Must be livin' right...

Tonight I went out to run a few errands. My agenda was as follows:

*drop off stuff at Goodwill
*Michael's for supplies to make this cute Christmas advent calendar & a couple other things
*Kinko's to pick up the wording I printed for said advent calendar (my printer not working) and to purchase white cardstock. Flannel board cutouts on regular computer paper not cuttin' it anymore.

At the Goodwill drop off I pulled up right behind a couple guys unloading a car full of computer paper. Tons and tons of it. As I pulled away after dropping off the goods, I stopped and rolled down my window and asked "none of that happens to be card stock, does it?" I got a smile in the affirmative and they threw me four big ol' packs of card stock!

That's probably about $50 worth of card stock sittin' right there.
One packet is even textured.
Must be livin right. ;)

"It's Moe's Time!" Oh wait...?

Julian will be two in five short days! Here are some awesome things he's been doing lately:

• Often when we are about to do something, we tell him by saying "it's _____ time!" (Insert: scripture, gym, nursery, bathtub pool, baseball, Publix, Moe's, for example.) This boy has a love for Moe's that runs deep in his blood, so pretty much every time we drive by a Moe's, he shouts excitedly "It's Moe's time!" So yesterday when we were walking up to a Moe's in Orlando for lunch, Stace asked him "Julian, what time is it?" fully expecting him to say "it's Moe's time!" Instead, he responded matter-of-factly "8:30."
• Julian pronounces his little sister's name: "ElBwace". This is how a conversation goes when asking him his little sister's name: Person: "Julian, what is your baby sister's name?" Julian: "ElBwace." Person: "Oh, ElBwace?" Julian: "No! ElBwace." Person: "Oh, El-la Grace?" Julian: "yes!"
• Today after the sacrament blessing on the bread and while we were waiting for it to be given to us, I whispered in Julian's ear that "it's sacrament time. This is time for us to think about Jesus and how much we love him. Can you think about Jesus?" Julian nods and says yes. Then I said "do you love Jesus?" Julian nods and says yes. And I whisper "yes! and He loves you too!" Then we got the bread...and then the water. After he disposed of his water cup in the basket he said to the man who brought it to us "thank you, Jesus!"
• His hair is a force to be reckoned with. I love it long (I always wanted a little boy with long hair like his...never expected it to have curl to it, so that's been a bonus:), but there are days when there is just no method to the madness on top of his head. ha!
  
• Today I was sitting on my bed with Ella Grace and Julian came in and started pulling on my leg and saying "get down, Mama!" I apparently was getting off the bed too slowly for him, because then he said "hurry up, Mama!" what in the world? where does he get these things?! ha!
• He literally knows all the words to his favorite songs, and has known them for a while. It seems like every time we've tried to {secretly} record him singing, he's not in the mood to sing, but wants to just listen. And then on the nights we don't bother to bring in any kind of recording device with us when we're putting him to bed, he's ready to get professionally recorded. ha!
• Ever since he first became fixated on things/ began concentrating intently (like when he was a newborn and found his feet, for example), he's stuck his tongue out while concentrating. I have caught myself doing this from time to time throughout my life, but my Dad is known for doing this. He sticks his tongue out subconsciously while working on something or reading. Like Grandpa, like Grandson:
• Tonight Daddy showed him how to beat box. He did it really well! He knows how to keep a beat! ha! We had a chorus of three beat boxes going at the dinner table. After ten seconds Stace and I both looked at each other and laughed at the silliness of the situation!
• Last week Pop Pop (Stace's dad) was getting him in the car and called him "Scooter!" as he often does. Julian quickly corrected him and said "No! I'm Scooter Boy!" (Which Pop Pop also often calls him.) It's a wonder he knows his name, he's got so many nicknames. He'll look at me and say "I'm Julian." (Btdubs...he says "Julian" sooo cute!) Then he'll say "no, I'm Boo Boo!" "I'na big boy."
• I've called him Guzza ever since he was Ella Grace's age because when he would coo and "talk" with me, he often made a sound that sounded like "guzza". I hadn't called him that in a while until Ella Grace started "talking" and she said "guzza" one day. (She says "goo" a lot though...so we've got ourselves a "Guzza" and a "Goo" ;) so I've been calling Julian that a lot again lately. I said to him last week "you're just my little Guzza!" and he said "No. I'na big Guzza!"
• He still loves his books! Tonight it was so cute. He brought me a book to read to him and I was showing Ella Grace the pictures too, but she was kinda fussy. Julian then took the book and started "reading" it to her and then showing her the pictures. So sweet:)
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• He's quite the backseat driver, since he now will tell you what color the traffic light is, and what it means we need to be doing. "Mama! The light is red now! Stop!" "Mama! The light is green now! Go! Go fast!" "Dada, the light is yellow! Yellow means slow down and be careful!" Stace didn't know I'd taught him what yellow meant, and so when Julian said that to him, Stace just looked at me and laughed and then looked in the rear view mirror at Julian and said "Boo Boo! Who are you!?" haha!
• Today I asked him how many sides a hexagon has and said "six sides!" a while later I asked him how many sides a pentagon has and he said "five!"
• He's excited about Santa Clause this year! He gets excited anytime he sees anything having to do with Christmas. Last night we drove by a house in our neighborhood which is already decorated really cute and he said "it's Christmas!" I'm so excited because of his excitement...it's going to be my best Christmas ever! We went to the Mall at Millenia on Black Friday afternoon (we were down in Orlando with my family for Thanksgiving). They had the coolest setup for Santa there!

• Lately whenever we stop for gas he's been asking what we're doing. We'll tell him we're getting gas for the car. Last week when he was with Grandmommy, she stopped to get gas and when she got back in the car and as they were driving away Julian said "thank you, Grandmommy. Thank you for getting gas for the car!"
• Have you ever heard that Kelly Clarkson song "you don't know a thing about me"? Well, Julian likes to sing along to that song. It's quite cute.
• Yesterday Stace was getting ready for work, and looking mighty cute in what he was wearing. Julian picked up on this too because he said sweetly "you look handsome, Daddy."
• He calls the channel changer the "changeh changeh" :)
• This boy loves, loves, LOVES his Daddy! You can literally see his joy when he's playing with, sitting with, or laughing with Daddy. It's contagious. He sure does look up to him!
  
• He is the WORST, and I mean the WORST bedfellow! Don't get me wrong, there are few things I love more than snuggling with my baby boy, but he was ALL over the place...in a full size bed...with his mama and daddy and sister the other night. Stace took a picture with his phone: He gets this from my little sister, for sure. All. over. the. place.
  I've been getting this a lot lately: "he's just getting cuter and cuter everyday!"
• "I'd love to stay and chat about how cute I am... but really I must be going..."

"This Thomas book is calling my name!"

Our Turkey(s) Came Early This Year!

This little guy was so fun to make! We were going to make it for our Family Home Evening activity, but I came to my senses and realized a toddler and skewers wouldn't mix well...not to mention that he LOVES grapes and cheese, so we probably wouldn't have gotten anywhere.

Three little turkeys!

This little felt turkey was fun to make too.

And our littlest turkey:

Today and everyday I am so thankful for my family. I am madly in love with my husband. More than ever. I am crazy about my precious little boy and baby girl. They bring smiles to my face and fill my heart with so much love and awe each day. The best moments are when we are all playing and having fun together. That happened tonight during Family Home Evening. We read D&C 78:19: "And he who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious; and the things of this earth shall be added unto him, even an hundred fold, yea, more." What a beautiful promise. Afterward, we went on a "turkey hunt" for our FHE game (it was pretty much like an Easter egg hunt, except he was searching for little paper turkeys). I sang "we're going on a turkey hunt" to the tune of "We're going on a bear hunt!" Julian had so much fun! It's in moments like these I wish I could freeze time. Or that we had a secret videographer so that I could one day look back and watch these precious moments over again. Little moments like this makes me feel like we're living in heaven on earth. Of course life isn't perfect, but in those moments, it is. I am so grateful for my little family. My heart is full. Happy Thanksgiving.

Ella Grace's 2nd Month

Happy 2 months sweet girl!


One thing I love about having a baby is that everything is so new and exciting...this creates a desire within me to document everything! I still remember walking out of the doctor's office after Julian's first checkup when he was five days old. It was so neat to think "this is the first time he's seen a tree!" With something as seemingly mundane as that being so exciting, these babies lead pretty eventful lives! And that's just what Ella Grace's 2nd month was: eventful!

It started off with a trip for Daddy out to Denver, CO for a finance conference. The three remaining Gainesville Sirmans packed up and went to Tallahassee as Mommy didn't feel quite ready to be a mommy of 2 all by herself yet. Ella Grace's first full day of church was spent in Tallahassee 3rd ward with her cousins. She wore a pink Feltman Brothers slip and dress (size 0-3 months...it was so big on her!), her little tights that are hilariously huge on her ankles, and her little crocheted shoes she wore home from the hospital (also way too big on her ankles). Afterwards we took some pictures to document the milestone.

When he got home, we went down to Orlando where she got to see the temple for the first time. She wore a dress that her Mama used to sport. I'm positive she wore it best. :)

On the 26th of October she had an ultrasound of her hips, which led the radiologist who performed the ultrasound to diagnose her with a dislocatable hip...developmental hip displaysia. We were then told to see a pediatric orthopedic surgeon. More on that at the end of this post. Onto more exciting things: that night she attended her first trunk-or-treat with her handsome Daddy:

She dressed up as a cowgirl to accompany her brother, a little horse. He was obsessed with horses for a while over the summer so when I found a horse costume at Goodwill, I went ahead and got it. Too bad he wasn't quite as interested in them by the time Halloween came around:/ Nevertheless, she looked adorable in her cowgirl boots (which were actually doll shoes--also a Goodwill find) and crocheted cowgirl hat (thank you Giggled Pink)!

We were a little country family. Except on the night of Halloween, Daddy pooped out on the costume. Maybe because it was 100 degrees outside, and his bandana (which made his costume) was made out of felt. Understandable:)

The cutest little pumpkin was exhausted by the end of the night!

By the beginning of November, her little rolls were starting to show!

She wore this little number on the first Fast Sunday church she attended. I just can't get over how adorable she is in this fluffy little dress! I'm seeing dresses like these everywhere, and I want all of them now!

Ella Grace has learned quickly that life is easier sometimes when we just go with the flow. She is toted along everywhere and rarely ever complains about it, if at all. She is forced to leave the comfort of her own home so Julian can release his wiggles at the park, and at the fun indoor playground at the mall. Here she is bundled up on a chilly day at the park, and below is a picture of her and Daddy at the mall while brother plays.


Sometimes I stop and look at her and try and take in the fact that she is mine. I can't believe it...I have my very own little girl. And she is an angel. So, so sweet. She takes my breath away sometimes.

Gracie Girl is such a good sleeper. Surely our next baby will be a stinker when it comes to sleeping because we've gotten lucky twice! Ella Grace slept through the night in her bassinet, a full eight hours, several days before her two month birthday! I snapped this picture last week of Daddy and baby girl. Such a precious moment.

Ella Grace is SUPER smiley!

All it takes is one look in her eyes

with a smile on your face, and you've got her hooked on you. She'll talk and talk with you-- I can tell that she thinks it's pretty much the most fun thing ever. It's SO cute!
I discovered this month how helpful it is to where a Baby Bjorn while grocery shopping. We were at the store with Daddy and Julian, and I went to the bathroom. As I was leaving I saw this little ninja in the mirror and had to take a pic. Here she is peekin:)

As far as I can tell, she's taking after her brother in the love of books department. Towards the end of her second month, she seemed to really take a liking to looking at the pictures while I read.

Being a mommy of two is a lot different than being a mommy of one. Each day I'm figuring it out a little bit more...juggling a newborn and a very busy toddler is not an easy task. I've learned some shortcuts when it comes to doing laundry: enlisting the troops. Julian has always liked to help me load and unload the laundry, and Ella Grace likes to do her part too!

She got to spend time with some dear friends. She met her Aunt Amelia B for the first time. Amelia and I met in kindergarten and have been best friends ever since. We can't wait to see her again for the annual mother/daughter Christmas party!

She got to meet her brand new friend Bryn! Bryn was born four weeks after Ella Grace. Here are Bryn's mommy and I holding each other's babies!

She also spent some time with Ms. Hannah and her daughter Daphne. I love this picture of Ella Grace! And it's great of Hahnsey, too!

Ella Grace discovered her feet a couple weeks ago! And what a fascinating discovery it was!

We ended her second month with a trip to Jacksonville to see a pediatric orthopedic surgeon. Here she is looking cute in the waiting room:

We received the best news we could have! Her pediatrician did tell me that she and radiologist may have certain opinions, but whatever the orthopedic surgeon says is what we should go with, because it is his specialty and he would know best. So the orthopedic surgeon examined her hips and the ultrasounds, and disagreed with the radiologist's diagnosis (a "dislocatable hip"). He said he couldn't get her hips to pop out of place, and that what it is is that her hips actually developed normally, but her ligaments and muscles are a little loose, which is common in girls, and that it will likely fix itself. So we will do another ultrasound in a couple months just to be sure, but we do not have to do a harness or anything! Hurray!

Whew! What a month! She is holding her head up really well now. She seems too tiny to be holding her head up and looking around the way she does. Speaking of tiny, I forgot to mention her 2 month stats: weight: 11.7 lbs (74th %), length: 23 (81st%). Head: 39.5 cm (74th %). She's pretty well proportioned...it's just those cheeks that throws things off a bit! ;)

Introducing...my new haircut...

I have never had short hair in my entire life...!

I know it's probably about as hard for you to get used to as it is for me! Ella Grace is not too thrilled about it... ;)