After the beach.

I'm just hangin with my friend Amelie after going to the beach. I had
so much fun!!!

Mavericks Beach

Last weekend was very warm, and we decided to take the opportunity to enjoy the beach with our friends, the Roeber family. And I think this picture says it all! The babies had a good time. Especially our friend Amelie. She loved playing in the sand. Ella, not so much. Ella does not care to be out in the elements. Much like her mother. We tried to sit Ella in the the soft sand of Seista Key Beach and that did not go over so well, so we knew she was not going to have any part of the coarse sand on Mavericks Beach.

The beach was beautiful though. In all my life of admiring surfers, befriending a few, and watching countless surf movies I never thought I would end up on one of the best surf spots in the world. I know there are some people back in FL green with envy right now. The worst part is I don't even surf. But I got over that quick because it is just awesome to look at. Although, it wasn't an easy walk to get down to the beach carrying the babies and all our gear. But it was worth the work.

Well that's all for now. We are excited for Fathers day, and next week we have some fun events planned with the Moms Club that I recently joined. Hopefully we will get some pictures of those trips. See you soon!

Amelie and Ella. Best of friends!

Uh oh.....

Someone is getting strong,and learning new tricks! Looks like it's
time to drop that mattress down!!!

Another summer day !

Summertime!

It's finally consistantly warm here and we love it! Now Ella can wear
all the hats I bought her to shade her face from the sun. Well.....
Most of the time she wears them as long as there is a strap under her
so she can't pull it off.

Memorial Day Weekend.

Hello everyone! We hope you enjoyed the long weekend. We sure did. It was beautiful here. Sunny, and warm enough to put on some shorts, but just cool enough to enjoy it. We had a pretty low key weekend. We mostly ran errands, cleaned house, worked out, grilled(of course), and Sunday we went to our favorite park and took some pictures dressed up in our red, white and blue. Afterwards we just layed out on the blanket and enjoyed the weather.

Of course I have to say it wasn't the happiest Memorial Day weekend I have ever had. Now that we are a military family you can't help but think of those that are unable to do spend time together as a family. I think it has been more of an eye opener since we live on base and since Ella has arrived, how precious our time together is. We are lucky that Ben doesn't go out to sea anymore but that doesn't make him immune from getting called up at a moments notice to fulfill a position needed elsewhere. And we have to say thank you to all the service members that have done it before, and those who have done it and never returned home. So I hope you truly enjoyed your weekend but I also hope you took a few moments to think about those who were unable to enjoy it with their loved ones.

FYI... Did you know Memorial Day was actually called Decoration Day. It was titled this so people would decorate the graves of Veterans with spring flowers. This was started in 1868 (after the civil war end) by a Union Veteran.

I will post some more pictures of Ella in the park tommorrow, as they came out great! She was in a great mood that day as well. Hope all is well on your end! We will write soon because we have some big events comming up!

We sat Ella in the grass at the park and she was less then thrilled. She didn't mind being on the ground on top of the blanket. Maybe she is more like her mom. She hates getting dirty.

This is a chair that we have outside our front porch, mostly for decoration, but I thought Ella would like to have her own seat to relax in and watch the neighborhood. She loved it. She felt like a big girl sitting in her own chair!

Ella was really excited to get a new outfit from Grandma Robinson! The 80's are BACK!

Ella is starting to crawl

Staying busy!

Sorry. No new pictures of Ella on this post. But I did find this cute picture of Ben with his brother and sister and it's just as entertaining! Incase you don't know Ben is the youngest of the three kids.

The reason I don't have any new pictures of Ella is because Ben has the camera in his truck, which is at his work right now. But guess what.... Ben's not at work. Him and 10 other Coasties are in Burbank at the moment taping The Price is Right! Keep your fingers crossed that Ben will get called up, and win us a new car, boat, or heck even a couple grand would be nice! I will keep you guys informed when the show will actually air.

Ella has had an exciting couple of days as well. For the past week she has been trying hard to crawl. But yesterday was the first time she actually got some distance under her belt. My keys were her inspiration to move. She does a variation of a comando crawl. She hasn't figured out that she can push through her arms and legs at the same time so she lurches and scoots. We got it on video so maybe tommorrow Ben will post it online. She did at least 2 or 3 laps in the living room.

And today was a big step for me. I got out of my comfort zone and joined a mothers play group. I took Ella out of the house during her usually nap time, to meet a bunch of strangers! So that is two scary scenarios right there,1) Ella not taking a nap, and 2) meeting over a dozen strangers and their kids all at once. But Ella did surprisingly well. We didn't have one break down. And I'm excited to get more involved with the mothers club, not just for the social interaction but to get me out of my typical routine. Routine is good most days because thats how you make time to get things done, but too much routine leads to boredom. And I don't want my time with Ella to ever get boring. So this is our chance to meet new friends and experince things that we wouldn't normally experience if it was just her and I.

Well that's all for now. We will post some pictures and videos soon Im sure since Ella is getting big and doing somthing new everyday!

Mmm...pizza.

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree! Food drove Ella to hop
her little butt over to dad while we were eating dinner. She started
at the other end of the blanket and once she saw dad was eating pizza
she got the urge to move!! FYI ... She already ate!

Tue, 11 May

Daddy is fun!!!

Ellas first taste of Italian

I made Ben and I some minestrone in the crockpot tonight and I figured
Ella might like some too! So I pureed it with some left over
chicken , and I think it was a hit!! And she ate a babymum instead of
garlic bread.

I'm ready for my close up!

Swim lessons

Daddy got into the pool with me last Saturday ! It wasn't a very
productive lesson though because it was a bit too chilly outside.

Sippin

Ella is starting to get the hang of her sippy cup! Although she has
difficulty holding it for any length of time, so we constantly play
the baby drop , and mommy picks it up game. Ugh.

Four years ago today we were married... Four years ago today we started on the best journey two people could take together. There is nothing better in this world than knowing someone so completely, nothing better than the comfort that comes with complete honesty, trust and openness. We started as husband and wife and are now Mommy and Daddy; how fortunate can two people be?

Ella's first swim lesson

I took my first swim lesson today with my best friend Amalie. Mom took me into the pool and Daddy took lots pictures. I flapped my arms and legs, was dunked under the water, and got sprayed by a pool toy. I had so much fun and was not at all afraid of the water. Mommy and Daddy are going to take me each Saturday for the next few weeks, I'm so excited!

Sarasota Vacation.

Hey everyone! We had a great time in Sarasota. Although it wasn't as restfull as we thought it would be. We had lots of fun, and we got to see a lot of people. This picture was taken at Seista beach which was my second trip to the beach that week. I adapted to the time change in Florida well but Mommy and Daddy would not make nap time easy for me because we were out of the house most of the time. I sleep best in my crib and just as I would fall asleep it was time to get into the car again.

But I got to see a lot of Sarasota. We walked around St. Armads Circle, ate lunch at O'learys on City island, visited Jungle gardens, saw seista and longboat beach,ate dinner at Pop's in Nokomis, and meet a lot of new friends. It was sad to leave because I got so spoiled in FL with attention. Mom and Dad were sad to leave as well because they enjoyed spending time together while I hung out with my Grandma Mac.

Overall the trip went well. I didn't even fuss on the plane. Everyone kept saying what a good baby I was, but those people weren't home with Mom and I today. I've had a difficult time getting used to our old schedule. Plus I miss all the attention I got from Grandma. Well that's all for now. Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Four generations.

It's was really exciting to have four generations of women together in the same house.

Great Grandma !

I got to meet my great grandma Allen which is pretty neat because there are not too many people that get to meet their great grandmas! Her and I really hit it off. She thought I was just the best thing since sliced bread.

Too CUTE!

Old friends, and new friends!

We visited some friends of mommy's from highschool while in Sarasota. They too had a baby just a month younger then me. Him and I got along just fine. I like having friends my age!

Im not so sure about these flamingos!

Enjoying the sceanery at Jungle Gardens with daddy.

Mommy holding a baby gator. YIKES !

I love my Aunt Culla and Uncle Dave!

Beach

I was so tired at the beach I fell asleep in daddy's arms. The sun and the sand were just too much for me that day.

My First trip to the beach with Grandma Mac

Getting a bath in Grandmas kitchen sink!

Hmmm.... Who is this I wonder?

Meeting my Aunt Susan !!!

Ella with Grandpa Mac!

my sweetie!

This is a picture Aly took on her phone while I was cuddling my littlest sweetie at lunch one beautiful spring day.

Having some fun in the sun!

Someone was thirsty.

I know I sent this to some of you but some people may not have seen it. It was a beautiful weekend in Dublin so we decided to break out the kiddie pool. Everyone had a chance to play that day!

A spring day in Dublin

The girls in Tahoe

Left to right, Tiffany with daughter Riley, Amy with Amelie and ofcourse the Glanville girls.

Well this picture says it all. She really does not like peas! How exciting it is to see Ella experimenting with different food, but how challenging for Mom to make it all just to see it get shot down! Oh well. I tried mixing peas with carrots.... it was a little more tolerable but not by much. And today I mixed it with her favorite... sweet potatoes, but that didn't go over too well either. Maybe it was a little late in the day to test Ella's patience for food. This morning she had pears for the first time, and did not shed one tear. So far sweet potatoes, banana, and pears are the top favorites.

We had a great visit at the doctor yesterday. Ella is 16 lbs and 5 oz!!! That means she is in the 57th % for her age. That's a huge jump from the 5% when she was 2-3 weeks old. She is a little short though. She is 25 inches which is in the 23% for her age. But we are not worried cause mom and dad aren't very tall, and I'm sure everybody has growth spurts at different times. Well that's all for now. Mom and Dad get to eat finally !

Lake Tahoe.

Hello everyone! Sorry these posts are not written more frequently but I do the best I can with a teething baby. Last weekend our friends Brad and Amy were kind enough to invite us to their cabin in Lake Tahoe. We had a great time. It was nice to socialize with some adults, and Ella even made a new friend as well. There were three couples total in the cabin and each of us had a baby girl. It was cute to watch the babies interact with one another.

Our drive up to Tahoe was less then pleasant. A trip that should have taken about 3-4 hours took 8 hours due to a snow storm. It was a new experince for me although I think I would have rather enjoyed the snow fall from the safety of the cabin rather then a moving vehicle. Anyways, once we got there it was beautiful. It was very exciting to see Baxter in the snow for the first time. As for Ella she did not like being bundled up but I know she had fun looking at her new surroundings and playing with her friends. We can't wait to go back during the summer and actually get out onto the lake.

This week we are all recovering from a cold. It's Ella's first cold and I have to admit I expected much worse. She is in pretty good spirits during the day but she has a difficult time sleeping at night due to her runny nose. Which makes us all tired! Next week we go for Ellas 6 month check up. I can't wait to see how much she weighs. Now that we have added solids to her meals she has really plumped up. I highly doubt she's under weight anymore!!! You'll hear more from us next week after our check up.
TAKE CARE!!!

Ella wasn't so sure about sitting all alone in the snow for the first time but she enjoyed all the goofy faces mom made to get her smile.

This picture was taken beside the cabin which had a beautifull view of Lake Tahoe.

Daddy and baby girl enjoying the view of Lake Tahoe. It really wasn't overly cold this day but we weren't taking any chances.

Baxter even enjoyed playing in the snow!

On our way

This is what our drive to Tahoe looked like. WHITE!