More Summer Swimming

On Sunday, we took the girls to Rockwall to swim at Grammie's neighbors' house. Ella was very happy in her new flower float, but Gracie wouldn't be still long enough for me to take her picture!

Professional Pics

We had the girls' pictures done in May. Gracie was 2 and 1/2, and Ella was 6 months. I've been meaning to get these up for a while, but I had to narrow them down. It's always hard to pick my favorites, but I really like all of these. Thanks again to Brandi from b4 Photography (http://www.b4photography.com/ and http://www.b4photography.blogspot.com/ for working her magic! If you check out her website and blog, you'll see lots of pictures of us! Does anyone recognize that precious baby running in the red tutu?

Here's one that Brandi took of Gracie at 18 months. What a difference a year makes!
And here is sweet Ella. She didn't have much fun at this shoot because it was incredibly hot and sticky outside.
These girls love their daddy!
We tried so hard to get a good picture of them together, but this was all we could come up with...

I waited 2 years, 8 months, 3 weeks and 4 days...

to cut Gracie's hair! Yep, on Saturday, July 26, 2008, Gracie got her hair cut for the very 1st time!! I felt a little sad about it, but her curls were getting a bit unruly and needed a little trim. So, we headed off to Snip Its, where Miss Amy did her best to try to comfort nervous Gracie. Travis and I had talked to her about it for several weeks, and she seemed really excited until she got up in the actual chair. That's when the tears started. Poor thing always gets nervous when she does something new. But, Miss Amy offered a lollipop, and I found a cherry one that seemed to calm her down (just a little bit).

Miss Amy was really quick, and Grace sat very still while she snipped away.Ella wasn't too interested, but seemed happy to be along for the ride.Afterward, Gracie got a prize: ANOTHER pink bracelet that quickly became an ankle bracelet once we got in the car. She loves her accessories!
Here's a good before and after:

It isn't really as short as it looks here, and we all love it!

Our Mexican Adventure

Travis and I just spent 5 spectacular days at the Four Seasons Punta Mita this past week. Our parents watched Grace and Ella and allowed us to enjoy some much needed R & R in the Mexican sun. We enjoyed lots of sun and sand, good food and lots of reading (3 books for me, 1 for Travis). Plus, the resort was nothing short of amazing--the pools, beaches, our room, the free Hagen Daaz at 3:00 every afternoon, the fresh fruit, and on and on. We were surrounded by gorgeous scenery the entire time.

The highlight of the trip, much to my surprise, was our fishing trip on Friday morning. Everyone who knows Travis knows that he loves fishing, and although it's not really my thing, I agreed to go on a bay fishing trip at 7 a.m.! That's right--were up before sunrise while on vacation! But, our guide, Rudi (an Austrian living in Mexico), was incredibly nice and helpful. Travis and I caught a red snapper, a chili verde fish, a rock fish, two trumpet fish, a grouper, and a rock red snapper. The best part was that the captain, Chuy, filleted the fish on our way back to the harbor, and then we took the FRESH fish to a restaurant, where they grilled the red snapper and made a delicious ceviche with the chili verde fish. It was simply delicious!

We had an absolutely amazing time, and it was hard to leave. But, we did miss our girls and were happy to see them last night. I know they had fun while we were away, but they definitely missed us and were happy to see us, as well. Here are just a few fun pics from the trip, and if you want to see all 100+, just click on the link under "Family Pics." And, in case you're wondering about that first pic at the top of this post, it's something Travis and do at every beach we visit together.

Bath Time Fun

Ella is quite the messy eater now, trying to learn how to self-feed with things like bananas, watermelon and puffs. So, a bath is usually in order after meal time. She absolutely loves water and any kind of bath, but especially ones in the sink...
And, if Ella gets to do it, Gracie insists on a turn, too.

Here's what I came home to find yesterday:

Ella is 8 Months Old!

What a sweet baby girl! Ella is more delightful everyday, and she's getting harder to keep up with. While Grace was a more timid baby (hence the reason she didn't walk until almost 14 months), Ella is just the opposite. She does not want to stay still, and she pulls up on just about everything. She's especially attracted for forbidden places, like the fireplace, entertainment center and stairs (hint to Travis--get that baby gate back up).

We think she looks a lot like Grace did at this age with her light brown/blonde hair and cute lips, but her eyes are already green like her Poppy's. If someone would have told me that I'd have two fair-haired, green-eyed babies, I never would have believed it! What happened to the dominant genes for dark hair and dark eyes? The girls are precious nonetheless.

Ella definitely says "mama" now, although it usually means she's hungry and she says it to everyone. She's also learned how to click her tongue and likes for you to click yours, too. She constantly babbles and blows raspberries and likes to clap and say "yea!" She's definitely got the same sweet spirit Grace has. Thank you, Lord, for blessing us with this child!

Ella has another tooth!

I felt the second one today. She still refuses to let me take a picture!

Happy Birthday America

We spent a wonderful 4th of July weekend as a family! On Friday, we attended the Lakewood 4th of July parade, and Grace and Ella loved it. Too bad I forgot my camera because it was so fun to see! We arrived right on time and found a nice spot in the shade. Grace and I took our place on the curb, and she didn't know what to think. Then, she realized they were throwing candy, and she was so excited! Unlucky for us, there were two ornery boys sitting beside us, and they kept swiping all the candy around Grace. After a few minutes of this, I decided to help her out, and she said, "Thank you so much, Mommy! I love candy!" Let's just say she comes by that honestly, and I'm grateful that her daddy is a dentist :) While Ella wasn't into the candy, she did enjoy watching all the floats and happily performed her latest trick--clapping her hands! She figured it out on the 2nd and has been showing off ever since. What a big girl!

Later that day, we headed out to Rockwall for Papa Jim's 4th of July fish fry. The food was yummy and the girls enjoyed being entertained by lots of family and friends. They both loved Uncle Sam...

We wanted to stay for the fireworks, but by 8:30, Ella was beyond ready for bed. She was mad!! But, after we got her buckled into her car seat, she seriously fell asleep in about 30 seconds--before we got out of the driveway! Grace didn't make it much longer, but woke up when we stopped for frozen custard. She was so tired that she didn't even finish hers and quickly went back to sleep. As we were driving in, we could see the fireworks at Fair Park and Lakewood Country Club. Grace woke up and loved all the colors, but she did not like the loud noises. I guess she's still to young to really enjoy fireworks. Maybe next year.

On Saturday, Grace and I had a "GLAM" (Gracie Lula and Mommy) shopping trip. I needed to pick up a couple of things for our trip to Mexico, and Grace was more than happy to accompany me. She insisted that we stop by the mall and Target, and I didn't argue with her.

That afternoon, we played together as a family. Aren't they silly?

Ella is really loving the "new car" as Gracie calls it, and we let Lamby have a turn, also.

Ella is pulling up on everything now and desperately wants to walk.

Our tent has gotten a lot of use lately. We usually keep it upstairs in the playroom, but we brought it into the living room, and Grace and Ella had a blast!

As you'll notice from the pictures, Grace likes running around the house in her panties now. I think it's cute and take as many pictures as I can. One day, I'll embarrass her with these: