4th of July Recap!

Ellen here to tell you about my first 4th of July!!

It was such a great week and we had a blast!  The first part of the week was a little cold and windy but that didn't stop us from playing at the beach and in the water, well, Linden played in the water, Mama and I did a lot of snuggling under a blanket.

The highlight of the week came on Friday, the 4th of July!!  The neighbors let Linden join them on their pontoon for the boat parade, it was a lot of fun watching all of the decorated boats go past the dock at the resort.  Their boat theme was the Sochi Olympics!

Linden got to help Dan drive the pontoon, and she even got a fun hat to wear!!

Our cousins, Evan and Carter, were at the lake too.  They did a lot of fishing and had a blast, even though they didn't catch very much.

 Mama made sure that all of us girls had cute outfits for the day.  It was pretty cold so she didn't get a good photo, but isn't my headband cute!?!?

Linden was pretty excited to play on the water trampoline all day.  Papa got a new one this year so that made it even more exciting.  Hannah, Sidney, and Aleaha loved playing with her out there.

Grandma also got a new toy for the resort, it is called the Woosh, and it looked like a ton of fun!!  The big girls liked laying on it under the warm sun, Linden and her friends liked running around on it and sliding into the water.

Mama took a break from snuggling me and took Linden on a jetski ride.

And Daddy took all of the big kids tubing!

Linden really likes her tubing buddy, Hannah.

They are so silly, I can't wait until I am big enough to play with them on the lake too!!

It was a great week full of family and friends.  Linden has been going to the Lake for the 4th of July her entire life, so has her lake friend, Lucy.  Linden and Lucy had such a great time playing together, she can't wait until next year when they can play together again.

As for me, it was a pretty great week.  I turned 4 weeks old while we were there, that means that over a quarter of my life was spent at the resort.  I hope we can keep that up, I had a great time snuggling with mom while listening to the sounds of the lake, and going on walks along the trail.

Have a great day, 

Ellen

Playing in the Rain

Daddy talked Mama in to letting me get squirt guns!!  Unfortunately by the time we got home it was raining, but that didn't stop me!  Daddy and I had a ton of fun.

There are only a couple rules to squirt guns...No playing with them in the garage (the floor gets really slippery)...

You can only squirt people who also have a squirt gun (I think Mama made that rule because she didn't want to get squirted!!)

and have LOTS of fun!!!

I'm waiting for the rain to go away so we can play with them again!
Linden

How Big is Ellen?

 SOOO Big!!

Ellen here!  It has been a pretty busy week, I have been eating a lot and doing a ton of growing.  I am a pretty happy baby but I take meal time VERY seriously!

Mama brought me to the Amazing Newborn Clinic again.  Linden posted about this when she was just a baby.  Each week Mama can bring me in to a local school and get me weighed by some nurses from the clinic.  It is a great place to ask questions, meet new moms and babies, and see how much I am growing.

We have been pretty busy so we have only been there twice, but it is pretty great.  Because the weather has been so nice we have been able to walk there.  My least favorite part about it is having to get naked in order to be weighed.  Why does the scale have to be so cold??

The first time I went I was just a week and a half old.  When I was born I weighed 7 pounds 3 ounces, and a week later I was just a few ounces shy of reaching my birth weight.

Fast forward a few more weeks and I am up 2 pounds!!

Like I said, eating is serious business.  I try to let Mama get some sleep at night.  I usually give Mama a 4-5 hour stretch of sleep each night which she really appreciates.  During the day I eat every 2 hours which drives Mama a little crazy, but she says if she gets to sleep at night she will let me eat as often as I want during the day.

Time for my early afternoon snack!
Ellen

1 Month Old

Ellen Here!

Guess what!?!  I am already one month old!  I am pretty excited about it, but Mama doesn't seem to be celebrating quite as much.

I have changed a lot in the last month.  Mama says I am a pretty good sleeper, most nights I give her at least one 4 hour stretch of sleep, some nights I even bump it up to a 6 hour stretch!!  I am also a pretty good eater, during the day I eat ever 2-3 hours, but then I like to snack in the evenings.  I am a night owl like my Mama, Daddy wants to go to bed by 10, but I like to stay up until at least 11, Mama says we need to work on that.

During the day, Mama and I do a lot of snuggling, I am not a huge fan of sleeping anywhere other than on top of Mama.  During the day I do take at least one nap on my belly on the couch or floor, and at night I like to sleep in my Rock and Play sleeper.

I really like my big sister Linden, although Mama has to keep me safe, Linden really likes to give me big hugs.  On Saturday mornings Daddy and Linden have a weekly movie date while Mama sleeps in.  They have let me come hangout with them which is a ton of fun.  Linden loves getting to cuddle with me.  We used to watch Frozen, but now Linden has started watching Cars.

My puppies and cat like hanging out with me too.  Jake loves taking naps so we get along great.  These days I have started waking up more and Bella likes to come check on me.  I like looking at her, she likes giving me kisses.

Stroller walks are a lot of fun.  Mama and I try to get out of the house a couple times a week for a walk.  We have started walking to Daycare to pick up Linden.  The kids at daycare really like me and everybody wants to play with me.  Mama hopes that the big kids get to see me enough right now that by the time I start at daycare the big kids won't be quite as interested in me.  (Don't ask Mama about me going to daycare, she doesn't want to talk about it).

Before moving to my Rock and Play sleeper at night, Mama and Daddy had me in my crib.  They seem to think I like being swaddled, but I am not sure why.  I am really good a getting my arms out.  Mama said Linden was really good at escaping her jammies and swaddle, I am practicing so I can be even better!

I am still doing a lot of sleeping these days.  Like I said, on Mama's chest is my favorite place, but Mama is trying to get me to start sleeping on my own, though I don't really understand why...

Besides watching movies with Linden, I also like to watch her play.  She really likes dressing up like a princess and dancing to music.  These are her favorite songs right now:

• Beachin' - Jake Own
• Beat of the Music - Brett Eldredge
• Pontoon - Little Big Town
• Cruise - Florida Georgia Line
• Wagon Wheel - Darius Rucker
• Compass - Lady Antebellum
• Let it Go - Frozen

Linden saw some cute princess dresses that were my size and insisted that I should have a princess dress too.  Of course Daddy said yes, he can't resist our cuteness!!

That is what I am up to these days.  Hope you all are having a great week!

Ellen

Sports Camp

This summer has been super busy!  It is a good thing Ellen is such an easy baby because there is no time to slow down!

Daddy signed me up for Sports Camp this summer.  It was 4 weeks long and we worked on all sorts of different skills.  We learned about soccer, kickball, tee ball, and track and field.  It was a ton of fun and I learned a lot.  

It was pretty hard for Mama to get good pictures because we were busy and on the go, but here are a couple from the week that we learned about Tee Ball.

Running the bases was my favorite part!

I had a great time, although I think gymnastics is still my favorite sport.

Linden

Tracing Fun

Did you know that I really like to write??  A LOT!  So Mama came up with a fun book for me to play with in the car, I call it, my Tracing Book!

Mama took a 3 ring binder, some page protectors, and dry erase markers and created my favorite car toy yet.  She printed off some sheets on the computer that have big letters and shapes so I can practice my tracing.

W

It is sometimes hard in the car because it is so bumpy, but I don't mind.

I really like the pages that have fun lines and shapes.  I also like the page where I get to trace my name.  Mama likes the page protectors so she can change the pages every once in a while to keep it fun!  Everybody who has seen it tells me I have a really long attention span, one day I brought it to a party Daddy went to and I traced for over an hour!

We have to leave the lake today so it will get lots of use on the way home.  Hope you had a good 4th!!

Happy Tracing!
Linden

Breakfast on the Farm

Ellen here to tell you about another fun adventure!

I got to ride on my first school bus, and it was great, we went out to Steele County Breakfast on the Farm!  It is a really fun event so I decided to take a nap on my way out there so I would be ready for all of the things we were going to do.

Right away when we got there we got in line and had breakfast, pancakes and sausage for Mama, Daddy and Linden, and of course, milk for me!  Once breakfast was out of the way the fun began.  One of Linden's favorite things was petting the baby animals, there was a cow, goat, kittens and pigs!

After we pet the animals we went on a horse and trailer ride, that was my favorite.

We got to see cows and pet the horses, they are really big!!

I think the highlight for both Linden and me was getting to ride on the school bus.  We were really lucky and got to sit all the way at the back!!

Another fun adventure!

Check back soon,

Ellen