Connor's 4th Birthday

A little over a week ago on a Friday night we went to Memphis to celebrate Connor's 4th birthday! He had a bowling party for all of his family. Unfortunately, I got a migraine on the way to Memphis and had to miss all of the festivities. :( Robert and Ellington had a blast though! I told Robert to be sure to take some pictures and he did a GREAT job!!! These are just a few of the ones he took!

The birthday boy doing his thing!

After bowling, everyone went over to Connor's house for cake and presents!

Robert is laughing because we got Connor the same thing Jake got him.  This happened on his 1st birthday too.  We got him the same thing that Brad's parents got him.  I guess great minds think alike! :)

A little reading with Aunt Julie (or JuJu as Ellington calls her!) to end the night.

We spent Friday night at Daniel and Laura's house.  This was our first time to stay at their new house and they were wonderful hosts!  We look forward to staying again. :)  What a fun weekend with family!

One Year

It's my one year blogiversary!  Hooray!  I started this blog to keep up with all the big and little events of our lives as well as to share it with our family and friends.  I actually love blogging and wish that I did it more regularly and had more time to commit to it.  I LOVE looking back at old posts and I know that it will mean even more to me in the future.  If you would, leave a comment and let me know that you are here and reading.  I love to know who is stopping by. :)

And just for fun....here is the very first picture on this ole blog:

Stopping in to Say 'Hi'!

So, it's been quite a few days since I have done a post. My sister is so sweet to remind me when I've gotten behind. :) We've been kind of crazy around our house. Last week I struggled with headaches and had two terrible migraines. Thankfully Robert was around both times to take care of Ellington because I could not function!

I've also been struggling with Ellington. She was out of school because of Christmas/sickness/snow for about three and a half weeks. When she went back last week she had a REALLY hard time adjusting. She never use to care that I held other babies but suddenly she was FALLING apart. It was really really hard on me. This behavior continued into this week. It's such a struggle balancing her and working at the same time. I feel guilty if I'm not giving her attention and I feel guilty if I'm giving her extra attention and not doing my job appropriately. This morning at school she started messing with her ears like CRAZY so I decided to go ahead and try to make her a doctor's appointment. We went to the doctor this afternoon and she has a double ear infection AGAIN. :( This is the second time this month. I'm hoping this was some of the reason for her recent behavior because I don't know how we will make it the rest of the school year!

So, that's all of the fun stuff going on around here. :) These pictures don't have anything to do with anything, but a blog post without pictures just isn't a blog post at all!

(Ellington is obsessed with Robert's belts!)

Our Weekend

I know it's already Wednesday, but I guess our weekend report is better late than never! On Friday night we got to have our first Friday night with Robert here since May!!!  Woohoo!  We just hung out at home, but it was super nice to have him here!  Daniel and Laura came to town on Saturday for a wedding and we were happy to have them as our house guests Saturday night!  Ellington loved having fun playmates. :)

Laura and Ellington did a little walking Saturday night.

Ready for church Sunday morning!

My parents came to town Sunday afternoon for the basketball game and came over to hang out and have supper afterwards.  Ellington gave my Dad a few cooking tips!

Little Chef

Like any good chef, Ellington knows just what to do:

Stir

Keep a close eye

Wait patiently

Take a bite!

If you are hungry, come on over and Ellington will whip something up for you!

15 Month Well Visit

We went to the doctor last week for Ellington's 15 month well visit.  Here are Robert and Ellington in the waiting room:

I had planned on taking more pictures, but Ellington was SCREAMING when they weighed her, measured her, checked her out, etc.  So, obviously I was trying to comfort her rather than take her  picture!

She is doing great and right on track (except for her gross motor delays that we are working on at physical therapy).  The doctor was very pleased with her verbal skills!   She weighed 22 pounds 8 ounces (50th percentile) and was 30.5 inches (50th percentile).  She has always been in the 75th percentile for weight and height...so I guess she's slowing down a little bit!  She had also lost some weight from being sick.

In the handouts they gave me about a "typical" 15 month old, I was pleased to read that, "Toddlers' appetites are smaller than infants and they often have eating binges or days when they will only eat one food."  While as a child development person and a teacher of young children, I know this to be true....but for some reason it is frustrating and disheartening as a parent, so it was good to read!

Ellington had to get a couple of shots and of course didn't like that one bit!  We were happy to get a good report from the doctor.  It's such a blessing to hear that your child is just fine. :)

This TuTu Was Made for Walking

Ellington is ALL about walking with her push toys lately and she's also all about looking fancy. When you put the two together you get this cutie pie:

Below Ellington is saying "boom". She says it every time she runs into something which happens A LOT! Ha!

SNOW!!!

On Sunday morning we stayed home from church because Robert was planning on starting 3rd shift that night so he really needed to get his body ready for that and Ellington still wasn't 100% and I didn't want to leave her in the nursery.  We enjoyed a quiet morning at home and then a little after lunch (I think) it started SNOWING!!!  You can't really tell in the pictures, but HUGE flakes were falling.  It was beautiful!  Ellington absolutely loved it!  She would say, "snoooooooo". 

Ellington read her, "How to Build a Snowman" book so that she would be ready for the snow!

We didn't get out in the snow on Sunday (because the majority fell after dark), but we did on Monday.  Robert's worked was canceled Sunday night and school was canceled for Ellington and I.

Ellington DID NOT like standing in the snow!  She was scared of it!

This picture is just to remind me that I am not a hat person.

We brought out Ellington's little push toy to take her picture in and of course Daddy made it a fun ride!

This was the little track that Robert made.  He would pull her up to the top and then let her go.  She LOVED it!!!  I think she would have ridden all day.

This is what happens when you run out of dog food and the roads are icy:

The good news is that Gus LOVED the Cheerios. :)

Robert ended up not having to go to work Monday night either and Ellington and I had Tuesday off of school as well.  It was nice to be able to just be at home together and because the weather was so yucky we were forced to just stay in!  I must admit after Christmas, sickness, and the snow I am ready for our routine again.  Although now it's a whole new routine!  Ellington and I went to school this morning while Robert slept.  He is in the shower now and Ellington is about to get up from her nap.  And we'll get to be together until Robert goes to work about 7:30 pm. I am liking our new routine already!

Baby Brody

On Saturday we got to meet our newest nephew and Ellington's newest cousin, Brody!  Here is Ellington meeting her new cousin for the first time!

Cousin love!!!

Ellington was sweet to give Brody lots of kisses!  

On Saturday Ellington was particularly partial to Robert, so I got lots of cuddle time with the sweet baby!

Connor had lots of tricks up his sleeve to keep Ellington (and the rest of us!) entertained!

It was such a joy meeting the newest addition to the family!  Babies are truly a special blessing from the Lord.  Both of my parents are only children so I don't have any first cousins.  I LOVE that Ellington already has three sweet cousins and more to come I'm sure! :) 

He Is Good

"Praise the Lord.  Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good: His love endures forever."

Psalm 106:1

Around our house we have had MUCH to be thankful about lately.  We feel beyond blessed and the Lord has been gracious to us when we definitely do not deserve it.  Our eyes have been opened to so much more than ourselves and we are seeking to start the new year off with a new perspective and a renewed enthusiasm for serving God, each other, and those around us.

On the top of the list of the things we are so thankful for is that our sweet little girl is back to her spunky old self!  She is such a blessing to us and God has used her mightily to teach us many lessons....many of which we are still trying to learn!

We have also received another wonderful blessing of a new family member!  Brody Joseph Young was born January 5th.  We were unable to go see him at the hospital (we were still a little too sick for that), but we were able to go meet the sweet guy on Saturday. (More pictures to come!)

We have had a winter storm, so Robert, Ellington, and I have been enjoying extra time together!  We have pretty much been stuck at our house together but we have had the best time just hanging out.  We really treasure our time together because of the path we have had to walk down with being apart so much. (Don't worry...more snow pictures to come as well!)

Speaking of the path we have been on recently...the biggest news around here and our plea that has been met by God is that Robert is no longer on 2nd shift and has been moved back to 3rd shift!  Praise the Lord!  For the last 8 months we have been struggling mightily and have felt so hopeless about the situation.  It was so hard on our family and such a challenge.  God used it to strengthen and change us, but we are SO glad it's over.  We will now have several hours a day to spend together as a family.  We feel so blessed and overwhelmed.  I literally feel like a weight has been lifted off of me.  Thanks to everyone for their prayers and support over the last months.  We really feel like we have a new lease on life and can't wait for all this year holds for us!