Brenneman Family Christmas

On the 23rd we loaded up and headed to Kansas to celebrate Christmas with my side of the family.  It's always a good time and Leah loves playing with her cousins, Natalie and Emily.  We attended church on Christmas Eve in Salina and then celebrated Christmas on the 25th with brunch and presents. 

It's a little difficult to get everyone to look in the same direction :) 

     After spending a few days at my parents, we headed even further out west to Dorrance to celebrate with the Siefers side of the family on the 26th.

But first, a few family pictures...

It was so good to see my grandma and extended family.  I sure wish we could have stayed longer, some years the holidays just never last long enough. and my time in Kansas is NEVER long enough.  The 25th was over, but our Christmases were just beginning.  From Dorrance we headed back home for the night and to celebrate our Christmas as a family of 4. 

Pumpkin Patch 2014

While my parents were in town for Leah's birthday, we planned a day at Eckert's.  It was a perfect fall day full of apple and pumpkin picking. We managed to get there early, so the crowds weren't too bad.

 First up, the underground slide, even Papa Greg got a turn. 

 We managed to get in on the last weekend of apple picking and I'm so glad we did, those apples were good! 

 After apple picking, we went on the hunt for the perfect pumpkin.  

 Leah was more into picking the flowers than the pumpkins.  

 Ella tagged along and slept most of the time in the Ergo.  

 Leah of course got in on the rides.  Tim and Leah also went through the Cardinal shaped corn maze, Ella and I passed and spent the time in the car so Ella could eat.  

 We're so thankful for fun fall days and for spending time with Grandma Debbie and Papa Greg.

All About Ella {3 Months}

Happy 3 Month Birthday Ella!

Oh Ella, you just keep getting more fun!  Here are some of your happenings from your 3rd month.

- You weigh 11 lbs 9 oz, I really thought you'd break the 12 lbs mark, but not yet.

- You're still on a eating every 3 hours schedule and you're getting better about falling asleep.  You usually eat, play for 1.5 hours, then sleep for 1.5 hours.  I'm pretty happy with this schedule and it allows me to get at least a little bit done.

- You still sleep 8:30ish to 6:30ish at night. 

- You're starting to talk and I almost got a giggle out of you the other day, it's so sweet!

- You make the best expressions and have the best smile. 

- You haven't rolled over yet, but you're getting better about lifting your head up.  I think I need to be a little bit better about putting you on your tummy.  

- We broke out the play mat this month and you like to grab the toys on it.  

- This month you also had your first trip to Kansas to meet some family. 

Happy 3 Month Birthday Ella!  We love you so!

All About Ella {2 Months}

I figured I should do Ella's 2 month update before she turns 3 months, 4 Months.
All About Ella-
- At your 2 month appt you weighed 9 lbs 14 oz
- You generally eat every 3 hours
- You are on a pretty good eat, play, sleep schedule
- We haven't attempted napping in your bed yet, you generally sleep in your swing, rock 'n play, or lamb chair
- You sleep from 8pm to 7am, with a dream feed around 11:30pm
- You've started smiling socially and it's the cutest thing!
- Leah still loves you lots and makes sure you have an animal around you always.
- You had your first hotel stay this month for Brett and Hannah's wedding and you got to meet your Kansas cousins this month as well.

Keeping Her Busy

One of my biggest worries about adding a new member to our family was keeping Leah busy while I feed Ella.  Feeding a newborn takes time and I was worried about how Leah would react to me not being able to get/ do everything she needed.  Leah does a great job of entertaining herself.  Although I've had to get used to a few more messes around the house and Leah has watched more tv and played more iPad than I'd care to admit, we're making it work.

Leah has spent lots of time this summer coloring, doing stickers, and writing letters. 

 Occasionally she helps out and cleans too.  (If only it really worked!)

 One of my goals this summer is to get Leah to learn to write her letters.  I found this iPad app to help her learn to write her letters.  In addition to writing letters you can also personalize it by adding names and words for them to write.  Leah's favorite name to write, Pursley, no surprise there!

Grandma Debbie keeps Leah well stocked with stickers.  These are a particular favorite, cat stickers. 

A Big Girl Bike

One of the first things Tim did with Leah after we got home from the hospital was to take her to Walmart and buy her a big girl bike.  Up until this point she had just been riding her big wheel.  I felt a little bad when they had a bike parade at her school this spring and all she had to take was her big wheel, so we felt it was time she had a big girl bike.  I was also sort of dragging my feet in buying one because they all seem so girly with so much pink.  Leah's new bike is not lacking in the pink department, pink bike, pink helmet, and pink wrist, knee, and elbow pads.

 Leah's new big bike is lots of pink, but I guess with two girls we'd better get used to lots of pink around here.  

 You might notice Leah's new bike even has a special place for Pursley to ride, a very important feature!

Leah's still working on getting the hang of riding her bike and has even gone through a couple of phases where she is scared to ride it.  Hopefully she'll get over the scared phase and the summer will provide us with some nice days to get out and ride. 

The Big Sister

I did't really have any idea how Leah would react to having a little sister.  Before Ella arrived, Leah was displaying some typical 3 year-old behavior and I was starting to prepare myself for the worst.  I had resigned to the fact that I might never get nap time again, a thought that in it's self exhausted me without ever even thinking about adding a newborn to the mix.  I have however been pleasantly surprised with Leah's behavior and I'm throughly enjoying watching her in her new role as big sister.  I'm sure we'll still have our days where things don't go this well and I can only imagine what it will be like with two girls fighting, but for now I'm trying to treasure these sweet grown-up moments with Leah.