The Park

Last week, we had some unusually warm weather for December so I decided to take Ellie and Max to play at the local park before the weather turned cold again. I was hoping to take some really cute pictures of the two of them together, but I could not manage to get them both to smile at the same time. I did manage to get some cute individual shots though.

Birthday Boy

Well, my little boy turned 1 over the weekend. This whole year has flown by so quickly and Max has turned into such a cute little kid. We celebrated his birthday with Grammie and Grandpa and Uncle Jake. Max had a big boy birthday cake that was covered in tractors. His eyes were very big when we brought out the cake and candle. His eyes grew even bigger when we placed a small cake in front of him to just dig into. He loved it!!

Random Pictures

Dancing Man

We took Ellie and Max to the Raleigh Christmas Parade and Tree Lighting. Ellie is obsessed with both parades and the holiday lights so we decided to brave the cold weather. Both kids had a great time! There was a band warming up before the Tree Lighting and Ellie and Max had fun dancing to the music.

Happy Thanksgiving

Ellie and her cousin, Miriya, had a great time on Thanksgiving. Here they are wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving.

Max's First Thanksgiving

We had a nice Thanksgiving with lots of family from both sides were here--just what a holiday should be. While we were celebrating with heavy hearts because of the loss of my Uncle Joe, we still celebrated with him in our hearts. Max was very overwhelmed by all of the people here (we had almost 20 family members), but managed to be happy with food in front of him. Who wouldn't be happy with a plate of turkey, potatos, yams and cranberry sauce? He loved it!

Mommy and Max at the Farmers Market

Veteran's Day Parade

We took the kids to the Veteran's Day Parade downtown today. Ellie and Max both had a lot of fun, despite the cold weather. People all around were shouting thank you and other praises to all the Veterans who were in the parade. Ellie joined in. It was really sweet. I explained to her why we were there and why we should thank those who fight for our country even though I know she didn't really understand. She had a good time waving her American flag and watching everyone march in the parade. It was especially fun watching Uncle Jake march with his fellow classmates. She was so proud as she was shouting, "Jake! Look it's Uncle Jake!". As we walked back to the car, Ellie pretended she was in the parade by marching and dancing and waving her own flag. It was very cute!



Uncle Jake marching in the parade

Ellie marching with her football that she caught at the parade

Veteran

Baking Cookies

Ellie and I are always trying to come up with new activities and things to do during the day when we are home. Lately, we have been baking. Sometimes we make cookies from pre made dough that we buy at the store. Sometimes we make brownies or cake. Last week, we made cookies from scratch. We looked online and found Grandpa's favorite cookie recipe--Anise Cookies. Ellie had so much fun making them and playing with the very sticky dough. She helped beat the eggs and pour all the ingredients in a large bowl. Her favorite part was putting the sprinkles on the cookies before we put them in the oven. She is very excited for Grandpa to have his cookies and each time she eats one she says, "mmm, Grandpa is going to love these cookies!" I sure hope she saves him some!

Halloween

Halloween was a lot of fun this year. Ellie was actually old enough to understand the concept of dressing up in a costume and pretending to be someone else. She also liked the idea of going to her neighbor's homes and knocking on the doors and saying trick or treat for candy. At every house we went to, she made sure to ask for extra candy for Daddy and for Max. For Halloween night she dressed up as a naked, I mean wicked witch. She kept telling people she was a naked witch instead of a wicked one. Silly girl! Max was a very cute little pumpkin.

Ellie's Birthday

Ellie was a very lucky girl and got to celebrate her birthday 4 times this year. We had her party at home with her friends on September 29. We borrowed a jump house from a neighbor and the kids (even Max) had a lot of fun playing inside. Our neighbor, Mrs. Robyn, graciously made Ellie's birthday cake. Ellie excitedly chose a Shrek cake and was very excited by the way it turned out. I showed it to her before her party guests arrived and she immediately stuck her hand in and grabbed a corner piece!




We also went to see Grammie and Grandpa in Greensboro where she had another mini celebration with cupcakes. Then we went and spent a few days in Georgia with Pappaw and Mammaw and Papa as well. Everywhere we went, Ellie had another birthday party! She had cookie cakes and a Dora the Explorer cake, too.



Playing with presents with Julian

I think she was partied out

Wow!

I can't believe it has been so long since my last post. The kids have both changed so much. Ellie just celebrated her 3rd birthday and as usual, I cried like a baby. I can't believe how much she has grown during the last year. She is certainly a little girl now and no longer a baby. Max is almost 10 months old. He is an expert crawler and I am sure that walking is right around the corner. He walks holding various push toys and cruises along furniture as if it is second nature to him. He no longer wants me to feed him, so I have to find foods that he can eat himself. He loves peas, carrots and green beans--just like his sister! It is amazing how much food he can eat with only 2 bottom teeth. Actually, now he has 3, as he has just cut one of his top teeth so I am sure the second top tooth is not far behind. He "talks" a lot, but no real words yet. Sometimes we think we here Dada and Mama, but I think its more sounds than anything else. He does wave hello and good bye and gives the absolute best kisses, though.

Father's Day with Grandpa

The kids had a great Father's Day with Grandpa and Daddy. Poor Daddy was pretty out of it because of his surgery, but we had a nice day with Grandpa. We (Mom, Marcus, Jake, Ellie, Max and I) bought Dad a new chair for his office. We BBQ'd hamburgers and hot dogs and a great, relaxing day.

Max

Max is getting so big! He is 6 months old now. At his check up he weighed 17 lbs (50%) and was 25 inches (25th%). The doctor was very impressed with how well he could sit up. Well, she should have been...he's been doing it since he was about 4 months old. He has been eating home made baby food for about a month now. He loves it! His favorite is sweet potatos, but he also loves apples, squash, avocados and bananas. We often mix his foods with rice cereal or oatmeal. It doesn't matter really, he loves it all!




He is also "talking" a lot more too. It's really cute. The best part is I always talk back and now Ellie does too. This morning, he was just making all sorts of noises and Ellie was saying, "Max, what are you talking about?" It was funny! We are really very lucky that they get along so well. Max will be crawling before we know it. He is already scooting on his bottom to get to where he wants to go. Anything to keep up with his big sister.

Fun with the Camera

Ellie and Uncle Marcus's Adventure

Everyone had a great time with Uncle Marcus during his summer visit, especially Ellie. They had a great time playing every day and even went on a grand adventure. Uncle Marcus stayed with Ellie while Max and I were at the hospital on the day that CJ had his surgery. Ellie took Uncle Marcus for a walk. Preston, Ellie's monkey, Ellie's belt and a cup of milk went too. Ellie took Uncle Marcus for a long walk through the walking trails in the neighborhood and then looked at him and said, "Carry me." They were about 1/3 mile from the house and he looked at her and said, "ok". So, Uncle Marcus picked up Ellie, the monkey, the belt and the cup of water (and he still had Preston on the leash) and carried them back. However, Uncle Marcus took a wrong turn and was getting very tired (to say the least). Thankfully, one of our neighbors was sitting in her backyard and saw a very tired Marcus and Ellie. She said hello to them and Marcus asked, "Do you know Ellie?" "Are we close to her house?". LOL. Thankfully, they were just across the street.

The funny thing is that Ellie and I always take this walk. In fact, we go even further and I never carry her home. I tell her that if she wants to walk that far, then she has to walk home and she does so easily. I only wish I had a camera to have captured the look of Uncle Marcus and Ellie when they got back.

More Pictures and Videos from Show Week

Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share Photos Forward Rolls


Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share Photos Forward Rolls/Monkey Jump Combo


Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share Photos "Play Your Drums"--Closing Song

Show Week

Last week was Ellie's final Little Gym Class. The kids put on a show week and were able to demonstrate all of their new skills to family and friends. Each child received a medal for their participation in the class and celebrated with a cupcake party when they were done. During the 5 month class, Ellie made great progress. When she started in January, she was very nervous about doing most things in the class, but by the end she did almost everything that was asked of her. I am sad that we are not putting her in the summer class, but hopefully we will enroll her in another class in the Fall.

Daddy and Ellie Shaking the Bells (Opening Song)

Monkey Jumps (hands on the ground, kicking both feet in the air as she turns in a circle)


Parachute Time!



Walking the Balance Beam