A Play Date with Willow

Ella's friend, Willow, came over to play yesterday evening.  The girls had so much fun playing together.  They were both wiped by the end of the evening.  Parker tried to keep up and tried to be part of the crowd, but sometimes it just didn't happen due to the age difference and, well, he isn't a girl after all. :)



The girls were very happy to see each other!

 


Playing with glow sticks




Parker often had to find things to play with by himself...Ella wasn't always too thrilled with him hanging around the girls. 



 



Too young for the Play-Doh, but he was trying to get in on the action!



 



 

 



Feeding their babies





Helping to make the pizza



Dance Party...They (Ella) let Parker join in.



Willow dressed up in Ella's snow boots, necklace, and hat. :)

Getting sleepy...they were tired!!  They played and played and played. 

Playing around with Daddy







We're spreading the news...Baby Riley #3 is on (her/his?) way...

Dusty and I realized the blessing of another baby on the way on December 13.  It was hard not to share with our families, but we knew we wanted to make the announcement special since this will be our last go around, right my dear?  If I were younger and richer, I would want 5 or 6, but I must say that I feel like our family is now complete.

SPREADING THE NEWS TO THE RILEY FAMILY

I made Mema and Papa a 2012 calendar with pictures from 2011.

I wrote the birthdays of all of the family members on the calendar.  We didn't even have to tell Papa to read each page carefully...he was already doing so.  For some reason, he was looking closely at August. :) 

He was figuring it out!!

Mema wasn't sure what was going on until Papa pointed out "Baby Riley is due!" on August 15.

I remember Mema looking at me and asking, "Sarah, are you pregnant?"  Papa was still in shock.

Uncle Jimmy's reaction...the family was shocked!  Parker was only 13 months at the time!

Aunt Traci


SPREADING THE NEWS TO THE LAYTON FAMILY

I ran out of time to finish Grandma and Grandpa's calendar (we'll blame that on first trimester fatigue), so I gave them a calendar that Ella made at preschool. 

I also wrote the birthdays of all of the family members on their calendar.  I did "cheat" and tell them to look closely at all of the birthdays.  My mom skipped right over "the news," but my dad looked up at us with a confused look on his face. :)

Still thinking...

and thinking...

...yes, dad, it's true!!  He asked, "Wait a minute...does this mean what I think it means?"

Shocked, Aunt Tracy?

Uncle Brad and Uncle Roger got a kick out of it!

***  Isn't it funny how both of the grandpas are the ones who figured it out first? ***

RECEIVING OUR NEWS

I was 200% sure that I wanted a third child.  Dusty, on the other hand, wasn't convinced that it was in God's plan for us.  We had discussed it quite a bit, both joking around and seriously.  I must admit that Dusty had some serious reservations about having another child.  He is going to be traveling more and more with work; we are already outgrowing our home; our car is unable to hold another carseat; Ella and Parker keep us on our toes quite a bit as it is; etc., etc.  However, what I love is that we had agreed to give it a year and leave it in God's hands...it ultimately is His plan that matters and His path that we strive to follow.  Shortly after these conversations, we found out that God indeed thinks our family is intended to be a family of five.  We are thrilled and excited.  I did go through some guilty feelings (Parker must stop nursing now, he is just a baby himself, Ella already has had to adjust to sharing us with Parker), but ultimately, I couldn't be happier and I already love this baby more than I ever thought possible.  Don't worry about Dusty...he went to bed grinning the night we found out. :)



Out of the mouth of Ella...#2

The other night, Ella and I were laying in her bed.  I don't remember how the topic of marriage came up or if it even did, but here is how it went:

Ella: "I'm married."
Me:  "You are?  Who are you married to?"
Ella: "I'm married to Roger."
Me:  "Why are you married to Roger?"
Ella: "Because I love him."
Me:  "Why do you love him so much?"
Ella: " Because he has a fat belly."

Uncle Roger is married to my sister, Tracy.  They were married in October of 2010 and he is a wonderful addition to our family.  Ella has a fascination with him.  She talks about him out of the blue and she just loves him.  She only gets to see him a few times a year. :( 

I told my sister to tell him that she thinks a lot of people have a fat belly!!  No offense!! :)

Out of the mouth of Ella...#1

I think I am going to have to start blogging more with Ella quotes.  She keeps us laughing with the things she says and I'm afraid I will forget them one day if I don't write them down.  Plus, it's fun to share what this girl can come up with! :)

We are trying to get Ella to eat better.  She has never been the best eater (Parker, on the other hand, will eat anything...and I do mean anything!).  Her favorite foods are spaghetti, Cheerios, chicken and dumplings, and bbq chips.  I am sure there are a few others, but not much more.  She does eat fruit, corn, and peas well, thank goodness.  So, today was one of those days where we decided to fight the food battle.

1)  Me:  "Ella, you need to eat the yogurt.  It's plain and simple."
     Ella:  "I don't like plain and simple!  I don't like plain and simple!"  She was crying 
     while saying that.

2)  Dusty:  "Dad's gonna start laying down the law here soon."  He was talking about
     eating better.
     Ella:  "No, then there won't be any Ella left!"

Oh, that kid.  Dinner ended with her eating all of her green bean casserole (she thought they were peas), a few bites of hashbrown casserole, and a few bites of her homemade pulled pork sandwich.  Yes, that was dinner...delish, right?  Not to our little Ella's tastebuds!  :)