Monday, May 25, 2009

Memorial Day Weekend









Happy Memorial Day! We had a very full and fun three-day weekend, from BBQs to parades to just hanging out with family.




Saturday we went to a BBQ with dear old friends. The older three kids, which includes Ellie, are just a couple months apart in age and had a great time playing! The older kids did, too :-)




The kids learning how to blow pinwheels




Chowing down on some corn




Jana and good friends from high school


Our beautiful girls

















On Sunday we hung out at Mimi and Boppa's house and even got in a little shopping!



Ellie making biscuits for breakfast with Mimi



Audrey getting snuggles from Mimi.




Today went watched the Memorial Day parade at the end of Mimi and Boppa's street. Ellie was a little nervous at first about the noise, but got into it very quickly once they started throwing candy!









The evidence of a good weekend are the pictures from the drive home....




We hope that you had a lovely weekend, too. We are so very thankful for the men and women who fought for and protect our country every day.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Eleven Months Old


It's hard to believe that we have only one more monthly update of Audrey's first year! We will be having her first birthday party in just three weeks! Here is what Audrey is up to at eleven months old...

- She is a crawling pro! She also now has started to what we refer to as "spider crawl". She moves around with her feet and hands on the floor and her bottom in the air.

- She is a very physical baby - she never stops moving and even when she's sitting in one place, she has her arms and legs swinging.

- She can pull herself to standing but has NO interest in walking! She scares us because she pulls herself up on things and then pushes herself back down to sitting on the floor.

- She has four teeth, two on the top and two on the bottom.

- Her only real word is still "mama". She makes lots of sounds though and is starting to say "up" and "down". She spends half of her day pointing at things and saying, "da!".

- She feeds herself at most meals. For breakfast she eats oatmeal with prune juice, but at every other meal she eats finger foods. She loves green beans, pasta, peas, peaches, and pears. We're working on using a sippy cup, which isn't going too well. When she's hungry or thirsty, she smacks her lips at you! She also makes this motion with her hand over half of her face to blow you a kiss.

- She is a good sleeper! She goes to bed between 6:30 and 7:00 pm and doesn't make a peep until 6:00 am. She loves sleeping in the same room as Ellie. We listen to them talk to each other over the monitor and it is so sweet.

- She has the prettiest blue eyes.

- She is still our sweet, snuggly baby. When she's tired, she loves to sit in your lap, hold on to your shirt, and smell it. She also sucks her bottom lip when she's tired.


























Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Happy Half-Birthday!


Our big girl Ellie is 3 1/2 today! She celebrated this half-birthday by bringing half-frosted cupcakes to school to share with everyone. She also received a little gift from us this morning, which was a set of earrings and an appointment with our pediatrician to get her ears pierced in a couple weeks. She is quite excited!

Here's what Ellie is up to at 3 1/2...

- She is a kind-hearted, gentle girl. She is so loving with her sister and her friends.

- She loves to be read to and enjoys just about any book you pick. She told me that her favorite books are Pinkalicious and the rhyming book I mentioned here. She also likes Clifford, the Berenstain Bears, and Arthur. She gets so excited when we turn down the street to the library!

- When asked what age she would most like to be, she said 60.

- Her favorite color by far is blue.

- She loves to play games. Her favorites are Candyland and Memory.

- She loves music. One of her favorite things to do at home is stand on our bed and watch herself sing and dance in the mirror. If she doesn't realize you're watching, it is especially great! She also loves the free monthly shows by a local kids singer that we take them to - she really boogies down! She is starting dance class this summer and cannot wait. I think she's mostly excited about the pink leotard and ballet slippers though!

- She is able to write her letters and can write anything down if you spell it for her. She loves working on her "workbook".

- She enjoys doing what she calls "craft projects". Usually this means cutting and gluing anything!

- Her favorite food is tacos and she asks for them every time we go to the grocery store. She has oatmeal or dry cereal for breakfast almost every morning. Before we add the hot water she has to have a bite of the dry oatmeal every morning (like a reindeer, she says). She is not a picky eater though and will try almost anything. Most nights after dinner she is allowed to pick a dessert from the yellow bowl in the kitchen. She is still allergic to egg but does very well helping us manage that.

- She loves being outside! She likes to play on the playground at school, go to the park, ride her tricycle, and go on walks around our neighborhood. She also loves the beach.

- Her favorite TV shows are Sesame Street, The Wiggles, and Little Einsteins.

- She weighs about 39 pounds and is about 40 inches tall.

What would you add about Ellie at this age?


Half-frosted cupcakes to celebrate a half-birthday!








Happy half-birthday, Ellie!

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Mother's Day

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

















Our new family photo