Kindermusik

We enrolled Ella (and me too kinda) in a Kindermusik class this for this spring semester. Class started on Tuesday and go through the end of May. One 45 minute class each week full of music, dancing, singing, stories, interaction, and learning lots of new things. It's gonna be great for both of us. I am a little worried however that as I get bigger and bigger, it may get harder and harder to participate in all that fun.....

Our Cool New Toy

Seth's brother Oliver got us a Flip camera for Christmas this year - and I'm finally getting up and running with it! It is the coolest thing! Really easy to take video, but also really easy to upload on the computer after. So hopefully, you'll see more video on the blog now.....but keep in mind our little diva isn't a fan of having a camera in her face right now. We'll have to branch out and find new subjects.... maybe a new baby?! What an idea! Thanks Ollie for the cool toy!!

Camera Shy to Say the Least

We're hoping it's a "phase". These days Ella does not want to have her picture taken. Our otherwise sweet, smiley, happy kid turns into a monster. She is the A-List celebrity, and we are the bottom-dwelling paparazzi..... As you can imagine it's nearly impossible to get many blog-worthy pics right now. Here's an idea of what we're dealing with.

It's a Boy!

The ultrasound brought us great news all around! The doctor said that all the measurements and things they saw looked normal, meaning the baby appears to be healthy. Seth and I thought we spotted something as we were watching the screen.... and the sonographer confirmed it - we are having a boy! We are very excited to have a little girl and now a boy in our happy family!!

20 Weeks

I'm 20 weeks into my pregnancy now and we are heading into the Doctor's office tomorrow morning for the big ultrasound. I am praying this little one measures up to everything they'll be looking for and that he/she is healthy. We are also hoping to find out whether he/she is a he or a she. We'll let you know!! Stay tuned.

Ella's 2 year check-up

Took Ella to the see Dr. Lee today at the Kids Clinic. She was happy with the whole idea and even being in the building until they shut the door behind us in the exam room. She knew the nurse must be up to no good. Let's just say it wasn't easy for the nurse or Dr. Lee to do what they needed to do. She did seem to like Dr. Lee thank goodness, so part of the time with him was peaceful and quiet. Only 1 shot today, thank goodness and I think we're done with those for quite a while now. Even through her sobs, Ella waved and said "bye" to that evil nurse as she left the room. I cannot get over what a sweet little girl we have. She melts my heart on a daily basis. As we left the building, Ella waved and said "bye doccor".

So here's the stats - for those of you who might be interested:

Weight / % = 26.8 pounds / 53%
Height / % = 33.75 inches / 50%

Amazing that when Ella was in her first year, she could barely get into the 5th percentile for weight and now she's right up there in the middle of those averages! Yea!

Good Job!

I was scrubbing the floor and Ella walked up and got in my face a few minutes ago and she asked, Whatcha do-ning? (pretty typical question these days) I told her, "I'm cleaning up after you like I do all the time." Ella told me, "good job," and walked off. It's so nice to be appreciated! ;)

Who's in charge here?

This blog thing is keeping me honest. I'm looking back today and really regretting my post about the success we were having with potty training a while back. We had a pretty busy December this year and I put Ella's potty training on hold for a bit - which now seems like a BIG mistake.

I had plans to jump back on board that potty training train starting this week. We've got books, stickers, posters, Elmo's support....everything I thought I needed to get Ella excited about the idea again. Well Ella has once again made me realize that there really is no such thing as a plan when it comes to kids. Well, you can have the plan, but making the plan actually play out......good luck. The 2 year old seems to be running the show. Any mention of sitting on the potty yesterday was met with a loud "NO!" Everything I've read tells me not to push too hard, so I'm backing off. I'll bring up the idea now and then, but I don't want to make her completely hate the idea. This was going to be Task #1 to tackle on my list of things to accomplish before the newest McKinstry arrives in June.... Might be time to move on to Task #2? I will ease into that with fewer expectations.

Zac & Kristen's Wedding

Zac & Kristen tied the night on Thursday night - the perfect way to spend a New Year's Eve. It was such a happy place to be, and everyone had a blast!

Cheers to the beautiful couple! We Love YOU!

the bride and groom

Kristen with her nieces, Abby and Ella

straightening the tie

Us

The growing (and gorgeous!) Storment family

Ella cuttin' a rug with the gorgeous bride