Afternoon at the Lake

Ellie has been bugging Brandon to go fishing for a while so we finally took her on Sunday. I use the term "we" very loosely as I had zero involvement in the fishing endeavors. I was there as strictly a snack manager and cheif baby wrangler. Also- photographer and sunscreen applier. I did NOT handle any crickets or worms. And had any fish actually been caught, I would've had no part in their capture or release. Anyway, we did not go out in the boat. It needs to be serviced and we really didn't have all day since AM chose that day to actually nap. We did go to the lake on post and found a cool spot. There was lots of shade and you can drive right up to the water. Here is some of the fun we had.

Finding a good spot to fish

Getting her rod ready to cast.

Reeling it in

Cheif cracker-eater and slobber monster

Digging in the sand and burying her lures

Sunbathing with Mommy

Our spot

Playing super hero (obviously her interest in fishing did not last for the whole trip)

She's is SO over being a baby

AM is really learning lots of new things every day. She is sitting up all by herself and eating just about anything you put in front of her. She's a huge fan of crackers and fruit. Also peas. I really haven't found anything that she won't eat if she's in the mood. Her legs are very strong and she will stand up holding on to your hands. Her knees don't even buckle at all any more. She will reach for toys from a sitting position and push herself back up to sitting. Sometimes she does fall all the way forward and can push up with straight elbows. She hasn't figured out how to get up on her knees yet, but she's close. The only direction she's managed to move in is backwards. Here is a video of her watching Ellie play with a balloon. Obviously she thought it was quite amusing.







and then here is one of her reaching for her toy

Playing Catch-Up

Here are some slide shows of what we've been up to lately.


Some random shots of the girls...especially of AM eating real food. It's her new hobby, along with sitting up.

Strawberry Patch Field Trip

Hiccups and Hilarity

Ellie has been on a roll this week...


Exhibit A

Ellie: "Mommy, I have the hiccups. Try to scare them away."

Me: "Ok."

Ellie: "I'm waiting."

Me: "Well, I can't do it when you're expecting it. I'll do it in a minute."

(approximately 1.5 seconds later)

Ellie: "ok.....I'm not expecting it."

(hilarious laughter from me, causes baby to crack up which make me laugh harder which make E laugh harder, thus making the hiccups worse.)


Exhibit B

I tossed her a washcloth in the tub after becoming slightly irritated with her and she told me, "Mommy, that is not Messesary!"

Exhibit C

I explained to her that the Pinocchio movie from NetFlix was a Blu-Ray disc and would not work in her little DVD player. She didn't seem to mind and chose another one. Later she wanted to watch Elmo and asked me if it was a boo-ray movie too.

one more...
One day this week she was so excited for Brandon to get home so she could tell him something funny or exciting (I can't even remember what the news was) but she just knew he was going to pee in his pants when he heard it.

and side note to Mom and Grandma- I do have some pictures to put up and I am going to work on them next :)

Easter

Better late than never, right?

We started the Easter festivities a couple weeks ago at the playgroup egg hunt. Thanks Wades!


Ellie really got into finding the eggs this year. In fact, we had to have many, many practice hunts at our house before and after Easter Sunday.

These next two are ones Alex took. Hers are always so awesome. Thanks Alex!

Then on Saturday we went to the hunt across the HWY at the park. Ellie got a lot of eggs, but she was mad because they were all just thrown on the ground. None were actually hidden in her age division. I should've taken her down to the 4-5 year old section, but I was afraid she'd be more disappointed if she didn't get a lot of eggs. She still had fun. She was also mad because half of her eggs had starlight mints in them. She hates those. And who gives those out for an egg hunt? I mean, really?

E's basket and goodies

AM and her lootThis bunny poops jellybeans! heehee
What, that's it?

She looks a little skeptical about this egg.

Pink Ladies ready for church

I'm way behind again....

Big surprise.

We got back from TN and then left 4 days later for Disney. In between there was an egg hunt and then another one today. It's been busy. I still have 2 small bags to unpack, but the laundry is all caught up. And I found E some white shoes to wear with her Easter dress. Thankfully AM doesn't need shoes yet.

Our trip was great. I will try to sum it up in pictures. Be forewarned- this is long....

On the way to Disney, we took a side trip to visit Ilene and Andrew and family. Well, they are not on the way, but it was so great to see them and we didn't have nearly enough time to spend catching up. We also didn't take many pictures there- too busy enjoying the company.

We played in the pool.

The girls (sort of) had a sleepover.

And AM started sitting up.

Sunday night we got to the resort- it was awesome. We spent some time chillin' in the room and ate dinner on the property.

Monday we went to the Magic Kingdom....

Everywhere we went there was a bus right outside our building to take us there.

"the castle, Mommy, the castle!!!"

Right after we got there, the parade came down Main St. It was awesome. All the characters were in it and Ariel stopped right in front of us and waved right at Ellie. I thought she would pass out. Other than the parades, it was difficult to find the characters and next to impossible to actually get near them. we did get to see Tigger and Pooh though and that was fun. The lines were long for everything, but worth it. AM looked like this a lot. E loved it all- well except for the Snow White ride. She is never, not ever again going on that ride. Or into the Tiki Room. The tiki gods scared her. She loved Dumbo and Alladin's magic carpet ride. And Small World. Luckily my mom was there to ride with her. I'm not sure who had more fun.

And Mickey's Toon Town was a great place to run around.

Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse was also a hit. No line to wait in.

Tuesday we went to Epcot. It was REALLY cold. and windy.

I love all the countries (especially the food (and Drinks)).

Giant apple-sized strawberries with hot fudge in Italy.

I think this beer was in Italy too, but the German one was better.

Prosecco in Italy

There is a fairy garden called Pixie Hollow after the the TinkerBell movie with replicas of the fairies made out of flowers and also with little fairy houses made from acorns, etc... There was a playground area too that was not crowded at all.

Just past Pixie Hollow is Minnie's Butterfly Garden. Real butterflies that will land on you and also beautiful topiaries like this one and one of Minnie where her dress is red and white carnations. Loved it!



Side note- the birds of Disney are not afraid of anything. They will fly/walk/soar right by your head and if you are eating outside (which we did most of the time)- LOOK OUT. They love french fries.

And the Seas were awesome.The Nemo ride was fun and the wait wasn't too bad. I also liked the one in the giant ball.

Wednesday we went to Disney Hollywood Studios. We had breakfast with 2 of the Little Einsteins and JoJo and Goliath from JoJo's Circus. It was really fun and one of th ebest meals we had the whole time.

Ellie and Leo

Ellie and June

Ellie, AM and JoJo
Goliath LOVED Ann Marie and did not want to give her back. It was funny. She was not scared at all.

I love this one b/c it looks like the dinosaur is about to get them.


Tyler and Ellie with Giant PlayDough in Honey I Shrunk the Kids.

Nicole, me, AM and Ellie in Honey I Shrunk the KidsBlock Party Bash Parade- awesome. One of my favorite things we saw. The Toy Story Mania ride was my #1 favorite.

Posing at the hotel before we left on Thursday.