Steppin' Out with My Baby!!!

Ellery took 4 steps today! She was super excited and so were we! Kiran did a great job of cheering her on! She has been standing up from a squatting position then staying there for a few seconds for the past 3 days. And, she has tried to to take a couple of steps before, but crashed. Today, it all came together and off she went.

We can hardly believe that in one week Ellery will be 1 year old! I know this saying is overstated, but, " This year has flown by!" We will be in Colorado for her birthday, so I wanted to share some of Ellery's activities from the past couple of months, and we'll have a birthday blog after we get home.

Things Ellery has been up to:
1. Ellery is famous for her motor noises, now, just like her brother! It is hilarious to hear her "start" the riding toys!
2. Ellery loves climbing - since the last blog where she was walking up the slide, she can now reach the top, but hasn't quite figured out how to turn around when she gets there.
3. She has 4 teeth!
4. Ellery is saying several words! They are not always plain to everyone, but Mommy, Daddy and Kiran can understand most like, "Mom-ma" "Dad-da" "Bub-ba," "Book," "Ball," " Dink" for drink, "Eyes," "Duck," "Bath."
5. When I put lotion on, Ellery puts her hands together and rubs just like she is putting lotion on, too. It is too cute!
6. Ellery loves water! Playing in water is her favorite thing to do outside!
7. Ellery has been walking holding on to walls to go room to room for about a month.
8. Ellery loves putting things around her neck - a real no-no for this age, but definitely makes a statement. She gets purses, ribbons, play necklaces, and puts them around herself with no prompting from us.
9. I just can't say enough how much fun it is to see Ellery and Kiran playing together. They are true buddies, now! And, it is very evident now that they are brother and sister. For as much fun as they have together, they definitely find themselves wanting the toy the other one has. And, Ellery can hold her own vocally regarding these situations!
10. Ellery is so sweet. She loves hugging and giving pats around our necks! And, even though she usually wants to be on the go, she is a great cuddler!

Happy Father's Day!

Today, I am especially thankful for 3 dads I know well: my dad, Phil (Jeff's dad), and Jeff! What a blessing to have the gift of incredible fathers!

To my wonderful husband, I say thank you for all that you do to love our children. It is so obvious that they have an amazing relationship with you. It is such a joy for me to see their excitement and anticipation just before you walk in the door each evening! Kiran and Ellery know they can count on Daddy to be ready to play, to teach, to get excited about bugs and sticks and blowers and weedeaters and silly sounds even when (especially when) they happen over and over again. Thank you for being such a great dad!

Missing Farmer

Tonight was my girls' night out night! Yea! I'll post more about this later. Anyway, the first thing Jeff said when I got home was, "I have a story to tell you." Apparently, Jeff went upstairs to check on the kids sometime after I left. He went into their room, bent over to give Kiran a kiss, and our child was not in his bed. Not on the floor. Not in the room. This might seem okay, but we had put a gate up (this helps Kiran stay in bed most nights, and he usually asks for it). Jeff said he had noticed I had put the gate up really high, so he thought maybe Kiran had crawled under. Sure enough, he went on a hunt for our son in our bedroom, and there Kiran was curled up in our bed (still asleep even though Jeff had turned the light on in the room when he first went upstairs). The story gets better. . . Tonight, Kiran had decided to wear only boxers to bed (like Daddy) with no shirt. I had wondered if he might get cold since he is not used to this attire. But, our child is a great problem-solver! As Jeff leaned over to pick Kiran up and return him to his bed, Jeff realized Kiran had taken a clean sundress of Ellery's from the bed (from a pile of clothes that were not yet put away) and had somehow covered himself as best he could by pulling the straps of the dress over his arms. What a boy!

We Love Our Backyard!

No doubt about it - it is summer in Tennessee! The evidence is the number of hours we are spending in our backyard these days. We love where we live! We have a small house, but our backyard is nice and big and flat with wonderful trees in the background. This time of year it seems we spend more time out than in. The kids love it! And, this year, we have a special addition to our yard - a garden! Kiran is such a great "farmer." He has really been excited about helping with the garden each day, and oh the excitement when we see tiny seedlings appearing!!! We have lots of goodies in our garden - beans, swiss chard, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, broccoli, squash, black-eyed peas, cantaloupe, watermelon (Kiran's favorite to talk about), okra, and more. If all of this actually makes it, we are going to be busy and calling friends to come help with the harvest! We mainly consider it an experiment this year. Here are some photos of family fun and gardening in the past month!

Riding toys are a favorite of both Kiran and Ellery!
The blower and weedeater only required minimal maintenance this year before they were back in business!
The Beginning!
Gardening is a family project! Daddy and Kiran like to dig! Momma likes to plant! Ellery likes to . . . dangle her feet in the post holes! (a picture to come)
Here is the first photo - we'll get a new shot up soon - everything in this square is huge now!
Ellery waving to our yard man!
We have a climber!
A sandbox is fun even with no sand yet!


Tractor time!
"Can I please go out now?"
More garden work!
You wouldn't be getting an accurate look into our family life if you didn't get to see a fews bugs or such creatures as these found under an old stump!
A real firefighter! Burning out a stump and making room for our new fire pit!
Capturing a shot of the "motor" starting up on the tractor. Every day, about 50 times, I get asked, "Do you want to hear me start my tractor (or mower or weedeater or blower), Momma?" I love to be asked and hear it start every time! He always turns off the "motor" and takes his keys out of the "ignition" when he is done.
Playing next to the tent, our little girl loves sticks just about as much as her big brother does!

A Boot Scootin' Time in TX!

We had such a nice time in TX with my family! I was determined to take my camera this trip even if it was an extra bag to tote through the airport. I am so glad that I did! Here are some of my favorite shots!



The Girls!
Special time with Sal!
The Fam
A Blast with Granna and Grandad!
Clapping and chatting with Sal!
Snuggling with June!
A Fun "Work" visit at Skint and Geral's
that of course included a yummy snack after working hard!
Playing with Grandad at the playground - check out that hair!
Hanging out with Granna!
Being Silly with Aunt Amanda!
Kiran and Kurt got to spend some good quality time together on a Home Depot kid's project at an arts festival! They made a bob sled together! Thanks, Uncle Kurt!

A Funny Story: The day before we left for TX, we prayed before dinner and as he often does, Kiran wanted to add a few words. He prayed for everyone we would be seeing in TX. Then, he prayed that Sammy Jo would STAY AT HOME! Well, as you can see here, Kiran finally realized that Sammy justs wants to play, and boy did they ever become good friends! He has talked about her so much since we got home!
Playing in Sal's backyard
Cuddling with Aunt Amanda
Working on Skint's blower with Grandad!

Ellery loves walking with Granna!
Cousins Playing at the Park!
Grandad and Kiran driving one of the two red tractors!

Playing with Sal!Meeting Aunt Trece and showing off her new cowgirl boots!

I just happened to catch this before both kiddos climbed out!
Kiran has hardly taken off the boots from Grandad! They are wonderful and just what a hard worker needs!Riding home from the airport in TN! This pose shows "like father like son" is true in our family.

And, . . . he's out! What a special week!