Obsessed

In 6 days my sweet baby girl Ellia will turn 1 years old. Wow!! Time sure flys bye. It seems like just yesterday I was holding her for the first time. So with no time to waste I began planning her 1st birthday party - In July. Yes, I started planning in July. I created a folder on the computer named "Ellia's first birthday" and inside it I kept ideas, websites, growing guest list etc. My husband thought it was a passing thing and would go away. He didn't really think I was serious. Little did he know ;o)

About 2 weeks ago I began to feel the frenzy of the birthday party approaching. And I realized I had begun to become Obsessed.

Websters defines Obsessed as - to haunt or excessively preoccupy the mind, to engage in obsessive thinking : become obsessed with an idea.

Here are a few of the things that I have become obsessed within the last few months:

1. Getting her birthday invitations printed & in the mail. But first I had to come up with a theme - With Cowboy theme picked out we were ready for pictures. So we headed to Auntie Melissa's to take pictures on her pony. (which I am thrilled to say is making an appearance at the party) Then after finding outrageous prices on invitations online we spent the day with our friend Diana creating her adorable invitations. This is just one of the pictures we used.

2. Finding the "perfect" outfit for Ellia's 1st birthday photos. The outfit had to be new and it had to be just right. You only take 1st birthday photos once, right? Below is the outfit, complete with brown boots.

3. Ellia cutting her first tooth. Like she can control when she cuts her first tooth. I smiled nicely when my friends kids, both only 4months old got their first teeth - but deep down I was wishing & hoping for Ellia's teeth. As if the world would end if she turned one without a tooth. But none the less I checked her gums at least 4x a day. Sure that after 2 hours a tooth would appear and I didn't want to miss it.
It finally came in 2 weeks ago!!! This is a picture of me trying to get her to open her mouth to show her tooth. Trust me it's there!

4. Finding Adilynn's coming home dress. Back two months ago I found the "perfect" dress at Carter's outlet. It was turquoise in color with little brown poke dots, but they didn't have newborn size. So the search began. I began checking every store I went into for this dress. Fred Meyers, Target, Macy's - you name the store - I searched it. Even sent my friends into stores I hadn't visited & had my mother in Florida on wild goose chases looking for the dress.
Then last Sunday, Bill is out shopping with Ellia (I was at stamp club/scrap booking) and he call's - "I found the dress for Addie to come home in". So I'm thinking - "hmmm, is it really the one?" Now I love my husband and he has good taste but this is the day our 2nd daughter comes home and this dress must be just right. I get home and this is the dress he found. Give him a BIG Gold Star. I love it and am very pleased with it.

5. With the party fast approaching I was trying to gather all the goodies, prizes, decorations etc to make it match the Cowboy theme I had decided on. Here is my big box of goodies, cowboy hats for all the children (19 total), decorations, napkins, plates etc...
6. Another obsession was getting Ellia switched from a bottle to the sippy cup by her birthday. Just when I thought she was never going to use a cup she picked it up one day and began drinking. Much to daddy's excitement it was her Boston Redsox cup. I am happy to say that Ellia now drinks her am & noon bottles out of a sippy cup.
7. Finishing her scrapbook for the party. I want to have it displayed so others can see her first year moments. Plus, I want to have autograph pages for everyone who is here on her big day to sign. So every night for the last few weeks I have been sitting at my crafting table scrap booking away. At one point I told Bill "She better love this album" - I am happy to say that as of today I only have a few pages to complete. It will be ready for Sunday.


Now, with all these things accomplished maybe just maybe I can rest a little and enjoy my daughters party. You can bet I'll post pics of the party - that is after I've recovered.

Labor Day Camping

Casa De Detlor

Ellia waking up Daddy!!

Chillin' with Mommy!!

Camping tubbie time :)

I loves me my fries

Tuckered out from the weekend

Over Labor Day we went camping in Conconully Wa. We go every year with a group of friends and it's always a ton of fun. This year there were 16 adults and 15 children! Makes for a fun weekend. I slept in a tent & on an air mattress - well an Aero Bed. It was a lot of fun. But I vow to not go another year pregnant - this was my 2nd year in a row pregnant.

Ellia did great and had a fun time with all the kids. Boy was she a dirty girl when we got home on Monday night. Camping baths aren't quite the same as a ruglar "tubby" at home.

Change is on it's way

So when Bill and I bought our home there were two rooms that were painted by the previous teenagers. This one which we named the Kaleidoscope room was the boys room. The other room was the girl's room and her room was wavy stripes in turquoise blue & mint green - can we say Sea Sick?? Well that room got painted right away and later became Ellia's nursery.

The Kaleidoscope room has remained in tact for the last 2 years. However, change is on it's way. This weekend it got painted. We are turning this room into Addie's nursery. I will post pictures of her nursery when it gets finished.

To all our overnight guests who got the privilege of staying in this room you will no longer get this privilege. You will have to settle for the office when you rest your head at Casa de Detlor. And if you never got to stay in this room you really did miss out. It was a site to be hold.

Who knew......

1. WHO knew ...... that a sneeze could pull a ligament and leaving you gasping for breath. And then leave you for days barely able to move or walk. Only when you're pregnant I guess.

2. WHO knew ...... that very well mannered & happy baby could suddenly turn into the fussiest, saddest, non-consolable child in the world. Only when teething I guess.

3. WHO knew ...... that when your husband got his new job he'd go from working long days and getting paid for it to working long days & not getting paid for it. Only when you go from hourly pay to Salary pay I guess.

4. WHO knew ...... that sunny weather that you usually love & yearn for could make you suddenly want to run to Alaska in a snow storm. Only when you're almost 7months pregnant I guess.

5. WHO knew ...... that your 2ND wedding anniversary gift of a 2x a month housekeeper could be such a great gift. Only when you're pregnant and cleaning the house is the last thing you want to do.

These are my "WHO knew" thoughts. Any other suggestions??

2 year Anniversary

Two years ago on 7-28-06 I stood in a beautiful cream wedding dress, a pair of 2 inch heels, in a blazing hot but beautiful church and in front of my family/friends and promised to love, honor, & cherish my husband. It was there that I pledged all of my love to William Detlor.

And as we celebrate our 2nd anniversary I am forever grateful for this wonderful man. He brings so much joy, laughter, excitement, passion, patience and love into my life. The mere words I type cannot express how grateful I am for him. He is an amazing husband and the BEST father to our daughter (s).

Here's to another GREAT year being Mrs. William Detlor.

Adilynn Danese Detlor - aka Addie

Isn't this the cutest pic of her feet?

Hi Everybody - I see you

Here are a couple pics from our ultrasound yesterday. Addie was very happy & moving around a lot. She was all hyped up on the sugar water they made me drink for my diabetes test. At one point we could see her sucking and it was the cutest thing ever. She already has some chubby little cheeks.

Once again I am amazed at how our bodies can carry this little person & nourish it for 9months. It's simply A M A Z I N G how the Lord orchestrated our bodies to produce & carry life.

What's in a name?

Addie Danese Detlor

After much talking, thinking, praying and a little arguing we've finally settled on our 2nd daughters name.

We haven't decided if we will just name her Addie or give her the name Addison. This we are split on. Or rather I go back and forth at any given moment. But hey I'm pregnant and hormones do that to you.

My only hang up originally with the name was that it means "son of Adam" - which isn't as exciting as Ellia which means "The Lord is my God". But then I called my mom to tell her our name selection and she was thrilled. Apparently her Great Grandmother was named Addie. And she loved that we were using my maiden name as the middle name. So she had extra warm & fuzzy feelings about the name all around.

This made me feel good and I decided why does it matter what the name means - she is our daughter and the 4th member of Team Detlor and that's all that matters.

Patience & Humble Pie

It would appear that the Lord is working in my life in some very key areas.

1. Patience
2. Humility

I've always had a wee bit of a problem with patience and I just thought naturally it would come with children. And I have gained some that's for sure...but apparently not enough.

So our neighbors dog has begun barking and he barks ALL day long. I've had enough and urge/beg/plead with Bill to go talk to our neighbors. To let them know it's not okay to leave your dog in your yard, go off to work till 5:30 every night and let him bark all day. It is disruptive to whole neighborhood and Ellia is having hard time napping since the dog is right next door and echos throughout our house.

Bill's promises to go over there on his next day off. The day before his day off, I've reached my breaking point. I type up a anoymous letter and tape it to their door. In the letter I outline the barking and how it's become a nusiance. I even put in the letter the definition of nusiance. Feeling rather proud of myself and that it will stop the problem I rush out the door to run errands. Later that night my husband isn't very happy with my letter nor the fact that I didnt wait for him to handle the situation. I shrug it off and say "you aren't home all day with the barking dog"

Next day - Neighbor comes over to our house and asks if I know anything about the letter. My husband just looks at me with a smirk on his face like "how ya going to get out of this one honey".
I confess my authorship of the letter. She is understanding and promises to get a bark collar. Says next time please just come over and talk to us. After she leaves I feel like the biggest looser and I know the Lord just sent my neighbor to slap me upside the head.

Point is - I should've waited for my husband. Tough lessons to learn and not the funest way to learn them either. Good thing the Lord's not finished with me yet, Thank heavens!!

Pool pictures

4th of July Photos

Ellia eating grass - doesn't like the feel of it, but sure enjoyed eating it.
4th of July babies/children in all their colors. (Ellia isn't thrilled about sittin)

Ellia on the trampoline - she loved it.
Team Detlor celebrating the 4th.
Daddy & Ellia being goofy for the camera

Daddy & Ellia watching the fireworks. Little missy wasn't scared of them at all.

Proud to be an American

This past Friday we celebrated our country's Independence. I love 4th of July celebrations and you can bet Team Detlor will be teaching our children the importance of this holiday.

Some words to my favorite 4th of July song are:

And I’m proud to be and American,
where at least I know I’m free.
And I wont forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.

And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
‘ Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.

Hope everyone else had a good holiday and took a moment to remember all the past & present veterans.

And the answer is..................

In the 10x10 ultrasound room the Detlor clan stood & sat anxiously anticipating the gender of Detlor Team Member #4 .......and after pushing on my stomach, shaking my stomach and wiggling the ultrasound wand thingy....................the tech determined it's a G I R L.

She is pretty sure even though the little booger wouldn't open her legs at all. She sat cross legged the entire time!! The tech finally did the zoom in from under the bottom and we could make out it was a girl.

We will have the ability to double check in 4weeks when they repeat the ultrasound for some better pics of the heart. (no worries though)

So the squabbling/bickering over names continues. And as one friend put it "Ellia gets a sister, the new little one gets lots of cute clothes and Bill gets vastly outnumbered."

New Kids On The Block

That's right I now hold in my hand my ticket to the NKOTB concert on 11-22-08. No you aren't seeing things this 31 year old, soon to be mother of two is going to the NKOTB concert.

Ohhh, those were the days - back when I was 12. Back when my wall was plastered with Teen Beat magazine posters of NKOTB and other hotty boy crushes. Back when my babysitting money and allowance was spent buying the latest scrunchy, Aqua net hairspray and Teen Beat magazines.

NKOTB was my 1st concert. One that I almost didn't get to go to. But my father insisted it would be okay and to let me go even when my mother objected. So my friend Andrea and I waited in line for 8hrs at Bell Square to buy our tickets. Then the night of the concert we made signs, got all glamorized in our "cool" concert gear and headed to the T-Dome to see our favorite guys. (I have pictures of us - I will have to find them and post them) I was in love with Joey and she Jordan. We were convinced we were going to meet them and marry them.

Flash forward 19 years.......I am 31 years old, pregnant (well newly given birth) & going to see my "guys" again. Ohh, yes pregnancy..... My due date has been stated as 11-5 or 11-9 somewhere in that vicinity. So if for some reason this baby comes late I will literally be a week post birth going to this concert. But it will all be worth it. So on 11-22-08 my five friends and I will hop into a minivan, pop in the newest NKOTB CD and jam our way down to the T-Dome to see our guys.

Just so you're all clear my husband thinks I'm crazy. He thinks all of my friends and I are crazy. I think he's just scared that he will have to watch a newborn and a 13 month old alone that night ;o)

Till the CD comes out & the concert arrives I will "Step by Step" my way through my pregnancy, tell my husband "You got the right stuff", "Keep on Smilin" cuz "I'll Still Be Loving You" and as I head out the door he'll probably say "Please Dont Go Girl" but I'll be "Hanging Tough" at the concert with my guys.

Girl or Boy ???

Next Wed we will arrive at the Doctors office with much anticipation and excitement. Wed 6-25 is the day we are set to find out the sex of our 2ND child.

Bill, Ellia, Grandma Detlor, Grandpa Detlor (G&G as we like to call them), Aunt Susan and me of course will crowd into the very small Ultrasound room with the technician. We will all stand there, I will lay of course and we will wait for her to say "it's a ________"

We all have our opinions on what the 4Th member of Team Detlor will be. I of course am convinced it's a girl, Bill thinks it's a boy, G&G are still undecided but I secretly think they want a boy, Not sure what Aunt Susan thinks, Nana & Papa (in Florida) are convinced 100% it's a boy. I wonder who will be right?

Till then I will lay awake nightly thinking about the positives of both. Another little girl could mean matching Christmas & Easter dresses. How cute would that look in pictures? It would mean we wouldn't have to buy a thing. Thank goodness for Ellia's hammy downs. Of course this would mean the bickering of girl names would continue. A little boy could mean lots of blue & daddy would finally have a wrestler. Most importantly a boy would mean no bickering about names as we do agree on a boy name. Both could be very fun & I would be happy with either.

So till next Wed I will wait in anticipation, continue to think of girl names and pray that this one will be as care free as it's older sister was to showing her private parts. WARNING PG-13 - To which Bill said " That will be the last time she ever opens her legs"

Why did you get married?

It's Friday night and my "Friday Night" friend just left. Melinda often keeps me company on Friday nights when Bill works late. Tonight I got pizza and she brought the movie - "Why did you get married"? A Tyler Perry movie. Now, I am a huge fan of Tyler Perry. Anyone seen "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" - Funny movie. He is a great comedian and tells about life in an African American family.

The movie was based on 4 couples marriages and the struggles they go through. I sat there watching this movie crying & laughing. But mostly I sat there and found myself thinking about my wonderful husband.

Why did I get married? I got married because I found the love that I'd been searching/dreaming/praying for my entire life. I found the man who loves me for me - no matter how much weight I gain & how much acne I have on my face with this pregnancy. (and it's bad - trust me)

Everyday I am amazed by his thoughtfulness, love, his amazing patience with me, his strength, the peace & security he brings to our marriage & home. He never ceases to let the day go by without telling me at least 3x how much he loves me, or how beautiful I am or how about the fact that he still brings me flowers at least 2x a month (Gotta love the Costco roses - and I do). Lets not forget all the sacrifices he has made for our family this year. His love for our children and I is AMAZING - and that is why I got married. Because I cannot live without this man!!

Florida Trip - Beach pictures

Fun in the sun

Sitting in a tide pool splashing around w/daddy

First time playing at the ocean & in the sand

Too cool for shades

What a cute baby!

Ellia loved the sand - liked to eat it

Bill & Ellia enjoying some shade

Crack Kills (my nephew playing n the sand)

Ms. Ellia had 3 swimsuits while we were on vacation and she used each one. I think my favorite was her camo green & pink flowered bikini. (She got the most compliments on this one - or should we say "ooh's", "ahhs" & "how cute") She loved it all the beach, the sand & the sun. It was so much fun to see her excitement and joy.

The best part of our vacation was watching Ellia take it all in through her little eyes. Her squeals, laughs, giggles & those beautiful smiles. It made it all so much more fun.

Florida Trip - Family

On the plane to Atlanta & Yes, Ellia is in her Pjs

Bill & Ellia taking a play break on the floor of the Atlanta airport

First Time meeting Uncle AJSnoozing with Papa
Ellia & Nana
Aunt Christy & Ellia

Uncle Tom & Ellia

Snoozin with Great Aunt Debbie
Laughs with Great Uncle Ron and Great Aunt Susan

Eating Popcicles with Cousin Thomas, YUM YUM!!!

18 weeks pregnant

Guess the statement "every pregnancy is different" is really true. At least it is for me this time around. I had morning sickness, am still tired, bad acne and have weird gagging/heartburn/indegestion. None of which I had with Ellia. This pregnancy is proving to be more challenging and at times not as fun. But I know in the end it will be all worth it and I cling with every ounce of life to the Lords promise he doesn't give us more than we can handle.

Coming soon.......vacation pics & pregnancy pics

Coming soon to a blogspot near you......pictures of our vacation to Florida & pregnancy photos of baby#2.

Three week countdown till we find out if baby#2 is a boy or a girl and we are still undecided on girl names. Who knew picking names could be soooo hard.