Vacation Day 2 - Sea World!

"Believe" was an awesome show!
Shamu was easily twice as big as the females in the show.
This is the one ride Ella could go on in Sea World. And she didn't even really like it.
But she loved the Clydesdales! His name is Kelly.
The Clyde and Seamore show was really cute - Clyde and Seamore are the Sea Lions.

You have no idea how hard it is to take pictures of dolphins. They are too fast!!
Standing on the noses of marine mammals is very popular at Sea World.
Ella's favorite part - she got a whale and some suckers!!She then proceeded to lick the whale...
"Shamu Rocks" was definitely worth sticking around for.
Sea World was great! Ella loved all the shows (so did we), and seeing the whales and dolphins was truly awesome.

Vacation Day 1 - The long drive and Downtown Disney

At 4am, Ella was a little too excited about watching Spongebob on Stella's portable DVD player.

We stopped at High Falls just south of Atlanta for a nice, peaceful breakfast.

Ella liked Pooh and friends at Downtown Disney.

"You just paid $3 for this huge Nemo cookie, but I don't want it now."

Anna update!

Anna is officially walking now! She consistently takes 5 or so steps at a time and has even been known to take 7 steps in a row. Woo Hoo! She will be chasing Ella and returning all those pecks on the head in no time! By the way, she is just a smidge over 10 months now - a full 3-4 months ahead of Ella on the walking front. Not that it is a contest.

On a side note, we are heading out to Florida (Sea World and Busch Gardens) tomorrow night. I hope to be able to update the blog with a few pictures, but who knows if we'll have time. Anna is staying with Papaw and Nana, so Ella will have Mommy and Daddy all to herself. She is very excited about this prospect - almost as excited as seeing "big whales," not that she really has a clue what a "big whale" is. Well, anyway it should be fun!

Ella and Anna love playing at the playground at the mall. It is a really great place to go when it is super hot - or super cold - outside.

Here is proof that Anna is a climber!
Ella and Anna climbing on the pyramid.

Anna on the boat.

Anna crawling under the compass.

Sonora Days was June 6-8, 2008. With just one real float, some loud fire trucks, and a few horses, the best thing about the Sonora Days Parade was Anna posing for the camera...

Splash Park Fun!!




We went to the splash park at the zoo today. Anna had a great time, and Ella had as good of a time as a timid girl can have. ;)

Anna update!

Anna had her 9 month check-up on 6/5/08.
She weighs 18lbs 2oz, is 28.5in tall, and is "just perfect" according to the doctor.
She took one step on her 9 month birthday, but hasn't taken any more since then. That one step was probably an accident, but it still counts! She stands on her own, cruises everywhere, crawls like crazy, and climbs anything she can find. Pictures to come soon!

Girlie Update!

As you can see, Anna is crawling, climbing, and soon to be walking (she's only 8 months old!).

These are just some pretty shots of Ella.


Two girls in a wagon. I'm sure they are looking at Papaw.

Big dog, little girl. This has to be the cutest picture ever.

When it rains, my parents get a little stream in their back yard. Ella has discovered it is fun to play in the water! Oh, and if you are wearing a dress while playing in the stream, it is best if you tuck it into your diaper...

Because sometimes you fall in and get all wet!!

Ella visits the Newport Aquarium!

She refused to touch this harmless horseshoe crab.

Wow! That fish is BIG!

Oooh, look at those alligators!

Oh, and in case you forgot - Ella is cute. :)

All in all, we decided that the Newport Aquarium is not worth the $43 we paid to get in (that was with a discount). Next time...the Cincinnati Zoo.

Did you ever want to know what would happen if you got in the tub with a diaper on? Well, the diaper swells up really big...imagine that!!

Anna update!


Anna is growing like a weed, getting teeth like she needs to eat some steak, and crawling like she has places to go!

She weighs approximately 20 pounds by Nana's scale! No wonder she is so hard to lug around.

She has 8, yes 8, teeth right now - all in front. In one month, she has gone from just 3 teeth to 8! Needless to say, we are going through several drool bibs a day.

Finally, Anna is army crawling all over the place. She gets where she wants to go and nothing stops her. We have to meticulously vacuum because she will find the one speck of dirt on the floor or the one "Nerd" candy that Ella dropped and eat it.

Speaking of eating - she's doing plenty of that, too. She eats any fruit and almost any vegetable (except of course the green ones) three times a day now - breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

When she isn't busy doing all the things listed above, she likes to talk. She especially likes to say, "Dadadada" and "Babababa" and "EEEEEAAAAA!" Squealing is fun...for her.

If she keeps going at this rate, she'll be walking and talking before she's 10 months!!

Anna's first trip to the Zoo!!

Flowers are pretty - just like Anna.

Ella loved seeing the elephants.

But playing on the slide was MORE fun!

The best part about the zoo is the playground.

The worst part is the sunburn after...

GO UL!!

Cuties, Snow, and Easter!

Ella holding Anna, and Anna loving it!
Anna is cracking up! Probably because she caught her sister with her finger up her nose!
I'm so sweet.
Still sweet.

At first Ella hated the snow....But she didn't mind so much as long as Daddy held her.
The best part about Easter egg hunts is the candy.
Our beautiful Easter eggs.
Ella pulling out her favorite present from her Easter basket - "Bees!" (Bee Movie)
Hunting eggs is fun!

Anna had fun, too!

Both girls went to the doctor today. That is right, we all piled in the van and battled the snow all the way to Louisville. Anna had her routine 6 month appointment and Ella has some congestion issues that needed addressing.

Anna - 27.5in (90%), 15lbs 8oz (50%)
She is doing wonderfully! Sitting up (mostly by herself), standing while holding on to things, and getting teeth! She has 3 teeth right now: the bottom two front and her top right canine. Not to mention she is as sweet and smiley as ever!

Ella - 32ish lbs, height unknown
Ella has been congested and sick like mommy for the past week or so. I decided to go ahead and get her an appointment with Anna today and I'm glad I did! From all the drainage she has had, both of her ears are a little infected. So, for the first time in her life (yes, the first time!), she is on antibiotics. I guess one ear infection in 2.5 years is a pretty good record. In the mean time, we are dealing with a fairly cranky and pitiful girl.