Drinking out of a cup

Drinking out of a cup is Ella's new thing. She thinks she is so big. We spent some time with Miss Gail and Emily this afternoon just relaxing by the pool. Ella thought that Emily had her cup of Crystal Light out there just for her and kept going back for more!

I know this is a horrible expression, but look at that Crystal Light Mustache!:

We made some progress with Ella and the water today. She's having a lot of fun getting in and stomping around on the first step:

Swim Time!

It's in the 90s here in 'bama but the pool water is still a little too chilly for my liking. I braved the cold today though just to see if Ella would enjoy the pool more if she was in there with all the other kids. Nope. I'm talking about totally hysterical when I put her in a float. Geez! What's the big deal? She loves her bath! I hope that when the water warms up she'll enjoy it more. Anyways, we had a great time playing with Mandy and friends this morning at her mom's pool. They have a nice grassy area beside the pool which was great for Ella.

Mandy and Chase (she's not naked...she's wearing a swimsuit...haha):

At least Ella wasn't the only water-hater...Brooke didn't like it either:

This is one relaxed kid...Davis is living the life!:

Memorial Day

We had a really fun Memorial Day over at my parent's house. We enjoyed the nice weather (wished it was a little warmer for swimming though), celebrated Keith's birthday and tried our hardest to get Ella to like the water better. Here are some pictures from the day:

No, Keith's not 53...we had to improvise with the candles. :-)

Look at the difference from last summer and this summer. She liked the float a lot more last summer too!:

May is the birthday month!

We had two really fun birthday parties on Saturday. First up was Evan's 5th B-day. It was all about the fish because that's what he loves:

This girl loves a cupcake!:

Next we headed to the lake to celebrate Katelyn's 3rd birthday at the Monkey Shack! Lori, I've got a ton more pictures...I'll post them in a web gallery soon. :-)

There were lots of great water toys, but of course our girl didn't want anything to do with them and was content to have Daddy carry her around while I took pictures. She also was perfectly happy to play in the dry playhouse and with the rocks. But water? No way!!

Also, Happy Memorial Day everyone! I just want to take a minute to remember the very special people who have given their lives in service to our country and also the men and women in the armed forces, like my dad, who have dedicated themselves to protecting us daily. Thank you!

Burbank Fun

On Friday we got together with Mandy, Chase, Pierce, and Brooke Burbank for a trip to the Museum of Fine Arts. That place is great for kids...even little ones like Ella and Brooke. Afterwards, we headed to our house for PB&Js for lunch and then a little playtime afterwards. Ella loves being around other kids and really got a kick out of having 2 big brothers for the day! Thanks for a fun day Mandy! :-)

Zoo Visit

We went to the zoo awhile back and I had so many pictures that I worked on them for a LONG time and then forgot to post any! So, anyways, here's our pictures from that fun day. Ella really liked looking at the animals, especially the bears, monkeys, and flamingos (technically a bird I guess).

Keith is 29!

Yep, Keith celebrated the beginning of his final year in his 20's yesterday. He's getting up there! :-) Haha...check out his blog for a synopsis of his special day. Here are a couple of pictures from gift opening yesterday morning. Happy Birthday Keith! I love you!:

Yesterday afternoon I made progress with getting Ella in her baby pool. The first time we tried putting her in one, she HATED it. Yesterday she didn't act like it was her favorite thing in the world, but she got in there and played around a little bit:

This afternoon we went with Nana to the Fox Hollow Park for lunch and a little playtime. Ella gets a big kick out of pushing the stroller around. She thinks she's SO BIG: