last summer 2012 getaway

Before Elle started school again we decided to join the Mayfair ladies on their trip to the Braum's Dairy in Tuttle, OK. It was interesting to see how they made everything and hear all the statistics (sorry no pics allowed inside), but 3 year olds don't care as much about that as they do about seeing a cow. Where's the beef?! We didn't get even one token cow to look at. At least Elle had fun with her girlfriends and Todd got to spend time with Po'okela. We did get ice cream at the end of the tour and then stopped at the Newcastle Braum's on the way home for lunch. This was especially fun since we got to have one last visit with the Kochers before they headed back to Nebraska! I recommend the tour at least once in your life. You can guess which brand of milk is our fridge now!

labor day farm visit

We finally got to take a trip to the Waugh farm with Todd. Chris' grandma and Beth hadn't met Todd so we loaded up the car on extended weekend and went west! Elle had a blast rounding up cows and looking at all the animals. It was pretty hot so we didn't spend a lot of time outdoors, but we still had a good trip.

Todd and Great-Grandma

Todd loved the broom!

Elle's tractor ride with Uncle Ken

Inspecting all of Aunt Beth's dogs, chickens, and ducks.

A quiet moment for Chris and Elle to visit Great-Grandpa

They both loved playing in Mops' crate! I don't think Mops shares their enthusiasm.

Only one new puppy this time. Elle would actually hold it this time. She's changing so much lately!

We got to visit with Chris' cousin Amy too, who was visiting her parents. This isn't the greatest pic of us, but we thought it was funny that we all wore the same shirt!

Probably my favorite part this trip was seeing the peafowl chicks and watching family movies from when Chris and his cousins were little.

todd @ 9 months

What a difference a month makes! Todd has learned to crawl everywhere and fast! He's proving to be all boy with bumps, bruises, and tumbles. He loves playing with Elle and gets into everything. Anything she has, he wants! He's eating mostly table food now instead of baby food, and likes pretty much anything you put in front of him. His most recent foods to try are black olives and cottage cheese. He's so sweet and doesn't like it if others are upset. He's pretty happy most of the time. He's been teething lately so he hasn't been sleeping as well. His favorite things to play with are things with wheels, sticks, or water. He babbles a lot and recognizes Elle's name. She's most definitely his favorite person. He moved up to a big boy car seat and even though most of the time he looks like he's getting big, in the car seat he looks small again. We love this sweet boy!

meet up with the cousins

My sister, Michelle, brought her kids over for the day Thursday. We headed over to the Myriad Gardens and met up with our cousin Emily and her two girls. We ate lunch and splashed in the pool. I got about 50 pictures and somehow Hope wasn't in any of them. We loved playing in the water, but not that you have to pay to park during the day now! I did learn Todd didn't mind getting splashed in the face and he was having a lot more fun now that he can move around more. Elle was just enjoying running around with Esther, Derek, and Ruby. Poor Corey wasn't feeling too good, but still made friends with everyone there. Can't wait to do this again!

todd @ 8 months

8 months! I can't believe it! And the past month has had so many milestones for Todd. He's into everything and is moving a lot more. He's started crawling and pulled up a few times.

He's moved on to some bigger toys. He's done with baby toys and usually wants what Elle has or to play in the TV cabinet.

His favorite ride is the wagon. He usually gets a nightly spin around the floor when Elle's trying to go to sleep or he's fussy. If he sees it he must be in it. But he also took a ride in this beauty at party.

He's eating so many fruits, vegetables, and snacks now. He loves table food and has worked so hard this month at picking up the food and getting it in his mouth! He also has his first tooth poking through so a quarter of a frozen waffle is a favorite lately!

Todd's becoming such a cute little guy! We love him so much and he is showing more and more of his personality. He even prefers Daddy a lot of the times now. He's such a blessing to our family!

send us your photos!

Nicole Whaley, our good friend from HUGSR days, recently posted on facebook that her kids Ella and Noah were picking a picture off the fridge and praying for that person at dinner. I loved the idea and we implemented it immediately. Elle is more excited about praying now and loves picking someone to pray for. (Thanks, Nicole!) We are still trying to figure out a good system to rotate through the pictures so everyone gets a turn. Here's just a few of our pics, but we need more and some need updating! Send us any photo you want on our fridge and we'll be praying for you!

our yucky week

Last Friday, I had food poisoning. Then Mops wouldn't eat for 2 days this week and kept getting sick. She wouldn't even take peanut butter or a cheese stick! Thankfully, this morning she finally ate her food and kept it down because I didn't want to have to go to the vet. Why?  Because during the night last night Elle got sick twice, which we think was due to a peanut butter sandwich she had at a friend's house.This morning she slept in until 10 and then spent a while like this watching the Olympics.

To top last night off, because we were nice and let Mops sleep on the couch because she was feeling bad she left us a present in the bear cubs room. Which I found while trying to change sheets as stealthy as possible so Todd didn't wake up. Needless to say, he ended up waking up. This weekend better be a good one because I don't know how much more of this we can take!