18 Months

Ella at 18 months.... busy, busy, busy.... Wonders around the house tearing out. This is what she does for fun. Loves animals. Can say just about any animal sound. Carries stuffed animals around with her all the time. These are her babies. Loves dirt and sand. Will sit right in the middle of a mud puddle and play. Sits in our garden and picks up dirtballs and squishes them. Has her own language that only she understands. She will look right at you and say a whole bunch of gibber jabber, as if you know exactly what she is saying. Lately I have been able to make out a few words. I swear she said Sponge Bob one day. Has a favorite polka dotted blanket that she drags around. Loves books, especially lift the flap ones. I love how she backs up into your lap for you to read to her. Still draws on the wall but now I just give her chalk so I can wash off everywhere she has been. Hates to be left out. If Cole and I are playing Candy Land she wants to play too. Don't even think about giving Cole candy and not her. People look at me and say, "Can she have chewing gum?" You bet she can and Starburst and Skittles and Runts. Very motherly... hugs her babies. One day I bumped my head. She came over and kissed my head and hugged me. She is our sweet baby and we love her so much!

Tonight...

I'm smiling. Tomorrow is April 15th, a breath of fresh air, the end of tax season. We've had some tough days but for the most part it wasn't too bad. This busy season had to be the hardest on Cole. He misses his Daddy! Oh how it breaks my heart. He would see a family and say, "Look mom, there's a daddy with that family. I wish my Daddy were here." We had to call him several times during the day just to tell him one thing. The sweetest thing he said was for me to be sure and tell Daddy to come up and kiss him goodnight no matter how late it was. As of tomorrow, no more late nights, early mornings, or working on Saturdays. Back to living again! We love you Scott and appreciate all you do!

Hanging out with Daddy on a Sunday. His only day off.

Scott visited Cole's class at preschool during his lunch hour because Cole had been missing him.

A Daddy's girl! The minute Scott walks in the door she insists that he hold her and she does not want him to put her down.

Easter Pictures

We spent part of Easter on the farm this year. I know it must take Mom and Dad the whole day just to mow the grass there. But it sure was beautiful. It really makes you feel close to God when you are out in the country.

Ella just roaming around... I brought her an extra dress because I knew she would get dirty. She loved playing in the sand and eating her bunny cake (made just for her by Nana.)

Cole had to warm up to the country. He was a little scared of the fireants and stayed inside for a little while. Then he must have forgotten about the ants because he ran around playing the rest of the time. The boys played basketball and hit golf balls. Parker loved pulling Ella around in the wagon.

Daddy grilled steaks and Mama made the sides.

After lunch we went on a tractor ride. The Easter Bunny left a note for the children. Dalton read the clues to Papa so he would know which way to go on the tractor.

The note took us by the pond and up the hill. There the Easter Bunny had left his basket and 3 dozen hidden eggs.

The last clue lead the children to an old barn that had Easter baskets from Nana and Papa.

The older boys helped Mama hide Easter Eggs for the grownups to find. This is my favorite part because I am very competitive. Two eggs have money in them. This year Lisa (who we think cheated) and my brother Steven found the money eggs. I tried so hard to get a picture of the children but Ella was not participating and then Parker was done. So this is the best I could do. The boys were so sweet to Ella though. They did try to get her to stop crying.

We had a blast! After that we drove up to Pine Level to visit Scott's family and then to Princeton to see his Grandma and Granddaddy Holt. We had an Easter egg hunt in Pine Level. Ella just walked around while Cole looked for eggs.

Cole's favorite egg - Spiderman. His cousin Hailey gave it to him, so sweet! Ella has this thing where she sticks her tongue out to taste something new. I guess she's checking to see if she likes it. She loves candy and can open it herself if you don't.

Toward the end of the evening Cole decided he wants to run around the house with his Papa Rudy. I wonder if Papa Rudy is sore today?

We had fun this Easter! A lot of driving but so much fun for us and the kids. By the end of the night Cole and Ella had switched car toys. She was playing his Leapster and he was calling someone on the Winnie the Pooh phone.

A Sweet Friendship

Recently Cole and Ella have started playing together. I never really thought the day would come. My mama said having them close together would be hard at first but soon they would be entertaining each other. When Ella was first born Cole really ignored her mostly. He was never mean to her but had little to do with her. Over the past couple of months I can see that he is starting to like having her around. When he sees an advertisment for a girl toy he will say, "I bet Ella would love that." This morning I told Cole to go up to Ella's room and entertain her until I could come and get her. When I went into her room, he had crawled into her crib and they were both laughing at each other. They also have been playing this game of ... chase each other around the couch, scream and then run the other way. They will play this for a good 15 minutes. Cole loves the computer and Ella loves to sit and watch him play. Now Ella does know how to push Cole's buttons. She will try to get his blanket and props her foot up on his carseat (on purpose) because he hates it when she does that. But overall I think these two will end up being friends. At least I pray they will anyway.

Ella was sitting beside Cole but then decided she wanted to sit with him. He didn't even notice she was back there. He just kept on playing his game.