3 Months and 2 Sisters

So, I am a little late with the 3 months pics- like 20 days or so. I would've never waited that long with Ellie's. For most of the time I was out of town so I couldn't take it in the red chair. And for the rest of the time I was too busy/lazy to remember to do it. So there you go- AM should be glad there are pictures of her at all. Every time I think I am getting the hang of having 2, something else throws a kink in the routine.....and.....I am slightly nuts.

Shout out to Ilene for the cute outfit. It was Jillian's and Ellie wore it too. And to my loyal reader Mema Ro- thanks for reading and sorry for the infrequent updates.

Yesterday they were so cute in there matching blue outfits that I had to take a picture. Thanks again Granny for the early Valentines.

DWTS/ WDPT Weekend

That's Dancing with the Stars and Watching Davis Play Tennis- both great performances

The girls traveled wonderfully on Friday and we met up with Mom and Granny at Davis's house.

Saturday and Sunday we went to Davis's tennis matches and watched his teams win. On Sat he even got a trophy. Ellie was pretty mad that she didn't get one too.

Sunday was a smaller neighborhood match, but there was a playground so E liked it better.

The funniest thing that happened all weekend was during the match on Saturday. While the game was very exciting, nothing holds the attention of a 3 year old for long. We got an extra ball and Granny, Ellie and I started playing "Monkey in the Middle". Granny was the monkey and I advised her not to catch the ball when E threw it as she does not enjoy being the monkey (or losing at any game for that matter). She was very tired- I was trying to keep the atmosphere pleasant. Anyway, Granny missed several times on purpose because E was throwing and then she caught one that I threw so I became the monkey. So Ellie began to throw it to Granny, I missed mostly on purpose and then Granny missed a couple of balls again. To which Ellie said, "It's ok Granny, it's hard to catch balls when you're so old like that." I thought I would pee my pants from laughing so hard. The best part was, Granny didn't hear it and I had to repeat it because she wanted to know what was so funny. Of course I also had to repeat it for Mom and Lori, then for Davis when he finished and then for Tyler when he came that night. Hilarious!

But on to the real reason for the visit. For Granny's Christmas and my birthday, Mom bought us tickets to Dancing With the Stars- the Tour. And of course she had to be forced to get herself a ticket too. They watched the show together on Mon and Tues nights this season and we would compare notes over the phone. If I was in town any of the nights it was on, I watched it with them too. It was awesome. Of course, because I am a big nerd, I followed the directions and did not take my new super zoom camera in. I was afraid I'd have to take it back to the car and miss part of the show. And of course, every other person in the arena had theirs with them. I tried using the camera on my phone, but all I got was a blurry bright spot. So I took pics of the program when we got back to the house.

The only celebs there were Lance Bass (awesome), Marli Matlin, Maurice Green and Toni Braxton. She didn't dance at all, but she did sing 2 songs and she is from the area so her whole family was there. Oh- Cody Linley, the kid from Hannah Montana was there too as a special guest appearance. All the pros that were there were so amazing.

Here is Maks, the heart-throb. He is the choreographer for the live show. And didn't wear a shirt that closed the whole way at any point in the show. Not that I'm complaining.

And here's Derek, or as I like to call him- Granny's boyfriend. She is in love with him. I am going to make her a shirt for her birthday that says "I HEART Derek". He is really good.

While we were at the show, Davis, Tyler and Nicole kept the girls. They were well behaved and had a great time. Thanks again guys. And thanks again Mom for the ticket. It was wonderful. And thanks again Granny for the t-shirt.

One more thing

I forgot to add that the girls and I will not be posting for the weekend because we are going to Davis's. I'm going to see the Dancing with the Stars Tour in the ATL. My mom bought me a ticket for my bday, my Granny one for her Christmas and herself one so she could go with us. Be jealous. It's ok. I'll try to take good pics this weekend and post on Tuesday.

I apologize for the break in coverage....

#1 I just can't seem to find enough time in the day.

#2 I'm addicted to facebook and it's a little more fun than this because you can see what everyone else is doing.

#3 I don't take as many pictures as I used to unless we are traveling.

Those are my excuses.

And here are some pics to sum up what it's been like since the last post.


Brandon came home on Sunday, but before that it was a little crazier than usual. I think Ellie was feeling a little jealous and neglected. So to lift her spirits, she decided to decorate the living room-with glitter.

The tree was still up, so I didn't really think the extra flair was necessary. I think that's the maddest I've ever been at her. It wouldn't have been so bad if I hadn't just told her that we would do a craft with glitter as soon as I was finished feeding the baby- just don't open the glitter by yourself. She literally, threw it around the room so it would "rain" down on her. It was quite a mess. Lucky for me it was only glitter, not paint or nail polish. Lucky for her, I only put her in tine out.

After that, we went to the Fun Factory for playgroup (I know, I should've taken that away from her for the glitter incident, but that would've been more punishment for me than her). She was so tired from staying up late while refusing to sleep in her room that she had a couple mini meltdowns at the FF. (sleep problems are almost solved now)

Saturday I (finally) took the tree down. I think that is a record for me. I usually take it down pretty soon after Christmas. But I was out of town and it took me a while to catch up. While I worked, Ellie introduced Ann Marie to Baby Einstein. Both of my girls are big fans of the TV.

Sunday Brandon came home. Hooray!!!

Apparently Ann Marie was a little skeptical about it :)

Ellie is mostly back to her normal self. A little bit of jealousy here and there. It's funny that it took so long for it to surface. I think Brandon being gone for a couple weeks triggered it. She likes to play baby every once in a while, and gets tired of me always telling her "just a minute, I've got to feed/change/hold the baby." But she is still very sweet to AM and never takes it out on her.

We also put together their new toy box to hold the toys in the living room. It actually matches the nursery furniture, but I like not seeing all the toys in the living room. Thanks Grandma and Papa!!

And this is how AM spends most of her time these days- with either her own or someone else's hand in her mouth. I really think she is in the beginning stages of teething. She drools all the time, constantly gnaws on her hands and sometimes acts like it hurts her to nurse. Ellie didn't get any teeth until she was 7 months old, but I think AM will get hers much sooner.

All is well (for now)

So she slept in her bad last night and the night before. She didn't fall asleep until almost 11 both nights, but she did it in her room. Maybe tonight will be even better. And B comes home tomorrow so that should help too. Hooray!

Getting back in the groove

It's not happening quickly. I can't get Ellie to sleep in her own bed. She cries for HOURS. And I give in because at some point she has to sleep when there is school the next day. Last night I was strong until 10:48. It's a sick pattern. We'll try again tonight. There's no school tomorrow so we'll see how long she lasts. Here's some more highlights from our trip.

It was a fun and busy one as usual.


A very concerned Ann Marie goes bowlingEllie and Nicole at the bowling alley

Pretty baby

Cheezin' for the camera

Ladies in red- yes we actually went to church

Redneck bassinet. Yes, it is a laundry basket, but never fear- the clothes were clean.

Playing with Austin

Chatting with Grandma

Zoe, the one and only

Singing along with Tyler on the banjo (it was his Christmas present)

Ann Marie's solo
Hanging with Uncle Ty
Hanging with Uncle Wardie
Dancing ladybug- thanks for the super cool costume Ward

Happy New Year!!!

We hope everyone is enjoying 2009! We've been busy spending time with family, celebrating birthdays and generally having fun. The end of 2008 was spent in TN with Brandon's parents and then in SC with my family. The girls traveled really well. They are true Army brats already. We ushered in the new year here too and will head back to AL sometime next week. Ellie will miss a little bit of pre-school, but she'll go to dance class with Gran Jan and hang with Zoe which is much better than school in her opinion anyway. My bday was great. Thanks Ashby! We had fondue and it was delicious! The girls and I traveled across TN, GA and SC on New Years Eve so I was not in the mood to go out that night. We had a tea party and watched the ball drop in our pjs. We've been up later than usual every night, but that's what vacation is all about. Today we spent some more of our Christmas/Bday money and tomorrow everyone (and I do mean EVERYONE) is coming over to my mom's house to celebrate the new year with ham, Hoppin' John and collard greens. Should be fun. Here are some pics of the trip so far and I'll take a bunch more tomorrow. I do still HEART my new camera very much.