- i like that my girl reads books in the car -

So, I am not a big fan of the DVD players installed in the newer SUVs/MiniVans these days. I personally know a lot of people that that have DVD players in their car... but I have never been a fan. I remember when I was pregnant,  I saw a lot of parents just driving around town to the grocery store, to the park, etc with the DVD player on. I thought to myself, seriously, you can't even drive to the store without the DVD player on? From that point on, I swore I would not get a DVD player in my car.

Now that we actually have a child, do I still believe in that statement? Yes, 100%! But do I fault the parents that have one in their car and use it?? NO!  Now that I am a parent, I have totally different reasons why. Before, I thought it was wrong that parents turned on the DVD player in their car for even short trips around town. Now that I have a toddler, I understand why parents do it. The TV mesmerizes Ellie. She's quiet and well behaved when the TV is on. And it would make many car trips and errands much easier and more peaceful!  But I still absolutely refuse to get a car that has one installed...simply because I know if it was installed in the car then Ellie would get hooked. Cause I know my daughter, and it would happen....I don't want to have to turn the DVD player on every time we get into the car, or every time we take a trip longer than 5 minutes. Right now, when we get into the car, Ellie usually, happily picks up a book, and babbles to herself in the back seat as I am cruising around town. Seriously how can you complain about that? The kid loves her books!

However, in July, we are taking a 3+ hour road trip...I'm not gonna lie, I'm nervous about it. And I'm also not gonna lie...after that whole rant about DVD players, I might have bought one of these...(of course, buying the dual screen in preparation for our second child). But all the while, knowing it will never be used for anything longer than a long road trip. Cause, I kind of like that Ellie can pick up a book and keep herself occupied in the car...and I want to make that a habit!!

- oh, I was so naive -

I finally got a pretty decent family picture the other day!

I remember when I was pregnant, and even when little miss E was very tiny, other moms with toddlers would tell me how hard it was to ever get a decent picture. I even remember seeing a picture of a family on vacation...it was a pretty bad family picture, and the mom's caption was "This was the best family picture we could get!" I love photos and photography, and I remember thinking that I would always make sure we have plenty of good family pictures, no matter what age little miss E was. My kid wouldn't be that kid that made it impossible to get good pictures. My kid would pose nicely at all times for the camera so I could document all these great memories. Fast forward almost a year and a half...and folks, it is nearly impossible to get a decent family picture right now!

Seriously....nearly....impossible! little miss E will not stand still for the camera, not matter how much I beg and plead with her. It practically takes an entire dance troupe and a marching band entertaining her just to keep her still for the one second it takes to snap a picture. Needless to say, I most certainly do not have a plethora of pictures of her posing nicely. As a matter of fact most of the pictures I do have of her recently seem to be of the back of her head!

At least she has a nice head to look at huh?

Oh, and there were many other things I was sure our child would do (or not do) before we actually had her. The hubby and I often said that our baby would be able to sleep anywhere! Yup, we were going to take her everywhere, and when it was naptime, she would just fall asleep. In her stroller, in the car, at our friends' houses...doesn't matter where we were, our kid was going to fall asleep anywhere...WRONG! Not little miss E. We are very, very lucky that she is an excellent sleeper both at night and at naptime...if we are at home, and she is in her own crib. If we aren't home, we hear a lot of screaming and crying until she finally falls asleep out of sheer exhaustion, or if it's naptime, she most often just forgoes sleeping all together. For this reason, we haven't traveled half as much as we have wanted to since little miss E was born and we find ourselves planning our days around her nap and bedtime (which we swore we would never do when I was pregnant). 

We also swore that we would have a baby that would be happy in anybody's arms...WRONG! Not little miss E. Ever since she was born, she has loved being held. Even at 17 months old, she loves to be picked up and held. But she is very, very picky about who holds her. Let's put it this way...if you aren't in her tiny circle of safe people that she sees on a regular basis, she most certainly is not going to allow you to pick her up. It's not such a bad thing...this "stranger danger" that she has. At least we don't have to worry about her running into the arms of someone that she shouldn't!

Oh little miss E! Such a strong -willed little girl! I love you so much, but oh, I was so naive!

I'll leave you with this sweet picture...I brought out the dance troupe and the marching band, and got her to sit still and smile...just for a second. But that was all it took to snap this adorable shot!

- what a wonderful easter weekend -

We had a great Easter weekend! Filled with family, friends, and remembering what everything is really all about! Sunday we had an Easter egg hunt in our backyard. It was fun to watch Ellie "sort of" understand things this time around.

Finding the eggs!

 
  It was so cute to watch her get excited each time she found one.

Ellie's best friend, B (and his awesome parents) came to hunt for Easter eggs too! These two are absolutely adorable together! I think they kissed at least 3 times!

 

Ellie's Bestie!

 
She found the cookie platter..the cookies were huge! Luckily for me, after one bite, she put it down and went for the fruit!

Matt and I have realized how absolutely amazing life is with a toddler. Sure, it can be challenging and tiring at times, but the rewards are so worth it! Watching her grow and learn is absolutely the best!  You can't replace these moments...

   Ever...     

 

And I don't ever want to take them for granted...this little girl is my sunshine...my light...my happiness...She is perfect and I love her.

- words to remember -

This keeps me grounded. I need to remind myself of this at times when I "think" I am not getting what I need because someone in my life is not expressing their love or caring in the exact way I express it to them, and therefore, the way I expect to get it in return. Every time I feel this way, and then remind myself of this quote, I take a step back and realize that I am loved and cared for greatly. Sometimes we all just have different ways of expressing this love to each other.

- the beginning -

So, I decided to start a blog...I know, I know, not earth shattering news. But exciting yes? A little? Basically, ever since Ellie was born, my mind had been filled with constant thoughts...some witty, some not so witty, some short, some never ending...it's seems as if my mind never stops. Facebook was not allowing me to purge these thoughts. I didn't want to be posting every 5 minutes...so, my thoughts have just been bottled in my mind with no outlet. Then, I had a genius thought...why not start a blog? And so, we have the beginning...


 And the title? I have "great expectations"...for myself, for my life, for my family. Will they all come true? Maybe not. But what is life without goals, and dreams, and expectations? Great ones...