Better Late Than Never

So, it's been a while since our last post, but I'll keep things short and sweet:

Moving:

The move went well. We are unpacked and are now left with just cleaning things up! Ella loves the new house and seems to be right at home here! I'm sure she doesn't remember living here at all, but she has taken to it quickly. I thought she might be timid if a new daycare at the YMCA, but she LOVES it. When we pull in the parking lot she excitedly says, "we're here!" Bradley on the other hand has decided that he does not like the new day care. He screams a fit every time I drop him off and pretty much cries hysterically until he falls asleep exhausted. It's not pleasant for me, but I'm sure he'll adjust soon!

Ella:

Ella is talking ALL the time. We have now entered the, "why?" phase. She literally asks me why 100 times a day. She has also learned this new trick for asking for snacks. If I offer her a snack she always says, "I want 2, 6, 7, 8". I think she's learning to negotiate like her daddy! I guess 3, 4 and 5 aren't even worth asking for! In response I take her 1 cookie and cut it into 6 pieces, so we both win!!! She also got her hair trimmed at the salon the other day for the first time and loved it! She is so into jewelry, fingernail polish, colored socks, fancy shoes, etc, so I new a hair trimming would also be high on the list of things that are "Cool". At the stores now we have to walk up and down the Christmas aisles twenty times and her eyes are always so wide and glazed over as her mouth hangs open saying, "mommy it's Christmas!"

Bradley:

Bradley is doing well. He had his first ear infection a week ago, but seems to be hanging in there well. He sleeps from 7:15 to about 5am and then he eats and goes back to sleep til almost 7am. Every once in a while we have to give him a pacifier in the middle of the night, but not too often, so we can't complain. He's a great little sleeper. He is in the wonderful stage of grabbing everything in sight, which usually consists of my hair, earrings or necklaces. Ughh! He laughs hysterically at Ella! It's so cute to watch them play together. Ella will do silly stuff in front of him and he will laugh hysterically at her! That's my favorite part of the day.

A funny store:

Today our photographer came over to take the kids pictures. Ella did really good at first and then lost interest. I told her if she would finish her pictures I would give her a sucker. She then looked at me really excitedly and asked, "a poop sucker?". Rachel got a really funny look on her face and asked what kind of suckers we give her. I guess Ella got a little confused because her dad told her he would give her a sucker anytime she would poop on the toilet, so out of the blue she decided to call it a "Poop sucker"

Here are some pictures of the kids at Halloween!

Rock a Bye Bradley

Everytime I put Bradley down for a nap, Ella says "Me rock baby Bradley to sleep too". So, off we go to Bradley's room to rock him and lay him down for a nap. At first, Ella was very excited to assist, but did not grasp the concept of sitting still or being quiet. However, she is slowly getting the hang of it and is very upset if she doesn't get to help. The process started out with Ella talking, getting in and out of the rocker and opening and closing his bedroom door all the time. We have now, however, progressed to sitting still ans whispering. Sometimes we both even sing him some songs together. The funny part is that I have to race her to the rocking chair because if she gets there first, then there is no room for me too sit without sitting on her! If she gets there first, she will look at me like "who are you kidding...I'm not moving". I recognize this look quickly because it is the same look I get from everyone else (Scott, Chloe and Cowboy) when we all race to the couch or bed and I am the last man standing! Anyway, Ella has perfected every part of her routine except for the exit. As BRadley starts to look sleep I whisper to Ella to quietly exit the room. We lay Bradley down she opens to door, slams it shut and seems to think that he can't hear her once the door is shut behind her. Everytime she leaves the room she starts talking 100 decibles higher. I guess Bradley is adjusting because he used to start crying every time she left his room, but now he just lays there and goes to sleep!

Anyway, I got some good pics of the kids this weekend, so I thought I would post them on the blog! Enjoy ALL of them....there's a lot!

Mommy's Supposed To Do It

We are in the process of packing to move back to Orlando. Moving is never fun, but it's even tougher when you have kids. Surprisingly, Ella has done very well with the concept. She has been very helpful at packing up toys and books and seems to be excited about a new house. Everyday she asks if we are moving. I tell her not yet and she always say " I want to move". Obviously, she does not realize that moving involves leaving friends, dance class, etc. She is excited about a change, which is good, but I think it will effect her more than she can grasp. I'm sure both kids will do great!





Anyway, our house is becoming more and more bare as we pack and the other night Scott ran the vaccum through the house. Ella ran up to me a little disturbed and said, "Daddy vaccum? Daddy cleaning?" I told her yes and she said "Mommy's supposed to do it!". We definitely did not have the same outlook on this situation. I for one was ecstatic that Scott was vaccuming, but Ella seemed to think that Daddy was crossing the line of my job description as mommy. Lately Ella has really seemed to identify several responsibilities that she thinks belong to mommy. Unfortunately, another one of these is changing pooopy diapers. She doesn't seem to think that no one should be able to do it but me! What an honor for me!!!





Honestly though, kids observe so much more than we realize. I thought to myself how she probably takes in our every move and every word. Sitting in church a few weeks ago my eyes were opened wide to a whole new vision of what my role is as mom. I always knew I would raise my family in a faith based environment and hopefully raise them to be loving, kind, forgiving, etc. as God would want them to be. However, I never really grasped the fact that it is our role as parents to actually get them to have a personal realtionship with God. This responsibility actually makes the formentioned characteristics seem easy to instill into a child. I thought they would develop a relationship with God if they were loving, kind, etc., but it requires so much more than that. Wow what a task! I am almost puzzled at where to begin! I think it's so easy to live a christian-like life, the whole time thinking you're doing things right, and never really realizing that you're aonly scratching the surface of faith. Hopefully, with a lot of praying, I'll guide my kids to the right spot!





Anyway, I probably won't update this in a long time because of the move. Bradley is doing great. He is getting so big. He is very tall and therefore looks alittle older than what he really is! He laughs hysterically now and is pretty much always a happy little guy! Ella is loving on him like always and is doing great herself. She is talking up a storm. In fact, somedays I feel like she just follows me around babbling. I have remind myself to cherish those moments when my head is trying to process all the noise wihtout exploding.





Well, I need to go because there is a pile of chores to be done......packing, laundry, dishes, vaccuming, snacks, tubbies, etc.......and guess what......."Mommy's supposed to do it."

Little Giggles & Grins

Today as we were playing on the pool deck Ella wanted to throw all the rafts into the pool. With no time to mess around I had to put Bradley in Ella's swing so I could run over and help Ella. To our surprise, Bradley really liked the swing and Ella was so excited that he was big enough to be in the swing. Ella quickly let me know that she was going to push Bradley and that I should watch. I'm sure Bradley would have preferred the opposite scenario, but I think he still enjoyed the ride. When things started to get silly, as they always do with Ella, Bradley started to laugh really hard. I never caught a good laugh on video, but I did get a few good pictures of Bradley smiling! I have attached the video of us trying to make Bradley laugh. However, my husband will remind me that I once again held that camera the wrong way for video, he'll say, "haven't I told you about holding the camera this way for videos?......you did it again." However, I give myself a big pat on the back for Ella not falling in the pool, Bradley not falling forward and busting his mouth on the swing, and for me not dropping the camera on the tile while trying to multi-task. I consider this a job well done, minus the fact that we didn't capture the big laugh and you have to watch it sideways!

Okay.....for some reason I am having trouble getting the video to load, so I'll have to keep working on that.....sorry. In the meantime, however, I showed Scott the video of Bradley laughing when he got home from work and he said, "why is it sideways?"..."did you hold the camera the wrong way.....again?"

Night Night Mr. Moon, Night Night Mommy!

As most of you know....when a child reaches the age of two, they try to procrastinate their bedtime. One night Ella said to me "I want to see night night." So, I took her outside to see the stars and Mr. Moon. This has now become a nightly ritual because Ella won't go to sleep without seeing it! If the moon is behind the clouds from the front yard view, then we have to go out and look for it in the backyard. Our night time routine now consists of pj's, brushing teeth, books, seeing Mr. Moon, pulling the cord on the light up butterfly that hangs from her ceiling fan, pulling the moon that hangs from her lamp to turn off the light and finally songs and a kiss. I know this sounds like a lot, but we have actaully learned to cram all of this into 20 minutes. As I leave her room every night she says, "night, night mommy" as many times as she can as I lay her down in her crib and walk out of her room. I don't know what it is about the way she says that, but it is definitely one of my favorite parts of the day.

Bradley, on the other hand, is not interested in Mr. Moon at all. At about 7:10pm, Bradley says, "Waa, Ehhh, Waa." That would be baby talk for....who cares about Mr. Moon. just swaddle me, give me a pacifier and turn off my light on your way out! He sleeps from 7:30 to 6:30 like clock work, but you never know when he will wake up and want his pacifier...some nights it is once and others it can be up to 10. I am debating wether or not I want to wean him from it. I know it is a comfort for him, but when your child wears a clip on their shirt so their pacifier can hang from a string and never get lost....you start to wonder if you have a pacifier junkie. There are not many pacifier junkie hotlines, so we must figure out our own 6 step program for this addiction. We are debating wether we should take it from him in the next month or so. However, we don't want to deal with him waking up Ella in the middle of the night when he wakes up and cries for it! However, we have been having some construction right outside Ella's window for the past month or more. So I always tell Ella when she lays down for her nap that she might hear the workers and their trucks. I then ask her what she should do if they wake her up. In response, she closes her eyes as tight as she can and says, "close my eyes...go back to sleep." Surprisingly, she must do just that because she sleeps through the loudest construction possible. If she can do that, surely she could sleep through some pacifier withdraw.

In all honesty, I think you always want to do what is best for children, but you always second guess if what you chose was the best. Things are never easily decided without mentally questioning the decision you made or the way you handled a situation. I guess in the end I just pray that I will be the type of mother that God wants me to be and that my children will grow up loving Him and being the type of people that make this world a wonderful place. If in the end, I have been successful at this, I have done my job!

I have attached a few pics of the kids. Ella is loving being a big sister and is so good to Bradley. Watching them together and knowing what fun they will have as they continue to grow is a wonderful feeling. Lately, Bradley has been cooing conversations very loudly, so I think he is preparing to be able to hang with little Ella! Ella just laughs at him and copies everything he says. Notice in the above pic how nice Ella is being to Bradley, but doesn't realize where her hand is!

I hope you all are doing well and enjoy a few quick updates here and there from us! My sister says I have too much time on my hand if I am blogging, but I believe she just started her own blog. Hmmmm?

God bless. Good night. Night night Mr. Moon!

A Preview of Things To Come

It's been a long time since I have posted on our webpage, so I should have a lot to say. However, it seems that all of the days prior to today are somewhat of a blur. In fact, anything that happened before noon today is a blur. That seems to be how it is when you are a stay at home mom. I love being at home with the kids, but it definitely gets hard to distinguish the days.

Anyway, today will stick out in my mind as different than the rest because Ella was overwhelmingly girly today. Don't get me wrong....I have always been amazed at how genetics seem to predetermine what type of things kids are interested in, but today was extreme. Ella has always enjoyed shoe shopping, new outfits, jewelry etc, but today she took it to a whole new level. This morning I had to teach my mommy boot camp class where mom's bring their kids in strollers to workout. While I was getting ready she pulled out my make up and was attempting to put it on her face. Being proactive, for a 45 minute stroller workout, I asked Ella to pick out some toys to take along. So, my little Paris Hilton wannabe decided to take a little puppy in a pink purse. However, Ella's puppy didn't have on designer clothes.

Anyway, when we got home, Ella said, "mommy come ....brush my hair". I took her into the bathroom to brush her hair, but that wasn't enough. She wanted her bangs trimmed, her hair blown with the hairdryer and her fingernails and toenails painted. For the next hour she repeatedly approached me saying, "mommy look", as she would shove her painted toes and fingers in my face. She must have forgot that I painted them for her because everytime she showed me she was genuinely excited and anxious to see my response.

She then wanted to try on her "HO HO HO" dresses. Theses are 2 dresses Grandma Pam and Grandpa Bill bought her for this fall at the Dillard's sale. Ella has been tugging at them in her closet since they brought them here saying "HO HO HO dress". They are called this because I told her she would wear them around Christmas time! We tried both dresses on and we both admired her in the mirror. She also tried on every outfit in her closet that is a 2T to see if they fit yet. They are the same outfits I have been trying to get her to try on for the last 2 months. She went through outfit after outfit anxiously pulling them over her head. She then moved on to accesories........necklaces, braceletes, headbands, bows, hats, sunglasses, etc. She loves them all. During the accesorizing period she found two cookie monster ponytail holders and she wanted them in her hair. We tried pig tails and......it's a miracle.........there was enough hair for two cute pigtails. Ella loved them and said, "mommy cheese". This means, mommy take my picture please. She was so excited about pigtails that she called daddy at work to tell him about them. The picture at the top is Ella's very fist pig tails ever.

After a couple of meltdowns about which outfit she wanted to try on next and me trying to keep up with her, my mind flashed to a very simialr day when she will be 13 and doing the same thing. Hopefully, at that point she will still want me as involved as she did today!

Bradley is doing great, but I don't think he enjoyed the fashion show. He is still very content and easy, but is starting to demand a little more of my attention which is expected as he gets older. Lately, he has not let me put him down very much when he is awake. Ella always asks if she can hold him and have her picture taken. There are a few pics above. Bradley is smiling a lot, but I haven't been able to catch one in a picture yet. I always catch it as he is releasing his smile, which results in a not so normal expression. He hasn't rolled over yet, but I have failed to give him enough tummy time to do so. I am trying to improve, but he absolutely hates it and it makes me feel bad!! Plus, I thnk I will just enjoy all of this snuggly time before he realizes that he can move all over!

Anyway, I hope you are all doing well!

Baby Geez!

Well, it has been a big week for all of us here. We celebrated Ella's 2nd birthday on Monday, Tuesday Ella and Bradley went to the doctor for their well check ups and....Ella has made a new, very special friend.....Baby Geez!

We read to Ella from her little bible every night and she loves stories about baby Jesus! So, on her birthday I asked her what she wanted to play and she pointed up to the Fisher Price Nativity set in the top of her closet. So, we got it down and played with the nativity. Since then, baby Jesus (Ella's pronunciation...."baby Geez") goes with us everywhere. See the above picture for a close up of Baby Geez. He is not very big, so I am always paranoid that we will loose him. This could be bad for three reasons:

1. Ella would have a melt down if we lost "Baby Geez"

2. I would feel like it was a sin if we lost Baby Jesus.

3. What good is a nativity set without Baby Jesus?

Anyway, baby Geez has had an exciting week. He eats breakfast with us, goes for stroller rides, falls out of the stroller and gets run over (thank goodness he is forgiving), rides in the car in the cup holder, jumps in her bounce house, tries on mommies shoes, hides in the food pantry, etc. I mean he is a busy man. I sometimes wonder if this is a visible, constant sign that is now going with us everywhere to remind me of what type of mother I want to be. You know.....Ella tests the limits and I look at her....see baby Jesus in her hands.....and of course from deep inside I find more patience...which 2 minutes ago was just starting to wear thin. Who know! The Lord works in mysterious ways right?

Anyway, Ella is doing great. She has made being a mother of 2 a much easier job than I expected it to be! God Bless her!!!!! I can't believe she is 2. She is growing like a weed. At the doctor yesterday she was in the 95h percentile for height. However, she is so active that her weight seems to plumitt to the other end of the scale. She's a lean mean jumping machine.

Bradley is doing well too. He is very content and still a great sleeper! Hallalujah!!! The doctor said he looks very healthy as well and based on the size of his hands and feet, she expects him to be a big boy. He is 6 weeks old, 23 inches and 10.5 pounds! He is also growing like a weed and is a true blessing!

Scott and I would give you are updates, but they're not very exciting. We ust try to get our work done and get enough sleep to keep up with Ella and Bradley! They make us smile, laugh and feel exhausted by noon!!

Count your blessings...not your battles!!!

Bradley is 3 weeks old today and this is the first day that we are officially on our own without any assistance from grandparents. Things are going as good as we could have hoped for, but it is definitely hard work. I'm not sure that I will ever leave the house again. I have to get up at 6am to get my self dressed, Bradley fed, Ella's breakfast ready, get both the kids dressed, let the dogs out and load the car to be out of the house by 9am. Three hours probably sounds like a lot, but that leaves us extra time for unexpected feedings, tantrums or messy diapers!

In all honesty, Ella is doing great with Bradley. She is a great big sister. She always lets me know when the baby is crying, pooping, sleeping, eating or sneezing. She loves yelling, "Baby sneeze", "Baby pooped", "Baby crying", etc. When she is feeling like she needs a little mommy time she says, "baby nap" to let me know that she would like me to put him down for a nap. Of course she has noticed that crying gets the baby attention and therefore has developed a fake cry for attention, but other than that and the normal emotions you would expect a child to experience when a baby joins a family, she is doing great. She is very gentle with Bradley and likes to put toys and blankets next to him while he sleeps. We are very proud of her.

Ella will be 2 on June 23rd, so we celebrated her birthday when all of the grandparents were here. She had a blast. Her birthday theme was Boz, a Christian bear that teaches kids about manners, being nice and God's love. It's hard to believe she is almost 2. Boy does time fly by!

Bradley is doing great as well. He has been pretty easy so far during both day and night! He is changing and growing so quickly. He seems to look a little different and a little bigger each day.

Scott and I are both pretty tired. We neither one get any free time these days, but it is definitely worth the work. We are still trying to figure out how to handle 2 kids, maintain some order in the house (to be honest i think i lost this when i got married) and keep up with the kids. It takes a lot of energy. If you have not been around Ella since she was about 15 months old, then you do not know that the Lord made his first mistake and accidentally gave Ella springs instead of feet. Honestly, the kids jumps probably 50% or more of everyday. The other 50% of her day is spent dancing, running and singing her ABC's.

Life has definitely changed with the addition of Bradley, but we are all so excited about his arrival. We thank the Lord every day for all that he has blessed us with.......and then we ask him for patience, wisdom and energy to help us get to 8:30 p.m........bedtime for the kids!!!

Bradley Scott Reuter

As most of you know, I was induced on May 14th at 39 weeks. The doctor thought the baby was a pretty good size and I was showing signs of going into labor early. Since my doctor was going to be out of town for 4 days, he thought it would be a good idea to be induced before he left. Therefore, we arrived at the hospital Wednesday morning at 5am and Bradley was born at 1:42 pm. Everything went well. The only complication we had was that my epidural wore off at 7cm, so the last 25 minutes of my labor were pretty exhausting. Thankfully, I only had to push for 5 minutes before he was out.

Bradley was born weighing 8 pounds 4 ounces and was 20.5 inches long. He looks a lot like Ella did when she was born. He is only 3 days old, but has been pretty easy so far. However, I know as each day passes he will stay awake more and will slowly reveal what temperment he will have as a baby. We are praying that he stays pretty easy.

Ella is doing very well as a big sister. Of course there are moments of jealousy when I am holding the baby, but all in all she has really taken to him. She loves to show him off when people stop by the house and she loves to help me with diaper changes. When he naps in his pack n play she will run around the house and collect toys to put in the pack n play with him. She also likes to try to put stickers on him when he is sleeping. It is so fun to watch her admire him.

In the past few days I have come to these conclusions:
1. My house will never be clean again & house chores will always be left half undone.
2. I don't think I will ever master diaper changes w/out Bradley peeing everywhere.
3. Having a 2nd child guarantees me no personal time for at least the next 2 years.
4. Shopping will never be the same again. In fact, internet shopping is the way to go.
5. I will never be anywhere on time again and if I am on time you can guarantee that I will have spit up, pee or poop on me.
6. Time goes by too fast.
7. I am happier now then ever before and wouldn't trade being a mother of 2 for anything.

Ready Or Not Here I Come!

Well, Ella and I just got back from my 38 week doctor appointment. It's always an adventure to find new ways to entertain Ella as we wait in the lobby for our name to be called, then wait for the doctor in the exam room, and then while the doctor is in the room checking on the baby. Thank goodness those days are coming to an end. A little over an hour is a long time to enterain a 22 month old.

Anyway, the doctor said everything looks great. The baby is proabably going to be a good sized baby and he is in position to come out. I am 2cm dilated and 50% effaced. The doctor thinks I could go into labor at anytime now. Unfortunately, he is going to be out of town in a week, so if I haven't had the baby by next Wednesday, then they are going to induce me. The doctor I go to is highly recommended and we don't want to go into labor when he is out of town. So, if I don't go into labor in the next 5 days, then I will be induced on May 14th for my 30th birthday. I'm not sure how I feel about being induced or about having the baby on my birthday, but the priority is obviously to have a safe and healthy delivery. The doctor said there is a possibility of going into labor before then, so we'll see what happens.

When I finish this I will be letting my work know that this is my last week of work until after my maternity leave. Scott and Ella and I will be spending some quality time together this weekend and Ella and I will be spending Monday and Tuesday playing together before little brother arrives. Our next posting will probably include pictures of the new little Reuter and Ella the big sister!!!

Sink or Swim I'm Diving In

To finish off a long day of work and play Ella and her daddy decided to hop in the pool last night. After lots of searching we recently found Ella a pair of water wings that fit children under the age of 3. Of course they limit the range of motion she has with her arms, but they do allow her to keep her head above water on her own. She spent an hour in the pool last night swimming from the pool steps to her daddy, which was an impressive distance of about 5 feet. As the protective mommy I sat on the side watching to make sure she didn't accidentally drop her head under or swallow a big gulp of water as her breathing became a little more frantic as she was swam. There were only a few times that she needed a reassuring hug from mommy, who was cheering from the sidelines, and before we knew it she was trying to count and sing her abc's as she swam back and forth. After mastering this new skill it was nerely impossible to get her out of the water.

As for the other little Reuter, who is also submerged in fluids, we will find out if he is preparing to get out of the pool tomorrow at our next doctor appointment. This will be the first of our weekly appointments. I am 37 weeks and have 3 weeks to go. I feeling pretty well for being this far along, but let's be honest......comfortable has a whole new meaning when you are talking about the last month of your pregnancy. Comfortable means....I only get up 3-5 times a night, my back doesn't start to hurt until half way through the day compared to the full day and my belly is only in the way about half of the time. We will keep you posted on the status of little Reuter's arrival and Ella's latest activities. Hope you enjoyed the pictures of our little fish!!!!

In Full Bloom

Well, it's April 14th and we are 5 and a half weeks away from the arrival of our first son. Some days I think things will be just fine when the baby arrives and other days I think that any mother of more than one child must be hiding super powers somewhere in her diaper bag. Anyway, I decided that I better start this project now to keep everyone informed on our family and what we are up to.

This year for my Anniversary/Mother's Day/Birthday/Labor present, Scott bought me a DSLR camera that I have been wanting. I have been playing with it all weekend and can't get enough. I want to be decent at taking pictures by the time the baby arrives. Anyway, today Ella was my subject and about 30 minutes after we started taking pictures she face planted in some rocks in front of our house. Needless to say, her face got banged up some, so I also got a lot of practice with my editing software.

Ella is full of life and energy and keeps me on my toes all of the time! We love her passion for life, smile, laughter and a silly spirit. Despite the excess energy she has to burn off every day, she has the sweetest personality. She has turned into little miss manners and is always using her please and thank you's. It melts our hearts everytime we hear her say the words, "Tank You" and "Pease" (Ella pronunciation). It's hard to believe she is almost two.

The baby is moving around like crazy. I sometimes wonder if he ever sleeps? I sure hope he does beacause I am not one to do very good without much sleep. Ella seems to be grasping the concept that there is a baby in my belly and loves to kiss it all of the time! However, I'm not sure that she is really prepared for what is in store for her in Mid May! She loves taking care of babies, but I'm not sure how much she'll like mommy taking care of a baby full time! I know she'll be very loving and will be a great helper, so I know we'll make it work somehow or another.

Until then, I try not to worry about it too much. God has a way of taking care of things. Plus, I already get up 3 times every night to go to the bathroom, have crazy dreams and feel like it takes me 5 hours to roll over in the middle of the night. Therefore, I don't think I want to add to the loss of my precious sleep for things that I have no control over at this point in time!

Well, I have to rap this up because it has taken me a long time to figure this out. I have been at the computer so long, that I now have kankles for the first time ever during one of my pregnancies! I just got up to get a drink of water and can barely walk. When I looked down at my feet, ankles and calves they looked like they belonged to a 3 foot 5, 400 pound woman. Now that's a picture I should post... pregnancy kankles!!!!!