Well, before I pop another baby out and lose all sense of reality and organization, I thought I better post a few recent photos and updates. Things are moving along and thanks to my empathetic Obstetrician, I will be having a baby on Sept. 2nd at the latest! While they say you should try to enjoy the "peace and freedom" prior to a newborn arriving to disrupt the house, I have come to the conclusion that "THEY", never endured pregnancy with a 15 month old. As many women say at this phase... I am "over it", to say the least. And while I realize that chaos, sleepless nights, and stress await... wait... that's pretty much how things are now! Whatever... while I understand it will all soon multiply... let me face them without having to run to the bathroom 10 times a night (also complicated by the fact I can barely roll out of the bed), and without trying to chase a little girl around without bending at the waist!
We are asked constantly, "does Ella understand?", "is she excited about her baby sister?", and the answer is simply - "NO!". The poor kid couldn't be more clueless - and I dare anyone to try and explain it to her! She will know soon enough - and I have no doubt that we have some difficult days ahead. In some ways - I am sad for her - because I can't imagine what it will be like from her perspective, to suddenly have an intruder in the house... but she will inevitably adjust, and in a short time will never ever remember life without her baby sister.
And speaking of our 1st baby... Ella is pretty much obsessed with dogs, cats, and farm animals these days. She's petrified of birds (that's my girl), and rodents - but put her face to face with a Great Dane and she has no fear. One of the perks to living in Indiana (no seriously, there are some)... is that there seems to be no shortage of farm animals around - go figure! We've had a couple fun outings to an organic dairy farm, and more recently the Indiana State Fair - and found that our otherwise timid daughter seems to be in her element when introduced to swine, llama, and goats... She knows her animals as well as many of their sounds... but for some reason the excitement of seeing them face to face causes her to forget - and everything says, "WOOF! WOOF! WOOF!!".
And a few random shots for your viewing pleasure... it's so hard to believe how much she has grown!!
"Look everyone! I have hair now!!"
Strollers - now more fun to push than ride in... 
"What?"A few days ago I brought out the car seat to get it ready for the new baby. Ella discovered it worked great as a rocking chair in the house, and combined with her fascination with buckles... it kept her busy for hours. I had to dig out this original shot of the day we brought her home from the hospital. She definitely is a little bigger now...
