Montana

So last weekend we had the chance to visit some of Adam's family

in Montana. We had a wonderful time and were very glad that
Ellie got to meet some GREAT-Grandma's before we head out
to the East Coast for an undetermined amount of time.
Anyway, I need to thank Cathy for sharing her camera, as well
as her skills, so that we could all document the fun we had.
I forgot to download all the pictures from the last couple of days,

but I'll try to do so soon. They're in a weird order, but enjoy!

Posing with Grandma Cook. We had a wonderful time
with her, even though Ellie is sticking to her recent shy phase
and refused to let either great-grandma hold her the whole
trip... dang girl. She was friendly and playful, but kept her
distance. Hopefully she'll get over this phase soon.

And posing with Grandma Roggia. She and Aunt Linda
fed us VERY well in Butte. We loved spending the day
with them all!

We love our wild child.

Playing in Grandma Cook's yard in Hot Springs.

Ellie was lucky to have such entertaining cousins with her, but
she was a little rough with them in return. Adam thinks it's
because of how he plays rough and wrestles with her all the time.

We learned lots about our heritage and got to see some
really great old places.

See what I mean? She's rough! Should I worry yet?

Ellie prefers to walk everywhere she goes.

Playing with Daddy.

For some reason, she truly loves being tossed
around...

... and man-handled...

... and launched into space.

Chillin with the cousins.

I'm not sure what they were all going for... maybe just each other?

Vacations are always good for naps.

Looking at pictures with Grandma.

Another good nap shot.

He took a little convincing....

But I got a happy pose out of him... he's a good man.

Adam did some running on the school track, and all the
kids out at recess kept trying to race him but couldn't
ever get enough of a head start to keep up. It was fun to watch.

My two favorite people!

Playing at the school playground.
More cousin abuse. She kept taking the pacifier whenever she
could... making Annabelle get upset, but then she didn't know
what to do with it since she never took one as a newborn, so she'd
just get bored and drop it. Oh Ellie. We love you mucho.


All in all, it was a wonderful trip and we're going to miss living
out close to so many wonderful relatives on both sides of our
little family! But moving day is less than 2 weeks away... yikes!
Virginia here we come!

Long Time, No Post

Okay, so it's only been 2 weeks, but it feels like forever. So brace
yourself for a marathon of pictures... and possibly more to come.

Anyway, things have been great. Ellie will be 8 months old in just
2 short days! She is a big girl who is always, always busy. But then
again, she's been that way since she was born. She loves to wave
to people and walk around while you hold her hands. Here are
some highlights and random pics from the last couple of weeks.

We decided to try out some new shoes last Sunday, but
apparently, they were still to big, as she removed them
within seconds. They should fit perfectly very soon!

The laptop is one of Ellie's favorite things. She loves to play the
infant games online. She pushes the keys, and little animals
pop up with fun noises and say "peekaboo". She gets very
excited and tries to grab them on the screen sometimes.

Practicing with the sippy cup. She can drink out of it just fine, but
of course, lacks some patience. She usually prefers a straw or just
a regular cup... of course.

She also loves plucking the guitar strings whenever
I get the guitar out to play.

Let me say, I am posting this picture for Adam... it is his
favorite as of late... I prefer the one below
(not so "chocolate dazed").
But here they are... our little girl loves to
share sugar-free, dark chocolate pudding with me!
She gets excited every time she sees me open one.

CHOCOLATE!!!

Looking silly outside enjoying the sunny weather.

Ellie has been having some attachment issues
the last month or so. Sometimes I'm not allowed
to leave the room... or even begin to put her down.
She's still smiley and friendly with most strangers, but
she puts her head down like this and acts shy every
now and then. I'll take it though... it's some of the only
cuddling we get from our independent girl.

Silliness.

She likes to play with balls and roll them back and
forth with us... but she seems to have been distracted
by something in this picture, I thought it was cute though.

We went to a really cold race that Adam was working
at and Cathy was doing photography for......... and of course,
it was pouring down rain and freezing cold. So, Ellie, Brianna,
and I decided to hang out in the car for a while. Brianna was
great at entertaining Ellie. She's such a good cousin!

Brianna still kept the show going at the afterparty at our house!

Ellie loved all the action. She always loves bigger kids... basically
anyone who can walk and run around. She just wants to play
with them so bad... at church, she gets mad when they walk
away from her... but when she sits and plays with babies
her own age, she usually makes them cry... She's kind of pushy
and aggressive... yes, mom, I know it's the curse I was given.

She gave me one cute pose this particular morning...

.......then got bored and kept trying to look around me
and watch some cartoons.

It would appear that she liked her biscuit... we've
been vacuuming more and more all the time.

The big exercise ball is one of her other new favorite toys.

For some reason, she liked it when I would pretend to drop it
on her or bounce it off of her legs and belly... she was cracking
up with this game for a while.

We got to hang out with Cathy and family on Thursday.
They let us borrow their backpack carrier to go to the park.

Ellie and I mostly chilled on the side.

The park seemed to be built more for Daddies....

We're glad he had so much fun!

Then we got to attend my Aunt Lynette's graduation! She just
finished her Master of Social Work degree. We were excited for
her and enjoyed visiting with Great Grandma and Grandpa Garner,
Aunt Cheryl, Chris, Addie, and of course Lynette! It was great!
I didn't get many pictures with my camera though. Maybe I'll
post the ones that they email me. This one is her with Aunt
Cheryl (her great aunt), and her Great Grandma in the forefront.

The grad looking gorgeous on the left!

Our little girl looking somewhat Irish. Although
I think she has more Scottish in her blood.

She was really going at this orange today.
She didn't care that it still had the peel.

Ellie doesn't really care much for her pureed green beans... but
loves to munch on the canned ones whole. Works for me.
She eats almost anything we give her anyway. She's a good girl,
till she gets bored. I love the constant battle! She's way too
much fun... and well worth the work!