Thursday, August 7, 2014

Summer Snapshots

Ella facetimed with Elmo. It was a pretty amazing moment in her life.


We love afternoons spent in the backyard in our bathing suits. This afternoon, Ella invited Joseph to have a picnic with her. She made sure to cut up all of his food since he is the baby!


Not sure when this happened, but the little dog has clearly become the little prince. 

He is also the sweetest snuggler ever. If I'm working on the computer, Oliver has to be curled up on me like this.

Walked past Abby's room while she was away at camp one morning, I found this sad pup missing his girl.


Papa turned 61 this month and we celebrated with a family dinner. We had a ton of fun at Texas Roadhouse and laughed really hard...especially when Papa thought they were going to come over and make him sit on a saddle while they sang Happy Birthday. Let's just say he was extremely thankful they didn't!


 

Ella still naps around 12:30/1:00 and Abby tends to just spend that time quietly playing while I read or get some things done around the house. One day last week, I was completely exhausted after lunch and decided to take a quick nap. Abby was going to sit on the couch with me and read with Ollie curled in her lap. The whole house was quiet, so Joe came up from work to find out where everyone was.  He posted this sweet picture on Facebook. Can you even stand all the cuteness happening right here?


 The picture Facebook didn't see was the other half of the couch...

Best nap I've had in a long time! This picture is the best.




my travel companion

Then, there was the afternoon when I couldn't find Oliver anywhere....until I started folding laundry.


No need to move, buddy. What's that? You weren't planning on it. Oh right...I'll just work around you.


Sorry to disturb you, Prince Ollie, but it seems your comfy spot has suddenly disappeared.


just a girl and her dog chatting on her pretend cell phone
The girls have two new favorite games to play outside: hair salon and car wash. Abby answers the phone, makes appointments on her calender and then calls Ella over to her salon chair to give her the full beauty treatment.

"I think I can squeeze you in on Monday!"
A couple of weeks ago, we drove to New Jersey to surprise Aunt Alex for her 30th birthday. She had no idea, but Uncle Brad had planned a big party for her and we all snuck into town to celebrate. We had a great time with family. Abby loved entertaining and chatting with everyone at the party. Her energy seemed endless. Ella was super friendly, but at about 7:30 she begged me to put her to bed. She made it clear that "in a few minutes" wasn't going to cut it. She wanted to go to bed "now"! She grabbed my face and said, "Pweeeeease mommy. I tired!" Sweet girl went right to sleep. She knew her limits. Happy 30th Aunt Alex. We love you!


Dressed up like a bride with a colorful headdress and coloring for hours before bed
When we got home after a weekend away, we looked out on our back door to find this sweet surprise waiting for Ella on our deck. Our dear friends know how much Ella loves this car and that we were looking for a used one. They found one while we were away, picked it up and delivered it with a bow on top for our little girl. She was thrilled! We are just so thankful for friends who are like family to us! 


She couldn't wait to get outside in it the next morning. She was ready to ride. Cool shades and all!



Ella like to drive her car to Abby's Car Wash.


Oliver is not only like their little baby, he also stands in when Abby wants to play veterinarian. Could he be any more of a perfect fit for our family?



Lily and Ollie napping in the sunshine

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Frozen Dance Camp, VBS and Lots of Blueberries

Abby waited all summer for the last two weeks of July. The first week was Frozen Dance Camp and the second was Vacation Bible School. For two weeks in a row, Abby spent the morning (9-12) five days a week learning, playing and dancing! Every morning, she would pack her bags and be ready to go before it was close to the time to leave. She came home talking about everything she learned whether it was from her teachers or the other kids she spent the day playing with. One day, she even came home and asked, "Hey mom, did you know you can go to a hair salon and get your hair a different color? Isn't that exciting, mom? One of the girls in my dance camp told me. So...I was thinking can you take me to salon so I can get pink hair?"

 This was Abby on her first day of dance camp...





 
 ....this was her at the end of the week. Does anyone else think she grew up a ton in four days?? She looks like such a big girl!


Ella was really sad every morning when she had to say goodbye to Abby. She just didn't understand why she couldn't go dance or at least stay in the back room near her sister and play with toys. They really do have the sweetest bond and friendship.

When I signed Abby up for these fun weeks, I started looking forward to some focused quality time with Ella that she doesn't get as much of as the second baby!  As soon as we headed off on our special adventures together, she was all smiles again. It was just the initial goodbye that devastated her. Halfway through the week, Ella came up with a solution of her own. In the bustle of everyone getting ready for the morning, no one noticed that Ella was at work getting herself ready too. 

Joe started putting his shoes on and rallying Abby to the front door to leave when Ella ran around the corner with a full backpack on her yelling: 

"I ready Daddy! I packed my ootcase all by myyelf! I ready Daddy! Let's go!"

Talk about melt and break our hearts at the same time! Precious girl!

"I packed my ootcase all by myyelf!"
Ella's week was filled with fun. We went to story time at the library, then we sat and read together for a long time. We went grocery shopping together and she got to push her own shopping cart for the very first time. One morning, we stayed home and played Play-doh and another morning we met up with friends and went blueberry picking together. Ella loved every minute of being the big girl!

 
At the grocery store, Ella insisted on pushing the cart. She also insisted that I not help AT ALL! If there was something I needed to buy, Ella had to put it in the cart ALL BY HERSELF!  

At the end of the week, it was a beautiful morning for being outside, so we met up with our friends, the Sheehans, and had a great time catching up and eating lots of blueberries. I loved seeing Ella's interest in the whole picking process. She was extremely focused the entire time and worked hard at filling her container. When the older kids had lost interest, Ella was still picking. She was really proud of her growing pile. Of course, we couldn't leave the orchard without a cider donut, so the kids piled onto the tractor and enjoyed a morning treat. 


 
 
 
 Meanwhile at dance camp, Abby was making new friends and enjoying time with four girls she already knows. The girls spent the week doing Frozen inspired crafts, getting their faces painted, decorating cupcakes, playing in a bounce house and learning four dances (tap, pop and ballet). A dream come true for my little girl! 

 

 

Some of the beautiful crafts Abby brought home.
The week of dance camp ended with a presentation of the four dances the girls learned. It was beautiful and Abby did such a great job!


 Do You Want to Build a Snowman

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZG8nxopIkKc&list=UUE9rj8wUMKGKSsg2SQUzVMQ&index=3

Do You Want to Build a Snowman (2) 
**love Abby waving to Ella in this one!**



The Ice Song 



Then, for the grande finale...

Let it Go




During week 2,  Abby spent the mornings learning Bible stories, playing with friends, learning fun songs, making crafts, running around outside and watching puppet shows. When she came home from VBS, she would share what she learned in the Bible with us. After she would tell us about it each day, the conversation would go something like this:
A: Have you guys heard the story about Jesus making the storm stop when his disciples were afraid?
M: I have.
A: Mom, isn't that the coolest. You know...even if I'm not in a scared  that I am going to sink in a storm, sometimes I'm afraid. I just have to remember and look at Jesus like they did!


At the end of the week, the kids did a presentation/celebration for the parents. There is nothing like hearing our girl sing the truth about Jesus with such joy. Many gospel seeds were sown into her life this week that we continually pray will take root for a lifetime.







https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j93CKeQ5Qr0&list=UUE9rj8wUMKGKSsg2SQUzVMQ&index=5


This had to be one of Ella's favorite mornings during VBS week. We had a spontaneous breakfast date with Ms. Heather at Starbucks and then walked around Target together. Ella LOVES any reason to spend special time with Ms. Heather (and so do I)!


In case you were wondering what Oliver thought of the weeks and his little girls coming and going...



Summer really is so much fun, isn't it?
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