Sawyer

Meet Mr. Sawyer. Thanks to my sister-in-law Tracey, she took some pics for me to post on the blog.

Bay Beach

Mom took Eliana to Bay Beach today. She said that as soon as it was in sight Eliana got sooo excited, no surprise. They rode all the rides Ellie could ride, even the helicopters which made mom sick.

New Arrival

I'm sorry I don't have any pictures, but Amber (my cousin) had her second baby this morning. Sawyer Thomas Endemann arrived at 36 weeks, 6lbs 14oz, and 19 1/2 in. His lungs need to be developed a bit more as he has a surfactant deficiency. So, he's in the NICU where he can get the surfactant he needs to develop his lungs. Until then, he's on nasal cannula oxygen and has a line in his umbilical cord for drawing blood and giving him some antibiotics. This is why I didn't get any pictures, because I didn't get a chance to get to the NICU, you need to have one parent with you and Joe (Amber's husband) was sleeping. Amber was quite tired as it was another long labor, but she looked great. I'll try to get some pictures soon.

The funny thing is that he's in the NICU across the room from Jacob, my nephew (Ben's sister's child) :)

20 Months

Our little girl is 20 months today, I just can't believe it. Also, today is her Aunt Tracey and Uncle Chad's 2nd anniversary today, Happy Anniversary!

Locks of Love

I finally did it. My hair was getting annoying to me by how long it was getting. It would get caught as I tried to put my seatbelt on in the van or it would come around and whip me in the face when I would throw the softball during a game. Plus, the two times a year I would ever wear it down I had no style what so ever. I donated 10 inches of my hair to Locks of Love. It's an organization that takes hair donations in order to make wigs for underprivileged kids who have suffered hair loss due to medical problems such as cancer. I've talked about doing it for some time and I finally had it done today. It feels so different when I wash and comb my hair!

Ellie has been so funny because she rubs my head and then puts her head on mine. :)

The Lakehouse

Some friends of our family have a lakehouse on Long Lake which is about an hour or so from our house. These are the same friends who gave us their Villa in the Caymans for our honeymoon. We had an absolutely wonderful time. Barb took us out on the pontoon for a ride around the lake, which Ellie of course loved. Then Barb and her mom treated us to a wonderful lunch before it was time to get Eliana home for a late nap.

My Little Shadow

Ellie watches me put my sunglasses on the top of my head, so now she does it too.

A Good Mommy

Ellie decided to take her baby on a trip. She packed diapers, food, and books. What a good little mommy.

Farmer Girl

I just love this outfit from mom. She's our little farmer girl.

She put Ben's hat on and then Ben stook a piece of her play corn in her back pocket.

Our Anniversary

Ben and I celebrated our 4th anniversary this weekend. Friday we went to Green Bay and boarded the Foxy Lady for a lunch cruise on the Fox River. I have a couple of really nice pictures that were taken of us in the back of the boat, but for some reason they're showing up vertically instead of horizontally.

After the cruise we checked into our hotel at St. Brendan's Inn. We highly recommend the hotel. We upgraded our " Romance Package" to a suite and got a room with a couple lazy boys and extra seating area. The room was very unique and high quality. The bathroom had a whirlpool tub for two as well as a waterfall shower. Here's a picture of us after we ate our dinner at the restaurant.

Ben and I both agreed we'd love to do this every year.

Good News

Today we took Ellie to the Dr. because she's had really red hands for a week for no real reason. Well, we still don't know why she has red hands, but we know of other symptoms to watch for that could mean there's a problem. To make a long story short we use the same MD and I was supposed to have a pre-natal appt Friday. We decided to do my appt as well. So, we got to hear the baby's heartbeat at 162 bpm for the first time and Ellie was with us as well!

What a blessing another healthy baby is.

Of course I can't post without pictures. Here's my dear superwoman Eliana. Check out her dad's shoes.

Mom got Eliana a Sesame Street musical DVD. She loves dancing to it.

A New Cousin

After about a week of battling pre-eclampsia, Ben's sister had a healthy baby Jacob. He arrived via c-section about 8 weeks early at 4 lbs 4 ozs. He is doing well in the NICU and Tracey is still recovering in the hospital.

Tracey and Jacob.

Chad and Jacob.
Ben baptizing Jacob.

Bad Hair Day

Eliana woke up with one crazy hair-do after her nap yesterday. Because her hair is so fine, she ends up going all over the place.

Zoo Trip

I took Eliana to the zoo in Greenville Saturday morning while Ben was at a workshop. The zoo was perfect. It wasn't too crowded, the exhibits were so easy for her to see, and most of the animals were awake and active. Ellie loved it. We ended up leaving a little earlier than I wanted to because I wasn't feeling the greatest. We ended up skipping out of the petting zoo. Since it's only 12 minutes from our house we'll go again soon.

Ellie is doing her monkey.

Ellie is pretty good at sharing. She even tried to share her books with the monkeys.

These three guys were as mesmerized with Eliana as she was with them.