1st Time in the Restaurant Highchair and the Big Bathtub

All in the same day...2 major steps to Ella becoming more of a big girl. Sitting in the highchair at lunch yesterday.

A whole new world opened before her eyes as she joined us to eat :) She couldn't stop looking around at her new surroundings out of the carseat and she ate everything that I fed her. I had to stop her!


Then, I decided to give her a bath in her bathroom upstairs. She LOVED it! Playing with all the toys and kicking on her belly. She had a blast. Soon she can bathe with Avery, but Avery likes it really full so we'll see :)




I just LOVE their tushies!!

The Rest of Our NASCAR Weekend

While Tim was at NASCAR I had a great time with the girls! Don't get me wrong...I definitely missed him on the weekend, but Ella is getting to the age where it is easier to go out with both girls at the same time. We headed up to the outlets to get Avery some much needed new tennis shoes for school. Who knew that they could get soooo stinky ;) She got some great new kicks and hasn't taken them off since! And, they had the coin rides outside the shops so she picked the racecar to ride since her Daddy was at NASCAR. She wanted to drive the car just like Tim was doing at the race!


Afterwards, she wanted the chicken nugget Happy Meal at McDonald's that her Daddy has been getting her for the past 5 weeks after they go to the park on Saturdays. Awesome that is still the same old Happy Meal box as when we were kids!


Saturday night we went over to Heather's with the Joneses and the kiddos. Here are all the kids having dinner together, minus Ella who was just chillin' on a blanket in the living room playing with her toys. They all played so well together and had such a fun time in the game room...it was a mess - just perfect!


And, of course...the best part of the weekend for Avery was when Tim came home and gave her this souvenir. She was in heaven and has taken it to school every day this week.

Goodbye Dear Swing

It's bittersweet to see this swing leave our house..the purge has begun! Both my girls would take their naps in this swing, Avery until she was 4 months old and Ella until she was almost 3 months old. It was my trusted friend while they were infants! I always knew that once they started swinging they would take a good nap - they LOVED swinging and sleeping! I remember when Avery didn't want to be in it anymore and I was so nervous that she would never sleep in her crib. Ella, I didn't worry as much, she is my 2nd of course :)

The swing has been sitting up in her game room for the past several months waiting for a new home and I've been meaning to give it to a Women's Shelter but I just haven't been able to get over there and it's kind of on it's last leg. After being used by 2 kiddos, sometimes it would just stop swinging and you would have to give it a quick push to get it going again.

Avery's teacher's daughter is coming in town next week with her 3-month old baby girl and she asked if I had a swing that I wasn't using anymore that she could borrow, and Voila, it's found a new home. After she leaves, her teacher is going to give it to a shelter for someone else to use before it stops working completely.

Thanks so much swing for making our lives that much easier with our babies!! I would have paid anything for this swing that's how great it made our lives when they were infants :)


Avery at 4 months old


Ella at 7 weeks

Randoms that Never Made a Post from the Past Month

i have a bunch of pics from the past month that never made a post and i'm moving on so here they all are: brian and mollye came for brunch and brian made this super-cute fruit face for avery to eat...he is going to be such a good dad!


ella and her buddy


i LOVE it when she clasps her hands together...it's so sweet

sister hugs

sweet aves

Hughston Elementary Carnival

Last night we went with Darmi and Poppy to the elementary school I went to for their spring carnival. We had so much fun and the place has totally changed since I went there...of course!! I felt so "Big" while we were there and I remember when I went there that the school was so Big. What a reversal. We had so much fun playing all the games and watching Avery play outside on the bounce houses and the playground. I can't wait to go again next year!

Spinning the wheel for a prize...they were always very generous with their prizes for Avery :)


Racing in the bounce house outside. The slide on it was so fast, that poor thing practically landed on her face, but she was up and going immediately.


Getting her face painted and no pics but we all got body jewels and tattos as well! We were totally stylin'


grrr...


check this out...lockers in elementary schools??? whatever happened to tote trays?


afterwards, mom came home with me so we could put the girls to bed and then dad came back over with food for a late dinner. we sat around the table talking and laughing until almost 11:00 and it was so wonderful! i never get the chance to just hang out with my parents on my own anymore and it was the Best! i feel so lucky to have such a great relationship with them and be so close to them. love you guys so much!

The Peanut is 7 Months Today!

i guess i can't technically call her a peanut anymore because i think she is our child who will eat us out of house and home! warning...do not get in the way of her food! if you've looked at any other posts i've done recently, you will see the videos of her eating and drinking. she is serious people!! she wants her food and she wants it now! tim and i are so excited about this (imagine us doing the "happy dance") maybe food will be her passion just like me :) you might be wondering why so much excitement?? well, if you've ever had a child who is uninterested in food and then have one that LOVES food, you will understand.

let's see...

ella is sitting up on her own, not getting to a sitting position on her own, but once she is put in the sitting position there is serious balance going on. when she does fall though she gives the most pitiful cry and you just want to cuddle her and tell her she's alright...i am a sucker, i will admit it now! like i said she LOVES her food. it's such a joy to feed her :)

i've been making some of her foods on my own, but she seems to prefer most of the jarred versions so i think this will be the way to go for us until she can start picking things up and feeding herself. maybe she will like mine as she gets older. i don't really care since she enjoys eating.

she is becoming more vocal and doesn't really "talk" but kind of high-pitches it so you know she is there. she is in love with my parents dog, Honey, and will talk to her the whole time when she is in the room. it's so funny! i've got to get it on video. she is still in super-love with her daddy and loves it when he gets home. she is really becoming more comfortable with those that she's sees frequently...no more quiver lip when she sees them so that is just wonderful :)

still just a super-duper chill baby, full of smiles, loves her sleep and lovey and avery, always looking around to see what is going on. can't wait to crawl!!! she was up on all fours 2 days ago but she could be doing that for awhile. the way she kicks i'm a little bit nervous of how fast she might be once she starts. we will see soon. and, we need some teeth girlfriend...just imagine the world of food that will open up to you once you get some!

enjoying some qt with her sister and her "new" toy i just brought out. she is in awe of this thing. it's great! and aves is so good with her while they play with it. she sits behind her and says to me "mommy, i'll sit right here with her and make sure she doesn't fall". it's starting already, how long will it last?? i hope they always have each others backs.

showing off her mad-sitting skills she has!

2 Strollers Please :)

Last week I got our B.O.B. stroller back my girlfriend so Tim could start running with Ella. Avery barely ever sits in a stroller, but of course, now that we have it back she wanted this one and her pink umbrella stroller out. And, she wanted us to take a walk with both girls in the strollers. She wanted the pink one and Ella got to ride in the BOB or "Cadillac" as I like to call it.

I can't really tell if she liked it or not. She was so quiet the whole time but she's pretty quiet in her car seat while strolling so hopefully she'll continue to enjoy looking out. And, it's so crazy she's able to sit up in a stroller with no support. She's getting so Big!


Came across this one of Avery going out in it for her 1st time...seriously, do you think they're sisters??


2 strollers...so crazy to me :)