Fort Worth Zoo and getting creative for play time

We met some friends at the Fort Worth Zoo this afternoon. I was a little worried about E since she woke up earlier than usual and I knew she would not get a nap until after the fun. She did great though and is conked out now. What a great time with friends and their kiddos!!





Elle waiting to get rolling!

Cutie pie Miles

Sweet Finley (did not get a pic of her momma, Carissa)

"I am ready to go mom!"

Finely was pooped after fun at the zoo!

Miles fell asleep after a long morning at the zoo! His mom, Candace, said he NEVER falls asleep in his stroller, so we had to document it!

Candace and sleeping Miles- precious!



Yesterday I was really struggling to come up with something fun for E to do. I spotted my mop bucket and got the idea to fill with water and put random toys in it. I am not a creative person so I was hoping this simple "toy" would entertain E. She loved it and played for an hour with it outside. She would take the cup and fill it with water, then dump it on her head. We laughed and laughed together!

We miss you already GIGI!

Mom, I had to post this...don't kill me!!!! Thanks for coming to visit! We had so much fun with you and can not wait to see you in Jersey in a month! love you XXOO

15 Months

Baby girl turned 15 months a few days back! It is unbelievable how quickly time goes by. I remember thinking how old 15 months sounded when she was a baby, when we would see children that age. I realize now, how much of a baby she still is, but also how much she is accomplishing on a daily basis! It is funny because she looks a lot older than she is (minus the hair) and many people come up to her and ask her her name or other questions that require an answer. I politely look at them and say "this is Elle and she is only 15 months old" I always get a shocked "OHHHH!" At least we have mananged to get past the "how old is HE?" question!
I absolutely love this age and can not imagine it getting even better. She has become much more of a lover and cuddles with me more than ever now. We laugh at eachother most days and have such a good time. She is a comedian and knows what to do to get a certain reaction. She is a dan-cer!! It is a riot. She has a new move that is very much her own. She wiggles her hips from side to side while moving her left arm in a wave-like motion. She also spins and spins and spins. This morning she was twirling over and over in the kitchen and falling down after getting so dizzy. She was cracking herself up! And she has the best smile!! It is contagious!
E is saying lots more words now. She says ball the most, bye, hi, momma, dadda, no, tank u, shoe, baby...when my mom was here we both heard her say Target!! Hilarious. We are there way too much! She also learned "tea" when Gigi was here but she pronounced it "tae" (Gigi loves her ice tea). She said Gigi as well! So cute!
She runs everywhere and has the scrapes and bruises to prove it. She is always on the go and it definitely wears me out at times. She is getting more social and interactive with other kids. She goes to child watch at the YMCA everyday while I work out and I have noticed she is getting much more comfortable with the other children.
She is more in love with daddy as ever and waits for him to get home everyday. The high light of my day is watching him walk in the door. E drops everything and gives him a huge hug.
She is VERY loud! She will go up to a stranger and get very close and say HI! LOUD y'all. She yells ball anytime we see a balloon or ball. And does not stop until it is out of sight.
She is absolutely fearless which makes me very nervous. She will walk right off a large drop off, sprint and not stop when she gets close to a wall, jump off the side of the pool, and dunk her head under water. She is going to give me a heart attack!
Her stats this time are : I am going off of memory on these since her baby book is in her room and she is napping. Might me correcting these later :)
26.3 lbs (90th percentile) and 33 3/8 inches (off the charts!)
She is my big, strong girl. I love it!
We love you sweetie! You are such a joy to be around and make us so proud on a daily basis. We are so lucky you are ours!!



Showing daddy her belly

Peek a boo

Being Miss Independent



Giving cousin Aidan kisses

Being a crazy women at the splash park! I was cracking up!

Sweet girl!

Our little fishy

Elle had her first swim lesson this morning. We had so much fun. E is a little fishy and was happy as a clam in the water. She was definitely the most vocal of the bunch yelling "wee", "ball" (we used golf balls for an exercise) and laughing VERY loudly. We were so proud of her. She was so content in the water she started to cry when we had to get out.

"Summa Summa Summa Time"

I feel like our summer has already started. We have had a great start with Gigi coming to visit. She got here last Thursday, but we did not see her until we got to DFW airport to fly with her to Amarillo (to see Bonnie and Dave). I was nervous Elle would be standoffish but she went right to Gigi! I was so happy! We had had a pretty rough day before getting to the airport. E was sick and her Pediatrician called in an antibiotic for us since we had no time to go in to the office. E did not have an afternoon nap and that worried me since our flight was at 5:20 and she had been up since 11:30! But, she was happy as can be in the airport waiting to board. I was very optimistic......THEN we boarded. Different story completley. We sat on the runway for, what felt like, FOREVER. We waited as they filled up with fuel and then finally took off. E was not happy from take off to landing. It was misserable. She was screaming, crying, yelling, kicking the seat in front of us and throwing herself around. So awful. It was the longest hour I have ever endured. Of course, she decided she did not want anyone holding her other than mommy during these fits, so Gigi really could not help. She sure tried, but E would not have it! So, needless to say, I was so overwhelmed by the time we landed in Amarillo. We found Bonnie and Dave and were quickly in the car on the way to their house. Elle seemed pretty worn out from all of the energy she exerted on the plane :) So, I thought we would get to the house and she would go straight to bed. WRONG! She went down shortley after arriving but was up an hour later SCREAMING! I felt so horrible for her. The only thing that calmed her down was to bring her in the living room with us. It was really dark in her room, so I guess she was a little worried about where she was. She stayed in there for a while and then I finally put her back down....she screamed once again. But, I knew she was exhausted so I left her in bed and she stopped after a few minutes.
She slept all night and we woke up to a very stopped up Elle talking away in her crib. She seemed to be in a better mood, but was a little snot machine! Her nose just ran and ran and ran! She had many moments throughout the day that were hard. She would not go to anyone other than me and would follow me everywhere I went. Poor thing. The seperation anxiety had started back in Dallas but was at it's peak now! She would warm up to Gigi, Bonnie, and Dave but it would not last long. I felt so bad for them. They just wanted to love on her but she was not too interested. Luckily they are all so understanding!
Our trip was really nice and we had so much fun visiting and catching up with everyone. Bonnie is pregnant and we are BEYOND excited! We can not wait to hear if baby Williams is a boy or girl. I am betting boy but everyone else thinks girl :) Dave and Bonnie have done so much with their house! It looks amazing. This baby is very lucky to have such loving and talented parents!
We left Amarillo on Monday and E did fantastic on the flight home. She was finally almost over her virus and feeling more like herself. She was exstatic to see Daddy waiting for us at the airport. Did I mention he did not go?? He had to work so he was left behind. E missed him so much and was constantly asking for "Dada" while we were away.
We got home and ordered pizza and relaxed. Mom and Miles caught up since they had not seen eachother. We watched TV and then called it a night. Mom and I had such a great time the next few days. We played at the Galleria with Elle, had a great dinner with old friends of moms, had another great dinner with Miles' dad and grandmother (his mom got caught up in a meeting at work...we were sad she could not make it) and had so many laughs watching Elle. She is quite the comedian these days and makes us laugh non stop! Love this age!!
Mom rented a car yesterday and headed to Abilene to see my other sister Susan and her family. Also, my moms friend Karen is graduating with her masters in social work so mom will be able to go to that! Way to go Karen!! We miss Gigi but she will be back on Monday and we have her until she flies out on Wednesday to go back to Alaska. She is bringing Aidan (my 6 year old nephew) with her and he is going back to Alaska with her. She will have him for a month. So exciting!
We also had more visitors yesterday! Our friends Eric and Erin moved away 8 months ago to San Fransisco. They are here for a mutual friends wedding and stopped by yesterday to see us. It was wonderful to see them again. It is always so easy with those two and they were so awesome with E! Eric became Elle's best friend when he brought out his sunglasses. She was eating a snack and had them on his head. E kept pointing at him to put them on and the moment he took them off she would point and yell! It was HILARIOUS! Eric was such a good sport. This went on for a good half hour. I brought Elle's sunglasses out and she kept them on during this fun little game. She never keeps them on! She also had Eric holding all of her books and toys at one point. Can't wait catch up more at the wedding!
I bought a fun attachment for the water hose today and we put it to the test! E loved it! I look forward to many more hot, sunny afternoons!



We sure miss mom!

E and Bonnie and Dave's niece, Hannah, "sharing" Hannah kept saying "her sharing with me" So cute!

Reading with Gigi
i


Relaxing

Bonnie and Dave

Dave working on the house

Elle sitting in on AP Economics taught by Uncle Dave

Bonnie and Dave in Dave's classroom

Silly silly girl these days!

Dinner with daddy

Cheesing for the camera!

Having lunch

Reading a book
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Blowing raspberries at Gigi

Wow! Look what that girl can do!

Since it rained the whole time Gigi was here, we went to the Galleria to play





Modeling bathing suits for Gigi since she will not be here for swim lessons

Look at my tall girl!! She is 15 months and wearing a 2T bathing suit!

Nothing cuter than a baby booty in a bathing suit!

Cool as can be

E and Eric



Sweet Eric!

Our new toy was a hit with E and Nash!


E is never walking! Always running!
!