Cutie Girl

7 months old

Fall Festival Fun

The kids had a ball at the church's Fall Festival.

When we got out of the car, Braden said, "I want to pway hockey first!". (Guess what we did first...)

While Braden played hockey, Ellison tried the cake-walk...er...stroll. Thanks for the assist, Ms. Robbie!

Otherwise, this was as exciting as it got for Miss Ellie! She was a trooper.

Braden got in lots of jumping, sliding, and ball-playing (oh--and candy! He wasn't so interested in that with all of the balls around, however.)

Ellie helped her brother out when he got tired of the eye-black. She makes a pretty cute football player, doesn't she?

Who's Who?

Looks a little backwards, right? Scott's colleague had a costume party with a theme...cross-dress! That's the best we could come up with--since we'd used that duo before (in the traditional way).

Tricks and Treats

Getting ready to go trick-or-treating...Bray was sooooo excited!

Ellie was...well...just along for the ride.

Six Months Old

18 lbs 12oz - 91%

27 inches tall - 87%

18 inch head circumference - 98%

Potty Trained?

We purposely waited until after Ellie was born to start potty-training Braden. Even then, it took us a while to REALLY get down to business :). We had just been making him sit on the potty chair periodically throughout the day and had some success. Eventually came the chart and stickers. A couple Sundays ago, everything just "clicked" for him. He actually told someone every time he needed to go to the bathroom that day, and has done GREAT ever since!

The next challenge was getting him to stand up. That was remedied with a trip to the country to visit Grammy & Poppy. Thanks to whomever suggested to Braden that he "just go outside"! He's been standing ever since! (I soooooo hated emptying the potty chair!)

With all the success, Braden has gotten stuck in the bargaining phase. It's not uncommon to hear him say, "I'll poopy for that" about some random toy or game (usually sports-related) that he wants. We have sure accumulated quite a list of poopy prizes: basketball goal, golf box (still not sure what that is), horseshoes, croquet set, yet ANOTHER football helmet...

New Obsession

I've been using Picnik to edit photos lately--it is so addictive and so much fun!

Dress-up

Always Learning

Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks?

I've learned quite a bit in the last few days from a certain two-and-a-half year-old.

For instance, did you know that Braden has a baby in his belly? I saw the big pooch with my own eyes! He claims its' name is 'Puddin'.

And another thing--if your baby is fussy, maybe you should try playing golf with your other child. I told Braden that his sister wasn't very happy and he said, "We should go play golf--that will make her happy!"

I'm not sure you would believe this last one unless I showed you proof. Here goes--girls are so much better at taking pictures than boys! Observe:

Guy's Night

Tonight was Braden's first baseball game experience. Dad decided it was time to take him to watch the Wingnuts play. Braden was sooooo excited! He woke up this morning and told me, "Mom, I don't want to go back to bed. I want to watch baseball with Daddy".

I got home from work and he and Daddy packed up for the game. They were meeting some of Scott's buddies for Guy's Night. Ellison and I settled in for some quiet girl time at home. In less than an hour at the ballpark, I get a call from one of the guys--Chris. He asks, "Are you busy? Can you come pick up the boy?" I said, "Seriously?" Evidently, Braden saw the mascot, and from that time on, had not let go of Scott's neck. He was scared of the "Skurl".

So, I loaded up Ellison and we headed to the ballpark. Daddy and Braden were waiting at the front gate. On the way home, I kept asking Braden why he didn't want to stay and watch the ballgame. The first answer I got was, "I wanted to eat supper." The next answer was, "The skurl didn't give me a baseball." When we got home, I asked him again and he said, "The skurl forgot to give me a baseball." He was almost tearing up this time and he kept repeating it. It about broke my heart! We'll see how long it takes us to get him back to the ballpark! That "Skurl" better give him a ball next time--I mean, C'mon!

Company

Aunt Shannon, Grandma & Grandpa came to visit this past week.

Braden & Ellie had all kinds of fun and got all kinds of spoiled! I'm not sure if Grandpa put Ellison down once while he was here--she seemed to always be sleeping on him at naptime. We went to the zoo with Aunt Shannon on Thursday. Then Aunt Shannon and Ms. Kim took Braden to his first library experience on Friday. They have a summer program for kids--I guess he had a ball (Mommy was at work--wish I could have been there). He checked out 8 books and has a goal to read 5. If he does, he gets a prize at the end of the summer. I'm sure it will pay off--the other day he was quizzing Mommy on the letters of the alphabet. He would pull a magnetic letter off of the fridge and say, "Mommy, what's this one?". When I told him, he'd say, "good job, Mommy". He's going to be reading to me before I know it!

Just Because

Happy Father's Day!

These were about the best we could do to document Father's Day 2009.

We kept hearing, "the sun's hurting me"!

What better day to get out the swimming pool than the first day of summer?

Slam Dunk!

Here's the little overachiever holding her head up like a pro! She did this for quite a while--of course--big brother was shooting basketballs in her line of sight. She really likes her big brother. She grins at him whenever he talks to her, and he thinks that's the funniest thing ever. It's so fun watching them interact.

Tennis, Anyone?

Here's the most recent obsession...

(oh, wait--along with soccer, and baseball, and basketball of course!).

Two Months Old

Ellie is growin', growin', growin'!

2 months old - 12lbs 4oz (85%) - 23 inches (76%) - 40.5cm head (88%)

Scott wondered who the baby-daddy was when he heard the percentile of the height!

Ellison is learning how to smile--it is definitely cute!

New Bedtime Routine?

We always read a book before bedtime, then the hugs, kisses and "I love you's". Here's the conversation last night:

Mommy: I love you
Braden: okay
Mommy: Do you love me?
Braden: Uh-huh
Mommy: Can you say, " I love you, mommy"?
Braden: I love you, mommy... you're a joke.

Guess the routine was funnier than usual last night!

Translation, Please?

Anyone want to learn some more "Bradish"?

Han-guh-ber = Hamburger
Croca-die-dle = Crocodile
Hunk-a-homa = Oklahoma (Where Grammy & Poppy live)
Eye-wah = Iowa (Cousin Parker, this one's for you!)
Bay Eh-son = Baby Ellison
Peep = Pee or Poop or toot (take your pick-he's used it all 3 ways)
Heem = Him
Canny = Candy
It scared for me = Anything he's scared of
MommyDaddy = Mommy & Daddy (we evidently really are One!)
Cob on the corn = Corn on the cob
Washcar = Car wash

I'm sure there's plenty more that I'm forgetting, but that should be enough for one lesson. Can't wait to see what "Bay Eh-son" comes up with!

Zoo

We went to the zoo with Poppy and Grammy while Daddy is away.

Here we are watching the "eh-funts".

The bear statue seemed to be more interesting than the real thing.

This is what Ellison did the entire time-what a good girl.

Braden's favorite animal ended up being the monkey on the playground!

Ellison's Quilt

Grammy finished Ellie's quilt. It is adorable!

I think Ellison really likes it--thanks, Grammy!

Just a random bathtime pic--what a pretty girl!

Family Photos