Huntington Beach

One of my very best friends lives in California and we were able to spend a day with her while we were over there. I am SO mad at myself because we never got any pictures together. It was so much fun to sit and catch up with her. We didn't skip a beat even though it has been almost two years since we last saw each other. Thanks Jen for hanging out with us. We had so much fun!

Nate buried Elli's feet and she thought that was pretty funny.

One more family picture

Elli taking in the beach scene

Elli checking out Minnie's nose.

More Pictures...

Brinlyn was horrible for the drive over to California because she does not like to be in her car seat. I mostly carried her in the moby sling all day long while at Disneyland so we don't have a lot of pictures of her. This is one of the rare shots we got of her in her car seat and actually happy.

The first day we were at Disneyland we took a break for nap time and walked back to the hotel. The second day we did not take a nap and it was rough for little Elli. We stopped to take a breather on a bench so she could snuggle her blanket and pacifier.

Cute daddy/daughter photo opportunity

One of the very few pictures we got of all four of us. This is taken somewhere up in the Tarzan treehouse. Elli loved being able to climb up this one, especially since there weren't any scary witches popping out at her.

Princesses

Elli LOVES all the Disney princesses and was SO excited to see some of them while we were in Disneyland. I told her we would get to meet some of the princesses and she said, "Meet Snow White and shake her hand?" She got to shake hands, hug and kiss several princesses and it just made her day. We waited over an hour to meet Mulan, Cinderella and Belle. It was definitely worth the wait to see the look on her face.

The princesses are so sweet to the little kiddos. They get down on their level to hug and talk to them.

Elli has her room decorated in princess stuff and I really want to blow this one up of her to hang on her wall. I love it!

Yeah for Vacations!

Audrey, Elli, and Layfe so happy to see each other. Our friends had planned a vacation to go to Disneyland for the week and when we heard of their plans we couldn't resist joining them for the fun. We drove up on Monday evening and came home really early Friday. It was an amazing week!

It has been over twenty years for both Nate and I going to Disneyland so we really couldn't remember much. We went on the Snow White ride first which was a huge mistake. Elli was crying and kept saying, "out, out, out". It was dark and things were popping out at you on every turn. I guess I didn't remember the Snow White ride from twenty years ago. We stuck with the merry-go-round and other easy rides to make up for the scary one.

The classic picture of the castle. I had to post this shot to prove that we were really in Disneyland! :)

Our friends found an amazing deal on a nice hotel just less than a mile down the street from Disneyland. We made that walk too many times to count but it was absolutely perfect! Elli is of course making her cheese smile.

It's about time I post some pictures!

When I had Elliana I really didn't need much help during the night. She was a great sleeper and didn't require a lot of effort at night. I would feed her when she woke up and she would go right back to sleep. Brinlyn is a different child in so many ways. I have to have Nate help me a lot in the night, or I guess in the wee hours of the morning more like it. I feed her, then wake up Nate and pass her off. This is what I woke up to one morning.

My mom got us a baby wrap called "Moby" and it is my most favorite thing right now because it is the only way I can get anything done, (I still don't get a lot done, but the very little that I do is done with Brinlyn all wrapped up tightly). Look at that face! I love that furrowed brow.

Ahhh....I love how precious sleeping babies look.

Babies sleep a lot so it is sometimes hard to catch them with their eyes open. Although as I have said, Brinlyn isn't quite as content as Elli was so she is awake a lot more.

Our little girls watching morning cartoons together. Just a side note, Elli still has her pacifier and blanket and uses it a lot. I am really okay with this because it gives me sanity. I am the mom that everyone looks at because my two year old still has a pacifier. Oh well. I'm pretty sure she won't go to kindergarden with a "padoo" and "blankie", as she calls it.

Doesn't that just break your heart? We have learned that Brinlyn likes to be on her stomach when we lay her down. This picture doesn't really show her love for that, but most times when she is having a rough time we can lay her on her tummy and she feels so much better.

Daddy with his girls. Elli is still in the phase where she has to say, "cheese" when we are trying to take her picture. It really makes it a challenge to get a good picture but oh well it's a good memory.

Keeping Busy...

Since having Brinlyn I have tried to come up with fun things for Elliana to do. Life with two is definitely much more challenging than it was with one, well duh, right?!? Anyway, last week I went with my mom to the Phoenix Zoo. They have a petting zoo with a bunch of goats. I am not much of an animal lover, but it looks like Elli might have inherited the recessive gene. :) The weather is getting so nice here so the zoo was a lot of fun.

Elli testing out the swing. I figure she weighs as much as a lot of infants who use swings so hey, if it makes her happy go for it. Brinlyn just likes to be held so she isn't getting much use out of it. If anyone has any advice on how to make a fussy baby happy, other than holding them all the time, let me know. :)

Every week I take Elli to the library storytime and she loves it. They sing songs, read books, blow bubbles and play with toys. When I tell her we are going to the library she starts singing the hokey pokey. "Put one arm in and shake it", is what she calls it. This is a picture of Elli with her friend Layfe sitting on a bench reading books together.

Elliana absolutely loves playing dress up (thanks grandma for the fun clothes). A lot of times I can't get her to take off the gear before going to the store or to bed. This day she was fully decked out for her nap time. I think the rubber glove on one hand cracks me up the most, or maybe the microphone next to her. Yes, my kid takes her naps in our messy bed a lot. You do what you have to to survive.

Here is another classic of Elli dressing up. She has the pirates eye patch on, princess shoes, a purse, the one rubber glove and a fan. She cracks me up.

Photography Contest...

My friend Janelle is an amazing photographer. She did Elliana's 1 year pictures and Brinlyn's newborn pictures. She is just plain awesome. She is doing a contest and I wanted you to all know about it so you can enter to win. Just go to her photography site and you can see what you have to do to enter. I'm telling you, you won't be dissappointed! http://janellejoy.com/blog/. Good luck!