Blackberry Farm.2012

We had a wonderful day at Blackberry Farm!  The weather was cold but the sun was shining to make the day bright and a bit warmer.   We went on a train ride, a tractor ride, and carousel.  We visited the one room school house, old town museum, log cabin, and blacksmith.  It was so nice spending the day with Grandma and Grandpa making more fun memories!!!

Blackberry Farm, Aurora, IL

Trying to keep warm as we walked through the farm.  It was a cold day.

Grandma and Grandpa with Dave and Ella on the train.  Ella enjoyed it!

And of course, E liked the train ride too!

These little tractors were adorable.  E enjoyed riding everyone of them.

Not in the mood to pose for another picture.

Inside the one room school house sitting at a desk.

Ella sitting on one of the many carriages.

Our family of four on the tractor wagon ride...both the kids loved it!

Apple Holler.2012

Apple picking this year was fun!   A bit different with 2 children but another memory that will have for years.  Evan loved the tractor ride and Ella took everything in.   Looking forward to all the fall activities coming ahead!

Ellasyn.4 Months

My beautiful baby girl, you are growing so quickly!  

At four months old you now can babble and coo, scream nearly as loud as your big brother, Evan.  You put yourself to sleep, self soothe, and sleep a lot.  You pick toys up with your hands, lay on your tummy and raise your head very high.  You like when songs are sung to you, especially "Shake Shake Shake". You still don't like car rides or the car seat.   You definitely LOVE being held.  Your favorite toy is a hanging Eric Carle lady bug.  Your favorite book is Where is Baby's Belly Button by Karen Katz.  You are afraid to miss out on anything.  You love being in the front facing baby carrier.  You are very observant of your surroundings.  You love watching Evan play and move around. 

You are a sweet happy little girl. 

  

My favorites about you are your smile, how happy you are when you are with me, how you already know what you want and how to let one know that you want it.  You have taught me to laugh more when things just aren't going as planned, and to sit..breathe...watch...listen...and embrace all these precious baby moments.   

Happy 4  months Miss Ellasyn!  

Potty Trained!!!

EVAN is potty trained!  Thanks to my mom for getting him started.  It took E three days to master going to the bathroom on the potty and for him to get out of the mindset that he was wearing a diaper.  We are so proud of him!    He is now officially a big boy and no longer our baby.   Since he has been accident free for 3 days,  we took him to the Disney store to pick out a toy and he chose SpiderMan!  

You can definitely tell Evan & Ella are related...

Evan 3 months

Ella 3 months

Evan 3 months

Ella 3 Months

Cousins (or as E calls them...fousins!)

Ella, Evan, & Dominik

3 Months.Ellasyn

My beautiful sweet baby girl is 3 months old!

fourth.of.july.2012

Dave, Evan, Ella, & I went to the Hinsdale parade this morning.

 Evan watched the fire engines, marching band, police, and dancers.  It was H.O.T!!!!

Cooling off in the shade.   

 Evan, Ella, and I trying to keep cool.  

Off to a 4th of July party this afternoon...

Summer Backyard F.U.N.

E was all smiles this weekend!  He loved playing in his new sprinkler  and helping Daddy mow the lawn.

I LOVE E's expression! 

He convinced Daddy to go with him.  Didn't take much :)

He wanted to know how it worked so he started to experiment with it a bit.

E squared

If you only knew what we went through to get this picture!

Ella 2 Months

With a blink of an eye two months has come, and gone.  I wish I could freeze these moments and keep you my baby forever. I love snuggling you, feeling your soft skin, smelling your newborn baby smell.   I love when you wake in the morning with your little bird cry to say 'I'm awake!' and smile.  The twinkle in your eyes reflect how happy you are.  You must know how much you are loved.   I love putting you to sleep at night, holding you in my arms, hearing your coos as you nuzzle and wiggle your way to a comfy state.  I love to close my eyes and breathe you in.   I never want to let you go my sweet baby girl.   Happy 2 months!!!

Evan's Baseball & Summer Camp

Here's a look inside Evan's world this past week...

E and Dave started Baseball on Thursday.  It was total chaos with all the 3 and 4 year olds running around.  
Mind you it was 90 some degrees and during dinner time.  
Many of them slowly drifted away from the field near the end of the hour.

The summer camp theme this week was CAMPING!   Evan made a log cabin out of pretzels and 

bears inside the cabin out of Teddy Grahams.  He made a canteen out of paper plates and yarn and took a nature hike to find different pieces of nature (rocks, pine needles, pine cones, leaves, bark). 

 He read camping stories, made pretend tents and even rode a pony.   

E was excited to show me his school play ground while I was visiting for the morning.  
He loves the bikes!   He does a good job of crashing them too :)

He made me some ice cream out of sand in the play house.   It was delicious!

Next week is Bug Investigations!  That should be fun...lol

All Smiles

It's amazing what a little 6 weeks will bring to a newborn!   Ella started smiling this week...so sweet.   It's fun to see her little personality start to shine through.   My heart melts every time I see the firsts and now every time I sit back and just watch my children.   I love how carefree and innocent they still are.

In the last 6 weeks Evan has become quite the little man.  He has matured immensely.   He is sensitive to Ella's needs (although a bit rough at times), gets diapers, reads to her, cuddles her, plays a game he made up with her called 'knock out' (sounds worse than it is-Evan takes the game down to an infant level :)  Is is talking in clearer and more complete sentences.  He steps aside and listens when someone comments about his new baby sister.   He smiles and looks proud.   He's still a character.  Loves talking and figuring out how things work.  Evan started SUMMER CAMP at school this week.   He made a sun visor, tye dyed a shirt, jumped in a bounce house, and had an outdoor picnic.  I enjoyed seeing him outside running around with his friends.   They had the perfect weather to enjoy some outdoor play time.

Ella 1 Month

ONE MONTH!!!!   Where is the time going?!?!!   It is passing us by and I wish I could freeze time.   Ella is a joy.  Everyday she fills our hearts with love.   She is getting bigger (9 lbs 7oz and 21 1/4 inches long).  She still loves to be held and hates the car seat.  In the past week she has become more aware of her surroundings and is making more eye contact, cooing and grunting.  She is a great sleeper too!


Here are a few pictures of the kids this past month...

Evan has been a BIG help too!   He has also become more independent since Ella was born.  He started at  a new school this month and is adjusting quite well.  Looking forward to a fun summer with our families!!!

On April 19th, 2012, Ellasyn Ava was welcomed into the world!  She weighed 6 lbs 13 oz and was 20 inches long.   She had dark brown hair, blue eyes and long fingers and feet.   She likes to sleep and loves being held.  We are so overjoyed to have finally met her!   We love you Miss Ella!!!

We can't wait to meet you little one!

A lot has happened in a short time...

As the saying goes...Life Happens!  It sure does!   I can't believe 4 months have passed and I haven't written a blog entry.  It has been action packed and probably won't die down for a while after our new little arrives.  Here's a quick snippet of our last few months events...

Evan turned 3!!!  We celebrated by going to Dave & Busters for dinner and games.
E LOVED it!   He asks us to go back often.

We spent most of February and March packing boxes and visiting the new house checking on the renovations.   A lot of work was done to the new house in 5 weeks: floors, master bathroom, painting, electrical rewiring,  all new door handles, light fixtures, kitchen backsplash, outlets and light switches.  There were a few (to say the least) bumps in the road but all was done in the end.

E enjoyed moving day.   He started to get antsy toward the end when our house was all empty.  He took a nap on our drive out to the new house and was ready to go when we arrived to direct the moving guys where to put our furniture and boxes. 

Evan had to say goodbye (for now-we will be back to visit of course) to his teachers, Ms. Agnes and Ms. Megan, and friends.  E had a wonderful first school experience at Chalk.  It will be hard to find as wonderful teachers as his first. 

This is E in the new house after we had been moved in for a week.  He loves it, as do we!  We have been busy making it our own.   Our parents have been an incredible help and we couldn't be any more grateful to have them with us every step along this new time in our life.

Only 2 weeks (or less) away from meeting our new little one!