Won't Aunt Lacey be so proud of me!

I'm finally updating my bloggy, won't Aunt Lacey be so proud of me! :) Thanks for giving me a kick in the pants for never writing!

LOTS has happened but it would take weeks to get it all written on here. So I will just write about the recent things.

Daddy has been home for THREE WHOLE MONTHS already and I can't even believe it. I swear I blinked and it is March already! Ahh!

Matt's unit put a marriage retreat together for all of the returning soldiers. We went to Great Wolf Lodge near Fort Worth, TX and the hotel was AMAZING! Everything was interactive and there were so many things for kids of all ages. Grace loved the story time, the arcade, the water! It has the world's largest indoor waterpark! No joke! Daddy took her in the wave pool, down pint sized waterslides and she had the time of her life. I think this summer she will live in a bathing suit, just like her Auntie Mistie did when she was a youngen. I wish I had taken more pictures, but the water is an enemy to my DSLR camera. I didn't want to take the risk. But we had a great time and it was most definitely a retreat!





Grace, Matt and I were all sick a few weeks ago...and it lasted for what seemed like forever. Then we all got healthy and Grace got Strep! Poor thing, she was fine one minute and then had a temp of 102 the next. We had her in the doctor's office then the ER then the docs office again. She was so sad and tired and mopey. I have never seen her that sick before. She threw up for the first time in her life (beside the reflux of her babyhood). Her fever was crazy! When we took her to the ER, they gave her more ibuprofen, tylenol, popsicles, stripped her to her diaper and it stayed at 103.9 for hours! Talk about a scare. Then Tuesday of this week we took her to doc again because she wasn't drinking, eating and she was sleeping about 2/3 of the day. She wouldn't talk, only mumble...definitely not a happy Gracie girl. They tried to give her an IV, but the nurse accidentally pulled it out just as it was finally in. (It took 20 minutes to get in and 1 sec to fall out!) She was so traumatized that she drank two full cups of water within minutes of it all being over. They gave her a book of stickers, a stuffed bear, and SIX suckers because they felt so bad for her.

She is now 100% better!



We started our own little indoor garden and Grace has her own little watering can to help tend to it. Matt put in some garden boxes in our backyard so we grow a great garden this year. I am so excited! Tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, pumpkins, brocolli, beans, onions, you name it!



I bought the girls Easter dresses from Gymboree and they have got the be the cutest things I have EVER seen! Tulips! Matt even thought they were pretty cute so I splurged and got them matching everything from hairbows to socks...shoes and dresses! Then I saw the little outfit for Ella Bella that was so cute I just about died! See pictures below:





When I put Grace in her dress she spun around and said, "I'm a princess girl!" So funny. She refused to take it off for her nap, but I insisted.

He's HOME!!!

To see pictures of our reunion go to my facebook page and scroll down until you see Kacy Bowe's entry with all of the pictures! She did an amazing job!

Iraq NO MORE!!

Matt will be home from Iraq tomorrow at 9:15 am!!!!!

Pictures

It has been nearly a month and I haven't posted anything! So much has happened. Matt's parents came a few days after I had Ella and then a few days after Matt arrived home for R & R. We packed up and went to a fun little tourist town named Fredricksburg and stayed in a rustic bed and breakfast. We played horseshoes and dominoes and let Grace stay up WAY too late! It was a lot of fun..stray cats and donkeys were also guests at the inn. (No joke!) Matt blessed Ella on Fast Sunday and we took some new family pictures with Ella.

Matt and his dad did some projects to clean up the outdoors and organize the house and we celebrated Grace's birthday a bit early so Grams and Gramps could watch her open their presents. She was given a two week long birthday this year! Crazy, but she had a lot of fun. Matt took her on an official Daddy-Daughter date to lunch and WalMart to pick out some birthday presents. She came home loaded with sugar, chicken nuggets and toys! He bought her a cool swimming pool, nail polish, books and clothes.

We had a lot of great family time while Matt was home and Grace's imagination grew about a million times over. (Daddy is the imaginative/creative play parent!) She now enjoys being chased by the "Monster", putting on imaginary make-up (sound effects and all!) and she misses her daddy like crazy all over again. Can't say I blame her. They played in the sprinklers (see below) and built an art table together. Daddy is just so much more fun!

Matt left and my mom came again. We didn't do house projects this time...instead we made baby announcements and played with the kiddos. We watched movies and had a lot of great conversation. A great time for all. Grace misses Grandma now, too.

Lots of changes...now we're about to enter the last three months without Matty and I am trying my best not to countdown and make it seem longer. I will try to post more often, but I am not going to make promises...I don't need another item on my weekly "To Do" list right now! :)

Ella Sofia

Ella Sofia joined our family on Wednesday, July 22nd at 5:56 am. She weighed 7 Lb 5 oz and was 20 inches long. She was in a rush to get here...I was only at the hospital for just over 2 1/2 hours before she was born. What a wonder! I'm in love again!

This is short because I have found myself with much more to do these past few days...but I promise I will elaborate and share my "unfortunate" yet fortunate birthing story with all of you.

Visitors and New Pics

My mom just went back to Phoenix on Wednesday. She was here for 8 days and we kept busy the entire time! I can't post pictures of the projects we did, because they are a surprise for Matty when he gets home in a few weeks. But we did a LOT!



Grace started Kindermusik last week and it is so much fun to see her in class. She dances and loves to watch the older kids. I can't wait for Daddy to take her to the class. She loves the musical instruments!



I finally have a few pics of me with the "Ella Addition." I haven't had many opportunities to have my picture taken during this pregnancy...being alone in TX and all. But, my mom took a few, so I thought I'd share the pregnancy glory. Ha ha ha.



This is us getting ready for Jazzercise!

July 4th Pictures!