Family of Four

Things have been a bit chaotic around here as we adjust to being a family of four.  I confess I've let some things slip, just so I can manage our day to day.  For example, Ella has been allowed to watch a lot more TV than she ever has.  Usually, TV time is relegated to weekends.  But now, she gets about 30-40 minutes of watching Olivia after her nap.  It just gives me a nice break, and she is so content eating her snack (another thing I let slide--eating in the living room) and watching her show.  I'm hoping when we get a better routine with Gavin, we can cut back on the screen time.  Especially with longer days approaching, I'm hoping she'll be able to spend her afternoons outside playing instead of sitting on the couch.  But it does make me smile to see her so grown up, sitting on the couch, eating a snack, all cuddled up with a blanket and singing along to Olivia.

Another thing I've been more lenient on has been letting Ella play with my iPhone.  She has learned to say "cheese"when she wants to play with it (I let her scroll through my photos and watch videos that I've recorded of her).  She also discovered how to use the camera and take pictures.  She is quite the budding photographer.

Her "selfie."

Love her perspective of her chubby toddler legs.

On of her favorite subjects: Mia.

This past weekend, we decided it was time to head out as a family of four.  I've been reluctant to take Gavin out much because of flu season, and I feel like EVERYONE is sick.  I just can't bear the thought of him being around all those germs.  But after 3 weeks at home, we were all going a little stir crazy.  So we ventured to outdoor spaces, and have enjoyed going to the Arboretum, Kidspace museum, and the park.  I also finally broke down and got a double stroller (the Baby Jogger City Select), and I was eager to take it for a test run (so far so good!).  While it took much longer to get out the door than expected, everything went pretty smoothly and Ella enjoyed being able to go out with both her parents and her baby brother, too.

At the Arboretum, she wanted to walk along the green line.  This picture reminds me how much she's grown!

Making handprints with Dad at Kidspace.

She is not a fan of getting her hands dirty (much to Grandma's dismay), so I was pretty impressed that she did this.

She loves playing in the water.  And she was excited to show us around the museum, which she goes to weekly with Grandma for a Baby and Me class.

Snack break at the park.  Ever the big sister, she wanted to sit by Gavin and rock his car seat.