Oh, Ella!

"Mom, where are all my bras?! Don't I need a bra? You need to go get me some, because I'm pretty sure I need one!"

"Mom, I just peed all over my leg, BUT I wiped it up with the towel in the bathroom, and then I even hung it back up!"

Ella: "Mommy, I want a baby sister. Can we go get one?"
Me: "Go get one? Where do we go to get a baby sister?"
Ella: "Well, you just need to let your tummy get real big and then we go the doctor and tell him, 'See, my tummy's big. Now let me have a baby sister!' And then you pick her up and bring her home. That's all you have to do!" If only! =)

"I can't believe this. Another ponytail. Ponytail, ponytail, always a ponytail! All Daddy knows how to do is a ponytail!"

"Did Cade poop again? I'm telling you, Bubby, if you stink up my clean room, there's gonna' be trouble!"

"Mom, what do you think of Uncle Chad? I think he's one BIG man, but really cool!" =)

After surveying a neighbor's garage sale in search of new toys-
"Let's just go back to my house. My toys are way better than all these!" Haha! We are going to be in trouble in a few years!!

After watching Chris back into the driveway-
"See the way Daddy pulled the truck into the driveway? He says you can't even do that, Mom! He says you don't even know how!"

Her favorite saying these days: "Freeze Louise!" (geez louise) She's usually at her wit's end and so serious when she says this, but I can't help but crack up. What are we going to do with her?!!

All aboard the gospel train!

Ella's sweet rendition of "Amazing Grace". You can definitely hear her Kentucky blood shining through! haha!

Life is good

It's been busy, busy, busy around here! It was a full weekend, but we got to visit with some family and that is always such a treat. We had a neighborhood garage sale Saturday. It was hindered by a little rain, but we still came out okay. Grammy came up to help with that, which was so great of her. Then, right in the middle of the day, Ella spotted a couple surprise customers- Papaw and Mamaw! She and Cade spent the rest of day basking in all the attention from their grandparents.

On Sunday, Chris took Ella out for a daddy-daughter date. They had a milkshake together and then ran around for a bit. She came home with new books, new pink sparkly shoes, and new Minnie panties! I love that they get to spend special time together like that and am thankful for the lessons it will teach Ella about relationships and what it means to be treated like a lady.

I was busy at work for the most part, so there are no pictures from the weekend. However, I did snap a few cute ones on our trip to northern Ohio last week. Chris had to go up there for work, so we all tagged along. We relaxed and swam while he was working- not really a fair deal for him, but we sure enjoyed the time! We have stayed in a hotel with Ella only once before and she was too young to remember it. She thought this hotel business was too much fun! She couldn't believe she could lay in the bed and snack and watch cartoons just as much as she wanted. Now that she knows, she is more than ready for Florida in a couple weeks!
We're going to have to fight the ladies off this one!!

Getting ready to hit the pool (the swimsuit is perfect, Aunt Pam!)...

Enjoying the wind in her hair on the way home...

So we are busy, but life is so good. We love being out in the spring air, taking long walks and bike rides, and watching everything turn green. Ella checks on our hostas and lillies everyday to see how much they've grown overnight. We have a family of bunnies in the back yard and lots of ducks and ducklings toddling around that the kiddos enjoy watching every morning. This is a fun season to experience with little ones. I hope you are enjoying a blessed life as well. Love to you all!

"Aaahhhhh"

Cade says "aahhh" every time he takes a sip of something. It's too funny. I managed to catch it on video and it makes me laugh everytime I watch it. That in addition to Ella's display of sisterly love. ha! Silly, little rascals they are!

A little R & R

We had a couple days over the weekend to relax and just enjoy our time together "just like a family" as Ella says. On Saturday, Chris and the kids worked out in the yard while I slept and then we got dressed up and had dinner at Bravo (yum!). We had a proud Mommy and Daddy moment when a complete stranger came up and commended our children's behavior at dinner. =) On Sunday, we went to church, ran some errands, hung out. The kiddos napped while we had some adult conversation (pretty rare these days!) then we hit the playground. It was a nice change of pace to be off work, not have a single thing we had to get done, and just be together. If only we could have more days like this!

1 & 4 year pics

We are so thrilled with how these turned out! I had a hard time narrowing down which ones to post, because each one is better than the last. I love these little darlings to pieces!
Sweet, little princess..
Our little man...

Their expressions in this one are too fun!
Favorite of the them together...

So completely Ella...

And SO Cade...

"Hey, Mom, what's cookin'?"

haha! He looked so stinkin' cute standing there, trying to figure out what he was going to get to eat!

Brother and Sister

It's so fun to watch our little kiddos together these days. Cade wants to do everything his big sister does, and Ella enjoys having someone around who thinks she's pretty great and always wants to play. I was watching them as they were playing around before bed last night and it's just a sweet thing to see. They chase each other around with matching sippy cups. Cade gets an occasional bite of Ella's popsicle. They dance to music on TV and both end up falling on the floor in laughter. Ella makes sure Cade has his own special blanket and puppy to take to bed. I hear her whisper as he's falling asleep in my lap, "Night, night, Bubby. I love you. Sleep good, Little Sweetie. We'll have lots of fun things to play tomorrow, okay?" Precious.

Big boy shoes

I bought Cade a cute, new pair of shoes yesterday. Even though they're for little kids, they seem like such big boy shoes to me.
Checking them out...
Going for a test run...
I know I can be an emotional schmuck sometimes, but I teared up when I saw him walking in them! It was just another reminder of how quickly he is turning from my baby into my little boy. (sigh)

The Cone

Ella's favorite ice cream place just reopened for the summer, so we surprised her with a trip up there a couple nights ago. Not sure whether it's the ice cream, the quarter rides, or the combination of the two, but she acts like this place is pretty much heaven on earth. She was all smiles the whole time...

Cade, on the other hand, wasn't so sure...

It's supposed to be fun, Buddy! =)

He almost gave us a smile here...

But wasn't at all shy when it came to ice cream!Yep, in heaven! =)

Easter Sunday