Funny Faces!

This girl was on a roll today! This face? ...this is how you prepare for a little dab if chapstick! I'm still laughing! ;)

Silly Ellie!

I said "Bailey, you stink"...Ellie proceeds to try to put a diaper on the dog! Guess I shouldn't use that phrase so much with Elle! You stink = new diaper! ;)

Visit from the Duncans!

We had some friends come to see us today! Oh wow! These kids were wound up by the end of their visit tonight! I think they all had tons of FUN! Thanks for coming to see us Duncans!! :)

Fun LITTLE office!

I spruced up my office a bit...it's really not an office. We have a little space near our living room that works very well for a place to keep my photography business stuff! I'm really loving my little yellow shelves (IKEA spice racks)...they match my yellow pillows on my couches! :)

I love having a little girl!

My baby snuggling her baby! I love having a little girl! :)

Working Out and Socks + Shoes!

Just a couple of fun pictures!

We just about always have one kiddo downstairs working out with us in the mornings...usually two. The other morning before Ellie was up, Zay was quite motivated to workout with us! Pull-ups, squats, jumps...you name it - he was up for it! 

Goodness, goodness...if there is one thing that my kids do that really gets under my skin, it's this. I spend so much time putting on socks and shoes on and then tying and re-tying shoes...ONLY to have them take them all off in the car so I can do it again when we get to our destination! Ugh! I guess with sweet faces like this, you can't get too mad at them! ;)

Brother-Sister!

These two...so cute together these days. :) 

This is a picture from last weekend...we ended up getting a flat tire on our trailer after shopping at Home Depot. :(

Ellie really likes to do EVERYTHING Zay does! :)

Day 40 - 40 Days of Blogging

Well - I made it...40 blog posts! Might not have been EACH and EVERY day, but I got 'er done! And I'm really excited because it was a GREAT challenge for me! And a great reminder why I take the time to do this blog-thing! It's such a great way to keep track of our memories. I've had so many people tell me that they have gone back to some of our older blog posts and read about our journey...and I have too! It's so fun to have this journal to see where we were 4 or 5 years ago, compared to where we are today! And there is no doubt that it's only by God's doing!

Sitting in church today, I was actually brought to tears thinking about how amazing this day is. Resurrection day...Jesus is ALIVE and he's ALIVE in my life! I'm so blessed to know Jesus and to know what Jesus did for me and for my husband and my children...and for YOU! Thinking about what Jesus did on the cross for ME, I can get pretty emotional and pretty pumped up at the same time. He loves ME that much. God loves ME that much. Thank you - thank you, Jesus!

Happy Easter from our family to yours! :)

Day 39 - 40 Days of Blogging

Well in case you didn't know...we are on a boat, in the ocean and he pushed me overboard to go for a swim...we've just encountered some sharks...but dont worry...he's throwing me a "donut"!!

We then moved on to reading Ellie nursery rhymes before her nap...Zay named on story "Duck, Duck, Ellie"!

Silly faces! :)

Out to eat!

Going out to eat tonight! ...Hmmm, somehow my kitchen still got messy...but all my cooking is done, kid's food is packed and someone else is cooking my food! 

Day 38 - 40 Days of Blogging

The chances of this boy adding trouble on top of his trouble is about 100% today. Wake up sister from nap...check. Torment dog...check. Play with scissors...check. Get stuck in his bed...check. Although, I will take full blame for the last one...twin bed is waaay overdue.

I think it's obvious that he needed a nap! Later in the day after throwing him in the bath to maybe provide a little productive entertainment, he fell asleep with 2 grapes in each cheek! (Don't worry, I took them out!) :)

Day 37 - 40 Days of Blogging

Since I wasn't exactly blogging when Zay had his first School Conference, I thought I would put a quick 'report card' up here! Glad to report that he's doing well, his teachers seem to think he's pretty close to the perfect little boy and I couldn't be happier with our first year in school! :) 

I love reading his teacher's notes...he loves to make his teachers laugh and loves routine. And snack time hasn't been a problem...yay!! Speaking of snack time, it's worth noting that everyday the class has graham crackers for a snack...in the beginning of the year I made Zay's version of graham crackers so that he could eat the "same thing"...but Zay informed me early on that he would prefer to eat his pretzels. He definitely has not problem not fitting in! And on another note...he can count to 100 now, so I'm pretty sure he could have done more than 10 a few weeks ago, but you know...he's gets his own ideas of when he's going to show his skills! ;)

 One of Zay's favorite things at preschool...Art time! One of Zay's teachers brought me in one day and wanted Zay to show me his art project that day. As we go down the row looking for Zay's "sheep", we look at all the other students sheep, and they have 5 or 6 little puff-balls on them. Then we come to this one...Zay REALLY liked this project! ;)

And another art project...he tells me "Mommy, I had to pick a PINK egg because there wasn't any RED eggs!" (This week's favorite color is red!)

Day 36 - 40 Days of Blogging

This little lady...she's getting teeth! Lot's of them. She got her first two teeth around 10 months (I think)...then she waited 6+ months to get another two teeth! Now...it's been months again! Today I saw that she's getting 3 more teeth and probably more this time! Silly little girl and so different than Zay. He had ALL his teeth (except 2 year molars) at 12 months! 

Talkin about teeth!

I kept asking her..."how many teeth do you have in there?" Finally she grabs my hand and puts it in her mouth to feel! ;)

PKU Appt.

PKU checkup today! Of course we took our standard "we were here pic!"...and also a pic of how Zay seems to win over every lady he runs into...be it the red hair paired with his smile or the fact that he asks for PINK bandage tape and TWO stickers...one to share with his sister!

Day 35 - 40 Days of Blogging

On the 13th, Ellie turned 19 months and I turn 31! Eeek...we are getting sooo old! ;) 

Little known fact about our family...The girls are born on the 13th of the month (Ellie: Sept 13th & Mommy: April 13th) and the boys are born on the 16th of the month (Zay: Dec 16th & Daddy: March 16th).

Day 34 - 40 Days of Blogging

I spy with my little eye....two little kiddos running off energy! We LOVE this warmer weather!!! :)

Day 33 - 40 Days of Blogging

Had another newborn session today! I've had A LOT of newborn sessions this Spring...and the good news about that, I'll be seeing most of them throughout their first year...YAY! :)

Day 32 - 40 Days of Blogging

Got a little new 'do' today!! :) 

Day 31 - 40 Days of Blogging

Look! We got a new dog! Okay, okay...just an upgraded version of Bails! ;) 

Day 30 - 40 Days of Blogging

So happy to remember that 9 years ago this guy asked me to marry him. Man...what a great memory. And yep, I'm still so in love with him. Mushy, I know...but I thank God daily that I get to spend my days with him...even when he's grumpy or I'm tired or the kids don't listen - it's an amazing little life we've created together and I just love it. Just like I love him. 

On another note...the kids and I spent some time outside today! For me, it was still a little chilly, but the kids LOVED it! 

Haha...I totally RAN some sprints in our back yard while the kids were playing in the sandbox. Remember how I was cold...thought it would help me warm up! And it did! I felt like I was back in track, running 'accelerations' on the football field! And the neighbors? Yeah, they think I'm nuts.

Only my kid would be wearing a stocking hat (because I'm always worried about ear infections with Zay) but then also kick his shoes off! 

She is somewhere in between being a 'rough-n-tough' little girl and being a 'girly-girl'...she has moments of both!

Day 29 - 40 Days of Blogging

After a loooong weekend, Monday didn't turn out too much better. The last few days have been full of craziness! We had a VERY clogged drain in our kitchen sink (shout-out to my hubby for getting it fixed...took awhile, but we got it!), and with about 15 minutes to spare we got the drain un-clogged right before Shane's family showed up to our house to celebrate Spring birthdays! We had a great visit with Shane's family, but then last night things started going downhill for Zay. Ellie was sick late last week, so I'm figuring that Zay caught what she had...but it is just so unfair how much worse his sicknesses are. We were up most of the night last night, and all day today he hasn't had much relief. I feel bad for my little buddy. :( Hoping we can bounce back a bit tomorrow and things can get back to normal!

My sick little guy. :(

Ellie wearing her brother's hand-me-downs last weekend...she sure made that John Deere sweatshirt look cute! :)

Day 28 - 40 Days of Blogging

Another photography session post...my job is fun because I'm always meeting new people and new moms and somehow or another there is a link between us all. So fun...I really do love this. :)

Might as well start with my favorite picture from the session! :)

I always love a sweet Daddy-Daughter pic! :)