Elle turns THREE!

Our little Elle Evergreen is THREE! Here are a few photos from her special day back in February. It was her request to have a unicorn balloon and pink cupcakes with sprinkles. We started the day with birthday cinnamon roles and a few presents. Then she went to school (and got to wear her "wild and three" shirt with her pink sparkly crown bow). Then after school, we had a fun dinner, cupcakes + candles and opened the rest of her presents. Her favorite presents were her Ariel and Rapunzel bath toys (of course!) and the giant cardboard castle from Didi and Pops. (She's into princesses, can you tell?)

In the second to last photo, you can see her showing us "three" on her fingers - that's how she would do it to get all three fingers up. :)

We love her so much and love watching her grow! Happy Birthday, Elle!

Elle Evergreen: 3 Years Old

Elle turns three in two weeks! She's a sassy, sweet, snuggly, feisty little bunny. She simultaneously drives us crazy and cracks us up. We love watching her grow! Here's a little update on what she's loving, what she's doing and all of that...

FAVORITE THINGS

Her "mimi" - Her mimi is still a very important part of her life. She sleeps with it, holds it in her carseat and sucks on it when she's upset. Her daycare teachers want to phase out her mimi - we just say goooood luck! ;)

Arguing - Elle LOVES to argue right now. Everything is an argument and it's really frustrating. We tell her to stop throwing the toy, she says "I not throwing it." And she'll go back and forth until we say, "Stop arguing!" Oh, those #threenagers.

The Color Pink - If you ask her what her favorite color is, she'll say pink. She always chooses the pink option if there is one, and she always wants to wear a pink bow in her hair everyday.

Music - Elle loves listening to good music in the car and she dances and sings really cute. She knows a lot of lyrics, and even if she doesn't know them, she kind of moans/hums to the songs anyway. Her favorite song is Justin Timberlake's "Can't Stop the Feeling," but she calls it "Sunshine in my Pocket."

Food - She still loves her food and will eat anytime anyone else is eating. Sometimes she eats breakfast at home and then gets to school and eats breakfast again. Every morning, she asks for cereal. She still loves apple sauce and yogurt pouches. She loves grapes, apples, bananas. She still loves scrambled eggs or boiled eggs. She doesn't eat her veggies as easily as Wren does, but she will eat them for a dessert after dinner, even if the dessert is something healthy like fruit. If you ask her where she wants to eat, she'll usually say Five Guys or Chipotle.

Her Elsa Dress - Both of the girls love dressing up, and they are in princess dresses 90% of the time that we are at home. Elle got an Elsa dress for Christmas this year, and it's her favorite. It's pretty much the only thing she dresses up in now. It had a long cape on the back of it, but it ripped off after a few days from her stepping on it. The dress has holes and gems that have fallen off, but it's still her fave! She loves to throw the sides out while she spins around and tell everyone to watch her.

Airplanes - When we first moved to El Paso, we stayed in a hotel right by the airport so we saw so many planes taking off and landing. Elle loves spotting them in the sky! If they are far away, she says it's a small one. If it's landing or taking off and still close to the ground, she says it's a BIG one. So cute!

Pooping In The Potty - We started real potty training with Elle just one week ago. She's been using the potty off and on for about a year, but we hadn't gotten serious about it. Now that her teachers want to move her up a class, they've gotten serious, so she wears undies at school all day and she's getting the hang of it slowly. She has got pooping down (crazy that she got that down before peeing), but now she loves pooping so much that every single time she sees a toilet, she wants to poop in it. Haha!! It drives me crazy! Needless to say, I'm spending a lot of time in bathroom stalls with her these days.

Snuggling - Elle is very snuggly and still loves to be held. She follows us around and says "Pick me uppppp!" She crawls in our bed every morning, climbs over me so that she's between us and snuggles in. We think her love language may be physical touch, because she loves to be held, hold hands, have her hair played with and more. She's a sweety!

Being Funny - Elle is definitely the class clown of our family, and she knows it! She loves being silly, making funny voices and doing anything that makes us laugh. She also has a great laugh and loves laughing at herself. I can't wait to see her sense of humor develop! I know she's going to be a ton of fun!

SLEEP

Elle used to be a very good sleeper, but she's gone through a bit of a sleep regression since we moved to El Paso. When we first moved into our new house, she was waking up 3 to 4 times a night, which was terrible, for both of us! Now she usually wakes up at least once, usually close to the morning, but still not time to get up. I take her back to bed, tuck her in, and she'll usually sleep a few more hours. We bought her an alarm clock that turns green when it's time for her to get out of bed, but she doesn't even pay attention to it - ha!

In addition to the alarm clock, we also got a humidifier for her room and an essential oil diffuser. We are pulling out all the stops for some good solid sleep! She does still take a nap everyday, and she still loves her naps. She has to have one if she's going to be happy come 5pm.

WORDS


Elle is talking so much these days and knows so many words! Her voice is the cutest and I love to hear her sentences. She calls Wren "when" and she calls me and Jon "mom" and "dad" a lot, which is hilarious. If you say anything about poop or butts or even the word "body," she says "Ewww, gross! That disgusting!" Instead of peek-a-boo, she says "peep-a-boo." She sings eeny-meeny-miny-mo and says "catch you by a tiger toe." It is all the cutest!!

PERSONALITY

Elle's personality is a very fierce one. She is so silly and funny and sweet and snuggly. She is also cranky and sassy and rude and mean. She never ever listens to direction. She does what she wants when she wants to do it and how she wants to do it. She laughs easily and often. She is fearless and will try anything. Even though she doesn't always play nicely with Wren, she doesn't like time alone - she always likes to be around us. I took her on a date night with just me and her, and she kept saying how much she missed Wren and Daddy. She would sleep fantastic every night if Jon and I let her sleep in our bed, snuggled tight between us. She is determined and likes doing things by herself - she does not like asking for help! She's really fun to be around and already such a cool chick - I'm sure she'll grow up to be the life of every party. :)

I am so curious to see how her personality changes as she grows. Fingers crossed she starts listening at least a little better as she gets older. ;)

Elle turns TWO!

Elle's second birthday was a fun, low key day. Jon was away at WOC school, so it was just me and the girls celebrating. Wren and I baked Elle a gingerbread cake with cream cheese icing and purple sugar sprinkles the night before, and I decorated the house with purple balloons and pink/green/purple streamers. We also got her a bunch of fun balloons to tie to her chair.

When she woke up on her birthday, we had cinnamon rolls for her birthday breakfast. Then the girls went to school, and after school, we opened presents (a doll house + some peg dolls + doll furniture + some other little things), ate dinner, sang "Happy Birthday," and ate cake. :)

Photos from Elle's 1st birthday are here!

Elle Evergreen: 2 Years Old

Elle turned two this month (even though her personality is as big as a 16 year old)! ;) We are having so much fun watching her grow into the spunky, fierce little girl that she is. Here's a little update on what she's loving, what she's doing and all of that...

FAVORITE THINGS

Toys - Elle doesn't really have too many favorite toys of her own. She basically likes to play with (ahem, steal) anything Wren is playing with. She does like her baby dolls, and she likes to get a wipe and clean them saying they "pah-eee" (potty). She likes to put them in her toy stroller and push them around the house.

Lip Balm - Elle LOVES lip balm. She asks to put it on a million times a day by humming (mmm mmm mmm) and rubbing her fingers over her lips. Then when you let her have it, she will rub it on repeatedly until you stop her (I think she would rub it on all day if you let her). Then she tends to lick it off her lips with her tongue (gross!) even when we tell her not to. (She also likes to suck on baby wipes - so go figure - girl's got some weird taste buds.)

Her "mimi" - She calls the little blanket that she sleeps with her mimi, and she loves her mimi more than anything else. We used to call it her "blankie" or blanket - then one time she went to visit my parents in Texas and came back calling it her "mimi." We were just happy she had a word for it so we knew when she wanted it. She falls asleep with it pressed against her lips, just under her nose and she makes a sucking motion with her lips against it. Wren does this same thing with her baby blanket - it's how they both fall asleep. Elle's mimi is a giant comfort to her if she's upset, so we have one everywhere - at school, in the car, and a million in the house. If she sees one in the laundry basket, she smiles lovingly at it and says "mmmiiiimmmmiiii" and holds it against her lips for a second, then sets it back down. :)

Being Held - Elle really loves to be held when you are standing up (she doesn't like it when you are sitting down). She likes you to pick her up and carry her around so she can see everything you're doing. She will walk up to you and put her arms up and say "uuuuup" to let you know she wants to be picked up, and if you sit down to hold her on your lap instead, she will say "no, uuuuup" and try to push you back to a standing position.

The Fridge - Elle loves the fridge. She loves to open it a million times a day and stare into it. She likes to get her water cup out, take a sip and put it back in. She likes to take all the condiments out that she can reach. She likes to take applesauce pouches out and ask if she can eat them all day long. Sometimes she just likes to sit in the fridge on the bottom ledge. She literally loves the fridge. (And this drives Jon and I insane. So many times we have asked if there is a child lock for refrigerators - but we've never researched it.)

Being Outside - Elle has always loved to be outside, even when she was a tiny baby. She still loves it, and she is such a daredevil. She likes to go down tall slides on her belly, she climbs up things that Wren is still to scared to climb up, and she gives me all the heart attacks. Taking her to the playground is so exhausting for me because I just follow her around waiting for her to break a limb.

Freedom - Elle is happiest when she can roam free, without being in a stroller or being held or being closely watched over. She's very independent and just wants to do her own thing without anyone interfering. For this reason, it's also the least stressful for Jon and I when she can do her own thing. We try to take her to places that are friendly for kids to run around and just let her go.

Babies - Elle really loves babies and pretty much considers anyone in a stroller to be a baby. She yells "baby!" and points at any baby we see - on TV, in books or in person.

Food - Elle has always had a big appetite. When she moved up to the toddler class in daycare, they were amazed at how much more she ate than the other kids. She is always up for eating - even if she just ate - and rarely turns down food. She is much pickier eater than Wren, though. We give them both the same foods, but Elle does not like veggies very much. For a while, the only fruit she liked was bananas, but now she will eat pretty much all fruit. She does like roasted broccoli and sweet potatoes. She doesn't really care for meat, especially ground meat (meatballs, hamburger patties, taco meat, etc), but she LOVES carbs (noodles and bread are her faves). She also really loves eggs - scrambled or boiled. If I had to pick her favorite meal, it would probably be scrampled eggs, bananas and toast. When she eats a lot, her belly gets really, really big and it looks hilarious. Sometimes I feel like it's uncomfortable because she'll walk around patting or rubbing it like a pregnant woman. She has a mild skin allergy to tomatoes or anything with tomatoes in it (pasta sauce, ketchup, chili, etc), and anywhere it touches her skin, she'll get red and blotchy and itchy and start crying. We have to wash it off with soap, put lotion on it and then it fades away. Once we realized what was causing it, we try not to give her anything with tomatoes in it anymore.

Watching in the Kitchen - Elle loves to drag her little chair into the kitchen when someone is preparing food so she can watch (aka make a mess by grabbing at everything). This is super cute, but also super annoying when you are trying to fix a meal. I try to let her do it when it's something out of the norm (like baking a birthday cake), but I don't let her do it for breakfast, lunch and dinner because it's just too much to handle. ;)

Washing her Hands - She loves any excuse to wash her hands, which basically means getting a ton of soap from the automatic soap dispenser and then immediately washing it off, then repeating until there are a lot of bubbles at the bottom of the sink to play in.

Flushing the Toilet - Elle is semi-potty training right now at school. Her school felt she was ready and wanted to start, so they let her use the potty. We are sort of doing it at home, but not whole heartedly (I'm just not ready for that challenge!). Her familiarity with the potty has created an intense love for flushing the toilet. She wants to flush it all the time - when she's used the potty, when she hasn't, when I'm using the potty, when we're at home, when we're in public, etc. In public, she and Wren usually fight over who gets to flush the potty, which leads to their hands all over the toilet and sometimes them falling on the floor of the bathroom. The whole thing gives me the heeby jeebies (GERMS!).

SLEEP

Elle continues to be SUCH a great sleeper. Thankfully, both of our girls have always loved their sleep. She goes to bed on her own, with her mimi, in her crib (Still! I'm not ready to give up the crib yet), and she sleeps between 10 and 12 hours a night. She rarely wakes up during the night unless she's sick. If she does wake up, she will either put herself back to sleep or we'll go in and pat her, calm her down and she falls back asleep.

She still takes 2 naps a day on the weekends - she really loves her sleep! She only gets one nap a day at school, and you can tell she's tired by the time she comes home. She goes to bed in between 7:30pm and 8:00pm everyday.

When she wakes up, she likes to lounge in her crib a bit before she'll start crying or yelling for someone to come get her, and if you go get her before she's ready to get up, it could mean bad news for the rest of the day - she'll be a super grump! It's best just to wait until she's good and ready to get out of bed.

While she is a great sleeper in her crib and her carseat, she has never slept well anywhere else. She won't fall asleep in anyone's arms or in her stroller.

WORDS

The words that Elle knows right now are: Momma, Dadda, Elle, Eehn (Wren), Ro Ro (Rowan), Didi, Pa (Pops), Gigi, food, more, beh butt (belly button), toot, poop, tee tee, pah-ee (potty), school, bye bye, eat, wawa (water), hi, baby, nigh nigh (night night), seep (sleep), mimi (her blanket), up (when she wants to be held), wah (walk), hah (hot - and she also knows how to blow on her food when it's hot) - and probably more, but those are the ones that come to mind.

"No" is probably her favorite word - it was her first word - and it's the word she says most often. For a while, it was all she said, to everything. She also learned to shake her head no, and only very recently started nodding her head yes to things. She still does not say the word "yes" ever. (I'm scared for what this means for her teenage years.) ;)

PERSONALITY

As mentioned above, Elle is fiercely independent, moody, can be grumpy quite often, can be extremely sweet and loving when she's feeling it and she doesn't really listen to what Jon and I tell her. She is basically the polar opposite of Wren, which has been challenging for us - figuring out how best to parent her.

As she grows and her understanding and communication increases, things have continued to get better - which we are so happy about. She now understands why we're saying no, and she can communicate with us about what she wants or why she's upset. If I tell her no or correct her for something, she comes back at me with her pointer finger out and says "No, Momma! No!" She's a feisty little thing!

She tends to behave better when she's full and well rested, and when she's in a good mood, she is so loving, gives hugs and kisses, plays games with us, gets along with Wren and plays with her lovingly, shares, and laughs a ton. She has a really great sense of humor and a really great laugh - it's deep and kind of hoarse and bubbles out of her - it's a really great sound. You can tell by what she thinks is funny and how she acts to be funny that she's going to have a great sense of humor when she's older. It's almost a sarcastic sense of humor, if that even exists in 2 year olds.

Mixed in with the good, Elle can also be really bad - just flat out disobedient. She is not scared by threats of discipline, and sometimes completely ignores them (although she is listening more now than she used to). She can also be very mischievous - getting into trouble and giving us the side eye while she does it, then laughing about it. She doesn't like to do anything we ask - even if she's being cute and we ask her to smile for a photo or to do something again, she will not do it. We have to be tough on her a lot, which is not fun as a parent, but we hope that it pays off in the long run.

She is extremely independent - likes to do her own thing and does not want supervision. She is also a daredevil and will attempt things that kids twice her age should be doing. I'm not sure if this is a second child thing or not, but both of these traits make us scared for her teenage years.

All in all, we have always said that Elle gets sweeter every day, and she really does. The more she grows and learns, the more she can communicate and understand, the more she gets to know us and we get to know her, the better things get - which is so awesome. It's one of the reasons we love watching her grow, and we really can't wait to see the person she becomes! :)

Elle Evergreen: 1 year old

Elle, you are ONE! Below are a few photos and highlights from your twelfth month AND your first birthday party:



Your twelfth month was a big one! You learned to stand on your own without assistance! We also took the changing table out of your room and got you a big girl shelf for all of your big girl toys.

You continued to play with Wren and thought she was pretty great. You sisters were so sweet sometimes! You loved playing outside as the weather got a little warmer, and you didn't officially start walking until March 24, 2016 - but you loved walking around the house using the ride-on toys.

You hit a really great stage at twelve months, and you were such a happy baby most of the time. Since then, you've had bad times here and there, but no more constantly fussy baby - yay!

Your first birthday was a pretty simple celebration, but you loved it! You started the day off by standing up BY YOURSELF for the first time - a great way to kick off being one year old!



After a morning of playing, you took a good, long nap and woke up ready to open presents and eat cake! We got you a little red piano, a walking toy and some other little things, and you had a blast pulling the paper off. For your cake, we made a strawberry cake with pink cream cheese icing and pink sprinkles.

Your cake topper was ordered from Etsy and custom made for you. I loved it SO much - it was beautiful! Wren was playing with it before we put your cake together and she broke part of it off. I was so upset, but Daddy was able to super glue it back together - thank goodness! I saved it in your memory box because I loved it so much.





We didn't really have to prompt you to try your cake. You had your fingers and hands in it right away. I love this last photo so much. It really sums up how much you loved that cake - ha!

Daddy, me and Wren had strawberry cake cupcakes while you enjoyed your big cake. We sang you happy birthday and took a million photos of you getting all messy. Then we stuck you in the bathtub to wash it all off.

We love you so much and had so much fun watching you grow during your first year! Looking forward to the years ahead and hoping all your days are happy ones!

Elle Evergreen: 10 & 11 months old

Elly belly! Your tenth and eleventh months were so fun and festive with the holidays in full swing. Here are some highlights:



At ten months old, you were standing up all the time (but still holding onto things for support). You learned how to shake your head "no." You also started

When you got upset and started to cry, you started screaming these loud screams, like a Pterodactyl! We got you a sleep sack around this time because it started to get cold at night, and you loved it! Even today (at almost 18 months old), you can't sleep unless you're zipped up in your sleep sack.

You continued to make fart noises with your mouth by sticking your tongue out and blowing. You loved to do it when you were riding in your car seat, which meant many times you were completely covered in spit by the time we got to where we were going.



At eleven months, you continued to LOVE solid food. In fact, when Wren was eating in her chair and you weren't, you would crawl over to Wren's chair, pull yourself up on it and try to steal her food off of her tray! You loved eggs (scrambled, fried or boiled), bananas, crackers, black beans, cheese, apple sauce, yogurt and oatmeal. You didn't love meat, but would sometimes eat it if it was the only option, and you didn't love a variety of fruits - not even strawberries, even though we kept (and keep) trying to get you to like them.

You loved bath time at eleven months, and you were really crazy in the bath! I couldn't take my eyes off of you. You would try to crawl, stand, and even swim! It was super nerve wracking making sure you didn't slip and go under!

You celebrated your first Christmas at eleven months, and you loved it. Your favorite toy was probably the ride-on cow toy. Your legs were too short to ride on it at first, but you used it as a walker to walk all over the house, which you loved!

Then we rang in 2016 with a bunch of silly family pictures, which you seemed a little confused about. What can I say, we love a good photo booth!

You loved walking anywhere with assistance at this stage. You even loved pushing Wren in her wagon.

We had a crazy snow storm during your eleventh month, and we were stuck inside the house for days! Daddy had to shovel a mountain of snow off our driveway, and we took you out to see if you liked it - NOPE! ;)

You were just so cute and so pretty at this age, like a little baby doll! It's so much fun watching you grow!

Elle Evergreen: 8 & 9 months old

Little Elle Belle - You continued to get sweeter with every month! Here are some highlights from your eighth and ninth months:



You learned how to move around during your eighth month! It wasn't exactly crawling, more like scooting - and you really only knew how to go backwards - ha! That means you sometimes got stuck (like in the photo above when you're stuck under the TV stand).

We took you to your first play when you were eight months old - Newsies! You didn't love it and didn't love having to be quiet, so it was actually pretty stressful. We sat on the very back row and brought lots of toys, but we ended up taking turns walking in the lobby with you until you fell asleep on Daddy's shoulder.

The fall in Virginia was pretty rainy and chilly, so we did a lot of playing inside during your eighth month. You didn't seem to mind, and it made for plenty of practice time to perfect your crawling skills.

Your temperament continued to shift in and out of fussy phases during this time. Sometimes you would be super pleasant and easy going for a while, and then you'd start cutting another tooth or something else would happen that would throw you back into fussy baby mode.



During your ninth month, you started legit crawling - on all fours! It was crazy to see you go from scooting to crawling, and man, were you fast! You loved being able to cruise around the house and get to where you wanted to be all by yourself.

You also started pulling up to stand during your ninth month. I would be sitting on the couch, and next thing I knew, your little head would POP UP as you pulled yourself up to see what I was doing.

You started doing this mouth breathing thing, almost like you were pretending to be a puppy dog. And you gave us BIG cheesy grins all the time, squinting your little eyes. Your hair was so dark at nine months - it slowly started to get lighter after this. And look at that belly (above)! You loved food - eggs (prepared any way) and bananas were your favorite. Also, look at your tiny feet! You had the smallest feet ever and it was really hard to find shoes to fit you to keep your feet warm outside!

You took your first plane ride during your ninth month - to Texas for Thanksgiving. It was a terrible flight (bad weather + a bumpy failed landing attempt), but you handled it like a champ and slept most of the way. Everyone in Texas was so excited to see you and hang out with you, but you were very nervous because you didn't know them and preferred to be with me most of the time, which was a-ok with me!

Elle Evergreen: 6 & 7 months old

Oh, Elle - You keep me so busy, I'm having to play major catch up with your monthly posts! Here are some highlights from your sixth and seventh months:



You sixth month was pretty momentous because... your crazy hair finally laid down! We weren't sure when this was going to happen - or if it ever was! But somehow, during your sixth month, we just noticed that it was not standing straight up on the back of your head anymore. Haha! You also got your first teeth, the two bottom ones in the front. Which was perfect timing because we started you on solid foods during your sixth month. We started out giving you baby cereal/oatmeal and bananas - and today (at almost 18 months old) bananas are still one of your favorite foods!

We continued our summer of fun during your sixth month, and you went to the Chesterfield County Fair for the first time. (It's the best fair ever, so we were excited to take you.) We also did some adventuring around Richmond and the Outer Banks. You continued to love the warm sunny days and were happiest when we were outside in the sun + playing in the water.

During your fifth month, we transitioned you into your crib, and you continued to sleep so good in it. In the mornings, you would wake up and cry for someone to come get you, and Wren would climb into your crib to play with you until we got there, which you loved.

You were so squishy at this age, with soooo many leg rolls - I just wanted to chew on them! ;) You loved being held all the time and were happiest when someone was walking around with you on their hip.



At seven months, you started sitting up on your own, which is always such a fun stage (but we always put a pillow behind you because sometimes you would fall over with no warning). You started making sounds with your mouth - fart noises + snorting while scrunching up your face.

Football season started during your seventh month, and Daddy made sure you had a Dallas Cowboys shirt to wear for the games. In fact, you had two! With football season came fall and Halloween, too! We visited the pumpkin patch and dressed you up like an Elle-ephant for Halloween, You were THE CUTEST! You didn't even mind your costume and loved walking around the neighborhood on Daddy's hip while Wren trick-or-treated.

We took a family trip to Shenandoah National park during your seventh month, and you went on your first hike! (Strapped to me, of course.) We hiked a bunch that weekend - to waterfalls and lots of pretty spots - and you were so heavy. It was a major workout to go up and down all the mountains with you!

You can really see your torticollis in this seven month photo (above). We continued with our physical therapy to stretch your neck out during this time.

Seven months has always been one of my favorite baby stages, and it was with you, too! You loved playing with us and interacting and learning to use your little body - so fun to watch!

Happy Birthday, Elle!

All footage captured by Jon. Music by Ed Sheeran (the song Elle was named after and born to!). Full birth story here. 

Happy first birthday, sweet Elle! Over the past year, you have added an element of craziness to our family that we didn't know was possible. ;) But we wouldn't have it any other way! We love you to pieces, and we're having a blast watching you grow! xoxo

Elle Evergreen: 3, 4 & 5 months old

Oh Elle Belle - You are almost 6 months old now, and I am so behind on your monthly updates! What can I say - life moves FAST with two little ones! I will try my best to keep up in the coming months - for now, here is a little summary of all that you learned and all the ways you grew during your third, fourth and fifth months.



Your third month was pretty laid back. You got to meet your Didi for the first time, your hair got even crazier, and your sister continued to think you were pretty cool - but most importantly, we got out your sister's old swing from storage and you LOVED it. You were still pretty fussy this month, and the swing was sometimes the only thing that would make you happy when you were sad.



Your fourth month was a big one because we moved to a new house! You did great with the move and settled in with no problems. We started setting up your room (your very own room!) even though you don't sleep in it yet. I still like having you in our room next to my side of the bed, but we'll probably transition you to your room in a month or so. This month we learned that you love hanging out on the patio - we think you like the heat - which is great because I like it out there, too. We survived our first girls only weekend without daddy - hooray! And we took our first trip of the summer to the neighborhood splash pad. You liked the water and splashed around with another baby your age while we held you in the water. Your temperament went up and down this month - sometimes you were so relaxed that we thought the terrible crying was over and sometimes you cried until we thought we would go crazy. You like to keep us guessing, that's for sure!

You found your fingers and toes this month and love putting them in your mouth every chance you get. You also rolled over for the first time this month, from your back to your belly. You were pretty  happy about that. And you started laughing! (The best sound ever!) You always laugh when we tickle your belly or when we kiss your neck, and you think it's really funny when my hair tickles your face.

Also, during your fourth month, we found out you have torticollis - a condition in which your neck muscles are shorter on one side of  your neck - and we started physical therapy to correct it with a series of stretches and exercises.



Your fifth month was full of summer fun! We celebrated Father's Day by taking daddy to brunch at his favorite restaurant and giving him lots of presents. Your sister got a big girl bed and gave you her old bed, which we transitioned back to a crib for you and you tried it out with a few naps and liked it! Then we set out on our summer staycation, and you got to visit the ocean for the first time (and this might be my favorite picture of you yet!). You took the best nap on the beach in our little beach tent, and we had our best beach day yet! You also were a trooper at Water Country USA and napped all day in the wrap while we played in the water. We went to the zoo, hosted a BBQ and welcomed some visitors (Uncle Andy and his friend Preston).

You really started to like tummy time this month, which is great because it helps stretch your neck muscles out. You tried really hard to roll back over from your belly to your back, but you're not quite there just yet. You continue to love eating your hands, and you love any toy made for chewing, including Sophie the Giraffe, a wooden heart toy and your multi-colored teething ring.

You love your big sister and watch her wherever she goes. You even laughed at her when she was being silly for you one day - the first time you laughed at something that wasn't brought on my physical touch (like tickling).

You are growing up so fast, little Elle! Time is flying by and you are getting bigger, chubbier and happier by the day. Your six month birthday is on my 34th birthday in a few weeks, and I can't wait to celebrate with you, big girl! I love you sooooo much - may all your days be happy ones!

Elle Evergreen: 2 months old

Little Elle - you are two months old today! I wish I could say I can't believe it's been two months, but unfortunately, it feels a lot longer than that. The past month has been rough! If I could sum up your second month in one sentence, it would be - You did a whole lot of crying. Check out this photo for a visual of what the past month has looked like. ;)

We're not exactly sure what made you so upset this month. We tried holding you more, holding you less, feeding you more, feeding you less, burping you more, bouncing you more, rocking you instead of bouncing you, swaddling you tighter, but nothing seemed to help. 

When you are not eating or sleeping, you have about ten minutes of happiness a day - it's usually the few minutes right after each of your feedings. In those few minutes, you are so cute! You smile and gurgle and throw your little fists around and streeeeetch your legs out as long as they'll go, and we love to watch you.

Outside of those few minutes of happiness during the day, you are kind of a grump. You are not able to be awake and relaxed and just take in the world around you. Instead, you get worked up and fussy very quickly, which leads to crying (and goodness, you have a loud cry, girl!). We are hopeful that your grumpiness will fade as you grow into your little body. You have gotten a bit better over the past week so maybe your third month will be all smiles and coos. I sure hope so! (The internet says newborn crying peaks around 6 weeks, and it does seem like that was true for you so it can only get better from here, right??)

Other highlights from your second month:

You decided that you absolutely hate the pacifier and don't want anything to do with it, but you still like to be swaddled tight to keep your hands under control and you've fallen in love with your bouncy chair (but only when someone is actively bouncing it for you - the minute they stop, you scream!). Unfortunately for mommy and daddy, you do not love your Mamaroo swing that would happily bounce you on its own for hours. ;) 

Your hair took on a life of its own - it's crazy! It sticks straight up all over your head and will not lay down no matter what we do to it. It's also very, very soft, and I love to brush my cheeks against it. 

You celebrated your first Easter. You had no idea what was going on, but we had fun filling your basket with a new swaddle blanket, some wooden toys and teethers and your first teddy bear. (And I couldn't resist putting you in your Easter basket - you fit perfectly!)

You got to meet your biggest sister, Rowan. She came to stay with us for a long weekend, and she thought you were pretty neat. 

Your other big sister continues to love you just as much as ever. Wren still loves to touch your ears and your feet and hold your hands (and she'd love to touch your eyeballs if we'd let her). She has started saying "baby sittsa so cute" all the time, which is the cutest. When you cry, she likes to yell at you "no mo cwyyying, baby sittsa!!" :)

We started sleep training towards the end of your second month. You were averaging four hour stretches of sleep at night so one night, I decided not to feed you when you woke up to see what you would do - and miraculously, you went back to sleep! Since that night, we've put you to bed around 9pm after your last feeding of the day, and I set my alarm to feed you at 6am the next morning. If you wake up in between those hours, we let you self soothe back to sleep, and it's been working great so far. (Hooray for 8 hours of continuous sleep!) We also transitioned you from sleeping in the bed with us to sleeping in your Snug Bunny Rock 'n Play next to the bed, and you love it.

You racked up quite a few nicknames this month, including Elle Belle, Elly Belly, Elly Bean and Smelly Elly. I also like to call you my nugget or "nug" for short, since you are a tiny little nugget.

We pulled out Wren's old bath seat and now you love bath time! We put you in with Wren and you happily sit on your little seat and kick your legs while you watch your crazy big sister play with her bath toys. It's now one of my favorite times of the day, since I love seeing you relaxed and happy.

Oh Elle, I'm so looking forward to your third month and hopefully, happier days. I can't wait for more smiles and more snuggles and hopefully a laugh or two! Your dad, sisters and I love you so much. Happy two month birthday, and may all your days be happy ones!

Elle Evergreen: A Birth Story

Elle's birth story starts early on the morning of Friday, February 13th. Even though I had hoped to go into labor naturally the second time around, Elle decided to stay put so we scheduled an induction for the 39th week, like we did with Wren. The night before the induction, I did start having real contractions for the first time (instead of the Braxton Hicks contractions I had for weeks), but they weren't strong enough to get labor started that day, so we continued with the induction as planned. 

Jon and I woke up around 4am on the morning of the induction, showered, dressed and finished packing our hospital bags. We woke Wren up around 6am. We went into her room together with the video camera and filmed her waking up, telling her today was the day she would become a big sister. She was so sleepy, and I don't think she understood, but it was a sweet moment to have with her before the big day. I had been emotional for weeks thinking about how the second baby would change things for Wren - I just wanted her to know how much we loved her.

The only family member we have close by is Jon's mom who lives a couple hours away in northern Virginia, and we had asked her to be in the room with us for the birth. Thankfully, Wren's daycare opens at 6:30am everyday, so we made plans to drop her off when they opened since we had to be at the hospital at 7am. We got her dressed for the day, gave her a quick snack, loaded our bags into the car and headed to the daycare - it was still dark outside and very cold.

When we got to the daycare, I walked Wren in like I always do. However, since it was so early, she was going to a different classroom with a different teacher that she didn't know and no other kids had arrived yet. When I bent down to tell her goodbye, she started crying and threw her arms around my neck - scared because everything was so different. I immediately started crying, too. I had been worried about this happening and really wanted her to feel like it was a normal day, nothing to be afraid of. I comforted her and told her that daddy and Gigi (Jon's mom) would see her that afternoon to pick her up to meet her baby sister, and I headed back out to the car. The lady at the front desk stopped me to ask me some questions, and I could not stop crying. I kept apologizing to her - telling her it was an emotional day for me. She probably thought I was a crazy person!

Back in the car, Jon and I headed to the hospital, driving into the most beautiful, brilliant sunrise - all pinks and reds and oranges. My excitement and nervousness grew the closer we got to the hospital.



We parked at the hospital and headed up to the labor and delivery floor where we met our nurse for the day, Annika, and got shown to our room. At this hospital, you only have one room for your whole stay. The room that you labor and deliver in is the same room that you stay in for the remaining recovery days. I loved this so much. It meant we could settle in right away and not worry about moving our bags after I delivered. It also meant I had plenty of time to rest and snuggle with Elle after she was born, instead of being rushed to get up and move rooms. I don't see why all hospitals don't do this - it made our experience so smooth.

All of the rooms on the labor and delivery floor are large with big bathrooms, a small table and chairs, a small couch that folds into a bed and a wall of windows. We had the last room at the end of the hallway. Annika gave me a gown to put on and left us to get settled. We unpacked a few things, and I changed and climbed into bed. Annika came back a few minutes later, got me hooked up to all of the monitors and gave us a run down of what to expect for the day. Next, she got everything ready to put my IV in, which turned out to be the worst part of the day - even worse than pushing the baby out!

I have never been a fan of needles, and I get super nauseous when anyone talks about blood, needles, veins, etc. When she was prepping my arm, she joked that my veins were so good she could throw a needle and hit one - which totally jinxed me! It ended up taking her three tries and three different spots to get the IV placed correctly. After the first try didn't go in correctly, she tried wiggling and pushing the needle into place, all while talking about collapsed veins and valves, and I felt myself getting sick and really, really hot. I looked at Jon and told him I was going to pass out and/or throw up. Annika quickly gave me a bucket to throw up in, and I dry heaved a few times (I hadn't had anything to eat or drink since dinner the night before - you can't eat before an induction). Jon got a magazine to fan me and a cold rag for my neck. Annika took the needle out and gave me a break to calm down. I thankfully did not end up passing out, and once I relaxed a bit, Annika tried two more times and was able to get the IV in and start some fluids. I was SO glad when that part was done.

Jon and I hung out for an hour or so, setting up the iPod with our playlist and the camera, until my doctor stopped by the room on her way in for the day, around 9am. She double checked that we for sure wanted to have a baby that day - and we said YES! - so she broke my water and told Annika to go ahead and start the Pitocin. I couldn't believe how quickly things were going - my water was already broke and it was only 9am! I knew from my experience with Wren's birth that the contractions would get a lot more painful now that my water had been broken, and that made me nervous.

Annika came into the room shortly after and confirmed that I did indeed want an epidural (yes, yes I did!), so she set out to get my name on the epidural waiting list. Jon was hungry by this time, and we chatted about where he could go to pick up some breakfast. He had just gotten his jacket on to head out when Annika came back in and let me know the anesthesiologist was on his way. Jon and I were both so surprised - already?! It wasn't even 10am!

Jon went ahead and left in search of food (they don't let anyone stay in the room for the epidural procedure), and the anesthesiologist came in a few minutes later. He was a young guy, super friendly and laid back. I was really nervous about the epidural because I didn't have the best experience with it during Wren's birth. Annika helped me get in the correct sitting position on the bed and basically hugged me from the front to help me hold still. Even though it did hurt going in - a lot of pinching and stinging on the right side (and was probably the second worst part of the day) - the anesthesiologist was able to get it in correctly the first time - hallelujah!

While he finished taping all of the tubes to my back, he joked with me about the teddy bear I had with me (a bear I've had forever and also had during Wren's birth). I told him it was kind of like having an extra pillow - he and Annika laughed and said it was totally fine if I needed it for comfort. I laughed and admitted that maaaaybe it did make me feel better. The mood was light and happy and the sun was streaming in through the windows. I couldn't believe my epidural was already in (before 10am!), and I hadn't felt a single painful contraction yet. It was pretty amazing.



When Jon got back from getting breakfast (he ended up going to Krispy Kreme for coffee and donuts, and I was SO jealous), his mom also arrived at the hospital. She entered the room right as Annika was placing my catheter - ha! What a way to greet someone! (You have to have a catheter with an epidural since you're numb from the chest down and can't feel when you have to use the bathroom.) I was not nervous or embarrassed at all about having Jon's mom in the delivery room with us. She has a very laid back, calm personality, and I knew she would be great to have in the room. My mom was with us for Wren's birth, so it was super special that Jon could have his mom there this time around. (Even though she does now know me a lot better than she did before - ha!)

Once Jon's mom arrived, it was really just a waiting game. Jon and I played around with the camera, took selfies (of course!), read magazines, talked to family and friends on the phone and tried to nap a few times. Annika came by to check me and rotate me from side to side every hour or so, and I continued to dilate a little more each hour. After she left, we would make bets on how much more I would be dilated the next time she came back. My doctor was supposed to come by around noon to check on me, but when it hit 12:30pm and she hadn't made it by yet, Annika stopped by again. I told her I was starting to feel the contractions more strongly - not necessarily pain, but a lot of pressure. She said that probably meant we were getting close. Sure enough, she checked and I was dilated almost to 9!

Jon and I were a little shocked - it had all happened so fast! Annika left to call my doctor and gather a few things we'd need in the room when the baby arrived, and Jon and I texted and called family and friends to let them know we were about to have a baby. My doctor got to our room a little after 1pm and helped the nurses get the bed ready for delivery - and then it was time to push!

With Wren, I pushed for one hour, so I was prepared for the pushing to take a while. Little did I know, things go A LOT faster the second time around. I only pushed for 10 minutes with Elle - and I know for sure, because we have all of it on video. The whole delivery was such a fun, peaceful, enjoyable experience. That is probably the weirdest way to describe delivering a baby, but it really was. My doctor started off by giving me a quick reminder on how to push. Then I would push three times in a row, then rest, push three times in a row, then rest - pushing during the contractions and resting in between. In between when I was resting, we would all chit chat - about the weather, about the songs on our playlist, about the baby's name (which we hadn't told the nurses or doctor yet) - and then we'd concentrate again when it was time to push. Jon and I laughed when we first watched the video of the day, because we are all laughing and joking around in between contractions - not what you would expect of giving birth!

Just like with Wren, everyone could see Elle's luxurious head of hair before she made her grand entrance. At one point, my doctor asked me if I wanted to look down and see her coming out. I said a big 'no thanks!' to that - haha! (Jon's mom was hilarious afterward - even though she's had three kids of her own, she kept shaking her head with wide eyes and saying "I just didn't know" when we asked her how it was to see it all happen up close and personal.)

After my fourth set of pushes, Elle Evergreen Klock was born! (And to the song she was named after!) The doctor held her up for Jon to cut the cord and then the nurse wrapped her in a blanket and placed her on my chest. I was able to hold her for a few minutes before she was moved to the bassinet in the room to be weighed, measured and cleaned off a bit. They did all of this right in the room with us, and then gave her back to me as soon as they were done.



Once Elle and I were both cleaned up, the nurses helped me sit up and get comfy in the bed, then quickly cleaned the room, rolled everything out that was no longer needed and left us alone to snuggle our new little bundle - and I absolutely loved this. When Wren was born, they took her to the nursery for her newborn tests and her first bath shortly after she was born, so we didn't get that special snuggle time. With Elle, we had her all to ourselves for a couple hours before the baby nurse came in and gave her a bath in our room. Then we had her to ourselves for another chunk of time before they took her to the nursery for her newborn tests later that evening.

I don't think I'll ever forget the way I felt in those first few hours after Elle was born. It was such a different experience from Wren's birth. With Wren, there was a lot of nervousness, worry and lack of confidence in those first few hours. With Elle, all I felt was love. Overwhelming, overjoyed love. Love for her, love for Jon, love for the whole wonderful experience. I could not stop smiling, and I just felt so happy. It really was the best day - I would do it over and over again if I could.



Elle was born at 1:42pm. Jon and his mom left around 4pm to pick Wren up from daycare and grab some dinner. They arrived back at the hospital around 6pm with food from one of our favorite BBQ joints, and Wren got to meet Elle for the first time. It was so fun to see them together and to see Wren's reaction. She seemed to understand that the baby came out of my belly (and she still sometimes tells people that when they ask about Elle). She touched Elle's face and counted her fingers and then ran around exploring the hospital room. We ate dinner together, and I finally got up and moved around the room a bit (which is always a little scary after giving birth and having an epidural).

That night, Jon went home to stay with Wren, and I stayed at the hospital by myself. This had been our plan all along, and I was a little nervous about being alone, but I have to say, even though I would've loved having Jon there, I also really loved having those two nights in the hospital just Elle and I. That first night after everyone left, Elle and I snuggled, watched TV, played on Instagram (and loved reading everyone's sweet congratulation notes) and called Jon and my sister a million times to chat. I had planned to send her to the nursery around 10pm so that I could get a good night's sleep, but I was on such a high - I didn't want the day to be over! I stayed up with her until almost 2am, just hanging out, before she headed to the nursery and I went to sleep.

All in all, Elle's birthday was such a great day - probably the best birth experience I could have ever asked for - and a day I will always think back on with a smile and so much love. I can't wait to tell her all about it one day. :)