Back to School

There are lots of things I love about this time of year--the weather is cooling off and fall is just around the corner with beautiful colors and piles of pumpkins everywhere. I used to get excited about new school supplies and new classes, too. But this year the start of school was much less exciting to me. It will be my last year of formal classes and by this time next year I hope to have earned my master's degree. I should be excited to finish--but it breaks my heart to leave Ella so I can go to class. Thankfully, I only have to go to class 3 times a week. Blair stays with her during two classes and his niece takes her for my third class. I really couldn't ask for better arrangements. But I'll be glad when I'm done and can stay at home with my sweet little girl.

Boise...Again

This weekend Ella and I went to Boise again. I went partly so my mom wouldn't have to drive alone and partly to spend some time with my family--especially my sister who lives in Mountain Home (about 45 minutes out of Boise). 

Her husband is a doctor in the Air Force (hence the military haircut) and is being deployed this week to Kuwait for 4-5 months. She's also pregnant with her 5th child and will deliver in December while Phil is gone. On Sunday we had a big family dinner at my brother's house in honor of Phil. Three of my brothers and my sister were all there with their families. Blair couldn't come with me and we all missed him. It was a delicious meal and it was wonderful to have so much of my family all together. Before dinner I took some family pictures for my sister so each of the kids could have a picture of them with Daddy. We're proud of Phil for serving our country and know it will be hard for Cherry Ann while he is gone but we'll all do what we can to help and support their family.

Blessing Day

Sunday was Eleanor's blessing day. Fortunately, I don't have any awful stories about her emptying her stomach onto the dress or having a blow-out 3 minutes before the blessing. Everything went really well and Ella was quiet and happy through the whole meeting. She wore the dress I wore for my blessing.

My sister, cousin, and niece were also blessed in this dress. We'll embroider Eleanor's name there with the rest of them. After the meeting we couldn't have family and friends over to our apartment for visiting because it is too small so we went to a local park and had a light lunch. The weather was beautiful--a storm was moving in but didn't hit until later. It was nice to visit with family and friends who traveled just for the occasion. We'll have beautiful memories of the day!

Family Reunion and Smiles

We went to Blair's family reunion the weekend before last. It was held in Colorado at his sister's house. We had a great time and it was really fun to see everyone again. I think there were over 60 people there--and that's just Blair's siblings and their families. Yep, after we got engaged it took me a while to remember all their names :) Here is a picture of Blair with his nephew, Jake. Blair is holding Jake's son, Gabriel, and Jake is holding Ella. Gabriel is just 2 weeks older than Ella and he has tons of long black hair. 

The view from the house was beautiful!
While we were there Ella started giving us real smiles! We've had a lot of fun since then getting her to smile when we talk to her and play with her. 
This was the sunset the last night we were there. What a beautiful place!

Embracing Motherhood

I have been thinking lately about how much my life has changed thanks to our new little addition. I've experienced a huge range of emotions and sensations as a mother--and I couldn't be happier. I think I've embraced this role pretty well. There are plenty of signs that can tell you whether or not you have embraced motherhood. 

You know you've embraced motherhood when:

*You talk to your baby in the third person--"mommy loves you so much!" 

*You look at the sweat pants you wore yesterday and think, "She only spit up on these twice. I can still wear them."

*You're actually happy when you get four hours of sleep in a row.

*You learn to do everything one handed--even typing.

*Your daily shower is now a luxury instead of a necessity.

*You suddenly think the noises of bodily functions are adorable.

*You wonder how such a tiny person could create so much laundry.

*An angry howl wakes you up at 3:00 in the morning and as soon as you pick up your squirming baby with the angry face all you can think is, "you are so wonderful and I would do anything for you."

*You wouldn't trade motherhood for all the showers and sleep in the world. 

Here are some more pictures of Ella (at three weeks old). A big thank you to Annette, my sister in law, who took these pictures for us--I'm so thrilled to have nice pictures of us together. 

This Old House

We took a little road trip last week. Ella and I left Tuesday with my mom to drive to Meridian, ID (just outside of Boise). Ella did great--we had an uneventful drive and I enjoyed the time with my mom. Blair drove up on Thursday night after work and we all stayed until Sunday when Blair and I took Ella and came back home. So why did we go? To see my mom's new house and help her get moved in. Yep, she finally did it. She bought a house in Boise. It's beautiful and I'm happy that she'll be able to settle in and put down new roots. It has been very painful for her to pull up her old roots. After over 35 years of living in St. Louis (in the house pictured above--the garage door is up)  she has decided to say goodbye. I didn't think I would feel sad about saying goodbye to my childhood home but it hit me a few days ago that I won't ever "go home" to this house again.  

Here's a view of the back. It has been a good house. And because I'm feeling sentimental I wanted to write down some of my favorite memories from this house. 

I remember:

*Sledding down the back yard hill that seemed HUGE when I was 4

*Getting stuck sitting on the swinging bar on the backyard swing set--I couldn't figure out how to get down.

*Wrapping a blanket around me and using it to trap heat from a floor vent while I read a good book

*Picking magnolia blossoms from the beautiful tree in the backyard and giving them to my mom. She always acted thrilled no matter how many I gave her in a day. 

*Getting my hands and arms and legs all sticky from climbing the huge pine tree in the front yard. My brother and I would dare each other to go higher.

*Looking out the window just in time to see the top 1/3 of the huge pine tree roll across our front yard as a tornado flew over our house. I was 15 and home alone at the time--I grabbed our dog and flew downstairs to the basement until it was over.

*Planting flowers for my mom in the front yard planter box for Mother's Day

*Setting the dining room table with the nice china and flatware for birthdays, holidays, and special occasions

*Cooking on a hot plate balanced on a saw horse during our kitchen expansion/remodel

*Taking my last picture with my dad on our front porch

Some of these could have happened in any old house--but they happened in my old house and that's what makes them so special to me. And though I've physically said goodbye to 1480 Chandellay Dr., it will always be an important part of my life. 

More Pictures of Ella

By popular request, here are more pictures of Ella. She took her first road trip last week--I'll write more about that trip later. For now, here's a visual update. We're lucky to catch her with her eyes open--she likes to sleep a lot. Enjoy.