Ella is 2!!!

This pic was taken at her party. That blog post to come soon.

Ella turns 2!

Ella,

You were ready to be 2 for at least a month before your birthday. Your daddy and I started asking how old you were in July and getting you to say 2. You are now a pro at it. Ella your love for life is contagious. You wake up happy and go to bed happy. You love to play all day long. Your favorite toy these days is minnie mouse. She is with you every minute of the day. If she isn't, it doesn't take long to notice that you don't have her. We lost her recently and you didn't sleep well at all that night. You talk to her and she does everything you do. You also love to read. You read daily and your favorite book is the Bible. You pretend or fake read in your rocking chair. Your other favorite books are Pete the cat and Tickle monster. You know that the Bible is about Jesus and you know that God's way is Perfect! You love to sing. Some of your favorites are Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah, Bibbidi Bobbidi boo, Mickey mouse march, The wheels on the bus, The itsy bitsy spider, Jesus loves me, God is so Good, I've got a dream-tangled. Ella you also love to color. That is why we had an art party for your birthday. Your favorite breakfast food is muffins. It is the first thing you ask for when you wake up. Mickey mouse, Toy story, Curious George and Tangled are your favorite shows/movies to watch. You love playing with mom and dad's phone. You also are really good at navigating on the Ipad. You love pretending, playing in your kitchen and with your babies. You are excited about being a big sister. You are getting lots of practice with your cousin Ross and Paisley. You love doing absolutely anything with your daddy. Playing hide and seek with him is probably your favorite. You love to play in mom's make up drawer and pretend to get ready while I get ready. You love to talk to people in the grocery store. You usually end the conversation with "see ya next week." You say excuse me, please, and thank you. You have a turtle named crush. You love going to church and Gymboree play and learn. You also love to look at pictures and videos of yourself.

Your dad and I are so thankful for each day we get with you. We count it as a gift. Our prayer is that one day you will trust in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We pray that you will love people and that your love for life will only grow as you get older. We pray for boldness, strength, and favor as you live your life. I love you to the moon and back and back again Ella Reese!!!!

Insta-Friday

This is my first insta-friday. I am so excited to share our day with you.

After 3 doctor visits and a hives outbreak my poor baby is over these meds.

Ella's birthday invites were mailed today. The post master looked at me like I was a little crazy. The last time I mailed inflatables were in college. :) Ella told the confused woman they were for her "Happy" This is what she calls birthdays. It melts my heart because I do think they are extremely happy and my friends and families birthdays are a happy day for me.

This is where the doctor pricked ella's finger. She refused to do anything with this hand. It was like she didn't have a right hand. Finally at 5:30, I thought I wonder if I take it off? Sure thing, that girl said, "Boo Boo gone" and started using it again. :)

T

The prius was packed to the brim for our vacation to Charleston, SC.

Eventually this almost 2 year old went to sleep while watching her newly favorite "Curious George"

I read this while she was sleeping and Matthew was driving. I absolutely love the lessons in this book.

What I read today that I liked so much was....

-stay calm, enter the moment, and give thanks.

-Life is brief and it is fleeting but it is not an emergency.

-Wherever you are, be all there!

- I want to slow down, taste life, give thanks, and see God.

As I held ella one last time before laying her down, I watched time slow down

As the 3 of us sang I've got a dream (from tangled) in the car, I tasted life.

While reading the story of Ruth to ella, I gave thanks over God's promises for our lives.

And in the still of the ocean, I saw God.

My snack along the way. Ella knows that I love Cherry Coke. It is funny to hear her talk about it. The other day the Toys R us cashier said "I bet you could use a happy hour right about now." (Ella was a little grumpy, but I didn't think my face showed that I was tired or worn out) Anyway I immediately said without thinking..."Sonic Happy hour sounds great right about now." He laughed and made some kind of comment that made me realize he was talking about another happy hour. Cherry Coke is my drink of choice what can I say. I know my kindred spirits-Phyllis malcom, debbie bagwell, lane moore, heather wall, and sandy martin can agree.

We stopped at Chicfila or Chic-way as ella calls it so this little chick could play. Had to share a favorite wardrobe item of mine. This dress was made by my aunt debbie. It is super comfy and I love anything with pockets. Ella's silly face makes this picture all the better. :)

Laney

While looking at all the pictures I have yet to blog about, I found some special pictures of my bestie Lane.

Julia Lane Moore was born on December 30, 2010.

This is me holding that sweet baby.

This is only 10 plus hours after the birth. She looked this good after delivery too.

A few things about my bestie!

-She is an amazing mom, wife, and friend.

-She is one of the hardest working people I know-If she has a goal-she will meet it and do really well at it.

- She is a friend through thick and thin.

-She shares a love for Sonic with me.

-She is my christina yang.

-Hands down one of the best teachers I know.

-Loves God and loves people.

-Selfless in every single way.

-She holds me accountable in my walk through Christ.

The list could go on....So glad I found these sweet pics. More yearly recaps to come

No more Birthday bummer!

Guess what! The shop opened on etsy and she is making ella's birthday outfit! Yah!

Birthday Bummer!

Here was Ella's birthday outfit. (keyword was) I had been meaning to order it a month ago. Because I dragged my feet, the etsy shop is on vacation. I don't know when they are returning but It is very unlikely Ella won't have this adorable outfit for her party or photo shoot. I emailed the seller and begged. We will see if she hears my birthday plea. I am writing this so I can look at it one last time and move on. I guess she will be wearing something homemade by me. :(

What to wear to disney world....

For Christmas we are going to Disney. It is a secret so don't tell Ella or any other Strickland family kid. :) Since I am a bit under the weather, I went to bed early and found myself looking at all things disney. I decided to plan the Disney wardrobe. Since we aren't doing Christmas gifts I thought it would be fun for ella to unwrap a new outfit made by mom to wear each day. I hunted for outfits that fit her and here is what I found. All of the outfits can be found on Etsy. I have linked almost all of them.

The Jessie look---The idea is to take a pair of jeans that are too short and add the cow print. I am going to start looking for a yellow bandana to make the shirt. It needs that Jessie touch of red. Ideas welcome.

Mom shirt can be found here

Ok this shirt I might just have to make for myself. I would love for a baby to be on the way by then but if not, It will just have to say mom. Still super cute.

The cousins shirt---I have already thought about how all the cousins need to wear a shirt like this with their initial. I don't know if I will convince all of them but if not maybe just the little ones. Love the initials.

You can find these here

This snow white apron dress is absolutely Adorable!!!

You can get this dress here

I love the monogrammed princess shirt.

You can find this shirt here

Since we are going around Christmas- This applique would be perfect.

You can find this here.

I love this one too.

You can find it here.

This shirt has put the song in my head. I can hear My mom and sisters singing "practically perfect" in my ear. I love it!

You can find this here.

Rapunzel shirt idea---- White t-shirt that has this quote ".....Like all you lovely folks I have a dream." -Rapunzel

I came up with this one since Ella sings this song alot. "I have a dream, I have a dream." It is too funny listening to her say lovely folks.

So many fun ideas.

The perfect fabric for the birthday girl

This is an Alexander Henry fabric that can be bought here. I love Whipstitch fabrics in Atl. I have got to make Ella's 2 shirt out of this and maybe some cute short bloomers. It will be perfect for the party. I love that it looks like crayon marks. If you live near Atlanta, I recommend driving to Marietta Street and checking out this fabulous store. If you live far away, you can always order from Etsy. Happy Saturday!

Babyland General

On Friday, Ella got this doll. Matthew's Aunt Judy had it in her closet for years and decided she needed a good home. Ella has played, burped, slept, rocked, fed, and read to this baby all week. I decided she needed to go see Babyland General in cleveland to show her where her baby came from. :)

The old babyland general is no longer used. They built this one a few years ago.

Ella was ready to take her "baby" to see her old home. She calls her baby. When I ask her what she is going to name her she says -Buzz, Mimi, Papa, Grana, Pops, Reagan, Asher....the list of family names continues until she just says- "it is baby."

"Baby" was sporting an olympic gold medalist outfit. We thought she needed something a little more fancy. The search for the perfect outfit is on. You would be surprised of the opinion an almost 2 year old has when it comes to fashion.

The cabbage chair.

Ella felt right at home in this room. The kitchen in the background she has at home. She played with the cabbage patch girls and fed them lots of cake.

The beauty salon station was by far her favorite. Her baby set in that chair multiple times for a hair makeover.

This is the outfit ella picked out for "baby" A purple smocked dress.

While we were there we saw a birth. A little girl in the crowd got to name the baby and she chose Ella.

The stroller went everywhere she went. It was too sweet.

After much play, Ella and baby were worn out. We had a great day at Babyland General. If you live or travel near the Atlanta area, I recommend going to Cleveland, Ga and touring Babyland. It was such a treat.

Let the birthday crafting begin.....

Ella's art party crafts are in the works. Today I made the wreath to go on the door.

Here is what I did. I took her last years Birthday wreath (remember this?)

I took off all the fabric scraps and covered it with burlap. I did it two tone-light burlap and dark burlap.

I then used 3 boxes of 24 count crayons and hot glued them on.

The wreath cost a total of .75 cents. Crayons are on sale at Kroger this week for .25.

Gift ideas for Dad

Father's day gift for matthew included these pictures. I painted the DAD letters. You can get the letters at Hobby Lobby. They have every letter in the Alphabet. I then used them as a centerpiece on my dining room table to decorate for Father's day weekend. Would be a great birthday idea for a grandparent too.

A fourth of july craft

I made a 4th of july fabric using another placemat. I got scrap fabric and made some fireworks. I added heat-bond lite and then sewed it down.

Cost of project 2.50

placemat-Target

Fabric-scraps

Our 4th of July...

Our Fourth of July through the eyes of Ella Reese.....

A wagon ride to Cousin Paisley's house led to a morning full of fun events.

We saw old friends that we haven't seen in a while.

We had pancakes with strawberries, blueberries, and marshmallows that ella got really excited about.

We watched the little ones play, roll, sleep, read and laugh.

We had great conversations.

We enjoyed each other's company.

We celebrated our freedom in the U.S and our freedom in Christ.

We took lots of pictures.

We wore shirts made by mom.

We decorated our wagon for the little parade.

We had a parade.

We swam with friends.

We read with Eryn.

We watched Paisley snuggle with her teddy bear.

We ate sandwiches, mom's fruit pizza cookies, and chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes.

We played in the pool again.

We went down the slip n slide- again, and again, and again!

We watched fireworks. I didn't really like the bright lights in the sky. I didn't understand what all the fuss was about. (I think my mom had higher expectations for me enjoying them)

I had fun chasing my cousins around though and playing with the light up toys aunt jen-jen gave us.



All in all It was a great 4th of july with family and friends. Special thanks to my cousin April that planned the little parade and for family that came over to my house for a day of fun.