Busy, Busy, Busy

It has been crazy since the beginning of June. Here's a recap.

We started the month with a trip down to Dauphin Island. It was fun hanging out with Aunt Missy and Uncle Robert, cousins Catherine (15) and Melissa (13), and all the other friends who came around. Jim, Robert, and some of the cousins and friends went fishing. Most of the older girls stayed behind and played. Ellie loves swimming in the pool, watching the birds and playing with the puppies when we are down there.


Ellie and Hazel


Coco


Hazel and Aunt Missy


Hazel checking out Ellie.


Ellie, Melissa, and Coco


Hazel loving on Ellie.

We went over to Perdido Key for a dental conference the second week of June. Ellie had her first experience at the beach. She sorta liked the sand, but I think the ocean waves were too loud. She really didn't like putting more than her feet in the water. We sat on our balcony a lot because it was too hot and she liked looking out at everything.





Ellie and her daddy


Momma actually got in a picture


Checking out the surf




At the end of the week, my parents meet us in Mobile and then we went back down to Dauphin Island with Jim's brother Robert and his family. Robert and Missy have been so good to us since we moved down here and we love spending time with them and their girls. They are even kind enough to let us all stay at their house at DI. Ellie loved playing with the puppies again and Jim loved the opportunity to do a little more fishing. We had a blast and I am so glad that Baba and Grandchuck were able to join us!








Ellie loves watching the birds.


Hazel and Coco

The next weekend Jim had another conference this time at the Grand Hotel in Point Clear. Ellie and I went over and spent Saturday at the hotel. We loved spending time swinging under the huge oak trees, going into town for lunch and making some new friends. It was hot, but we enjoyed it. We went to a dinner party that night and Ellie loved it. We were outside and she loved watching the birds and listening to the music. Then people started dancing and they had lights...she was totally entertained. We had to pull here away at 10:00 to go home! I intended to take Ellie back on Sunday to take some pictures, but we were exhausted.



Last week we had Ellie's 9 month portraits taken. It was hot, yet again, but she did great. I can't wait to see them! We also went out to lunch for Aunt Missy's birthday, twice! Lucky us!
This weekend we were actually at home. It was nice to just be at home.

On another note, today is our anniversary. It is so hard to believe that it has been 7 years! I don't know where the time went. Here's a little something from that day.



Now June is just about over and it is on to July. We will be heading to Vermont on the 8th. I can't wait!!! More about that later...

New Favs

Ellie has hit some recent milestones. Crawling, pulling up, using a sippy cup, eating cheesy poofs and cheerios and playing, playing, playing.

She loves to crawl all over the place and will barely sit still any more. She loves to crawl all over the kitchen when Jim is cooking. Another favorite target is the cat. RC is not so sure about her recent ability to move about. He tries to hide on top of the ottoman, but low and behold she learned to pull up about three days after learning to crawl.


After RC...


but he escapes.


Daddy has to separate the "children".


Did you see me, I almost got him!

Ellie also loves her new found talent of feeding herself. She loves the Gerber lil crunchies that we refer to as cheesy poofs. She could eat the whole can if we let her.







She is not as crazy about cheerios. She likes to pick them up and toss them around, but only eats a few at a time.

Ellie is also not as excited about her sippy cup. She would much rather sip out of a cup than use the sippy cup which proves to be very messy.



Ellie loves to play with her toys. We found these great boxes for her toys and she loves to grab them, turn them over, crawl over them, and generally make a big mess.



We also got a baby pool for her this weekend and she went "swimming" for the first time Sunday. It was a little cold at first, but she really liked it. I have a feeling this is where we will spend most of our summer afternoons.






Heading to the slide!


Weeeeee

And They're Off...

Ellie had her first annual Kentucky Derby party the first weekend of May.
Here is the picture from her invitation.



We drank Mint Juleps (or juice boxes, depending on age), wore fancy hats and had a good time with our neighbors and friends.

Ellie is not a ship!

Goggie and Ellie


We had Ellie baptized the other weekend. Just to clarify, she was not christened, you do that to ships. My bad, but good ole wise Grandchuck set us straight.

Ellie was baptized at Trinity Episcopal Church in Columbus. It is the church where my mom and dad were married, where I was baptized and where Jim and I were married. I am so glad we made this decision.

I was sitting in the pew during the service and it just felt right. It was ok that Ellie was babbling away and I was so happy to be surrounding by so many of our friends and families. It was truly a blessing!

Afterward we had a little get together at Baba and Grandchuck's. Jim and I decided to do the food ourselves. I would like to take some credit, but it truly was all Jim. He really is amazing in the kitchen! It was a wonderful day and I am so touched by all those who were able to join us on this special day for us. What a wonderful first Mother's Day for me!

All the pictures from the church are on my mom's camera so I will post those when I get a copy. Until then, here are some pics that I took.


Enjoying lunch on the front porch


Ellie and her precious Columbus friends!!!


Moms and babes

Ellie, What's that in your mouth?

Well last weekend was the pits! Ellie was fussy and cranky all weekend. I thought maybe it had to be some of the new foods we had been trying. That I had maybe fed her something that made her tummy upset. And then low and behold Sunday morning Jim let's her chew on his finger and painfully discovers another tooth! So that explains it. Now we have a shark who lives among us! She has three teeth and man can she bite...hard!!!!

In other news, Ellie is now crawling! Exciting, yes, but not so much for momma. I personally think she has been taking lessons from the cat. She tends to pounce as opposed to crawl. She rocks back and forth and then leaps forward onto her hands. I will try to get it on video. But this new found talent means that she likes to wonder around the living room to discover new territories.



We have really enjoyed the beautiful weather recently. Jim and I have been able to take Ellie for a cocktail stroll in the evening after he gets home from work. We have cocktails and she strolls! We have also been able to spend sometime playing outside. Ellie loves to sit in the grass and pull it up.




Eating the grass




Ellie was helping Jim plant our herbs. Please note the outfit she has on. Her daddy got her dressed that morning...oh my!


She loved playing in the water...


And this is what happened when we fell in the water

We will be heading to Columbus next weekend to have Ellie christened at the church where we were married. She will either be wearing the christening gown that I wore or one that Goggie's father wore, my great-grandfather. Just depends which one she can fit in.

Here's a preview...


And a few other recent pictures.







Just kidding. This last one is of me when I was little. See any resemblance?!?!