May 12-13, 2012: Mother's Day Weekend

With Grant's birthday on May 8 falling just a couple of days before Mother's Day, we headed to Grammy and Grandpa's house in Visalia to celebrate both occasions.  We were so glad to make it a big family weekend, with Megan and Danny and Katherine and Jay coming to visit too.

On Saturday morning, Ellie enjoyed time playing with Grammy and Tia Megan, while Grant and I went to play golf with Grandpa and Danny.  Being out on the course again was a blast (I hadn't played in almost 2 years).  We came back to a tired little girl, and some adorable photos of Ellie showing off her "tricks" to Grammy and Tia Megan.

In their typical fashion, the boys came back from playing golf just to sit in front of the television to watch more golf!  This time, they recruited a little upcoming golf talent to join them.  As you can see, Ellie is perfectly content sitting on Grandpa's lap enjoying the action.

We had a nice, relaxing Saturday afternoon lounging by the pool, and then enjoyed a delicious family barbecue.  Thank you to Betsy for planning our yummy feast!  

On Sunday morning, Grant and I took a short run around the neighborhood.  Boy are we out of shape! Thankfully, we came back to a yummy breakfast prepared by Mike, followed by some fun Mother's Day gifts, and more relaxing family time.  Katherine and Jay showed off pictures of their little bean -- Baby Keaton due October 6, 2012!  It's hard to believe that by next Christmas, Ellie will have another little cousin to play with.  Here he/she is:

All in all, it was a fun and family-filled weekend -- a perfect way to spend Mother's Day!

May 4, 2012: We Have A 7 Month Old!

Cute ponytail!

At 7 months old, our little Ellie Rose has become a giggling, teething, rocking, screeching, spitting, ponytail-wearing little girl!  It's amazing how much of a sponge she is right now. She is curious about everything, tries to imitate sounds and movements we make with our mouths, and is starting to interact more and more.

Ellie's little personality is really starting to develop.  She knows what she wants, and she makes sure to let us know, loud and clear.  When she is hungry, she wants her food immediately.  When she is tired, she is ready to go to bed right away.  We are loving this more interactive phase!

We recently started taking Ellie to the park and putting her in the baby swing.  As you can tell, she LOVES it!

April 14-15, 2012: A Visit from the Serranos!

This year, Grant decided to set up Poppy Hills Golf Course as his "home" course for the Northern California Golf Association membership.  As a result, he's had the opportunity to play in a couple of tournaments down there with his buddies.  On April 14-15, Nick, Hannah and Landon made the trek down from Reno to spend the weekend with us.  The boys headed down to Monterey for golf, and Hannah and I enjoyed a day with the kiddos going to boot camp, checking out the Palo Alto Junior Museum & Zoo, and eating ice cream in the park.  We always have so much fun hanging out with the Serranos, and - as you can tell - Landon and Ellie are going to be life-long pals!