Just Hanging Out with Mommy

Dave has been out of town this week with work so it was just me and Miss Prissy Pants hanging out. We had a fun week but definititly missed Dave/Daddy and are glad he is coming back tonight. Today we had a fun playdate at Melissa Poston's house. They have such an amazing play area setup both inside and out that they truly could charge admission. :) Needless to say we had a great time. Ella Kate was climbing all over the playground equipment at Mrs. Melissa's, and the playground equipment was definitily meant for older kids - but that did not stop Ella Kate for a second. One of the Moms said I think Ella Kate is going to be pretty adventuresome. I just laughed b/c it is so true. She must get that from her Daddy b/c I am very calculated adventuresome :) Later this afternoon PaPa John and LeLe came over and went swimming with Ella Kate and I for a little while. The swimming trip was fun but short b/c it was a little chilly in the pool and overcast. I am so ready for the sun!!!! After swimming LeLe and I took Ella Kate to dinner at Sweet Tomatoes and then off to Walmart. Ella Kate entertained numerous people at the restaurant and Walmart with her grins and wrinkled nose. She is quite a little character. I bought some whole milk at Walmart and mixed 2 ounces with her formula in her night bottle. I think she liked it b/c she drank the bottle with no problem. Hopefully the transition from formula to whole milk will continue to go well.
Ella Kate playing before going to the pool.

All ready to go swimming.

Making faces at mommy while eating lunch. She is so very animated! Notice she has a cantauloupe in one hand. This child LOVES cantaloupe. She will pick it over just about anything except maybe ice cream :)

Playing outside before leaving to run errands with Mommy. She is holding a bunny that one of my mom's co-workers gave her. The little bunny talks in the sweetest voice and says a bedtime prayer. Ella Kate loves this little bunny. It travels with us alot.

Memorial Day Weekend, Walking, and Ten Teeth

This past Memorial Day weekend we went to Lake Weiss with friends and had a great time. Ella Kate loved playing with Seymore and Riley Grace. We took her out on the boat for the first time and she did great! However she was mostly interested in playing with the radio and punching buttons on the console. Dave held her in his lap and let her drive a little which she thought was pretty cool. We did not get to do a lot of swimming b/c it was a little chilly and rainy but we played alot in the park. On Saturday we went to Trade Day and gave Ella Kate her first taste of a corndog and homemade ice cream. She liked the corndog but LOVED the ice cream. On our way home from the lake we stopped by a small town called Cave Springs which has alot of natural springs that we let JoJo splash around in and had some fabulous bar-b-que.

Ella Kate development updates... As far as Ella Kate's development I would say she is right on target. She is walking and cutting teeth like crazy. While I was rocking her to go down for her nap this morning I realized that she has cut 3 of her back molars and I can feel the 4th one under the skin. She now has 10 teeth!!!

Well that is all for now Ella Kate and I are headed to the pool in our subdivision when she wakes up for her nap. I am so glad it is summer and so thankful to be able to work part-time to enjoy lazy summer days at the pool.

Ella Kate in her life jacket swimsuit ready for her first boating trip at 11 months. Some might say 11 months is a little early for the boat but her Daddy convinced me that she was ready. Her Daddy loves being on a boat, especially with a fishing pole :)

Riley Grace and her new puppy Rosco. He was so cute!!!

Dave and Ella Kate swinging

Dave, Ella Kate, David Fennelly, and Riley Grace swinging high.

Lauren holding Ella Kate while Riley Grace is tickling her. It was so cute to watch Ella Kate and Riley Grace play together. Ella Kate studied Riley Grace's every move.

More Tickling

Dave, David, and Seymore played basketball at the resort while the little girls watched. This is a picture of David Fennelly showing off some cool tricks for his biggest fans.

David Elliott making a basket.

The little girls want to play so bad. Notice the little boys playing basketball with the big guys. Dave, David, and Seymore had so much fun playing with b-ball and football with the younger kids at the resort. They played the basketball game of Horse until it started raining. And one evening David Fennelly had at least 20 12-13 year olds in our front yard playing football. So fun!!!

Riley Grace holding a baby pig at Trade Day.

David Fennelly, Riley Grace, Big Seymore, Little Seymore, and Dave looking at the goats at Trade Day. Ella Kate had fallen asleep in her stroller at this point.

The goat that I wanted to buy :)

Me, Ella Kate, Lauren, Riley Grace, Lilliana, and little Seymore at Trade Day.

Riley Grace carrying Ella Kate around the lake house.

Dave, JoJo, and Ella Kate hanging out on the porch. Ella Kate is just like her Daddy and loves being outside. We only brought JoJo to the lake this time and poor Sally had to stay with Uncle Kenneth. However I know she had fun at Uncle Kenneth's house playing with Samson.

The sweet princess!

Ella Kate playing outside at Cave Springs on our way home from the lake.

Dave and Ella Kate at the entrance to the Caves.

Play Date at Maple Avenue Park

I am so excited about this weekend. We are headed to Lake Weiss for the long Memorial Day weekend with David Fennely, Lauren, Riley Grace, Seymore, Lilliana, and little Seymore. We are going to have so much fun!!! We all rented a 4 bedroom house right on the lake and Dave has the boat, water skii's, and tube all packed up and ready to go. I think we are planning to leave in a couple of hours.

This morning Ella Kate and I went to playdate at the Maple Avenue play ground. I know I really should have stayed at the house and finished packing but I just could not resist. Ella Kate is 11 months today and I do not know what it is but she was walking a ton at the playground. I guess she was just trying to show off for the big kids. All of the kids were so cute and played so well together. At one point Caroline, Sarah Kate, Matthew, and Ella Kate were all in the boat with Sarah Kate as our captain. I asked her where she was sailing us and she said on a Disney cruise. Then we played pretend and I called out Disney characters and everyone screamed when they "saw" them. It was so cute. I don't think Ella Kate really knew what was going on but she did know that something exciting was happening. :)

Caroline, Patsy (Caroline's baby doll), Pres, Ella Kate, and Matthew in the boat on their "Disney Cruise)

Matthew and Ella Kate playing/fighting in the playhouse. Matthew and Ella Kate are hilarious together. They are both very stubborn and love giving each other a hard time. Matthew is 2 and Ella Kate is 11 months however Ella Kate is by no means the victim :)

Ella Kate trying to climb into the cooler before we left for the park.

Ella Kate helping Mommy in the kitchen yesterday afternoon.

Play Date, Fun with the Dogs, and Walking

On Friday morning Ella Kate and I hosted playdate. We had a great turn out and the kids played so sweet together. Ella Kate is particularly interested in the older kids and she loves loves little Ali who is 2. She crawled up to Ali got right in her face and just smiled. :) So so sweet.
On Saturday we went to little Abigail's 5th b'day party and Ella Kate basically ate an entire cupcake with ice cream. She just kept smiling and opening her mouth. Dave was in charge of feeding her and he just kept shoveling it in. Dave and Mandy have a great swing set at their house so Ella Kate got to swing and slide which she loves. The slide was pretty high and me nor Dave could believe how much she loved it. I mean the slide was probably 6-7 feet tall. I would set her at the top and Dave would be at the bottom to catch her. She just cackled and laughed the entire time. We did not get any pictures but took alot of video. After the party on Saturday we went to Toys R' Us just to look around at some of the playground stuff as Ella Kate needs some things to climb on. She is a big climber. We did not buy anything but had so much fun looking. We put Ella Kate in one of the hot pink hummer electric cars and she thought she was something big. She did not want to get out!!

On Sunday we went to church, got JoJo a long long overdue hair cut and had lunch at Golden Corral. Ella Kate has become such a good eater. She eats #3 baby food with no problem but really prefers big people food. At Golden Corral she ate green beans, steamed carrots, tomatoes, chicken, turkey, and mac & cheese. And of course she had a little ice cream for dessert. She is starting to walk and can easily take 3-4 steps to get to her destination. She cannot walk across a room yet unless we are holding her hand but we are making big progress with walking. She wants to walk all by herself so bad. I don't think it will be long before I am running to catch up with her. We are also starting to transition her off the bottle. She has been taking sippy cups with juice/water since she was about 5-6 months so lately I have been putting her morning bottle in a sippy cup and she has been doing just fine. My plan is to next replace her lunch bottle with formula in a sippy cup and then dinner, and lastly night. We will see how my plan goes. I am hoping to get her pretty much off the bottle and using a sippy cup by her 1st b'day and then work on the transition from formula to whole milk. The plans sounds great in my head but we will see how Miss Priss reacts to it :)
Ella Kate trying to get a taste of the treats for Play Date.

Succeeding at getting a pig in a blanket.

Looking outside waiting for her little friends to arrive.

All dressed up for church trying to get outside to play with her dogs.

Brushing her teeth with Daddy. She loves to brush her teeth. She now has 8 teeth!!!!

Wrestling with the dogs on our bed in her new Jamaica t-shirt.