we adopted another puppy....kind of

Sorry to be misleading and lure you in with the promise of super adorable puppy pictures.  There is nothing better than tiny, soft, fluffy puppies except maybe a tiny, soft and fluffy (in a chubby sort of way) baby dressed up as a puppy......

Forgiven?

Oh there's more because this is what I do when I'm off work instead of cleaning, organizing or really anything productive.  I force my poor, helpless baby into costumes and outfits and take a ridiculous amount of photos.  I just can't stop.

And then I introduced our new "puppy" to our real puppies.

They were not amused.  I believe what Hudson is saying in this photo is, "Mom, really? Another puppy?  Do you love me at all?"

They would not go near her but instead stood and glared at her.  The only way I could get them close enough for a photo was by covering her in treats.  Even then it took them a long time to approach.

She is learning so much from her older "siblings"

My oops parenting moment....

Next time take the headband off before the nap....duh!

Three months

Ella's a growing girl.  We haven't had a 3 month appointment so I don't have the latest stats but I can tell you the numbers continue to grow.

Instead I have some photos to share.

So cute - in my opinion.

And here is another comparison of month 1, month 2, and month 3......

 I miss my tiny newborn but I love all the smiles and gabbing Ella does now.  She is so happy, cuddly and talkative.  So much fun!

2013: Project Organization

2012 was the year of the baby.  Baby Ella to be exact.  We pretty much started 2012 with the news of our pregnancy.  It was an amazing year but with a new baby, a part-time job, a home and a husband to care for I definitely need to implement some new tactics to optimize my time and money.  So 2013 will be my year of organization.  Fortunately for me Pinterest and the blogosphere make it really easy to get started.

These are the major areas in my life that need organization:

- All things kitchen (menu planning/grocery shopping/cabinets/pantry)
- Storage (basement/closets)
- Home cleaning and maintenance
- All things baby
- Photos and memory items
- Blogging/Etsy/knitting (basically all the time I spend on the computer - definitely need to cut down on that)


Here are some ideas I found on Pinterest (love that place) that I will hopefully be referencing as I work to organize my life this year.  There are so many smart and creative people out there.  Glad they share their great ideas.....

Kitchen Organization

                        1.                                2.                                 3.

1.  Menu planning 
2.  Under the sink organizing
3.  Fridge cleaning



Storage

                   1.                        2.                       3.                       4.

1.  Binder of manuals
2.  Wrapping paper storage
3.  Hampers in bathroom or laundry room 
4.  Store sheets in pillow cases 


Home Cleaning and Maintenance

               1.                                 2.                                  3.

1.  Keeping track of home paint colors 
2.  Cleaning Calendar 
3.  Cleaning the dishwasher 



Baby & Children Organization

             1.                        2.                       3.                       4.

1.  Kid cabinet 
2.  Track medicine dosages  l
3.  Have children donate toys before they receive their new Christmas toys  
4.  Toy storage 


Photo Organization & Memory Keeping

           1.                  2.                   3.                 4.                   5.

1. Basic photo organization     
2. Organizing with "yearbook" photobooks
3. Storing photos on CDs
4. Scanning children's artwork and making photobook (the link to her blog wasn't working so I linked to pinterest)

5. Organizing photos in lightroom

Now it is time to get to work and I will report back my progress.....

goodbye 2012, hello 2013

We had a wonderful evening ringing in the new year with our friends.  Ella was the life of the party and even forced herself to stay up to ring in the new year.  Even if  it meant tears and very heavy eyes.  After her new years kiss she promptly fell asleep at 12:01.

  

It's time to say goodbye to 2012.  I really don't want it to end.  It has been an amazing year.  The year of Ella.  We found out right after New Year 2012 we were pregnant and the rest of the year was centered around this little nugget.  Such a fun year.

We're Pregnant

The Announcement

It's a Girl

Gender Reveal Party

Introducing the nugget to Scotland

The amazing adventure of pregnancy

The amazing adventure of having a baby

Baby's first trip to CO (post coming soon)

First Christmas

And of course her first New Years.  While 2012 was the best year to date I know that 2013 has really exciting things waiting for us as well.  Bring it on!

Christmas Cards

I love Christmas cards.  I love receiving them and sending them out.  I love that each card tells its own story.  For our family it shows that we started out as a young married couple, added a dog, added another dog, and then added baby.  That is a lot of expansion......and it is only the beginning I hope.  Here is a peek at our last three Christmas cards....I never got around to scanning the others.

(my personal favorite)

We could not get Hudson in this one.  All you can see is the top of his head.  I have to say it is harder and harder to get a good photo.  Dogs and babies complicate things.

Can't wait to see what next year's card will look like!

Our merry little Christmas

Oh and of course had a ton of Christmas themed photo shoots.......

We had a wonderful time celebrating Ella's first Christmas.  Ella's Uncle Ryan came home from Boston and her Uncle Connor surprised us with a last minute trip home from California.

And of course we love spending time with Aunt Katelyn, Aunt Carly and Uncle Ty too.

We spent Christmas Eve with the whole Keith clan.  Ella loved spending time with her Great Grammie and Grampie and all her uncles, aunts and cousins  -especially cousin Owen.  Brandon fried a turkey (for the second time) and it was so yummy!  Grammie knit all the ladies scarves - even Ella.  We had a wonderful time celebrating the birth of the Lord together.

We then woke up Christmas morning  and spent some sweet time together as a family of three.  It was so nice to snuggle together as we exchanged our gifts, stockings and ornaments. Christmas day was spent with my family enjoying little Ella, eating too much food and playing board games.  We love board games.  

It was a very special first Christmas for Ella.  Each year it will get better and better as we share with her the meaning of Christmas, the special blessings we enjoy on this day and the family traditions that make it all the more special.  I can't wait to develop our own traditions too as we make many family memories.

Love my family!

Especially my little family of three.

And Ella's smile.

And in case you want more cuteness.

I did immediately remove the lights from her mouth.  After one photo of course.