Smiles All Around!

My mom says it best.  Ellie smiles with her eyes.  You can just see it all over her face!  She is genuinely a happy baby!

Pudgy arms and legs on babies makes Mommy happy, too!

Summer Days

Last week we spent a chunk of the week at the lake.  The first day was rainy, but Mya kept busy by being silly with Cassie, playing card games, Checkers, etc.

The next day, and the following days, the weather was AMAZING!  In the water she went.  Personally, I thought the water was chilly, but Mya would beg to differ!

One of the boys got this contraption for his birthday.  It is kind of like an underwater jet ski.  Loads of fun!

Little Ellie just hung out.  She was perfectly happy to find an open set of arms to chill in!

Ellie also went in for a dip.  Well, her toes did.  She didn't seem to mind!

My mom took Mya on a paddle boat ride.  She fell asleep because it was so relaxing!

We got in touch with our natury side, too.  We bonded with baby ducks and turtles!

Thank goodness for summer and our lake adventures!

Bluebird, Bluebird

Mya's dance rehearsal was on a Friday night.  She was very excited to wear her costume, but most importantly, she was excited to wear makeup!  The rehearsal went GREAT!  She looked so confident up on stage and was mesmerized by all of the other dancers!

Then, the recital happened on Sunday.  I was sure things would go just fine, as they had in the rehearsal.  However, before the curtain even opened, I heard a little girl crying and it was Mya.  The poor girl was sobbing.  She cried throughout the ENTIRE dance!  (I cried right along with her).  It was agonizing to watch.  All I wanted to do was go scoop her up and cuddle.  But, the thing that I couldn't get over was her perseverance. Through all of the crying, she did her dance.  She flapped her wings, did her tondue/posse combination and so on.  It was sweet and heartbreaking all at the same time.  Later she told me that she just wanted me to be there with her.  I wish I would have stayed on the side of the stage so that she wouldn't have been so sad.  I think she just got freaked out and didn't know how to handle it.  Poor girl.  I told her how proud I was of her and that even though she was scared, she still did what she needed to do.  :)

We couldn't take pictures or video during the recital, but I ordered pictures from the studio's photographer.  Those pictures should be interesting!  :)

2 Months Old!

Ellie turned 2 months old on June 1st!

A little about Ellie:

*She sleeps anywhere between 5-8 hour stretches at night, typically only getting up once to eat.  During the day, she'll take a nap in the morning, 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon, and then usually another nap in between that and bedtime.

*At night she likes to sleep in her Boppy pillow.  During the day, she really likes sleeping in her swing and she also loves to be rocked and held.  It's my favorite time, too!  :)

*Ellie is starting to find her voice.  She makes all kinds of sounds, some of which sound like animals!  She coos and it is just the sweetest sound!

*She loves her bathtimes, her sister, nuzzling blankets, eating, watching the fan and her activity mat.  Such a simple life!

*She's pretty easy to figure out.  She sucks her fist when she is hungry.  When she's wrapped up in a fuzzy blanket, she'll settle down pretty quickly.  She likes to be walked around when being held...she's very nosey!  

Our Ellie is just a wonderful, happy baby!!