Happy Birthday Eston and Bret!

We've been celebrating birthdays around here.  Last weekend we went to Mountain Home to see Corey's mom and celebrate out nephew Eston's 4th birthday.  Four years ago, Corey and I became an aunt and an uncle for the first time.  I remember driving with my new puppy from Dallas to Johnson in hopes that I would make it in time for Eston's birth.  He had come several weeks early.  Corey was in Denver on business so I had to drive by myself and he had to reroute his flight schedule to XNA to meet me.  I didn't quite make it in time, but I made it shortly after Eston was born.  It was a very exciting time!  I can't believe Eston is already 4 years old!!!

Here is the birthday boy with our baby girl.

Elle, Eston, and Anna

Here is Eston's Thomas the Train cake and cookies.

Here are the B-day participants. Elle acting like a big girl.

Opening gifts.

Mimi and her girls

My brother Bret also just celebrated his birthday this month.  Luckily his birthday fell on Memorial Day this year so we were able to celebrate together and have a day off work!  The birthday boy with a handmade birthday hat from Cooper.

Cheese!

Elle and her BFF.

  Notice her shirt, it says My Aunt is my BFF!  Too Cute!

Also, we're super excited that Elle now is sitting up by herself!!!

Sticking things in her mouth, again.

Sitting on the couch.

Snap shots

I'm 5 months old!

I LOVE these chunky legs!

Quit taking pictures of me!

Visiting with Papa Curt

I'm getting ready to crawl!

Elle LOVES her exersaucer!

Spending quality time with daddy.

Thanks for checking in with us!

Missing Grandpa

Sorry I have not posted in a while.  I knew I wanted to document this but I didn't know where to start so therefore I have been dragging my feet.  Corey's dad, Gary, passed away on May 6th.  Gary had been diagnosed with ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease approximately 4 years ago.  ALS is a progressive motor neuron disease that gradually effects the entire body.  To say that ALS is a terrible disease is an understatement.  Gary suffered for a long time and although he will be greatly missed, we know that he is no longer in pain.  We know he is watching over us from heaven and that we will see him again someday. 

 Love you Grandpa!

On a lighter note, Elle is growing like a weed.  She is army crawling backwards and she can sit up for about a minute before she tumbles over.  

Here are some pictures from our 3 month photo shoot by Amber Lanning Photography

 ( just 2 months late, Sorry!)

Can't. figure. out. how. to. turn. this. picture.

Here is picture of Corey as a baby:

Here is a picture of me as a baby:

What do you think?  Who does she look like?  I think I know the answer to that! 

 She'll be a daddy's girl for sure!!!

Elle's 4 month shots :(

Last week, we had to take Elle to the doctor for her dreaded 4 month shots... She did really well though.  She just had a mild fever like she has had in the past with other shots.  We gave her Tylenol ever 4 hours and we were good to go!  While we were there we were told that she weighed 14.6 lbs, which puts her in the 50th percentile for weight.  She was 25 inches tall, which puts her in the 50th percentile for height (Yay, at least maybe she'll be average height!!!) and her head circumference was 15.95 inches, which is in the 40th percentile.  I'm always anxious to hear the doctor's percentages because I am still breastfeeding Elle and I want someone to tell me that she's getting enough milk.  I also want someone to tell me that I'm not giving her too much.  I think 50th percentile works for me!  We also asked the doctor about a bump that has been on Elle's head for a few months.  It's located on the back left side of her head.  The doctor did not know what it was and she recommended that we have an x-ray taken!  I'm not going to lie... That scared me a little bit so we went to UAMS-Lowell to have her x-rayed right after our appointment.  She did really good and barely cried during the x-ray. We were told that we'd find out the results the next day but they were not able to tell us until Monday.  That made us wait over the weekend to hear whether or not everything was ok... And it is.  The radiologist said that she has an extra faucet on her occipital bone.  They said she will probably have it for the rest of her life.  I'm definitely OK with that. You can't see the bump unless you are looking for it.  I'm so thankful that my baby girl is OK!!!!

Elle in an outfit that Ms. Di (one of the wonderful nurses that help take care of Corey's dad) gave her.  Notice there is a dolphin on her shirt!!! Thank you Ms. Di!

Since we were worried about Elle over the weekend, it was so nice to have something fun planned.  Our friends Katie and Andrew threw an awesome birthday (birdie) party for their son Sawyer!  Katie has her own party planning business (Katie Grace Designs) so as you can imagine the party was adorable!  Here are some pics:

The birthday boy with his cupcake!

Another attempt at a family picture.  Elle really had a great time although it doesn't look like it here!  

Thanks for inviting us Sawyer!

Rain, rain go away!

Rain, rain go away!  I'm sure everyone is feeling about the same way about the weather lately.  Luckily, Elle is well prepared thanks to Gigi.  

Elle in her rain boots!

We had a crazy hail storm last week. It was the third time in a week. I have never seen hail this size before!  Roads around us have been flooded and it's truly been crazy!

Nickel to quarter size hail on our sidewalk.

This is hail in our flower garden by the front door.

Here are some random pictures that I've taken this week while stuck in the house:

Elle loves her new linking rings!

I'm ready for nice weather so Elle can wear her summer clothes outside. She's growing so fast that if I don't put some of her outfits on then she'll never get a chance to wear them :( 

One of Elle's new things is grabbing her toes.

And putting them in her mouth. 

She's also been really happy and laughing a lot! We're having so much fun!  Parenthood just keeps getting better and better!