Play Date

We had a play date with our friends Ali & Mason.

Ali is expecting her third baby any day now and I can't wait. We thought it would be fun to come and have a visit before their lives get a bit hectic with a new little one.



Now, Mason is almost three and he LOVES to work on puzzles. Ellery is just over 1 and loves to take puzzle pieces and throw them across the room!

Needless to say this was one moment when they actually played together. But thankfully Mason has LOTS of toys that kept Ellery occupied so Mason and I could put puzzles together.

Ellery made Mason some oatmeal chocolate chip cookies for a yummy snack. As you can tell she liked them so much she wanted to eat Mason's cookie!



Mason, we're looking forward to playing together soon!

Oral Hygiene

Hmm....

When do you start brushing babies teeth?

10K Tradition

This morning was the annual Ukrop's Monument Avenue 10K.

Cary and I ran this race with friends; Cary and Tim, Nan and I.


How do you get a great picture of 2 guys who don't really like their picture taken?

Snap the shot right after we make fun of someone's static cling butt!!




I was really surprised at how well I felt during the race. It was a great run and lots of fun. I'm not sure why but I also never got nervous. No anxiety or anything and that's out of the ordinary. Good times and I'm so thankful Nan encouraged me run.

Cute Dog

Earlier this week I sat down in the Sun Room to work on my bible study.

This is the view from the sofa.


But as I looked closer I noticed this...


Amos has decided to take up camp outside of our bedroom, on a small square of carpet.


He sleeps out there at night.
He sleeps out there during the day.
He barks at all the neighbors from the deck.

But he looks so darn cute curled up with eyes closed.

Visiting with Great Grandma Brown

My grandma will be 79 on Wednesday.

She and my grandfather typically visit us in Richmond this time of year, however this year we decided to go south, and hopefully thaw out a bit.

Our flight took off at 7 AM, needless to say that's a bit early for Little Miss & Mommy.


Some fun times at the play ground!





(nice chocolate milk stains)







Happy Birtday Great Grandma!






By the way, the temp. is low to mid 70's and in the sun it's perfect but a bit chilly when the wind blows. Thankfully the pool is heated!

Family Fun Day

Cary took the day off work today to spend some time with the family.

Ellery and I are heading out of town this weekend and when the traveling is all said and done it will be a week before we see Sweetie again!

One of our adventures today was heading to the dog park, which is now just up the street and around the corner from our house.

My sweet precious Ellery.


Normally I wouldn't suggest letting your kid crawl around a field where TONS of dogs from all over the county come to play and pee and poo on the ground. But sometimes a kid just needs to get out of the stroller.




Leaves are just so fascinating!



Of course I also had to keep leaves and other ground materials from entering Ellery's digestive track.




Amos being patient while Cary's attention was being taken by yet another amazing leaf.

Good Decisions

This morning I reflected on some poor decisions I've made regarding Ellery so far this week.

You know, things like:
-Sure! Let's eat 2 cupcakes 15 minutes before your scheduled nap!

-What? You don't want to sleep (not because of the cupcakes) and want to scream? Okay, I'm come visit you and let you crawl all over me and convince me to let you out of your room.

-Go ahead and tear everything out of my purse, the pantry and toy cabinets and don't worry, I'll clean up.

They might not seem like a lot (well except the cupcake decision) but I've learned from those mistakes. I've had to deal with the consequences.

This morning I debated on whether or not to let her skip the morning nap so we could go to Story Time at the library. My reasoning was, if it's the only time she will be out of the house today and have any sort of interaction with other kids then it's okay.

I'm so glad I made the decision to go. I ran into another mom I met a few months ago who happens to live right around the corner from me. We hit if off at our second meeting and now I anticipate this to be the beginning of a wonderful friendship (which I really need right now).

We also ended up spending the day at my parents house cooking, cleaning, napping and visiting.

Yes, a bit off from my original plan but I'm happy with my decisions!