to spit up about every other time after he eats, but is not as bad as his sister was. He loves to eat and nurses almost exclusively - I've only pumped less than a handful of times, and when I do the breast milk must be left at room temperature and consumed in less than 4 hrs. I learned, after talking to lactation specialists, that I have a condition where my body produces too much of the enzyme lipase. (Lipase is a fat found in all breast milk) So, my milk cannot be stored unless it is scalded/pasteurized and even then some nutrients are lost).

Nolan has been in size 1 diapers ever since he was 5 weeks, and continues to fill them with ease! (Elle was in NB diapers until she was 2 months.) He has squirted me and himself/his clothes many times already - I'm getting better at being quicker and shielding myself, I call him "my little tinkle king"! (Any fans of the movie "How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days?) He has also scared me with a few #2 explosions that have sprayed his changing table and the walls, but that was when he was a newborn. As far as his clothes size, he can still squeeze into some 0-3 month things, but can also fit in size 3-6 comfortably and even a couple 6 months things!

Bath time is still easy with Nolan, he enjoys just laying in the warm water as I clean out stuff from all of his chubbiness. It's really amazing how much lint can get into those little folds and creases! Nolan has been loving to look around lately and loves smiling at lights and artwork, ceiling fans, even door frames and windows. His neck strength is really improving and he is already able to face forward in the Baby Bjorn, which he also loves. We have also been getting so many more smiles from him lately which is truly one of the best things in the world. He has also started to make some little noises (coos) coupled with many punches and kicks which are all ways of him communicating with us. He also loves to watch Elle run around and smiles at her even though she doesn't even try to get a smile from him, so precious.

All in all, Nolan is such a good baby, he is pretty mellow and so sweet, he is the perfect addition to our family.

I just had to get some "diaper only" pictures to show off his chubbiness. Here he is with a smile and a band-aid on each fat thigh from his 2 month check-up.

An "open mouth" smile!
Extreme close up of his slate blue eyes and double chin

Another close up, another cute look

A laying down, full length pic, smiling at the window

A different angle of the cuteness

Comparison shot of Elle after her 2 month check-up

Nolan, being a big boy, sitting in his Bumbo at 7 weeks old (he spit up almost instantly, and then wanted out - I think his belly was too crunched)

A comparison pic of Elle sitting in the Bumbo seat (at 6 weeks old)

*By the way - I'm offiicially all caught up with my blogging !!!!

Big post (Zoo, Wausau, and around the house) trying to catch up - again!

2010-09-16T14:18:00.011-05:00

Here's our only picture (forgot our camera, so this is a pic from J's phone) from our big family trip to the Lincoln Park Zoo. My parents have never been there, so Elle thought she would show them around. The highlight was the Endangered Species Merry-Go-Round, no surprise. Elle picked to ride the elephant and assigned me to the hippo next to her. She loved every second of it and yelled to Jonathan and my parents "Look at me, I'm on the elephant" every time we went around. We had a great day, we practically had the whole place to ourselves and a bonus, many of the animals were active and on display. Nolan was a champ and slept the whole time, unfortunately he missed the zoo, but we told him all about it and that we would be back!

Elle, Laurie, and Me

Pictures from our week vacation in Wausau:

My Aunt's hosted a little get-together at The Great Dane Resturaunt honoring Nolan (and me).

My mom and me with the kids

Me and my baby boy
Elle got some special "princess" shoes from my cousin Liz. She has been wearing them EVERY day since and "clip-clops" (Ellison's saying) around the house. She would wear them everywhere, but that is not allowed.
I had to do a little "photo shoot" of Elle since it is not offen that I get her hair looking this cute. She cooperated nicely!

Here she is with one of her Grammy's purses and her new shoes

I love this pose she struck

Here is Nolan and me after we got back from a little walk. He loves being in the baby bjorn. Also, look at my parent's beautiful back-yard - just through all of those trees is the WI River.

...Speaking of the river, we hung out quite a bit on my parent's pontoon boat. The weather was so nice and even on hot days there was always a little breeze to cool you down as you slowly motored around.
Uncle Erik helped Elle catch a "whopper," or as Elle says it, "whoffer". Erik hooked the fish and Elle helped real it in.
Erik, Elle, and the whoffer

The measurement...8 inches!

and they threw him back in to get bigger so we could catch him next summer!

Here's little Nolan over his grampy's shoulder

This is the "I want to eat" face!

Jer and Nolan by the sliding door watching the Humming Birds

The famous "laundry cart ride"! She loves helping her Grammy with the laundry because she always get a ride.

Elle helping Laur mix. She never misses a chance to help in the kitchen -and lick the beaters!

Here is my brother Erik and his girlfriend Brooke with the kids.

(The funny thing is, they got a family pic before we did).

Brooke and Nolan

Nolan and his Uncle Erik

-Erik was so amazed at how Nolan fell asleep and went completely limp

Back home...

Finally - our first picture as a family of 4!

Thanks to Dave Taylor and his awesome camera!

Nolan enjoying a ride in the baby bjorn as I cleaned

...moments later

Of course Elle wanted to help sweep, except there was more riding of the broom, than sweeping with it.

don't worry, she said she's a good witch

Elle dressed up her daddy with some new princess earings, necklace, and a bracelet. I think he thought he was a pirate - see the sword around his waist!

Big Sister an Little Brother in their pj's

Try to find the baby!!!

Hanging out in the Rainforest Activity Gym

Chillin on the couch

Elle was rocking Nolan in his carseat - I turned around to look and Nolan was smiling at her!Elle loving her halloween pj's, new cat ears, and a new purse - what an outfit!
our unicorn girl

I didn't have a mirror handy, so I took a picture of her so she could see what she looked like.

More fun pics with a big surprise at the end!

2010-08-18T19:59:00.011-05:00

Time with daddy...

A cousin pic (plus Scout the puppy)

Attention: this picture was staged! Elle never got to push her brother around.

Nolan (at 4.5 weeks) is already too big for the dolly stroller

...speaking of being too big! Elle had to try it out too!

We have been using our Nintendo Wii a lot more since it has been so hot and humid out!

The following pictures show a little girl who woke up on the wrong side of the bed after her nap. Not too mention quite a mess of hair (a bad combo of: sunblock, sweat, and bed head).

Jonathan, Marcy, and Elle went to Lambs Farm one Saturday to get Elle some action out of the house. Ever since we went to the Lincoln Park Zoo in Spring, Elle has been talking about how she went on the Merry-go-round. Hopefully she had her fill after riding this one 5 + times! (Jonathan bought her an unlimited pass for the day)

Another favorite ride!

Her favorite animal at the farm...a barn cat!

Look between Paul's legs!

Newsflash...

Ellison and Nolan have a new cousin! Jonathan's sister Megan and her husband Josh had a healthy and beautiful baby GIRL named Daphne Leigh on Tuesday, August 24th (which was also Jonathan's b-day)! Daphne weighed 6 lbs 9 oz and was 18.5 in. Both mother and daughter are doing great.

We are so happy for them and we can't wait to meet her. Also, Ellison and I are so excited to share the same middle name with both Daphne and Megan!

4 weeks old...getting bigger! and other fun stuff

2010-08-12T15:28:00.021-05:00

Now that we are past the "2 week honeymoon phase" we are learning we have an easy baby on our hands! This is so exciting for Jonathan and I, since we were a little worried that Nolan was just as active as Elle was while in my belly. Also, our little dude barely cries! He is such a mellow guy and has only really cried a handful of times and each time was only a "waah, waah" and then it was over. Nolan is also, very relaxed during bath time...he actually seems to really enjoy it. Eating is another strong suit of his and has been since the first time I attempted to feed him, only a half hour after he was born. He eats approximately every 2-5 hours. Ellison ate EVERY 2 HOURS for the first 2 months of her life. Nolan is also a great sleeper and just recently gave me a couple 5 hour gaps between feedings from like 10pm-3am! I had to look at the clock a couple times to realize that he had gone that long between feedings. He usually averages 3-4 hour naps, when he wakes up, he is usually very hungry, so I get a quick diaper change in, then feed him, and he usually goes back to sleep. His "awake" period usually last about 2 hours and are in the mornings between 7 am and 10am and also in the evenings between 7pm and 10pm. During his awake times, he seems to think that he should be eating the entire time. When he is awake, right after he eats, he is calm for a bit and likes to look around. He smiled at me, while I was talking to him, a couple intentional smiles the day after he turned 4 weeks! It was wonderful, I loved it! He is not completely perfect though, he grunts A LOT in his sleep and can be very noisy at times. We are working with him on taking a pacifier to hold him off when he thinks he needs to eat (after already eating), but he mostly just gages on it and spits it out after a minute or two. All in all, Nolan is an amazing baby and the perfect addition to our family!

Here's Nolan at 4 weeks!

Here's Ellison at 4 weeks...This picture illustrates Nolan's new neck/cheek chubbiness!

Nolan is such a good traveler, he just goes with the flow anywhere we go! I've been trying to get Elle out as much as possible and Nolan sleeps in his carrier for hours - way different from Elle when she was a babe. If Elle ever feel asleep in her car seat, it would only be in the car, and as soon as we would take the keys out of the ignition, she would wake up! Nolan keeps on sleeping, we bring him in the house and park him somewhere so he can continue to sleep until he is good and rested!

Here's the big sis! She's showing her messy fingers and face after painting.

Jenny, Reese, Chase, and Baby Blake Staniak came over to hang out the other day! Reese and Elle shared a good-bye hug (so funny, Reese just kept picking up Elle, and Elle loved it)! Randall Oak's Barnyard Petting Zoo!
We hit up the petting zoo last week with Jen and Jackson Foley. Ellison was most looking forward to the pony ride - ever since she rode the pony named Pickle at the Long Grove Chocolate Festival this spring. She kept saying "I want to ride Pickle"

Elle loved petting this goat, I was so worried it was going to bite her. Luckily he wasn't hungry for fingers!

Jackson and Elle were able to get nice and close

Ellison loved being each animal. She kept saying "what should I be next" and "mommy, what do you want to be".

The ride she was waiting for, except this wasn't Pickle, this pony's name was Dora! Ellison did such a great job, I only walked around next to her a few times, than let her go all on her own!
Jen getting her baby fix holding Nolan

pictures from a few weeks ago...

Nolan hanging out in his swing. His hair and and eyes look so dark here, but in the sunlight his hair is actually light brown and his eyes are a slate blue

Elle making a mess, dumping out all of her toys and putting herself into the bin!

Ellison enjoying a sorbet bar, making a mess, and making her dad laugh!

No messes here, except may be in his diaper. Even if there was, he wouldn't care, he is so layed back!

This pic shows off Nolan's skinny legs.
Elle never had skinny legs, even as a new born weighing under 6 lbs.

Here's Elle as a newborn, check out her legs and see what I mean.

Licking the beaters!
This is not frosting people, it's a cream cheese dip. She loves cream cheese, just like her mommy!

CHEESE! (literally)

Sister and Brother!

Ellison is GREAT with Nolan. She just does her thing all day and will only give a few moments of her attention to him. She may ask "where is Nolan" (the answer is usually - sleeping in the crib or bassinet), she likes to rock him in his swing or car-seat for a minute, give him a kiss before she goes to bed, or touch his hand/feet and say "he's so tiny". She knows to watch out for him if I am feeding him or holding him, or if he is on our bed or couch. She knows how to be very gentle with him and around him and has been such a big helper when she is asked (most of the time).

I love Elle's face, she is concentrating so hard to do a good job of holding her bro.

Our little guy

Bath time and more cuddling

2010-07-27T15:10:00.006-05:00

Another fort! Jonathan and Elle hung out in "the longest tunnel fort" ever for over a half an hour playing! There's Elle all the way at the end with her flashlight!

Grandma Marcy and Nolan cuddling.

I had to put this one on here too, check out Nolan's face!

Sue Matta (Jonathan's step-grandma) came by to check out our little man.
A big stretch for the little brother! Stretching, eating, and sleeping are his favorite things!

Hanging out on his changing table looking at some blocks.

Nolan's 1st Bath. He was asleep for most of it and never made a peep!Wrapped up and drying off - still sleeping
Dried off and hair styled, ready for his day.

A 4 generation picture!

G.G. and Nolan!

Ellison loves to have books read to her, especially while on the toilet. This time Nolan got in on the action!

Quick Nolan James update:

Nolan had been going to the doctor very frequently since he had been born to keep an eye on his weight/jaundice (they were kind of tied together - if he put on weight, his jaundice would subside). His weight was holding at 6 lbs 9 oz for a while, but then on Saturday (at 10 days old) his weight shot up to a whopping 6 lbs 13 oz! Also, his jaundice was looking better. So after 6 days on the the "light" he was free! Also, we wouldn't have to wake him to feed him every 2-3 hours, now we can stretch it to 4 (but still feed him him anytime after 2 hours if he wants to eat). We go back on Thursday for his 2 weeks appointment!

More Nolan

2010-07-21T09:30:00.009-05:00

The following 3 pics are from this morning... Nolan is 1 week old today!

Sister and Brother!

Elle's friend Danielle and Nolan
Father and Son
-I think Nolan looks just like his daddy.

Nolan Update:

Nolan has jaundice, so he needs to be on a special light. This light along with being fed every 2-3 hours, peeing and pooping frequently, and gaining weight, will help the jaundice go away. Jaundice is common in "late pre-term" babies (babies under 37 weeks) and should not be an issue as long as the above steps are taken. We have been diligent with keeping him on the light and pretty much only take him away from it during feedings and diaper changes. This is really hard because all we want to do is cuddle him.

Nolan is now 6 lbs 9.5oz (it had dipped down to 6 lbs 8 oz), his discharge weight was 6 lbs 10 oz. So, hopefully his weight is on the rise with his frequent feedings. He NEVER cries only whimpers or makes little grunting sounds when he is hungry and pretty much sleeps all of the time. We don't know if this is because he is still so new, or because he is lethargic from the jaundice, or if he is just a dream baby (we are not really used to a quiet baby who sleeps a lot since Elle was a spit fire ever since she was born and did her share of crying and was not a very good sleeper). No matter what the reason, we love him so much and have cherished him every second since the day he was born.

Nolan spending some awake time looking at his book (while on the light - see the blue light glowing under him)

Natural sunlight helps with jaundice too, so he is getting a double dose of treatment with the light underneath him.

Our amazing friend's Katie, Erik, and Danielle Zeliasz watched Elle the evening Nolan was born. Elle had such a great time with her friend Danielle at her first ever sleep over! Here are some pictures from Katie to show all the fun Elle had while her new brother was on his way!

More of Nolan and fam

2010-07-19T12:13:00.007-05:00

At the hospital, morning after Nolan's birth...

Getting ready to be dischared.

Finally home!

Elle found this puppy in her toy bin to lay by him - he was pretty happy about it.

Happy on changing table

Cousin Jack and Nolan (so mad that I didn't get Elle in this too)

Fort fun!

Elle and freind Ava Hatfield (Elle is only 6 weeks older than Ava)

Nolan's Room

Our very own water slide!

*I will be writing up the whole birth story with more details soon, I promise!

Nolan

2010-07-19T11:06:00.003-05:00

Nolan James Matta

2010-07-15T00:07:00.003-05:00

6 lbs, 15 ounces

19 1/2 inches

July 14, 2010 @ 8:55 p.m.

Both Nolan and Erin are doing great! Story to follow...

Sooo behind in posting, but trying to catch up!

2010-06-29T15:56:00.014-05:00

The few free moments I've had lately I have been doing just about everything, but posting. This update is a sad excuse for a post (that should be making up for not posting for over 3 weeks) but since I've had the pictures uploaded since last Monday, I need to complete it so I can get back on track again!

Elle and Grampy in a fun fort built by Jonathan - "the fort master"

Elle on the toilet hiding behind the shower curtain.

Here she is at a school playground in Wausau!

Elle and her new Hula-hoop that we made with the Cary Mom's Group! Between the 3 of us in our little family, no one can actually hula-hoop...Elle is still learning (I swing it around her to pretend), Jonathan just plain can't do it, and I would be able to do it, if my big belly wasn't in the way!

Our friends Jackson and his mommy Jen at Jackson's awesome 1st B-day party

A group shot of all the kidos at the party wearing their party favor, firefighter hats! (Elle is front and center next to the birthday boy).

My friend/college roommate/soccer teammate/prego buddy, and I doing a belly bump! Jenny is 2+ weeks ahead of me.

We are so excited to be having our baby's around the same time. It will be fun to see who has theirs first!

Me at 34 weeks!

At this point, I'm finding it hard to fit into anything. I always laughed at the "moo moo" shirt style but I'm getting worried that I may not have many other options if my belly gets any bigger!

My doctor appointments have been right on lately... at 32 weeks, I measured 32 cm and the baby's heart beat has held steady in the low 140's. At my 34 week appointment, I measured 34 cm and the baby's heart beat, again, in the 140's.

I had a small hiccup in my pregnancy at 34 1/2 weeks; I thought my water broke (I felt a small trickle of something come out, 1-2 oz of fluid, - the same feeling/amount when my water broke with Elle) while shopping at Target with Elle. I will try to make a long story short... my doctor's ran 3 tests to check if my water did indeed break - the first one was slightly positive, the second was negative, and the 3rd was slightly positive (but like a pregnancy test, you can get a false negative, but not a false positive). Everyone was confused. I was checked internally and learned that I was 2-3 cm dialated 70% effaced! I was admitted to the hospital and put on an IV along with the contraction monitor and baby heart beat monitor strapped around me. I had 2 ultra sounds done. The first showed that the fluid around the baby was normal/low, which was a slight concern. After being pumped with fluid and monitored for 24 hours, everything was looking good - meaning the baby was staying in and was happy (healthy/steady heart rate)! Even though I had been having contractions, they were sporadic -about 10-15 min. apart. The 2nd ultra sound showed the fluid around the baby was where it needed to be and there had been no other occurrences of leaking fluid. After my doctor had gone back and forth on whether I should stay at the hospital until the baby came, or release me, I was released! Thankfully!

Jonathan and I were relieved to know our baby was healthy, and staying in me to "cook" a little longer, also extremely happy I didn't have to stay in the hospital until the baby came - it could be weeks! I was given a few rules/restrictions to follow until the baby arrives: push fluids, see the doctor 2x a week, and NO baths, pools, lakes, rivers etc. - to avoid possible infection if my water truly did break. Other than that, I need to pay close attention to my body/the baby, which I already have been doing. I am NOT on bed-rest, in fact, I continue to do my daily activities, even exercise.

Ellison and Me at 35 weeks

36 weeks pregnant with Elle (I don't have a 35 week comparison pic)
Current picture, bare belly - 35 weeks

Pregnant with Elle, bare belly - 36 weeks

Our little artist, overnight perm, and new pool!

2010-06-12T10:30:00.014-05:00

Ellison painting with her new paint set! She just recently started making faces (thanks to a "make a face" sticker book from my Aunt Julie, which Elle absolutely loves), this was the first picture out of 6 that she produced in a short period of time. Apparently her favorite paint color is black since it is almost gone!

This was what her hair looked like that same morning! Jonathan and I got a kick out of it, like she got a perm during the night! - Nice face!

Another good look!

Here's her new alligator/crocodile pool! I asked her to show me how big the pool was, this was her reaction! We talked with her about how this is a pool for a big sister and that the baby would get to play in the Hippo pool (she was a little confussed why we were putting away the Hippo pool). Her favorite thing is going in and out, in and out. I'm not sure what her plan is, but she likes to be on the move...I don't think she has/or will sit down and play in it ever.
I had to get a picture of her watching the water drip from her suit/swim diaper. She would be squatting, then notice some water dripping, and then watch it for a while. Once she lost her balance and went down head first in the water - she wasn't too happy about that.

The pool also has a little built in sprinkler that she was fascinated with, plus she also liked climbing all around the pool! I'm 32 weeks now and have doctor appointment this week...stay tuned for the update on jr./my pregnancy.

Flash-backs of all shapes and sizes

2010-06-02T09:01:00.016-05:00

I'm 30 weeks along now and jr. has really been working me over. I don't remember feeling this big and having this much trouble doing simple tasks like bending over and getting up off of the floor when I was pregnant with Elle. Although my life is very different during this pregnancy then it was when I was pregnant with Elle, I still feel that the difficulties I have had recently are because I am bigger/the baby is bigger. My exercise routine still consists of 4-5 days a week of cardio (walking outside and/or on the treadmill doing hills with 2 lb hand weights on each hand) and strength training 1-2 times a week.

I had my 30 week appointment the other night and measured 29 cm, and have gained 25 lbs. The baby's heartbeat was in the 140's. Just like every other appointment, the babe was moving around while the doc listened to the heartbeat making extra thumping sounds. So, at 30 weeks I have gained 25 lbs. Looking back, I gained 23 lbs with Elle and that weight was taken only days before I gave birth (at 37 1/2 weeks). Anyway here are the pics...

30 weeks (present)

30 weeks (pregnant with Elle)30 weeks bare belly (present)

30 weeks bare belly (pregnant with Elle)
*Make sure to get your guess in the baby pool (upper right)*

Here are some pictures of Elle playing in her Hippo pool. The nose of the Hippo is pretty much in the way now that Elle is taller, and there isn't much room for her to stand and play. Needless to say this pool will be perfect for the baby next summer and Elle will probably be getting a new one.

She loves to give out kisses to all of her toys/stuffed animals - but, the one who gets the most kisses is her daddy

She loves being in control of the hose

Here she is, belting out a made-up song (sorry, I'm not able to translate this time). She is holding a single blade of grass in her right hand, which is possibly being used as either a wand or microphone.

Flash-back of last summer

Memorial Day weekend in Wausau on the WI River.

Elle found a BIG stick to play with at the sand bar. This shallow water area became a favorite destination as it was a perfect place for Elle to run around and play.
Grampy and Elle fishing with her new Mickey Mouse fishing pole that he got for her. We would cast for her and she would real it in. Grampy also had a big bobber set up on the line and 2 dozen night crawlers as bait!

Well, after many casts, she caught a whooper, or as Elle says it "I caught a woffer"!

The fish was the tiniest fish ever! It was not doing well after we got it off of the hook. We put it in Elle's bucket so she could get a closer look, and without hesitation, she reached in and grabbed it.

Her first fish!

(This was the only fish we caught in the 3 days of fishing)

Grammy and Elle

Our Fam

Ellison helping Grampy drive the boat

Elle and her daddy

Flash-back of last summer on the boat

I had to add this picture in. Elle was helping Grammy water the plants. She LOVES to water plants and has had a lot of practice from helping me. So we kept her watering can full and she went to town!

Memorial Day weekend was absolutely beautiful, it was 80 some degrees every day and pure sun. We couldn't have asked for nicer weather. I'd also like to note that Elle never even got a spot of pink, let a lone a sun-burn, the whole time. She was covered in 50 SPF from the top of her head to her toes!

A whole bunch of good stuff

2010-05-13T20:06:00.017-05:00

Here's Jonathan and I just before we left for a friend's wedding. We thought we should get a quick pic together (in front of our house) since I don't usually get all dressed up!

Elle trying out her big girl under pants (don't mind the boo boo on her nose). She is also proudly sporting a Sponge Bob watch. Potty training has been going pretty well - we have #2 down, just working on getting #1 in the right place.
Here's Elle picking flowers in our backyard.

And Mr. Jack!

Mr. Messy!

Here's a good story...We went to a "Mother Goose" story time at the library last week. All of the bigger kids were volunteering to help Mother Goose act out the nursery rhymes, and Elle watched on in enjoyment. She began wondering around just a few feet from me, and that's when she volunteered herself by accident. Mother Goose said "who would like to be the "Muffin Man/Girl" and Elle happened to be standing right there. Mother Goose said, "how about you" and held out her hand to Elle. I couldn't believe it, but Elle took her hand and went with her to the front and was set on a chair. Mother Goose put on her baker's hat and gave her a mini muffin tin to hold. We all sang "Do you know the muffin girl, the muffin girl, the muffin girl..." Elle just sat there, with such concentration - some may have thought she was scared, but I think she was just trying to be the best muffin girl she could be. I sat there trying to cheer her on through my tears, I was so proud and I couldn't get over how cute she looked.

Our trip to the Shedd Aquarium...

Jonathan HAD to get a picture in front of Soldier Field! Dinner afterwards at McGee's (one of J's old college hang outs).
Proof that I was there too!

Me at 28 weeks!

Now that we have entered into the 3rd trimester, things are getting even more exciting - if that's even possible. I had my glucose test last week (test for gestational diabetes), everyone complains about the sugary tasting drink - not me! I gulped it down in seconds! I probably shouldn't be bragging about that, I admit it I have a big sweet tooth! I do have some self control, along with my healthy eating and exercising, I tested negative for gestational diabetes. In other news, I measured 27 cm at my 27 week appointment. The baby's heart beat was 145 bpm. I will go to the doctor again at 30 weeks, after that appointment, I will go every 2 weeks.

More on the baby...This baby moves as much or even more than Elle did - scary! It is still laying across my belly and really enjoys pushing out it's head/back/butt, making me uncomfortable at times, I try to massage it back into it's cozy tucked position. I have been getting a single contraction during workouts since 26 weeks, I know this is nothing to be concerned about as long as I don't have 4 contractions in an hour. Other than that, everything is great and perfect!

My Brother Erik and Geoff the Squirrel

2010-05-05T18:13:00.007-05:00

I just had to share these videos of my brother and his new animal friend. Those who know my brother know that he has always been a big animal lover; growing up, he never let a stray dog leave his sight without bringing him home to our mud room (dogs/cats were not allowed in our house) and giving the stray a bowl of water and a snack of some sort. He welcomed all animals, and always seemed to know just what they needed. He was never worried about fleas, worms, or any other disease that the animal had...his main concern was caring for it.

This leads me to the story of Geoff (I believe he is named after a Milwaukee Brewer). Erik found Geoff laying in the middle of the road; he was just a baby and had fallen out of his nest - his eyes had not even opened yet. Erik was worried he would be run over, so he brought him home (no need to check with our parents, Erik has his own place now with his girlfriend Brooke). He called a couple of animal hospitals looking for help, but no pet hospital was willing to help. He was referred to a shelter in a different city, and called them for some info. Again, a baby squirrel was not worth their time. So Erik went online for a tutorial on squirrels. He soon learned he was about 6 weeks old and also learned about the food he would need. Erik made a drink for Geoff the squirrel using Vitamin Water and Puppy milk and fed him accordingly. He then gave him a bath using dawn dish soap and cleaned him with a toothbrush. A few days later Geoff's eye's opened and he had made a full recovery. Erik has also been working with Geoff outside...teaching him to climb trees! No Joke! Geoff seems pretty attached now, and while Erik does plan to let him go, I don't think Geoff will want to.

I heard this whole story first hand from Erik, and I wasn't a bit suprised knowing how caring my brother is.

The Birthday Girl and 24 weeks along

2010-04-26T14:13:00.015-05:00

Here's Elle the day before her big day, jumping for joy just because she had a skirt on!
...a few seconds later, I told her to give me a big smile, close enough!

Ellison playing with the birthday present we got her, a new water table.

hours of fun and wetness!

The day of her party, in her party dress from Grandma Marcy

The birthday girl and birthday boy, their birthdays are just 3 days apart!

blowing out the candles on her pink cake!

She did it (with a little help)

Ellison and her Grammy. Elle put on her new swimsuit (from Grammy and Grampy) as soon as she opened it!

A new Backyardigans sofa/chair from Patty and Dave - Uncle Timmy helped her break it in!

Hiding in her balloons the day after

2 short, amazing years ago...

-These pictures were taken in the hospital the day, and the day after Ellison Leigh was born. Check out the outfit the hospital staff put on her...it was size 0-3 months, but looked huge on our little 5 lb 11 oz baby girl.

Now that the big sister (to be) is 2, let's talk about the baby! I'm currently 25 weeks along, (pic below is at 24 weeks) and still feeling great! My most recent check-up was at 23 weeks and I was officially measured for the first time, I was 25 cm - which was good! They say that the centimeter measurement and the week you are on are supposed to be close to the same number. Anyway, looking back to my pregnancy with Ellison, I measured 21 cm at 23 weeks! Yes, I'm bigger, 4 cm bigger to be exact -I feel like it too!
I'm still exercising (5 days cardio, 1-2 days of weights a week) and still teaching my group exercise classes (which are ending soon). The baby's activity is also going strong throughout the day and night. I feel like the activity level of this baby is very similar to the action I felt when I was pregnant with Elle, the only difference is that with this baby most of the movements are felt lower than I can remember with Elle. I know this really means nothing, just different positioning, but it is the only difference besides being a little bigger.
I have no feelings one way or another on the gender of this baby (I didn't with Elle either), however, Elle has stayed consistent with her prediction of it being a boy! We will see in about 15 weeks!

The Zoo, and Panda Bear book video

2010-04-16T14:07:00.011-05:00

Jonathan, Ellison, Marcy, and I went to the Lincoln Park Zoo last weekend. Elle absolutely loved it, you would have thought that it was her first time there. Ellison enjoyed the giraffes, rhinos, and swinging monkeys (sorry no pics), and also loved getting up close to all of the fish! She also talked about the baby lions a lot - however they were far from being babies, just too far away to notice their actual size.

Here she is showing her Grandma the fish. She counted all "3" of them!

The (baby) Lions!

- I guess the distance along with the large rocks they sat on might make their actual size deceiving. Anyway, we hung out by them for a while since the male kept standing up looking like he was going to roar, but unfortunately we just watched them enjoy the lovely day quietly.

More fish! Again, she counted 1-2-3!

The best part of all, the Merry-Go-Round! Elle specifically picked out the panda bear eating the bamboo (she has watched a Wonder Pets episode where a baby panda bear was stuck up in a bamboo tree with a belly ache from eating too much bamboo)! She loved how she was going both up and down, as we went round and round! Ellison has raved about the Zoo/Merry-Go-Round all week...talking about how she rode the panda bear and that Grandma sat with her, and Mommy rode the zebra!

This video is from the morning before we went to the zoo - Even though we didn't see any real Panda Bears at the Zoo, it seemed to be a theme of the day.
Elle was taking longer than normal on the toilet, so I brought her some books to occupy her as I was getting ready. I stopped in my tracks when I overheard her reading the book "Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See?" This was already her 2nd time through and I just caught the ending, then she paged through backwards.

If you are unable to hear/understand here is a translation:
"...turtle, panda bear, that's what I see. Oh, I missed a page. That's a spider monkey, that's a water bufla alo, that's a ... that's a ...that's a eagle, that's a panda bear, that's what I see. Mommy!"

I wished I would have recorded her reading the whole thing, I was frozen just listening to her with a huge smile on my face. Then I thought, I have to get the camera and record this so Jonathan can see (he was out riding his bike). So happy I caught this little bit.

Here are 2 funny stories that I HAVE to share:
1. Elle was playing with some keys she found a while back (she says the keys are for Grandma's house). She goes to get a laundry basket, which she flips upside down to stand on, and proceeds to lock and unlock our bathroom door (she can actually do it, and the keys aren't even made for any of the doors to our house). Any way, I should also mention that she had been watching an "Abby-ca-dabby movie" -spell? recently (if you don't know Abby-ca-dabby, she is a little fairy friend of Elmo's from Sesame Street). After having a little trouble unlocking the door, after locking and unlocking for over 30 minutes, she said to me... "if I only had my wand, I would poof my way in"!

2. Elle was in the tub the other night coloring with her bathtub crayons. The colors we had out happened to be blue, red, and yellow. She is very good with her colors, with exception to yellow - she gets it mixed up with green sometimes. I had colored Elmo (in red), Cookie Monster (in blue) and Big Bird (in yellow). Next, I went down the line and asked her what color each character was, she got red/Elmo, blue/Cookie Monster, then she was stumped at Big Bird. Soon she answered... "lemon flavored"!

She has really been cracking us up lately with the things she says! It's crazy, she is turning 2 in 5 days, and she already has quite a vocabulary! Some of her other famous lines that we hear often are:

"I have an idea"
"Mom/Dad, that's not right"
"I'm too big" (when she is actually too small to do something)
"I'm mak'in some" (when she is on the toilet)
"there's rain-deer poop outside" (talking about the deer droppings in our backyard)
"the ladybug/spider won't get you" (when she is worried about an insect/spider near her)
"I want to do it by my self"!

Late Easter post, 22 weeks, plus more

2010-04-08T22:18:00.005-05:00

We spent our "Spring Break"/Easter in Wausau this year and had a blast playing around the yard (with grass stains to prove it), walking down by the river (Elle even went fishing w/ Grampy), and going to the parks. The fishing report wasn't good, but Elle had a great time watching the bait swim around looking for fishies! When we asked Elle about fishing she said "we didn't catch any, may be tomorrow"...what a good sport.

Here she is, locating her basket. We had to give her some clues on where it was since she was so distracted by all of the eggs she was seeing along the way.

-You might also notice the new hair-cut ("snippy-snip") that Grammy gave Elle...but please keep in mind she just woke up, so the styling isn't up to par this early in the morning.

Checking things out...not bad!

Finding the eggs.

The good eggs had money for her piggy bank, but there were bad eggs too - we will have to tell the Easter Bunny to not try to be so healthy next year (the bunny stuffed some of the eggs with dried berries, what was he thinking)?!

Time w/ daddy...

Elle is always around when we want to get our push-ups in. She is very helpful in adding that extra 23 (or so) pounds to give us the extra challenge.

She even wiggles around a little helping with balance/stability training!

Jack and Elle...

getting ready for nap time

Jack loves watching everything Elle does. He was very entertained while Elle took her tubby the other morning.

Ellison has also been improving on her sharing and showing things to Jack for him to touch!

Fun times!

Jack fell asleep during story time. He also enjoyed cuddling with Minnie Mouse.

Tyrone, Elle, and Jonathan -nice face Elle!
22 weeks!
Yikes! I can't believe I took a bare belly shot, post work-out, I'm apologizing in advance!

Despite the not so flattering pic, I am still feeling great all of the time and loving being pregnant!

Jonathan measured me weekly when I was pregnant with Elle, not the way the OB does, but around the belly at the biggest part. Well, we have not been keeping up with it the best, but did take a measurement today to find I'm 34". Looking back, I was 34" at 27 weeks with Elle! I am not only feeling bigger this pregnancy, I AM bigger! Yikes again!

Half Way Baby!

2010-03-23T15:04:00.009-05:00

I am 20 weeks along now and doing fabulous! We had our BIG ultra-sound last week. The baby is as healthy as it could be and everything looked perfect. We are still on track for a 8-8-2010 due date and the baby's gender is still a surprise to all, including the ultra-sound tech and our doctor (just the way we want it)! The baby's heart rate has been at a steady 15o bpm almost every appointment. I have been gaining weight appropriately, according the my doc, and have gained 9 pounds so far (I have been the same weight, week to week, as I was when I was pregnant with Ellison). Ellison enjoyed seeing the baby during the ultra-sound too, we talked about it the whole day before our appointment so she knew what was going to be going on. She just stared at the screen in awe. I have been feeling great and enjoying every little movement since I first felt it at week 15. Jonathan has also had no problem feeling our active little one the past couple of weeks. The baby gives me random kicks and punches throughout the day, but at night, when I finally lay down in bed, the baby really goes to town for a good length of time.

Here is our babe.

I am 18 weeks in this picture

Elle's new, but temporary crib/bed is shown below (she is illustrating how she goes to sleep in her "new pecial bed" - aka new special bed). I haven't said to much lately about Elle's sleeping, because the last time that I did, I jinxed it. Anyway, to make a long story short, we had enforced some new sleeping rules and for 4 weeks we were all getting the best sleep that all three of us have had since Elle was born...until she learned she could climb out! We had her crib at the lowest setting and somehow our little girl with her little but very strong and athletic (ha) legs were able to swing up and pull her body over. This only went on for 2 days and 2 escapes total. One escape was clean and early on in the night, the second was not so clean, and in the middle of the night. So we converted her crib to "a day bed" setting. We thought we would try this before bringing in the double bed from our guest room. How does this solve things? We are still in question ourselves. She gets out on average 2x a night and gets put right back in. It is a work in progress and hopefully we will have all of the kinks worked out by August - or I will be checking into the nearest hotel or mental institution.
We recently got a new "shipment" of clothing from my cousin's daughters and in it was a bee Halloween costume. Here is your 2010 Halloween preview, minus the black and yellow striped body suit. Ellison has been requesting to wear the "buzzy bee" headband and wings and has enjoyed playing the role of buzz buzz.

she was hopping in circles getting dizzy!

I had to take this picture of Jack, he was holding on to Tasha the hippo for quite a while and smiling at her while we were reading books.
Ellison still loves her jungle gym and hardly allows Jack in it alone. He seems to like it too, but not as much as she does! It's so funny how old baby toys are so appealing now that their is a baby around - I know this is very typical for all toddlers when a new baby comes into the mix, it's just funny to watch.

Ellison is helping Jonathan "mud", Elle calls it painting. We are in the process of remodeling our bathroom and like most projects, this job cannot be finished fast enough. That is why we are making our daughter help us! j/k

So happy the snow has gone away!

2010-03-16T20:49:00.005-05:00

Jonathan, Elle and I have been enjoying time outside on the swing set ever since the the rain has stopped and the snow has left us!

Here is Elle on the opposite side of the "teeter-totter swing".

Going down!
"Daddy catch me!"
Elle on the "big" swing. She still goes in the "little kid/baby swing" but has been spending more time in this one.

She knows to hold on tight now and wants to go higher and get under-ducks!

Petting the neighbor's fake baby bunny.

And of course our little buddy Jack. I had to take this picture of him stuffing both of his hands in his mouth. He loves to suck on his fingers, but this was truly a mouth full!

What a happy guy.

Our week

2010-03-05T10:06:00.005-06:00

This is my first week watching our nephew Jack, and we have all been having so much fun! Jack is 3 months old now and has his eye on Elle, watching her every move. He smiles at her as she plays. Elle is so cute when she talks to him, she says "what are you doing baby Jack"? She wants to play with all of his baby things, but will remind you that she is "a big girl". Elle loves helping with him, she wants to help hold his bottle, and change his diapers - even wipe him. Jack is such a happy baby, and a great sleeper, he has really been a joy to take care of. We can only hope our little bundle on the way takes it easy on us like Jack has.

Ellison is really wanting to get after the dangling toys, and Jack is completely entertained.

Taking some time to herself to apply some lip moisturizer to her lips and the surrounding area.

Big smiles!

While Jack was napping Elle hopped in to try his seat.
Kisses for her cousin.

Again, a little alone time reading books in mom and dad's bed.

We had a visitor in our back yard the other evening around 4:45pm, Ellison and I watched in amazement.

3 movies plus more

2010-02-27T15:52:00.011-06:00

Elle showing off her new Dora pj's from Grammy and Grampy.

To illustrate how behind I am at blogging...this is my 15 week side profile pic. If you've been looking at our pregnancy ticker, I'm 17 weeks! Anyway, as I always say, "better late than never."

Comparison picture:

I was 18 weeks pregnant with Ellison

Ellison entertaining herself. She loves to dance/hop to music!

Ellison showing off one of her favorite numbers that she learned from story-time at the library. It's called "Open Shut Them." In case you can't understand her, she is saying, "open shut them, open shut them, give a little clap. Open shut them, open shut them, put them in your lap. Creep them, creep them, right up to your chin...(then she has had enough). The rest of it goes..."open up your mouth, but do not let them in!" She probably would have finished, but it was getting late, and she had alread gone through it a couple of times.

Backyardigans song, except where she says "nap" it's supposed to "snack"...a little trick I pulled to get her ready for sleep.

Princess dress, tent, and ABC's

2010-02-08T16:33:00.006-06:00

I have been slacking big time on blogging lately...but here are a couple pictures, plus a video to catch everyone up on what Ellison has been up to. The pictures below are from a recent stay in Wausau at my parent's house.

This is one of the many articles of clothing we have recently received from my cousin's family. This dress is Ellison's favorite, she calls it her "princess dress". She just so happens to be waving around her "princess wand" too!

Elle in her private tent. Only a few specific things were allowed inside (I was not one of them). *Notice her "big sister - to be" shirt made by our friends Katie and Danielle.

Ellison loves her new blocks (a Valentine's gift from my cousin Liz), but the bag was just as much fun.

Some quiet time reading books. I love when she does this!

FINALLY! After months of trying to record her singing one of her many songs, I caught her while singing the ABC's. She was already on her 5th time through singing them, but I asked her to start over and sing to her turtle, so she didn't mind me holding the camera! She loves watching herself sing, and sings along with her video.

-We will be sending this video to the American Idol crew as one to watch for in 15 years!

30 years old! 12 weeks pregnant!

2010-01-29T14:33:00.008-06:00

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!

2010-01-21T14:35:00.006-06:00

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...

2010-01-14T10:37:00.012-06:00

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

2010-01-05T16:06:00.013-06:00

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.

Our Christmas Angel

2009-12-26T12:47:00.016-06:00

Christmas Eve

Christmas Morning

Christmas Day and surrounding days

Early Christmas celebration with Grammy and Grampy

2009-12-14T15:27:00.010-06:00

Ellison was so excited that her Grammy and Grampy were coming from Wausau to visit she couldn't help but spin!

Ellison and her Grammy

Oh Christmas Tree!

Perfect, something new to climb on!
Elle really knows her way around the kitchen
adding a little spice!

Elle riding her broom/horsey and Jonathan riding the swiffer/horsey

Elle loves to help me change/clean her fish, Billy's, tank!

Bouncing/Guitar Hero

2009-12-10T10:38:00.005-06:00

I thought it was time for a video for our viewers! Ellison loves to jump/bounce lately, even if there is nothing springy to bounce on. She asks to go in her crib for the sole purpose of bouncing! She bounces in her crib before and after she sleeps/naps (we were told her Uncle Tim used to do the same thing as a toddler)!

Ellison playing guitar just like her daddy

More of Jack, plus Elle

2009-12-07T16:26:00.004-06:00

Here's Elle in her furry "Santa" vest with her friend Mickey!Elle and her cousin Jack!
What an adorable face!

smiling at his Aunt Erin!

This hat is part of Ellison's Christmas dress/outfit, I can't believe she let me put it on her...then continued to read!

a close up

Ellison listening to my ipod

Santa's helper

Our house all lit up!

Jack Powers Matta is here!

2009-12-03T07:18:00.006-06:00

Date of Birth: December 2, 2009

Time of Birth: 9:35pm

wt: 8 lbs, 11 oz

length ?

We were on the edge of our seats last night waiting to find out if Tim and Jenna's baby was a boy or a girl...we finally got the call after 10pm that they had a healthy baby BOY! Ellison is so happy that she finally has a cousin. I told her about her new cousin this morning and she said she wants to give him a "pas" (pacifier)!! Jonathan and I are just thrilled to finally be an aunt and an uncle (plus Jonathan thinks it's great that him and Jack share the same middle name/initials)! We could not be happier for Tim and Jenna; new parents of such a beautiful baby boy.

Megan and Josh's Wedding, plus Thanksgiving

2009-11-29T13:21:00.015-06:00

One week ago we were delighted to be a part of Megan (Jonathan's sister) and Josh's beautiful wedding day!

The bride!

Tim (Jonathan's brother), Marcy (Jonathan's mother), and Jonathan.

Megan wanted her brothers to walk her down the aisle.
"husband and wife"a little father, daughter talk about weddings

our family

Tim and Jenna
(parents-to-be, any day now!)
Jonathan, Megan, and Tim

Elle was smelling the flowers

Ellison had a great time hanging out with Nancy (Jonathan's cousin).

Congratulations Megan and Josh!

Some random pictures of Elle from the week...

Thanksgiving morning...Jonathan and the 17 lb bird!

"Christmas boy"
our little elf

18 months old, 3 years Married, and a Happy Birthday

2009-11-18T19:24:00.025-06:00

I've been meaning to blog since Halloween and somehow it's already the middle of November - CRAZY, I don't know where the time has gone (good thing I've still been taking pictures). Anyway a lot has happened. Ellison turned 18 months and had her 18 month well-check, Jonathan and I celebrated our 3 year wedding anniversary and my mom had a birthday! Here are pictures to illustrate all of these wonderful events!

Elle showing off her band-aids

(shots were not bad this time around since we told her she would get band-aids, she barely made a peep because she was so excited to get fun band-aids)

What a silly girl

She has finally got the cowgirl thing down! Giddy-up!

Here she is at 11 months on her horsey

Ellison wanted to work on the computer just like her daddy

Here she is trying to fill his shoes

...speaking of shoes

don't mind the wild hair

she recently started making this funny face, so I told her I wanted a picture...she was happy to make it again for me. (now whenever she sees this picture she says "funny face" and makes the face - then we laugh!)

This is a daily thing, Jonathan puts Elle on his shoulders and they do laps around the kitchen island. This time, Elle made things a little more interesting by blindfolding him.

look who got into mommy's purse (notice she is on the phone too) this is one of those pictures you take "just because" she was looking sooo cute (plus I was really happy she was keeping her hat on for once).

She WAS singing the ABC's almost perfectly (in Ellison world), then I told her to do it again since I wanted it on video. So this is Ellison singing the ABC's for the second time, it wasn't as good as she usually does it, but you get the idea.

The info. on Little Miss Ellison at 18 months:

weight: 21 lbs 8 oz. - 15th percentile
height: 30 1/2 inches - 15th percentile
head circumference: 47 cm (18 1/2 in) - 55th percentile
wears size 12-18 month clothes and size 4 shoes
has 10 teeth last time I checked (including 3 new molars)
goes #2 on her potty chair 2-3 times a week, it's still a struggle, I have to catch her right before she goes and I run her to the toilet and tell her she will get a treat.
she wants to pick out and put on her own clothes all by herself - she tells us "Ellison do it." she usually picks out dresses, then says throughout the day "pretty dress."
she will break out in song anytime, anywhere - it's usually the ABC's and she usually sings/yells it out for everyone to hear!
her favorite places: the library (for story time), gymnastics, parks, pools, and any store with a seasonal display (Halloween was a big hit, she would say "spooky things," but we recently had to tell her Halloween is "bye bye" and now it's time for Christmas. Then she says "ho ho" and then goes on to sing "frosty the snowman"!
her favorite tv stars/shows are: Mickey Mouse, Dora, Handy Manny, and Elmo (any Sesame Street movie will do).
Communicates very well - almost too good at times. She can and will say ANYTHING we say, so we really have to watch it. Nothing gets past her...we have to spell out many words and she even picks up certain things from our conversations even when we didn't think she was listening. Some of her phrases include: "nice to meet you," "Ellison do it too," "yes, I do," "more please," "Grammy and Grampy's house," "Gramma Marce," "Silly Ellison," "Da Bears," and "hoochie mama," (Jonathan is in BIG trouble for the last one...it was funny once, but now she won't stop saying it). She has one mystery word that we still cannot understand. When she asks for her milk, she follows it with a word that sounds like "ali" (like the boxer). She will say "milt ali," clear as day, and we have no idea what that means.
She is a little obsessed with belly buttons lately. When I tell her it's time to change her diaper, she says "belly button" (and points to hers). When I say let's get your pj's on, she says "belly button." Any situation that involves getting undressed, dressed, or if Jonathan or I are getting dressed/undressed, she says..."belly button!"
She really has been a star at story time lately. She participates in every song with great enthusiasm (even if she doesn't know the words or the moves). She will hold hands with her friend Danielle and walk up to watch the puppet shows and has also done it all by herself! She also goes up to get her hand stamped at the end of story time all by her self. She is really growing up!
Sleep. We have our good nights and we have our bad nights. She probably sleeps through the night 1-2 times a week. Other nights she may wake up 1-4 times depending on the night and depending on her teething situation. Her bed time is from 8:30pm and wakes up for the day around 6:30am. Napping, on the other hand is a little better. She will nap usually an hour on average, but has gone as long as 2 1/2 hours. She usually naps around 1pm.
Eating. Ellison is a pretty good eater. She will eat all fruits, loves/requests fruit smoothies, and eats almost any meat/fish we eat (except for chicken - which I don't understand). She dislikes all veggies including potatoes - we've even tried giving her french fries and she refuses them. She continues to be a very BIG milk drinker (still drinks whole milk).
In her spare time, she loves to dance, sing, and read.

...I could go on and on, but I need to finish this post so I can go to bed!

We were in Wausau this past weekend to celebrate a couple of things. My parents were happy to watch Elle for us so we could go on a little anniversary date.

We took a couple quick pictures before we went out, it isn't often I get dressed up. Elle had to get in the picture too! (Ellison couldn't stop talking about "mommy's pretty dress" and "Ellison's pretty dress")

(Elle was on the floor pulling at my hand to be picked up - how dare we leave her out!)

Jonathan made reservations at "City Grill/Jefferson Street Inn" (for our date) which was the restaurant/hotel we got married at 3 Amazing years ago (yes, amazing). Anyway, he was so thoughtful to have ordered an exact replica of my bridal bouquet and had it pre-arranged with the florist and restaurant to have it as a center piece at our table. I couldn't believe it, actually I could - he always does things like that for me. Here is our beautiful daughter with my beautiful flowers (birds of paradise, fuchsia orchids,and blue mountain thistle).

a family dance
(Jonathan was singing to us along with Michael Buble')

Last, but not least, we celebrated my mom's (aka Grammy) birthday.
(pictured: my mom, Laurie, Elle, and my dad, Jerry (aka Grampy)

The Fam at dinner

(pictured: Jonathan, Me, Ellison, Brooke, Erik, Jerry, and Birthday Girl Laurie)

I had to add this picture in. Elle loves pushing Grammy and Grampy's laundry cart around. This time she was giving her friends a ride (she usually gets in and is pushed around.)

The father/daughter dance:

*I'm finally caught up! It is now 11:47pm. I have to get to bed and catch some zzz's before Elle wakes up!

Halloween

2009-11-04T21:27:00.006-06:00

Our little lion cub

"roar"

Elle has a sweet tooth just like her parents!

Sharing treats

Here's Elle (6 months) on Halloween 2008 as a mouse

There was a costume change 5 min. after she was in the mouse costume, to the bears cheerleading costume due to the heat (also because she hated the mouse costume).

Ellison (6 months) with Grandma Marcy's
pumpkin pillow (named Happy Jack).

2008

Ellison (18 months) with Happy Jack

2009

Dare to Compare?

2009-10-31T15:05:00.005-05:00

Just wanted to share some pictures of me when I was around the same age Elle is.

The BOO Pumpkin

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Scooping out the slop

Elle was drawing her own pumpkin design

Elle took a break from pumpkin carving to help me mix - one of her favorite things!

The "Boo" Pumpkin 2009

The "Boo" Pumpkin 2008

- a Matta family tradition originated by Jim Matta

Spooky ghost?

2009-10-21T21:49:00.002-05:00

Ellison hasn't been a big fan of getting her clothes on after a bath lately, so I let her run around in her towel - I told her she was being a spooky ghost! More like a cute, friendly, ghost!

Children's Museum - Round Lake, IL

2009-10-17T22:14:00.006-05:00