Ella's First Day of School, Alzafar Circus, and Such

MOM'S DAY OUT
Although I am a little behind (what's new, right??) I wanted to share pics from Ella's first day of "school".  I wasn't sure she was going to get to go because the night before she started complaining of her belly hurting.  But we pushed through and she was eager to go.  She was so excited to use her new bumblebee backpack that Mimi bought her and her new lunch pack.  She is so my child ... loves school supplies :)  Wehn we got to our church she got a little nervous.  I had to stay with her until they transitioned to chapel time and then she bravely took Ms.Margaret's hand and walked with her friends into chapel.  I was so proud of her and yet so sad to see my sweet baby growing up.  She had a great first week ... didn't even cry once!!  Unfortunately, she missed the following week because she was in the hospital having her pancreatic stent placed (all went well ... hooray!!), and she was able to return for week three. I was really worried that she would have a hard time going back, but she has done amazing!  She is by far the youngest in her class (by a good 8 mos) but seems to enjoy the older kids and has become the pet project for some of the little mama hens in her class.  I think she enjoys feeling like a big kid :)  How fast she is growing up!

Big girl ready for the big day

How cute is she??!!

Shriner Alzafar Circus
Earlier this month we took Ella to the circus for the very first time.  At first it was hard to tell if she was having fun ... she looked slightly comatose!  But she was just absorbing it all :)  Her favorite was the tigers that jumped through hoops lit on fire, the performing sheep dogs, and the guys who jumped off a giant swing.  I can just see her sttempting this off her playset!  She stuffed herself on popcorn and cotton candy - both rare treats she NEVER gets!  So all in all she had a blast.  Note to self for future trips, Shriner Alazafar Circus was AWESOME but LOOOONNNNGGGG.  We had to leave a intermission so I could have her in bed at a semi-decent hour (11 pm!!).  I loved that when I tucked her in she reeked of popcorn, sugar, and excitement!  So worth seeing her smile!

                                                 What in the world?? But I like it .....

                                                LOVED the tigers!!  She is so funny!!

                          "Look Ma!  Mimi bought me blue sugar!!"  She was WILD after this!

       She was NOT happy that we left without and elephant ride ... maybe next time!  They scare me!!



Kendall County Fair

Mike and I were finally in town during the Kendall County Fair ... we were so pumped!  Usually we are out of town visiting family but not this year due to pregnancy travel restrictions. So we took the opportunity to take Ella to her very first fair.  She had so much fun!  They had a petting zoo and pony rides right as you came in the gate and I thought we would never get her out of there.  She made buddies with a baby goat and it passed out cold (looked kinda dead!) as she sat there and stroked in for 30+ minutes.  I so want a goat now!!  And they had these cool chickens in there too, that I now have to find that breed.  We only escaped the clutches of the petting zoo with bribery of a blue snowcone (her current favorite flavor!!).  She had fun looking at everything and running around, but was so bummed that she couldn't ride any of the rides (namely the Merry-Go-Round!) because she was too short :/  Maybe next year, eh?  I am glad we got a chance to go and let Ella experience it!

                                             Oh how she wanted to take this little guy home!

                                                                 " Pretty please??"

                                                                  Giddy up cowgirl!

I am laughing because this tiny goat is SO asleep he is actually drooling ... guess she has the magic touch!

No rest for the weary ... Where did summer go??

For those in the know, the fact that I have been neglecting (may be too nice a word) the blog is probably not all that surprising.  This summer has been crazy with a capital C.  Mimi has been in and out of the hospital with pancreas issues.  She really had us worried because she hasn't had any problems in close to 30 years.  Thankfully, things seem to have calmed down.  She seems to be recovering and I cannot express how relieved I am.  For a few weeks there I was carrying the weight of caring for 2 people with HP, and I am not sure how gracefully.  I am not used to being the one everyone leans on.  In between the hospital trips and doctors' appointments, my parents also have moved in with us.  They are living in the nursery till mid-October while they build their house.  I think by the time their house is ready, they will be running for the hills.  I am very excited for them (this is a big step for them!!) and love that they will only be 15 minutes away (hooray!!). 

Mimi and Pappy's house is almost dried in!

Mike and Ella have been working hard in their garden and gotten some good produce, while I sit and sweat in the A/C.  We have had HUGE squash, watermelon, jalepenos, corn, basil, thyme, oregano, cantelope, tomatoes, green beans, and a few blackberries.  Next year we are hoping to have some suar baby apples and mandrin oranges ... we'll see.  Mike put in an automatic watering system and that made all the difference.  It just gets too hot and too dry here in south TX.  I love that Ella loves to "help" Mike in the garden.

Almost 19 lbs!!  I think she ended up eating 16 lbs of it!!

We have had the chance to play with the cousins.  Ella and I hosted A playdate ... definetly something we need to pick up again after things calm down post-Tess.  All in all,  we have been trying to fit in all the summer fun we can before we are home-bound with new baby Tess.  We are so excited for her to get here!!  We have had a full, hectic summer and are looking forward to a full and FUN fall!

4th of July 2010

We had such a fun 4th of July this year!  Ella was really pumped to see all the fireworks (even though she went chicken when we started doing them).  We went to church, met Mimi and Pappy for roasted chicken tacos, attempted a nap (Ella skipped out completely!!), and then headed next door for a party!  I ended up taking E home to bed shortly after the boys started the firework show because she was exhausted.  However, she slept through all of the popping that continued late into the night.  I can't believe how fast this summer is going!

Ella and her first-ever sparkler .... I was SO nervous!

She loved it!!

Mama got a brand new roof!!

After the baseball size hail we had 9 weeks or so ago, we were FINALLY able to get a new roof.  Getting a bid was almost impossible, but my neighbor across the street had a company come out and they were fast and professional.  The only downside was they did metal roofing, which I love but doubted we could afford.  But being the eternal optimist (insert heavy sarcasm), I called to see about getting a bid.  They came out within 48 hrs and gave us an AMAZING bid.  It was so good we woulda been fools to pass on it.  Long story short, I am indebted to the hail storm because I actually kinda like my brick now thanks to the new roof :)  And to hear rain on a metal roof .... so soothing!!

Before

After

Witte Museum

I took Ella to see the dinosaur exhibit at the Witte.  Before we went though we stopped at IHOP across the street for some yummy french toast (Tess' fav!!).  Unfortunately we sat at a window facing the museum and the HUGE T-Rex they have out front.  So while I devoured my breakfast I was constantly reminded that we were here to see the dinosuars.  She is really digging dinosaurs right now so it was a perfect fit.  She was a little scared of the first one when it started to roar and move around, but was okay once we explained that it was just a robot kinda like her remote control car.  She loved trying to figure out which ones were mommy dinosaurs (the big, scary ones coincidentally!!) and which were baby dinosaurs (the small, tame-looking ones).  She is at such a fun age! 

Digging for bones!! 

Memorial Day Weekend 2010

Poppy showing the grandbabies dinner :)

Ella was fascinated and got a tad upset when Poppy threw them in the boiling water!

I know these are a tad out of order but I am trying to catch up :)  Over Memorial day weekend we went back "home" to Beaumont to visit Oma and Poppy, Heather and Dave and their kiddos (most recently added James!!).  We left at 4:15 am saturday morning and surprisingly had a nice, quiet trip.  Ella slept like a champ until we were just east of Houston, so we stopped at McD's for some breakfast and a Mc-bellyache.  We made to Oma's about 10-ish and Ella couldn't wait to see her cousins.  It is so cool that she has reached an age that they can play together and she has so much fun hanging out with the "big Emma and big Anna" ... just wants to be one of the girls :)  Ella was itching to get her hot little hands on James so I played defense most of the weekend and didn't get a chance for baby snuggles either .... womp womp.  But it was so good to see him and I am excited that Ella still has a fascination with wee ones (we will see if this lasts when Tess gets here!).  On sunday we had a crawfish boil (yummy!!) ... how I miss a good crawfish boil!  Ella wouldn't try it at all, but she did steal 2 off my plate to keep as pets.  She got quite upset when they later "disappeared" ... delish!

I will call him fishie and he will be mine!

The cousins (most of them anyway) swimming in Oma's tub after we

had to get out of the pool due to thunder!

What a good trip we had .... crawfish, family time, swimming (in the pool and tub), and lots of play time for the cousins!!

In the summertime when the weather is nice ...

                                                             North Padre Island June 2010

What a busy little girl we have.  We went to the coast last weekend for a quick trip and she loved it!!  Upon our arrival she interrupted Max and Ruby blaring on the DVD player to scream (at the top of her lungs no less!) "BEEEEAAAACCCCCHHH!!!".  I didn't think she remembered it from last year, but that shows what I know.  She loved splashing in the surf, chunking her mermaid Barbie out to sea, and "swimming" with daddy.  You will note there are few if any pics of me, as I am quickly approaching the "big as a house" phase of pregnancy :)  I just do not carry babies cute ... sigh.  On a lighter note, I did get some sun which is awesome since I was also quickly approaching transparent.  We had a great little trip and are hoping to go again maybe in mid-July!

My beach baby!!

Mama and Ella walking Bob Paul Pier (she was so excited!!)