KY Lake (very picture heavy!)

Almost eight years ago I met one of the one of the sweetest couples I know. They knocked on our door  several days after I came home from the hospital from having Nathaniel to say, " Hi, I am Brittany and we are your new neighbors next door and we wanted to bring you guys a little something to congratulate you on your new baby." Who knew that eight years later our families would look like this and we would be such  close friends!

We were able to share pregnancies with these two boys who are just three days apart. They are two of a kind and share so much in common. It is such a joy to watch them grow together.

Then Luke was born and who knew Ella would be just one month after. They are both absolutely adorable. Luke likes to bully her just a bit but I think the past four days they have become pretty fond of each other.

This was our first trip as a family of five. It was great! The trip was filled with amazing views from the porch, sand, rope swinging, golf cart rides, tubing, wakeboarding, good food, good laughs, and great memories. 

Yes, we all did the rope swing even mama! Nathaniel dared me to go. He didn't think I would. It was actually really fun after I got the nerve to leap from that tree. 

The golf cart was a high light of the trip for the kiddos. 

Ella had some good daddy bonding going on. Melt my heart! She has some good balance and very limber. We think she is going to be our gymnast.  We will see!

Nathaniel has been wakeboarding for two years. He loves it!

Nolan has become our brave boy this summer. He is swimming without his floaties now and he asked if he could wakeboard with dad. He was so proud! I think Dad might have been a little proud too.

Yep! my hubby has still got it going on!

Blake was not too shabby either on his slalom ski.

Ella absolutely loves the water now! She is not so fond of the wind in her face when the boat is moving. She wants the towel over her head, her thumb, and falls asleep every time.  I love all the snuggle time!

This is one of my favorite pictures from the trip. The boys crawled under the steering wheel out of the sun and fell asleep together eating their snacks. Too funny! They both woke up like they had never dozed off. Nolan started eating again as soon as he opened his eyes. These kiddos can mow some chex mix. 

This picture cracks me up! 

All cleaned up and ready to eat at Patti's. If you have not been there you need to go.

Good friends and good times!

17 months

This 1s Ella's famous expression these days. She wants you to give her the same look back and she thinks it is so funny.

Pour Me Some Tea Please

 We have had a girlie afternoon! No boys allowed! We went to Aunt Nancy's house to enjoy Ella's first tea party with her cousins from Atlanta and our special friend Liz.  Ella dressed up in her tutu and she looked so cute! Even the boys thought so. Nathaniel couldn't stand it. He wouldn't admit he wanted
                           to go but he kept saying, " I am going to come and steal all the cookies!"

The girls got a kick out of dressing Ella in hats.

Ella liked seeing the fish. She can even say fish now.

The girls had fun picking their outfits from their moms and grandmothers closet. 

Let the tea party begin! Ella hung right in there with the big girls.

More tea please

Ella's great grandmother, mimi, joined us for the special occasion. She is 97 and she kept saying how busy and loud Ella was. How special that she was able to enjoy the afternoon with three of her great granddaughters!

I do not remember having a tea party as a little girl. I was always around my brother and all my boy cousins. However, I sure did enjoy all four of these little ladies today. What girl wouldn't enjoy heels, jewelry, hats, makeup, sweets, and a little imagination?

Sugar and spice and everything nice, that's what little girls are made of.

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July! We are so thankful for our freedom and for the men who put their lives at risk to serve our country. 

We were so excited to share the weekend with Nat's cousins. They all live out of town and all three of them were here. All the little ones had a great time!

Nat's cousin Rob recently had a kidney transplant. His sister, Emily, very selflessly gave up one of her kidneys for him. We are so thankful that she was a perfect match. They live in Atlanta and we were very excited to see them and give them big hugs. Modern medicine is so amazing!!!!

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Our niece, Leah, is Ella's little mama. Ella loves her and she was the only one this weekend  that could hold her when I am around and Ella didn't whine to come back to me. I am so thankful for her attachment but it is nice to give my arms a break.

Nolan was pooped from all the fun. He is my cautious one around the water but he got brave and tubed with his dad and brother.  He loved it!

Our family absolutely loves the lake! The lake was one of our favorite things to do before we were even married. We had a lot of fun dates on the lake and it brings back a lot of fun memories. We love that we get a lot of quality family time while we are there. If we are at home we are all in different rooms or the kids may be outside but when we are in that boat.... we are together!

Last 4th of July we were in Vero Beach with Nat's family. I was on pins and needles stalking my email and the adoption forum waiting on our referral. I knew we were very close! 

This year was so nice being on the boat having Ella snuggle close as we ride and both boys at my side. Life just feels complete!

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!