Just a few sweet pictures

I just thought these pictures of Karen and Ella were too cute! They're here, just chilling...

And this is Aunt Kelly with Ella! Ella had just woke up from her nap here, and has crazy hair....I love that.

Recent happenings.... in pictures

Here are Ella and Jason after making prints of her hands and feet with ink....

Bath time is one of Ella's and Mommy's great joys in life....

Ella's first time sitting in a shopping cart!! The Costco on-lookers probably thought we were idiots taking pictures, but we are so proud of her! Look at her so happy and so pleased with herself.

A picture from Oregon Family Vacation of Amber and I after the shaving cream got out of hand....

Jason and Cameron....

Ella and I spend a lot of time hanging out on the floor together playing with toys...MeMe between my two beautiful pregnant friends! Sharon is due with her first in October, and Alison with her second in January.

And I ran my 2nd race since giving birth to Miss Ella Valentine. It was a 10K race called "Pints to Pasta" and it was really fun. They bussed all of us runners up to the ADIDAS campus where we ran 6.2 miles back to the Old Spaghetti Factory and were greeted with beer and pasta. It was about 9 AM when I finished running and it felt a bit wierd to get beer that early....but after a sip, it felt oddly OK. :) I finished both!

Ella made me a sign, that sweet girl....

My cheering squad, my biggest fans. Lucky for me, it's a mutual obsession...

Roommates

Jason and I had the blessing of new roommates this past month. Liz and Ben breezed into our lives almost exactly a month ago, and just breezed out the door about an hour ago. I miss them already. I cried when they drove away - and then again when they came back for their pillows and left a second time. Thanks for dragging out a painful goodbye, roomies. Ella is napping, and the nest feels empty. It amazes me how when we opened our doors to them I really didn't expect to get much back, but I truly believe we got the good end of the deal!

Ella has two new friends that love her dearly. I am an extroverted stay-at-home mom that thrived having more people around, more activity in the house. I know that Liz and Ben helped bring life and energy back to me this past month. I feel more revived and healthy having had them live here. Becoming a new mom rocked my world (in good ways), changed my thinking, brought me to my end many times over, showed me new depths of emotion and love. And part of getting more life back was getting a chance to look up from all that I've experienced and think outside of my little world a bit more. So, thank you roomies. You ended up giving me a really nice gift.

Here they are, we love them....


Ella has a very special place in her heart for Ben....

It's ridiculous to me that I don't have a picture of Liz holding Ella!! Liz is a baby person and loved to take lots of opportunities to hold, smooch, and play with Ella.

Ben and Liz are traveling around the country together working on their Business, Sseko. It's a very neat story they have, of selling sandals that women in Uganda make. The women making the sandals earn money to get a university education. And the sandals....darling! Truly. Please visit their website if you want to learn more. Ben and Liz are doing an amazing job, and their hearts are in the right places. I could go on and on, but Ella's naps are only so long....

Here they are doing a little work at the Lacey household....

http://www.ssekodesigns.com/

A visit to Columbus, OH

Well, it's been a long time since the last post because I couldn't find the USB cord for the camera. But, YAY...what was lost has been found!! I've been excited to get a few pictures up of our visit out to Ohio to see Jay, Deedee, and baby Ben.

First of all, we carried on our luggage and were feeling so proud. We packed very lightly since Jay and Deedee have all the baby stuff we need. We didn't have to bring a pack n play, or a stroller, not even a car seat! It was great. The flight then turned into an adventure for our little family of three. It took 5 hours to fly to Chicago as we were diverted up in to Canada to avoid storms, then circled the airport for an hour trying to land, then were diverted to Grand Rapids, MI to get fuel because we didn't have enough to keep circling. We waited IN THE PLANE for 2 hours while re-fuling in MI, then flew back to Chicago. Obviously, we had missed our connecting flight! So, we were re-booked on a 7:45 AM flight to Ohio and got a hotel room close to the airport for the night. We probably arrived at the hotel at 11 PM, and Ella got a VERY short night of sleep as we had to get her up really early for the early morning flight.

Ella was a TROOPER! She remained happy and polite and sweet, and only had a few moments of tears the entire time. We learned that she is more flexible than we think. The world does not end if she doesn't get enough sleep - go figure! She had lots of new friends from the flight departing Portland, and found a new love ....the airflows vent above our seats. She giggled with delight every time the air hit her on the head. Here she is showing off her scrunchy face again.

Chewing on her favorite letter of the Alphabet....



And here she is after a loooong journey, having just landed in Columbus.

Deedee and Ben picked us up at the airport and we were so happy to see them!


Here Jason is reading to Ella and Ben....




And here Uncle Jay is playing with Ella who was very, very interested in the doggie, Rudy.

Ben was a very sweet boy and joyfully shared his toys We had a few outings while we were there, first to this really neat swimming pool with a fabulous kid area, and 2 fun waterslides. We got stuck in a rainstorm at the end but it was FUN. And then the next day we went to the zoo. Here is a shot of Ella seeing the Elephants....who were outside.

Aunt Deedee and Ella, who drank out of a sippy cup for the first time ever on the trip. Thanks for sharing, Ben!

Ella loving on Rudy, and Rudy loving on Ella. It was so cute to see how interested they were in each other!

Jay and Ella on Jay's 34th Birthday - we had a delicious steak dinner, and topped it off with yellow cake and chocolate frosting. Happy Birthday, Jay!

Thanks for having us!!

Three years married!

This has always been one of my favorite wedding pictures. We are JUST MARRIED and leaving our SUPER FUN wedding reception in the Chevelle (Jason's first car he bought when he was 15 years old!) It's a joyful picture for me. Blissful. And the joy of marriage with Jason has continued on these past 3 years. I tell him all the time...."Best three years of my life!"

Often times when I'm alone I have this reoccurring thought....it's kind of odd that I keep thinking it.....but I'll share. I'm standing at a podium in front of a very large crowd of people, and I'm giving a speech on why I do believe my husband is the best man in the entire universe, in the history of all time. It's a speech I keep having to re-create because he continues to get better and better. Truly. And I also tell him all the time...."You're the best man in the universe galaxy!" :) Just like that. (And no offense to all the other wonderful husbands out there.)

Anyways, here are my top 10 things from my podium today....

1. His heart

2. His ability to be transparent and vulnerable

3. He is a real MAN. (this includes too many things to say....He can fix anything, he owns up, makes tough decisions, etc. etc.)

4. The way he loves sacrificially. He doesn't even try, it's just a part of how God made him.

5. His dance move he does for me when I'm grumpy

6. His constant ability to be my partner in life. He never puts us at odds against each other. Unity comes easily for him.

7. His thoughtfulness in relationships with friends and family

8. His work ethic

9. His wide variety of skills....from yummy homemade meals to ridiculously complex spreadsheets.

10. And I love the way he tells me that he loves me. When waking up in the morning, when going to bed at night, every single time we talk on the phone..... from the heart and with sincerity.

First Solid Food

Our big girl in her high chair awaiting her first solid food! Mushed Avocado. We saw some of her funniest faces during this process. She really enjoyed getting her fingers in her bowl and taking a loaded spoon full of avocado and tapping it on her tray ....sending avocado mush everywhere. :) So far, it's been straight to the bath tub after eating. :)

The Good Life

We've just been having so much fun lately. For example, Ella and I went wine tasting with our dear friend Karen last week while Jason was in Pittsburgh. We had SO much fun. Beautiful day, tasty wines, and a lovely lunch with Kay Hotaling.


Karen and Ella at the Anne Amie winery.

Lunch with Kay out on her porch....

Also, our little family of three went on our first hike! We went up to Multnomah falls on Saturday and had a great time. Ella loves, and I mean LOVES, being outside, so the fresh air was just her thing. She loved to hang out one side of the backpack the whole time and just take in the sights.

One of Ella's new favorite faces is the smiley scrunched nose face....ridiculously darling, right? Jason and Ella -

Another scruchy faces smile!