Success!

Our container garden is a success! I am so excited we are seeing some produce from our garden! The girls and I planted a couple of vegetables and a couple of flowers. The flowers are growing tall and strong and we have got tomatoes we are enjoying and our radishes grew too. Ellie has taken the role of watering the plants out back and she is loving the responsibility.  I have been enjoying the radishes and tomatoes in my salads and we are waiting for our carrots to be ready. Here are our little gardeners hard at work picking their harvest!

They are so proud of themselves! This past week we discovered some little visitor is stealing our tomatoes and then leaving them half eaten on our back patio! We are more diligent to pick them before they are completely ripe now so we get to enjoy them once they ripen up in the house.

What We've Been Up To (According to My Phone)

Here are our latest adventures with pictures from my phone! 

 Going to the Pool A Lot!

 Someone is using big girl panties! She has been nothing like Ellie. Ellie was trained for the most part within a few days, this little one has taken longer to make the connection but we have made the turn for the better the last three days, so I am feeling better about it. Ben tells me Ellie just spoiled me with how well she did.

 I made Ellie a new blanket as her old one was too little and needed some repairs. She picked out the fabric with very little guidance and she sleeps with it all the time.

 Going to the Park!

 I made a sling for our new baby boy cousin due in October! Uncle Drew and Miss B will be having a little boy just two months after we have our little girl! Miss B's favorite color is green, so Ellie chose this great fabric!

 Sportin' Our Shades

 Our first harvest from our little container garden! Tomatoes and Radishes! They are great and I am enjoying them in my salads!

 I finished the baby's blanket! Ellie's color has always been pink, Quinn's has been purple and this little girl is getting yellow with grey. It is funny, Quinn and Ellie actually prefer their colors and ask for things that are that color when it comes to toys, clothes or even candy.

 Loves wearing dresses EVERYDAY! Thanks Granny for another cute one!

 Likes to wear her goggles even when not swimming!

 Doing lots of swimming lessons!

 Movie Night while Daddy was at Camp! They requested Frozen again!

 Back to swimming this week! Only two days left and then it is up to Mom and Dad to continue the skills this summer.

And while Ellie swims Quinny performs! She has been putting on dance and song concerts for me while we wait! She makes up her own songs and moves so most times I am not really sure what she is singing, but she is quite entertained as well as myself and those sitting around us.

Like A Fish

Ellie started swimming lessons last Monday. She is doing them at the YMCA and we are doing a two week class 4 days a week for 30 minutes. She has a great teacher and is in a class with 3 other kids. She LOVES it! She is so excited every day and can't wait to go back the next day. She is learning to float on her back by herself and swim freestyle by herself. She has also been a little chatterbox. The third day she did a little too much talking and I reminded her that making friends is fun and important but to make sure she listens to the teacher. The next day she did awesome of balancing the two. The fourth day they practiced swimming the length of the shallow end of the pool. They had a noodle around their waist and would hold their kick board. Ellie was zooming past them and was the first to get her noodle off and fly solo. They even played catch Ellie for practice. She also was practicing her freestyle swim and was completely comfortable going underwater. She was super brave and jumped in the deep end to her teacher. The teacher told me she is right at the brink of swimming on her own and is swim team material. Ben was out of town at camp with the middle school students for the week but I would send him pictures of her every day in the pool. We are both so proud of her! I told Ben I was even getting a little emotional as I watched her on that fourth day. (I am going to blame it on being pregnant.) She is so proud of herself and we go to the pool after her lesson and she is so eager to practice all her new skills.
It has also been a great thing for her socially and led to great conversation with her and I. She noticed this week that other people have darker skin than her and so it led to a great conversation with her in which I told her that God makes all of us different and unique and that we all have different shades of skin but that doesn't make us any different than any one else, we are all His children and created by him. She has always had people in her life whether it is our friends or kids at church or even Ms. Kammy, our go to babysitter, and her family that as Ellie says "have darker skin than she does" and she has never once noticed or asked about it. This week she noticed for the first time in a way that made her ask me about it, but at the same time only said anything about one person instead of all 3 that she swims with. I love the way her brain works and the way she is so inquisitive. It gives us great conversations and allows me opportunities to instill in her God honoring values and love for others as he intended for us to love. So this week has brought about more than just learning to swim with confidence but amazing teachable moments that are the reason I love being a Mom especially to my little thinker, my sweet Elliebeans.

 First Day

 Getting Loose

 Back Float

 That is her sweet little head that is barely visible as she is practicing her freestyle stroke and flutter kick.

Daddy Day 2014

We celebrated Daddy Day exactly like Daddy likes it, low key. I woke up early and bought donuts for Ben and the girls and I had created frames and pictures for him as well. My Mom did a frame craft with the girls and gave Ben a frame each painted by them and I put their picture in them. I also got a 3 picture frame and we spelled out DAD with our pictures. Ellie held the 'D' in her picture, Quinny held the 'A' and the baby held the other 'D'. When the baby comes we will replace the picture with the baby. (All thanks to Nana our DAD pictures turned out great!) Ben enjoyed all his gifts and then enjoyed a nice afternoon nap after working that morning. We then went out to eat so he could eat ribs and the girls did great!

Our girls have the best Daddy they could ever dream of! Ben shows them daily how much he loves and adores them and they soak up the attention and love they get from him. Hearing his key in the door everyday is enough to make them squeal with delight and I am sure he is thrilled to hear them every day when he opens the door. Our third little girl on the way has no idea how much she is going to be loved and adored by him! We are one blessed family to have a Daddy like him!

 Showering Daddy with Love

 The following pictures are the ones I used in the 3 picture frame for Ben!

Latest Adventures

We have been having lots of adventures around here! We have a home full of fun and we are enjoying every minute!

 Glow Party in the Bathtub!

 Now that Daddy is out of school we are enjoying some family time! Flying kites at the park has been at the top of Ellie's list for when Daddy was done!

Someone has a love for shoes just like Mommy! Mommy's winter boots were a favorite on this day!