Violet laughing

Violet is our little Michelin baby ... and nobody gets her to laugh like Ella does. Violet started kicking in her bath, and Ella said "Kick it up baby" and Vi thought it was awesome. Doesn't Vi have the most awesome rolls?! Enjoy! :)

Ella's a Kindergartener!

My girl has started Kindergarten ... and she LOVES it! (Can you tell?) As if that wasn't hard enough for me though, she's also taking the bus. She's too little to take the bus! But she's thriving and loves everything about school.

Ella waiting in the gym to head to class

Ella Bella on the bus (yes I got to ride with her the first day)

Ella waiting in line for the bus

Violet's first taste of food!

One of the things I love about babies is their reaction to solid foods. It's just AWESOME! Violet loves food now, but at first she was unimpressed! Judging by her face, it must've been pretty bad!

Growing Girls

Violet (5 months)

Violet (2 weeks)

Ella (5 1/2 years)

Ella (3 weeks)

Look how they've grown!

It's fun to see how quick the girls change. Ella is a beautiful joyous almost 6 yr old who simply CANNOT WAIT for school to start! Violet is chubby and happy and growing rapidly! I'm a happy mama!

The fam!

Sam, Ella, Max and OzzyMom, Andy (in blue), Me, Jake (in orange), Beth and Dad

All 14 of us!

All the cousins, including Violet (this really is the best picture we could get!)

My siblings and I haven't been together for almost 3 years. I guess it takes a solid health scare to bring everyone home. (I guess that's only me. I'm the only one who had to go anywhere.) Anyway, we enjoyed being together and watching our kids play. Violet instantly won over her aunts and uncles and Ella super enjoyed playing with her "boy cousins." We were only sad that Cory couldn't come with us, but that's the way it is with short notice trips.

Future Cowgirl

Feeding Cash oats
Ella, Violet, Me and Cash

Auntie Beth and Ella riding Cash

While in Alaska, my sister (who is a great Auntie) arranged for a horseback ride with a coworker. Ella was THRILLED and delighted. Deborah (Beth's coworker) even let Ella steer the horse all by herself. It was a good morning! We even got Violet up for a photo op. Afterwards, Ella showed her appreciation by taking off Cash's saddle, brushing him and feeding him oats. Yummy! Thank you Auntie Beth! :)

Grandpa's girls

We just went to Alaska to help my dad recover from surgery, and although he couldn't pick up the girls, he got to spend some valuable cuddle time with them. As soon as Violet was done eating I'd put her in his lap and let them cuddle, and inevitably, Ella would soon join them. Grandpa spent a lot of time watching movies that only a grandpa and a 5 3/4 year old girl could love!

The Beach

We LOVE going to the beach. Even if it's just a day trip. It was Violet's first trip and she was unimpressed. I spent most of the time in the van with her. It was really windy and noisy and crowded ... I think she was over-stimulated. But Ella and Cory and Grandma had fun!

Ella's pictures

Ella is a HUGE fan of taking pictures. Here are her views of Violet and Grandma and herself.

Isn't it funny that they are all basically making the same face?!

Violet is growing so fast!

Violet is 4 months old already! She is 16 lbs ... thank you very much. Well fed, apparently. And she's a happy relaxed baby. She smiles a lot and watches even more. She's very alert. She loves to stand and doesn't want to lay back anymore. So she spends a lot of happy time in her exersaucer with Ella teaching her how to play with the toys. :)

My girls

I believe there is an amazing bond between my girls. Violet lights up when she sees Ella and Ella just adores Violet. I propped Violet on the couch and vacuumed the hallway. When I came back Ella was laying next to her on the couch talking to her. And Violet was talking back. Very sweet!

Camping!

I was brave and decided to go camping with a 3 month old. Worked out quite well, she slept the whole time (that's why there aren't any pictures of her)! Ella had a great time. She played by the river, learned fire safety and as we were leaving we saw a mama deer and her fawn. I even had a 5:00 am bathroom run encounter with a deer. Very nice!

Violet's First Laugh

Violet laughed today for the first time ... all because of Ella! You all know how 5 yr olds just can't sit STILL. And Ella was jumping around telling a story and Violet started laughing. It's not a huge laugh, but it was so cute! And just what I needed to ease the burden of a tough day. So here's the video, it's kind of quiet, and her laugh was better before we started filming (of course!) but you'll get the idea!

Daddy's Girls

Here are Cory's girls in their "I Love My Dad" T-shirts. Ella planned it out and made sure we wouldn't forget to put Violet in her matching T. Those girls LOVE their Daddy!

Baby Violet is growing so fast!

My little girl is not so little ... or so it seems! She'll be 3 months in 1 week. Hard to believe! She's so chubby and happy! What a doll! This is Violet posing in a dress from her Auntie Beth.

Waterpark

The city of Wilsonville has A LOT of money, and so there is a free waterpark for the kids to enjoy. And it runs everyday during the summer. It's fun to watch Ella running around and playing!

My Girls

Violet enjoying the Bumbo

Happy girl!

My beautiful girls!

Ella reading to Violet

They're growing so fast and so beautifully!

Cory is 39!

Ella designed his cake ... and is very proud!

Yep ... he's almost to that "over the hill" number! And he still looks good!

Dirt Baby

A couple weeks ago we went to the local AgFest and Ella got to make a "Dirt Baby." In case you're wondering it's a nylon knee high with grass seed and then dirt added. Then you glue the face on and put it in a cup to water. After a week, it grows hair! Ella named her Dirt Baby "Ancy" ... like Nancy without the N. Today was Ancy's first haircut, given by Ella.

Ella's pictures

Ella is very fond of photographing Violet. Here are some of her shots right after a bath today.