70+ degree weather?? Yes please!

We were so blessed to have amazing weather this past weekend and we took full advantage of it. On Friday, we were literally outside all day since the temperature almost hit 80 degrees! The kids brought out all their toys and ran around and the adults hung out as usual. These 3 peas in a pod all climbed into the wagon for a ride around the neighborhood. Kayla acts like such a big sister to Ella, she is so sweet! I just love this picture and Wesley's belly hanging out, so classic! And these two wanted to keep up with the big kids and drive the power wheels. Good thing their feet can't reach the accelerator yet but it won't be long.

Ella was lucky enough to spend a lot of time with her Dad this weekend. One of my good friends, Jaimee was having her bridal shower and bachelorette party so Saturday I was busy with those events and while I was away, you know they spent time at the park.

One of Ella's new favorite things is "walking" Dakota. She is so funny and will say heel and no, all the commands we use.

Off they go!

There is such a special bond between a father and a daughter. I know that I truly cherish the relationship I have with my own Dad and I am definitely a Daddy's little girl, even at 30. And it just melts my heart to see Mike and Ella's special bond. He can make her laugh harder than anyone else and she loves to run around and chase him around the house. I am so lucky to have such an involved husband because most days I am exhausted when he gets home from work and he just comes right in and helps with everything. Every night after bath time, Mike puts her to bed and I love that they have that special bonding time. Already at 18 months old, she has her Daddy right where she wants him, wrapped right around her little finger. I actually think that happened after 1 second of him holding her in the delivery room and the bond has just grown so much and I know it will continue grow more and more.

And she is so lucky to have such a talented grandmother that knitted her these adorable leg warmers! She also got a new winter hat and 2 new cute bows and let's hope she will keep these in!

Monday was President's Day and Mike had off work, thanks George Washington and Abe Lincoln for the extra day off! It was another nice day and while Mommy caught up on doctor's appt, Ella got more park time with Daddy and they had the entire park to themselves.

Just more time to crawl through tunnels and go down slides in the warm Carolina sunshine!

Not sure how many more 70 degree weekends we are going to get before spring officially comes so we definitely enjoyed it and now have spring fever big time! Weather has been crazy this winter so who knows, it could be snowing next week but while it's warm, we will playing outside with best buddies, going down slides and just soaking up some much needed Vitamin D.

DeeDee and Papa!

This little girl is lucky to have such fun grandparents in her life. I have such found memories of my grandparents coming to visit and having them take care of us when mom and dad went away and I know Mike also has such great memories of visiting his grandparents at the shore and 4th of July parties. Although we wished they lived closer so we could see them more, when they come visit, we always have so much fun. This past week, my parents, DeeDee and Papa came to visit us for a couple of days and we all had so much fun, especially Ella. To say, she loves her "Papa" is an understatement. She really LOVES her Papa and everything about him. From saying his name all the time to following him all around the house and of course all the crazy things he does, like put his glasses on her.

The little professor heading off for class!

We were lucky to have some great weather lately so we made of the time by taking lots of walks and Ella is really into walking and holding hands lately so she walked with her Papa. So sweet.

Having some deep conversations I am sure!

But not to leave out DeeDee because although she likes to tease her by also calling her Papa, she says DeeDee all the time once she isn't in the room or leaves.

One last picture before DeeDee and Papa had to get on the road and head home. They are on vacation in the warm sunshine of the Caribbean right now so we are very jealous.

Ok, one last belly laugh for Papa! Thanks for coming to visit DeeDee and Papa and if you are checking this, hope you are having a great cruise! (And don't forget to bring us home some gifts, haha!)

18 Months Old

How did this happen? How is our little baby, now a little person and is 18 months old! I can still remember her as this teeny tiny little baby, just 6 lbs when we brought her home from the hospital. The doctors so worried about her because she wasn't gaining weight. We even had to go to the doctor twice her first week home for weight checks. Today, we went to see Dr Ankrah for her 18 month well visit and our little girl is growing growing growing. She weighs 24 lbs (45% percentile) and is an amazing 34 inches tall (99% percentile). She is definitely a tall girl and grew over 3 inches since her 12 month appt. No more worries about weight checks for her!

At 18 months, she has such a personality already and one thing we know for sure, she loves her doggie and really all animals for that matter. Our Saturday morning tradition is getting some breakfast and then heading in the car to Starbucks and then to the park to play. While I am in Starbucks picking up our much needed caffeine, this is how Daddy, Ella and Dakota entertain themselves! I hope Dakota likes wearing bows more than Ella because every time I place one in her hair, she quickly takes it out and either hands it back to me or throws it. Needless to say, we have lost many bows and she has only been wearing them a couple months.

I still think of her last Valentine's Day when she was 6 months old and just sitting up and not crawling, walking or even talking yet. Just lots of babbles and definitely not wearing any bows because she had no hair!

At 18 months, miss little independent wants to do most everything herself these days and of course that includes feeding herself. I am actually really proud of her because for awhile, she didn't want to use a fork or spoon and now she won't let us feed her. And to add to the fun, every time we put a bib on her, she immediately pulls it right off so we have been using lots of spray and wash and running lots of loads of laundry. Below is a rare moment when she actually kept the bib on for 3 minutes before pulling it off!

A lot has changed in the past 6 months since she turned 1 but one thing that hasn't changed in 6 months is her love of sweets! She loved cake the first time she had it on her birthday and she loves it more and more each time. We have been on a birthday party bender these past couple of weeks and Ella's favorite part is definitely the cake/cupcake part. After we eat dinner, Ella gets a special treat. This started right after Christmas when we got M&Ms in our stocking and let her try one and she loves them. Right away, she gave us the "more" sign and I guess she is bigger fan of chocolate than her Mom. So, after she is done eating and out of her highchair, we ask her if she wants a treat or M&Ms and she runs over to the freezer where we keep them. Daddy always gets them for her and then she sits in his lap eating her 3 or 4 M&Ms. I think this girl is going to love sweets!

Our little peanut/pumpkin/munchkin/angel/sweetheart, whatever new nickname we have for her has definitely grown up a lot over the past 18 months and she makes us laugh and smile more and more each day. Her vocabulary is just growing by the day and she is really talking up a storm. She is still focusing on mainly one word at a time but she has started putting a couple of them together. Yesterday when I put her down for a nap, she said "night night Momma" and she frequently says "good girl" and her favorite (I wonder where she heard it) is "no doggie". For as long as we can remember, we have been trying to get her to say "Love you" and each time, she would just look at us and smile. That is until this week when she was taking a bath and she said "love." It just melted my heart. Something else that she is into these days is mimicking everything we do. I brush my hair and then she brushes hers, I put on make-up and then she wants to also, etc. She wants to put on our shoes, socks and pretend she is a mini me. Check her out wearing Daddy's t-shirt! Doesn't she look like one of the characters from Star Wars?

Don't get me wrong, it isn't all roses and cupcakes, we have found that 18 months certainly has it challenges also. Although she is saying a lot more, she can't fully communicate with us and sometimes that frustrates her and us. She will want something and be pointing but we can't figure it out and she can't tell us. At 18 months, she has very definite opinions on what she wants and doesn't want and she will let you know. She definitely does not like riding in her car seat for longer than 10 minutes and she is hit or miss with the stroller. She doesn't like being confined in anything, that is for sure. She likes to run around and play!

At 18 months, she is still a momma's girl! Don't get me wrong, she LOVES her Daddy and loves their special traditions they have but she is still pretty attached to her momma. She does loves nighttime when her Dad puts her to sleep each night or on the weekends when they play time together.

At 18 months, she loves all things outside. She will run to the front door, garage door, back door, any way she can find a way out and knock or pound on the door and say "outside, outside." She loves the fresh air and can't wait to for spring to officially arrive. Who can blame her when you have wonderful warm weekends like we did this past weekend full of multiple park trips, picnics and walks.

At 18 months old, we are just happy when we can spend time somewhere other than the pediatrician's office. I think over the past 6 months, we have been to the doctor about 400 million times. Or at least that's what it feels like. She has had ear infections, sinus infections, upper respiratory infections, stomach bugs, rashes and pretty much a runny nose since October. Poor little girl is always fighting something and we are constantly trying to find the right combination of medicine to help her feel better. And unfortunately, we are still searching since the latest dose of medicine they gave her, Omnicef (sp?) made her break out in hives and we have now discovered, she is allergic to that. There have been lots of sleepless nights the past couple of months which is tough on all of us. Just another reason I am looking forward to spring and the stop of all these germs and illnesses. But when the meds kick in and she is back to her old self, everyone smiles.

So the past 18 months have had many highs and some lows but nonstop busy and certainly entertaining. There is a never a dull moment when this little one is around. Whether its just the three of us at home eating dinner or when we venture out and have some of Ella's favorite, pasta. Someone doesn't like her dinner being interrupted by a picture. More pasta please!

It is such a cliche and everyone says it to you but the time does go by so fast. I know it's not like she is 18 and leaving for college or anything but she is growing out of the baby stage into a full blown toddler. When you bring that newborn home from the hospital and they aren't sleeping and you aren't sleeping and they are crying for no reason, you think you will never make it. But somehow you do and then they sleep a little longer and a little longer and next thing you know, they are a year and half old. As I mentioned on the last post, one of my best friends since elementary school and her husband who I have also known since middle school had a sweet baby girl this week. So, Amy and Jason, I know you are probably not sleeping and walking around like zombies but treasure this time with your sweet little girl because before you know, she will be 18 months old and telling you "no no no" when you feed her peas. Can't wait to meet you little Abby!

So, happy half birthday to our growing girl who is constantly keeping us on our toes and bringing us more love and joy each day. You have changed and grown so much already and we can't wait what you have in store for us for the future (and we are hoping it is not the terrible two's!)

We love you so much!

Mommy and Daddy

Progressive Superbowl Fun

I know I always blog about how lucky we are to live where we do and have such great neighbors but it is so true. We get together with them all the time even if it's just an impromptu cul-da-sac play date. So, we had this great idea to have a progressive Superbowl party where each house hosts a different quarter with different food. This way, no one has to make all the food and have to host everything and the kids won't get bored playing at the same house. We took the pregame and first quarter. We went back and forth on the food but Mike had a great idea to incorporate Pittsburgh and Green Bay themes with the food and drinks. We even made up a menu for everyone. The food was a big hit, especially the Roethlisburgers! It makes me laugh to see the table, along with beer bottles and adult food, we have sippie cups and grilled cheese for the kids!

This is the only football jersey she has so even though it is college and Georgia nonetheless, she had to be in football gear! Her Uncle Court would be so proud. As you can see, she was more interested in her banana than the game.

All the kids are obsessed with the iPhones! They have so many games on there for the kids and they all fight over them. We actually had a recent iPhone incident with Ella where she was holding mine outside and tripped and dropped it and the screen shattered!!! So, I learned a very expensive lesson and she will not be holding it outside any longer! But as you can see, the kids were way more into the phones than the game. Can you blame them?

Everyone enjoying the first quarter before we changed houses. For the second, third and fourth quarter, we traveled to another house with other food and drinks and had such a fun time.

Ella loves playing next door with Allie and Kayla's kitchen. She always runs right in and plays with it! Chef in the making.

So, that was our superbowl fun and it really was such a great night with great food and even better friends. We are so lucky to all live so close and have kids around the same age. There is always someone playing outside, going for a walk or having a nightly fire! Cheers to football and good friends!

What do you do on a cold February weekend?

You take the party and fun inside! And that is exactly what we did last weekend. Ella and I took Daddy to see Ella's new favorite place, Discovery Place Kids. It is the new children's museum that we joined and Ella loves it! The only problem is, she can't decide what to do next or what area to play in. There are so many choices! Trying out the balance beam first! Unfortunately, I think her dream of an Olympic gymnast might not happen given her height! Time to ride in the convertible and make a deposit at the bank! She was fascinated by the tube going back and forth with the money!

I am not sure if she likes the money more or the hot red convertible!!

One area we literally had to drag her away from was the giant water table. Unfortunately, I think she spilled more water all over her and the floor than actually made it back in the table.

I think she thought it was bath time when you can just pour buckets and cups of water all over yourself. But the water spilling and splashing all over didn't bother her one bit. I can't wait until summer so we can spend lots of time at the pool!

Finally, one last picture for Papa and DeeDee! Ella is ready to ride on a dolphin at Seabrook!! Not sure if she loved this part too much.

After a fun filled morning where she literally ran from one exhibit to another, we were all hungry for some lunch and what better place than Ella's (and ours) favorite, Chick-fila. After eating some yummy chicken and fries, we headed over to the playland. Ella was such a big girl and climbed all the way to the top and was ready to head down the slide.

Here she comes! Don't you know, all the cool kids ride on their stomachs. I wish you could see her smile, she was laughing and squealing and having such a good time.

Then Daddy came down after her and I think their expressions say it all.

Such a fun way to spend Saturday morning on a cold, dreary February day. We are definitely dreaming of warmer weather but until it comes, we will have to find more fun things to do indoors. And that was only Saturday, Superbowl party pics to come soon. Finally, a big happy shout out to one of my oldest and best friends, Amy, who had a precious baby girl today in Dallas. Abby Elizabeth Minton is here and Ella can't wait to meet her newest little buddy soon!

Birthday Parties and Best Friends

Ella has been busy on the birthday party circuit lately. In fact, she had 3 parties in a week and this girl likes a party. Or make that the cake at a birthday party! Our first party was for her friend Hadley who was turning 2! I actually had a baby shower that started at the same time so I went for a little bit but then Mike stayed longer with Ella and captured this quick pic of her in her new blue glasses! I wish we had gotten one with Ella and Hadley together but trying to get a 2 year old and an 18 month old at the same time isn't easy. Then last week, we had a 3 year old party for Allie, our next door neighbor. Allie moved in next door when she was 4 months old so she has grown up right before our eyes. She is so sweet and loves Ella so much. Both Kayla and Allie act like Ella's older sisters. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera so I don't have any pictures but Ella loved the purple elephant birthday cake!! Then, the next morning, off to another party. This time for another 3 year old buddy of Ella's and this one was held at the Nature Museum. We haven't been to the museum before and it was so much fun! They bring out special animals for birthday parties. Here is Ella getting to pet a bunny. I think by the picture, the bunny was more scared of Ella.

She also got to see 2 different types of turtles, a cockroach and even got to pet a snake! I actually didn't know she did that since I was hiding in the corner when the snake came out but she stayed with her Dad and was brave. The museum also had a butterfly farm, large water table and lots more displays with animals. It was very cool despite the whole snake thing!

Then, all the kids had lunch and cake. Ella wasn't so into the sandwich but loved the pretzels and cake of course. I can't believe what a big girl she looks like sitting at the table.

Ella and Wesley digging into their cake. Of course, Ella had to get the piece with green frosting, not messy at all! Who cares, it washes out and she was having a great time.

We had a gorgeous weekend, temps in the high 60's and lots of sunshine. It was such a treat and we are all so ready for spring to come and stay. Kayla brought out her car and Ella actually rode in it for the first time. Kayla was so sweet and drove really slow and Ella loved it! She was belly laughing and her favorite part was stopping and starting.

The best buddy came over today for a play date and these two are so funny to watch these days. They definitely have their own language and follow each other all over. A rare moment below when they both sat still. Ella was enjoying the cartoon but not sure based on Wesley's face??!!

You can tell that Wesley has an older sister and fights for her toys. Her new favorite word is "mine." This is foreign to Ella since she doesn't have to share any of her toys so when Wesley grabs something away, she isn't sure what is happening. Wesley jumped on the ricking horse and of course, Ella wanted to get on. I think she is saying, "wait, I only have to share with my furry sister Dakota and she can't ride this." Side note: notice that furry sister in the background, always around!

So, Ella had to wait her turn and then she could ride. It is pretty funny and hard to just sit back and let them figure out the concept of sharing and mine. After this morning though, Ella has been walking around pushing her baby stroller or playing with other toys saying mine, mine. I hope that word doesn't stick for too long though.

So, that is what we have been up to, lots of birthday parties and lots of hanging with some of our best buddies. Unfortunately the cold rainy weather has returned but it was nice to have the warm weather even if it was just for a short amount of time.