The second half of February was busy with visits from both sets of grandparents, so most things are covered in those respective entries; however, there are a few random pictures and tidbits that I wanted to include.
Love this view! Heading to the park to meet Olivia and Jack on February 15th.
Julia received her first ash on February 18th. Joseph had school that day and they offered the students ashes during chapel time that morning and his teacher told me that he was adamant that he did not want ashes. When Ella, Julia and I went to pick him up and we all had ashes on our foreheads he had plenty of questions for me. We talked about them the entire way down to the airport to pick up my mom. I explained to him that we receive ashes as a reminder of God's love and that even if we make poor choices that God still loves us and will forgive us. About twenty minutes after explaining this he asked me, "Mom, what bad choices has Julia made?" I replied, "Julia hasn't made any poor choices-she's a baby." And then he said, "Well, why did she get ashes then?" He was definitely processing it all! I explained to him that it was just God's way of loving her and letting her know that if she makes poor choices as she grows up that God will always love her. He seemed to be ok with that and then he proceeded to ask me about all of the poor choices that I have made. Ha! I would say something like, "Well when I was a kid I would fight with my brother and sisters." And then he would say, "And, what else?" So I'd tell him another one and then he'd say again, "And, what else?" I felt like I was in confession with a very interrogating and demanding priest!! I tried offering him some of my ash but he had no interest in it...maybe next year!
Ella continues to be our little monkey and was enjoying her snack like this one day.
And, this is her new trick in the bathtub!
She encourages Joseph to do the same!
When Ella did this for the first time, Joseph said to her, "Ella, you're rockin' it!" This was the same day that he told me, "Mom, you rock." I don't think that he picked this up from Rich or I but it makes me laugh everytime he says it. He often says, "Rats" now if gets disappointed which really makes me laugh and think of my sisters everytime I hear him say it! Rich started saying "rats" a few years ago and it has stuck in our family! Ha ha.
This past month Ella has caught on to the word, "Now!" and is pretty demanding with it. Seriously she will say, "Milk...NOW!" After putting her in her place one day letting her know that it is not an ok way to talk to anyone like that, she now says, "Now, peese (please)!" Still with urgency though!
She also continues to be such a hoarder. She finds EVERY.SINGLE. BAG. in our house and starts stashing things in them. The best thing about it is that if you ask her for something she totally remembers where it is. She'll say "bag" and then run off and get it for you. Most nights we just put the bags back in the playroom but every once in awhile it is just too much for me and I find myself going through the bags to put all of the toys/random objects back in their places. Thankfully so far I've only found one cup of milk in a bag that was less than a day old so we've been ok in that department. We've been calling her "the stasher" since I feel like "hoarder" just has a more negative connotation!
When my mom was here we were at church in the cry room and Ella basically did an entire bootcamp routine for us. Thankfully we were the only ones in the room and she was quiet doing it anyways but it was so funny. We tried really hard to concentrate on the homily but it was definitely distracting watching her do burpees and "jacks" out of the corner of our eye! She continues to workout right next to me when I go to bootcamp or when I am teaching-even to the point where if we are doing squats with a heel raise she will also have her heel raised. She LOVES it!!
Another church story with Ella is we were getting ready to say the "Our Father" and she stood in front of Rich and I and held both of her hands out to the side. This is a prayer that you normally hold hands for unless if there is nobody to the left or right of you to hold your hand, which in that case you just hold your hands in the air at your side, so she totally did the right thing. It is truly amazing the things that they pick up on at such an early age. It made Rich and I smile!
She is such a funny little girl and definitely keeps us laughing...and also on our toes!
She loves jumping in Julia's tub after she is done with her bath!
February 24th
Hard to believe that February is over already! We are hoping that Daddy's travel schedule slows down in March but are thankful for Nani and Nonna and Pop's visits and for our friends who kept us busy this month! Off to March...
