an afternoon in the park

now that the weather has warmed up and the sunshine is out, we've been soaking it up! it has been so great to spend quality time together whenever kyle is off work. so one sunday afternoon after church, we headed downtown to pere marquette park. we tossed down a blanket while ellery snoozed in her stroller. we ate lunch, talked, relaxed. it was wonderful.

once ellery woke up, we had a special guest come stop by our blanket. kyle's babysitter from when he was younger  was in town for a roller derby tournament & met up with us in the park. julie started watching kyle when he lived in minnesota. it was amazing to think here was kyle's babysitter, now holding our baby! what a special friendship! it was fun for me to meet julie, and for us to catch up on what's been happening in our lives since kyle is now out of elementary school :) thanks so much for stopping by julie! (so wish we would have remembered to take a picture!)

happy 6 months ellery!

our sweet girl just keeps getting more & more fun (and cute, too!) i forgot to include it on the list, but she also learned to sit up this past months. such a big girl!

as always, be sure to click on the picture to read e's favorite and not so favorite things this month. i also included a collage of some "outtakes" from her 6 month photo shoot. enjoy!

splish splash!

ellery is our little water baby - she loves splashing around at the pool and during her swim lessons! so we borrowed our neighbor's baby pool and had our own water fun right in the backyard. she had such a blast! i knew she was going to be a little fish ever since i was pregnant. when we went on our babymoon to naples, we would sit on the beach. as the waves crashed on the shore, ellery would kick and squirm in my belly every time! we love our little swimming fish, and her adorable bathing suits, too! :)

ellery and bailey

i'm not sure if i had ever heard ellery laugh so much in her life...all over a little black fuzz ball of a puppy named bailey. bailey belongs to ingrid & lucy, the little girls i babysit and the daughters of the couple we rent our house from. one afternoon, we headed to their place while i was watching them. little did we know we were in for a big bellyache after laughing all afternoon with ellery! she couldn't get enough of bailey!

i took a video below, but sadly, when my sd card went bad, so did the video. you can hear ellery laughing but you can't see anything. still, i think it's adorable. we were just sitting on the kitchen floor while we played with bailey. and if you listen, about halfway through it sounds like bailey gets a little ferocious with some growls, but really she was just playing a little tug-o-war with her rope toy. which, of course, ellery thought was hilarious :)

UPDATE: so i loaded the video to youtube and now you an see it!!!!! made me so so happy!! so enjoy the sound AND video :)

dedication celebration

we were oh so happy to celebrate a special day for our sweet girl - the day we stood before our epikos church family and dedicated ellery. really, the dedication is more for kyle and i as parents than it is for ellery, seeing as it's our pledge to raise ellery as a daughter of God, according to the Bible. and seeing as parenting really is mostly learned through on-the-job training, it is wonderful to have the church body supporting and encouraging us!

ellery loved being in front of everyone! but mostly, she loved being next to her dear friend baechle. baechle and ellery had the same due date, and were born just about 24 hours apart. and these sweet girls had lots to talk about during the dedication! there were lots of squeals and giggles and grabbing of noses. i had never seen e so excited over another baby! it was so sweet :)

after the service, we had friends and family over to our house to continue the celebration. though i may not have gotten a lot of sleep before, i loved planning every detail for baby e. i wanted the decor to be sweet and dainty, perfect for our sweet girl on our special day. but what made it even sweeter is the wonderful community who surrounded ellery and celebrated with her that day, including momo & papa who came all the way from indiana!

the theme of kyle and i's wedding and marriage has always been "trusting His perfection" - trusting the Lord with everything, whether it's a major decision, our daily lives or how to love each other. and as we dedicated ellery, we knew that the only way we would have any success or joy as parents would be through God, and through continuing to trust His perfection with every detail of ellery's life. we wrote out a blessing for ellery, one we read to her and one we plan to read to her at all big events of her life - her first day of school, graduation, her wedding day. we put our hearts, our love, even our silliness, and oh so much time & thought into the parents we want to be specifically for ellery. and each time we look or read her blessing, which in now hanging in her nursery, we praise and thank God for granting us the awesome responsibility of raising and caring for ellery. and we are reminded of the sweet day we dedication our girl to Him. 

first momma's day!

my very first mother's day! we celebrated last year when i was pregnant (kyle got me a heating pad for my sore back!), but this year makes it all official. gaining the titles of wife and mom are my all-time favorite accomplishments, ones that have and are currently transforming me into the woman i know the Lord created me to be. i feel beyond blessed by the family He has given me, and every day just look at ellery and am in awe of His love, His creativity and the way He must value me, to find me worthy to care for this sweet baby. though i will never fully understand or grasp it, being a mom and caring for ellery has given me a deeper glance at God's love for us as a father, as a parent. with the amount that my heart overflows with love and care for ellery, it is hard to imagine to imagine that God loves her, and everyone of us, with a love that is so much deeper, so much stronger. i thank Him all the time for that daily reminder He gives me through ellery. so amazing.

we spent my special day together as a family, first going to church then grabbing lunch. we were all set to head to the lake for a little picnic by the water, when unfortunately, kyle got called into work. thankfully, it was a quick case and he was done before we knew it! so instead of eating by the lake, we headed for the backyard while ellery snoozed in her stroller and i ate my lunch, patiently waiting for kyle to get home. once he did, it wasn't long before ellery woke up and the three of us were ready for a relaxing afternoon. we spent the day lounging on a blanket in the backyard, mostly staring at ellery, unable to get over how incredibly sweet and cute-as-can-be our daughter is.

kyle and ellery had a little arts n' crafts time earlier in the week & made me a little mother's day coupon booklet. and some of the coupons, i can't even put a price on - like one night of uninterrupted sleep (kyle would go in with ellery), two free diaper changes (saving them for the really bad ones!) and one coupon for a daddy/daughter night while i go out with girlfriends. but my favorite part of the gift - kyle helped ellery do some finger paintings, and used her beautiful work to make the book. the day they made it, kyle stripped e down to her diaper and let her go to town! i loved loved hearing the two of them busy at work while i was in the kitchen. they both make me feel so precious, so valued, and needed and loved. this is one happy mama :)