My sweet god daughter ....

It's official - I'm a godmother! To one of the most precious little girls besides my own, Pailet Liles! What an honor and a job that I take very seriously....I have fabulous godmothers who are still involved in my life and have witnessed many of my big life moments with me. I plan to be very involved in Pailet's life ... not only praying for her daily, but being there, watching her grow and love life.

Pailet and GMama Megann

Pailet, her fabulous mama and one of my dearest friends, and her big brother came to visit us on Sunday - what a treat!! It had been several weeks since I'd seen Pailet and boy has she grown. This child is such a snuggle bunny and scrumptious -every inch I tell you!

Catherine Ellis and Hill had THE best time playing together at Davenports Sunday night - our usual spot. Allison was a trooper and played single Mom for a couple of hours while Eric was at home working away and bravely brought both kiddos to dinner and we all survived. As I always say - it takes a village! And we're sure glad the Liles are a part of ours. Love you Liles family!

They were bouncing up and down all over the booth ... fun times for sure!

How cute are they??!!??

DIVAS in training ...

You think I'm kidding .... check out our head Diva in Training ....

Conducting business via her Mommy's phone .....

and shoes ....

And look at her little mini me .... baby sister is following in big's footsteps with a great sense of style ....

That's all - just had to share how precious they are .... and don't worry - I am fully aware that in a not so distant future, I'll be paying for my raisin' as my Mama likes to remind me! Until then, I'm all about embracing their inner divas... it's a precious stage at this age (probably not in 10 more years, just sayin').

No shoot is complete without a picture of both models .....
I'll let you guess who LOVES the camera...

Wow - nice shoes sis .... can I borrow those when I grow up?

The end of an era ....

Well guess who visited our house on Friday? The Pappie Fairy .... a very impromptu visit ... we'd been talking about it for several days with Catherine Ellis, but had not planned for her to come so quickly. I admit, I jumped the gun. We got home early Friday and in my mind I had planned to go for a walk, etc. The weather was amazing, but I had to feed Caroline first. Catherine Ellis is rather impatient when it comes to feeding times for her baby sister, so she immediately started whining, ran to her room and started looking for her pappies. Usually they sit on the nightstand, but Friday they were in a dresser drawer and she knew immediately that if they were not on the nightstand, they were in her dresser. She furiously started pulling the drawer and crying "I want my pappies, I want my pappies."

The night table with no pappies .... oh dear!

I couldn't take it anymore ... 30 months and not one night without a pappie. It was time. "Oh my goodness Catherine Ellis! The fairy must have come while you were at school!" She immediately starting crying and saying over and over ..."they not come and take my pappies".....she did this for about 45 minutes and it was over. She asked two more times at bath time and bed time for her pappies and was simply reminded the fairies came and they were gone. She slept all night Friday night, Saturday afternoon took a 3 hour nap, slept all night again Saturday night and another 2 hour nap this afternoon. AMAZING!!!!

Why was I so hesitant to get rid of them? Fear, I tell you. Straight.up.fear. I should have known she would blaze through this transition just like she's blazed through all the others, never looking back. This I know for sure .... we are incredibly lucky/blessed. I know it could have been so much worse and I'm thanking God for a child that rolls with the punches of growing up - may every transition be this smooth.

So look at our big girl now -she's not missing her pappies at all - can't you tell by that big grin on her face?

Look Mommy, no pappies in my hands, on my bed, under the covers ....

So excited that we've weathered another transition smoothly -
believe me we are ALL this joyful!

Catherine Ellis Cain - Pappie Free as of 9/23/2011

And of course, as always, I'm still the one hanging on ... scared to move forward and leave behind another reminder that my precious first born is growing up. I know I'll blink my eyes and she'll be 16 one day ... until then I plan to keep living the present - there really is no better gift. And just in case I'm missing her pappie days and need a reminder of my sweet girl's baby days .... have no fear ... mama knows where the fairy stashed them.

Flashback Friday II

It's Friday and time to flashback! The highlight of the week this week was Caroline's 4 month check-up. She's doing well and hitting all of her developmental skills right on target - we're so proud:) She's doing so much better since the C-word is gone and it gets more fun every day watching her little personality come to life! Here are her stats from her 4 month check-up:

13.3 lbs (that's 2 lbs gained since our 2 month visit)

24 inches long (that's an inch and a half longer than she was at her 2 month visit)

And her head is still above average - big ole round Cain head, ha!

She was a trooper with her shots this time and did well that night, but the next day was pretty fussy, bless her heart. She got 4 shots and one oral for a total of 5 - that's a lot of medicine for a tiny little baby, but she weathered it well.

For our flashback Friday I thought it might be fun to compare pictures of Caroline and Catherine Ellis at the same age doing the same things - enjoy!

Catherine Ellis bye bye buggy - 5 months

Caroline bye bye buggy - 4 months

Catherine Ellis Bumbo seat - 4 months

Caroline Bumbo seat - 4 months

Catherine Ellis grabbing her feet - 4 months

Caroline grabbing her feet - 4 months

Catherine Ellis smiling in outfit - 4 months (it's on backwards)

Caroline smiling in same outfit (it's on correctly this time!) - 4 months

Flashback Friday

I have several friends that do Flashback Fridays on their blogs and it's so much fun to see how much our children have grown in a short time. As I was looking through pictures to post for the flashback I was overcome with joy at how much our lives have changed in the past 2 1/2 years. Bittersweet indeed because parenting it THE hardest thing I've ever done, but hands down THE most rewarding. And when you see how much they grow and change and start to become independent little souls it makes the work worthwhile. Enjoy our first Flashback Friday!

Catherine Ellis - September 2009

Catherine Ellis - September 2010

Catherine Ellis - September 2011

Catherine Ellis and Josie - July/August 2009

Catherine Ellis and Josie - August/September 2011

Caroline - May 2011

Caroline - September 2011

4 months

Sweet Caroline is 4 months old today! She is growing and changing so quickly - it's hard to keep up! Every day she's learning a new trick and showing it off .... so much fun to watch her as she grows into a little person!

September 15, 2011 - 4 months
Almost caught her smile; there is a hint of it left!

So here is what my sweet girl is up to at 4 months (17 weeks):

• the awful C-O-L-I-C (I can't bring myself to say the word!) is gone! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!


• she is smiling up a storm! We LOVE it - so wonderful to see her happy!


• she is talking - lots of cooing, ohhing and ahhing

• she can hold an object and fling it around like crazy a few times.


• she can grab her precious little feet and is trying to get them to her mouth.


• she is starting to put anything she can in her mouth - hands, arms, blanket, stuffed animal, etc.


• she can raspberry with the best of them - so fun to watch her get a kick out of making that noise!

• she can roll from her stomach to her back with ease.


• she can almost roll from her back to her stomach - she is so close - just needs a little help rolling over her arm to get to her stomach.


• she's beginning the teething process - drooling everywhere and constantly has her hands in her mouth - I'm going to guess we'll see some bottom teeth pop out in about 2 more months.


• she is doing so well at school - loves her teacher Miss Sabrena (who was also Catherine Ellis's 1 year old teacher)! We are SO blessed that they love each other:)


• she is napping well - usually a mid-morning and mid-afternoon nap anywhere from 45 minutes - 2 hours. She naps after every awake time except her last one - but those are all short cat naps.


• she is sleeping well at night with the exception of the last two weeks. After Labor Day weekend she decided to start waking in the middle of the night again, so we've been doing that for about a week (16 week growth spurt), but the past few days have been better and she's getting back to her normal sleeping patter of 7-9 hours at night (at least we hope she is!).


• she is in size 1 diapers, but we're about to graduate to 2's soon.


• she loves to be carried facing out so she can see the world. And really likes for her Daddy to carry her around - guess the view is better from higher up!


• she likes the sling - reminds her of her home just a few short months ago and will sleep when I wear her.


• she's eating 6-7 times a day, still every 3 to 3 1/2 hours.

Curious sweet girl

Sister love - leaning on big sister!

"Children are a blessing from the Lord, and the fruit of the womb is His reward."

Psalms 127:3

29 Months

Catherine Ellis turned 29 months on September 9th - craziness! She's 2 1/2 and a few weeks .... wow. I simply can't believe in a few months she'll be 3 ....3??!!!??? Time flies when you're having fun and she is a BLAST. Every day with this sweet child is a day we say we won't forget - the things she says, the things she does and the laughter that she brings to our family is worth all the meltdowns that accompany the best parts of her!

September 9, 2011 - 29 Months

I can no longer list an accomplishment for every month - plus you'd get bored - so I'm going to hit the highlights.

Some of the great and wonderful things Catherine Ellis is up to:

• She just began the new school year in her new classroom. She is now a Hungry Caterpillar - in the Twos classroom. This is the beginning of the third week and she seems to have transitioned well.
  


• She must do EVERYTHING by herself - a common phrase at our house these days "noooooo, I gone do it myself"


• She is completely potty trained at school and super close to being at home. She is dry 5 out 6 times and often is dry through the night - what a big girl. Her next step is big girl panties - such a big girl!
  


• Her love of books continues to grow - she's quite the reader and Caroline is her captive audience.


• She has a memory like you can't believe - we pass by the pool and she knows we swim there, she knows friends at school and their parents - she knows all their names and the cars they drive - unreal.
  


• She is a social butterfly - if there is a party - the girl is there. And if there is not a party - it is a party as soon as she arrives.
  


• She's not napping well at school, but still naps well at home on the weekends. She averages 2 hours and often 3 hours in the late afternoon.


• She's eating well - seems to like most foods and will try most things - does not like tomatoes, but loves all fruits, meats, cheeses, and carbs.


• Her bedtime is between 7:30-8:00 p.m.. We usually have to wake her during the school week around 7:15 a.m. and on the weekends girlfriend typically sleeps until 8:30-9:00 a.m. She wears herself out and anyone else around her:)


• She still has a pappie. UGH. We do talk a lot about the pappie fairy coming to visit - but a part of her Daddy and me don't care that she sleeps with one if it helps her sleep - can I get an Amen??


• She LOVES her baby dolls - all 20 of them, she runs a doll care out of our house.


• She is super helpful (when she wants to be) with Caroline and still ADORES her baby sister. It is the sweetest thing on earth to watch their bond already at such young ages.


• Counts to 12 easily. Knows her ABC's. Knows her colors.

I could go on and on .... she is a ball of energy, sassy, feisty, compassionate, funny and so loving. God has blessed us incredibly with this little girl. We can't wait to see what the next 29 days, weeks, months and years bring .... an unspeakable joy indeed.

"May Your unfailing love rest upon them even as they put their hope in You."
Psalm 33:22

New Tricks

We're still here .... just running the race! Here are some fun new tricks the girls have learned over the past couple of weeks.

As most know, Catherine Ellis LOVES books and loves to read. Her newest trick is reading books to anyone that will listen - mostly Caroline because she can't talk back yet - but she's working on trying to! Of course both girls are camera shy and will not perform as soon as I pull out the camera, but this gives you an idea of how dramatically Catherine Ellis performs her reading skills:




Sweet Caroline has a new sound - raspberries! The girl can raspberry with the best of them - so much fun to watch her get such a kick out of making noise and drooling all over the place. She will even take a break from eating to raspberry. We're pretty sure our sweet girl is starting the teething process. Ugh. I remember Catherine Ellis starting at 15 weeks and it's a long ride. Seems like every week they are getting new teeth in. I think it'll be a while before any pop through her gums, but you can tell her gums are itching because she constantly has her hands in her mouth or she's rasp berrying up a storm! Enjoy: