Ella is ONE!!!!

Last Saturday our baby Ella turned one years old! This first year has really flown by for me-I guess since I have been extra busy with two. Ella has developed such a cute personality over the past month or so. She has made us laugh over this past year and I know she will make us all laugh so much more in the future. She is my little beauty!

First we had a birthday lunch. Notice the cheesy smile she always gives when she sees someone taking her picture! She loved all of her presents, especially the ribbons and bows off of the packages.

Ella's birthday cake- yes I did all of the star tips on the top myself. My right hand is still feeling the effects of that!
The birthday princess on her throne.

Ella really dove into her cake at first. That's my girl!!

Then she realized that cake and icing are really sticky on your hands. She did not like that!

Thanks to all who could come to Ella's birthday party, it was a blast! We love our little princess and our lives are so much more precious and full because of her. Love-Mommy, Daddy and Bubba (Jacob)

Random funny pictures

Batman and his trusty sidekick Batgirl

I guess you could say Ella is in style with her low cut pants!

Merry Christmas to all and to all a Good Night!

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree!

We have this awesome tradition of cutting down a Christmas tree every year with some of our closest friends- the Nortons and the Pruitts. We were all pretty determined this year to make this happen! We braved the elements (cold and rain) to get our trees! We were all troopers and we had a great time! What great memories!

Jacob and his beloved-Kinzie.

We love all of you!

Thanksgiving

We spent Thanksgiving this year at the Hoelzles' house. It was a lot of fun as usual. We even had a bonfire in their backyard- yep I did say in their backyard! Jacob loved every minute of it- from building it to burning it down. We all had a great time eating a ton and spending time with the cousins.

These two are going to be double trouble someday!

Ella is on the Move

Ella started crawling about two weeks ago. She is pretty good at it! It is so cute to watch her try to keep up with us walking around the house. When I learned I was having a girl, I thought "Oh, good! She will probably be more laid back than a boy!" Whatever! Ella is going to keep me on my toes. Here are some pictures of her standing up. She looks so cute standing on her little chubby legs. She thinks she is a big girl!

Birthday Boy

I know it has been forever since I have posted anything, but it has been a really, really busy time of the year! So lets catch up- Jacob turned 5 years old, Thanksgiving was fun, and Ella started crawling and pulling up. It has been a lot of fun!

My sweet little boy is 5 years old. I can't believe it, it seems like he just turned 3! I keep thinking that he should stop growing up now, but I know that will not happen. Jacob got to celebrate his birthday with his friends here in Dallas at ASI gymnastics. They had so much fun jumping on trampolines, swinging on a rope and falling into a pit of foam, and running around for no reason. Here are some pics.

Then for Jacob's second birthday party he celebrated with some great friends in Longview. He had a lot of fun with his girlfriends Lolo, Aubrey, and Kinzie and his buddy Jackson, and his cousins. It is always a party when these kiddos get together.

We love you sweet Jacob!

Trunk or Treat Smell my Feet!

Tonight we went to our church's annual trunk or treat. They had a scavenger hunt and hayride and the highlight of the evening was the "trunk" or treat. Jacob got loads of candy!! For Halloween Jacob went as a pirate and Ella is a pirate girl. How cute! That was Jacob's idea.

This is a picture of our decorated trunk, and of Jacob trick or treating.

Ella also got to spend some time with her friends.