Mini Monster Fun!

Linden here, and another session of gymnastics has begun!

If you didn't know, I LOVE gymnastics and I was so excited to find out that Mama signed me up for Mini Monsters (for those who don't know, that means I am no longer in the preschool class, I am now with the bigger kids).  

Mini Monsters has been a ton of fun.  Not only do I get to hang out with the bigger kids, but I get to learn new skills and class goes an extra 15 minutes!!

Last week Mama was able to take some pictures.  We did a lot of practicing on the beam.  We walk forwards, side ways, backwards, and do little hops.  I can do all of these things on my own, but I like to pretend I can't sometimes and ask for help.

Usually we only get to practice on the little beam, but if the big girls aren't practicing we get to use the high beam too!

 After the beam we worked on some other skills.  I liked practicing my cartwheels.

And my coach helped me learn how to do a bridge!

My absolute favorite thing to do at Gymnastics is the bars, but we didn't have time last week.  That's ok, I'm sure we will do them next time!  I can't wait until Ellen is old enough for her to join in the fun!

Linden

Father's Day Fun

I know I am late on posting, but I thought I would share our Father's Day adventure with Daddy and Papa!

Papa Tim hadn't met Ellen yet so we decided to join him at the Mall of America and have a great day!  There are so many fun rides there, it was hard to choose where to begin.  It was so great getting to spend the whole day with him.  Papa Tim doesn't really like the fast rides, I think his favorite was the carousel.

I like a little more adventure so I had to do those rides alone.  This one bounced up and down.

And this one spun around, that is my favorite!

Papa Tim was pretty excited to meet baby Ellen, she was too little to go on the rides but she and Mama had fun watching us.

Auntie Megan, Uncle Tommy and Cousins Evan and Carter also met us there.  It was so much fun hanging out with them, they even took me on rides!!

Ellen and I hope to catch up on blogging this week, look forward to another fun adventure soon!

Linden

Monday Monday

Happy Monday!  Linden here!

Just wanted to check in and say hi.  The weather was beautiful,  I am so glad there was a break from all the rain!  We took Ellen on a stroller ride to the park tonight and we had a great time.  She was sleepy,  as usual,  but I still think she enjoyed watching me run around.

She picked me up from daycare today and met all my friends.  I can't wait for her to join us at daycare,  although Mama said we aren't talking about that yet.

Have a good night, 
Linden

Mama's Projects

Hey Everybody!  Ellen here!

Mama has been getting lots of questions about what is going to happen with the blog, and after much deliberation she decided to keep the name the same and Linden and I can share the responsibility of posting.  

Over the winter, Mama was working on a couple projects for Linden and myself.  Mama loves to quilt so she decided to make Linden and I matching ones!

Mama made my quilt the perfect size for laying on the floor and playing.  She picked really bright colors and I love it!!

Mama did the quilting on mine and I think it turned out great!  She even quilted my name into it (you have to look pretty hard to see it, the E starts on the blue stripe and the N is in the purple stripe).

It is the perfect blanket for snuggling up and taking a nap  :-)

Mama made Linden's quilt big enough to go on her bed.  She used the same fabric for both of our quilts and Linden thinks it is pretty special.

Our quilts even match the flags on Linden's wall!

Linden has never really liked sleeping with actual blankets, she really loves her flannel blankets that Mama and Grandma made, but ever since she got this new quilt from Mama she has been sleeping with it on her every night!

Another project that Mama worked on over the winter was a growth chart for both of us.  Mama wanted to keep track of how tall we are, but she wanted to be able to move it in case we decide we want to put it somewhere else.  I really like how they turned out, Mama did all of the sewing herself, and is going to use tags to mark how tall we were each year.

They are even personalized for each of us.  She was pretty excited to find the purple measuring tapes to put down the middle.

Now that it is summer, Mama doesn't spend as much time on projects because we love to be outside as much as we can.  Who knows what projects next fall will bring!

Enjoy the sun,
Ellen

My Baby's Room

A few months ago Mama and Daddy moved me down into the basement and created a great new Big Girl Room for me.  After that, Mama started creating a new room for Baby Ellen.

She kept part of the room the same color, but added a fun pink to make Ellen's room special just for her.  Mama made a big E to hang over Ellen's crib:

And she made a rail cover to hide the scratches I put into the wood (Mama claims that she put me down for nap one day when I was teething and I went to town and chewed up the entire crib rail...I think Jake did it...)  Mama also found a really great rug!

It was really important to me that Ellen had a piggy bank too!

When Daddy was little he had a mobile with sailboats, unfortunately a lot of the boats broke so it wasn't usable anymore, so Mama took it apart and changed it to flowers to match Ellen's room.  I really like it, it has sparkles on the end and it is really bright, fun colors.

Mama also made some fun flower art to hang on the walls.  She can't wait until Ellen is bigger and we get to know her personality more, then Mama can make some signs and more art for her walls that is unique to Ellen!

Jake and Bella really like sleeping in Ellen's room (Bella is sleeping behind the chair).  When I was sleeping up here my curtains were brown, but they didn't match Ellen's room so Mama covered them with grey fabric to match.

Here is baby Ellen, she sure loves her new room!

Happy Thursday,
Linden

Meet My Baby!!

Hey Everybody!!

Sorry I have been MIA the last few weeks, but things have been busy around here.  Busy with what, you ask?  MY Baby Came!!!!

Mama and Daddy told me that after we got to go for a ride on Papa Tim's boat that Baby Wensley would come and surprise us.  I had a really hard time being patient, and so did Daddy, we couldn't wait to meet her.  I asked every single day if today was the day, but all Mama told me was that it wasn't up to her and we had to wait.

Last Friday, June 6th, I went to daycare just like every other day, but instead of Mama picking me up, our good friend Mandi picked me up.  The minute I saw her I knew that Baby was here!!!!

Mama had an appointment in the morning with her doctor and for various reasons her doctor decided that it was the day.  They decided to start things a little slower to see if labor would start on its own.  After a few hours things were moving along, but daddy joked that Baby was waiting for Ellen to come on TV because the last thing Mama remembered watching was Ellen doing her Dancing on stage and that is when labor really started.  Less than 45 minutes later Mama was fully dilated and after just 2 pushes Baby Ellen made her entrance into the world!

She came out so fast that she was pretty bruised up, and was having a little trouble breathing.  It was a couple minutes before Mama got to hold her, but it was love at first sight.  Here is Mama's first picture with Baby Ellen!

Daddy did a great job and was a great support for Mama.  After Ellen was born Daddy kept saying, "Holy cow, I can't believe how fast and easy that was!!"  Mama wasn't ready to hear about how "easy" it was right away, but the next day she agreed.  Here is Daddy's first picture with Ellen.

Mandi brought me to the hospital after Mama got moved to her new room.  I was so excited to meet Baby.

Right away I climbed up into Mama's bed and wanted to give Baby kisses.  Mama told me that we were going to call her Ellen and I was perfectly Ok with that.  Mama and Daddy messed up and called her Wensley a couple times, but I didn't!  Here is my first picture with Baby Ellen.

I sure love her a lot!!  Whenever I see somebody new I ask if they want to me MY Baby!

I was pretty excited to get to hold her, all by myself!!  She is such a sweet girl and I am a great big sister.

Everybody keeps saying that we look so much alike.  Here are our first pictures side-by-side.

We had some people come visit us while Mama and Ellen were in the hospital.  Here is a picture of Leah, she is a Medical Student and she delivered Baby Ellen (it was the weekend so she got to wear Jeans to work).

 Grandma Carolyn was able to come down to meet Ellen, but Papa Tim had to stay back to get the resort ready.  He can't wait to meet Baby Ellen this weekend.

Grandma Nancy and Papa Bob came over too.  Grandma Nancy said that Papa Bob was just giddy the whole way home, he sure is proud and we are so thankful that he was able to meet all of his grandkids!

All of my Aunties and cousins came to visit us as well.  We are so lucky to have such a loving a great family to support us!

Have a great weekend and enjoy Father's Day!
Linden