We finally had Ande take some family photos a few months ago for my dad and step mom's 20th anniversary. We all made it except for Uncle Blake. The kids had fun in the park and we got some good shots. Kevin,Ella and I had our mini family session before we left. Here are just a few...
Back to work and back to "school" has been a difficult transition for Missy Ella. Last week she came home Monday, her first full day at school, with a fever. Doctor Tuesday morning and she has hand, mouth, foot virus. REALLY??? On her FIRST day?? Well, needless to say she didn't go back Tuesday or Wednesday, which was perfectly fine with her since she screamed and cried and did not want to be left there. Fun times at home with Granny, Popo and Papa. Who would want to go back?!
Thursday she had been fever free for 24 hours and returned, only to scream, cry and meltdown yet again at drop off; then more of the same Thursday and Friday mornings. We then spent the weekend in Houston having fun and visiting only to return to the drama on Monday and this morning. Hmmmmm..... I have faith this will end at some point... RIGHT?! Oh well, we spent a lot of "huggie" time together this evening building tents and reading books. As for tomorrow morning... Serenity now!!
Finally sunny! After a huge, gluttonous breakfast we packed it up and headed for a few good sunny hours on the beach before hittin' the road back to Austin. This was such a great trip!! Can't wait for next year with one more little GG to add to the mix!
We hung out around the house and played in the morning waiting to see what the weather was going to do. We finally decided to head out although it was overcast. We had a great time playing in the sand and splashing in the water for a couple of hours before lunch and nap time.
After some food and sleeps we went for another round on the beach, still overcast, but very enjoyable. Auntie Deanna and Auntie Lisa built a fancy castle and we searched for shells. We also found out that Ella is obsessive compulsive about lip balm. She would NOT stop rubbing it on her lips until we forcefully took it away!
We ended the day with a long bout of playing, a lasagna dinner and a celebration for Mommy's birthday, the party continued after the babes went down to sleepy time :)
This is the 2nd year that the GG's (we started out as the self proclaimed "Gourmet Goddesses" when we were all childless, mostly single and just liked to eat out a whole lot!) have headed down to Galveston for a girls' weekend on the beach. This year we had a new little GG, baby Lauren, who was in utero last summer. This year Auntie Deanna's little one is the one in utero who will be joining us next summer! We had such a great time on the beach and at the house, mostly eating and hanging out. Ella was thrilled to be on the beach, but still not really sure of the water and waves. We went for a stroll on Friday evening after we arrived and got situated and then headed back to the house for dinner and cocktails.
Here's a couple of pic's from last year's GG's Galveston trip. Too cute!
Today was ok; not great, not terrible. She didn't yell at anyone or try to kick, but the teacher did ask "Did she eat breakfast before coming today?" Why yes, she ate quite a bit why? I ask. "Well, she was taking other friends' snacks when we came in from the playground." Awesome. Is this gonna be a long year or WHAT?? But again, see how darn cute she was this morning?? This little girl's gonna make me age ten years over the next 9 months. I mean, really, look at this face~
Ok, so the second day didn't go as well as the first. When Miss Irena called me at 11am her report was not as glowing as yesterday's; Ella decided she would yell at the teacher and kick at her too while she was trying to show her some activities. Hmmmmmm.... maybe this transition won't be as easy as originally planned. BUT she sure looked cute when I pulled her out of the car to walk in with her brown bag lunch and all :)
Later in the evening after bath she had a blast with the floatie Auntie Michelle brought over for our upcoming Galveston trip.
Today was Ella's first day of "school". She is going half days this week to Twin Oaks Montissori in the neighborhood so she can get acclimated to the new environment in preparation for starting full time next week when Mommy has to go back to work :( I snapped some shots during breakfast before getting dressed and then took a couple more shots when we got out of the car before heading in. Miss Serena, her teacher, called around 11am just before I went to pick her up and said she was having a great day! She was social and cooperative and generally interested and attentive to everything. YIPPEE!!! That put my heart at ease seeing as how she clung to my legs and cried "MOMMY! NO!" when I was trying to leave!
On our way back to Austin today we stopped off to visit Auntie Marisa, Mason and Max while they're in town from Canada. Shelly and Lauren dropped by too and we all caught up over playtime and lunch. Miss Ella gave baby Lauren a smooch before we left the restaurant on our long trek back home.
Ella and I made the trip to Houston for the weekend to visit with everyone before the school year gets rolling. Today we spent some time at the pool in the afternoon and then had an eventful evening with everyone over for a pizza dinner. Ella loves to spend time with her cousins August and Ethan (who she affectionately calls "Auggie" and "E") and is learning slowly but surely that she needs to expect to get some body slams and whacks to the noggin while playing with boy kiddos!
Then all day Saturday we played with cousins and hung out with the family. It was holiday style: grazing all day, watching the Olympics and just plain being lazy!
She pulled out some random material I had stored away and decided she needed to hide under it and carry it around for awhile~
Raisins are a favorite food right now. Here she is taking a break (more like giving Mommy a break!) and taking a moment to sit still and stuff a few into her mouth before taking off again. Actually, I've done all the things I said I would try not to do one of which is macaroni and cheese for many meals and carrying around snacks. She's pretty picky right now when it comes to food, so whatever will go down is what she gets! I really do try and push the steamed veggies.... What happened to my girl that would eat any fruit or veggie I put in her mouth?? I guess I should've appreciated those days more while they were around. Hind sight is 20/20 :)
This is one of Papa's favorite bathtime hairdos!
Just recently she has discovered that hiding under blankets is a lot of fun. I think we have a future tent builder on our hands!
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