Just the 3 of us!

So today was Eric's first day back to work. We bere both VERY sad to for today to come, especially since he has to work extra late tonight :) So it was just the 3 girls today and I think we did pretty good. I tried to keep us very busy so we didn't get bored...usually when Campbell gets bored she gets a little fussy and that is when her tantrums come out...I wanted to avoid that on my first day alone as a mother of two. We went to lunch with Mimi and Aunt Heather, came home and Campbell took a great nap. In the afternoon we met Maureen and Daniel at the mall to try and get some Christmas shopping done...didn't buy a thing except and outfit for Ella. She had a massive blow out in her diaper that went all the way up her back and all over her outfit. I didn't have anything to change her into, so I had to buy her something new...darn! Lesson learned...carry an extra outfit in case baby has massive blow out again :) All in all that was our only disaster! Thank goodness Maureen was with me to help watch after Campbell as I cleaned up the mess! I hope the rest of the week goes as smoothly as today...wish us luck!!!!!!

Legacy Square Tree Lighting

We went to the tree lighting event at Legacy Square on Sunday. Campbell had a blast walking around, dancing to the music, and enjoying time with Mimi, Pa, Aunt Heather, and Nana. Ella slept the whole time...the great part of the newborn stage :)

The whole family...Ella is sleeping soundly in the sling :)

Campbell getting a good view of the tree lighting..she actually wasn't that impressed, but had fun regardless :)

Eric took Campbell to the Acquarium with Uncle Brad and cousin Peyton last week. They had a great time checking out all of the animals and spending some quality daddy daughter time together. Eric is such an amazing dad and I feel so lucky to have him as my husband and the father of my kids. Here are some pictures of them at the acquarium...I'm a little sad I missed it, but I know there will be plenty more trips there in our future!

Campbell and Peyton checking out a big fish!

Campbell and Eric

Campbell and Peyton running through the water tunnel...Eric said they were screaming with excitement...so cute!!!

Pics of Ella and Campbell as a big sister

Well, we survived the first 2 weeks! We truly feel like this is an accomplishment :) I wanted to post a few new pictures of Ella. I still think she looks a lot like Campbell, but most people say she favors me a little more than Campbell did. I like to hear that :) Campbell is still handling Ella's arrival amazing! She loves her little sister and tries to help by giving her a paci, sharing her milk, etc. Eric will go back to work next week so we will see if her good attitude stays when daddy isn't here to give her full attention. I'll let you know how that goes next week. We had Ella's newborn pictures done yesterday and are waiting to get them back. I can't wait to see them and will post them as soon as I receive them. For now, enjoy the below pictures of our little girls!

Sweet Ella

I wish I could sleep this soundly :)

Campbell sharing her milk with Ella

I found the remotes in Ella's lap...Campbell must have thought she needed them!

We are home!

We came home from the hospital on Friday and have enjoyed the comforts of home and getting used to our new family. Ella is such a good baby and Campbell is still doing so well with her arrival. We are still waiting for her to act out in some way, but so far she hasn't skipped a beat. Getting up several times a night still proves to be quite an adjustment :) We forgot how tiring a newborn can be and when you add a toddler to the mix it is pretty exhausting. Luckily, Eric gets 3 weeks paternity leave and is home to help. He has been amazing and has pretty much taken over the care of Campbell. She is loving the extra time her daddy is getting to spend with her. Here are a few pictures of our trip home from the hosptial and first day home.

The family about the leave the hospital

Campbell laughing at Ella

Campbell and I hitching a ride to the car :)

Campbell checking out her new carseat friend!

Me, Campbell and Ella resting in bed

Welcome Ella Marie!

Ella Marie Burgess was born on November 9th at 2:13am weighing 7lbs 13oz and 19 inches long. She decided to suprise us and come a few weeks early. I started having contractions on Sunday evening around 8:30. They started out between 9 and 13 minutes apart and within two hours were about 5 minutes apart...this is when we decided to head to the hospital. We arrived at the hospital around 11 and after being monitored for a little while were told we would be having our baby girl that night. And, at 2:13 we heard our sweet baby girl cry for the first time. It was a loud hard cry and brought tears to our eyes. We are so lucky to have two healthy daughters and count our blessings daily.

Campbell has handled Ella's arrival well so far. She loves coming to visit us in the hospital and has surpised us all with how well she is handling being away from me. We will see how she does when she finally realizes that the baby is coming home to live with us and share her mommy and daddy :) Eric has done an amazing job splitting his time between taking care of Campbell and staying with us at the hospital. We are planning on staying here until Friday and enjoying all of the help the nurses and hospital provides :) Here are some pictures from the last few days. I think Ella looks so much like Campbell did when she was born, just a little smaller. I hope you enjoy and thank you for all of the phone calls and well wishes we have received.

Our family of 4!! (I'm still a little puffy from surgery)

Go Maureen!

My dear friend Maureen is walking in the Breast Cancer 3 Day Walk this weekend. She started on Friday and is walking 20 miles a day on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. She has been training for this weekend for months and is walking in memory of her mom. I am so proud of her for doing this and was lucky enough to meet up with her for lunch on Saturday during one of their pitstops. She looked great in her pink and was having an amazing time (regardless of the numerous blisters covering her feet)! There are over 3000 women participating in this event this weekend and it was inspiring to see them all decked out in pink and all walking in memory of someone. Congrats on your first two days of walking Mo and good luck today!!!

A hair bargain...

As many of your know, I LOVE a good bargain. I get some cheap thrill out of knowing I got a deal and paid less for something than somebody else did! This brings me to my hair. I have gotten so sick of paying WAY too much for a cut and highlights. I have been shopping around for a new hair person for a while. A friend of mine mentioned that she was going to try out the Paul Mitchell Salon School, where you get a serious discount for allowing their students to cut/color your hair. After hers turned out great, I reluctantly made my appointment and had my hair done last week. I made sure to point out that I wanted an experienced, phase 2 student that was about to graduate, not some newbie that just picked up hair coloring for the first time. Now, it is not perfect. It is a little blonder than I usually go and she didn't fill in the front as much as I would have liked...but overall, it looks pretty good and I am pleased. So, for a cut, highlights, a tip, and a product I only spent $77!!! If I had not tippped or bought product it would have only been $57. This is a great deal in my book considering I used to spend around $175 to get my hair done! So, if you are feeling adventurous and would like to save a buck or two, I suggest trying it out. Good luck! Here is a link to their website, http://www.cccdallastexas.com/html/index.cfm

37 Weeks and Ella's room!

I had my 37 week appointment yesterday and not much had changed. Thankfully the baby looked great! I am still 1 cm and am now 50% effaced. I was exactly that with Campbell at 37 weeks so I am still thinking that we will go till our c-section date of the 17th. I am now officially ready for this baby to come! She could come today and I would feel great about it. We have everything ready and I am way over being pregnant :)

On another note, we finally finished Ella's room. We still have to move Campbell's glider in there and get something to hang over the changing table, but other than that it is finished! I think it turned out pretty cute! We will change out the furniture whenever Campbell is ready for a big girl bed, which will hopefully be sometime this Spring. Eric's mom made the curtains, lamp and a pillow and they all turned out great! Thanks Nana! Now all we need is a baby!!!!



It is hard to read in the picture, but the saying above the shelf says "Angels danced the day you were born."



The bedding

Our week of Halloween fun!!

We decided to celebrate Halloween for a full week. Campbell was a 50's girl this year and loved wearing her pretty costume! We started out our week of celebration at our church's annual "trunk or treat" event. Campbell had a blast going from trunk to trunk collecting candy. Our next outing was to The Big Orange Pumpkin Patch. Campbell loved looking at all of the pumpkins and staring down the goats! Next, we got dressed up again for our Gymboree class last week. She always has a great time at Gymboree and her costume did not slow her down a bit :) Last Friday Campbell, myself, Maureen and Daniel hosted a Halloween playdate at our house. It was so much fun to see all of our friends and to see the kiddos all dressed up. We had a blast and hope to make this an annual event! Finally, for the 4th and final time, Campbell got dressed up and we went trick or treating! She had an absolute blast and lasted for about an hour and a half. We went with some of our neighbors and Campbell kept busy trying to keep up with their 4 and 5 year old. She loved picking the candy and putting it in her pumpkin. As most of you know she is a VERY picky eater and won't touch the candy (expect for lolipops) so Eric and I have enjoyed snacking on it for the past few days :) Campbell made Halloween so much fun this year. We can't wait until next year when she will hopefully actually get and remember the holiday. Here are a bunch of pictures to help recap our week of fun! Enjoy!


Trunk or Treat







Pumpkin Patch






Dress up day at Gymboree






Halloween Playdate







Trick or Treat!