April 1-13 (A brief overview)

On April 1st I announced to our siblings that we were expecting baby #2. I decided to do it on a memorable date because I had told everyone about our pregnancy with Ellie on Valentine's Day and I thought this way it'd be easier to remember.

Apparently it was a bit confusing because Carly felt the need to call Mimi and make sure it wasn't an April Fool's joke. Now that would have been cruel!
During the morning of April 1st I took some videos of Ellie playing with her doll and spent the next two hours (almost) trying to figure out how to piece it into a movie clip. This is what I came up with (I obviously skipped watching the tutorials on how to do it...bad idea):

It was nice to have the news finally out. Although I didn't throw up with this pregnancy, I definitely felt nauseous and tired. I had actually told Mom and Dad a few weeks earlier since I wanted Mom to watch Ellie while we had our first doctor's appointment. Remind me never to go to the doctor before ten weeks - it felt like a waste of time.

While I worked on the video Ellie looked for ants

Over the next few days Kelly and Josh went on a "business trip" to the Caymen Islands. it sounded like a wonderful trip! Mimi kept Clark and Maya for most of the time but Ellie and I helped out when Mom prepared for the Mom's Together breakfast and went to a shower. Ellie and Clark get along really well and Maya is such a pleasant child! It was not hard to keep the three of them, just to transport them! It's amazing how long it takes to round up three kids under three to go somewhere. Like herding cats, really. Fortunately Clark is a very patient boy and would wait quietly in the car while I smashed the other two car seats in next to him.

Playing at Fenton's

Breakfast Friday morning

 We had enough time for a cousins photo shoot

 The Fentons arrived home on Sunday and Jon chopped trees down at Mom and Dad's house. Ellie and I were bored after naps so we went and watched him work until evening church. We pulled out some of Mimi's riding toys to pass the time.

Kelly turned thirty on April 8! I had Hunter all day so Ellie and I were home with him from eleven to four then I took her to Grandma's house while I taught piano lessons. 

It was warm enough to play outside

At naptime Ellie ran and cried on Hunter's "bed"
She didn't want to sleep in her crib

Mom invited us all over to a DELICIOUS dinner in honor of Kelly. It was so good! I made the dessert and Grandma made mashed potatoes. Kelly was given a cedar chest for her big gift. It's beautiful. 

Somehow I didn't take any pictures of the birthday girl, but Clark and Ellie 

did give a lot of love to Maya

 Over the upcoming weekend we had the women's retreat. We had a great speaker - Barbara Duguid. She spoke four times over the course of the weekend and Aunt Esther closed the weekend with a talk on Sunday. It was wonderful. Mom really knows how to throw a retreat.

The Stoltzfus representatives (we missed you Carly, Katelyn, & Corinne!)

Lunch at Woody's, of course.

When  I came home Ellie hardly reacted. She loves to spend time with her Daddy! Jon was busy splitting wood with our neighbor's wood splitter.

 It was good to be home! 

A picture from when Jon had Ellie on Saturday. Pop-pop made them eggs for breakfast.

 Ellieisms:
Ellie still loves to watch for birds. She points them out and calls for them all the time.