Swim Ranch

Silver Dollar City

The weekend of 4th of July, Emily and I went to Silver Dollar City with some college friends and their kids. We stayed 2 nights in Branson while Ella enjoyed some time with her daddy (and Cita and Poppy). We had a great time with everyone! It was so neat to see all of them play together. Emily was a little scared of some of the rides, but wanted to ride some with Mrs. Courtney and Mrs. Susan instead of me. :( I did get to ride some fun rides with Wesley, Courtney's 5 year-old. Emily was just a little scared after the log ride, so she was done after that. We are now re-thinking DisneyWorld this year.

4th of July

We had a wonderful 4th of July weekend! Emily and I went to Silver Dollar City with some friends (will post some pics soon). Ella stayed home with Cita and Poppy until Roy picked her up. Then, we headed to the Fort on the 4th and went to church with Cita and Poppy and had a yummy lunch. Then, headed to Roy's parent's house since they live outside city limits. My camera battery died, so I didn't get any fireworks. You can see what all we did with their cousin Ava (slip-n-slide, riding the 4 wheeler).

Happy 18 Months Old, Ella!

Here she is signing more b/c she wanted a popsicle at this point! ;)

I can't believe it, but Ella turned 18 months old today. I finally remembered to get a picture of her in the chair. She just came from outside, so she was hot and sweaty. We love you so much, Ella! How can you be a year and half old already?

Here is what you are up to at 18 months old:

* You LOVE baby dolls. You constantly say "baby" and have a baby doll at all times. You love pushing them in the doll stroller and feeding them.

* You love playing with big sister.

* You are a great eater and we haven't found much you don't like.

* You started going to MDO twice a week starting this summer. You like playing there, but not taking naps.

* You love the water and just finished swim lessons. Your favorite was the kickboard.

* You love being outside and can climb on the new swingset already. And, yes you are a climber and we have to watch you at all times so you don't get hurt. ;)

* You are always expanding your vocabulary. Your receptive language skills are awesome. You can point to your nose, ears, head, mouth, hands, belly, feet, etc. You can shake your head yes/no to questions (which is very cute, I might add). You are starting to increase your verbal skills (uh-oh, fish, baby, doggy, papa, poppy, bottle and much more to name right now). You started putting 2 words together (where's sissy?).

I'm sure there is much, much more so will add if I can remember!

Happy 5th Birthday, Emily!

Emily's dance recital

Emily had so much fun at her dance recital last weekend! They put on a great show at the Walton Arts Center. Emily's class did SO good! She is in love with dance even more than before. Their ballet costume was so cute. They were butterflies and did a song to "Butterfly Fly Away". Emily LOVED the tap dance this year. They did a song from the new Chipmunk movie "We're The Chipmunks". Emily was Simon and even wore glasses up there. I can't wait to see the dvd of the performance.

Little Gym

Last month, I took Ella to a free trial class at The Little Gym. She had a blast! I wish I could sign her up for classes, but we are already very busy this summer. Maybe in the fall if I can arrange it during my day off..