Painted Babies

Mommy and Daddy have been painting this week (stripes in Ethan's room and finally the playroom in the basement - pictures soon, I promise)...looks like the kids want to join in.

They both like green.

Stuck in the House

Since the snow we had yesterday quickly turned to rain and then froze overnight, what better way to spend an icy day than...

Feeding our brother breakfast...and yes, we spent most of the day in our jammies



...except when we wore our swimsuit - again!

Ellie also practiced her spelling. Notice the orange upside-down "W", also known as "M" for Mommy and the green upside-down "V", also known as "A" for Amy.

Snow Day!

Hard to believe we were on the swings just 4 days ago! It started snowing around 7am and didn't stop until lunchtime and we have about 2 inches on the ground. I know...not alot, but just perfect for Ellie. Last year we had a few really big snowfalls in Massachusetts and she couldn't walk or stand up. So after Mommy looked through the entire house for her snow boots (which I still haven't found - I hate moving!) we made it outside around 10:15 (in our rain boots) and lasted about 20 minutes. I think Ellie could have stayed out all day. She was fascinated by the way the snow stuck to her gloves. Ethan on the other hand was much more interested in being in the nice warm house having some milk. Hopefully Tim will make it home early enough to take her out again this afternoon.

Watching the snowflakes fall

Ethan's first (VA) snow - 1/27/09 - 5 months

Ellie's first snow - 12/4/06 - 7 months

The UPS man dropped off a box of goodies from Auntie Janelle this morning, so we put on our new swimsuit when we came in from the snow!

Food...

Seems like most of our days revolve around it in some way or another.

We tried peaches for the first time this morning.

Give me more!!

Yum! They were good...so far, this boy will eat ANYTHING!

'Cause she can't just watch him eat...and she really enjoys smelling the baby food while I am feeding Ethan.

Swinging in January!

She doesn't like when Mommy pushes, she doesn't go high enough.

Sheer joy! Her favorite thing to do!

This was the only picture where he didn't look like he was in pain!

So we officially love Virginia. It was 50 degrees today. Tim came home early so I could go to see my new doctor and when I got home from the appointment we decided that a trip to the playground was in order. This was Ethan's first time on a swing. Ironically, Ellie's first swing ride was also in January. Hope our Massachusetts friends get a winter warm up soon. I think it was 60 degrees that day way back in January 2007. I don't have a picture, but here is one from when she was almost 11 months old.

Ellie - April 2007 -Beechwood Knoll School Playground

"Strongs"

Before Christmas, each time I asked Ellie what she wanted from Santa she would say "strongs". Of course I had no idea what a "strong" was. I tried asking her to describe a "strong" - not the easiest task for a 2 1/2 year old - even with her vocabulary. I eventually gave up and realized that I might never know what a "strong" was. Well, a few weeks ago we were getting the stroller out of the back of the car and she starts yelling - "I want that strong!" She was pointing to some exercise bands of Tim's. So I asked her if the exercise bands were "strongs"... It turns out that while she plays in the bath tub, Tim gets in some reps. He must have told her that he uses them to "get strong" and she decided that the bands were called "strongs". So, thank you Auntie Ju Ju...Ellie now has a bright pink "strong"! I should try and get her on video because as she pulls on the "strong" she trys to imitate Tim and makes a high-pitched grunt sound that is just hysterical!

5 months old

So, I've wanted to start one of these when Ellie was a baby to keep the fam up to date and record all her milestones and "ellie-isms". With working and all it took all my energy to keep us fed and dressed let alone keep up to date on a blog. Now that I am lucky enough to be able to stay home with the kids I hope to have the time. I have been putting it off with the move, but realized this morning that Ethan is already 5 months old and if I don't get started soon he will be Ellie's age and she will be in school everyday!

At 5 months Ethan is as big as El was around 15 months. He is eating solid food twice a day and is getting close to having a third meal. He is generally happy, loves his sissy, and wants to be held all the time. He doesn't like to sleep much, but neither did Ellie at his age and now she sleeps beautifully. He also has a set of lungs like I have never heard on a baby. He can let out a high-pitched squeal in the car that I am amazed hasn't cracked the windshield.