Pumpkin Time!

Yay! I love fall!!! Always my favorite season! I just had to make a trip to the local pumpkin patch with Paige this year.... especially because Ellie's arrival has been pushed forward to this week - Friday!

Paige had a blast running around through the pumpkins and letting us chase her. She is getting so big and it is crazy to think how much she has changed in a year! I mean look at the 2 pictures... last year she was "propped" up against the pumpkins... just a wee 4 months old.... this year she is a big girl... standing, running, laughing, clapping, having a blast at almost 16 months old!! Just think... next year we will have both girls there! :) Crazy!

So Ellie will be here now on Friday - 10.10.08 (unless my dr says differently today). My blood pressure has gone up so they are ready to deliver me now... which is fine with me, I am feeling so DONE with this pregnancy!!!

Happy Fall everyone!! :)

We have a date!!!

Ellie will be here by October 24th! Yay! This past Monday at my 34 week dr appt we scheduled the c-section *officially* for 39 weeks on October 24th! I cannot believe that we get to meet her in 5 weeks! I am getting so excited! We are starting to FINALLY get ready for her too! We've gotten down the bassinet and baby bottles, I've washed all of the newborn clothes and put them away in her dresser, and we've started to organize the girls' room! I am just giddy thinking about having another newborn (I know, I know, what am I thinking...) But seriously... we are thrilled to be blessed again and we cannot wait to meet our little Ellie Belly! :)

Here are a couple of photos from her 3D/4D ultrasound! What a cool experience!!! We think she looks a bit like Paige!


Ellie at 31 weeks gestation:

















Paige at 35 weeks gestation (1 week old):

I call this.....

"Enough with the F'in pictures Mama"


Taken this morning during a photo shoot gone bad..........

ONE!

My sweet baby girl is ONE! How on earth did a whole entire year go by??? Paige has come a long way from the 4 lb. 14 oz little peanut a year ago. She is now 21 lbs. 3 oz and 29.5 inches long. She is walking, saying "mama, dada, and kitty" and she is into everything. She loves exploring and finding new things! Her favorite thing to play with are books!!! She just enjoys pulling all the books off her shelf and going through them one by one... they mesmerize her!

Paige turned ONE this past Wednesday (6.18) and we had a wonderful day celebrating together! The highlights of her birthday included going to the library for story hour, having a fun visit from Aunt Susan and Cousin Evan in the afternoon - complete with a wagon ride with cousin Evan in Paige's new wagon, and eating her favorite dinner - Pizza Spaghetti - topped with yummy cake! It was a fun day!!!


Then yesterday we had her birthday party! A fun luau pool party celebration with all of her favorite people! I was so happy that the little kids from daycare could come - Paige loves them! We also enjoyed a visit from Lottie, Nathan, and Corbin! And it was great that all of our friends and family were there to celebrate. Paige had a spectacular time at her party. Her favorite part was definitely splashing around in the kiddy pool with her friends! Here are some pictures from her First Birthday Party!!!

Chicago!

We just returned from a nice trip to Chicago to visit Patrick's family.... it was great - family, good weather, fabulous food (italian beef sandwiches, and hot dogs... yum!).... all was wonderful except the fact that Spirit Airlines lost my luggage on the way there and I didn't get it for over half of the trip. Of course it had to be my suitcase - complete with Paige's clothes in there too.... the best part is that Spirit has like ZERO customer service... when I asked what I was supposed to do for clothing for my daughter and myself they simply said, "We do not reimburse for the first 24 hours, then after taht you can buy a cheap pair of underwear, a toothbrush, and deodrant and then you can file a claim for those and they will "most likely" reimburse you.... LOVELY... right? Of course I had to go out and buy new stuff for us... including dresses for his Grandparents Surprise 50th Anniversary party! Thankfully I like to shop, so that was not a problem for me! :)

Overall, it was a great trip. We went to the Lincoln Park Zoo (loved this!), the Shedd Aquarium, and enjoyed some time with Patrick's family whom we haven't seen in 3 years! And we thoroughly enjoyed all the terrific food that Chicago has to offer!

Twice Blessed....

I just wanted to take this opportunity to wish everyone a very Happy Mother's Day! To my BabyCenter July 05 Loss friends - we remember our angels, to my Little Sparkler 07 friends - Happy First Mothers Day, and to all of my other friends out there who are moms (to angels or children) may you have a special and blessed day!

This Mother's Day is special for me not only because it is my very first mothers day with my sweet girl Paige... it is also special because of the little baby blessing on its way!

Paige will be a big sister come this October!! We are thrilled to announce our newest addition! We should find out in the next couple of weeks if Paige will have a little brother or sister!

Catching up...

So I know that I have greatly been neglecting this blog, so here is my attempt at catching up...

Paige turns 8 months old tomorrow! She is becoming quite the big girl. She eats in her high chair now... she has 2 teeth... she gets up on all fours and rocks back and forth (crawling here we come)... she weighs about 18 lbs.... she blows raspberries all the time and LOVES it.... she absolutely loves her kitty cats, especially Charlie...

She is just amazing!

Here are some recent pictures of Miss Paigey-Waigey...


With her new taggy blanket that I made for her:


My Blue-Eyed Girl:
















Swimming last weekend in the pool:



With her buddy Caden:




What else is new... well other than hanging with Paige, I have been working on my photography. Kristi Mangan Photography just finished our first photo contest - you can check it out and see the winners at www.kmanganphoto.typepad.com . I am getting ready to update my homepage with a bunch of new photos and new things that I will be offering! Lots in store for Kristi Mangan Photography - it's going to be exciting!

I have also picked up a new "hobby" - like I need anymore... this one is fun because it combines my love for photography, photoshop, scrapping, and online message boards. I am a "siggy" designer at Simply Chic Graphics. You can check us out at www.simplychic08.proboards99.com . If you ever need an online siggy be sure to come by and put in a request! Here are some examples of siggies I have made using Miss Paige...





I think that pretty much wraps up our life right now. Patrick is busy with tax season so that leaves Paige and I to hang by ourselves, which is wonderful! I am very much looking forward to spring break (although its late this year - 2nd week in April)...

Thats all for now!