Currently

Watching: Parenthood, I just love this show!  I have never related to a television show or movie the way I do with Parenthood.  I celebrate with them, cry with them (a lot), get angry with them (SARAH BRAVERMAN).  I think that is the beautiful thing about this show, at some point you find yourself relating to these fictional characters.  Also, I have been watching The Biggest Loser.  I love Jillian Micheals and I admire each contestant making strides to improve their health.

Listening to: Any Bethel Worship music I can get my hands on.  For Christmas Jared got me the "For the Sake of the World" cd and I listen to it or watch the accompanying dvd constantly.  If you are not familiar with Bethel I am including a link to one of their songs.

Reading:  The Fault in Our Stars by John Green.  I haven't gotten very far into this book but I loving it so far.  The book is told from the perspective of Hazel who is a smart, funny young woman who has cancer and falls for a boy that she meets a support group.  One of my goals is to read more this year, at least two books a month.  After I finish this one I think I am going to revisit an old favorite.  

Thinking about: Encouraging others.  I came across this blog recently and I have been checking back daily because I am so inspired by this woman!  Jess has an adorable toddler and she is an extremely talented crocheter.  However, I am most intrigued by her heart.  She writes a lot about the random acts of kindness and gifts that she spends her time doing.  It is so easy for me to get "so busy" that I forget to be an encouragement to the people around me.  So often I allow myself to think "Well, what can I do?" and sometimes  most of the time it is the smallest things that make the biggest difference.

This post was inspired by Dani over at Sometimes Sweet, if you are not familiar with her be sure and check out her blog!

New Blog Design

         I wanted to take a moment to talk about the new design over here at Ella Louise.  I have tried and tried to get a look myself that was simple and clean, but it seems that when it comes to technology I am challenged.  So, I searched for a design that I liked and that fit into my *small* budget and that is when I came across Emma at The Midnight Creative.  I can not say enough good things about Emma and her prompt service.  She was simply a delight to work with and I will be asking her for more help with my Facebook and Etsy store.  If you are interested in a blog redesign be sure and contact Emma!

Nature Walks and Ice-cream

        Yesterday Brooklynne and I decided to take advantage of the outdoors while the temps were 70 degrees and higher. Cold weather isn't my favorite, I'll take the heat any day. I am so glad we did because not only did we have the best time but the temperature has plummeted today. (Okay so it's probably only in the 50's or something but I am a life long Florida girl so you will have to give me a break!)
        We went out to a nature trail that is perfect for a certain curious two year old who loves to be independent. Brooklynne had the best time and is was so fun to listen to her trying to tell me about everything she was seeing. She would look out at the creek and trees then say "Let's Go!", take a few steps and do the same thing again.
         I packed a picnic for us and after we ate we headed to Dairy Queen for Brooklynne's favorite, ice cream. Her eyes lit up when she saw the vanilla ice cream swirled on top of the sugar cone.
         I love simple days like yesterday. Days of just soaking in details and getting to see things that I have seen all of my life in a fresh, new way. It's amazing the gift that our children give to us, being able to see the world again through their innocent eyes.

xo
Amanda

Happy Birthday Brooklynne!

I just wanted to share a few snapshots from our day. We won't be having an official birthday party until Sunday but Brooklynne and I spent the day with my parents and had a great time.

And suddenly she's two

In just a few short hours my sweet Brooklynne will be two... TWO! I can barely believe it.  These past two years have flown by and I have watched my tiny four pound newborn become a toddler in what seems like a blink of an eye.
  Today as she was napping I thought about the days leading up to her birth.  I thought about the anxiety of having to be induced so early because she wasn't growing, the worry that we did not have everything we needed for an infant, the fear as her heart rate dropped as I labored and the intense love I felt for this person that I had yet to meet.  Throughout these past couple of years my heart has seemed to grow everyday as I wake up and fall more and more in love with my girl.
   So much of Brooklynne's personality has come out.  It is so fascinating to watch her develop likes and dislikes and little quirks that make up who she is.  She has her daddy's kind heart and her mama's goofy sense of humor.  She loves all of her cousins and any baby she sees.  Art has defiantly become her favorite thing to do, she wakes up in the morning and heads straight to her easel.  She is scared of everything!  Poor girl jumps at her own shadow ( she might have gotten that from mama too hehe). She is funny, and sassy and so persistent.  The best has got to be her ever expanding vocabulary.  Every time she says " love you" I swear my heart melts.  And I pray that I always remember her sweet "tank you's" and "bless you".
  To my very soon to be two year old: happy birthday babes!  I can not wait to see what this year has in store for us...but do you mind slowing down just a little!?

Xo
Amanda

"A" is for Apple

          As I have mentioned before I am not the most organized person. I admire people with "to-do" lists and structure but that just isn't me at all.  However, I am trying to be more intentional with setting up learning activities with Brooklynne. So, I have began to make super simple "lesson plans" for her.
         Last week we learned about apples.  Normally, I like to find a book that corresponds with what we are learning about.  Unfortunately, I wasn't able to make it to the library.  We had great time despite that though and I thought I would share a few of the projects Brooklynne made.

       This project was so much fun and super simple.  I bought plenty of apples this week so I just took one of them and sliced it in half.  Then I put some red paint on a paper plate and helped Brooklynne stamp the apple on paper.  She was loving the project until she realized she couldn't eat the apple...good thing I still had the other half ;)

          Another day I drew a simple tree on a piece of paper and Brooklynne painted green with a paint brush and a sponge after breakfast one morning.  When she woke up I had ten apples cut out and numbered.  I put a little glue on the back and we put the apples on the tree.  The part she enjoyed most was counting the apples when we were done. When we count she repeats "two" over and over and it melts my heart.

     This last project was definitely Brooklynne's favorite.  I saw this idea on Pinterest where they used a butterfly instead.  For this project I cut out the outline of an apple and put contact paper on it.  Then I let Brooklynne stick red squares all over it then peel it off and do it all over again.  This project held her attention the longest and as you can see from the picture she was very into it.  When she was done I sealed it with contact paper. 

      This week we are learning about fall!  I'll be sure and share our projects with you next week!

A Fall dress

    Yesterday I shared some pictures from our annual pumpkin patch trip.  Today I thought I would share a little bit about the dress Miss Brooklynne wore.  The morning of our trip I decided that Brooklynne didn't have anything that remotely looked like fall, well nothing that she could wear in 90 degree weather!  So I decided to whip up a cute little dress out of some fabric that I've had for about a year.
     The corduroy is so soft and plush.  I also love the floral design and whimsical print.

     This dress was a breeze to put together!  Just two pieces sewn together at the sides and a bit of elastic at the neck.  Hem up the sleeves and bottom and you've got yourself a darling little dress, perfect for a trip to pick some pumpkins!