Great Family Weekend

We had a great weekend celebrating mom and dads 40th wedding anniversary.  Thank you for being such great example of a wonderful marriage and unconditional love. Nat and I have said many times that we have a lot to live up to. Both of our parents combined have celebrated 85 years. Wow!

Going out to dinner with five kiddos eight and under can be pretty eventful. They all ended up doing great and we had a wonderful meal together. My oldest nephew was at camp. Logan, we missed you!

Miss Priss of coarse had everyones attention. She says "cheese" for the camera now. 

We also celebrated Father's Day and my brothers birthday.

Happy Father's Day! Nat, you are truly an amazing dad! You are their hero.

What a blessed weekend!

16 months old

We have had you in our arms for three months now and you are just so much fun! I cannot believe you are 16 months old already. I am loving that you are a mama's girl!

You have had a lot of firsts the past four weeks. Your biggest first for mommy was leaving you with Mrs. Vivian while mom went back to work after 13 weeks. You have done so well! You take your usual two hour nap just like you do at home. So far no bad reports! It was not too hard leaving you because we knew you were in REALLY good hands. Mrs. Vivian is like part of the family now. What would we do without Mrs. Vivi?

You have had your first summer swim and your first boat ride on the lake. You love the pool but you are a little unsure about swimming in the lake. However, you seem to like riding in the boat. You do not like the wind in your face so you bury your face into my chest and sometimes fall asleep. I wish you liked the lake water better though because it gets a little toasty not being able to get in the water when it is 97 degrees.

You have cut two of your baby molars with no complaints or fussiness. You are one of the happiest babies I have ever seen. You go with the flow! You are an awesome sleeper! When you wake up you sit, roll, and talk in your crib. You like making animal sounds and singing e-i-e-i-ooooo. You are just a baby girl loving life and it is such a joy to be a part of it.

Your brothers just adore you more everyday. You have several nicknames in our house lately. We call you Ella Bella, Priss Pot, and the boys laugh and call you Ella Smella because of your dirty diapers. Nolan usually always calls you baby girl and I love that. My favorite is Priss Pot because you just prance around the house so happy. Your little walk is so different than the boys. It is just girlie cute!

                                        You make us so happy and bring us so much joy!

                                                                   We love you!!!!!

My Second Grader!

My oldest is now a second grader! Really! Where has the time gone?

He had a haircut today. He likes it really short and I do too. 

He gets frustrated with his cowlick (just like his dad's) but today his barber cut it short and added some gel for a little spike in the front. He loved it! He looks so handsome. He asked if he could get it cut like this every time. He has thick fast growing hair like me. We would have to go every 2 weeks to keep this cut up. He even asked me to buy some gel. LOL! 

Nathaniel, you are still my strong willed boy but you have grown into a great big brother (x2), lover of sports,  country music, hunting, and the lake. I wish everyone knew your soft sensitive side but only I get to see that. Everything comes easy to you. When you set your mind to something you do it to the fullest. 

You and your sister have a special bond. She loves you so much! The other day you told me, "I don't know what I would do without her." 

Your dad and I are so proud of you!