New Things

Today was full of new things in our little world. This morning the girls and I slept in (thank you Ellie...she slept until 8:15!) and then laid around and finally got up and going. We had to run a quick errand at Belk and so since we were in the area we stopped at Stride Rite to look at shoes for the fall. Both of the girls are going to need black shoes for church in a few weeks (we're very firm on the no white shoes after labor day...good southern girls at this house!) and I figure we should go ahead and get them closed toe shoes for everyday (seeing as how we're having a cold spell...it was only 80 degrees today!). Plus I wanted to peruse my options for sandals that weren't white...I'm thinking those will be a Target buy since they'll only be wearing them for a short time and Target has all their sandals on mega clearance. Anyway, I digress. I ended up getting Ellie some black church shoes (they didn't have ANY of the little white walker shoes...can you believe that?? I'm going to have to order them online, luckily they have free shipping right now!) and I got Emmie some sneakers (no cute black church shoes at the store...need to look around for some good ones). Emmie was soooo excited because she got to pick out her sneakers. I showed her the shelf of sneakers in her size and told her to pick the one she wanted. She picked up 2 different ones and I asked which one she liked the best. This is what she picked:

The silver part is really sparkly which I think is why she picked them. She also is a big fan of the color purple. I think she did a great job picking her shoes. She was so excited when I let her wear them home and she wore them all day today!

The girls were up around 2 from naps (for those children who chose to take their nap instead of playing with their dollhouse...ahem...Emmie) and we didn't really have any plans for the afternoon so we just hung around the house and the girls played. I feel like so many days we run around town all day and they don't get a chance to just play at home so I think they really enjoyed having some down time! Because they were playing happily I was able to get lots of things done around the house which was soooo nice.
The last few days Ellie has been really grumpy at meals dinner started out the same way...she wouldn't even eat her food! I had let her sit in the booster seat when we were coloring earlier in the day and she did really well so I moved Ellie to the booster seat and Emmie sat in a regular chair and they did soooo well. Ellie was so much happier being a big girl! I think tomorrow I will be packing up the highchair!

A very happy big girl!

And finally to the most exciting news of the day...when Paul got home from work tonight Ellie took some steps to him ALL BY HERSELF! For about a week she's been walking around just barely holding on to us with one hand and I've been trying to get her to walk by herself...I guess Daddy was the incentive she needed! We clapped and cheered but she seemed pretty oblivious! I did manage to get 2 steps on video but that was after she'd walked by herself a few times so she was getting pretty bored with us.

 

Lake Day

Our Sunday School class had a lake day  today at Lake Murray so we headed out to join in the fun! Paul was going to meet us out there (he was working) but he got stuck at work so it was just me and the girls.  This was the first time Emmie and Ellie had been to the lake and they had so much fun! They were the only little kids there so they loved all the attention they got...especially Emmie!
When we first went out on the boat we were in one that was pulling the tube and so it was going fast. Emmie sat like statue in Carryn's lap...she wasn't so sure about it....but once Ellie figured out how to turn so the wind wasn't in her face she had a great time! When we got back to the dock the bigger boat was back and so we got on it and it was much slower which Emmie really liked....Ellie kept wanting to go faster! Emmie also liked the slower boat because she got boiled peanuts!

Emmie, Kristy, and Ellie

Watching the other boats on the water.

Tired after playing in the water.

Ellie was so tired when we got back to the dock...she cuddled up with Hannah and almost went to sleep! I had to take her and change her out of her wet bathing suit and that woke her up enough to eat some yummy fried fish..and she ate a lot of it!

Fun Thursday

This morning Emmie had My Gym camp so after we dropped her off Ellie and I went to the zoo! Everytime Emmie has had camp Ellie and I have either run around town like crazy people trying to get errands done or we've gone home and done chores which Ellie finds quite boring. This was Emmie's last day of camp so I decided we needed to do something fun just the two of us. Ellie had so much fun at the zoo (although she did scream for a bit after we got back in the car after dropping Emmie off...she was not pleased her sister wasn't with us!). The animals were enjoying the cooler morning (it was only in the mid-80s...ha!) and were all out and about.

look at all of Ellie's curls...love them!

Big eyes!

When we picked Emmie up her friend Will was at camp too. Emmie told me that she and Will jumped on the trampoline together which brought back memories of how we met Will. When Emmie was around a year old we would go to Free Play at My Gym and there was this cute little boy (with a very nice mom) who would always let Emmie sit on the trampline while he jumped. He would come in to the gym and find Emmie and say "come on baby, let's go jump on the trampoline". He was always so sweet to Emmie and thus a beautiful friendship was born!
When we got home I put the girls down for naps and then I headed to take one too. Well, the girls had other plans for naptime. Emmie never slept and Ellie slept for about 30 minutes. Funny Ellie story. I put her in the crib and she laid right down and didn't make a peep when I left the room. After I got Emmie settled I went to close Ellie's door and miss priss was sitting up in her bed, quiet as a mouse, looking at her book!
So since nobody seemed to want to sleep I got Ellie out of bed and of course she made a beeline for Emmie's room and they quickly forgot about Mama and very happily played together until it was time for My Gym.
We went to My Gym where they were BOTH happy and good listeners (it's been awhile since we had a really good week with both girls!) and we went to Moe's for dinner. After dinner we headed home and took Franklin for a quick walk (I could tell Emmie was wearing out because she very happily rode the whole way in the stroller). After our walk it was time for baths but Emmie really wanted to play and Ellie was playing very happily so we skipped bathtime and when bedtime rolled around everyone was very willing to get in bed! It's amazing how much more I can get done in the evening when Emmie stays in her bed at bedtime!

Franklin's Baby

Franklin got a new Wubba Wabbit the other day. Emmie picked it out and it's bigger than Franklin! Franklin has always liked the boppy and I guess he decided that since we weren't using it anymore it was his turn. He got Wubba Wabbit in there all by himself...hilarious!

You'll notice that Franklin has taken good notes from his Mommy: When the baby sleeps, you sleep!
I love my sweet little puppy!

13 Months!

I am 13 months old!

• I wear size 12-18mo clothes and a size 4 diaper.
• I wear a size 3 shoe.

• I love to walk holding on to someone's hands. Today I FINALLY started walking while only holding onto one hand..I'm getting braver! Mommy thinks I'll walk just like I crawled...one day I'll just take off!
• I love to climb on things...especially anything that looks like stairs. I also do a really good job safely getting down the stairs or off the couch.
• This month we learned I'm allergic to Augmentin (I get a pretty bad rash).

• I'm doing a good job drinking my milk. I don't chug it like Emmie did but I seem to be enjoying it more and more.
• I'm a pretty good eater and I one of my favorite things is the grilled chicken nuggets from Chick-fil-A.
• I got to try ice cream this month for the first time...it was soooo good...I couldn't eat it fast enough.
• This month we went to NC to visit my family up there and I had so much fun. They also had a birthday celebration for me which meant cupcakes (and ice cream!)! I do love me some cupcake.

• This month I had my 1 yrs old pictures taken by Kennerly. Mommy and I can't wait to see how they turned out!

• This month I've added a few words to my vocabulary and I've definitely started experiencing some communication frustration. I definitely know what I want and sometimes I just can't find the word for it.
• This month I went to Greenville and we got to go play at Gran and Grandaddy's pool. I thought it was ok. I wasn't feeling very good so I was a bit grumpy.
• This month I still had a bit of an ear infection but it had improved after the first round of antibiotics so that's good. I should finally get my one year old shots next week as long as I stay healthy.
• We went to Edventure this month and it was the first time that I was big enough to enjoy everything. I had so much fun pushing the shopping cart!

• This month I've enjoyed poking people in the eye. I think eyes are quite fascinating.
• I love playing with Emmie. One of our favorite things to do is to play with the dollhouse and we spend a lot of time having picnics. We also like to play a game where we take turns squealing. Mommy and Daddy (esp Daddy) don't find it nearly as entertaining as we do!

• After I finish breakfast and lunch and after I get out of the bath I make the toothbrush noise and move my hand like I'm brushing my teeth. I know the routine!
• I watched my first Olympic Games this month.

(by the way, I really love my rocking chair and I'm really good at getting in and out of it!)

• I LOVE going to the waterpark at Fort Jackson. This month I got to ride on the lazy river and it was lots of fun. I completely chilled out.

• I make the funniest faces. Everyone says I look like an E Trade baby.

• I love to take care of my baby dolls.

• I'm liking books more and more although I still have a pretty short attention span...unless you're reading Brown Bear!
• I still love going to My Gym...they have lots of crawl and climb on!

• I have these fabulous little curls in the back of my head. Mommy loves them!

Emmie at 13 months.

I see so much of Ellie in Emmie's face in this picture.

At different stages in their lives I feel like they look more or less alike. I think at 13 months they look a lot alike...except Emmie is clearly bigger...you can't tell as much in these pictures but there are some on the 13month post where she looks huge!

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to our favorite Lemily!!!

(I couldn't decide which take I liked best so Emily gets 2 Happy Birthday songs!)

Fun times with Family!

I have a lot of catching up to do on the blog!
Saturday the girls and I went to Greenville. Sadly, my parents were moving Ben to Arkansas and my grandmother was in NC so we missed all the family...the girls didn't seem to affected by the house being empty (I'd explaiend it to Emmie ahead of time) but Franklin was really out of sorts that his Gran wasn't there. Everytime he heard a noise he ran to the back door! When we got to Greenville we ate lunch and I put the girls down for naps. When I got them up Ellie had a rash all over her face and torso...apparently she has an allergy to augmentin (which she's on for an ear infection). After a quick stop to get some benadryl for Ellie we went to a baby shower for Kerri (Ivy's mom). It was lots of fun and I'm so glad it worked out that we could go!

Ivy wasn't there but Emmie had a great time dressing up in her princess gear!

Sunday we hung out at the house and then that afternoon we ended up at the pool at the same time as Fallon and Patrick (my mom's neighbors who have an almost 2 year old little girl and a new baby boy) and the girls had a great time playing. After an afternoon of playing in the pool the girls slept like ROCKS that night...it was great!
Monday Emmie and I got our haircut and then in the afternoon Ivy and Kerri came over and we went to the pool. The girls had a BLAST and we were there for about 3 hours!

On Tuesday morning the girls and I made a quick stop at CVS to pick up Ellie's new antibiotic and  we headed up to NC to see Paul's extended family. We met Gin-g up there and we all stayed at Aunt Suzy and Uncle Clyde's house. They always make us feel so welcome and the girls love them so much! Gin-g went and got Mammy (Paul's grandmother) and brought her over to spend the afternoon. Suzy and Clyde have a piano at their house and Clyde plays beautifully. Emmie had the best time playing the piano and listening to Clyde play.  I love that Emmie is so musical. Ellie also enjoyed the music...she loved listening to Clyde play.

After naps Paul's cousins and their girls came over....Laura Ann, Emma, and Mary Jane. Emmie and Ellie had the BEST time with the girls and they kept all the adults entertained as well! The big girls are always so sweet to Emmie and Ellie and Emmie is sure that she's as old as they are.

Emma spent a lot of time reading to Emmie which Emmie loved!

Ellie felt like such a big girl!

Karla and the girls reading.

Danny, Jennifer, Karla, and Doug were all their for dinner and they're always so much fun to be around. We had a little birthday celebration for Ellie and she loved it! When we walked in the house she spied the cupcakes and really wanted one. We actually had to cover them up so she couldn't see them anymore! Needless to say she was so excited when she finally got to eat one and then she got ice cream too which she LOVES! She also figured out how to work the party thingy (what are those things called anyway?) and she got a kick out of everybody's reaction everytime she would make it uncurl!

Ellie LOVED Suzy's fried okra!

yum yum yum

After dinner Ellie opened her presents and everyone was so sweet and brought Emmie presents too.  the girls put on a fashion show for us...Emmie was in heaven and the girls were so cute helping Emmie get ready! I got pictures of their first fashion show but I didn't get any of the big one...the girls were all decked out though!

Mary Jane getting Emmie's dress all situated.

Best moment of the trip? When I went to put Ellie to bed Laura Ann came with me and I told her I was going to rock and sing to Ellie. She asked me what song I was going to sing and I told her "Jesus Loves Me". I was sitting in the rocking chair with Ellie and the next thing I knew Laura Ann, Emmie, Mary Jane, and Emma were all sitting on the bed across from us singing "Jesus Loves Me" to Ellie. It was about the sweetest thing I've ever seen and just completely captures the loving hearts that these girls have.

Wednesday Aunt Sonja and Uncle Allen came over for lunch and then we headed back home.
We had such a good trip!