our little fish

we were so excited to sign ellery up for swim lessons. though you may think 6 months is too early to start swim lessons, we couldn't wait! mostly because this is something kyle could do along with us. he misses out on the baby yoga, the playgroups, the library times. so we were thankful the ymca offered evening swim classes.

and right off the bat, ellery LOVED it! she was splashing and ready to go. we sang cute songs, she was mesmerized. her favorite was definitely the pool noodle, as she rode around the pool pretending it was a horse. so so fun. and so happy mommy and daddy could be there to splash and swim with our little fish!

help mama!

i'm stuck!!

ellery has learned a new trick in her crib...which you would think is a little scary. she thinks it's pretty funny. lately, when i hear her wake from her nap, i walk in to find her legs hanging through the crib rails. not sure how she gets those chunky things through!

let's hear it for the dad!

kyle's very first father's day as a daddy... and what better way to celebrate than with his girls! ellery and i (and jackie, too!) did our best to let kyle know just how much we love him and appreciate him. we showered him in gifts, then spent the day as a family, soaking up the sun at the pool. i remember telling kyle i can't wait to see him as a dad, and watch our daughter turn into such a daddy's girl. and let me tell you, it has been the sweetest thing to watch so far. ellery is so in love with her daddy-o and he is head over heels for her. which makes my heart melt, and makes me love him even more every day.

thank you kyle for being an amazing daddy and husband. i have no idea how you balance everything, especially with such a crazy work schedule. but ellery and i know how hard you work, how much family means to you, and how much you love your girls. we love you so so much!

pretty little ellery

when we received this super cute dress for ellery, we thought it was so stinkin' adorable. it was a gift from kyle's mom's friend, jo, who has fabulous style. and she knew just how to make e look like the cutest little tutu girl in town :) so cute that kyle & i had to do a little photo shoot in her big rocking chair. and ellery LOVES the camera nowadays (as if you couldn't tell...) as soon as we bring it out, she is ready to go with those big smiles! love it. thank you jo!!

baby girl loves beets!

who would have thought baby girl would love love love beets! she gobbles them right down. and let me tell you, it's quite the sight when she does eat them. somehow they get all over her face, which she thinks is hilarious!

another zoo date

ellery and i met up for a little play date with my friend maureen and her daughter faviola. mostly, the girls relaxed & snoozed while we walked and chatted around the zoo. it is so wonderful to have other mom friends who understand exactly what life if like with a baby (because they're currently living it!) and can talk just as much as i can about all things baby - sleep and diapers and every else! and what is even better is the fact that maureen is such an amazing woman who is so real and so encouraging. i felt so refreshed and just happy after spending the afternoon with her. and it looks like elle and favi had a fun time, too :)

ellery vs. lamb

ellery had her first taste of meat - and let me tell you, it was one gourmet cut of lamb! we got it at the tosa farmers  market from a grass-fed only farm. it was actually not so fun to make. just think of cooking some lamb chops and then how lovely it would look to just toss it in the blender. yeah, kinda gross. but it's all worth it for baby girl! and i love that i know exactly what is in her food.

so, here is ellery taking on the lamb chop. she wasn't too sure at first - as you can tell by her scrunch face. but now, as long as there is something mixed in with the meat, like potatoes or fruit, she loves her lamb and even turkey. oh our little fancy eater! 

take me out...

to the ballgame, daddy!! the family headed out to a wauwatosa west high school baseball game to cheer on some of the young life kids on the team. you all probably know kyle loves any sport of any kind, so he loved it. and so did ellabelle!

of course, toward the end of the game, we turned our trip into a little daddy-daughter photo session. the series of kyle tossing ellery in the air were so cute we had to frame them. love those two so much!

hanging with the girls

this summer, i have been watching ingrid & lucy a couple days a week. and let me tell you, ellery loves it! she loves having her girlfriends come hang out and play and giggle. and we've even taken a few trips together too. e seriously lights up when the girls come over and the three of them have so much fun. we've already had many pool dates. below is ellery after splashing around hanging on her towel, waiting for the girls to get ready to leave. she is actually wearing a dress katie made for her!

having a little snack after swimming. thanks for feeding me, lucy!!

one of our favorite activities was going strawberry picking. it was an absolutely gorgeous day, so we drove out to a farm about 30 minutes away and got to work! little did we know how much work it was! as you can tell, it was a bit tough to grab strawberries with e in the ergo carrier. she end up with her head hanging out, looking at me like, "what is going on mama?!" and the girl quickly realized you really have to get down to work to pick those berries. some around us were a lot more serious about their pickin'. we had fun with it, and picked enough for our fam and theirs. and we did sample a few along the way :)

while we were out in the strawberry fields, we decided to do a little work on father's day gifts. the girls wrote out d-a-d on our chalkboard & we took pictures to put in frames for the dads. we had such a fun day. ellery loved hanging with her girls!!