Before and After

Batman found the kid craft scissors and gave himself a little bang trim. It actually looks pretty good - I was impressed! Of course I didn't tell him that. It's kind of messy in the bottom picture, but gives you an idea...

Before

After

NC State Fair

We went to the state fair for the first time this year. Well, Jeff and I went several years ago and basically left as soon as we got there. Too crowded and the people were pushy and rude. We had no desire to go back until we had kids, but couldn't go last year because of Ellen's arrival. So this year we made plans to go on Monday morning as soon as they opened. Every other day seemed like a bad idea - weekend, free can day, etc. We wanted to make it easy on ourselves. We planned it well because it was SO MUCH FUN! We went with the families of two of Lucas's buds from his old school. He loves Parker and Lincoln, and we love their parents, so it was a great time. We rode rides for awhile... which were so expensive, btw. We thought we'd buy 10 $1 tickets and that would be enough. The first ride the boys wanted to ride was this carousel, that was lame compared to Pullen Park, and it cost 3 tickets! And an adult had to ride with them, so make that $6 for one ride! I was shocked. Anway, after the rides we had lunch (picnic on the grass) and then saw the farm animals.

Lincoln, Lucas and Parker

Riding with Jeff on the bus ride

1st roller coaster ride!

Lucas wearing my hat : )

1 Year Wellness Visit

Ellen had her 1 year check up last week. She showed off by waving, dancing and clapping when the doctor came into the room. He hardly had to ask me any questions regarding her development since she was putting on a show.

She continues to grow on her very own curve, weighing in now at 17.2lbs, which puts her at less than the 5th percentile. She has gained weight since her 9 month check up, but the curve that she was on dropped down a little bit. The doctor wasn't overly concerned and said it was probably mostly genetics. He asked me about her diet and we determined that another factor was that she eats a mostly low fat diet of fruits and veggies... and most of that goes on the floor to Tyson : )

He asked if she throws tantrums and I told him that she has a little temper, but it is SO mild compared to "you-know-who". I said that she pulls Lucas's hair sometimes and pinches him and he looked at me with a surprised expression. When I explained that she does this in response to him taking a toy from him he smiled and said that was when I should just look the other way : )

She got three shots, which was not fun, but she didn't cry long and was happy again quickly.

No pics from the visit, but here is a glimpse of what we're dealing with all.the.time. : )

I love this season!

We've been playing outside in the front yard a lot lately. Every day the color of the leaves change, becoming more and more vibrant. This change in color of the leaves on this maple tree happened in just a few days... beautiful, huh?

Daddy's Girl

Jeff loves his little girl, his "baby doll". When I came home from the gym the other day he had gotten her dressed for the day in this fancy dress. Looks like someone else likes playing dress up with Ellen too!

Her second word...

... is Lucas.

I love it. We have always said that he is her hero, but now she's confirming that by saying his name almost first. Her very first word was "dada" but, no offense to Jeff, that is a lot of babies' first word. Her very first original to Ellen word is her brother's name : ) She pronounces it "doo-tus" in her very sweet little voice.

Lucas's Preschool Pumpkin Outing

Here is Lucas's preschool class! Aren't they so cute? And in the back there is Ms. Jane and Ms. Rosemary (Roseberry). Their class went on a field trip this week where they walked about 100 yds to the church next door. They had a field of pumpkins and the children got to pick a small one to take home with them. I didn't get to go with the class, but Ian's mom was so nice to send me all of these pictures. Ian is Lucas's best bud at school... he talks about him all the time : ) Ian is the other child in these pictures...

October 18th, 2009

On Ellen's actual birthday we had a nice lunch out and then strolled through a store to kill time before Sandy's flight. This is what your table looks like when you have a 1 year old and a 3 year old with you: shoe on table, most of the food on the floor, a lot of my purse contents on the floor and the 3 yr old under the table.

After lunch Lucas and Ellen had fun playing in the tents in the store... add that to the Santa list!

When we got home Miss Ellen played with all of her new toys! I was so impressed by how she instinctively knew to place her baby and bunny in the stroller and push them around.

After nap we enjoyed the crisp fall weather by hanging out on our front porch and in the front yard...

The Birthday Girl

This Time Last Year

A year ago tonight, on my due date for Ellen, I had just had steak tacos that were guaranteed to make me go into labor. Sandy was here. We were waiting. A few hours later I woke up with mild contractions, and Ellen was born about 16 hours later. I still remember the first moment I saw her like it was 5 minutes ago. It's unreal how some of the greatest moments in your life a frozen in your memory like that. When they first put her on my chest she looked so familiar - like Lucas. She wasn't crying and, now that I know her, she had her standard expression on her face. I remember her as being calm, but Jeff tells me that is because she couldn't breathe at first. I also remember those first few hours with Ellen. They were some of the best hours of my life, for sure. It was Jeff, Ellen and me in the hospital room. Jeff was asleep on the cot and Ellen was in my arms. I had a natural high from the birth and all I wanted to do was look at her. It was unbelievable that she was so perfect and that she was right there. And it was just us. It was so quiet and there was nothing to do but bond. I kept thinking how lucky I was to have her and how I couldn't believe that she was mine. Today, almost exactly one year later, I have similar thoughts almost daily. She is the sweetest little thing I've ever seen and I feel so lucky to have her.

Ellen's Very First Birthday Party!