Elli says GO COLTS!!!

READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL

First Trip to the Beach

Poor Ashli Anne

Ashli Anne is feeling neglected and thinks I only blog about Elli. Well for the most part I do blog about Elli because Elli changes daily and does so many new things and everything for her is a seemingly new adventure.

Oh wait...we were talking about Ashli weren't we. Just kidding Ash. Love you.

Ashli started out her 8th grade school year as a famous rock star since her on stage debut with Justin Bieber. I am relatively certain she was the envy of almost every single 13 year old girl.

She also started her 8th grade school year vowing to be drama free the entire school year. How long do you think that lasted. Mmm...maybe 2 days. Of course it is hard to see your child hurting and I would do anything in my power to take away any pain that any of my children could endure but it seems that these little bouts with drama really do seem to work themselves out and in the end make her a stronger and self sufficient young lady.

I am proud of Ashli for her ability to push through the difficult times and see the good in all situations.

There are times when Ashli is very mature for her young 13 years and then there are times when she still acts like she is 2. I love that she still tries to climb on my lap and be cuddled and I love that she is jealous of Elli but in a fun loving kind of hilarious way. I also love that she has such a big heart.

Little Stinker

Our happy baby girl. Yeah yeah yeah, I know she is technically a toddler now. But she is still very much a baby to us. I don't think I have ever seen a baby as happy as she is. She is just all smiles most of the time.

Lovin her cheese sticks at dinner.

Little Stinker!!

13 Months

Yep I am late with this update. I cannot believe that Elli is 13 months old. I ckannot for the life of me think of anything that does not make this baby smile and giggle. She is so happy. New things this month: She is running. Yes. Running. When she sees or hears something that she wants she chases it full speed ahead. She has 5 teeth. She absolutely loves animals. She loves the horses and waves to them when she sees them outside. I also think she says Hi Horsey. But I think that might be my imagination. She chases George (the Rooster), she chases Murray (our dog) around with her mouth wide open to give him kisses. He is a grumpy old man though and he is not pleased with her kisses. She loves bike rides and golf cart rides around the farm and is happiest when she is outside. When we open the door to let Murray out to go to the bathroom sometimes

Elli beats him outside.

Elli is a handful of busy and brings so much happiness and laughter to our entire family. Her big sister had her first day of school today and she said she missed Elli's face and she is going to sneak her into her book bag!

Night Out on the Town

We spent some time in Robinson last weekend. One last travel weekend before school starts.

Just wondering if you notice a theme to these pictures?

NO KIDS.

Grandma and Grandpa watched the kids and we were lucky enough to hang out at the Hollywood Bar in Robinson, Illinois. We stayed for a while and ended up at the Main Street Pub. I think we went bar hopping since we went to more than one bar in one night. Right?? :) So here you go...a bunch of silly pictures of us adults trying to be kids again.

Mini Family Vacation

I love taking small weekend vacations especially with extended family. This past weekend we continued what is becoming a tradition. It was our third annual trip to:

We took some pictures in the park:

Elli was fascinated by the fountains





Had some drinks and some fun





Took in a baseball game.

Heading to the game

Before the game

Ashli and Sydney before the game
Ashli at the game

Tony Dungy was the guest speaker.

Elli showing off her Cardinals t-shirt. She stayed back in the nice cool hotel room with Grandma but she still needed a Cardinals shirt to wear for the day.

The girls went to see Lady Gaga. She also stayed in the same hotel that we stayed in.

Met Michael Waltrip


Good Night!!

One Year

One year ago I was so ready to meet our precious baby. We waited in the hospital for hours and hours along with friends and family. For a long nine months we waited and we talked about what our baby girl would look like. Would she have more hair than Daddy? Would she have eyes like her sisters? Would she be too big to fit in all of her newborn outfits? She had a beautiful nursery, a closet full of adorable girl outfits and a family ready to welcome her and love her.

Every day with Elli is such a gift. I think this baby was born to laugh and smile and make those around her laugh and smile. Not a day goes by that she does not make me smile. She has changed so much over the past year. Now at 12 months she is walking and really turning into quite the little monkey. Everyone reminds me that her Uncle Chad was quite the skilled climber and that is how Elli is too. She climbs on everything but her favorite climbing toys are Mommy and Daddy. She giggles and laughs if we get down on the floor and play "horsey" with her.

She loves the water and bathtime.

She loves to read books.

She loves to play peek a boo. Patty Cake and waves bye bye.

She loves to cuddle and still takes a bottle. The older girls were broke of the bottle at 12 months. I don't think this little one is going to be broke for a while. She is pretty attached. She still won't hold the bottle or the cup herself. She will bring it to someone to give her. She loves to be snuggled when she takes her bottle or her cup.

She does not say a lot but she has a lot to say. She babbles all the time and it sure sounds like she has something very important to tell us. Right now though she just says Da Da and on occasion Ma Ma. Mostly everyone and everything is DaDa.

Happy Birthday Sweet Baby Girl. Welcome to toddlerhood!!! I can't wait to see what the next year brings.

On her way to ONE

Just a few short days until Elizabeth will be the big ONE.

Look how much she has grown over the past 12 months.

Elli First Birthday Party

We celebrated Elli's first birthday this weekend with family and friends. It was a beautiful day for a party. I still can't believe in less than a week she will be a one year old. It just does not seem possible. She is looking more and more like a toddler and less like a baby every day. It seems like yesterday that we all just sat around and held her and watched her sleep and coo. Now she entertains us with all of the silly things she does.

Here is Elli in all her party dress glory.

And...the cake.

All cleaned up and ready to open all the loot. That pink chair was a huge hit. She loves to stand in it backwards.