Summ-Summ-Summertime!!!

Woohoo!!! Yep, we are enjoying every minute of summer and I love the no rush schedule that summer brings. The summer began bittersweet since summer meant Stella going back home. What a complete blessing it was having here her and it has been quite a transition for both the kids and us. We really loved having Grandma with us. Thank you Stella! We love and miss you!
We have been busy. While Stella was here, Eric and I were able to enjoy nearly 2 days all by our lonesome in Orlando. It was so relaxing and much needed! Then we took the kids to Busch Gardens with Grandma, Papa, cousin Austin and us. After that it was the beach and then we have just been hanging out and having fun. We are venturing to Missouri to visit Grandma and Papa at the Lake house. That should be a lot of fun! Please start praying now as we travel in July with three kids on a plane. Ha!
Car hunting is officially on and we have surrendered to the fact that it is minivan time. Oh, how we have fought it but three in carseats just is too hard to fit into anything else. Hopefully there will be some good deals out there right now.

Kid updates...let's see: Ella is still doing pretty well with potty training. She has had some accidents but still doing remarkably well for being an early two. Her little personality continues to shine. She is our little mother and helper. The other day I went in to Elizabeth's room to get a pacifier and there was something in every piece of furniture. Elmo was in the crib all covered up, another Elmo was tucked in the swing with a little stuffed animal for company (plus she had turned on the swing to soothe poor little Elmo) and a baby was sitting on the rocking chair. She is a busy Mommy! Andrew has turned into our weatherman and visits the weather channel every morning to see what is in store for us. He is getting pretty good with the maps and knows when big rain/storms are coming as he sees the big red spot looming towards us on the map. He has picked up a lot of the meteorologist jargon and says things like, "Intermittent showers today". Haha! Elizabeth is sitting up! She will now sit and play with her toys which I think makes her happier. She loves to be up where she can see. In fact, she is happiest when she is sitting in the kitchen in her bumbo. She can see everything and loves when I am cooking. It keeps her entertained. Maybe a future chef?? (The girl does love to eat!)
Keep Eric in your prayers as he has a big accounting final on Monday. It has really been an extensive class and he has worked hard. Fingers crossed! On to the pictures!!!

Busch Gardens


Elizabeth at the beach for the first time. It was soooo hot! :(

Fun Pictures!

Elizabeth is 6 months!

A video of Elizabeth...she has discovered her voice! :)


Half of a year has already flown by since Elizabeth joined our family. Amazing! She has grown so much. She is scooting all over the place and I think crawling may be just around the corner. No sitting up yet, but she is working on it. I can't even tell you how much I am looking foward to being home for the summer. T-minus 6 working days and counting! I miss the kids so much and can't wait to spend 8weeks straight with them! We are at crunch time at school and the whole second grade is moving to another part of the building. So along with all the end of the year craziness we also have to pack up our entire rooms and move. Just adds to the stress!
But I can see summer on the horizon and even though I have pulled nearly 10 hour days at school lately, I am trudging along. Andrew and Ella are doing well. Ella is fighting an ear infection but with the wonder of antibiotics, it is getting better. Andrew is done with three year old preschool and will be in VPK (voluntary pre-kindergarten) next year. He will go every day from 8-11! That will be a big adjustment. Daddy is going to stay home with everyone next year while continuing his schooling and working at night. He is working hard and is in the thick of his accounting classes. Just with one of us staying home saves us nearly $1,500 a month! Plus the kids get to stay home, which we both love! On to some pictures from the last couple of weeks!

P.S. I forgot the most exciting news of all....ELLA IS OFFICIALLY POTTY TRAINED!!! WOOOOHOOOO!!!!

Just too many things to mention!

The past month or so has been filled with lots of fun and special times. Sorry in advance for this super long post. Here's a run down: Andrew turned the big FOUR, Easter, Elizabeth eating cereal and now a few veggies, Mother's Day, SeaWorld. Add that into the everyday mix of our crazy life. Phew! Tired yet? :)
We celebrated Andrew's birthday as best we could with everyone passing around a sickness. Unfortunately, on his acutal birthday, Ella was really sick and had to go the the dr. We spent a lot of it at the dr.'s office but he didn't seem to really care. It was his special day and nothing was going to ruin it. Here are a few pictures from his birthday. Happy Birthday Andrew! I can't believe you are four already! The day after Andrew's birthday was Easter. The kids had fun finding their baskets and eating lots and lots of candy. It was just a wonderful day spent with the family. Elizabeth is a big girl and is LOVING food (obviously). She eats cereal, squash and sweet potatoes. I haven't got around to making carrots yet, but that is next up. I am sure she will love those, too! Here is Elizabeth eating her first bites of cereal! Up next...Mother's Day. This one was super special because we were able to spend it with Stella. It has been such a long time that Eric actually got to see his Mom on Mother's Day so it really was extra special. I was spoiled all day and showered with hugs and kisses. Eric and the kids got me a digital picture frame so I can have it at work to look at my babies all day. Love it! As with everyday, I am thankful to be a mom of three healthy, beautiful children. And although some days I don't know my own name and barely have time to get dressed that day, I wouldn't have it any other way. I LOVE being a Mom!! SeaWorld! Eric and I took Andrew to Sea World for part of his birthday present. Stella watched the girls. Thank you Stella! We weren't quite sure what to do with ourselves with just one kid! :) It was so nice to spend time with just him. We took him on a Friday and spent the night. I am not sure which was more of a hit, SeaWorld or staying at a hotel. We got to see everything at the park and even had dinner with Shamu. We were able to eat right next to his tank and they did a private show. It was really amazing. When we went to see the whales underwater viewing area, one of the whales came right up to the glass. The trainers had said they can see the people through the glass and like to try and interact with them. Well, this one whale loved Andrew and this other little boy. He came and just stayed in front of the glass for awhile and then swam around and came back. It was so neat. Here is a little video of the whale coming back for the second time.