Parenthood is..

..microwaving a teddy graham repeatedly because your toddler demands it.

..sleeping on the floor for a night because your son refuses to sleep unless you are near him.

..hearing "Hi Elwa! Hiiii. Hiiii." and seeing your son laying on the floor with his sister petting her head and giving her kisses.

..being spit up on repeatedly.

..swearing that you are never ever ever having another child in the middle of the night, but then waking up in the morning and thinking you might have another two or twenty of these ridiculously cute children you make.

..putting a toddler back in bed for the 15th time in an hour.

..rolling a baby back onto her back countless times in a day.

..pouring milk in a bowl so your son can drink/eat it with a spoon.

..getting heart melting kisses and hugs.

..having boogers purposely wiped on your shirt.

..having your son hi-yah his sister right in the face.

..spending 10 minutes trying to figure out what it is your toddler wants from the kitchen only to have him take one bite of the food you finally figured out he wanted and never touch it again.

..letting your child have ice cream cake for breakfast because some battles aren't worth fighting sometimes.

..being the only one in what seems like the world who can get your daughter to sleep.

..knowing the tickle spots that get the best laughs.

..wanting a break and then missing your children 5 minutes after you leave the house.

..the best and worst thing you've ever gotten yourself into, but would never want to get yourself out of.

January

Am I the only one that feels like January was forever long? Maybe it's because we're really trying to stick to a budget and I was ready for the next month to start so our budget would reset. Or maybe it's because we kept getting inches and inches of never ending snow. Either way I am so glad the month is over. 

Thankfully January wasn't all bad, and we did manage to have some good times. 

Hudson and Ella's relationship continues to grow and develop. 

He'll let us place her on his couch with him as long as she isn't touching him. 

He'll hold her and lay with her on occasion.

The second that he hears Ella waking up and making noise he runs to her room, opens the door, runs to her, and say "hi Elwa" over and over again.

Now that Ella has started to play with some toys, Hudson has started to take her toys from her and say "mine" with a big grin on his face.

Basically, the fun of having two kids less than two years apart is just beginning.

I redid our ward's primary board for the new year's theme just in time to get released from the primary presidency. I have a lot of fun doing the bulletin board and being in primary, so I am really going to miss this calling.

Hudson discovered how to get to the camera when my phone is locked. 

It has led to lots of selfies and 3 second long videos of the couch or other random things.

Just because he's really cute, and he is growing and changing every time we blink.

Our date night this month was dinner at the Roadhouse and ice skating at the local rink.

It was my first time ice skating, and it was tons of fun.

It was also our first date without kids or without anyone doubling with us since Hudson was born. I have no idea how we managed to go so long without a date, but needless to say we are not letting that much time go by without a date again.

I was relieved that I didn't fall down at all, but I think having my handsome husband's hand helped with that.

I woke up one day and decided I didn't love the color of our living room anymore. 

A few days after I made the decision I found myself buying paint and repainting the whole thing.

I feel like I've been on a big "if I don't love it, then I'm changing it or getting rid of it" kick lately.

Maybe it's because of the new year, but either way I kind of love having this attitude about things.

The first picture is the color it was and the second picture is the color I painted it.

The new color is lighter in person, and I love that it has brightened up the room.

The biggest thing that happened in January was trading in our beloved crossover for a minivan.

It was a really sad day driving away from our Journey because I LOVED that car.

I definitely plan on getting another Journey after I'm done with car seats and kids have moved out.

The saddest part might be that our Journey was only listed on the dealership's website for a few days before it was sold. It didn't even last a week!

We knew we were going to trade it in one day, so after stewing on the idea for a few weeks we figured why not do it now considering cars only go down in value. 

When we saw this van with heated seats and navigation we jumped on the opportunity to upgrade. We had a remote start put on the car, and it is now perfect for us.

We're planning a big trip towards the end of this year, and it will be so nice to have the van for it.

I'm fully embracing my new life as a minivan momma. Now bring on all the babies ;)

I am so ready to move onto spring and the rest of the year.

We have something exciting that I will be doing for our family in the coming months, and I can't wait! (and no it isn't another baby)

12 Months of Ella// Month 4

Weight: 14 pounds give or take (Height and weight will be updated after her appointment on Monday) 13 pounds 14 ounces officially at appointment

Height: 24ish inches- 25 inches officially at appointment

Diapers: Size 2

Clothes: 0-3 months & 3 months. 3-6 months are way too big.

Sleeping: She take 3 naps a day. Her morning and evening naps are usually around an hour with her afternoon nap being about 3 hours. She goes to bed anywhere between 7 and 8 depending on how tired she is, and she wakes up closer to 8. She is usually up at least once a night, but she has slept through the night quite a few times. We typically have a pretty good battle at getting her to sleep, and she will wake up a few times before she is asleep for the night. She still sleeps in her rock n play.. Any advice on getting her out of it would be great. We have a blanket under her mattress, so that it props her up, but she still won't sleep in the crib. She does spit up worse on the rare occurrences that we get her to sleep in her crib, so I don't know if it's still her acid reflux that makes it hard for her to sleep in the crib or what.

Eating: 4 ounces every 3 hours.

Milestones: She got her ears pierced! It's quite possibly the most adorable thing ever to see her in earrings. She has started to giggle. We are still waiting on the full on laughing, but I will take her little giggles any time. We're still waiting for her to roll over either way. She doesn't really seem to have a desire to move at all. Hudson was rolling over both ways by now, so it goes to show how every child is different. She has also started to interact with toys quite a bit-mostly the play mat. A different kind of milestone is that she no longer screams when you take her out of the bath tub. She was even giggling the other day as I got her out of the tub and wrapped in a towel. For some reason this to me means that she really isn't a newborn anymore.

Likes: Grabbing on to things/having something in her hands//sucking on her hands//play mat//being rocked to sleep

Dislikes: being over tired//formula that isn't the perfect temperature. She is super picky about her formula being warm.

Personality: She loves to have people make eye contact with her, and then she gives you big smiles. She spends a lot of time watching Hudson and just taking in the things he does.

Pierced ears! 

I asked Ella's Aunt Kristyn to make some headbands for Ella, and they turned out so cute!

We had to have a little photoshoot with Ella one morning, so that we could send Kristyn pictures of her in them. Ella was in the best mood this morning and was totally hamming it up for the camera.

Kristyn has something in the works for her crafts, and you can find her blog here.

Hudson climbed up once again this month, but he didn't want his picture with her.

He did however want to pose by himself cookie covered face and all.

I had to post outtakes because they are too funny not to share.

This girl is not lacking personality that's for sure. 

I couldn't get her to smile for this month's picture because every time she would smile she'd get so happy that she would move her whole body leading to blurry pictures.

It's no secret that the newborn stage is not my favorite, but I can't believe that it's already over. Our little girl is a third of the way to being a year old, and that just doesn't seem possible. Ella gives us a run for our money, but I can't imagine our house without her lively spirit filling it up.

Hudson's 4 month update can be found here.