Merry Christmas...and...I'M BAAAAAAACK...

I am really sorry that I have been the WORST blogger in the world. No blog since September. Yikes! Well, I think I have a good reason for it...maybe. I was taking three classes this semester in grad school and it really took a toll on my blogging. Something had to give when it came to having to do something and blogging was it. BUT...thanks to Nana and Pops I am all set up to blog easily with my new MacBook Pro! Thanks Nana and Pops! This computer is AWESOME! I also got a new FLIP video recorder from no other than...myself...since Cole broke mine back in the summer.

So, enough of that...TODAY IS CHRISTMAS! We had such a good day! The kids are really getting to the age of true enjoyment. Well, maybe Ellie is...Cole will next year. Cole was in and out all day long on the whole Christmas thing. BUT, Ellie LOVED it!

Santa brought her a Princess Bike and a TAG learning system and Santa brought Cole a set of table and chairs and a race car (among a bunch of other crap that Santa just could not resist, even though the kids needed them like they need a hole in the head...don't judge...if you have not been there or are there...you soon will be!)

The kids got all sorts of other stuff from their aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, and great grandparents. I guess they actually WERE good this year ;)

Here is the video I shot of them coming down the stairs to see what Santa brought!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Ellie's a Soccer Knocker!

Tim and I decided to put Ellie in soccer this year. I never played soccer...ever...but I think it gives the ground work for any sport. So, she had her first class last Thursday. SHE LOVED IT! She was really attentive and followed directions great! She was much more coordinated than I thought a 3 year old would be out there. Cole went with us and he wanted to play SO bad. Poor guy...he can play with a parents assistance when he turns 18 mos...I guess we will need to sign him up then. Here are some pictures of her playing...

Ellie's first trip to the ER

Ellie had her first trip to the ER yesterday. In my last post, we found the "blockage" b/c we went to the doctor for a virus. She was diagnosed with hand, foot, and mouth disease Tuesday along with discovering her constipation. So, yesterday she woke up with a roaring fever and very pale and groggy looking. About 11 am, she starting throwing up. Within 30 minutes she had thrown up 5 times. I had started to notice that she has not teeteed all day and she was just looking weaker and weaker. So, I called the nurse line for her doctor - which was a waste of time! The nurse told me to give her fluids...which I was trying to do and everytime she would sip something she would throw it right up. I told this to the nurse (several times) and she simply replied "well, you are just going to have to get her to keep it down" - THANKS MA'AM...I am glad I help pay YOUR salary!!!! So, through out the day she was just getting really scary...she was talking wacky talk and would just fall asleep in mid sentence. So...that was the final straw...we packed up and set off to the ER since Betty (the nurse)...was EVER SO HELPFUL...I figured the ER was the best route. Mom had come and got Cole earlier (thank goodness...thanks Mom!) so off we went. We got there and triage took us straight back b/c Ellie was gagging and throwing up all over the registation desk (lovely). They gave her some Zofran (which is a miracle worker) and once that kicked in we started giving her gatorade 1 tsp at a time. We went back out to the waiting room until a room was ready for us. Once the doctor came in she looked Ellie over and said her heart rate was up and she could tell in her eyes she was dehydrated. So...that meant an IV :(. So, we did not tell her she was going to get "pricked" b/c last time we told her to just pee in a cup...she got all freaked out. The two nurses came in and set up and put the rubberband around her arm and she just sat there watching her movie (which is AWESOME that Gwinnett Medical has this!) THEN....came the prick...she screamed and looked at me and said "MOMMY!!?!?!?!" So...I am standing there rubbing her head, crying with her (which I am SURE helped her to stop crying...right!?!) But, I could not help it...I tried to hold it back...but it was coming whether I tried or not. But, it turned out all ok...she stopped crying (and so did I) pretty soon after the tube was in. She was such a champ. You could see the life come back into her as the fluid was dripping in. She started talking again and telling us all sorts of funny things. We walked out of the hospital (5.5 hours later) and I looked down at her and she was walking out of there like she had just won a purple heart. She thought she was big stuff with her "big" bandaid, 3 stickers, and 2 braclets around her ankle. It was too cute (after the ordeal of course). Here are the pics I got of her. The first one was in the waiting room and she was pretty out of it, then the next one was her watching a movie waiting on the IV, and the third was her sitting there like a big girl while the fluids dripped in. Today she is not throwing up, but the high fever is still here. The ER said it was viral and she should be ok.

Holy crap...Literally!

For about oh say...a long time - maybe even a year...Ellie has been complaining that her tummy hurt and it hurt to go potty (t-t). The past few days she has been telling Tim and I both that her back hurt too. So, I knew something was up b/c I mean come on...what 3 year old has a bad back!?!? So, we ended up going to the doctor for a viral infection today and I asked the doctor if we could really get to the bottom (no pun intended) of her aches and pains in her tummy, back, and bottom. So, we ended up doing an x-ray to see what was going on in her bowels. And...HOLY CRAP...literally!! She has a MAJOR blockage! So, I am SO relieved that we know what is going on so we can fix it (which should be a blast in itself!) I feel so bad for her b/c I know what it is like after I eat a big meal and feel bloated and "Stuffed" and she is feeling this way everyday all day! Poor baby. So, I know this might be TMI...but no one will imagine how much is blocked unless they see it for themselves...so here is a picture of the xray. See the comparison to her body...I mean HUGE!!! I cannot get the picture to turn...so you will have to turn your head :) The blockage is the "foot" shaped black spot!

FINALLY...a good report!

Today we went for Cole's 14 month check-up and he got an A++++++!!! FINALLY! His ears were GREAT...everything was great. That goes to show that the tubes were such a great decision! He was 24 lbs and 32 inches long. Which means he is in the 50th percentile for his weight and 90th percentile for his height. He did get two shots...but he did well with those too.

Cupcakes and naked boy!

Today, Ellie and I made cupcakes after we ran out of the ones from the baby shower we had this past weekend. She helped me do everything even down to cracking all three eggs! I iced them and then she decorated them. They turned out REALLY good...ask Tim :)






Ellie and her decorated "cue-cakes"

Cole had a naked day today. A naked day means a messy day! For some real Cole just sayed NASTY ALL DAY! When I was in the shower Cole and Ellie got into the toothpaste in my bathroom which made them both NASTY! Then, after we got home from Nana's today he had a peanut butter and jelly...which in turn made him NASTY! Then after dinner the kids both got some strawberry chocolate ice cream which made him offically the nastiest! So, once the ice cream...he went the rest of the night without a shirt. It was so funny b/c he was walking around with this two thumbs in his diapers...geesh...such a MAN! :)

Cole with his thumbs in his diaper!! haha!

Both my babies at 13 months

I was looking through old pictures I have on my computer (which totals over 3,000 pictures...yikes!) and I started going down memory lane of baby Ellie. I wanted to put Cole and Ellie pictures at the same age next to each other...so what do you think...do they look a like?

Ellie's first day of "nastics"

Today Ellie had her first "real" gymnastics class. She took a class on the Tumblebus but today she went to GGA in Suwanee and HAD A BLAST! They started off running around in circles, then jumped across a trampoline runway with a big foam pit was waiting to be jumped in. Then they paraded around the gym in perfect gymnast position. Then off to the beam and then to do forward rolls. They ended the session with a good old fashion jump in the jumphouse. What is not to love?!? Here are some pics from her first day!

Cole is "Tubular"

Cole got his tubes put in his ears yesterday and did GREAT! He was really fussy before the procedure because he had been up since 4:30 am and he did not actually go back for the tubes until 7:45 am. So, Tim and I took turns trying EVERYTHING to keep him happy EXCEPT food and juice...which is usually the #1 and #2 entertainers! But, I got to back with Cole while they put him to sleep which was NOT what I was expecting. I did not think much of this procedure. I was just looking forward to no more ear infections! But, I carried him into the operating room and layed him on the table and helped hold him down while they gave him the gas. He was fighting it and I felt horrible holding him down! Then, the gas was getting to him and he all of the sudden gave up and went to sleep. But, seeing him there SO asleep that it was scary was harder than I ever even gave thought to. The nurse said ok mom, give him a kiss and we will take good care of him. So, I kissed his little still cheek and walked out of the room CRYING! GEESH! The nurse was nice and told me he was in good hands, which I knew he was...but he looked so lifeless it was scary! But, the tubes are in and he is doing great! He took two naps yesterday the first one was for 3.5 hours and the second one was for 1.5 hours! Sleepy boy!! Hopefully we will not have anymore ear infections!

Here is a pic of Cole when we were in recovery. He looks so out of it! He was NOT a happy camper when we was trying to wake up! He downed 2 full sippy cups full of apple juice in the matter of 3-5 minutes! Poor buddy! Notice Tim in the background...he was more tired than Cole I think...he yawned the WHOLE time! Ha ha!

Cole update

Monday, Cole went in for his little buddy procedure. It went very well! His little buddy is back to normal. He had a few rough days with diaper changes and baths but he is starting to feel much better!

Monday we go for Cole's tubes. His appointment is at 7:30 am...but we have to be there 2 HOURS EARLY!!!! That means we have to leave Buford to get down to Johnsons Ferry at 4:45 am! WHAT!?!?!? The things you will do for your kids! haha!

I will update everyone on Cole's tubes...he should do fine. The procedure only lasts 15 minutes, and there are no IV's...just gas to put him to sleep.

My poor Cole Buddy and Grandma Wilma

The next couple of weeks is going to be big for Cole-Man. He has two procedures coming up that are not going to be too fun. This Monday we are going to the urologist to have Cole-Mans "little man" fixed. It is just a local on him, but it might be a little painful later on over the next week. Then, a week from that appt, Cole is finally getting tubes in his ears. We have been trying to hold off since our deductible for our insurance is so high and we thought over the summer they his ear infections would stop. But, they didn't so...he will be getting tubes. They will put him to sleep to do the 15 minutes procedure. Hopefully, this is help his poor little ears out.

Cole is now officially walking...which has made for more interesting times in our household. The other day Ellie and Cole were in the playroom playing and I heard them fighting so I went in there just in time to see them fighting and Cole look up at Ellie "grrr..." at her and then reach his little innocent hands out and PINCH HER! It was the funniest thing EVER! Of course, I could not laugh because Ellie fell in the floor acting like she was shot...but it was too funny to see him finally stick up for himself!

In other news, my Great-Grandma Wilma passed away this past Monday. She was 94 and lived in Conn. She was always so much fun to be around. I have so many memories of her when I was living at home. I remember going to her home in Royston, Ga and there was a creek that ran on her property and when we would get there she would have a big bucket of rocks waiting for us to throw in the creek and see the splash. She lived with us in Lilburn when I was in highschool and she I think we constantly entertained her and vice versa. The family is going up to Shelbyville, TN this weekend for her funeral. It will be good to see our family from Conn though!

Mother-daughter bonding time

Today, Ellie and I got to spend some quality time together. Where you ask?!? Where else other than the nail salon! We are going to the beach on Wednesday so I wanted to get my nails done and Ellie always asks to have her nails painted so I thought it would be a special treat to let her tag along with me and April to get her first "pedicure". She did not get the works - just her toes and nails painted but she loved it! She got little flowers painted on her big toe nails and her thumb nails and she thought that was the greatest thing ever. She came home and showed daddy her "fwowers". Here are some pics I snapped of our little Diva.

My off-roadin' buddy!

Cole LOVES Ellie's power wheels 4-wheeler. He has used it more in that past month than Ellie ever has. We have taught him to press the button himself. It is so funny! He won't sit right on it though. He either stands up or hangs this legs off the the side. Here is his video...

Missing Grampa...

Today marks one year since my Grampa passed away. He (and Gramma) fought a long battle with alzheimers disease. He passed away two days after Cole was born. So, the first day at home with Cole we packed up all of our stuff and headed to Athens to be with the family. It was such a hard time because I was going through the emotions of just having a baby, trying to get used to two kids, not being able to be at home, and then dealing with the loss of a grandparent. I was on total overload! With all of that going on I never really got to do a good post about my Grampa so I figured today would be a good day to do that.

I wish Grampa was here to see these grandkids together. He met Ellie, and they got a long so well. We always joked that mom would take Ellie with her to "babysit" Grampa while Gramma would go to the doctor. Ellie just kept him from having a alzheimers "moment" and he thought the world of "that little boy" as he would call her. haha! But, if he were to see these two boys too he would just be beside himself. With Luke's spitfire personality and Cole's sweet heart he would have been in love!

Gramma, back in April, moved into a new home leaving her home with Grampa of over 55 years! That was a big move for her, but her new house is a much better fit for her. We all miss Grampa so much. When I was little I remember spending the night there and him telling me stories about him being in a banana boat in Africa during WWII. Not sure what he was doing in a banana boat in Africa...but it made for a good story! Come to think of it...I wonder if that was true or if he was just telling me a made up stories like I tell Ellie sometimes...I will have to check on that! But, anywho, we miss Grampa and still think of him!!

Cole's results

We got word from the doctor today that Cole is still has low iron, it is up from his last blood work up it still requires his iron drops. He seems to be getting better as far as his ear goes so that is a good thing! So, we are moving Cole to an all spinach diet...haha...just kidding! But, we are going to have to change a lot of what he eats to make sure it is packing in the iron. If anyone has good high iron recipes...please feel free to share!

Also, I don't know how many read my sister, Katie's, blog but Luke has been diagnosed with allergies to Milk, Soy, Nuts, and cheese. So...not much he can eat right now. So, if anyone has any recipes not including those items...please share too!

Cole's "well" visit

Today we went to see our favorite doctor, Dr. Washington. We just love her! Cole does too - he always shows off for her! We went in for Cole's "well" visit. It really was not a "well" visit. He has an ear infection in his right ear. Which I knew he had...he had been acting like it! We went to the ENT already but of course he was healthy when we went so we did not worry about tubes. We thought the winter weather that was causing all of the ear infections. But, we are going to see how they go from here to see if we need to go back to the ENT.

If Cole knew I was writting about the next topic...he would be so embarrassed! He has to go see the Urologist (sp?). He has always had a problem with his "little buddy" down there if you know what I mean. He was circumcised when he was born but has consistantly had a problem with the skin adhearing back. Today when we went it was pretty bad so we have to go see the specialist to get "it" back to normal. Poor buddy (both of them! :))

The blood work went SO MUCH BETTER! The lab guy was able to get the vein on the first time and there was no Ellie in the background screaming "my broder, my broder" He fussed a little bit but was nothing compared to the last time! We should get those results tomorrow! Hopefully his iron is up!

Cole weighed in at 22 lbs 6 oz which is only 4 oz more than he weighed at his 9 month appt so we are going to watch that to make sure he is eating enough. He was 30.5 inches tall and his head is 18.75 inches. He is average is weight and above average height and head width.

We have to go back next week to get his shots since he was sick today. I will update once we go to the urologist and get his lab results back.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY COLE!

Happy Birthday Cole-Man

Tomorrow is my baby boys first birthday. I cannot believe it. I could hardly believe Ellie ever turned 1, 2, or 3 much less Cole! Time goes by even faster with the second one! We go for our 1 year appt tomorrow so I will update his measurements tomorrow! Cole is doing lots...he is walking 4-5 steps at a time then plunk...on his butt. He loves to clap his hands and listen to us sing "if your happy and you know it" He says Momma, Da-da, juice, Nana, and I think I have made out some "ellie's" here and there. I think he has an ear infection now, he has just not been himself. He is very fussy and looks like he has no energy. So, we will get that checked tomorrow as well. We have to have blood work done to recheck his iron levels. Hopefully they are up! I am not looking forward to the bloodwork though...if you remember my last post from his 9 months appt...the blood work did NOT go well. I will let everyone know how it goes! Anyways...HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my sweet Cole-Man!

He is on the move...

The few days Cole has really made an effort to start walking. He will take 4-5 steps and then fall. He is doing really well! I finally caught it on camera today!

Today was Ellie's first day of school. They had a traveling petting zoo come to the school. Ellie loved it! She was so excited to tell me that she "petted a wizard" which if you know Ellie that means she got to pet a lizard. We (she) are excited to go back tomorrow!

My little Cheez-it!

Lukey has a new skill..."cheesing it up" It is SO CUTE! My two kiddos spent the night with Grammie Saturday night so we got to spend some good one on one time with Lukey. We went to dinner after a wedding Saturday (Congrats Kelsey and Jimmy!) and he was such a camera ham for us...here is the video of Lukey new trick. You say "cheese it up Lukey"...and he makes this face...

33 years of _______

Fill in the blank...hopefully Mom and Dad would fill in the blank with happy marriage! Today they have been married for 33 years! Way to go guys! Love you!

What makes me smile...

Today Ellie, Cole and I ventured out around town looking for a good invitation/gift shop to get some invitations for some up coming baby showers I am hosting. We drove all over Buford and had some good conversation with Ellie along the way. The best one was:

It had started raining and of course as soon as it did...Ellie asked her new favorite question...WHY? "Why is it raining, mommy?" and I replied "Because God wanted it to rain today" She did not ask any other question, you could just see that info processing in her little brain.

On our way home, the rain had stopped and the sun had come out. It was quiet in the car except for Thomas the Train palying in the background and Ellie pops up and says "Mommy, I guess God wanted it to stop raining, huh?" SWEET BABY! I did not say and word for about 2 mintues...then I just replied "Yes, Ellie he wanted it to stop raining" She melted my heart!

Happy 5th Tim!!

While Tim and I were at the beach this weekend we celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary! I cannot believe it has been 5 years. Seriously...I just cannot believe it! I hope we are as happy 50 years from now as we are today. He really is my best friend. I am so proud of us and our life we have created over the last 5 years. He is an fantastic husband and father...can't wait for 5 more, then 5 more, and so on...

Cole put the "Monkey" in Monkey Joes!!

Today, Tim was off from work today so we wanted to take the kids somewhere since we have been at the beach for 4 days without them. So, Ellie got to pick and we headed to of course, Monkey Joe's! This was Cole's first time playing. HE LOVED IT! He did not even skip at beat...we put him in the toddler area and he took off up the ladder and down the slide...he was so cute and had all the moms there laughing!

You know you need a facebook intervention when...

I was video taping Cole the other day showing off his standing tricks and at the end of the video I caught something that Ellie said that caught me off guard and got the thinking that maybe I need to have a facebook intervention. Watch and listen closely at the end...yeah...pretty bad!

Coles new tricks!

Cole, over the past few days, has been so close to taking his first steps. He will just stand there and look at me like he does not know what to do with himself. I actually caught some of it on video!!

From Mullet-Man to Military-Man!! My Cole-Man's first hair cut

If you know us well, or hang out with is often, you know that our sweet little Cole-Man rocked a great mullet for a long time. After going back and forth about it...I decided I was just going to cut his hair - even though I have heard it is bad luck to cut a child's hair before they are a year old. For some reason, Cole's hair only would grow at the bottom 3 inches of his head. Therefore, leaving him with a business in the front, party in the back type hair do. It was really cute and funny for a long time...but then it got old. So, I sat Cole up on the bathroom counter today and just starting trimming his poor mullet right across the bottom. Well...I got done and turned him around to look and he looked even WORSE...he looked his he was wearing a toupee. It was so thick at the bottom when I cut it straight across it looked really bad. I was for sure going to have to be at Pigtails and Crewcuts in the morning! Then, I was talking to Jill, my younger sis, and she said just shave it...so...I did. I put on the longest guard and went at it! It actually looks GREAT! The bottom is now the same length at the top - and I did not even touch the top of his head...that was how bad the mullet was! So...he is very clean cut now and looking extra handsome!

Here is the best pic I could find of the Mullet! It will be missed!

Here is my sweet clean cut boy!

Stop the MADNESS!!

In recent days, my two lovely, kind, sweet children have turned against each other!! Cole is now VERY mobile...crusing, climbing, crawling, standing...and it is driving Ellie NUTS! I spend most of my days now wiping Ellies tears, putting her in timeout, kissing boo-boos, and saying "don't hit your sister, or don't hit, push, pick-up, or pull your brothers arms out of the socket! Here is a quick dialog of my day...

Setting: Ellie and Cole playing nicely in the playroom while I work of school stuff or doing chores at the house.

Ellie: MMMOOOMMMYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!! WAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH.....
Me: What Ellie
Ellie: Cole hit me in the head with the pink castle.
Me: Cole-Man, we cannot hit people with the pink castle (even though he looks at me like I am crazy). Ellie, he is sorry...he does not really know better right now.

Few minutes of nice playing...

Cole: WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.........
Me: Ellie...what happened
Ellie: I pushed him
Me: Why?
Ellie: Cole was chewing on my shoe
Me: Ellie you cannot push your brother over, you have three minutes in time-out.
Ellie: cried and pleaded with me for 2 of the 3 minutes.

Ok, few minutes of peaceful playing...

Cole: whimper, whimper, whimper
I look over and Ellie is dragging him out of the playroom by his arms...
Me: ELLIE KATE WOODSON...you CANNOT drag your brother around by his arms.
Ellie: why not?
Me: because you will hurt him, if you do it again...you get another time out

About 20 minutes later...

Ellie: WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.....COLE-MAN...you RUINED IT!
Me: What happened?
Ellie: Cole knocked over my building (of blocks)
Me: picked up Cole...said no Cole...you cannot knock over Ellie's building.

Do you get my drift here??

I knew this was going to be an issue (it is in every family) but I thought it would be atleast once Cole was over a year!! It is SO IRRITATING!! :)

For Mom...

I know this is a day late...but I could not figure out how to put my playlist on here...but I finally did. My friends Lauren introduced me to this song and I LOVE it! I know I can play it for my mom and be true, and I hope in the future Ellie will agree with the song for me. HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY MOM! Play the song that I have posted...

Happy Birthday Sweet Lukey!!

Today is Luke's first birthday! I cannot believe he is a year old! I remember last year not getting much sleep b/c Jill and I got up at 5 am (which is REALLY REALLY EARLY for me!) to go watch Katie be induced into labor. Well...she was having certain issues with dilation and ended up having a C-Section...but it was nice b/c he came so quick. He was born at 9:29 am! I was 7 weeks away from giving birth myself so you can imagine what jealousy I had!!

Tonight we had the infamous "birthday dinner" with my family. Luke showed off his new skills...WALKING!! BIG BOY~

Happy Birthday sweet Wukey!

Ellie's School Program

Ellie had her end of school program today at school. They were all SO cute! It is so funny how kids think singing is more like screaming...mom and I laughed through the whole program. Here is a clip from Ellie's program...and some pics too!

Ellie's Ballet Pics!!

She looks SO cute doesn't she?!? Did you miss them...they are right above this paragraph. OH WAIT...that right...SHE WOULD NOT GO! We fought to get her clothes on b/c she said the tights were go figure...tight. So, after getting little Miss Sunshine in the car to go (leaving 10 mintues later than I wanted...which if you know me makes me in a REAL good mood!) we went to walk into the dance studio...and she looked up at me and started to cry...she said mommy...I am scared...so I asked her if she wanted to just go in and watch and she shy-ly agreed. We went in there and the teacher was explaining that the parents cannot stay and I just KNEW this was not going to work! I leaned down and told her we had to leave and she turned around grabbed my knees and said NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...........it honestly broke my heart. I was tearing up too (Katie...don't laugh...I bet you are tearing up just reading this!) So, we told her she did not have to do it and we left. She was MUCH happier then! So...no ballerina this year...BOO!!

Teaching Cole no!

Cole is now starting to get to the point where he needs to know what no means. We have been trying all weekend and this is what he learned...


Cole is standing for a few seconds now on his own, and is really starting to play well with Ellie. It is nice to have them entertain each other. They basically make each other laugh the entire time...it is so cute!

American Idol Poll

Over on the right side of my blog...vote for who you think will win American Idol. We had a debate about it tonight in class, and I was curious to see what my fellow bloggers thought.

Our little fish Ellie...

Here is a video of Ellie jumping into the water. She loves it. She now asks me to put her on the counter so she can jump off. I don't think she realizes there is no water beneath the counter! So, no counter jumping for her...we will stick with pool jumping!

A "hoppin" good time!!

Our Easter this year was a lot of fun. Ellie was really into it! She understood the egg hunt and the Easter bunny and all of that good stuff! She woke up Sunday morning and went to hunted her eggs outside. She loved it! Then off to church we went. After church we headed to Athens to have one last Easter at Gramma's house. Gramma is moving into a new house after 57 years at her old house/land. After my Grampa died last year she has just not been able to keep up with the older home and all of the land. So, she has bought a cute ranch in Bogart to move to with minimal land. We had such a great time over at her house on Easter. When we were little my dad use to make sure the softball gloves, bats, and balls were in tow to her house so we could get a little practice in on her pasture. This Easter was no different except we played kick ball this time. It was so much fun! Nothing like a bunch of 20/30 (and mom) year olds playing kick ball while the youngins watched!! Here are some pics from Easter...

The most fun I have ever had

Today was our last day at the beach for spring break. We have to get back so Tim can get back to work. But, we had a really good time while we were here. Ellie could not get enough of the beach!! This was the first year she could stay out all day and could be entertained the entire time. At one point we were running away from the tide at the shore (which was more fun than it sounds) and Ellie looked up in between loud giggles and screams and said "mommy, this is the most fun I have ever had." It was the best thing I have ever HEARD! She was so much fun to watch down there. She flew her kite, play with her doll in the sand, played in the tide, dug in the sand, ate numerous favor-ice, and learned to put sunscreen on herself!

Cole slept a lot of the time while we were on the beach b/c he is just not old enough to play in the sand yet. He did come out during the day for a little bit...but he was not able to appreciate it like Ellie could.

Here are some pics from the trip...

Ellie stories...

I wanted to update my blog on a few of the Ellie stories. Whenever she says something funny I think oh- I need to put that on my blog. Then, I end up forgetting them. But, one story I thought was cute, and I actually remembered it. Ever since Jill's wedding at the Aquarium...Ellie LOVES fish and LOVES to talk about the aquarium. She has a fish book and Tim has taught her all of the different types of sea creatures. She can name shrimp, coral, sea stars, cucumbers, jelly fish, squid, etc. Anyways, she wants to go back to the aquarium...the only thing is she thinks someone has to get married in order to go back. So, one day we were sitting at the table eating lunch together and a commercial for the aquarium came on. She looked over at me and said "mommy, we can go to the aquarium and you and daddy can get married" I just laughed and said...mommy and daddy are already married, we got married a couple of years before you were born. She looked at me like she just lost her best friend and said "ah, man...I guess we won't get to go to the aquarium". haha!! Then I explained that we would still be able to take her to the aquarium even though no one was getting married.

Also, Shunggy (Ellie's ghost friend) has been paying us visits more and more. Ellie puts out snacks, opens the door for her, and makes her juice. The kids went to Grammie and pop pop's house this weekend and they said she even wanted to pull up a chair at the dinner table for Shunggy.

Cole is now pulling all the way up on things and attempting to try to cruise. This is all going way too fast! I don't think I posted on here that his blood work came back that he was anemic. He is on a iron supplement and high iron packed foods until his 1 year appt...where they are going to have to DRAW BLOOD AGAIN to make sure his red blood cell levels come up. If they don't...not sure what happens...but if they do he will just remain on the high iron foods. I am just going to tell the guy to prick his finger instead of going through all of the troubles we had last time though! I made the appt while El is in preschool so she won't be tramatized again!

We leave for the beach Friday...Ellie is SO excited! She keeps saying "mommy, I want to go to the beach NOW" But...I will have lots of fun pics and stories to share when we get back!

My L-Bean is going to be 3 tomorrow

Happy Birthday to my sweet Ellie belles. I cannot believe she is 3 today! Here are some pictures of Ellie over the past 3 years...Love you El!