The Stephens Family

All Aboard

2012-02-19T19:39:00.000-08:00

This weekend we had Griffin and Ella's birthday parties! Wow, I'm tired!!! But, the parties were both so much fun.
Griffin's party was on Saturday at Westwood Gymnastics. He wanted a choo choo birthday and that's exactly what we had. The kids had so much fun bouncing, climbing, tumbling, swinging, and sliding! Then they enjoyed popcorn, pizza, rainbow fruit skewers, and cupcakes. Griff had the BEST time and had a huge smile on his face the entire party. What more could you ask for? The party was a success!!

The table all set up before the party

Lyndon and Pops

Daddy and his baby girl

Clayton and Travis came in town and were a huge help with the kids

Jumping in the foam pit

Carson and Aunt Lele

Lyndon

Jumping off the diving board

Smile says it all

Me, Ella, and Aunt Lala

Cousin Jack had a great time

CHEESE

Griffin, Alex, and Aidan

Most of the gang, or at least those willing to stop for a picture :)

Ready for pizza

Loved when we sang happy birthday

Blowing out the candles

Saying Goodbye

2012-02-17T21:14:00.000-08:00

As many of you know we said goodbye to our sweet Jeter. It feels strange and wrong even typing that sentence. In fact it took me a good 10 minutes to come up with that pathetic title for this post, but nothing seems to do. It feels wrong and leaves a huge lump in my throat to even consider him gone. Jeter was a true companion. Seriously, I know people love their dogs, but Jeter was different. He was the kindest, most docile, loving dog I've ever been around. I wasn't raised with big dogs, but Jeter completely changed my view on them. Here's a little background in case you never had the pleasure of loving him. (If you're not a dog person this is your cue to go to the next blog).

Jason bought Jeter from a fraternity brother for $100 in August of 1999. Fast forward a whopping 4 days, and Jason and I went on our first blind date my first week of college!! I was a freshman, having just pledged Kappa, and now hanging around with this cute guy who had an ADORABLE yellow, butterball of a puppy. My mom always jokes that the only reason I started dating Jason was because of Jeter. Just ask a member of my pledge class and many of them have stories of hanging out with Jeter. He was like our little mascot through college and had many late nights on Dexter and Antelope.
After college, Jeter went to Houston to live with Gigi and Papa J (Jason's parents) while Jason lived in a condo. He LOVED his year at Shiloh, their home. Swimming in their pond and spending lazy days out in the sun on their beautiful property. This became his favorite "vacation spot" and to the day he left us, a part of him always longed to be at Shiloh. Then in July 2004, Jason and I were married and the three of us moved into our first house in Katy. Jeter was our 1st baby and we loved spoiling him. On rainy nights, Jeter loved to jump in the bed between us. We spent five wonderful years together, before Griffin was born in 2009. Things changed of course for our sweet lab, but he took it in stride and loved our new little boy like he was his own. Jeter loved the new attention from Griffin and never once showed signs of jealousy. We moved to our new house in November of 2010 and Ella was born in February 2011. Ella and Jeter had a special bond. She loved his slobbery kisses and he let her crawl all over him. She gave him kisses and hugs all the time. The past several months have been rough. We knew Jeter was in some pain from arthritis, but blood tests we had done showed his organs to be in good health. He was still eating and wagging his tail until his last day. I am thankful he didn't seem to suffer and passed away peacefully in the backyard on Wednesday, February 15th.
I can't even begin to say how heartbroken I am over the loss of my companion. Jeter was there from the very beginning of our relationship and something just feels wrong without him. He truly was a best friend to me in so many ways. Jason travels a lot for work and Jeter has always been a close second. He always slept right next to my side of the bed. I miss him in a way that just hurts down to my core. There will never be another dog like Jeter, he was so gentle, loving, and had a heart of pure gold. We love you Jeter Peter and will never forget what a wonderful member of our family you were!

Down and Dirty

2012-02-12T19:32:00.000-08:00

We've been building a raised bed garden in our backyard. I'm so excited that we (hopefully) will have fresh veggies and herbs soon! The kids have loved helping out, it's been a great family activity. I will post pictures of the finished product soon but in the meantime, here's our work in action.

You can't keep this little girl inside and she's all about getting dirty...ha!

Griffin loved helping daddy shovel the soil out of the truck and into the garage...next stop was the garden.

Happy 1st Birthday Ella Kay!

2012-02-09T14:10:00.000-08:00

Dear Ella,
I honestly can't believe you are ONE! You have brought so much joy to our family, and you are SO loved. This is my favorite picture for your birthday because it is the first time I laid eyes on you, my beautiful baby girl. I just remember trembling with JOY!
I can't believe how much you've changed in a year. You are such a sweet, sensitive, girly girl, yet you know how to hang with the boys! You are messy, smiley, and loud with a BIG personality. You have us laughing all the time! You love meeting new people and are so social. I know God created you for His glory, and I can't wait to see what he has in store for you. Happy birthday baby girl, we love you so very much!
Mommy

February 9, 2011

February 9, 2012

Monkey See Monkey Do

2012-01-19T07:58:00.001-08:00

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11 months

2012-01-16T06:03:00.000-08:00

Sweet Ella turned 11 months on January 9th and since I missed her 10 month post I think it's time for an update.
- Ella has been doing great with her physical therapy. She crawls all over the house and has gotten really fast! She pulls up on everything and is starting to creep around the furniture. She is obsessed with the stairs and can make it all the way to the top before you even know she's missing (time for baby gates). We are so proud of how far she's come!
- very curious! I can't believe how different she is from Griff. We never even baby proofed with him because he honestly never got into anything he wasn't supposed to! Ella has already created several large messes including getting into a sack of ashes and cramming them in her mouth! Ha
- Ella has quite the personality. She's very social and loves to be seen and heard. She is silly and likes to play. She is also a huge cuddle bug when tired or sick. Love this!
- She got some cute toys for Christmas but so far her favorite thing to play with is Griffin's train table!
- has her top and bottom two teeth
- Griff gets the biggest smiles and belly laughs from her. If she even suspects he's going to play with her she gets super excited and squeals.
- has become a little picky when eating but I think it's mostly texture and teething. Her all time favorites are avocado, yogurt, and buttered toast.
Ella is such a joy and I have no idea how we ever lived without her. She keeps us laughing constantly and we are so blessed to be her parents!
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Christmas with Mimi and Pops

2012-01-03T12:59:00.000-08:00

Catching up on all these Christmas posts is quite overwhelming! Ha

My parents came to our house for Christmas this year. They came for a week, and it was SO wonderful to have them here. Griffin and Ella LOVE their Mimi and Pops, and I just love watching my kids get spoiled by their grandparents. We did lots of fun things while they were here including shopping, baking, making gingerbread houses, eating, laughing, cooking, going to church, and playing. It was a truly wonderful Christmas!

Griffin loved Mimi's red hat!

Here he is playing train conductor...ha!

Ella loves her Pops and suckered him into pushing her around the house in her car (constantly)...beep beep

Leaving cookies for Santa

Little Christmas elf

Santa left the stockings filled with goodies and a kitchen for Ella and Griffin

Baby girl was up bright and early to see what Santa brought

Such a sweet happy baby

Checking out the stockings

Griffin was SO excited to see his kitchen when he came down stairs! He was very into Christmas this year, and his excitement rubbed off on us all.

Are these for me?

Let the fun begin!

They actually play so well together in their new kitchen. No fighting YET!

Mimi and Pops

I happened to pick up this $8 drum at Homegoods as an afterthought, and it was one of Griff's favorite gifts...go figure!

Oh and this big box of course!

My parents gave Griffin his big boy bedding, it's precious! Post on that coming soon...

He also LOVED his little mixer just like mommies!

Stephens Family Christmas

2011-12-29T20:31:00.000-08:00

We started off the Christmas celebrations a week before by heading to Gigi and Papa J's house to spend the night! We had a yummy Papasitos dinner and opened presents. It was such a perfect evening and the best part was watching Jack, Griff, and Ella playing together. There was so much laughter and it was an evening I'll never forget.

Griffin has quite the sweet tooth and loved Gigi's tray of chocolate chip cookies!

Sweet Ella loves her Gigi

Papa J helping Griff open his wooden pizza set

Jack loved the easel and magnetic letters we gave him

Ella got her first baby doll

Aunt Lala and Uncle B gave Griff a remote control, he LOVES it! It shoots foam discs, and Jack and Griffin had SO much fun playing with it. Griff would shoot Jack and Jack would scream in excitement, they had us laughing so hard!!

Jackson loved opening his presents

Gigi must have been extra good because Papa J surprised her with a VERY sparkly, beautiful watch!

Love these two!

Gigi and PPJ gave Griff a trampoline and the boys had a great time jumping on it

Ella with her drum and purse

Such a fun night!!!

Someone's in the kitchen with Mommy

2011-12-28T13:51:00.000-08:00

I love baking during the holidays and it's twice as fun (and messy) with my little helper! Griffin still loves to help me in the kitchen, and he's a great taste tester. Can't wait until next year so I'll have two little elves in the kitchen with me!!!

Can't wait to show his girlfriend this one some day!

Not sure how much actually made it into the oven but we sure had fun!

Griffin's Christmas at Grace

2011-12-23T20:59:00.000-08:00

Griffin had his Christmas program and party at Grace last week. He did such an awesome job singing all the songs and doing the motions with them. It was precious and we were so proud of him. After the program, we had his party. Lluvia and I were in charge of organizing the party and it turned out really cute and all the kids had a great time! After the party Griff and RJ cuddled up on the couch at our house to watch Polar Express while Lluvia and I enjoyed a moment of peace over a cup of coffee...such a great day!

Breakfast with Santa

2011-12-18T19:30:00.000-08:00

Saturday morning, our neighbors The Todd's, had a breakfast with Santa party at their house. Sara did an awesome job on all the details and the kids had a blast. They even had a "Holiday Cheer" bar set up for the adults with make your own mimosas, poinsettas, and bloody mary's, so fun! Griffin loved the roller coaster car in the backyard and Ella enjoyed playing with all the kids. Santa came and I swear he was strait from the North Pole! We even managed to get a decent pic of the kids on his lap.

Both kids actually like Santa this year!

Ella playing with new friends

Ella getting a push from her buddy Reid

The girls

Ella skipped her nap so she spent a lot of time "relaxing" in the swing

Walking home after the party

My boys

Best Buds

2011-12-09T12:57:00.000-08:00

I went to Griffin's class on Tuesday to take some pictures and got to see these two buddies in action. There are 3 boys and 7 girls in Griffin's class. All the girls were quietly coloring or playing together in the kitchen and these two were running circles around the room and I might have seen a dog pile at one point...ha! I can't wait to see what they're like at 16...on second thought maybe I can!!!

God is Faithful

2011-12-03T06:37:00.001-08:00

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Thanksgiving

2011-12-02T13:41:00.000-08:00

We had such a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. We went to Uncle Ben and Aunt Carrie's for Thanksgiving lunch. I love that Jason has such a big family, it's loud, and crazy with tons of kids running around...just what holidays should be! Griffin and Ella had a great time playing outside with all the kids. After lunch, we drove to Austin to the lake house. We had the best weekend and really relaxed and enjoyed the kiddos. On Friday, Lauren, Gigi, and I went to Fredericksburg to do some shopping and then met the guys and babies in Johnson City to see their amazing Christmas lights! If you're ever in the Austin area for the holidays, their light display is amazing! Of course I got zero pictures of that :(. The guys played golf on Saturday and Griffin LOVED swimming the the hot tub and sleeping with Daddy in the bunk room. It was the perfect holiday, all about spending time with family!

Gigi and Papa J with their grand babies!

The baby whisperer

Ella Boo in her turkey dress, she GOBBLED up her Thanksgiving and loved everything!

Thanksgiving is over so it's time to break out the Christmas clothes...YIPPEE!

Ella loves her Papa J

Sweet Jackson eating his waffle

Griffin Bear had SO much fun!

Feed ME

Jack was so sweet to Ella all weekend, giving her hugs, helping her with her paci, and even feeding her. I need him to come over more often :)

This is what I'm most thankful for!!

Out of the mouth of babes...

2011-11-30T19:59:00.000-08:00

Today we were checking out at Target and Ella was making all sorts of grunting noises in the cart. The lady checking us out said, "Oh my, you sure are talkative", and Griffin responded with, "She's going BROOOWWWN poo poo, and it's DIAREEEETTA!" Give me a shovel so I can dig a hole and hide! Ha

A Special Visitor

2011-11-30T12:32:00.000-08:00

Santa made a special visit to our house Monday during nap time. He left hot cocoa and oreo pops for Griff and Mommy and a few little marshmellows for Ella. :) Santa also dropped off a special present for the kids, Elf on the Shelf! Griff was so excited about his new friend, and decided to name him...Elf (so original, think we're going to try the naming thing again next year). When I told him Elf would be watching his behavior and reporting back to Santa, and he quickly asked me to take him off the mantle...ha! After some convincing Elf is a part of the family and working out nicely. Griffin loves to find his new spot every morning. I just love family traditions, some old and some new!

Looks yummy!

Trying out an oreo pop

First drink of hot chocolate...

He loves it!

And Ella had her first sweet treat, a marshmellow...

She LOVES them!

Unwrapping Santa's present

Thanks Santa for such a fun treat!

Bathing Beauty

2011-11-28T12:03:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving Memory

2011-11-22T19:41:00.000-08:00

I was thinking about Thanksgiving today and a special memory overcame me. It's not a typical Thanksgiving memory, but when it crossed my mind I was overcome with feelings of security, comfort, and thankfulness. When I was young we traded off Thanksgiving and Christmas with The Prices; Aunt Annie, Uncle Mark, and cousins Luke and Hallie. The years we went to their house in Bertram near Austin are my most favorite ones. They live on a beautiful piece of property on the creek out in the country. Everything is quiet and peaceful, and we had MANY adventures there together. All the kids would sleep in the living room on the various couch beds. Early in the morning, around 4 am, the sounds of three women I admire most would rouse me from my sleep. My mom, Aunt Annie, and Gigi (my precious Grandma who passed away when I was 15) were in the kitchen beginning to prepare the Thanksgiving meal. I could hear them discussing the menu, the pots and Pyrex clanging, how much sage to add to the stuffing, what time to put the pecan pie in the oven, should we try to be health conscious and use chicken stock instead of heavy cream in the mashed potatoes (for the record NO!!). There was something so safe and comforting about knowing they were in there together, working to serve our family a delicious meal. Everything was made from scratch, nothing came from a package or a box, and God forbid someone suggest using Cool Whip instead of fresh whipped cream!!! Did they know I was listening, soaking up all their wisdom, hoping to one day be in there with them? Could they have possibly understood that as they were buzzing around in their robes and slippers, fretting over how many eggs to use in the dressing, they were leaving a legacy for their children and grandchildren? And so I would lay there, half asleep but not wanting to miss a single word from these three, and I'm so thankful I did because it has stayed with me to this day, my own incredibly special Thanksgiving memory. Happy Thanksgiving!

My mom and cousin Hallie

The mommas (Annie and my mom) and the "legacies", Lindsy, me, Hallie, Ella, and Leslie

One of our Thanksgiving meals prepared in that same, special kitchen

Happy Turkey Day!

Better Together

2011-11-18T20:26:00.000-08:00

These two were so excited to ride in the race car together at HEB! Sister is finally big enough to fit and Griff was happy to get back behind the wheel. He is quick to tell her that she's just the passenger and HE is the driver!!!

Work it Girl!

2011-11-17T14:35:00.000-08:00

When I took Ella for her 9 month check up I raised some concerns I had about her gross motor development (she wasn't trying to crawl and wouldn't put ANY weight on her legs). After observing her, Dr. K thought we should have her evaluated by a physical therapist. Of course we were really concerned about her, but thankfully I have a great friend, Nicole, who's a PT herself and she gave me lots of advice and reassurance. We went for the evaluation on November 8th and they recommended that Ella come for PT once a week. After a few sessions her therapist Lisa observed that Ella has overdeveloped back muscles and very weak abdominals. We always laughed about the way she did tummy time because she was like a little airplane. Not so funny now!

So basically Lisa said Ella has learned to use her muscles incorrectly and making her do it the right way feels wrong to her. She used golf as an example, when you learn the wrong swing, it feels right to you and when someone tries to correct you, it doesn't feel natural. Ella gets really frustrated during her sessions but they are already helping so much! She even got up on all fours for the first time on Tuesday night and she has been standing to play with her music table. I'm so glad we caught it early, and I know with time and prayers she'll be all caught up! Go Ella Boo!!!

Reading a little magazine while we wait ;)

working hard with Ms. Lisa

Her favorite is the ball

Happy 9 Months

2011-11-09T12:43:00.000-08:00

(Photo by Twinty Photography)

Ella is 9 months old today! She has completely stolen our hearts and we just can't get enough of this precious, happy baby! Ella has changed a lot this month, and here are a few things she's been up to:
- LOVES music and will wave her arms and try to "sing" anytime she hears it
- in a bit of a mommy stage right now, if I'm in the room she definitely prefers for me to hold her but will go to Daddy too. If I'm not around, she's fine with anyone holding her :)
- can wave bye bye
- smiles all the time and is so easy to please
- Griffin is her favorite person! She lights up, squeals, and kicks anytime he comes around. She loves when he takes a bath with her too.
- has completely given up all pureed baby food and only eats soft table food. This has been pretty nice considering I can cook dinner and everyone in the house can eat it...doesn't mean they always do ;). So far I haven't found anything she won't eat but her favorites are bananas, avocado, beans, cheese, pancakes, and fish
- loves to roll around in her bed and play with her lovies before she falls asleep
- such a good, easy sleeper- 2 naps a day and sleeps 12 hrs at night
- becoming frustrated with not crawling, she wants to get to toys so badly but can't quite get there...kinda sad. I will do a post on this later, but Ella will be starting physical therapy soon to strengthen her core muscles.
- such a love bug, cuddle bear, sweet little sugar pie...can you tell how much I love her? An indescribable amount!!!

Trip for three

2011-11-08T10:07:00.000-08:00

A few weekends ago, I was brave (or crazy) enough to fly with the kids to Midland to visit my parents (Mimi and Pops). We had such a great time, eating, playing, visiting people, and just being spoiled! My parents still live in the house we grew up in so it still feels like "home". I helped host a baby sprinkle for Mel's second baby due in just a few weeks, Maddox! It was a great shower and she got lots of fun things. Griffin enjoyed a special day out with Pops at the duck pond and to get a big scoop of bubble gum or "water gun"(as Griff called it) ice cream. We went to church and out to lunch at Tampico (always fun with two babies ;). We took the kids to the pumpkin patch and out to Pop's office. Griff convinced Mimi to drive the fork lift which was quite entertaining for us all. The kids loved swimming in the hot tub every night. We've always known Griff was a little fish, but his sister just might have him beat. Whenever we walked out in the backyard and she saw the hot tub she would start squealing and kicking her feet to get in. :) The kids actually did GREAT on the airplane and now that I've done it once I know I can do it again! Thank you Mimi and Pops for such a wonderful visit. We love you and appreciate ALL you do for us!

Pops knows a guy in Midland who builds model trains as a hobby and has a working "miniature" train running through his property. Griff loves trains so he was in heaven and Ella enjoyed the ride too.

Hostesses for Mel's baby shower and the Mommy to be looking precious in the middle. You can't even tell she's prego in this pic!

Pops and Griff carved a Jack o Lantern

We had a play date with Pax! Such a cutie pie

Griffin loves his Bella Boo and wanted to lay with her on the couch

Mimi and Pops wanted to see the kids in their Halloween costumes so we dressed them up for the pumpkin patch.

Griffin had SO much fun making doughnuts with Mimi and she even let him put as many sprinkles as he wanted on them, that's A LOT of sprinkles!

Halloween

2011-11-01T20:09:00.000-07:00

Halloween was quite the event this year! We had so much fun dressing the kids up and enjoying the festivities. The kids and I were in Midland until Wednesday night, and it was pretty much nonstop once we got home. We had a really fun weekend with two neighborhood block parties on Friday, a birthday party and adult costume party on Saturday, and Nana and Granpa's 60th Wedding Anniversary on Sunday. After all the fun, Griff came down with strep Sunday night :(. He was so excited to Trick or Treat and was feeling pretty good by Monday evening so we let him go to a few houses. He really got into it this year and is loving picking out one treat each day! Here are some pics of our Halloween fun!

At Mimi and Pops before the pumpkin patch

Sweet little Ella

Baseball player and little fairy

We told him the black under his eyes gave him special powers so he wouldn't rub it off :)

Fun at the block party

Daddies girl loving her pretzel

Snuggled up on our way to the second party

Ella and Isabella with Holly at Sebastian's first birthday party

Sweet little Cullen was the cutest puppy dog

Love her!

Ella and her sweet friend Grace!

Best buds RJ and Griff in the bounce house

The Soler's ready to blow out the candles

I asked Elijah if he needed a napkin and he politely said "no thanks, I don't need one"... ha

The birthday boy loved his cupcake

Griffin Bear

2011-10-27T14:12:00.000-07:00

I haven't done an update on Griffin in a while. He just seems so big to me lately. He's clearly leaving the toddler days behind and seems like a little boy to me now. He talks ALLLL day long and says the funniest things. I know I need to be writing them down, but always forget. Here are a few special things about Griffin at 2 years, 8 months:

- Loves going to school on Tuesday and Thursdays with Mrs. Brandi and Mrs. Terri

- Missed a post on this but he's been potty trained for a couple of months now. Still wears diapers to bed but we'll work on that in a few months

- favorite things to do are play baseball in the backyard, go to the playground that's right by our house, and play with his friends. So funny, every morning he asks "Where we going?" and if I tell him we're just staying home he always says "Let's go Mommy, Let's go", I don't think he's going to be much of a home body.

- Still a really sweet big brother. He's been trying to teach Ella to crawl, brings her toys when she's fussy, and loves to play "Ella Monster" in our bed.

- Has been testing the waters lately when we tell him no and can still throw a toddler fit every once in a while

- A few weeks ago at school he got in trouble for hitting when someone took his toy. I explained to him to use his words when someone does something he doesn't like, to say "No no no" instead of hitting. Well, it kind of backfired because now when we ask him to do something he doesn't want to do he tells us "No no no".

- Very sensitive to feelings recently. He always says, "Mommy are you happy?" :)

We love you so much Griffin and can't wait to see how you grow and change in the years to come. You are such a special part of our family!

Pure Joy

2011-10-19T14:02:00.000-07:00

Sometimes the days are long, the noses are snotty, and the tears flow like waterfalls, but then I catch them in a moment like this and I'm filled with pure joy! I love being a mommy, it's the hardest and most rewarding job in the world!

WHOOP!

2011-10-17T12:32:00.000-07:00

Gigi and Papa J had us all over for the Tech vs A&M game a couple weekends ago! We had a big group of family over there and had a BLAST! The best part was the Aggie victory! Griffin had so much fun playing with all the "big" boys in the bounce house and even stayed up until 11!!! Ella was her usual early bird self and barely made it through kick off but I'm sure she had sweet dreams while the party continued. What a fun night!

Ella and her Gigi

Sweet girl in her Aggie gear with Gigi kisses on both cheeks

Jack had so much fun and wanted to be right there with the big boys too. Why do all kids love plugs?

Griff has Gigi kisses too

Trying to get a pic of all the grandkids with Gigi and Papa J, not too bad!

All the girls, poor Lauren was a little outnumbered but she was such a good sport :)

Griff, Bryce, Gavin, and Mason acting crazy in the bounce house

Such a big smile, must be the Aggie victory!!!

Late night girls pic

And a crazy one, can't believe Aunt Holly can still do a full split! WOW!!!

And a cute one of Ella, she wore her red and black jammies for Aunt Lala!

Happy 8 months Ella!

2011-10-12T19:01:00.000-07:00

We are in major teething mode and the infant brush has proven to be a great teether!

Loves to make this face...feeling those new teethies!

Ella and her BFF Jeter

First pancakes

Ella turned 8 months old on Sunday so I'm a little late on this post but our internet has been down. Ella continues to be such a sweet, easy, happy baby. She loves attention and being around lots of other kids. She went to baby story time at the library for the first time while brother was at school and had a blast! She has had some "mommy" moments this month which is a first but warms up to new people quickly. Here are some things she's been up to:
- sleeps from about 7pm-7am and takes two 1.5-2hr naps
- LOVES Jeter and when I have him outside she will grunt and wine till I let him in
- eats three meals a day and takes four bottles, we started some finger foods this month including puffs, avocado, banana, and pancakes...she loved it all
- BIGGEST news is that she finally cut her first tooth! Griffin cut his on his 6 month bday and she cut hers on her 8 month bday...makes it easy to remember! She already has another tooth today on the bottom right next to the first.
- talks and squeals all day long, Griff wasn't near as vocal but I swear he talks ALLLLLL day long, I'm going to be in trouble with Miss Ella! Ha
- Loves music and isn't fazed by loud noises
- such a snuggler
- has showed little interest in crawling. She will do a great push up and kind of a plank sometimes, but isn't moving at all. She is getting frustrated sometimes when she can't get to something she wants so maybe this will motivate her :)

Donuts with Dad

2011-10-11T10:35:00.001-07:00

Today was Donuts with Dad at Griffin's school. Jason and Griff were so excited about their special time! J sent me a few pics from the morning.

my iPhone

8 months

2011-10-10T08:48:00.001-07:00

Ella Boo turned 8 months old yesterday! She has changed so much and I have new pictures and updates coming as soon as I can get the Internet fixed :). Love you sweet girl!!!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Perfect Sunday

2011-10-03T07:52:00.000-07:00

Sunday was just one of those perfect days! We woke up and played with the kids until it was time to go to church. The sermon was so good and it was communion Sunday which I love. Griffin and Ella both got compliments in "little church" which was a bonus! We came home and the kids took naps while we got ready for Gigi's birthday dinner at our house. We had everyone over and grilled hamburgers. The weather was beautiful and the kids played in the bounce house and Griff drove Jack around in the little Jeep. Ella got her first bounce house experience and she loved it! We all went to bed exhausted from a great day. I just love perfect days like that!

Precious Ella ready for church. A little old lady at my mom's church made this little smocked dress and I was so excited Ella finally got to wear it!

I know the bow is a little ridiculous but I can't resist!

Best buddies!

Ella and Griff in the bounce house

Look whose got all the balls!

The birthday girl Gigi

Jack, Griff, and Uncle B

These cousins are going to be best buddies!

Miss Ella ate her dinner outside

Added bonus is that we left the bounce house up so while I'm typing this post Griff is playing in his PJ's! Love it!

Scariest Day

2011-10-01T07:31:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was one of the worst days of my life. It started off a normal day and Ella, Griffin and I were getting ready to meet our friends at Monkey Joe's for some bouncy time. Ella was sitting on a bar stool playing with something on the counter and I was right behind her holding her. Griff was putting on his crocs and the back strap was stuck under his foot. He kept bugging me to help him and we were in a hurry so I turned around for two seconds to fix his shoe when I heard a loud thud! I turned around and saw my precious baby girl had fallen off the bar stool onto the tile floor on her head. She immediately started screaming and I picked her up. I could instantly feel a lump on the back of her head. I went into panic mode and decided to call 911. My sister in law has a really good friend who lost her 11 month old to a head injury almost instantly so that kept running through my head. While on the phone with them Ella became quiet and her eyes started rolling back in her head. This is when I lost it and started screaming for them to hurry!!! It seemed like it took FOREVER for them to get to my house but it was probably 10 minutes. I called Jason and he rushed home in record time. They put Ella in the saddest little baby back and head brace and and took us by ambulance to the hospital. Once we got there they said her vitals all looked good but they wanted to do a CAT scan to be sure there wasn't a fracture or brain swelling. Ella was so brave and we were just holding her little hands and singing to her the whole time. We both lost it seeing her so little and scared and not being able to pick her up. Finally the doctor came and told us the results were completely normal and that she had a hematoma but it was above the skull and would just be sore.

We are SO thankful our precious angel is ok and it was a huge reminder to me about how you can never be too safe. It sounds so stupid, even as I type it, that I left her on a stool but it only takes a second to let your guard down. I feel so incredibly guilty and it still brings tears to my eyes to think about it. Jason was so sweet and supportive and Griff was a trooper. He kept telling the paramedics, "I just need to go to Monkey Joes!" haha. Through the whole ordeal I just kept praying for Jesus to hold Ella in His arms and protect my baby. There's no doubt in mind that's exactly what He did and we are so greatful!

As you can see everyone is fine and enjoying lots of snuggles!

Happy 2nd Birthday Buddies!

2011-09-26T07:01:00.000-07:00

Our sweet nephews Carson and Lyndon turned two on September 13th and we celebrated the weekend before with a choo choo birthday party at the Train Museum in San Antonio. It was a great place for all kids and everyone had a wonderful time. They even had a full sized train that gave everyone a ride. Griff was in heaven! Leslie and her mom did an amazing job on all the decorations and of course the sweets!

Family Vacation

2011-09-17T07:27:00.000-07:00

We went to Rico, Colorado the last weekend in August. I grew up spending two weeks of every summer at my family's cabin in Rico. It's so fun to take my kids there and watch them explore and learn about the mountains like I did as a kid. Conner, Leslie, and the twins flew in with us and we met Mimi and Pops there. My parents are remodeling the cabin so we rented another place. Our cabin is over 100 years old and was used by the miners during the Silver Rush in the 1890s. My parents are building a new master bedroom/bathroom, mudroom, upstairs bunk/playroom for the kids, and another bed/bath. We are so excited and thankful about these changes because it means our kids and their cousins can spend many summers together at the cabin!

WARNING: There are a ton of pics in this post and I even cut out a bunch :)

Ready to fly

The gang at the new addition

This is inside the original kitchen

Mimi and Pops with their grandbabies

The cousins loved playing play dough on the porch

I LOVE this pic of sweet Ella Boo and her many rolls!

We went for lots of walks

Trav and Ella

Aunt Lele reads a bedtime story

Swimming in Ouray...the most beautiful hot springs

Ella had a horrible tummy bug almost the entire trip. This was taken after one of her many middle of the night blow outs. :(

Pancakes with CarCar

We took the kids to Telluride for shopping, gondola ride, playground, and pizza!

Griffin LOVED riding the Gondola. We was so interested in the "big wheel" that runs the machinery. He still asks us about it ALLLLL the time!

Mimi and Pops and Aunt Debbie and Uncle Gary babysat the kiddos one night so the "kids" could go to a nice dinner in Telluride

Griffin spent a lot of time fishing off the porch

Throwing rocks with Lyndon

picking raspberries

Fish fry night at the Vandergriff's

Horrid attempt at a family pic

Griff's forehead had a run in with his zipper...don't ask ;)

Here you can see the original cabin in the front

Love this pic of Ella and her Godmomma/Auntie Lele

Jason carved Ella's name in the aspen right next to Griffin's

Riding with Carson

It was a LONG travel day but the kids did great! Such little troopers!

Update

2011-09-13T14:00:00.000-07:00

Ella had her 6 month check up a little late (7 months) today. Dr. D said she was doing wonderful! Ella was her usual happy self and had the office smiling anytime they looked her way. She loves attention ;). Poor baby had to get 4 shots but only cried for a minute. Anyway, here are her stats for my reference:
Weight- 18lbs, 8oz (75%)
Height- 26.89" (70%)
Head- 90% (my kids have big brains I tell ya)

7 months

2011-09-11T13:13:00.000-07:00

Our sweet Ella Bell turned 7 months old on the 9th so this post is just a few days late :). She has changed so much this month! We have been so busy this month traveling and Ella was a little trooper. She rode on her first airplane and visited the lake house and Rico. She was having major tummy problems in Colorado and it cleared up as soon as we came home so I'm thinking she might have been affected by the altitude change. Who knows, I'm just glad to have my happy, smiley baby back! Here are some things sweet Ella has been up to this month:
- Minus an eating strike during her tummy troubles, Ella is loving baby food. Her favorites are carrots, sweet potato, and apples, but she'll eat just about anything. The only thing she's gagged on is Gerber peas which are pretty nasty.
- Teething, chewing, and drooling on everything but still no teeth. By this time Griff already had 3!!
- Mastered sitting up and rolling from tummy to back. She's rolled the other way as well but not consistently
- Starting to put more weight on her legs but not real interested in being mobile which is fine with me :)
- LOVES kids and being the center of attention. Carson and Lyndon gave her lots of attention in CO and she would squeal, kick, and giggle anytime they came around.
- Will let anyone hold her but for the first time we've seen some signs of her wanting Mommy when she sees me walk by (secretly I love it)
- Has started babbling a lot and says dada, baba, gaga but with no meaning behind it
- Loves playing with Griffin. Every night Griffin and Ella play a game we call "Ella Monster" on our bed. Griffin goes under the covers and Ella "attacks" him. They both laugh so hard and so do we! I love seeing these two interact.
- Smiles so big at anyone who looks her way. The other day she caused two ladies to crash their shopping carts into each other at Walmart because she was smiling so big at them and they weren't watching where they were going :)
Ella, you are such a blessing to our whole family. Your smile is contagious and your dimples are ridiculously cute! We love you with our whole hearts baby sister!

First Day of MDO

2011-09-07T19:24:00.000-07:00

Griffin had a wonderful first day of school at Grace Preschool. His new teachers are Ms. Brandi and Ms. Terry and he talked about them all day. RJ is in his class again this year and they both kissed their mommies goodbye and ran in to play. So cute! He said his favorite thing was painting a fish and swinging at recess. I can't wait to see how much he learns this year!

Best buddies ready to go

Hugs :)

"School in here Mommy?"

So big

See ya Mom!

Found the blocks!

Impossible

2011-08-26T14:29:00.000-07:00

I officially

give up

trying to get

a good

picture of

these two!!! Geeze...good thing they're cute ;)

Fun at the Lakehouse

2011-08-23T13:23:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we took a trip to the lake house with Jason's parents. Lauren, Brandon, and Jack were supposed to come too, but sweet Jackson got sick on Friday so they needed to stay home and get him well. We had a wonderful, relaxing weekend. Griffin LOVES going to the lake, enjoying the new patio, swimming in the hot tub, playing on the "cool" table, and sleeping in the new "bump" room (bunk room). Lake Travis is SO low, so thank goodness we have the amazing new addition to hang out at this summer! We had so much fun and Griffin threw a whopper of a fit when it was time to leave!

Daddy and Papa J took Griffin all around Lakeway in the Jeep! He LOVED this new ride!

Ella chilling with Papa J

Griffin on the "cool" table

Ella Boo loves her Gigi

Bath time...lovin that white hiney!

Hanging on the new patio...it's just beautiful

We love relaxing, grilling, and watching football

Griff loves the bunk room and climbing the ladders to the bunk beds

Off to get some doughnuts on Saturday morning! No wonder he didn't want to leave!!!

Such a Special Day

2011-08-16T13:36:00.000-07:00

Sunday, August 7th we had Ella baptized at our church, Grace Fellowship United Methodist. It truly was a day I will never forget, so special and meaningful. Warning: There are LOTS of pictures in this post but this is essentially our scrapbook so I had to include them all :). Thanks to everyone who helped us celebrate Ella's baptism and her acceptance into Christ's kingdom.

Mimi, Ella and Mommy

Family picture

I love this baby girl!

Ella wore three beautiful dresses, this is the one she wore to church!

Ready to be baptized. Her dress is a family heirloom on Gigi's side. Jason's grandma, Nana bought the dress in Italy and all the girls have worn it to be baptized. I LOVED seeing Ella in this beautiful, meaningful dress.

Taking it all in

Our family

I love this pic. Griff was quite the chatter box during the service so Daddy was telling him to "shhh" which usually only make him talk louder...HA

Sweet angel. She wore my gold cross necklace and baby bracelet from when I was baptized.

Pastor Jim holding her up for the audience to see!

We are honored to have Conner and Leslie, Uncle Concon and Aunt Lele, as Ella's Godparents!

Group shot after the ceremony

Gigi, Papa J, and Great Grandma Nana

Someone needs a nap!

She was out the minute the bottle hit her lips :)

Aunt Lala, Uncle B and sweet Jack at the celebration after the ceremony

Ella and her Godmomma

Ella and her Papa J

Mommy, Ella, and Godfather Concon. This is her third dress which is hard to see, but it was a beautiful pink and white dress that my mom bought her to wear at the party.

Ella is so blessed to have two Great Grandmas, Bop and Nana

Group shot of the Stephen's crew minus Griff who was napping

Half a year

2011-08-09T19:59:00.000-07:00

Sweet Ella turned 6 months old today! It makes me so sad to think my little baby is already half way through her first year. Here are some special things she's done this month:

- Rolling over from tummy to back and does a mean airplane on her tummy

- Loves her excersaucer and jumperoo

- Eating solids twice a day. So far she's had butternut squash, peas, and sweet potatoes and she loves it all

- Can sit up for a few seconds on her own and longer in the tripod position

- Loves other kids and smiles and kicks her legs whenever they come around. She's our little social butterfly :)

- She's very vocal and loves practicing new sounds...girls can really SCREAM!!!

- Loves being read to

- Such a cuddle bug and loves to snuggle when she's sleepy

- Such a HAPPY and easy baby, she's content to just hang out and take it all in

- Was baptized this past Sunday, which was such a wonderful day for our family. A post to come on that soon!

Ella, you are an incredible blessing in our lives and we just love you to pieces!

Ella and Mommy

Precious Ella with Pastor Jim at the baptism

Enjoying snuggles with brother

Little Fish

2011-08-02T13:33:00.000-07:00

Here's a little video I took of Griff at swim lessons today. We are on day 6 and he's doing so well. And here's one of Ella in her high chair just because she's so darn cute!!!

Swim Lessons

2011-07-28T12:04:00.000-07:00

Griffin started swim lessons this week. The first two day were pretty rough with lots of tears. Thank goodness they only last 15 minutes and if it wasn't for the sucker at the end I don't think we'd have made it through! Day three it clicked and Griff got right in the pool and did great. Day four was today and he was swimming underwater and jumped off the diving board twice. We have two weeks left and I can't wait to see how he progresses!

Stolen Post

2011-07-22T05:51:00.000-07:00

I was reading Nicole's blog and she asked adorable Avery a list of questions. I think it's so cute and fascinating to hear kids perspective on things at different ages. So I thought it would be cute to do the same with Griffin. It was pretty hilarious and at one time Jason suggested we wait for morning and start fresh...ha! Here it goes:
What is your name: Jake (hmm..not a great start). He was being silly and eventually said "I'm Griffin"
How old are you: "I'm 2. Mommy is 3" (times 10 ha)
What's your favorite animal: "umm a giraffe"
What is your favorite color: "Red"
Who is your best friend: "Ra Ra"- that's what he calls RJ.
What do you want to be when you are all grown up: "Naaaa...I'm 2" :)
What is your favorite movie: "Toy Story"
What is your favorite book: "Train Book"
What makes you happy: "Lluvia makes you happy"- that's my friend and RJ's mom :)
What makes you sad: "No, I'm not sad, I'm happy"
What is your favorite food to eat: "sausage"
What is your favorite song to sing: "The Rocket Song at school day" - he's been at summer camp the past 2 weeks and the theme this week was Space
What is your favorite game to play: "with Ra Ra"
What is your favorite sport to play: "Soccer"
Where does Daddy work: "at the building office". Side note I don't want to forget- Yesterday G told me he was going to ride the "alligator" with daddy at work. I couldn't figure out what he was talking about and finally he said "and push the buttons"..."ohhh you mean elevator". "Yes mommy elegator". Smile!
Where does Mommy work: "in the library with the parachute"...apparently story time is my job!

This was hilarious for us and I can't wait to see how his answers change as he does. Thanks Nicole for the great idea!

FOOD!

2011-07-21T12:23:00.000-07:00

I tried some rice cereal with Ella, and just like Griffin, she was less than thrilled. So, I waited a few weeks and tried again with some butternut squash I made her. She gobbled it up and has been doing great with the spoon. We've also tried peas this week, which she ate but she definitely likes the squash the most! Next week I'm going to make her some sweet potatoes...yummy!

Hmmmm....

I think I like it!

Can I have some more?

Pretty please mommy?

Salty the Seal

2011-07-19T18:26:00.000-07:00

We've tried several different "flotation devices" for Griffin this summer. This one has been the best by far. Griffin still loves Mickey and as soon as he saw the seal he said, "That's Salty" and he was sold. It allows him to paddle and kick freely and you can take the foam pieces out to make it harder for him. He has to kick and paddle to stay up and he can swim all around the pool. Griffin has become quite the fish this summer. He can hold his breath and swim underwater for quite awhile. We are excited for him to start swim lessons next week!

Don't mind the outfit...he had his pj top on with his Yo Gabba underwear and insisted on wearing "Salty" all around the house.

Love that little bootie!

Catch Up

2011-07-18T08:00:00.000-07:00

I have been a bad blogger lately so I'm going to try to catch up! We had a great 4th of July. We went swimming with friends and then to La Centerra for the Big Backyard celebration. They had tons of fun things for the kids to do. Griffin had a blast but it was HOT!!!

Ella loved her first ride on Daddy's sholders!

Snack break at the pool

Me and my baby girl

Ella took a nap while we were swimming

Ready for the festival!

Griffin met his first clown, and loved her!

Griffin and RJ both got blue doggie balloon animals

Cheeeeeese

They always want the same

Going to see the big firetruck

RJ ready to go

Jason showed him all the parts

RJ wasn't feeling the love...ha

Time for the obstacle course

So much fun!!!

Happy 5 months Ella!

2011-07-11T10:03:00.000-07:00

Little Miss Ella turned 5 months old on Saturday. I was in Fredricksberg for a girls trip, and Jason stayed home and kept the kiddos (don't worry, he had lots of help from Gigi and Papa J). Every time I called to check on the kids, I would ask what Ella was doing and Jason would always say "She's just smiling". Pretty much sums up our precious girl, she's the happiest baby and so content. In true second child fashion, I didn't get her in for her four month check up until she was almost 5 months...oops. Anyways, Ella is now 25" tall and weighs 16 pounds. She put on quite the show for Dr. D and the nurse, laughing and cooing. She kept looking at all of us to make sure all eyes were on her...Ha! We love you baby girl!

Let Freedom Ring!

2011-07-05T06:11:00.000-07:00

Muffin Man

2011-07-02T06:05:00.001-07:00

Rockport

2011-06-26T12:56:00.001-07:00

Warning: this post is better late than never! Two weekends ago my whole family went to Rockport for the weekend. Griffin was so excited all week for his first trip to the beach. He kept saying, "First we get doughnuts (ha!), then we swim in the waves, then we fly the kite, and THEN we build sand castles." That pretty much sums up our weekend, except we also had lots of fun just being together as a family: eating tons of yummy food, playing farkle, drinking wine, loving on babies, and relaxing. Conner and I were so blessed growing up to have Luke and Hallie as our only cousins. We are really more like brothers and sisters. We all sat out in the yard and watched the newest crop of cousins play together and it was the best feeling!

This little boy LOVES his daddy! They had so much fun swimming in the waves.

Lyndon and Griffin love digging in the ice chests

Leslie and the buddies! I love my sister in law!

Lyndon loved throwing and catching the duckie

Griffin couldn't wait for Pops to get there so he could take him WAY out in the big waves.

Beach bum

Mimi and sweet Ella

First time in the ocean

Lots of sprinkler fun

Ella loved all the special attention from Hallie

And Mimi

Love my sweet Aunt Annie! I have so many wonderful memories of creative and imaginative activities she would do with us every summer when we stayed at her house. I love seeing Griff get to experience it too!

All the girls! So blessed to be surrounded by such loving, caring, selfless, women who know how to have a GOOD time! :)

So easy...

2011-06-22T19:40:00.001-07:00

to love this precious baby girl! I just can't get enough of her!

Special Visit

2011-06-22T12:12:00.001-07:00

Last week we had a special visit from Leslie and Addie! I was so excited to meet Addie for the first time, and she is just as precious in person as she is in pictures! They came over to the house to play, and we had a great time seeing these two sweet girls together. I think Ella liked finally having a little girl friend around since she's usually surrounded by crazy boys. Griffin loved Addison too and is still, even today, asking me "where'd baby Addie go?" :) Like Leslie, I couldn't help imagining these two going to A&M together and of course joining Kappa PC 2029!!!

Ella needs to work on her push up ;)

SLLLUUURRRPPP

2011-06-20T20:25:00.000-07:00

4 Months

2011-06-10T10:59:00.000-07:00

Happy 4 months to our sweet Ella Kay! She continues to be the happiest, sweetest, most precious baby (spoken like a momma I know). She is so easy and just goes with the flow, which makes life so much easier! Ella has really grown and changed this past month. Here are some things she's up to:

- Smiles ALL the time at everyone :)

- loves her swing and play mat

- loves to play with her hands and put them in her mouth

- very social, loves to smile and coo at anyone who will look her way

- will let anyone hold her and is very content to just take it all in

- went swimming for the first time at Luke and Lindsy's and loved it

- tries to put everything in her mouth and has started the drooling phase

- has grown so much and wears mostly 3-6 month clothes now and size 3 diapers

- such a good sleeper: takes 3-4 naps a day and sleeps from 7:30 pm-6:30 am at night

- loves to watch Griffin play and gives him the biggest smiles

- she doesn't cry much but if she gets startled by a loud noise or brother is too rough with her, she can be a little dramatic :)

We feel so blessed to have you in our lives Ella Kay. You are an absolute angel and everything we hoped for in a daughter. We love you baby girl!

Just for fun here's a picture of Ella at 4 months followed by one of Griffin at 4 months. They definitely favor each other but have their own look too!

And here's a cute one of the two of them together. So hard to get but I love how he's like "Mom, are we done yet" and she's like "This is the BEST thing in the whole world!"

Waiting on Miss Gail

2011-06-09T07:09:00.001-07:00

We have a new sitter for the summer. Her name is Gail and the kids love her (so do I)! When I tell Griff that Miss Gail is coming he sits on the front step and watches for her to come to the front door! Too cute!

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Girly girl

2011-06-08T12:40:00.001-07:00

How sweet? How girly? How happy? How big is our precious Ella Kay?

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Summer Silly

2011-05-25T11:54:00.000-07:00

Mother's Day Out is over and this is our first full week of summer! It is a challenge to keep my busy toddler entertained while caring for a baby. Sometimes things get silly around here. I decided to try on Ella's precious hat Mimi got he. Of course Griffin wanted a hat too, so he tried on her pink sun hat. I thought this was hilarious so of course I had to snap a picture! I'm sure these two will have more summer sillies coming soon!

Tasty Treat

2011-05-23T11:49:00.000-07:00

It's summer time and Griff and I both LOVE ice cream, however it's full of sugar and not the best thing to eat when you're trying to loose baby weight. So the other day I came across a recipe for banana ice cream. I was skeptical, but it's totally delicious and very healthy too! Here's how you make it:

Banana Ice Cream

- 2 bananas sliced and frozen in a zip lock

- Skim Milk (or whatever milk you buy)

- Nutella, Honey, Peanut Butter, Chocolate Syrup or whatever you want to add in

Throw the banana's in a blender or food processor and add a couple tablespoons of milk. I just kept adding till it was the consistency of ice cream. Then add some flavor if you like. I added Nutella because it could be the best thing on Earth! Just a tablespoon gave it great flavor. Blend a little more and eat it up! Griffin totally went for this treat and keeps asking for more!

Seriously, if you've never tried Nutella...go buy some today. Let me warn you though, you might need to hide the jar!

Delicious Mommy!!!

WWF

2011-05-17T18:06:00.000-07:00

The other day we found these three boys sweetly sharing the I Pad in our bedroom. Enjoying a moment to visit with each other, we mommies left them to their quiet play. Well, that didn't last long...in true boy fashion it turned into a full out wrestling match! After having a boy, I now know some things just come naturally. Somehow I can't imagine Ella and her sweet little friends dog piling each other...

Oh boy here we go!!!

Happy Monday!

2011-05-16T12:04:00.001-07:00

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I love you Mom!

2011-05-10T18:14:00.000-07:00

Mother's Day has new meaning for me now that I'm a Mom too. But, for me this special day isn't about me, it's about the most amazing woman I know, my mom. She is the most selfless, caring, faithful, devoted person I know. She's beautiful on the inside and out, and I could never thank her enough for all she's done for me. I know God chose her to be my mother long before I was created, and I thank Him all the time for her. She loves her husband, children, and grandchildren with a passion that amazes me. My mom gives so much of her time, energy, and heart to make sure we are all cared for and know that we are loved. She has set such a wonderful example for me on how to love and care for my own family. Now that I have children of my own, I realize how deep her love for me goes, but does she realize how much I truly love and appreciate her? I hope she does!

I love you sweet Mom!

Mother's Day Blessings

2011-05-09T18:02:00.000-07:00

I had such a wonderful Mother's Day! Saturday Jason sent me off with my girlfriends for the whole day while he watched the kiddos. We got pedicures, went to City Centre and had a yummy lunch at Cyclone Anayas, shopped around, and had drinks at the Yard House. It was a wonderful afternoon. That night we got a sitter and Gigi and Papa J treated us all to dinner at Perry's! It was so delicious and nice to visit as adults because we usually have lots of little ones around. Sunday we woke up and Jason cooked me a great breakfast. We went to church and got to sit with Jason's Aunt Heather and cousin Gavin and my cousin Luke and his wife Lindsy. Her mom was in town and she loved loving on sweet Ella! After we got home both kids took super long naps, BONUS!!! We woke them up and headed to Nana and Grandpa's for more celebrating. I love that Jason has such a big family because every time we get together there's tons of kids, lots of laughter, and plenty of good food! I feel so blessed to be Griffin and Ella's mommy. I know that God chose me to be their mother and it is such a blessing!

Better Late than Never

2011-05-06T13:12:00.000-07:00

I really have no excuse as to why these Easter pictures are so late, except that life with a 3 month old and two year old can be pretty busy! We had such a wonderful, fun filled Easter. This was the first year Jason and I got to put the Easter baskets together and hide eggs for the kids. We had so much fun! Here's their Easter baskets (thanks Mimi and Gigi for filling them with lots of goodies)!

Griffin loved the idea that the Easter bunny left him so many great treats!

After baskets we moved outside to find the eggs the Easter bunny left.

He found them all!

Silly boy, he loved his beach towel from Mimi

Then we all got ready and went to church

After church we headed to Aunt Heather's for the Easter family party. We had a yummy lunch and Ella got to meet lots of family including her Great Grandma Bop who she loved!

I love this picture of Aunt Lala, Daddy, and Ella...she's so loved

The kids have a huge Easter egg hunt and Griffin and Bryce are comparing their eggs!

Gigi got Jack and Griff matching shirts to wear and Ella got a precious dress too. I loved these pictures of the cousins together!

Ella and Bop had a lot to talk about!

Aunt Holly giving Ella a bottle

It was a long day and we were exhausted but it felt so good to spend our first Easter as a family of four with family! It's hard to believe Ella will be running around with the big kids next year!

Happy 3 months Ella!

2011-05-04T13:22:00.000-07:00

Ella has brought more joy into our lives the past 3 months than we ever thought possible. She is a perfect fit for our family, so happy and easy going. Here are some things Miss Ella has been up to:

- Such a good sleeper- I can put her down fully awake and she will put herself to sleep. She takes 3 naps a day and has been sleeping through the night (7:45 pm-7 am) for a week now...LOVE this!

- Ella is very social, she loves when people notice her and will smile at anyone who glances her way, even her toys!

- Noticed herself in the mirror and she thinks she's pretty cute too!

- Ella is Daddy's little girl already. When Jason came home from a week in Japan, he couldn't believe how much he missed his little girl. She loves it when Jason whistles at her and gets a huge smile on her face.

- Pretty much hates the car seat which is unfortunate considering we are busy running brother around...hoping she'll give up and just deal with it soon

- Loves watching Griffin when he plays with her. He continues to be a great big brother and loves to kiss her "lil toes"

- Getting very strong and can hold her head up high during tummy time

We love you so much Ella Kay, thank you for bringing so much happiness into our family!

Catching up

2011-04-29T11:49:00.001-07:00

We were busy this week catching up after a week on the road and Easter. I still need to post our Easter pics but these phone pics will have to do for now. Lovin these two babies so so much!

Sweet Ella Kay

All ready for church on Easter

My little sioux chef

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Easter Bunny Success

2011-04-21T14:43:00.001-07:00

This is a picture of the picture because we're in Midland and I forgot my memory card, but I had to post it! I was worried G would be scared of the bunny and it didn't help that this bunny was about as entertaining as a bump on a log, but he did great and Miss Ella was her sweet self as always! We had a wonderful visit while Jason was in Japan and I'll have more posts/pics to come. Happy Easter everyone!

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Twice blessed

2011-04-14T06:34:00.001-07:00

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Look who's...

2011-04-12T07:54:00.001-07:00

In the Bumbo!

-
Someone else just had to join the fun!

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Zoo Day

2011-04-08T12:30:00.001-07:00

Jason took the day off today so we could all go to the zoo. He leaves for Japan next Friday so we want to soak up all the family time we can before he leaves. It was HOT and I'm pretty sure every elementary school in the Houston area was there on field trips, but we still had a great time. Griffin loved seeing all the animals, riding the carousel, and playing on the play ground. We had to bribe him with ice cream to get him back in the stroller to leave. Miss Ella was an angel and slept most of the time in the Baby Bjorn. We are loving our little family of four!

He loved playing the drums in the African exhibit

Pretty baby girl

Hiding in the hut

Taking a break for a bottle

Yummy...Dippin Dots

2 Months

2011-04-07T07:29:00.001-07:00

The past two months have been full of fun times, new experiences, and tons of newborn snuggles. Ella has already grown and changed so much, and I'm already seeing her loose some of her brand new "babiness". Each time I feed, rock, snuzzle her fuzzy head, I'm reminded of how quickly these babies grow up and I'm really just trying to enjoy every moment. The day can get so crazy and busy, so the middle of the night feeding is some of the only quiet time I have to just snuggle my sweet girl. This makes getting up with her almost a treat :). Here are some things Ella is up to lately:

- Eating around 5 ounces every three hours during the day

- Stays awake about an hour and a half before needing a nap

- Is able to be put down awake and fall asleep on her own. Relying on the paci less and less and trying to find her hands

- Goes to bed around 7 pm, I wake her to feed her at 10 pm and she usually sleeps till around 3:30 and is up at 7 am

- Smiles and coos all the time, when she's awake, especially when Daddy gets home! I have a feeling we have a daddies girl on our hands already (which I LOVE)!

- Soothed very easily

- Hates getting her diaper changed

- Loves her bath but doesn't like getting out

- We've gone back to the gym and Ella has the ladies in the nursery wrapped around her little finger :). It's so nice to know she is WELL taken care of!

- She's still very easy to take around, running errands and joining brother on all his activities...she just goes with the flow

We love you so much Ella Kay! Stay little my sweet baby girl!

I'll leave you with some bath time pics of my little rolly polly.

This one is of Griffin at about the same age. I still see some similarities between these two, but Ella definitely has her own look :)

All done...nice and dry!

Spring chick

2011-04-06T12:22:00.001-07:00

Happy two months sweet baby!

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Yard Work

2011-04-04T11:14:00.000-07:00

Special Treat

2011-03-31T12:03:00.000-07:00

Being a mom of two is a challenge in the best sort of way! I love both my babies so much and want to make sure they get all the love and attention they deserve. This can be challenging when life is so busy, but lately I've made this my focus. So, the other day Griffin and I (with a little help from Daddy) made cookies together while Ella was napping. Griffin loves to use the mixer and is such a good helper these days. I think I enjoyed it was much as he did!

Pouring in the eggs

A little taste test

Daddy helped spread the icing

Now for the sprinkles

YUMMY!!!

I think this smile says it all!

Sweet smiles

2011-03-30T12:07:00.001-07:00

Not a very good picture, but I finally caught Ella's smile on camera! Love her precious dimples!

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Whose been sleeping in my crib?

2011-03-29T19:20:00.001-07:00

Look whose in Griff's crib!

Sweet Ella

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Splish Splash

2011-03-27T14:35:00.000-07:00

When we were at the lake over Spring Break you couldn't keep Jack and Griff away from the water. When the dog bowl just wouldn't do, we blew up a swim pool and let the splashing begin!

Park Buddies

2011-03-27T13:02:00.001-07:00

There...That's Better

2011-03-25T08:28:00.001-07:00

Finally downloaded my iphone pics so now I have some new ones of Ella for your viewing pleasure :).

6 weeks

2011-03-25T06:52:00.000-07:00

I can't believe this little angel is already 6 weeks (and two days) old! Ella continues to be the sweetest, most content baby. We had her doctors appointment and everything was just perfect. She had to get three shots :( and screamed pretty loud but stopped as soon as I picked her up. She had a reaction to the vaccines and has been running a mild fever for the past couple days. I know this is a pretty bad picture, but it's hard to find time to take pics (other than with my phone) with two kiddos! At least it shows how much Ella has grown!!! Here are her stats:

- Weight 10 lbs 14 oz (72%)- I'll have to get a good pic of her rolls soon..such a chunky monkey

- Height 22 in (63%)

- Head (52%)

- Ella is eating 4 oz every three hours during the day

- We have one good stretch of sleep from about 9:30 to 3:00 and then she's usually up by 6:30...not too bad.

- She's still pretty sleepy and usually stays awake for about 1-1.5 hours before needing another nap

- Likes the pacifier but is trying really hard to find her thumb. I know I may be crazy, but I'm hoping she does...Griffin has been the best sleeper since he always has his thumb with him. I'm weaning her off the swaddle so she can find her hands.

- Starting to like her swing more

- Smiles and tries so hard to coo...she makes the cutest little noises

We love you so much Ella and thank God every day for blessing our family with you!

Let's go fly a kite...

2011-03-22T10:55:00.001-07:00

This past weekend made our first Stephens Family of Four road trip to the lake with Jason's family! We had a wonderful time, and I have some more pics to post from our trip but wanted to get this out first. There's a great park down by the lake with a huge grassy field, perfect for flying a kite. Papa J and Uncle B (Daddy has been sick with strep again :( ) helped Griffin get the kite in the air and taught him how to fly it. He LOVED watching his kite fly and we had the best time just enjoying the fresh air. Jackson liked watching the kite up in the sky too! Griffin woke up the next morning and said "fly kite Papa J" about a thousand times before we left. Then I was putting him down for his nap and he said "momma fly kite tomorrow"...hahaha! I love that our families can create such special memories together!

LOVE LOVE LOVE this picture

Lucky Charm

2011-03-22T10:50:00.000-07:00

This was the cutest but of course it's blurry (look at those rolls)...

Haha...this one just cracks me up!

Sweet little Ella

Rodeo Fun

2011-03-17T11:53:00.001-07:00

Elijah, Griffin, RJ, and Cousin Jack

On Wednesday we took the boys to the rodeo! We didn't realize that kids get in free on Wednesdays which was nice for saving money, but combined with Spring Break, made for a big crowd. We headed to the petting zoo first. Griffin loved all the animals and kept trying to feed them wood chips..haha! After that, we saw the animals in the barn and then checked out the carnival. Griffin was just a little short to ride the rides alone but we found one lady that let them ride! I thought he would be scared, but he had a BLAST! For the rest of the day he kept saying "airpane go round and round FAST"! Too precious! We ended our rodeo day with a big corn dog, fried curly potato chips, and a lemonade. What a great day!!!

So happy Aunt LaLa and Jack came with us!

"What is THAT Mommy?"

I think I'll give him a hug

Jack and Griff checking out the goats

Such a big boy!

Ella's newborn pictures

2011-03-15T16:51:00.000-07:00

Two of my friends from high school (April and Amy Rankin) are photographers from Austin, but their parents live in Katy so I was lucky enough to snag them up to take Ella's newborn pictures. There website is www.twintyphotography.com, and we love how the pics turned out. On another note, they are also on their way to becoming country music super stars and their band is called The Rankin Twins. They play all around Texas so if you ever get a chance to check them out, you should! Here are some of our favorite pictures (minus the ones on our announcement since I want those to be a surprise) :

Sunday Morning Snuggles

2011-03-13T12:18:00.000-07:00

Snuggles with Uncle J

2011-03-11T12:52:00.000-08:00

Love this picture so much! Cousins just make me happy...guess it's because I am so close to my own, I can't help but want the same for my kiddos! Love you Jack!

Happy 1 month Ella Kay!

2011-03-09T09:46:00.000-08:00

Ella is 4 weeks old today! She is SUCH a good baby, and we are loving every minute with her! We have been venturing out of the house more, and Tuesday I was brave enough to take both kids to the library for story time. Luckily, Ella slept the whole time in her car seat and Griffin had a blast with his buddies. Ella has started staying awake for longer periods of time, and she even gave me a little smile today which melted my heart. She hit the three week growth spurt and as you can see from the pictures, she's grown a lot! The nights are going really well, Ella usually goes to bed around 8 and eats at 1:30 and 5:30. We love this little girl more than we ever thought possible, and we thank God for blessing us with Ella!

Some Kinda Wonderful!!!

2011-03-04T11:42:00.000-08:00

Jason is the BEST Daddy, and Ella already has him wrapped around her tiny little finger.

A kiss from big brother

I asked Griffin if he wanted to hold Ella for the first time and climbed right up on the couch to try it out. He was so cute looking at her and then me. It didn't last long, as most things in a two year olds life don't but it sure was wonderful!

Happy 3 weeks Ella Kay!

2011-03-03T11:20:00.001-08:00

I can't believe my baby is already 3 weeks old! She has been the best baby, so sweet and loves to cuddle. This has been our first week home without help, and things have been wonderful. We are settling into a good routine and Ella fits perfectly into our lives. Here are a few special things she's been up to:

- Eating every 2.5-3 hrs during the day

- She hit a little growth spurt and went back to eating every three hours at night, but last night she had two four hour stretches. Can't ask for more than that!

- Ella has settled into a good routine during the day of eating, awake time, and then napping until it's time for the next feeding. I brushed up on Baby Wise before she was born and she seems to be right on track. I don't agree with everything they say, but this routine works for us and makes things more predictable. :)

- Has started trying to make faces and sounds when she's awake

- Sleeps in her pack and play at night and for naps during the day when we're not out and about

- I've been pumping a lot during the day and Ella takes a bottle great and still breastfeeds at night or when we're home

- Loves to sleep with Daddy in the morning when I'm getting brother up and ready for the day.

Ella, you have completely stolen our hearts and made our family complete. We already love you more than we could have imagined!

Griffin's Birthday Party

2011-02-28T18:32:00.001-08:00

Griffin celebrated his 2nd birthday with a Mickey Mouse party at Little Gym on Saturday. All the kids had a great time playing in the gym and then we had chicken nuggets, fruit, and Mickey cupcakes. He got so many wonderful new toys and had a huge smile on his face the whole day. Little sister enjoyed the party too and looked precious in her Minnie Mouse shirt and tutu! Happy Birthday Griffin Bear!

Playing balls with Papa J

Snuggles with Aunt Lala and Gigi

Time for food and cupcakes

Sweet Cousin Jack enjoying the bubbles

Cousin Lyndon showing me his tongue!

Taking a ride on the magic carpet with Jack and Lyndon

FUN in the gym

Time for bells

Griffin's favorite is swinging from the bars

Sweet little Ella

Carson loved his yellow cupcake! YUMMY!

Ella Update

2011-02-27T10:19:00.000-08:00

I can't believe Ella is already almost 3 weeks old, and yet it's hard to remember our family without her. She has been the best baby and such a blessing to us. She is eating every 2.5 to three hours during the day and every four hours at night. She only wakes up twice a night to eat which is HUGE compared to Griff who ate every two hours round the clock until he was 8 weeks old! Conner, Leslie, and the twins came in town this weekend for Griffin's birthday party at Little Gym (post coming soon) and to meet Ella! She loved seeing her family and getting extra snuggles from everyone! We are just soaking up every minute with our sweet newborn. It's such a weird feeling this time knowing she will be our last baby. Even when things get crazy, I remind myself how fast they grow and to just sit back and enjoy every day!

Birthday Fun!

2011-02-23T10:53:00.000-08:00

Griffin had such a great birthday. We took him for pancakes and playtime at McDonald's in the morning. After nap, we met all our friends at the neighborhood playground for some serious fun on the tire swing. Then, we went to Rain Forest Cafe last night for Griffin's birthday dinner. Heather, Alex, and Elijah came and so did Lluvia, RJ, and Baby Sebastian. The kids had the best time looking at all the animals and Griffin was fascinated by the rain falling. Afterwards, we went home for a birthday cupcake...yummy! Griffin had a wonderful birthday!

No post can be complete without a picture of baby sister. She had a nice warm bath after all the birthday fun was over! Such a GOOD baby!

Happy Birthday Baby Boy!

2011-02-21T10:56:00.000-08:00

Dear Griffin,

I can't believe my baby is two years old today! You've come so far, and yet I wish I could stop time and just keep you the way you are. You were my first baby, and that's just so special. You taught me how to be a mommy, and how to let go of a selfish life and give my heart and soul to someone so precious. You have been an absolute joy to have as a son, and everyday you keep Daddy and I laughing at your cute personality. You LOVE to talk and have become quite the chatterbox. You have such a sweet, feisty spirit and you're the perfect mix of tender yet ALL boy. We love to watch you dance around the living room, and you love to play "I get you" every night when Daddy gets home from work. You love the outdoors and the tire swing at our neighborhood playground. You could swing around on that thing all day!

Griffin, God created you for our family, and you've been the perfect son. Now that Ella is here we get so much joy from watching you become a big brother, and show love to your sister. We are so proud of you Griffin and just when we thought it wasn't possible to love you any more, we do! Happy 2nd birthday baby boy!

Love you,

Mommy and Daddy

Sweetest Kiss

2011-02-20T17:55:00.000-08:00

Griffin wanted to give Ella a goodnight kiss before he went to bed tonight! Be still my heart!

Do they look alike?

2011-02-20T12:39:00.000-08:00

We are seeing lots of similarities between Griffin and Ella. It's hard to find the perfect pictures to compare, but what do you think?

Ella 3 days

Griffin 4 days

Ella 10 days

Griffin 3 weeks

Love Bugs

2011-02-15T12:51:00.001-08:00

What do you get when you combine two precious children, 4 amazing grandparents, 1 loving aunt, and a proud mommy and daddy, mixed together with beautiful roses, a delicious dinner, pink champagne, and molten chocolate cake? The perfect Valentines of course!

My mom cooked a wonderful dinner for us all. She made Caesar salad, crawfish etoufee (sp?), garlic bread, and molten chocolate cake...YUMMY!

Ella getting lots of love from her Gigi and Aunt Lala

Watching big brother color! Griffin has been so amazing. Every time I see my babies together I can't help but shed some happy mommy tears...darn hormones ;)

Griff enjoying a piece of his Valentine candy from school

Sweet Miss Ella Kay...she's wearing her Valentines shirt from Aunt Lala and her heart clip on her bow was made by Aunt Lele. She's one lucky girl to have aunties who LOVE to shop almost as much as they love her!!!

Ella has been an absolute angel. She rarely cries and loves snuggling! We had one rough day of nursing when my milk came in but today she has picked it right back up and she's doing great. I usually have to wake her up during the day to eat and she's sleeping four hour stretches at night. I'm prepared for this to change when she wakes up a little more, but with Griff we were up every 2 hours for the first month so this feels great! Griffin continues to blow us away with his sweet attitude towards his sister. I was mostly afraid of how it would go during feeding times, but he hasn't seemed to mind at all. He enjoys watching Mickey Mouse and getting lots of attention from Mimi and Pops! He was a little freaked out by the pump but what man isn't right?? We are so in love with our family of four and so thankful God has fulfilled our lives in so many ways!