February

February pictures mostly off my iphone...

 Lucy's sweet hugs to my belly...

 Valentine's Day!  The girls' valentines for their classmates (I think we've done this same format with different pictures for the past 3 years, but with a new group of classmates each year, why not!?)...

 Lucy delivering her valentines at preschool...

 Ella's school valentine party...

 We took the girls to Starbucks before church on Valentine's Day and they insisted on sitting at their own table to have a little date :)...

 On Cody's birthday, he left for work before the girls were up so we left him a few treats to wish him a happy birthday!

 Since he had to work late that night, we took him cupcakes at work (and got to see his new office!) and took him on a lunch date to Dicks...

 We continued celebrating his birthday throughout the weekend, and had a few friends over for dinner and birthday cake...

 Ella had gotten her hair trimmed and had it straightened at the salon, so Lucy was very excited when I offered to straighten hers too.  I can't believe how much longer it is straight!

 Lucy and her crown - this girl loves dressing up...

 I never want to forget her blond, tight curls at this age...

 "We look like you mama!"

Sweet bedtime snuggles...

 Lucy loves it when Ella agrees to play "mommy and baby" where she's the baby and Ella is the mom (the girls then refer to me as grandma!).  Ella, in "mom mode", is often very sweet helping to get Lucy ready for her nap by putting her in comfy clothes, reading her a book, and snuggling with her.  Although the nap routine takes twice as long, I love that they kick me out of Lucy's room so they can have sister time (or "mommy/baby time" together)...

 Beautiful and warm February day at a park!

 After Lucy's trip to Urgent Care for her arm, our February wasn't complete without a second trip to the same Urgent Care.  Ella broke out in a really bad case of hives that stuck around for a good five days.  Poor thing was so miserable and itchy, and was disappointed she had to miss three days of school.  We still don't know what caused the reaction and it was so sad to see her so miserable...

February Instagram

Ice cream for dinner after Lucy was such a brave girl having her elbow popped back into place at Children's Urgent Care.  Poor thing had a dislocated elbow after a gymnastics incident.  Thankfully she was back to her happy self after the doctor helped her out...

 Happy birthday to our favorite guy!  The girls and I brought him cupcakes at his new office and took him on a lunch date to Dicks...

 A glimpse into our lives with two teenage girls...lots of hair straightening going on!

January

Some pictures and videos from the last month or so...

Night out with Tom and Sheena to see Book of Mormon at the Paramount and dinner beforehand at Ruth's Chris...

Parent observation at Ella's dance class - thank you Brooke for these pics!

 Lucy went through a phase for a few days where she insisted on wearing a band-aid on her forehead, not because she had any sort of injury, but just because she liked it there.  I'm learning to let go and embrace her accessory choices :)...

 One of Ella's many sweet drawings of her and her baby brother...

 I haven't been great about documenting my baby bump this time around, but figured I should document the pics I've taken - 31 weeks...

 Lucy trying out the baby gear we pulled out of storage - she insists on being called a baby most days and gets mad if we refer to her as a big girl. Crazy that we actually had to get rid of this car seat and get a new one this time around as this one that both girls used expires in just a few months! 

 Jammie day at preschool!

 Found this note on Ella's night stand - no lack of self-esteem around here :)...

 Lucy is hit and miss with naps these days, so some days she has quiet time in her crib (or now bed), where she can read books.  This is what happened to one of her favorite books when she got bored during quiet time...

 Lucy loves laying on my belly and singing to baby brother...
 
 It took me about a month, but I finally went through our 14 bins of baby girl clothes to sort into sizes and organize.  Some things were sold, while others were donated or given to friends. I got so nostalgic going through all these sweet little clothes as they brought back so many memories of both girls wearing them.  I kept 2 bins of my favorite items I just couldn't part with...

We're in the process of moving furniture around as we start to get the nursery ready.  We transitioned Lucy to her big girl bed so her crib could go to the baby.  She had a hard time with the change initially, but has done great overall.  I let her choose the color of her duvet cover hoping she would get excited about her new bed, and she was insistent on choosing purple.  Can't wait to start adding some more decor to her big girl room to make it hers.

The first night Lucy was in her bed, she cried, resisted, and got out of bed continuously for about 2 hours.  Once she finally conked out, she slept peacefully the rest of the night and has been fine since then.  She sometimes whines or cries for a few minutes when we tuck her in at bedtime, but she did that in her crib too.  Naptime has gone a lot better than I anticipated too.  On days that she does nap, she's been good about reading a book in bed and then setting it down and closing her eyes.  Sometimes it takes her more than an hour to fall asleep so she just gets a little cat nap in, but at least she's getting some quiet/rest time (and I get a little break).  I was worried about her constantly getting out of bed, but so far, it hasn't been a problem and she stays in bed when she's supposed to.  On days when she does nap, she sleeps for about 1-2 hours and still needs a good 11 hours of sleep at night, sleeping from about 8pm to 7am.  Proud of this girl and the big changes she's made!

 Since Lucy got Ella's twin bed, Ella got a new full bed.  She loves her new "princess bed" :)...

A few of my favorite iphone videos from January:
Lucy singing Twinkle Twinkle...

Lucy loves smothering her sister with kisses (and does this daily when she says good-bye to Ella at Pre-K drop off)...

Love Ella's sweet prayers...

January Instagrams

Hoping this sweet girl loves her little brother as much as she loves her baby dolls.  I worry about her getting lost in the mix as the middle child, but can't wait to see her become a big sister!

 Lucy's first night in her big girl bed...