The Santone Family

Valentine's Day 2012

2012-02-14T11:34:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Here is a yummy Valentine treat we made! We always do cupcakes and such for holidays, so we changed it up a bit and made homemade Valentine ice-cream sandwiches! They were yummy!

My Valentine's!

So sweet!!

Daddy/Daughter Dance 2012

2012-02-05T18:48:00.000-08:00

This past Saturday was the annual Daddy/Daughter Dance. Grace and Daniel were too excited to go this year after having gone last year. Grace has been looking forward to it for a month now. Not only does she feel special to get to do something with her daddy, but she loves picking out the dress and getting "fancy" as she puts it. They had a great time!!

There is definitely a story behind this picture. We had a hair fiasco, but all turned out good in the end! I love this picture. Grace looked so adorable and was so excited to roll her hair to get ready for the dance. The only way I can get her hair curly is to have her sleep in foam rollers. She doesn't mind doing it, and loves the curls. The last few times, though, the rollers have gotten very loose over night and not curled as good.

I went to the drug store to look for an old fashioned hair net to put over them to keep them in place. They didn't have one, but they had shower caps, so I thought, "Why not?" We'll give it a try. Looking back on it, it should have been so obvious what was going to happen, but I just wasn't thinking.

I rolled her hair on the small rollers, which make it too curly, but the dance wasn't until 2:00 in the afternoon and I knew they would fall some. At 10:00 the next morning when I took the shower cap off to check the curlers, her hair was as wet as it was when she got out of the bath the night before. I didn't know what to do!! I just started blow drying and blow dried a lot!!! It started drying on the outside, but the ends weren't drying. I was terrified that even if it dried, if I took it out right before the dance it would be way too curly.

When we finally took them out (with no time to spare), it turned out perfect! I couldn't believe it!! Grace was so excited and so was I!!

Eating snack, drying fingernails and drying hair!

Grace's Pose

Grace also looked forward to riding a school bus again. She was so excited to do this again!! It is so cute what is important to kids!

The theme was Candyland this year!

She was just as excited about eating off the buffet line as dancing. She remembered eating last year. Daniel said she ate 3 times!

Daniel said it seemed a lot more crowded this year. We knew of several other families going and I thought Grace would see some more friends there, but they never ran into any of them!

Daniel said when they first got there, Macy and Grace were 2 of the first people out on the dance floor!!

Nothing like Daddies and Daughters dancing and having fun!

What a fun and special time for Grace and Daniel. I know they both treasure it. After the dance, Grace wanted to go to the mall, so they went and walked around and rode the carousal. Brownie points for Dad!!! So glad you both had fun!!

Grace's 5th Birthday Party!!

2012-01-29T11:55:00.000-08:00

It's a SURPRISE!!!

Grace and Daniel always play dollhouse together and awhile back, she started wanting to play surprise party. I'm not sure if she saw it on a cartoon, or how she knew what a surprise party was, but she told him she would like to have one.

We were a little worried about how she would react, or if she would understand what was going on. I went to "run errands" with Ella. Grace and Daniel stayed home to "play gymnastics" and run errands. He let her wear her leotard to run errands, which was cool to her. She had no idea what was going on. When she walked in, she was so overwhelmed. She got super shy, but was happy to see all of her friends. The kids did so well! They all shouted, "Surprise! Happy Birthday!" on cue and ran over to see her. After a minute, I think she finally started to understand!

After the surprise, they got to go play in the gym. Luckily, her old gym coach was the party coach. I didn't think she did parties and as it turns out, she does very few of them. It just worked out!! It made the party that much better!! The kids had tons of fun playing!

Walking in....

You have to hear the rules before you can play! They look so interested!! I think they just want to play!

Play time...

Ella loved climbing on this mat. She danced and climbed the whole time!!

Hula hoop contest...

Freeze Dance Contest....

Grace's favorite thing is the super bouncy trampoline! The first time she went on it, she was so scared she cried. Now she loves it!

Jumping into the pit...

Wiggle Worm...

Grace and friends...

Time for cake....

They even had time left over to open presents!

Everyone wants a good spot!

Grace and Coach Laura

We can go shopping now!

New clothes for Dot!

Grace with the Grandparents and Memaw

New sleeping bag from Nanny and Papa

Special Day with Mommy and Daddy - Out to a play and dinner!

I can't believe you are five already! The time flies by and you are getting so big. Mommy and Daddy love you so much!!!!

Grandpa's Birthday

2012-01-24T18:56:00.000-08:00

Daniel's Grandpa has been in the hospital for about 6 weeks. We were so glad that he got to come home just in time to celebrate his birthday! Last weekend, we went to Shreveport to help celebrate. It was the largest Santone gathering I've been to in awhile. I think I heard the count was 29! It was a good time seeing everyone!

I thought it looked funny to see this little girl and this big plate of food! She ate most of it!

Cousins!

Grandpa with the grandkids and great-grandkids (there are even some missing)!

She loves to tote her around!

We made a pit stop at Nanny and Papa's Saturday night, so our drive wasn't so long on Saturday. Here's Ella hanging out with Papa at breakfast!

What's New?

2012-01-24T18:49:00.000-08:00

Daddy and Ella being silly...

Here is Grace wearing her new jammies. She was wearing her favorite pj's the other day when she dropped a bottle of coral orange fingernail polish on the floor. It busted and splattered all over her pants. She was hysterical! Ella walked through it before I could grab her. I didn't even know what to do. I wasn't sure if it would come out of the grout. I got Ella to the bathtub. Daniel worked on Grace and the tile. We were out of fingernail polish remover and Daniel assured me the laquer thinner from the garage would be okay to use. It was such a catastrophe! Ella cried and cried. I finally figured out it was because her fingers and toes were glued together with the polish. Grace was so worried about her pj's. A mom probably would have assured her that we would try to clean them (even knowing it wouldn't work) just to get past the situation. Not Daddy! His response: Oh, those are trash for sure! Then, we ended up with a hysterical Grace again. After all that, she got to pick a new nightgown. Funny enough, after all the chaos, Grace asked me if she was going to need to pick another color! Ummmm.... yeah!

Grace likes to dress up Ella!

Look how serious she is! She got dressed up, brought me the camera and asked me to take her picture. She made me wait while she posed!

Sisters having fun!

Bathtime fun!

Daniel bought a juicer and Grace looked all through the recipe book to pick our first juice. She wanted to do pineapple/carrot juice. I wasn't sure if they would drink it, but they loved it!

Ella is finally big enough to sit at the little table and eat snack with Grace. They think they are so cool!

I missed the best picture! Ella crawled up in her doll bed and laid down with her puppy. She was small enough to fit right in. It was the cutest thing. I tried to pose her back, but this was the best I could get!

New Year's 2012

2012-01-01T19:58:00.000-08:00

We had a fun New Year just hanging out at home! This year, Grace knew what New Years was and that people have parties. She begged to stay up and watch the ball drop and count down. We debated and ended up giving in (kind of).

I went and bought Just Dance 3 for Grace's new Wii. We had a dance party in the living room. It was a lot of fun! Grace got all dressed up in her ballerina costume and we went to town. That is one good workout!

As we were watching coverage from New York, we started telling Grace about how people do fireworks. We told her she could do sparklers in the backyard and she was super excited. We made her change out of her ballet costume for fears it would ignite, and then we gave her one sparkler for each hand. Bad idea!! She started off swirling them around, but then got fixated on one of them. The other hand dropped and laid the sparker on her leg before Daniel could stop her. He said it was like watching in slow motion. Anyway, poor thing threw the sparklers in the yard and ran off crying. I got her inside because I didn't see what happened and Daniel had to stop out the fire she set in the grass.

She got a pretty decent burn on her thigh. We felt so bad. She cried and cried because burns keep stinging and there isn't a lot you can do. We kept cool water on it and after awhile she seemed better. She was great after getting to eat a popsicle and watch cartoons in our bed. She made it until 11:00. We let her watch coverage from New York, since they are an hour before us. We fibbed and celebrated New Years an hour early and carted her off to bed. She was asleep in about 2 minutes. She says she had fun despite getting burned!!

On New Years Day, Grace actually took a nap, since she was up late the night before. I thought I would get a couple of hours to get some things done. Wrong....Ella stayed in bed about 20 minutes before crying forever. I finally gave in and got her up. She always sleeps. Not sure what was wrong with her. Anyway, I let her paint with the new paints Santa brought. It was the first time she has done anything like that. Here are a few cute pictures!

Christmas Morning

2011-12-27T11:40:00.000-08:00

Grace was very concerned when we were in Sherman that we were going to miss Santa. We promised her we would be back in time. I don't think she was completely sure about it until we got home and made sure he hadn't been to see us yet!

Daniel and Grace sprinkled reindeer food on the lawn.

Christmas morning, I thought Grace would run in to see what Santa left and we would hear her yell, but she actually yelled for us from her bed. I'm not sure if she was a little scared, or what! We went and got her and Ella up and let them go see what Santa had left.

They both look so excited in this picture!

Christmas was so fun this year! I think this year and the next several will be so much fun. It is such a magical time for the girls. I was so tired when we went to bed Christmas Eve. I thought I would sleep like a rock, but I woke up every hour like a little kid waiting on Santa. I think it was just the anticipation of seeing the girls get up in the morning!!

Christmas with the Stevens'

2011-12-27T11:25:00.000-08:00

Grace had to go find Max as soon as we got to town! Ella loved him as long as someone was holding her. She does not like to be on eye level with him! She yelled, "Ruff, ruff" at him non stop!!!

Playing putt-putt in the living room

Ella hijacked the ball that Honey and Grace were playing with!

We cooked out hamburgers and hung out on the new deck. It was a little cold, but I snagged the chair right underneath the new heater. I was totally comfortable!!

Grace is always being silly with Uncle Seth!

She couldn't wait to open presents! She was so excited!!

Ella still had to have a lot of help opening presents this year, so I don't have very many pictures of her opening presents!!

Grace has been dying to get a pair of Twinkletoes tennis shoes. She loves them!!

Grace got an Aerial beauty salon. Yesterday morning, I poked my head in her room after I had made breakfast to tell her it was ready, and she was sitting there curling her hair and putting on makeup. She told me she was getting herself ready for the day! So cute!!

Ella's turn...

Ella got this nifty tricycle. She can just ride now, while I push. Later, she can pedal while I push. Then, it will turn into a free standing trike. She LOVED it!!

Uncle Seth let Grace give Max his Christmas present. She looked forward to that all day!

Ella pooped out on the way home. She went right to sleep Christmas Eve!

What a fun Christmas with everyone!

Hanging Out

2011-12-27T11:04:00.000-08:00

Here are the girls playing with some of there Christmas toys!

Grace is making new crayons! She is watching them melt and pour into new molds.

This picture just fits Ella's personality!

Christmas with the Santones

2011-12-19T10:47:00.000-08:00

This past weekend we spent Christmas in Tyler. What a fun weekend! The girls played hard, slept hard, opened presents, and ate tons of food!!

Grace watching a movie on the iPad on the way there!

Playing! Paxton, Addie, Grace and Dyllan

Grace loves to play with Uncle Andy!

Ella just couldn't wait her turn!!

Nanny opening gifts for her and Papa!

The girls got these sweet doll beds that Papa made for them. Grace made sure to put her baby to bed last night when we got home. Then this morning, she got her up and dressed for the day!

Decorating cupcakes...

Gotta have one....

Stocking time...

Prancer and Rudolph

Grace and Dyllan slept in the bunk beds. It was the first time either of them had slept with another kid. We thought they would be so tired they would go right to sleep. Nope! They talked, got up, played and had fun until Uncle Andy had to tell them they better get to sleep!!

In the morning, Andy and Michelle went to get them and they were both stripped down to undies and diapers. Apprantly Grace got hot sometime when it was dark and stripped. Either Dyllan followed suit on her own, or Grace helped. We're not sure! Gotta love kids!!

Night number two went pretty smoothly. Here is Andy reading a bed time story.

Night night...lights out!

Visiting Santa 2011

2011-12-15T13:08:00.000-08:00

I have been wondering for a month how our visit with Santa would go this year. I kept telling Grace that Ella would be scared and she would have to be a big girl and show Ella what to do. Tuesday, I realized that wasn't going to work. She knew we were going Wednesday and asked if we could go Thursday instead. She was trying to put it off. She told us she was nervous and didn't want to sit in his lap. We could tell she was having anxiety, so Wednesday I told her we would go, but I would hold her hand while she talked to him and she didn't have to sit in his lap. I told her she could stand in front of him (which is what she did last year). Even when we were next in line she was still really scared.

When it was our turn, we walked up. The Santa was so good!! He said, "Hello Grace, come give Santa a big hug!" He opened up his arms and she ran right in and hugged him. She talked to him and when it was time to sit in his lap, she did. I was so proud of her. It was a really big deal!! It was the first time ever!!!

Ella on the other hand...not so much! She was happy to see him until picture time. I told him I would pass her off when they were ready to snap the picture, and I told the photographer to make it snappy and that it was okay if she cried. The last thing I wanted was an elf jumping around trying to make her laugh!

The picture and experience turned out great!!!

Here are some pictures from while we were waiting in line. They had the whole area set up like the Arctic. They had pictures, videos and facts about Arctic animals. Grace really liked that!

Grace took this one! Not bad!!

Hope Grace never runs into a polar bear, or it's cub. Not sure she would fare so well!

The Ice Dome had snow falling!

Ella did not like having that "white stuff" on her hand!!

Grace's School Party and Christmas Performance

2011-12-15T12:51:00.000-08:00

Tuesday was Grace's Christmas party at school and a Christmas performance. She has been so excited. Mainly about the performance. She kept counting down how many practices they had left before the parents came. I'm sure that came from the teachers trying to scare them into learning and doing it right! :) The performance was really cute. Grace was an angel. She told me she was an angel, but she didn't tell me she got to wear a costume and stand at the front of the stage!

Playing Pass the Candy Cane (Like Hot Potato)

Making her Christmas Ornament (She got out first in Pass the Candy Cane)

Playing Santa Says

I had to take Ella with me to the party and performance. I made a huge mistake. I gave her the yummy snack I packed during the party (and she was good), but by the performance she was tired of it. Of course she started crying loudly as soon as it started. I felt like the biggest train wreck. As the kids were coming onto the stage, I pulled out the video camera that Daniel had charged and gotten ready the night before. As soon as I turned it on, it said the memory card was full. I tried to fiddle with it, but couldn't figure it out in time. In the meantime, Ella has started crying and I am trying to make her quit. Then I can't find Grace on stage (didn't know she had a special entrance). I realize I can take video with my camera, but have to switch it to video mode. I try to do this while wheeling Ella out into the foyer. At least in the foyer I found Grace waiting to go in. I gave Ella my wallet which she loves, but I don't normally let her play with. I figure people at the church aren't going to grab my credit cards off the floor and run away with them. I finally get the camera ready to video and have to video with one hand, fiddle with Ella with the other and try to watch. Needless to say I didn't get to see much. Luckily I got some good video and got to watch better later. I will definitely find childcare for Ella next time. I had to have looked like the most untogether person in the world!!

Our Angel

I love this video. It shows Grace's entrance to the performance. It is so typical of a four year old performance. I love it!!

Dinner Club Ornament Exchange 2011

2011-12-15T11:03:00.000-08:00

Sunday we had our annual Christmas get together with our friends. This year, the kids exchanged ornaments. It had been a long time since we had gotten together and it was lots of fun. Loryn and Matt moved into a new home, so we got to get a tour. Their new house is beautiful!! It was fun to catch up with the other moms and dads and the kids had a blast! We had pizza, played, talked, exchanged ornaments and decorated cookies! We even attempted to get a group picture of the kids! HAHAHA!!

Opening ornaments...It was a free for all!

This is the best pic I got of all the kids. Not bad!!

This is one of my failed attempts. It makes me laugh!! The three older girls are trained, but look at the younger ones. Ella has somehow gotten Loryn's iPhone. Jackson is trying to sneak Ella's snack and Brinley and Kale are in their own worlds!! At least Madison is smiling at the camera! :)

Eating and decorating cookies!

Fire Safety Town Holiday Lights

2011-12-15T10:35:00.001-08:00

Last Friday night, we took the girls to Fire Safety Town to look at the lights and do different holiday activities. Last year, we went on a Saturday and it was really crowded. This year we went on Friday after work, and there wasn't hardly anybody there. It was perfect!!

Listening to a reading of the Night Before Christmas. Of course she had to sit on the top step!!

Coloring while Grace got her face painted.

Emailing Santa a letter!

Before we left, there was a concert by the middle school band. Ella loves music and got excited when they played. She danced around, spun circles and ran around. It was her favorite part by far!!

The Nutcracker

2011-12-07T18:12:00.001-08:00

When I was about 4, my mom and Grandmother took me to see the Nutcracker Ballet. I was so excited to take Grace this year for the first time. We had a great time! Her Honey and Nanny were supposed to go with us, but poor Nanny woke up with a migraine, so she wasn't able to make it. We went to a matinee and I was so glad we did because the weather ended up being rainy and very cold. I was glad I didn't have to drive to Fort Worth in the dark!

She begged me to wear the red polka dot dress the morning of the show. It was freezing out, so I told her if I could make it a winter outfit she could wear it. Luckily she happened to have a white shirt and tights. I thought it turned out cute!

We sat in the front row of the balcony. I had debated on seats when I bought the tickets, because there were some closer on the floor, but I am so glad I bought the ones I did. I thought even though we were further away, she might be able to see better with no one in front of her. The seats were perfect. Grace had lots of questions. She had never been to a ballet and since they don't use words to tell the story, she was constantly wanting to know what was going on. She also wanted to know about the actors, curtains, lights, stage, sets, etc. We were in a box with no one behind us, so we were able to whisper to her throughout the show without bothering anyone. She was also able to move from my lap, to my moms, to her chair. Half the time, she stood at the rail. She watched the whole thing, but was restless by the end. I think it would have been harder for her to have been sitting on the floor.

She thought it was funny that his handle on the back really worked!

She was starving after the show, so we ate on the way home. Of course we are pushovers and she talked us into the ice cream sundae.

We had a great time! We missed you Nanny and are glad you are feeling better!

Putting Up the Christmas Tree

2011-12-07T18:01:00.001-08:00

Grace has been waiting for Christmas so patiently! We started seeing decorations and things out at stores at the beginning of November. I told her we had to wait until after Thanksgiving to do Christmas stuff. Driving home from my parents house the day after Thanksgiving, we listened to Christmas music and she begged to decorate the tree when we got home. Here are a few pics of us being silly and getting the decorations out. So fun!!

Poor Ella was confined to the excersaucer. She kept getting into everything! She had tons of fun watching everything that was going on, though. I was really nervous about keeping her out of the tree and gifts this year, but she has done amazingly well. We showed her to touch with one finger. I thought maybe that would be better than not letting her touch at all. She hasn't bothered the presents at all. She has torn one ornament and grabs at the tree some, but overall has left it alone!

Grace's tree....She decorated all by herself this year. She closed her door and wouldn't let us come in until she was finished. She did a pretty good job of spreading out the ornaments (the lights were already done)! Notice her Nativity. All of the Wisemen are looking over the edge of the shelf in a line!

I finally guilted Daniel into putting Christmas lights on the house this year. I really wanted the girls to get to have lights, especially now that Grace is old enough to really pay attention. They turned out really good! The picture is a little fuzzy!

Thanksgiving Feast at School

2011-11-23T11:23:00.001-08:00

Grace had a Thanksgiving Feast at her preschool last week. It was so cute. All of the kids sat family style and enjoyed lots of yummy treats.

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-23T11:07:00.001-08:00

We celebrated Thanksgiving with the Santones a little early this year. All of the immediate family was able to come in, plus Grandpa and Aunt Sharon. We had a great time relaxing, visiting, eating and hanging out with everyone!!! Grace absolutely loves her cousins and I love seeing her play with them and love them! She could barely wait for the weekend knowing they would all be there. We are thankful for our wonderful families and the time we get to spend with them!

I took the girls out before everyone came over and tried to get some pics of them. It is almost impossible to get Ella to sit still! Notice in the second picture how Grace is posing in the background and Ella is rolling on the ground. This one just makes me laugh! I actually did get a few good ones, but I'll post them later. I used them on my Christmas cards!

We were making Ella sit on this ledge to try and keep her in one spot. She totally busted!! It was the funniest thing!! Poor girl!

After dinner outfit...

Uncle Dan and Nixon

Papa and the babies...

All the cousins...

All the big siblings and their families...

Playing a little ball...

Halloween Activities 2011

2011-11-01T11:23:00.000-07:00

Story Time at the Library

The theme for story time was Trick-or-Treat! Grace was super excited to wear her costume and had a lot of fun hearing Halloween themed stories and songs!

Kinley and Kale's Birthday Party

The Lairsen kids had a joint birthday this year and it was a costume party! Grace looked forward to this party for weeks and she had a blast! Happy birthday Kinley and Kale!

They had a face painter. Grace wanted a princess decoration. This picture doesn't do it justice. It was very glittery. She looked really pretty! Ella wouldn't let Lemondrop the Clown paint her face!

Thinking about bobbing for apples. She decided it was more fun to grab them with her hand and toss them back in. She got nice and wet!

Grace and Macy with the birthday girl!

Carving a Pumpkin

Grace was excited to carve a pumpkin this year! There was no hesitation about cleaning out the pulp. She and Dan had a great time. Ella went back and forth about wanting to help, and then not wanting to get too close!

Thinking about it...

Helping Daddy draw on the face

She wanted to make it scary!

Trick-or-Treating at Honey and Pops' House

Halloween Night

A nice Candy Corn Witch....

The cutest cow I've ever seen...

We did our annual trick-or-treating with the Gross Family.

Best picture I got of all four. Ella kept running away!

Off we go!

Ella's first house...I carried her up and set her down, but she immediately tried to run away. It didn't help that the guy passing out candy was dressed up!

Riding in the wagon...she looks like she is doing something sneaky! It took her about 3 houses to figure out that she was getting candy in her bucket. She decided that it was okay to trick-or-treat. I had to empty her bucket each time because she tried to eat the candy with the wrappers on! The big girls had a blast this year and ran from house to house. Ella ended up going up to about 6-7 houses and riding in the wagon the rest of the time to keep up with the big girls! Everyone had a great night!

Fun with glow sticks! We met up with the Adams family, too!

Heading into a haunted tunnel. Very timid, but she did it and had fun!

Checking out the loot and getting a few treats before bedtime!

She thought she was sneaking candy. She looks very proud of herself!

Can't wait until next year! Grace has already changed her mind 3 times about what she is going to be next year!!

Pumpkin Patch 2011

2011-10-27T10:29:00.000-07:00

We made our annual trip to the pumpkin patch recently. It was great! We got there right when they opened so it wasn't too crowded yet (and the animals were still hungry)! The weather was perfect! It was a little muddy from a rain the night before, but the temperature was great! We were able to do everything we wanted and were ready to go right around the time the crowds really showed up!

This year, she was finally excited to feed the animals and didn't take any coaxing! Well...except to feed the bigger cow with horns (but she did it)!

Ella...not so much...

I love this one I got of her trying to get away from the goats!

Hopefully next year Ella can ride with her! We were just scared that if Ella didn't like it, she would try to crawl out!

Love this one!

On he hayride...

Chomping on hay...

Very excited to wear her boots and play in the mud!

Ella - 15 Months

2011-10-27T10:08:00.000-07:00

Ella is now 15 months. We had her checkup on Tuesday. She grew an inch. She is now 29.5 inches (25-50%). She actually lost some weight. She went from 20lbs 6oz to 20lbs. She has definitely thinned out a lot. You can tell it in her face. She is only in the 10% for weight now. Her head is 17.8 inches (40-50%).

The doctor said all is good. He was a little concerned that she lost weight, but since she is eating great and otherwise looks healthy, we will check it again at our next appointment.

Ella is a mover and a shaker! She is communicating a little more these days. She says bye now when she waves. She imitates the inflection and tone in our voices. She can say, "Moo" when you ask her what a cow says. She knows who Mama and Dada are and says the words. We are just working on getting her to actually call us Mama and Dada. She LOVES music and loves to dance. Anytime a song comes on, she stops what she is doing and starts dancing. She loves spinning circles in the living room and standing on her head until I help her flip over. We may need to start her in gymnastics soon!

Giving kisses...

Watching herself wave hi...

Silly Girls

2011-10-27T09:57:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures I have snapped around the house recently....

We spent several days going through both girls' closets to clean out spring/summer and bring out the fall/winter. We had to see what fit, what didn't, what was needed, etc. It was a beat down, but all finished now. I love this pic of Ella seeing if Grace's coat would fit this year!

Grace feeding Ella so I can get some chores done!

I let Ella color in her highchair one day while I was helping Grace with something at the table. She had a paper and 2 crayons. I was literally one foot away. In the 3 minutes I had my back turned to help Grace, she managed to eat the yellow crayon!

Riding the train and having fun together. My favorite moments!

Opposite Day

2011-10-13T09:44:00.000-07:00

Today is opposite day at school. Grace's class is studying opposites this week. She was so excited to go to school this morning. Notice all the opposites (her shirt is on backwards, too)!

Trip to The Woodlands

2011-10-13T09:42:00.000-07:00

We made a long over due trip to The Woodlands a couple of weekends ago. I'm ashamed to admit we hadn't been to my brother's house in about 2 1/2 years. They come here to visit, but we haven't gone there. Anyway, we had a great weekend. We didn't do much of anything other than lay around the house, visit and play. It was great! Sometimes it is nice not to have a lot of plans. They have done a ton to their house since we saw it last and it looks great. I am always jealous of their yard and the wonderful trees we just don't have here!

Friday night, we went and had Mexican food. It was yummy! The girls got tickled feeding each other tortillas.

After dinner, we put Ella to bed and had family movie night. We have been doing this at home and Grace loves it. When she found out that Uncle Seth and Aunt Ashley have a media room, she thought she hit the jackpot. She was so excited and thought this was so very cool!!!

Seth and Ashley have a Koi pond in their backyard, so on Saturday, we made a trip to Petco to let Grace pic out a new fish. Here it is being released into the pond. They also let Grace name it. The name she picked...drumroll....Princess Lestia. Go figure! They might think twice about letting her name their next addition. On the other hand, maybe they want to offer to let her name their firstborn! :)

Sweet Max

Grace watching Princess Lestia!

She loves that dog!

Grace and Ashley playing dancing on the Wii. Later that night, the grown ups did a little dancing. Then Ashley broke out DJ Hero with the spin tables. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. The best part was Daniel rapping on the microphone while Ashley was spinning. It was the best thing ever!

Cheering on TCU. Grace would shout "ribbit, ribbit". She just heard Frogs and went with it! :)

Silly string wars!

Seth cooked out for us Saturday night. Yummy bacon wrapped, dove stuffed jalapenos and steaks!

Grace was shooting everyone with the silly sting. Daniel told her to shoot me. I was holding Ella and Grace said she didn't think she should shoot us. I told her it was fine. It took her awhile to aim the can and get the button pressed. Her hands weren't quite big enough. No big deal right? From about 4 feet away, she managed to nail Ella right in the eye. Here is Ella not quite sure what is going on. Poor thing! Everyone just laughed at her!!

Trying to see the fish like her sister!

Every Day Life

2011-10-13T09:22:00.000-07:00

Grace loves playing in her toy kitchen. She is a "cooker". She spent about half an hour the other night preparing a picnic for Daniel and I!

Ella playing in Grace's boots!

Grace had pudding for dessert the other night. Before I realized it, she had started putting spoonfuls of pudding on Ella's highchair tray and Ella was really enjoying it!!! They thought they were just too funny!

Gymnastics Open House

2011-09-20T10:33:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, Grace's gymnastics had an Open House. I didn't really know what to expect. I really thought it would be super crowded and we would leave after 20-30 minutes. I was so surprised! It wasn't crowded at all. We ended up staying almost the full 2 hours! Grace was able to get on all of the equipment. She had so much fun playing and showing us what she can do. The parents were also able to go in to the gym. This was the first time I had actually gotten to go in and see everything up close. Normally, parents have to sit out in the waiting area and look through the windows. I was able to get some pictures, but she was so fast at doing everything, a lot of the pictures I got were after the tricks were over!

Forward Roll

Ella absolutely loved being in the gym! She crawled on everything and was fearless!!! They had the toddler gym open, as well. Ella got to go up there and play on some of the smaller equipment. She loved it and had so much fun!!

She ran and jumped on the spring board to do a forward roll onto the mat.

Cartwheel

Back roll onto the bar

Rings...this is her coach, Coach Laura. We LOVE her! She is great with the kids, but holds them to using the correct technique and pushes them to try new things!!

Grace had fun playing with Macy, since they aren't in the same class anymore (Macy started kindergarten this year)!

Watching the girls and boys from the competition teams do an exhibition. They did two different exhibitions and Grace wanted to watch both of them. She really liked watching what some of the older kids can do. They are really amazing. Many of them are home schooled to give them more training time. I think they said the girl performing on the floor in this picture is on the Junior Olympic team.

Ready For Some Football

2011-09-20T10:17:00.000-07:00

The girls are ready to cheer on the Cowboys with Daddy on opening weekend!!

First Day of Pre-School

2011-09-08T09:40:00.000-07:00

Grace has been very excited to start preschool! She loves having a backpack and lunchbox. Here are some pictures from her first morning!

I know the backpack is huge, but she really wanted it, and they have to put their lunchbox, folder and extra clothes inside. She can carry it pretty easily, since it isn't full of books!

Putting away all of her supplies!

Grace and Mrs. Bishop

Morning work waiting for school to start!

Her school snapped some pictures during the day and put them on facebook. Here is one of circle time in Grace's class.

She loved school! When I picked her up, I asked her if she missed Mommy and Ella, or if she would like to stay longer? Her answer was to stay longer. She told me all about music class, Spanish class and Bible class. She loved recess and thought it was really cool that they ate lunch there. She made one friend ( a little boy). I asked her his name and she told me that she didn't know and that kids don't have to tell names!

She was very excited to go back today and even had me help her make a note for her teacher!

I really love the time with Ella. She really needs the one on one time that she doesn't get because Grace likes to "help" her all the time. I think this time will do leaps and bounds for her development (let's hope so anyway...I can tell she is frustrated because she isn't talking)!

This transition has been good for all and I am very thankful it looks like her first school experience will be a great one!!!!

Day at the Museum

2011-09-07T13:23:00.000-07:00

Grace has been asking me all summer to take her to a museum with dinosaurs. So, last week, Honey took off work one day and we went to the museum. They had a dinosaur exhibit that we got to see, too! Grace was timid to try things at first (in true Grace style), but she loosened up after awhile and we all had fun!

Grace was a little nervous when we actually saw the dinosaurs, but she was fine after she got used to them! They were robotic, so they moved and roared!

Digging for dinosaur bones!

Milking the cow!

Spider web!

Seeing how long she can balance...

Giant bubbles....

Visiting Memaw!

Trip to the Park

2011-09-07T13:10:00.000-07:00

A few weekends ago when we went to San Antonio, Daniel promised Grace she could pick anything she wanted if she would try a bite of his dinner. She picked to go to a particular park in town (I need to teach her a little better what "anything you want" could mean)! :) Anyway, we went the other morning before it got to hot. Here are a few pics.

Ella was crawling across the wiggly bridge and Daniel kept bouncing until she did belly splats!

Electricity!!!

Grace threw her ball to see how far it would go...guess what...it went down a hill, across a sidewalk, down another hill and into the lake. The best daddy ever waded in to get it!

Hawaiian Falls 2011

2011-08-28T18:54:00.000-07:00

This summer, we got season passes to the water park, Hawaiian Falls. I was nervous about if we would get our money's worth. After the first visit, I was sure we had wasted our money. Grace wouldn't do anything. She was very clingy to me. It was hard for me to help her because I was holding Ella most of the time. I wasn't sure what we were going to do!

The second trip was completely different. We went with Macy and it made a huge difference for her to have a buddy. She was much more willing to do everything, and she wanted to do what her friend was doing!

By the end of the summer, she was loving it! She loved floating in a tube around the lazy river and splashing in the wave pool. Here are a few pics. Next year, Ella will be able to join in more!

Here are the girls running through the sprinklers.

Hanging out! Check out Ella's thighs...oh my!

They liked to get on the slides together and slide down at the same time!

Each week, they had lunchables. This was a big treat for Grace. It was so cute...they liked to try and match which one they were getting for the week!

Worn plumb out!

One week Grace got to invite a friend. She invited Kaylie and had tons of fun playing!

Nixon Grey Scott

2011-08-20T10:54:00.000-07:00

Our new niece was born on August 12, 2011. Nixon Grey Scott was a tiny 5 pounds 9 ounces. We woke up Friday morning just like normal. I was figuring out what the girls and I were going to dofor the day, while Daniel was getting ready for work. He checked his phone on the way out the door and we saw that we had gotten a text at 1:00 in the morning that Michelle's water had broken.

So...Daniel ran in to work to tie up some things and get his meetings covered and I got me and the girls packed up. By 11:15 we were off to San Antonio for the weekend. We got to meet little Nixon about 5:30 that evening!

Grace doesn't exactly remember Ella being this tiny. She liked looking at all of her little parts and rubbing her hair!

Dyllan and Grace had tons of fun playing!! They colored and played Ring Around the Rosie a lot! Grace taught Dyllan how to play and they couldn't get enough of it!

Ella was a little stinker! She is very attached to Daniel and I right now and didn't want anyone else to touch her!

Since we were in San Antonio, we decided to do a little sight seeing Saturday afternoon. Daniel had never been to the Alamo, so we took the girls. Grace keeps talking about that castle we went to where there was a big fight!

Grace wanted to go on the boat ride on the Riverwalk, so I took her, while Daniel and Ella hung out and had margarita's! Well, Daniel did anyway!

We walked around the Riverwalk awhile and ate dinner. Grace thought these were the coolest chairs ever!

We had a fun time and two tired little girls when we got back to the hotel. You would have thought they would go right to sleep! No...Daniel had to drive Ella around for an hour and she never went to sleep. Grace was bouncing from bed to bed! It was 11:00 before we had them both asleep. We were two tired parents!

We got to see everyone Sunday before we left again. We are so glad we were able to come down to meet little Nixon when she was born and see the rest of the Scott family! What a beautiful new addition!!

Bowling Fun

2011-08-20T10:47:00.000-07:00

Recently, Grace got to go bowling for the first time with some friends. She has been asking me to go and was super excited. It didn't disappoint!

Grace is ready to get started! Aren't the toddler sized bowling shoes cute?

They have this cool contraption to help the kids bowl. They can move it around and point it where they want, but it helps them give the ball the momentum it needs to get down the lane!

Notice the pin bar is down! :) Oops!!

Bowling by herself...granny style!

We went to Gatti Town for lunch after! She and Macy are having fun at air hockey!

Yummy Brownies!!!

2011-08-20T10:45:00.000-07:00

Ranger Game

2011-08-15T17:48:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, Grace, Daniel, Paxton, Jonathon, and Kevin got to go to the Ranger game together. Grace was so excited to go. She talked about it for two weeks. The night we told her they were going, she cried. We asked her what was wrong and she said that sometimes you cry when you are happy. She said she was so excited that she just couldn't quit crying!

They got to go early and meet Derek Holland for Q and A session. They got pictures and signed balls. Grace pulled her shy act and wouldn't give him a high five!

She had a blast!

One tired little girl!

Random Stuff

2011-08-15T17:37:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the every day things that have been going on over the past month or so....

Snack is going well so far...

And snack is now over...

Grace very impressed with dressing herself to go get snow cones. I told her she was so pretty, she had to take a picture. Notice how proud she is....

Kids love big boxes. Grace made this one into her own lemonade stand!

Grace, Daddy and Ella playing princess dress up!

All clean and wearing Daddy's flip flops!

What do you do when it is 105+ degrees for weeks at a time? You build a kick ass tent in your living room!

First bite of snow cone and loving it!

We got Grace's old riding toys down from the attic for Ella. Grace and Ella both love riding them now and pushing each other. They take turns. For Grace's turn, she rides the other choo choo train and does 360's in the entry hall!

Ella -1 Year

2011-08-08T19:02:00.000-07:00

Here are Ella's one year stats: Weight - 20 lbs. 6 oz. (25-50%), Height - 28.5 in. (25-50%), Head - 17.7 in. (50-75%)

She is growing great! She does need to grow into her head, it looks like!! :) Little Ella did not love her visit to the doctor. Everything they did made her cry hysterically! The doctor said she is growing great, walking great and all around doing well! We are going to continue to do a lot of naming and pointing for her to try and get her to start talking! He thinks she will be saying words by our next visit at 15 months. He wasn't worried, which made me feel better! Sweet girl got 3 shots, but they didn't seem to bother her.

She has transitioned down to one afternoon nap. We have taken away all of her bottles now, except the morning one. She drinks milk from sippy cups now. I was still giving her a night bottle, but the doctor said to go ahead and take it away (that it wasn't good for her teeth). She hasn't seemed to miss it at all! It is nice not washing bottles and mixing formula.

Ella can point to her belly button, nose and eyes (she just has to be in the mood to do it)! She waves bye-bye. She loves to give kisses now (the slobbery, open mouth kind)! She is walking all the time. She is a pro now. She climbs up on things and loves her riding toys now. One of her favorite things to do is push Grace on the riding toy and let Grace push her!

This one just makes me laugh! This is what she does every time I try to take her picture these days!

So sleepy after her party!

She has never showed interest in the tv (unless someone is singing), but she plopped down to watch Barney!

Learning to drink from a straw and doing really well!!

Eating toast and eggs like a big girl!!

Loves this drawer...just like her sister!

Ella's First Birthday Party

2011-08-02T12:09:00.000-07:00

Sweet Ella turned one on Saturday, July 23rd. The past year has flown by, but on the flip side, I don't really remember not having Ella. She just seems like she has always been part of our family. Her real birthday fell on Saturday, so we got to have family over to celebrate the special day with us. We feel so lucky to have Grandparents and extended family so involved with our kids. They are so loved!!

Being home this past year has given me time to search the internet and get a little creative with birthday projects. I really enjoyed preparing for Ella's birthday party this year. Here are a few pictures of the party decorations.

Ella's Smash Cake

Birthday Cake

I made cake balls as favors (although I forgot to send them with most people)...

I made her birthday party hat to match the theme.

Here is a bib for her to wear, since she obviously can't wear her party outfit for cake!! :)

I made a Happy Birthday banner.

Birthday girl just woke up from her nap and is ready to party!!

Ella and all of her Grandparents!

Grace playing with Jack, Carter, Parker and Graham. They made the party for her. She thought she was such big stuff playing with those boys!!

Ready for cake!! She wore her hat a lot better than Grace did!

Notice the green on her mouth already? She grabbed for the cake while we were getting ready to sing to her!

She picked up the entire plate and dumped the cake on her head!!

Notice the action shot of the cake falling off her arm! I had to catch it mid air.

She lost her hat at this point!

Daniel said that maybe the black icing wasn't the best choice! I guess not, but it made a cute ladybug!!!

Getting ready to open presents!!

She loved the cards. I have seen kids like the tissue paper, but Ella could have cared less about the wrapping, tissue paper and gifts. She just wanted to play with and look at the cards!!

The girls were playing in this box, but it was so funny looking because of the clear front!

Notice the bottom of the box says Little People! Hehehe

We gave Ella a tent with balls. After everyone left, we let the girls get in and play. It is a favorite with both of them!

After the party, we went out to try and get a few shots of Ella and the family. Little Ella was worn out, though. It was HOT and she wasn't really cooperating! She wouldn't look, or smile for anything!! That is becoming a trend with her. She used to have a huge grin in every picture. Now that she is mobile, it is so hard to get her to sit still, or look, or smile. She just wants to GO! Thanks, Seth, for trying!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ELLA BELLS!!!! We love you and you complete our little family!!!

Frisco Sci-Tech Center

2011-07-25T17:10:00.000-07:00

Both of the girls participated in the Frisco Summer Reading program this summer and got a packet full of local coupons. One of them was to a new science center that opened in Frisco recently. A couple of weekends ago, we took the girls. Grace had lots of fun. A lot of it was over her head, but she didn't care. She had fun and didn't realize it was over her head. Here are some of the more younger kid friendly activites:

She got to hook the parachute to the pulley and pull it up to release.

They had a noodle forest. It was tons of pool noodles hanging really close together. She wondered through them looking for special noodles (rough, fluffy, purple and clover shaped). She really liked this one!

Ella just hanging out and watching!

Eating ice cream! They did a demonstration where they made ice cream and used liquid nitrogen to freeze it. It was really cool to watch and was actually pretty tasty (and cold)!

There was a whole section of wooden games that she liked a lot!

She and Dad made Lego cars and raced them. Grace won!!

4th of July Parade 2011

2011-07-02T08:04:00.001-07:00

Our neighborhood has a 4th of July parade every year. People decorate cars, wagons, bikes, etc. for the parade. Grace was really excited about the parade this year. She helped me decorate the wagon to get ready. It was HOT this morning!!! Grace enjoyed it, but was a little disappointed that there wasn't a fire truck. I thought there was supposed to be one. They have had one in the past. We might have to talk Daniel into going to the city festival this afternoon. Maybe just for a minute (because it will be so HOT)! They are supposed to have a hometown heroes exhibit with the firemen and policemen. Maybe that would make up for no firetruck this morning!

Ella checking out the wagon and gear the night before!!

Loading up....

It was HOT!!

I know! I have another sideways video. This is going to drive Daniel nuts. I just keep forgetting that I can't turn the camera, even if it seems like up and down would be better for the picture. Videos don't rotate!!!

Ella - 11 Months

2011-07-01T08:28:00.000-07:00

Ella is 11 months old and we are planning her 1st birthday party. Where has the time gone? She has started walking! She still chooses to crawl most of the time, because it is faster, but she can walk pretty far when she wants to. At Nanny and Papa's house, she walked 59 steps! She really wanted that pool noodle!!

She is really getting into everything now. All I do is chase her around and make her get out of cabinets and drawers and anything she can reach! I swear the only word she hears is "no". She doesn't really seem to care about that either. With Grace, once she learned "no", she pretty much listened and didn't get in to stuff. Not Ella! She does what she wants. I don't know what I am going to do with her!! I may actually have to baby proof my house!

Ella pretty much only eats table foods now. Recently, I tried giving her some baby food for dinner and she got super mad. She wouldn't eat it. Once I gave her table food, she was happy!

Ella has started mimicking our sounds some. I name things and point them out to her all the time. We really work on mommy, daddy, some of her toys and body parts. She really seems disinterested. She still isn't saying any actual words, which worries me, but Daniel tells me not to worry!!! She loves to poke out her lips and strum them with her finger. She likes the sounds!

She is such a sweet, sweet girl! We love her so much and can't believe she has been with us for almost a year!

Grace wanted to take a picture of her rabbit. She made a sign for it and borrowed the camera!

She would not sit still with the dog this time! It is getting very hard to take pictures of her sitting in one spot. She immediately crawls before you can back away and get the camera ready!

Sorry the walking videos are sideways. I forgot that I can't rotate them and held the camera the wrong way!

Busy and Frustrated

2011-06-22T19:04:00.002-07:00

We have had tons going on the last month. I keep thinking I will post as I go, but then I let them build up. I finally cleaned off my camera last weekend and got all my pictures ready to post and our internet went out. We couldn't get someone out until today! It was hard to go without internet, email, facebook, etc for that long. I am totally reliant and connected to these things for communication! Maybe it is a good thing to remove yourself from it for awhile! Enjoy all the new posts!

Ella Goes to a Birthday Party

2011-06-22T19:04:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday, Brinley! Ella got to go to her first birthday party a few weeks ago. It was at My Gym. I wasn't sure how she would do, but she was very curious and climbed on the toys. She rode the little zipline ride and loved the bubbles! Her personality seems like it is going to be different from Grace. Maybe she is just too little still to be timid, but she seems like she is going to be much more adventurous to Grace's shy, timid toddler years. Poor Ella had to watch all of the other kids eat cake, though. Mean Mommy wouldn't let her have any. I'm making her wait for her first birthday!

Summer Fun

2011-06-22T18:38:00.001-07:00

Pirate Grace! Grace loves playing dress up. She keeps running around this summer saying, "Aye, Captain" and "Arrghhh, maties!" Who said girls couldn't be pirates?

Grace was bored playing in her pool by herself the other day, so Daniel got in with her. I had to get a picture of that!

I found a super cute pool for the girls this summer. It has a deeper side that Grace can splash around in and a shallow side that Ella can crawl around in. They are connected by a little slide.

This video makes me laugh every time! I know I probably shouldn't have let the girls keep doing this, but they were cracking each other up. I think they probably did this for a good 15 minutes. I just let them go because they were having so much fun! I love watching them at moments like this!

Ella Walking Behind a Push Toy

2011-06-22T18:32:00.000-07:00

Ella has started walking on her own now! She can take 4-5 steps all by herself!!! I had intentions of posting this post of her walking behind her push toy several weeks ago, and just got behind. I'll post this for now, and try to catch a good walking video of her by herself soon!

Pretty Flowers

2011-06-22T18:29:00.000-07:00

Ella's First Hair Cut

2011-06-22T18:17:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, we finally decided it was time to take Ella to get her first haircut. Actually, I decided. I have been wanting to trim it since she was 6 months old. Daniel finally caved and agreed we could, but wanted me to do it. There is no way I was going to trim and shape her head of hair. The poor thing would have looked so sad! She did so good. She sat in the chair all by herself. I figured I would have to hold her, but she did AWESOME! Other people probably can't tell that we cut it, but I can. It is just more even. We actually cut about an inch and a half. We just have to shape and trim the back until the front and sides catch up.

Before shots....

Grace got a bang trim while we were there.

Memorial Day Weekend

2011-06-22T18:08:00.001-07:00

We went to Sherman to spend a night with my parents and cook out for Memorial Day. It was a nice get away.

My parents had found a turtle in their backyard earlier in the week and had saved it for Grace as a surprise. Grace had fun watching the turtle and walking it across the yard. It's name was Shelly!

Ella - 10 Months Old

2011-05-25T19:17:00.000-07:00

Ella was 1o months old this week! She is growing and changing everyday. She is still sleeping great and taking 2 naps a day.

She is eating table foods really good now. She eats anything I give her. She has eaten broccoli, squash, zucchini, cheese, bread products, really anything!

She is standing independently now. She is getting better and better everyday. She stood for about a minute the other day.

She loves to blow her lips and make them vibrate and spit. She kind of sounds like Chewbacca. She does it constantly!

Curls

2011-05-25T19:12:00.000-07:00

We finally got some curls in Grace's hair. She was so excited!!! She was "careful" all day so they wouldn't fall out!

Birthdays Galore

2011-05-25T18:44:00.000-07:00

The Saturday after the Ranger game, Grace had two birthday parties. She was up until after 11:00 the night before, and then had cake and ice cream for lunch and dinner with no nap the next day. She was pooped Saturday night.

Party #1

We went to Macy's Fancy Nancy dress up party. The girls got their nails done, make-up done, got to dress up, model, dance and have sundaes. How fun!

Party #2

Kaylie had a party at Build-a-Bear. Grace had never done this before and she was very excited!! The kids got to pick a bear, give it a heart, stuff it, wash it, and get clothes for it. Afterwards, we went to food court for cake and ice cream and carousel rides.

Stuffing her bear

Washing it

Grace and Dot (Dot is fully clothed, including Hello Kitty panties)...yes I was a pushover

The bears come in the boxes, instead of bags, from the store. Grace made sure we knew that this was Dots home. She insists on kissing Dot each night, and then putting her inside her house to sleep for the night! So cute! Of course Dot's house has to sit right by her head all night!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MACY AND KAYLIE! WE HAD A BLAST!

First Ranger Game

2011-05-25T18:26:00.000-07:00

A couple of weekends ago, Kevin and Pat came into town and we got to take Grace to her first Ranger game. Pat watched Ella (which was some fun bonding time for them) and the rest of us went to the game.

Grace was so excited to go to this game! She could hardly wait all week. She decided she would wear her Witten jersey. She was a little confused that different sports had different jerseys. She was a little sad when she realized she didn't have a Ranger shirt, but decided to stick with the Witten jersey. When we got to the game, she picked out a pink Ranger t-shirt and changed into it.

We had great seats and it couldn't have been a nicer evening! Daniel and his Dad were so excited to share Grace's first game. We had hotdogs, cotton candy and funnel cakes! Nanny and Papa even brought Grace her own pair of noculars (binoculars). She LOVED these!

The first thing we had to do when we got there was get a hot dog!!!

Notice Daddy and Grace both looking through their binoculars.

Around the fifth inning, she started losing steam. She layed down for awhile, but got a second wind by the end of the game!

There was a fireworks show after the game. She was just about as excited about this as going to the game. She and Daddy are watching the fireworks here!

Gulf Shores 2011

2011-05-16T10:55:00.000-07:00

The last week in April, we got to go on our first family vacation to Gulf Shores, Alabama! We had such a great time. We stayed in Daniel's uncle's condo. It was gorgeous! It was perfect for our family. There were three bedrooms, which meant each girl got their own room. That made night time much easier for me and Daniel. Grace loved that her room had a tv with the Sprout channel. She took nap and went to bed every day with no arguments. All we had to do was put Sprout on. Vacation is full of fun things for everyone!!!

This was the view from our condo!

The first day, we got there late afternoon. By the time we got everything unpacked and settled, it was time to go eat dinner. Of course we ate fresh seafood every night! After dinner, we walked out to the beach since the girls hadn't gotten to see it yet. It was dark and chilly, but still very exciting for Grace!!

First time in the sand...

Seeing the ocean up close for the first time...

We ate lots of meals on the balcony, overlooking the ocean (including breakfast almost every morning)!!

Grace is ready to go play at the beach for the first time!

Nanny and Papa got us a sun tent. It was perfect. Ella naps every morning, and we were able to take Grace to play while Ella could still take her nap. I also felt much better about her being out of the sun! The first 3 days we were there, it was very windy. It was funny to watch Daniel try to put up this tent in the wind. I couldn't help because I had to hold Ella. All I could do was sit and laugh!!!

Ella checking out the sand for the first time!

She was getting brave! She kept going back and forth about wanting to go in the water and not wanting it to touch her! It was pretty chilly still! I wouldn't have wanted to go in much further than they are now!

This is one of my all time favorite pictures of Ella. She kept wanting to put the sand toys in her mouth. She didn't care about the fact that they had sand all over them. After about the hundredth time I pulled her hand away from her mouth, I just gave up. I figured it wasn't going to hurt her. This picture makes me laugh every time I see it!

First time in the water....not so sure about it!

Flying a kite

We also took advantage of the condo's swimming pool several times!

Ella's first time in the swimming pool. She was okay with it, but not so sure of what was going on. It wasn't her favorite!

Tuesday and Wednesday, is when all of the bad storms hit Alabama. We didn't get any rain on the coast, but it got windy and stormy looking and washed a lot of seaweed onto the beach. We could still go to the beach, we just had to play around the seaweed. They came with tractors at the end of the week and cleaned everything up. Thursday and Friday were BEAUTIFUL!

Wednesday morning, Carrie and her boys drove to the beach from Daphne. It was fun to hang out with an old friend and watch our kids play! We got to do a lot of catching up!

Ella napping with her bum in the air!

One night, we went to a local seafood market and bought crawfish and King crab. We took it home and ate outside. It was yummy!

Thursday, we went to a racetrack/miniature golf place. Grace got to ride several kiddie rides.

They had a 3 story wooden race track for go karts. Grace and I rode together. It was tons of fun!! She thought she was hot stuff. Every time we went on a hill, or a big turn, she would scream, "Woo-hoo!"

Dan and Grace laying out by the pool!

Thursday night, we ate at Lulu's. It is a restaurant owned by Lucy Buffet (Jimmy Buffet's sister). It was a really fun place. It was open air and had live music. We sat right behind the band which was perfect for Ella. She watched the band and danced in her high chair the whole time. Right behind where we were sitting was a big sand mountain with toys that Grace could play on after she ate. It was such a fun family experience and the kids seemed to love it!

Last day on the beach!

We buried Grace and made a mermaid tail!

Friday afternoon, we went on a dolphin cruise on the bay. We saw quite a few dolphins. Grace thought it was very cool. She thought it was just as cool to ride on a boat!

Ella did not like wearing a life jacket the whole time! Daniel and I took turns trying to pacify her the whole time. Under the circumstances, she did pretty good!

We went to dinner after the dolphin cruise and then came back by the beach one more time to take a few pictures of the girls on the beach! I think we got some really good ones!

This was the last one. Grace was tired and cold! Can you tell?

We got up the next morning and drove straight through all the way home. The kids could not have been better in the car. I don't think we had any crying episodes from either one!! It was a long day, but they were troopers!! We had such a great week together!!

4 New Posts

2011-05-07T15:22:00.000-07:00

We have been super busy and have had tons of stuff going on in the last two weeks. I have caught up on everything except vacation. Keep reading all 4 posts. Vacation pictures will be coming soon!

Last Soccer Game and Soccer Party

2011-05-07T15:08:00.001-07:00

Grace's last soccer game was today. She was so sad when we told her, but then when we told her about the end of season picnic afterwards, she was all good!! We are so proud of how she has played this season. She started off a little timid, but by the end, she was really getting after it. She tries so hard! I thought for sure she would score today. She had several break aways and close calls, but it never quite got it in.

Overall, she got 3 goals this season. Two were in a game and the third (bless her heart) was after the game was over. The ref blew the whistle and everyone stopped. Grace had the ball and didn't realize. She ran all the way down the field and scored. She was so proud of herself. We couldn't tell her!!

She had so much fun and can't wait to play again next season!

Besties!! I think they could be sisters!

Trophies and the team gift! Thanks Whitney and Coach Travis!

Getting her trophy and gift!

Grace and Coach T

Dance Class

2011-05-07T14:27:00.000-07:00

Grace has been wanting to take dance class, but she is also in gymnastics. We have been telling her that she can't be in both. I found a short 6 week class offered through our city athletic center. That is what Daniel and I gave her for her birthday. She just finished up the classes and she had a great time! She didn't learn too many technical things, but she danced around and had lots of fun! They did half tap and half ballet in each class. Grace loved making her shoes tap!

I got a few videos, as well. Here is one from the tap section and two from ballet!