Thinking about the holidays? Think of me!

Crazy to think that the holidays are sneaking up on all of us so quickly. If you're anything like me, you have not even tried to think about Christmas gifts BUT if you have, now is a great time to order your tees, tutus, and hairbows for the little ones you love soooo much!

Go to www.ellajocustoms.blogspot.com to see many my custom creations and get ideas for your little guys or gals.

I can do custom holiday attire as well (I'm thinking black satin flower headbands with a black and silver glitter tutu or maybe a cute little onesie with a silk tie applique stitched on for you little guy)

I would really appreciate if all you blogger buds out there could be so kind and post this onto your blogs as well. I am ready to get really busy and need your help to do so :)

Going to Disney anytime soon? Fun tees to help keep all of your kiddos close by.

Only $35 for this complete outfit...smokin' deal!

Missouri 2010

We made our annual trip to Missouri this Labor Day Weekend instead of Memorial Day weekend because we were there to celebrate Gpa and Gma Mantle's 60th wedding anniversary. It was a wonderfully relaxing five days full of family, farms, and fun. So nice in fact that my mind was a little warped and for a moment I thought, "Maybe we should move here?"...

Ella was perfect on the plane - she requested the window seat but wanted the shade down for most of the time...she colored and watched movies...so easy. It was a horribly turbulent flight - so between Travis having his eyes closed and me with my head between my legs, it is a wonder our kids didn't freak out - luckily, they are not like their parents in that respect and can handle a bumpy plane ride with no problems...lucky!

Mary and Greg had the pleasure of Jonah for most of the flight there...he didn't sleep at all but was happy and hyper just like I expected.

Magnets - Bailey and Ella...now to think that Ella is 4.5 months older than Bailey and Ella isn't even super short.

Travis and Ella found this catepillar in the grass...wow, I had never seen such a thing.

Look at that brave girl holding the catepillar...you couldn't pay me to do that.

Cousins - Garrett (8) , Bailey (3), and Ella (3)

Travis spent a lot of his day catching fish in the pond

It took a while but Garrett and Bailey finally got Ella to roll down the hill...

That is a fake cow we are standing next too...can you imagine???

Saturday night - The "weinie" roast

I just love how these two girls just fit with eachother...and I love how casually Ella is sitting.

Just a gorgeous night...

Enjoying the cool weather....soon after this we all had to go inside because it was just a little too nippy outside....

Hmm, Hmm....good


On Sunday, we all went over to Uncle Mark, Aunt Cindy and Erica's house for the 60th wedding anniversary celebration for Travis' grandparents. There were about 70 people there (all related) and it was a blast. It was full of good conversation, games, yummy food, hayrides, and farm fun. It is so nice to have a family that can all be in the same room with one another - no drama...just lots of love :) Who knew??? (no offense to my NY family, I'm just sayin'...it's nice)

One of the donkeys

The first of many hayrides...

Ella really was in all her glory (I mean cousins and farm animals - it doesn't get any better for her) ...she had such a great time at this party

that she slept until 11am the next day.

The guests of honor - Faye and Elmer Mantle (Travis' grandparents) -

Happy 60th Anniversary to an amazing couple

The "big" boys had a croquet tournament

Timmy attempted to teach Ella how to fly a kite while at the same time teaching her all about "tension"

Uncle Mark's turkey...just a pet, not Thanksgiving dinner :)

The kids had Wii tournaments...

Our beauty

Ella and Xander were very intrigued by the goats and even got to go in the pen to pet them.

All of the beautiful hand-picked flowers straight from Mark and Cindy's property.

Monday night we went to Aunt Marla and Uncle Greg's house. Ella was in heaven when she saw that Joe had a shelf full of dinosaurs and other animal figurines...glad you haven't grown out of that stage yet Joe (he is 18)...Ella, Joe, Andy and Timmy played in his room all night. So glad to have cousins that want to play...no matter how old they are.

Aunt Marla and Jonah

We headed back home on Tuesday...back to real life...back to the heat...what's up with this heat? 108 in the middle of September, I mean come on now. Getting ready for a visit from Adam and Katelyn to celebrate mom's bday early (she will be in NY for hers) and then the preparations begin for Ella's 4th birthday..it's a princess party this year. Can't wait!

Flagstaff in August

We headed up to Flagstaff about 3 weeks ago for some cool weather and a visit with Adam and Katelyn. As much as I want them to live down here so we could see them all the time...the next best thing would be Flagstaff because then we always have a great excuse to go relax in the cool pines and enjoy their home and beautiful surroundings. This trip was like all others...simple and easy. We attempted a hike...but decided we are not into carrying two children while doing so. We ate good home-cooked meals outside, roasted marshmallows, shopped a bit at Marshalls, and played cards (unfortunately, Katelyn had to work a ton and missed out on a lot of it :( )

About 5 minutes into our "hike" and we were already exhausted...we headed back to the car shortly after this...Adam thinks we are the biggest wimps...true!

After months of being stuck indoors, Ella LOVED getting to play outside in the gorgeous weather.

She even got to help Uncle Adam do some digging.

Adam and Katelyn's beautiful house...it is perfect!

Love bug!

My Ella Bella

Last week marked a very special moment for me and my little love - it was the first time I didn't have to bring her to daycare so I could go back to work...as she puts it "I can be with you all the time now mom?" Yes, my love, yes you can! EXCEPT of course for preschool time. Ella started school yesterday August 17th. She is going to New Horizons School which is out of a lady's home (Mrs. Kim Keith to be exact) on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12:30 - 3:30pm and it is just wonderful. I know she is going to learn soooo much. She is in the 4 year old class since she will be four very shortly and I want her to start Kindergarten next year. Mrs. Kim's preschool will be the best preparation for her. She was so excited to go and with a quick and simple good-bye she was off and playing with other kids. We got ready really early during Jonah's nap and then she had to wait and wait to leave.

Big Girl!

All ready..with 2 hours to spare

She chose to just stick with her Diego backpack rather than getting a new one (even after she had the choice) - such an easy girl.

Ella with Mrs. Kim - she didn't want to leave her house.

Ella Marie LOVES her little brother sooooo much.

And her elephants - yes, she is in Jonah's crib in this pic.

Finally feeling photo friendly and loves getting her picture taken.

They both love NY - who doesn't???

She loves trains and thinks it is the best to ride the train at the mall with her daddy.

We were talking about preschool the other day and I told her that Mrs. Kim would probably be asking her a lot of questions about her favorite things.

I started asking and came up with this list:

What is your favorite ___________:

color - purple

food - chicken nuggets (which she only has at restaurants)

drink - chocolate milk (again, only at restaurants - not sure what this says about my cooking)

movie - Snow White

book - Franklin in the Dark

toy - her Dalmation puppy, Penny

tv show - Dora or Diego

game - Candyland

song - Hey Soul Sister (by Train) or Twinkle, Twinkle

instrument - piano

sport - soccer

friend - Lauren

animal - elephants (and dinosaurs)

shoes - black Roxy flip flops (just like her mama)

shirt - her princess shirt

breakfast - Rice Crispies

weather - rainy days

thing to do with Jonah - read books

thing to do with Daddy - play with his phone together

thing to do with Mama - play Candyland or dollhouse

letter - A

number - 10

Can't wait to see how this list changes over the years...

Love you Little Miss Ella Marie!

8.5 months

Jonah is 8 1/2 months now and just growing in so many ways...

Last he was weighed at the Dr. was about a month ago and he was 20lbs. then...I imagine he is pushing 22lbs. now. Jonah is constantly on the move...in the last month he has learned to pull himself up on the couch, cruise along side it, goes from one piece of furniture to another, and FINALLY, crawl. You can't keep your eyes off of him for a second. He will be my climber forsure.

He is still all smiles. Eating and sleeping great. He sleeps 7:30pm - 8:00am (with a quick bottle and diaper change around 5am) and then takes two long naps each day. He is eating three meals with bottles in between. We tried some little Gerber Puffs and he gagged and threw them right up so we will wait a little longer on that. He has two bottom teeth and we think the top two are coming soon.

Today he started clapping!

He is babbling a ton and saying "mama" but just as a babble.

He loves his lamb...yes, this shot could be pretty indecent (if you're in that frame of mind) but I think it is cute :)

Thought this would be a good blackmail pic in the future :)

He sat like this as Travis kissed his cheek for about 5 minutes...he loves his Daddy!

Love him...still trying to figure out what to do with his hair...think we might grow it out shaggy because it is so darn cute.