My first Halloween!

Hi Everyone! It's my first Halloween!!! I am so excited cause Mommy bought me this cute costume and I was a hit at our weekly meeting last night! Lots of people wanted to cuddle with me in my peapod costume. I have to admit, the peas were scratchy and kept getting in my face. There were times I wasn't too sure about the hat either cause it kept going in my eyes. But it was fun to dress up. The night absolutely tuckered me out! I fell asleep half way through the meeting and then slept until 10am this morning!

Here I am in my new jumparoo! I absolutely LOVE it! I got it as a gift a while back but my little legs haven't been long enough to reach the ground until now. They still don't quite reach the ground, but Daddy puts a pillow under me so I can start jumping. I have been getting so fiesty, that they thought it was time to pull it out for me to use and it's my new favorite toy. I jumped so much the other day that I fell right asleep in it!

Finally, above is a picture of me with my Daddy. Isn't he handsome? Mommy tells me everyday how lucky I am to have such a good Daddy. He loves spending time with me and we are definitely best buddies!

Thanks for checking in on me.

Ellie Hope

Can you say blowout?

This is probably disgusting...but it's been one of the themes of our last three months... If you are a parent, I'm sure you can identify... BLOWOUTS. Yikes. They always seem to come at the most inconvenient times, but honestly, all you can do is laugh. We just got home from a three-day conference in another state and we had a few of these while we were away. It doesn't matter if I just changed her diaper a mere 30 minutes beforehand, these blowouts seem to be inevitable... The one pictured above happened this morning during our staff meeting. I had JUST given Ellie a bath...she was smelling all pretty and dressed in one of her cutest outfits. We had put her in her jumper while we were meeting when all of the sudden she got fussy. Joel whisked her out of her jumper and discovered this little surprise! :) As you can see, she was all smiles while we were attempting to change her without getting it everywhere! Her next destination was...you guessed it...back in the bathtub! One good thing that has come out of all of this is that I'm becoming an expert with getting stains out of laundry! :)

Welcome to our infant world... :)

pics from a rainy day!

Hey there! It's raining outside today, so what better to do than post a few more Ellie pics! It's been a busy day, but now we're home and relaxing until our next Bible Study at 9 tonight... Ellie has taken a little nap with Mommy, played on her play mat (thanks Aunt KJ!), swung in her swing...this is the life! :)

My first trip to the Pumpkin Patch!!!

As you can see from the pictures, I had a wonderful day at the Pumpkin Patch! Mommy got me all dressed up and ready for my big day... It was just beautiful outside and I was so excited for our day. We got to go on a hayride, walk through a cornmaze, pick our own pumpkins and go through the petting zoo. It was my first time to sit on a goat! :) It totally wore me out, and just like my Mom often does, I fell asleep in the middle of the most exciting part of the trip! But it was still a wonderful day to spend as a family!

Thanks for checking in on me!

Love, Ellie

Ready to head out to the Pumpkin Patch! Just need my headband!

Daddy says I'm his little sunflower!
And I can sometimes be a little turkey! :)

With Mommy and Daddy on the Hayride...
Mommy and I just love hayrides!
Daddy worked hard to find me JUST the right pumpkin!Daddy made me a pallet to keep me comfy on the ride back... :)
I decided to wake up for the ride home...

3 months old!

Our little sweetie turned 3 months old on TUESDAY! I can't even believe how quickly the last three months have gone... As you can see, infant photography is not my specialty. :) I tried off and on all day to get a good picture of Ellie... She would be SO smiley and then the minute I'd get the camera on her, the smile would disappear... But, here are a few that I did capture! Hope you enjoy!

a few fun pics...

I've been meaning to post these pics for over a week now! Here are a few more pics that Grandpa Barry took while we were in Florida... I wish my camera took pics like this!

First night in her bed!

Ellie accomplished a major milestone last Sunday night! Her first night in her own room!!! It was an emotional night for Mom... We had gotten home from our fall conference and had taken her pack and play with us... When we got home, Joel said that he didn't think we should set it back up, but instead move Ellie into her crib... I can't believe how hard it was for me! I was so sad when I went to bed knowing I wouldn't wake up to her sweet little face at the end of the bed in the pack and play. BUT, it was time and Ellie has made a very smooth transition... She's quite a character, though... Every morning when we go in, we always find her with an arm or a leg through the slats on the crib. She always has to be touching something! Such a funny little girl. :) She's growing up so fast!!!

Ellie's first BEACH day!

We made it to the BEACH today with the El-meister! She loved the water!!! We captured some of our time in pictures that we thought you would enjoy...

Florida!!!

worn out from shopping!

Grandma and Grandpa watching the sunset...

hanging out with Ellie in the living room!

chillin' in my carseat...

hanging out with Grandpa Barry...

We're in Florida for a few days!!! It's SO nice to be here and get a little time to rest and unwind... Joel's parents have a timeshare down here in Destin, so they graciously invited us and Joel's sister and her husband to come and join them for a long weekend. We're having a great time together. The weather has been perfect and Ellie is loving every minute of it! She was quite the trooper on our way down here... She experienced her first TWO flights yesterday! I was so proud of her! She was a little angel about 98% if the time. She did have a little cry fit as we were descending on our first flight. I think it hurt her little ears and she has caught a little bit of the cold Joel and I have had :(... so all things considering...she did amazing!

We haven't taken her to the beach as of yet, but we're hoping to tomorrow! Until then, enjoy some of the pics we took today while shopping, out to dinner and just hanging around our little place on the beach... We're having a wonderful time! More pics to come...