You don't choose your family.

They are God's gift to you, as you are to them.

-- Desmond Tutu

kids

kids
Lilypie Kids Birthday tickers
Lilypie Fourth Birthday tickers

Saturday, September 1, 2012


Ella is 10 months old!

My how time flies! I really can't believe our baby girl is already 10 months old, and that one year mark is just right around the corner. We are so blessed to have another amazing little angel! She is an absolute joy, and we could not be more proud of her : )

This month's stats: 18 lbs. Believe it or not, our poor little bug got her 5th ear infection, so we are scheduled for surgery on 9/12/12 for her to get tubes put in her ears : (

Nicknames: E, Belly button, Lil Sissy, Boo

Likes: Cheerios! Now that she is getting better at feeding herself she has developed a new love affair with cheerios : )

Dislikes: She gets upset when Mama walks out of the room now.
 
Milestones: Ella has a great little bear crawl! She has also started standing up unassisted and will probably take that first step any day now. She like to say "Sissy" a lot now too. She also got 2 more bottom teeth, for a grand total of 6 teeth, and I think the other 2 tops are about to break through too.



 
Feeding: Ella has 4 bottles a day, usually about 6 oz. each of Similac Soy formula using Dr. Brown's level 3 nipples and wide neck bottles. She is now eating more table foods and less baby food. She likes cheese, black beans, fruit and of course puffs, cheerios, yogurt melts and goldfish. She can use a sippy cup now and likes to drink water with her meals and snacks. She picked up on it so quickly, I didn't really even have to show her how to use it. I just gave it to her one day and she grabbed it, put it in her mouth, and tilted it up!



Sleeping: She sleeps about 7:00 pm to 7:00 am. She takes a morning nap and an afternoon nap, each usually lasting about an hour and a half.

Behavior: She is very out-going, independent and brave. She will try anything and doesn't seem to have any fears! She loves to play with Lia and explore.

Clothes: 12 months

Favorite Moments: We took one last trip to the beach and she was able to enjoy it a bit more now that she's a little bigger. We had fun swimming in the pool and going to all our favorite restaurants! We also got to meet her new teachers and she will be starting MDO next week.
Exploring her new classroom at Meet the Teacher Day

A little love from sister at the beach


Looking Forward To: Walking!

The 10 month comparison:

War Eagle!

We are all dressed for the first game of the season!! WDE!

Friday, August 31, 2012

Meet the teacher day

This morning, we went to Meet the Teacher day at Lakewood Methodist where Lia and Ella will go going to pre-school/mother's day out this year.

Ella will be in the Monkey's class with Ms. Kim and Ms. Juliet as her teachers. Lia was in the same class when she was a little one, and her old teachers were so excited to see her again! There are 6 babies in the Monkey's class and most of them are about Ella's age. Ella seemed really comfortable in her new classroom. She played with toys and crawled around the room exploring with a smile on her face : )

Lia will be in the Zebra's class for 3 year olds. Her teachers are Ms. Kathy and Ms. Elkins. She was excited to see all the new stations, like the reading corner, a dress-up center, blocks and stuffed animals. I think once she gets used to her new surroundings she is really going to enjoy her class!

Both girls will be going to school Monday and Friday from 9:15 - 1:00 and on Wednesday from 9:15 - 2:30. I know they are going to learn so much this year, and I'm so excited for them!



Lia's first dance class

Lia had her first Jazzy Bugs class at Little Gym last night. She will do 30 minutes of tap and ballet, then 30 minutes of gym. Things started off a little rocky, but she warmed up at the end. We've made a deal that if she does a good job when Daddy takes her next week, she can get her own tap and ballet shoes like the other girls in her class wear : ) Here are some pics:

Talking to Ms. Jennifer

Practicing the 8 count by tapping her heels

Sunday, August 26, 2012

A few house pics...


 Here are a few before and during photos of the house renovation. It's going great so far!

Before:
 


 During:










Wednesday, August 1, 2012

9 months old

Ella is 9 months old : )


This month's stats: 17 lbs 6 oz (25th %) 28 inches tall (67th %). Unfortunately, today's check up also revealed another ear infection (her 4th!) and a sinus infection with a nasty cough : ( So back on the antibiotics we go...

Nicknames: E, Belly button, Lil Sissy

Likes: Lia, Miller, swimming and bathing (anything where she can splash! she doesn't even mind getting a face full of water) crawling all over the place exploring the house! She also loves to suck on ice or fruit (especially watermelon!) in her little mesh snack bags. She loves playing with any and every toy she can get her hands on these days too!
Playing with Bentlee at Aunt Elaine's lake house

Dislikes: Being sick : ( Just about the time she got well last month, Lia got sick with strep. Now, on Lia's last day of antibiotics, Ella is sick again...I just can't seem to keep these kiddos well!
 
Milestones: Ella has quickly mastered crawling! She is super fast and looks adorable scooting around the house! AND she pulls up with ease and has started "cruising" using the coffee table to hold on while she walks around it. She is great at making the "B" sound, so she says "bye bye" while she waves and "ba-ba" (for bottle) really well!
 
Feeding: Ella has 4 bottles a day, usually about 6 oz. each of Similac Soy formula using Dr. Brown's level 3 nipples and wide neck bottles. She also eats one 3.5 oz serving of fruit for breakfast, one fruit and one veggie for lunch and one of each for supper. She has started practicing eating puffs, yogurt melts, and cheerios. She is great at picking them up and putting them in her mouth, but hasn't mastered chewing - she usually just gags and spits it back out!
Practicing with Puffs
Sleeping: She goes to bed at 7:00 pm and sleeps until 6:30 am. She usually stays awake about 2 1/2 hours between naps. She is trying to drop that 3rd nap and only take two long naps per day lately.

Asleep in he pack n play in her room at the new house

Behavior: She is getting a little attitude lately and will let you know when she is unhappy. Ella is going through a little bit of a Mama-attachment phase and doesn't want Daddy to put her to bed at night right now : (

Clothes: 12 months

Favorite Moments: We have enjoyed watching her master crawling and pulling up. As soon as she figured out the crawling thing, she has been unstoppable! She doesn't like to be confined to the high chair, etc. anymore now that she has get around : ) Another favorite this month was playing with all her cousins at the lake!
With Evan, Thomas, Campbell and Lia at the lake, boating with Nana
Looking Forward To: Standing up by herself and talking more!

The 9 month comparison: