When I leave these girls alone in a room, they usually get pretty creative! I was actually very impressed that Lauren was able to get Ella to participate in dress-up, and even more impressed that she helped Ella into that dress all by herself! Ella thinks all headbands go around her neck, which is why she has Minnie Mouse ears hanging from her neck. And Lauren wore her clip-on earrings for the first time! So cute!
With the warmer weather today Dan took Lauren outside for some playtime. This was really the first time she was able to enjoy a long day playing in the snow without getting too cold. They took the sled down the hill and onto the lake for over an hour, and then moved on to building snowmen. I think that is the cutest snowman I've ever seen:) She went through three pairs of soggy wet mittens, and she still didn't want to come inside at the end of the day! Unfortunately Ella came down with a cold and had to sit this one out. But she got lots of snuggle time with mom instead.
The kids have been getting lots of use out of their Packer cheerleading outfits, and it seems to be working! But first I couldn't resist these pictures of Ella cheering on the Badgers during the Rose Bowl... didn't work out the way we wanted, but she was so cute and loved posing for the camera!
I know there has been speculation, and I can finally confirm- we are pregnant again! Yay! Here are the answers to some of the questions I am expecting.
When is baby due? Baby is due July 22. I am 12 1/2 weeks and had my first ultrasound yesterday to confirm everything looks healthy.
Was this planned? Yes. I know, call us crazy. But Dan turned 30 and decided if we were having one more it needed to be soon. And you know me, I love babies, so I wasn't going to say no! It actually worked out to be perfect timing because I will be over 15 weeks by the time we go to Mexico at the beginning of February. I wanted to be through the first trimester in Mexico, so if we hadn't gotten pregnant that month we would have had to wait a few months before trying again.
Will you find out the gender? Not sure. I know, this is coming from someone who normally cannot understand why anyone would wait. But there is something about knowing that this will be my last pregnancy that makes me want to wait. We will see. I am sure when the appointment comes (March 4) I won't be able to pass up the chance of knowing.
Are Lauren and Ella excited? Lauren is very excited. We have been talking about whether she wants another sibling for awhile now, and luckily she has never said no! I showed her the ultrasound pictures last night and we told her there is a baby in mommy's tummy and she got a big grin on her face. I'm afraid this is going to be a long wait for her. This morning during breakfast she was telling Ella that she has to stay home with daddy while mom is in the hospital. She never stops thinking! Ella on the other hand has become quite the mama's girl. It is like she KNOWS! She has been sleeping all night since September, and we could lay her in her crib awake and she would go right to sleep. Well, for the past week now she has been waking in the night and screaming until we rescue her. And then she will take over an hour to get back asleep, only to wake up the second we leave her room. (For those watching her while we are on vacation, I promise we are working very hard to remedy this situation:)
How have I been feeling? Not good. Today is a bad day. Tomorrow might be a good day, I just never know. I do think it has been a little better than with Lauren and Ella, but still not good. Lauren still insists on watching me "get sick" but she doesn't laugh and mock me like she did the first few times. I am also crazy tired which I don't remember from the other two pregnancies. I nap with the girls every day and I am in bed the second they are! And Ella's nightly episodes are not helping.
While we were in Duluth last weekend, we headed to the Bentleyville Tour of Lights. We had to drag the guys there, but once we were there, even they had to admit it was pretty stunning. You walked around a huge park with Xmas music blasting and beautiful lights everywhere. Plus, the kids got to meet all of Santa's reindeer and the jolly man himself!
Ella had fallen asleep on the walk, but it was probably better this way! And my big girl Lauren surprised us and walked right up and hopped on his lap!
Last Thursday we headed to Duluth with our friends Gary and Angie. We stayed at a waterpark and the kids had a lot of fun!
Ella enjoying the water
Dan and Lauren- Lauren loved being in the big pool- she is getting a lot braver and actually floated around by herself for a bit.
