Ellie gets her ears pierced! 10/31/2015

Another significant milestone that I don't want to forget is Ellie finally got her ears pierced!  She was a little over 2 and a half years old.

I didn't want to do it when she was a baby because I was a first time mom and felt bad.  I didn't want to do anything to hurt my baby! Little did I know how much worse it would be when she was old enough to understand, yikes!

My husband has been pushing for months now to just get it done but we just kept putting it off.

Finally on Halloween we were at the mall and he made the decision to just go ahead and do it.  Once she realized what was happening she was not happy with us and she freaked out a little but ultimately we got it done.  She loves her earrings now so I guess a few minutes of crying was well worth it. 

Halloween 2015

Halloween this year fell on a Saturday which means we got to spend the whole day doing Halloween stuff... You know, trick or treating and eating candy!

Ellie is now 2 and a half so she is also past the age where she will let us pick her costume :(

So she settled on being a ballerina (or ballamina the way she currently pronounces it).

Either way it was adorable.

We also got to spend time with Barbara and Robbie on Thursday night at a Halloween event at the Liberty Science Center.  Robbie was a soldier!  Ellie had an absolute blast but mommy was exhausted!

Halloween this year was so fun though because this is the first year where she actually "got" the concept so she had a blast.

We also ended up at the mall play place to release some of that extra candy energy.

Happy Halloween 2015!

Next year we'll have 2 little ones to dress up!

Ellie's 28 Month Update

Ellie is super excited about her new baby sister coming!  She literally talks about her all the time.  In the meantime, we have a ton of stuff going on in her life as well.

She is not yet potty trained :(

She doesn't really want to try and she's so smart that I feel like I need to wait until she's ready.

She's known her ABC's since she was one and her numbers up to 20 but now is learning how to count in Spanish as well (thanks to Dora).

Her vocabulary never ceases to amaze me.  She speaks full complex sentences with ridiculously long words.  It's really cute coming from such a tiny person.

Here are some recent pics:

Independence Day 2015

Yesterday was the 4th of July and because I am still not feeling great, we've had a very low key weekend spent barbecuing, beaching and some fireworks at home.  I'd have to say it's just about perfect.  The only thing that could make it better is if I was feeling like myself again.  Here are some pictures of our weekend:

Ellie and Dada in PA buying fireworks

She's so proud of her little "rocket ship".

At the lake with her Baba

Sparklers

Ellie and Venesa

Fireworks!

Baby Number 2!!

Last Thursday, April 30th 2015 I took a pregnancy test and it was positive!  I took it at work because I was a few days late and couldn't wait ANY longer!

I can't really describe the feeling and only someone who has experienced loss can truly understand the joy and fear that takes over immediately.

I have yet to see a doctor but will within the next couple of weeks.  We are also going to cancun in a few weeks so will have a chance to really relax and spend some quality time together and really celebrate.

I can't believe we're having another baby!!

New Years 2015

Tonight is New Years Eve and I'm do ready this year for 2015.  Usually I am thinking about all the things I will do differently next year that I didn't do this year but today I'm feeling a bit nostalgic and very positive about where my life is.  I am so lucky and feel so blessed so my only wish for 2015 is for God to continue to bless me and my family.

I am grateful for a beautiful home filled with our beautiful family.  I am grateful for our gorgeous healthy crazy daughter who brings joy on a daily basis to so many people.  Most of all I am grateful for my husband who works his butt off every day to make sure I can live this life and so  our family can lean on us in their time of need.  He has the biggest heart of anyone I know and I hope 2015 brings some big things for him!  God knows he deserves it.

Progress post

At 18 months they say your child should be able to say about 10 words and that they will try to repeat what you say but may only get out the last syllable or so.

Ellie says countless words way before she hit 18 months! She speaks both English and Albanian so I feel like that has helped her grasp language quicker.  Her brain has had to work harder from day one to understand what my parents say to her in Albanian and what we say when speaking English.  

Oh and she will choose to play with a box over its contents 9 times out of 10. Lol

Some of my favorite things she says are the things she mispronounces :). They absolutely melt my heart.

Poons (spoon)

Bakset (basket)

Anet (shndet- Albanian for bless you)

Tabbet (tablet)

And some words she used recently (correctly I might add) that surprised me are:

Charger

So, mommy, what's up?