Day 2,399

The Twelfth Month of Ella Mae

I’m not even biased - it’s hard to compare to this cuteness! On Thursday, my Rainbow Baby turned one. One. This precious and adorable blessing is one already and her Mama’s heart hurts so good with the gushing love that overflows for my Ella Mae. I was so afraid that adding another child to my life would somehow render me incapable of the same love I already had for Amelia, but how completely ignorant I was to the reality that this tiny life would grow my love to an even fuller extent. (And that same thing happened when we adopted Bear!!) We treasure Ella Mae for the sweet gift of joy she brings to our family. She reminds me of the unwavering love of Christ and the kindness He lavishes upon us. Through the suffering and loss of our second baby, we were able to learn for really the first time in our faith, what it means to be joyful regardless of circumstance because our hope is not on the promises of this life, but in Christ. 

After my ectopic pregnancy, we learned that though I had lost one of my two Fallopian tubes, our fertility rates had “only” decreased by 5-10%. I was skeptical and truthfully, struggled believing I’d ever be pregnant again. I missed my baby. Badly. And though I still do, I absolutely cannot for a second, imagine my life without Ella Mae. An answered prayer. A tender gift. A sweet and undeserved blessing. Oh how I love you MaterKate! I fail every time in telling you the unending love I have for you - words just won’t do. But I trust that you know I’d do anything for you, my Baby. 

Happy first birthday, sweet girl! That smile brightens up my days like nobody can. Thank you for being a constant reminder of joy and hope in the Lord. 

So, let’s see. For starters, you’re impossibly cute. People (including me and Daddy and Bear and Mimi) are obsessed with your chubby cheeks and curly hair. You’ve been compared to a Kewpie Doll (look it up!!!) and we agree that you’re the real life version of one of the cutest dolls of all time. 

You had a bit of a busy month to bring in your last days as a “zero-year-old.” Most notably: you weigh 23 pounds, you graduated from ISR swim lessons, AND you say the word “hallelujah” on demand. For real.

So yeah, you can rescue all 23 pounds of yourself from  falling into a body of water AND “Haaaaa-ooohhh-yaaaa,” is a regular part of your vocabulary now. Every time the song “Hallelujah! What a Savior” comes on or “Before the Throne of God Above,” you jump in the air and flap your arms while saying your favorite word. It’s easily the funniest, most impressive, and cutest thing you do!

You’re officially part of the Conley Dance Clan, as your new dance moves are totally worthy of such honor. You wiggle your head and shoulders from side to side and you also get propped up on one knee and flap your arms to the beat of the music. You’re obsessed and that makes me so happy. 

You’ve learned to laugh when other people are laughing, especially when you’re nursing and Dad makes Mom laugh, you pull off and crack up even though you have no idea what’s going on. It’s perfect and makes us laugh even harder. Bearett makes you laugh the most though. You sure love him. 

I’m not sure how tall you are, but girl, you’re tall. Look at those long (chunky) legs!

So here’s the deal: I did something super special with all your monthly photos. And once I figure out how to line them all up side by side, I won’t be able to show you. But there’s a reason the photos above are in purple and why I changed your outfit to this new rainbow onesie. Stay tuned. 

Anyways, you love Whitacre, doing “downward dog,” balancing for one second at a time, and the whiskey we put on your gums to help you with your teething pain. 

!! This is you saying “hallelujah!”

You know also how to say “Ella Mae,” though it sounds more like “Eh Ma.” You say “nana” for banana and you get overly excited when I ask you if you want to take a shower. 

Let’s see...we celebrated your birthday a few days before your birthday because Dad’s been in spring training this whole month and I had no other choice. We were sad he couldn’t make it, but we know that sometimes you have to make sacrifices in life and that’s expected. So we just went with the sorta-flow and partied as much as we could, even without him. 

Speaking about him...you LOVE your Dad. Oh my word. When he walks through the door arriving home from work, you immediately light up, squeal, say “Dada,” and point to him. Then you fling yourself toward him and he gladly swoops you up with the biggest smile. 

DADDY!!!!! Exactly. 

This face reminds me of how it felt when you pooped all over mom at church this past month. Mama wasn’t prepared and didn’t have neither a change of clothes for you or for me. “Uh ooooh!” It also reminds me of all the late nights we’ve had of teething and tears. I’m ready for that to be over. I never expected to have a one year old with only two teeth, but at least it doesn’t stop you from eating everything you can get your grubby paws on!!

Man, I love this babe. 

You are something truly special, MaeMae, MaterKatesie, Jabbas, MaterSack. This family thrives on your sweet spirit and we can’t get enough of you. You’re the happiest, clingy-est, most adorable babe I know. Thank you for blessing my life so richly and for teaching me things about life and Christ that I wouldn’t have learned without you being my babe. I am insanely crazy about you, My Love!!!!! Happy first birthday!! 

——————————

Ok, yesterday Dad pitched his last game of Spring Training 2018. 

He looked good (duh) and pitched well. He’s ready to start this new season and is looking forward to it with great expectation. These minor league games don’t really cater to the fan (because there aren’t really any fans at these games), so I don’t know his line, but I do know that he pitched 3 “tune up” innings and struck out at least three. Gave up a homerun and I think walked one. Not sure what else. 

Turns out, it’s a lot harder to focus while three kids are running in separate directions, digging in dirt, and catching creepy Florida bugs.  

See: dirt. 

He had to stay after his outing and keep book. Even though it’s probably not his favorite thing to do, it’s one of the sweet things about the minor leagues: the boys sit in the stands which gives us more time with Dad. 

I mean seriously? I have no complaint! 

I could be bitter. Or I could be joyful. 

Hard not to choose the latter when the blessing is staring you right in the face. And that’s my charge to myself this season. Things didn’t go as planned, but the Lord is so kind to have even given us any of this in the first place, and so I’m choosing to look for all the blessings that meet us face to face this season and find contentment in those because of the One who graciously gives them. 

Day 2,375

The Eleventh Month of Ella Mae

Like, seriously?!

Eleven months old (a little belated, forgive this busy mama) and this chunk is just getting better and better with age. Sure, she's also becoming a small pain in the butt, but I do blame the teeth, of which, she can't really help. They've been keeping her up at night lately and though I'm dragging in the morning, I'll never tire of her snuggles. She's such a happy, friendly little thing and I'm more than a little obsessed with her. 

Every morning, she wakes up with an ear to ear grin and when I say, "Hiiiiiii Ella Mae," she waves and says it right back to me. She then follows it up with a "HI" to her brother and sister and kisses each of us when we ask for a kiss. Ah. She's seriously precious and oh so scrumptious and sweet.

This past month was probably the roughest so far on our smallest babe. On top of her teething, she also experienced her first bout of sickness. Amelia initially came down with a bug and since two-year-olds can't be trusted to cover their coughs, she infected our EllaMater. And then Ella Mae infected our Dada. We were one big mess there for a week, but thankfully, with a lot of rest, elderberry, and apple cider vinegar, we kicked the bug more quickly than expected. 

More firsts this month: Ella Mae took her siblings to the Martin County Fair, she learned how to say "no" and "cado" (avocado), and started her ISR swim lessons. Already, our girl can float unassisted!!! An incredible feat that we are SO proud of!

MaeMae claps in appropriate situations, already having learned that a good way to encourage someone is to clap for them. She also claps along to songs and at least once daily, has a clapping party with her Daddy. 

Ella Mae thinks Bearett is the funniest boy alive and whenever she's crying in her carseat, Bearett is the hero who stops her from her fit. She can see him diagonally from where she sits, and when she cries, he smacks his head and says "ouch," which instantly turns her tears into giggles!

Most recently, Ella Mae has taken to dancing. She gets up on her left knee and bounces up and down with her hands flying in the air. While she busts a move, you can hear her squeals of laughter and song while she tries to both dance as big and sing as loud as her bro and sis - something they've all learned from their music-obsessed mama!

She also plays the piano and watches herself in the mirror while slamming the keys. This too, is when you can find her dancing and singing. One of the most notable things about this new fun is that she's become so interested in the piano, that she'll even go into Amelia's room without anyone in it!

This is huge because Ella Mae is just like her sister in the way that she will start screaming if you detach her from my side. She refuses to go to most people, and absolutely will not allow me to put her in the nursery at church. She prefers to always have an eye on me. Well, we've discovered that she'll spend upwards of a half an hour in Amelia's or Bear's bedroom with them, playing right alongside them! A huge milestone!

Ok, her love for Whitacre kills me!

This girl has cheeks for days and thighs to compliment them. She's 22.4 pounds now and every day, she eats more than the day before. Her favorites are banana, avocado, and sweet potato. But she'll eat anything you give her. Broccoli, potato, chicken pot pie (not the chicken though), smoothie, raspberries, whole slices of pizza dropped onto the ground...

This month, she celebrated her sister's third birthday party.

She also learned how to put her pinky back into her mouth the correct side up and can now feed herself with a spoon. 

She likes sucking on sticks more than toys, blows bubbles with her mouth, and loves lifting weights with her Mama. She naps on the couch, surrounded by pillows, sleeps between her parents at night, and nurses all day every day, any time she wants! She's added SO MUCH joy to this family, SO MUCH growth, and SO MUCH love. We are all crazy about our MaterKate/MaterSackey/Maters and thank the Lord daily for her precious life. We are incredibly blessed by this most dear gift from our good Father.

Thank you for keeping your Mommy and Daddy smiling. We love you an infinite amount!

Day 2,346

The Tenth Month of Ella Mae

.TEN.

That's right - she's ten months already and we can't get over the endless amount of joy this smiling ray of sunshine has brought into our lives! Her smile is unmatched. Her giggles, the best. She's always laughing, rarely crying, and makes the recipient of those grins feel like a million bucks. Ella Mae Kate, you, my dear, are wonderful. Truly.

Catch this babe either laughing, yelling, or sucking on a toy. There's really nothing else to her. Just one happy babe with a personality that leaves you constantly wanting more of it! Her giggles are high pitched, her cackles are hilarious. Dad likes those the best and daily tries to get her to make the funny noise.  

MaterSack (new nickname compliments of Amelia) has grown up a lot this month. 

Our babe is 22.8 pounds and learned how to high-five, how to do the "duh" hand (I don't know how better to explain it), and how to squat. She can also whistle a whistle, tear pages out of Bibles, and drink from a straw (which is her new favorite thing).

She loves crawling into bathrooms from any room in the house. Her favorite "toy" in there is the plunger, of which I've repeatedly almost pulled a hamstring (and my voice box) in a rushed attempt to dodge her out of the way of sure calamity. Like, seriously, kid? Sicko! I've now learned to shut every bathroom door in the house that's not in use. And you bet she laughs at me (and then yells at me) every time too. 

She's been on the move since last month and most often crawls sideways in an adorable bear crawl scoot. She's also learned how to squat, which has since taught her how to stand up on things. She can even stand up with use of only the wall! However, if I'm holding her up or holding her hands, she more or less refuses to continue standing. "All by myself" at ten months, Ella Mae? Not so fast, missy!

The baby girl is easily amused, loves Miss Cheddar (our rolling mouse on a stick), and thinks her Dad is the very best. He is. Dad loves his Mater. And though we better resemble Uncle Eddie and the Griswolds most days (Amelia is literally wearing Ella Mae's Christmas pajama pants paired with a hot pink Under Armour tank top on BACKWARDS and disheveled, unbrushed hair, Bearett is wearing his Tuesday undies with a monster face on the butt and nothing else, and Dad...well Dad has a mullet and I'm not sure I need to say more), we're really really happy.

This month, Ella Mae attended her first bon fire, celebrated her first New Year, and witness her brother play on his first t-ball team. 

She can hold and drink out of cups, loves sucking out of straws, and especially likes spitting as much water out of her mouth as I'll clean up. She wears probably at least three outfits a day and has ruined countless onesies with her perpetual slobber that sees no end in sight. 

Most noticeably, she's grown the cutest curls I've ever seen and makes the funniest oooooooooh face that exists. 

But probably her biggest accomplishment of the month came in the form of two white specks...

...that morphed into to two little teeth! Her first ones!!!

She's now the proud owner of one bottom right tooth and though the second one hasn't "cut" through yet, it's visible and definitely unappreciated when clenched down on while nursing. 

We are CRAZY ABOUT YOU ELLA MAE!

You're as sweet and as cute and as fun and as squishy and as radiant as can be. We love you unlike we ever knew we could and cannot imagine our days without you. What a precious treasure and blessed gift you are, my daughter. Ah! Can I just go to bed now so I can cuddle and squeeze you?!! You're the best hug-giver ever!

Thought we were done?! NOT SO!

Because look who's learning how to swim!!!

Ella Mae started ISR swim lessons yesterday and did AMAZING! She's a natural and we're looking forward to her learning this life saving skill!! Good job Bubsie!