Coke

If you didn't already know, Coke is my favorite (with Dr. Pepper very close behind). I definitely LOVE soda too, so praise the Lord for caffenine free Coke! Since I drink coke quite a bit, Ellie definitely knows what it is. We took a video of her with an empty can, she's so cute! Enjoy.

(sorry it's sideways, I forget that you can't flip a video... at least that I know of).

Pumpkin Patch

We had such a fun time at the pumpkin patch! We went to Green Level Gourd Pumpkin Patch last Friday afternoon and had the place basically to ourselves! They had chickens, pigs, donkeys, goats, a horse, lots of things for Ellie to play with/on, and pumpkins of course!

First we picked out a pumpkin, and then decorated it. Ellie got to choose her pumpkin.We then looked at all the animals (not going to post the pics of the animals, just of us).



Then we played in the spider tunnel, and mom & dad played cornhole against each other (I won, of course).


Then to prepare for the donkey ride (which we saved for one of the last things to do to make sure she had warmed up to the place), we rode some practice horses.

Mom & dad goofed off with the camera a little while Ellie played (just one of many, didn't want to bore you).

Finally it was time for the donkey ride. I had the camera in the wrong setting, so didn't get any good pictures (all blurred). Not like I really missed any shots though, because Ellie did not want to touch that donkey! It was pretty funny, but she definitely wouldn't get on donkey Sally. So sad...

We finished our time by going through the teensy corn maze. It was just Ellie's size!
So much fun you get to have with kids! We would've never done this without her in our life :)

Baby Sissy

Ellie showing us where her baby sister is and saying her sister's name:

Fun at the Fair

Ellie had her first trip to the Fair this past week. We went with some friends on Wednesday night, and then went again during the day as a family on Thursday. She really enjoyed just watching all the people and seeing the animals, the rides definitely were not her favorite thing. Here are just a few pictures from our adventure:

First ride, the Wiggly Worm:
(she didn't smile, but didn't cry either!)

Carosel, before it started moving:
after it started moving:
Although she was screaming to get off, we asked her if she wanted to ride it again and she said yes (which usually means yes because her answer to almost everything is no right now). We decided against riding again though.

Ellie and I "resting" from walking around:

Too funny not to post

So I know I need to update my blog, I'm working on that... we've had quite a bit of fun this week including going to the fair and to a pumpkin farm. I'll update soon :)

So now to this video that is way too funny not to post. I stole it from the girltalk blog, so if you read that blog, you've seen it. This is why it is necessary to marry a good speller:

Ainsley Ruth

That's baby girl #2's name! We finally have made our decision after many, many months of debates! So from now on we will refer to baby girl as Ainsley! We hope you like it.

So for an update on Ainsley and I:
I am now 30 weeks pregnant! Hoping for 7-10 more weeks until we welcome our sweet baby girl. She has been doing great, definitely a mover! For over a month I was experiencing pain from how hard she would press on my uterus when she was trying to "stretch". She moves a great deal more than Ellie, so I'm interested to see what she will be like when she arrives in this world. She is measuring perfectly and sounding (heartbeat) perfectly! The doctors are always so pleased with how well I'm doing. At 30 weeks, Ainsley should weigh around 3 lbs. and measure almost 16 inches! I would love to post a picture of my belly, but every time I hate the picture I take. So you'll just have to see it in person :)

How am I doing? I still have trouble sleeping at night, most nights I end up on the couch (I just can't kick around and move with Zach in the bed). Other than that minor issue, I'm doing fabulous! Some days the sleeplessness bothers me, but most of the time I still have tons of energy. I have been working out this pregnancy, unlike with Ellie, and I think that has a lot to do with how good I feel. I hope it will also help me recover quicker after the birth.

How am I feeling? I am so excited, more than words can describe! With Ellie the anticipation of the unknown and what was to come took away from the true joy of pregnancy (along with first year teaching and first year of marriage). With Ainsley, I'm loving every minute and thinking of all the wonderful things to come! I know there's a possibility she could be the opposite of Ellie and we could have a very difficult time, but the thoughts of seeing her, holding her, and watching Ellie and her grow together are so profound. Ellie does extremely well with us holding other kids/babies and interacting with other kids/babies, that I have no worries with introducing a sibling into the family. I think she is going to be so excited to have a playmate that she will hardly notice the time she is losing from mommy and daddy. (Although I do still think this could happen). Ainsley's arrival will only tell, these are just my thoughts. I also get very excited to be able to hold, cuddle and nurse Ainsley... where as with Ellie I didn't get to enjoy it fully mostly due to how boring it all seemed to me. I definitely know I won't be bored with a toddler in the house! It's hard to imagine if I can love Ainsley as much as I love Ellie, but I have heard that it is so amazing to see how your love expands instead of divides. I think we get this idea that we only have so much love to give, so our love must be divided. But this isn't the case, especially with our children.

I'm praying that I cherish every moment I have with Ellie before Ainsley arrives and experience all the joys of being pregnant and welcoming another child into the world. Oh how the Lord has blessed us beyond measure! Children... what a beautiful thing!

18 months!

(Ellie participating with me as I sing "If you're happy and you know it, then your face will surely show it..")

Ellie is now 18 months old! I really can't believe how fast she has grown. It makes me sad to see her growing up but at the same time I absolutely love watching her develop her own personality. She is such a sweet, happy little toddler! I truly experience so much joy being her mommy and now do feel like I have the best job in the whole world! I can't wait to welcome our next baby girl into the family, Ellie is going to shower her with love and I can't even imagine how much my love will expand!

(Our big girl lifting her arms up shouting hooray!)

Here are her 18 month stats: 25% in weight at 22 lbs, 25% in height at 31 inches, and 75% in her head circumference! She is very consistent with her growth measurements, which means she is growing perfectly! Such a blessing to have such a healthy little girl.



What all Ellie can do now:
Where do I even begin? So much she can do now!

• Saying so many words, all animal sounds (still working on getting oink to sound right), putting together 2 word phrases like thank you, bless you, more please, want more, etc.
• Loves doing the motions to 'If you're happy and you know it', 'Wheels on the bus', and 'Itsy bitsy spider' (still doesn't sing with me though)
• finally loves to swing at the playground! (If you remember from the past, she used to hate the swing)
• climb stairs on her own, go down slides by herself, climb in chairs (her favorite)... at the playground I can mostly just stand back and watch her and she does wonderful
• very cautious and hardly ever is brave (which is great for mommy and daddy), however she isn't scared of many things either. very interesting combo...
• eats with spoon and fork (well at least tries)
• loves the word "no". If you ask her anything, usually her response will be "no"
• love pushing the stroller and helping mommy clean (can't wait for when she actually can help mommy!)
• LOVES, LOVES, LOVES to read books! Especially Elmo and Dora books.
• loves her milk, hates veggies
• mostly a good listener (I feel that we have been extremely blessed with a happy toddler who mostly tries to please her parents... we'll see how long this lasts)
• sleeps in her twin size bed great! 11 hours at night, 2-3 hours for nap most days! She's not excited about going to bed most nights, but we never have problems with her falling asleep (we might can count maybe 2-3 times in 3 months)!
  
• loves stuffed animals and soft things (blankets, towels, washcloths, clothes, anything)! She'll just lay them on the floor and lay down, so cute!
• loves to color (except for at restaurants??)
• has 11 teeth!
• can identify body parts (head, eyes, ear, mouth, nose, tongue, shoulders, toes, arm, leg, hand, tummy)
• loves to spin around and dance, I think she definitely will be a little dancer (a little side note: her favorite song still is boom boom pow)
  

I'm sure there is more, but those are the biggies. I love, love, love this age!

Eating by Myself!

As I try to transition Ellie into eating more and more like a big girl, I find it so much fun! Ellie is very adamant about eating by herself! She no longer wants mommy or daddy to help, she wants to use the fork or spoon on her own! So as I am trying to no longer just set food on her tray, but put it in a bowl or plate, this experience is much more frequent. It's very funny to watch as she learns what to do, I find so much joy in it because it's so funny how kids act! The other night we shot a video of her eating all by herself, I hope you enjoy it as much as I do:

Presence of God

It's easy to get caught up in distracting ourselves from what we really need or searching for what we need in other things. I no longer am searching for what I need, because I know and have experienced that Christ has everything I need to satisfy, however I do distract myself or try to satisfy that need with other things. It's funny how that works and how easy it seems to do. The book I am reading through a second time with the Women's Bible Study at my church, "Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World", had a great example of this:

Joanna Weaver, the author, tells a story of her pastor's wife, Teri Myers. Teri was preparing a four course meal for some company she was having over that night, and had been so busy that she forgot to eat lunch. A few hours before her guests were supposed to arrive, Teri decided to eat a couple Snickers bars to tide her over until dinner. Well, the Snickers did the trick and gave her energy to finish up the final preparations. At dinner however, Teri could barely eat a few bites, she no longer was hungry. She had prepared this amazing dinner and couldn't even eat it!

Ok, so the hunger here is a little different than the hunger or desire that I was talking about, but it definitely is similar. Weaver writes:

"We were designed to be close to God. Just as our bodies hunger and thirst for food and drink, our spirits hunger and thirst for his presence. But just as it's possible to bloat our bodies with empty calories, we can find ways to pacify our spiritual cravings without really getting the nourishment we need. We can fill up with spiritual Snickers bars while all the time our spirits are withering for want of real food.

If you're having a little trouble feeling close to God-- or even wanting to draw close-- you might want to consider what activities you are using to fill the empty places of your life. What's taking the edge off of your for him?"

The pastor of my church, J.D. Greear, is teaching on the presence of God over the next few months. This past Sunday he answered what exactly the presence of God is and how we can get the presence of God. He stated that "presence is the point of Christianity." We tend to make or even feel like Christianity is about doing, doing, doing, however what Christianity is really about is finding the presence of God. Feeling a sense of His great love, His power, His grace, experiencing who He really is...

I think the Lord is definitely trying to speak to me here, getting somewhat of the same message twice in one week! I distract myself with many things, some good and some bad, but my conviction is that what I need to focus most importantly on is being close to God and that being close to God doesn't mean doing the right things, it means experiencing His presence, having that intimacy with Him! Sometimes it seems impossible to do enough, be good enough, be godly enough... It's a relief to know that it has nothing to do with what I need to do, but what Christ has done. Although I've known that nothing I do changes God's faithfulness, it doesn't change the fact that I fail to experience what my relationship with him is all about. Just as I need to lessen distractions and take time to spend with my husband to have a good relationship, I need to do the same with God. Having that intimate relationship is more than just doing the right things, it's about the experience and feelings I have with the other person. So I'm going to work on and pray for that earnest desire to have that intimate relationship with Christ and experience His presence!

Animal Sounds

Cute video for your entertainment:

Strollin'

Nana (my mom) got Ellie a stroller to play with! We took a video of when she first saw it. (Didn't get the reaction I thought, however she wasn't in a very good mood... the stroller sure made her mood change though!)

Ellie's Somewhat New Room...

Ellie has been in her room for over 2 months now, but we finally have finished painting her furniture! I wanted to post some pictures of the almost finished product (we just need to put some things on the wall).

Not the best of pictures, but here are a few:

Vote for Ellie!

Update: There's no chance that Ellie can win, the baby girl who is in the lead has over 4000 votes! Oh well... maybe the judges will pick her :)


Today I went into babyGap and was reminded that it's the time of year for the Gap Casting Call! I entered last year, but this year they are having a fan favorite. The fan favorite is the child that recieves the most votes. So what that means is that I want YOU to vote for Ellie, that is if you think she is a Gap worthy baby!

Go here to vote: http://family.go.com/gapcastingcall/entries/lehanlon224/

You can vote everday!

Happy Birthday Hannah!

Today Ellie's friend Hannah is 3 years old! We celebrated her birthday this past Saturday at Monkey Joe's. Of course we forgot our camera, so I don't have any pictures to prove how much fun we had. If you don't know what Monkey Joe's is, it is an inflatable play center. Ellie was very hesitant at first and she wasn't feeling too great from her flu shot, but she ended up loving it and so did Zach and I.

Well, we hope Hannah had a great day! Here are some recent pictures of the two:

Pigtails

I have waited and waited for Ellie's hair to grow, and it slowly is getting longer and longer. I didn't think her hair was long enough, but I thought I would try to put it up. I got it in a little ponytail and then tried pigtails. She was too cute! Here are pictures to prove it:

Mommy Brain?

I'm almost too embarrassed to write this as a post, but I know many of you would take interest in this. Maybe I can excuse if for mommy brain, but I think it should be under "just stupid" category.

Yesterday, Ellie and I went grocery shopping (triple coupons at HT anyone??). We went to Harris Teeter, spent well over an hour there, then needed to stop by Food Lion to get a few more items on sale. Ellie was not having a good day and was throwing a fit everywhere we went. Even when she isn't whiny, it seems like everything just takes so much longer to do and I am nearly never as focused as I should be. I had already spent way too long in HT trying to make sure I got what was on my list, organizing coupons, and keeping Ellie from screaming... however when I got to the register, I had messed up even though I checked over and over again to make sure I had it right. What happened to the days when I could multi-task extremely well? I guess it just won't be the same ever again when one of the tasks is taking care of one of your kids.

Well we finally get to Food Lion and we were in and out in a jiffy. I let Ellie play with the car keys to keep her entertained and to keep my sanity while I was putting the groceries in the car. I finished loading the groceries up, took the keys, unlocked the doors (since Ellie had locked them), buckled Ellie in her car seat, made sure all the doors were unlocked, then tossed the keys up in the driver seat while I returned the cart. Well go figure, as soon as I closed the door, all the doors LOCKED! The groceries, my keys, my phone, and my CHILD were locked in the car!

Thank goodness a man let me borrow his phone to call Zach, however Zach was 40 minutes away! I definitely could NOT wait that long. So we decided to call the cops instead. A policeman arrived and within 20 minutes had the car unlocked (although it was not an easy task at all). Whew... groceries saved and more importantly CHILD okay! Ellie didn't even mind one bit, she was very entertained by the policeman sticking this long metal rod inside our car.

The funny thing is... our house is literally right behind Food Lion. Our house was also unlocked, with an extra set of keys inside. However, neither Zach or our neighbors were home to help and I definitely wasn't going to leave Ellie. I'm so glad we have policemen to help out in moments like these!

True Beauty

Our culture gives us this idea of what beauty is through advertisement, magazines, movie stars, infomercials, etc. It focuses so much on our physical, and nothing on our emotional. When I hear about the personal lives of some "beautiful" women, a lot of times it lessens my view of them. They no longer appear "beautiful" as they once were. This touches on the fact that beauty is more than just physical appearance, it is a matter of the heart as well.

As I was reading one of my new favorite blogs, She Worships, Sharon wrote about how much of a lie women are giving in to. Our culture has defined what beauty is, but even the most beautiful women aren't beautiful enough. You must read: When Super Models Aren't Super Enough

One thing that really hit home was how Dove and Sharon both say that we need to talk to our daughters before the beauty industry does. Ellie will see so many lies from just living, and the last thing I want her to do is believe one of them. I love what Sharon says,

“'Talk to your daughter before the beauty industry does.' But don’t stop there. Talk to your friends, your family, younger women at your church, and most importantly speak truth to yourself. Our best defense against the lies of Satan is the truth of Christ. And our fellow soldiers in this fight are our sisters. So help them fight, but not by affirming them in areas that the world values, thereby feeding back into this culture of distorted beauty. Instead affirm them in the unfading beauty of their gentle spirit and the adornment of their good deeds. Affirm them in their modesty, their purity, their passion for Christ, their servant heart, and their hospitable kindness. Affirm them in those things which God calls beautiful, not the world."

My parents did a great job by affirming true beauty and teaching me what that looks like, as well as always giving me confidence in myself in a positive way. I hope I can do the same for Ellie, affirming her in what is right... that "a woman who fears the Lord is worthy to be praised."

My Greatest Challenge

Being a stay-at-home mom is the hardest thing I've ever done. Sometimes I just feel like a failure and other times I feel like I'm doing nothing productive (because everything I do seems to be something that just will be undone later, i.e. picking up toys, cooking, cleaning). Not too long ago I was this young, smart, social woman who was just starting her career and marriage. Now I've turned into this forgetful, clumsy, did I get a shower, just make it through today mom. I've also realized how many things I do NOT know and just how SINFUL I really am. Many times I've toyed with the thought of going back to work, but then again I know I can't give my child any greater service than staying home with her.

Alright, alright... I can hear some of you saying how I should be so proud to stay at home and how blessed my children are for having a mom able to dedicate her whole day to them. I agree, many days I loose sight of what exactly my role is. However, I definitely was reminded the other day while I was reading "Don't Make Me Count to Three" by Ginger Plowman, and she definitely made me cry. She says it amazingly:

"Now let's talk about my greatest challenge today... and every day. It is raising these two precious children in the ways of the Lord. God does have an important job for me, and it does require much skill. It is my calling, my priority, my struggle, and my goal. I will rise to the occasion and accept the task at hand. I will love, nurture, and train my children the way that God has called me to do.

Moms, we need to be reminded of the awesome responsibility that God has given us. When we respond to the high calling of motherhood with passion, the rewards are far greater than any we could ever gain outside of that calling. The joys of motherhood are rare and beautiful treasures that can be easily missed if we don't seize the opportunity to grab them.

Being a mom is more than being a cook, chauffeur, maid, counselor, doctor, referee, disciplinarian, etc. (just to name a few). It's about molding character, building confidence, nurturing, training, and guiding. There is nothing like the influence that a mother has on her child. A mother's influence has enormous potential to shape the person a child becomes, for good or ill."

I absolutely LOVE being a mom. Children are a blessing and give you so much joy. There are many days that I feel so blessed to stay at home because I have some amazing moments with Ellie. However there are just some days where it really is a struggle and you feel that you have accomplished nothing at all. I think it's so easy to dwell on those days instead of cherish the beautiful moments with my daughter and realize just how important my job is. My desire is to love, nurture, and teach my children the ways of the Lord. Therefore I need to seize the opportunities and focus on my goal!

Beautiful

I know I am her mom and I hope every mom feels this way about their little girls, but I am continually amazed by Ellie's beauty. I think my amazement comes mostly from the love I feel for her, and then a little from her physical beauty (she just is way too cute). You never think you can have such a strong love for someone... just to think that God's love for us is even greater is hard to comprehend. I definitely can grasp God's love for us more since I've become a mother.

Here's a few more pictures from the photographer at the lake:
She's so beautiful.

Our family that will soon grow :)

Bass Lake

Last night we went to a lake in Holly Springs to enjoy the beautiful weather and have some quality family time. We ran into a professional photographer who wanted to take pictures of us. He was very nice and sent us some of the pictures. Of course I wanted to share! I am too often forgetting our camera.

Here's one of Zach and I. Not the best expressions, but you can see my growing baby bump!

Here's our cautious little girl, very hesitant of the photographer:
This shot is taken when Zach was holding her up in the air. She loves her daddy, you can definitely tell by the joy in her face: