I AM

Ella

On April 16th we celebrated Ella's 4th birthday.  It truly amazes me how fast time flies.  It seems like we just made our first trip to Leach Lake, MN to stay in the cabin.  She was only 3 months old and cried a total maybe 10 minutes the whole trip.  She truly brings an added dynamic to our home.  I love watching her play.  She has a big imagination and loves to pack things.  I believe she has packed her suitcases 20 times to go back to "Carolina" as she calls our vacation to Topsail this year.  She's fiesty at times but has all her siblings wrapped around her finger.  I truly can't imagine our family without our "Ella Beaner", She is funny. Her vocabulary amazes me and her fine motor skills crack me up.  Now she's not the most gracefull of my children. Just a week and a half shy of her birthday she fell off of our little tykes indoor slide while I was making my bed and hit her head and split it wide open.  Six staples later we were on our way to Target to buy the movie "Tangled" and then of course some candy.  I titled my blog after Ella because that is exactly who she is " I AM".  She is the center of our world around this house and she knows it. She will always be our baby. No matter how old she gets. One of my favorite parts of the day is when I tuck her and Elaina in.  She has been sleeping with her big sis for the past couple of months. I keep thinking she'll want to move back into her bed or Elaina will want her bed to herself but no one has moved on it.  Anyway, my favorite part is watching Ella snuggle right into Elaina and fall immediately asleep.  I know she feels so safe with her big sis and it warms my heart.

Brandon

Elaina starting her pursuit

Big brother Nate helping Ella

Grandpa Mike helping Ella find candy

Brandon playing short

Nate sliding in from stealing

Our days are filled with mom being the bus again.  The three older ones are in baseball and softball.  I love to watch them play, they love it so I love it!  It has been a true transition to go from one to three ball players.  I only wish I could clone myself so that I could watch all of them instead of relying on text messages to find out how they are doing while I sit with my heart in my throat wondering! This weekend Nate will be playing in a big tournament in Des Moines and Elaina will scrimmage tomorrow and then we will bolt for Des Moines for the cookout with great friends that we spend so much time with, the baseball team.  Brandon is off so he is spending some quality time with grandparents and loving every minute of it  He and my nephew Brayden are inseparable.

I hope in the chaos of your day you find peace in the little things...the hugs you get from your littles or maybe a soft butterfly kiss, the quiet time with your spouse or special person, or maybe just a few minutes to yourself to regroup. 

Blessings!