Jiggy Jog

Ellie Bell

2012-01-27T11:09:00.001-05:00

Elliana....whew. I knew Emma was fun at this same age, but Elliana is such a little charmer. I know she gets that from her daddy. If you know her daddy then you know what I mean. Somehow they manage to make you feel like you are THE MOST important person in the whole world when they interact with you. Of course, flattery helps. :) It's such a gift to be that invested in a conversation or person. Ellie challanges me to be ever present with those I interact with.

I am so in love with her and her little personality. She adores Emma and wants to be right with her most of the time. She loves to hide, but loves being found even more.
and
SHE'S A BIG OLE HAM! see...

She is the BEST sleeper. As long as you don't count a 6 month ear infection AWFULNESS, then the girl has slept 8-12 hours every night completely uninterrupted since BIRTH. Yes, God is gracious!

Elliana still takes one long nap mid-day and uses her pacifier (or her "dahss") when she sleeps. She is still in a crib and I have no serious plans of moving her ANYTIME soon. :)

My sweet Ellie Grace loves Mr. Potato Heads, won't sit still for more than three pages of a book, just started enjoying building blocks, and will dance at the first sound of music (and demand you dance with her). Seriously, she is not satisfied until every one in the room is dancing.

My absolute FAVORITE thing she says right now is "A CAUSE I HAPPY!" It's her answer to just about any question you could ask her. I think I love it the most because while she says it she tilts her head to one side and scrunches up her face. If she happens to be in trouble its all I can do to keep a stern look on my face.

Elliana was always and still is a champion eater. (She gets that from her daddy, too. ha!) She often wants bites of everyone else's food as well. (ANDREW!! haha) Her favorite foods right now are Rice Krispies, Bananas, and anything chocolate. She can also put away the oatmeal. Between her and Emma I have to make at least three FULL servings of oatmeal.

We just started officially potty training, although she's been interested for a while. I think she'll pick it up really quickly.

Elliana truly is the light of our life like her name implies and I am so excited to watch her grow!

Enjoy the quiet.

2012-01-26T15:53:00.000-05:00

My life is noisy. How about yours? Read this wonderful blog post and then join me in some silence. :)

http://joynessthebrave.wordpress.com/2012/01/21/its-a-loud-loud-world/

three's a charm

2012-01-26T14:59:00.001-05:00

Emma is such a delight to me at this stage in her life. She is a huge help around the house. She unloads the dishwasher, sweeps, wipes counters, switches laundry from washer to dryer, and even feeds Rascal. She has such a compassionate disposition that seeing anyone in pain hurts her as well. I am always challenged to show more compassion when she is around.

She absolutely LOVES putting together puzzles and she's very good at them. She got a 48 piece jigsaw floor puzzle that's 3 feet wide for Christmas that she can put together completely alone. It really is impressive even if I am her mom. ;)
She adores her little sister and loves trying to make her laugh. Their favorite game right now is hide and seek and to hear them giggle....oh, I never thought something would sound so precious.
She loves to play HiHo Cherry O and carry around bags full of knickknacks.
We don't watch much TV, but she loves the occasional Disney Movie. Her current favorites are The Jungle Book, The Lion King, and the AristoCats. (We do still throw in Toy Story for good measure).
She has a Jesse doll that almost never leaves her side and must always be tucked in right beside her at night.(see above)

She is still a lover of fruit. I think she would live off fruit alone if I let her. And she eats like a bird. Nibble, Nibble, Nibble all day long. :)

A few of my favorite Emma-isms....
also- "ALSABOW"
blowing- "windin" for example- Mama that fan is WINDIN me!
How old are you? -"what old are you?"

Her get out of trouble techniques....
If I ask her why she's doing something she says "a cause when people do (fill in the blank) they don't get spankings"
or
She runs in the room with a very guilty look on her face and the following conversation begins....
me-"Emma what did you do?"
emma- "mama, just be happy, ok?"
me- "Emma what did you do?"
emma- "don't cry, but I (fill in the blank)"

She is fully potty trained now and sleeps in her own big, girl bed through the night most nights.
She loves our Tuesday Bible Study Fellowship. We are currently working on bible memory verses and saying our own prayers.
Emma is very excited about the new little baby in mommy's tummy. She says its a girl and we should name her Baghera. HA!
I am constantly amazed at the little lady Emma is becoming. I can't wait to see what the future holds for her.

2011 in review

2012-01-14T21:56:00.000-05:00

I realize it's been a long hiatus for the blog. Also it's funny to me that one of my last posts started by praising our "new" home town. Because as I write this we are in yet another "new" home town. This marks the fourth town Robert and I have lived since we were married. The Lord has changed every plan I've ever made and boy am I grateful.
The last 6 months have quite possibly been the busiest of my life.
Currently...
We are blessed with two beautiful daughters and have one more precious blessing on the way.
We are finally living in our true home state of Alabama and close to family.
The Lord provided a new home to us that provides room for a growing family and the space to welcome many friends and family over for fellowship. (I was able to host a Thanksgiving meal in my home this year and it was so much fun!)
My little sister, Amanda, married an amazing man and added a brother-in-law to our family. (Love you Adam!)
I want to catch you up a little bit on how the girls have changed and what they're up to right now. I have a new resolve to blog more often because the girls are constantly changing and I want to document all the fun things they are saying and doing.

Now, a review in pictures of the last 6 months.

JUNE

spending time with sweet friends in Valdosta

mealtime=funtime

JULY

Cooling off on a hot summer day in south GA

In Savannah, GA to visit friends

August and September.....well let's just say we moved to a new state with two babies under two and pregnant. There are no pictures.....and it's probably a good thing. :)

OCTOBER

Best Friends

At the Birmingham Zoo

Hayride at the Pumpkin Patch

Hamming it up with the pumpkins

NOVEMBER

New house, new playroom, enjoying life

DECEMBER

Emma turns 3!

Zoolight at Christmas

Whew, what a year 2011 was. Lot's of changes for our family and we look forward to what 2012 holds for us.

The beach beckons...(may)

2012-01-14T21:23:00.000-05:00

Setting up home base.

We were blessed to spend a week at the beach with our extended family. It was so much fun going to the beach this year with two little ones. There was definitely a lot more ~~junk~~ gear to haul down to the beach, but the girls loved it.

Ellie spent most of her time in the sand and Emma spent a lot more time in the water then I expected. Granted it was almost always in someone's arms, but it was progress.

We also had a big surprise when Amanda and Adam got ENGAGED! (They recently tied the knot and we are all thrilled!)

We can't wait to go back!

Easter (April)

2011-07-21T10:31:00.028-04:00

We really love our new home town. (YES we miss our family very much, but we really love our home town.) It is such a family friendly place and they usually have large events planned for every holiday. This year for Easter we joined in on the community EGGstravaganza. I have one word...INSANE. The park was covered in children and parents with cameras. They were frantic. (The parents more than the kids.) There were three seperate sections taped off for each age group and we had to stand behind the line and wait for the horn to blow. Yeah right, try holding back 80-100 toddlers when this is what they saw.

Luckily we managed to find a spot that nobody headed towards for a while so Emma and Ellie spent their sweet ole time picking up the 10 or so in front of them. They were perfectly happy with the few they managed to get into the basket and I was perfectly happy to avoid the frenzy going on behind us.

Easter morning we continued the traditions with the baskets. Robert had to leave us for work, so I took pictures of the girls' reaction. Priceless.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-07-20T10:25:00.002-04:00

Elliana's First Birthday (March)

2011-07-19T22:20:00.000-04:00

It worked out this year for us to be in North Alabama for Elliana's first birthday. We loved being able to party with the family. Elliana actually shares a birthday with her Great Uncle Jeff. Here are the two birthday peeps at their joint party both celebrating milestone birthdays. Ellie-1 Jeff-40 :)

What's a party without some party hats? The girl cousins (minus Amanda) were princesses for the night.

Digging in to her birthday cupcake took some coaxing until she figured out she could get it in much faster by herself.

Later in the week we threw an official first birthday party with a bird theme. I had originally planned to have outside at the park with lots of fun yard games but got rained out. So we found a local restaurant to "nest" in.

It was a great time! Thanks everyone for making this little girl's first birthday a wonderful time.

The birthday dress.

One year ago.

A little bit of February

2011-04-27T10:38:00.001-04:00

I have been so blessed every year on my birthday to have family that makes me feel so special. Robert's parents and Evelyn made the long drive to Georgia just for me! Who am I kidding? They came for the grandkids. :)

Another big milestone in the Boully household.... Ellie is using a push toy to walk!

Emma discovered the magic of "SNAP, CRACKLE, POP!" She asks for "ice kispeez" every morning.

Emma loves all things fruit. Currently you can see her eating a banana at least three times a day and mom is NOT allowed to peel it or cut it up for her.

I'll just let you use your imagination for this next picture. ;)

A glimpse of January

2011-04-26T13:35:00.000-04:00

Emma is keeping me busier and busier. She is now into EVERYTHING including permanent marker. Elliana is not that far behind, by January she was pulling up and cruising from one piece of furniture to the next.

I am loving all the new interaction between sisters. A favorite among us all? Seeing Emma feed Elliana.

But a VERY close second to that would have to be bathtime kisses.

Or perhaps the occasional joint nap session....

Whatever the circumstance, though, I am just loving life with two little girls!

Hark the Herald....only a little late.

2011-04-25T13:30:00.000-04:00

Christmas is usually filled to the brim, and this year was no exception. It wasn't exactly filled with our typical festivities though.

It started off with a quick weekend trip to Arkansas where we got to witness some very good friends get married and then celebrate our own five year anniversary. It is crazy to me that Robert and I have been married over five years and together over eleven years. It was a fun trip and then we came home.....

Where we made it within 45 minutes of home and had to take a detour at the local Emergency Room. Two days later after a multitude of tests, Robert was allowed to go home on the diagnosis of, "Uh maybe it was food poisoning." Pretty lousy way of saying, "We have no idea what made you that sick.

In the meantime, Robert's dad was recovering from his own long hospital stay. We were blessed to be able to gather the whole family to go visit him in Birmingham. It really was a precious time.

Robert's Parents (the best in-laws a girl could ask for!)

The Boully grandkids

"Our Evelyn" was gracious enough to let us stay in her apartment over the holidays. It was nice because we were able to have some quiet family time on Christmas morning even though we were away from home.

Doesn't this face sum up Christmas morning?
I anticipate seeing this face in many future years Christmas pictures.

I will never forget this Christmas as long as I live for many reasons. The biggest being that it was my first official WHITE CHRISTMAS! This past winter there was more snow in North Alabama then ever in my lifetime and Christmas morning was no exception. We had an honest to goodness snowball fight and Emma only lasted about three minutes before it was "too tolll" (too cold) for her.

You can tell it wasn't really something we were expecting because I'm wearing my brother's clothes in the next picture. My brother, sister, and I spent four hours that afternoon building our first lifesize snowman. Without exaggerating, the bottom of that snowman weighed at least 500 pounds. Emma came out to help us do all the decorating.

Emma's second birthday

2011-04-20T22:28:00.000-04:00

I tried to plan a huge cookie decorating party for her in less than a week. Didn't happen. Thanks to my MOPS mommas for letting me off the hook. Why do I try to be so ambitious? She's two and I'm pretty sure she enjoyed the alternative. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Hold your horses- November 2010 recap

2011-04-20T22:12:00.000-04:00

Ok peeps...I'm so behind. So tonight I'm hosting a blogging marathon. By the way, we paid to have someone recover all our pictures. HOORAY!

Checking herself out for the first time.

The family at Thanksgiving

Splatchcocking a turkey (yes that is a real word, look it up.)
BEST TURKEY YOU WILL PUT IN YOUR MOUTH!

I would just like everyone to pay really close attention to the previous picture. What do you notice?

First stomp through a pile of leaves.

Ellie is 9 months old

2011-02-05T11:57:00.000-05:00

I can't even begin to tell you how upset I am that we lost all my 8 month pictures. :( ok moving on...

I've been trying to keep these monthly photo sessions as similar as possible. It's great because you can really tell how she's grown and changed each month. This month I think I got the best pictures I've ever gotten out of our monthly sessions. She was such a ham.

I love this girl. She brings such joy to our lives. She is constantly laughing at Emma. Not just a chuckle, but long uncontrollable giggles that are so contagious that normally all three of us end up with tears in our eyes from laughter. The girl LOVES to laugh.

She knows how to snuggle her way into anything she wants. One peek at Mommy's, Daddy's, or Emma's snack and she's got her head deep into your chest, arms wrapped around your neck, and fingers gently squeezing. Affection is her golden ticket.

At her 9 month checkup we were 20.9 lbs and referred to an ENT. Sweet Elliana has kept fluid on her ears for nearly 5 months. Add to that 6 ear infections, 5 different antibiotics, and lots of sleepless nights and you have a recipe for tubes. I'm happy to report that her newly aquired tubes have given us all some MUCH needed relief. Thank you Lord!

She wears 12 month size clothes, size 3 diaper, and size 3 shoes.

She had four teeth at the time of this picture, but got two more the very next week!

She is a champion crawler now, but really prefers to be standing.

She hates bananas, but loves everything else I've given her.

Stay tuned....

I'll be doing a 10 month post soon!

The past and the future

2011-02-04T23:20:00.000-05:00

In case you haven't noticed, I've taken a serious blogging break. I'd like to say it was on purpose, but honestly I'm learning that life with a toddler and a baby are, well, busy. Plus I am obsessive in that I like for my posts to be in chronological order. Normally this is not a problem, unless your computer decides to bite the dust and your pictures are in the grave with it. We lost all our Christmas pictures, Emma's 2nd birthday, Elliana's 8 month pictures, and my girls' first experience with snow (including a 6 foot snowman that I spent 4 hours building with my siblings). I'm still greiving, actually.

All that to say, I'm starting fresh. So in honor of fresh starts, here is the post I had started for the New Year.

THINGS I LEARNED IN 2010

Don't leave your daughter in the bathroom with her dad while he shaves or you might come back to find her covered in shaving cream and attempting to use a razor...(lost the picture of this)

When getting a second child out of the carseat, make sure the first child doesn't walk over to an empty can in the next parking space, pick it up, and pour beer all over herself before walking into the doctor's office....( I wish I had taken a picture of this. Maybe it would have smoothed things over in the dr. office.)

Don't try and boil tea with a serious head cold....

While watching an extremely intense and important football game with your husband, don't suggest he help fold clothes...(or eat)...

When you're on a strict budget to get out of debt, don't go shopping at the end of the month....

Removing wallpaper and repainting a kitchen before throwing a party requires more time than a week...

Spending more time studying God's word is the single most calming and settling activity I can do in any given day, without it my day is a mess and I am a mess....
Having two baby girls under the age of 2 is HARD...and exhausting...and the most fun I've ever had in my entire life.

As far as resolutions go I only had one: wear less makeup if any at all. (per hubby's request.) We'll see how it goes the rest of the year. So far I've broken down twice and put on a little mascara. (I love mascara. :)

I'd love to hear some of your skin care tips. I need ways to hide these "I have two babies under 2 and half" dark eye circles without makeup. HA!

Captured by Grace

2011-01-12T21:55:00.001-05:00

In Captured by Grace, I love the simple and straightforward way with which Dr. David Jeremiah presents the concept of grace and its impact on our lives. So simple and yet so profound are his thoughts on the story of grace that it is nearly impossible to put down. Dr. David Jeremiah uses the lives of the apostle Paul and John Newton, the author of the hymn, Amazing Grace, to highlight the beauty, power, and wonder that is grace.

The book is separated into three sections: Grace for the past, grace for the present, and grace for the future. Seeing grace in those three very distinct ways gave me such a new perspective. In fact, my favorite part of the book comes in the section, grace for the past, when we are shown the "seven wonders of grace" all based from the scripture Hebrews 5:1-11.

If you are a history lover, you will love the references and parallels in these men's lives as it relates to grace. Even if you are not, this book is sure to bless and inspire your life. I would recommend this book to anyone, especially those who are currently seeking to understand salvation and the meaning of grace.

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review from the people at BookSneeze.com.

The Unveiling

2010-12-04T20:33:00.002-05:00

Well, I told you it was a time of great indecision. I didn't even go with one of the three I originally showed you. I did, however, take your advice and go with one that had lots of pictures. :)

Here it is...
the card that many of you will have in your mailbox shortly. If not then at least you can enjoy it here. ;)

With Love Chartreuse Christmas Card

Make a statement with Shutterfly Christmas photo cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

Help a sistah out

2010-12-02T23:56:00.002-05:00

"If you are a woman who writes a blog with content predominantly about her family, and you have 10-15 minutes to spare, we would love to hear from you! We are doing research on bloggers, and invite you to take a survey at www.surveymonkey.com/s/mommyblog Your participation will help one graduate student get one step closer to completing her thesis, and one step closer to graduation! Thank you for your input and for your time!"

The Great Christmas Indecision

2010-11-28T00:38:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite traditions during Christmas is sending out greeting cards. I look forward to it every year. Part of the reason I love it so much is because it allows me the opportunity to sort through pictures from all throughout the year. Since having Emma this process has become even more amazing. To see the changes in her and now also in Elliana brings so much joy to my heart.

For the past four years, Robert and I have used Shutterfly to make our Christmas Photo cards. Each year I've looked through our pictures and spent a great amount of time in indecision. Not only about which picture to use but also which Christmas Card to use. I usually end up creating several options and then spend the next few days in indecision.

This year is no different and now I need your help.

Help me decide by commenting on your favorite. Obviously I'll add my own photography to the cards, but which one would you like to see in your mailbox?

If you love Shutterfly as much as I do, then join me in spreading the word about all the new Christmas Cards. Go here for more information.

The Cloth Diaper Report

2010-11-11T15:54:00.000-05:00

As you probably know, I am a big proponent of cloth diapering. We don't do it 24/7 but if we're home then the girls are in cloth diapers. It has saved us SO much money and honestly I don't mind the extra laundry. :) Well maybe a little, but I do like the thought of not having as much diaper trash. My little earth friendly contribution, I guess.

We bought all our supplies through Diaper Junction and right now they're doing a giveaway at The Cloth Diaper Report. You could win $100 gift certificate for anything on their site! That's a hefty chunk of change and enough to get a good diaper stash started.

If you're interested then go to this post on The Cloth Diaper Report.

halloween

2010-11-11T15:42:00.000-05:00

This year Emma got to participate in the pumpkin carving and it was quite funny. She was super excited while we got everything set up and once Daddy pulled open the lid of the pumpkin her entire countenance changed.

She sat there with that look of disgust on her face until we asked her if she wanted to help pull all the seeds out. Then she quickly went running. She ran as far away as she could get while still keeping an eye on the situation. We finally persuaded her to come back into the kitchen and slowly but surely she warmed up to the idea of helping.

Once she saw Mommy dig in a few times and realized it was OK she joined in the action.

Robert and I debated for a while about what to carve into the pumpkin. Oh there were several suggestions, but as soon as Robert mentioned the last option the decision was made. Here's the final product.

In our city, the kids did trick-or-treat on Saturday night during the hours of 6-10pm. Which also happened to coincide with a moderately important football game....ahem. Let's just say we were extremely grateful for the invention of the DVR. WAR EAGLE! LS WHO?

We didn't go trick-or-treating, but we did dress the girls up to give out candy. Emma even let me paint her face. I had a hard time getting a picture of Emma's painted face because she was SO enthralled with the candy bowl. (She decided to give herself a piece of candy for every piece she handed out.)

It was overwhelming the amount of people we had visit the house. Our house is situated on the corner of a very busy neighborhood. We literally had a line from our front door to the road for two hours straight. We were giving out everything we could scrounge together. Candy, cookies, stickers, paper clips.....OK not really. But seriously, we gave away every piece of individually wrapped candy we had in the house.

All in all our little Leopard and Snow Angel and a great time and so did we!

Congrats to the winner!

2010-11-09T19:51:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to the winner of the Miracle Blanket Giveaway! Megan, you'll have 24 hours to send your information to the people at Miracle Blanket.

Pumpkin Patch

2010-11-09T13:46:00.002-05:00

Jump in the Pooh wagon Ellie is 7 months!

2010-11-08T13:29:00.002-05:00

Ellie is seven months old!

She still only has two teeth. She can pull herself up on her knees, crawl backwards, and give kisses. She laughs at her sister all the time. She really likes to play with writing pens and balloons.

Elliana wears a size three diaper, size three shoe, and nine to twelve month clothes. She sticks her tongue out when she smiles and gets lots of comments on her beautiful blue eyes.

We love you Ellie Bell!

The Gift of Sleep

2010-11-06T01:13:00.001-04:00

I have a love affair with sleep. Me and sleep...we go way back. And then there was Emma.

Emma came into the world with a hunger for life....and an EXTREME hunger for food. We had a very difficult time learning to breastfeed and she spent the first three weeks sleeping in 15 minute increments. It was a trying time for all of us.

Then when Emma was about two months old I learned about the Miracle Blanket. To say it lived up to its name would be a huge understatement. You can read a few of my posts about it here, here, and here. It was truly a miracle for us. Not only did it help her sleep, but she went to sleep so much faster when she was swaddled in it. I never worried about any Velcro or snaps hurting her because it's all one long piece of cloth and she never managed to wiggle out of it. Sleep and I rekindled our relationship and it was heaven.

When Elliana came along, we were prepared. We had our Miracle Blanket always within arms reach. Luckily for us, Elliana slept like an angel from the beginning. Even though we didn't use it as frequently, Elliana still enjoyed being swaddled and rocked during the day. The Miracle Blanket continued to be a miracle for us.

If you have an infant now or are currently expecting I can not recommend this product enough. I think every new baby should be given a Miracle Blanket in the hospital upon birth. Unfortunately the hospital doesn't give them out, but the lovely people at Miracle Blanket do! They have agreed to let me give one away!

This giveaway will be live until midnight EST on Monday and the winner’s name will be announced on Miracle Blanket’s Twitter page and Facebook page on Tuesday afternoon after 2pm CST with reference to my blog.

You will have 24 hours to respond after your name is announced on Facebook and Twitter. The only way you will know if you won is to monitor their Facebook and Twitter sites. If you do not respond you lose the prize.

To be entered in this giveaway you need to....

FAVORITE Miracle Blanket on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/MiracleBlanket

and LIKE their facebook page at

http://www.facebook.com/MiracleBlanket.

You then need to leave a comment on this post telling me your funniest or most interesting “getting baby to sleep” story or just any funny baby story will do.

I'll pick a random comment and send your name to the people at Miracle Blanket for them to announce on Tuesday through Facebook and Twitter. If you're chosen you'll have to send them an email with all your contact information.

This is an unbiased review of a product. I am not receiving compensation for this review.