4th of July

We had a really fun 4th of July this year, the weather this year was amazing which made being outside all weekend so fun!  We started celebrating on Thursday the 3rd.  We headed to mom and dad's for a BBQ and fireworks watching.  Mom and Dad had the house ready for the babes...water table...check, jump house...check!  The babes love the "jump jump" and were constantly asking anyone who would listen to take them downstairs to jump.

Friday the 4th Elle and I woke up early to meet Mary and Henry at the parade.  My mom ended up walking up to meet us too.  Elle LOVED it!  She was a little dancing fool and would wave and yell "hi" to everyone.  After the parade we headed to lunch then all went home, the babes were ready for naps.

We met back up at mom and dad's that night and then walked up to the O'Fallon fair.  Rides, funnel cakes, glow sticks and fireworks were the highlights of the night. :)  At one point during the fireworks Eric offered to go get us a funnel cake.  He came back 5 minutes later with a huge plate of fired rice and crab rangoon.  Umm, that's not a funnel cake.  Elle and I both refused the Chinese food, it both looked and smelled very questionable. Just further proof that Eric can eat anything.

I'm excited for the year when Elle can play with sparklers.  I love fireworks but mainly just the little kid ones (sparklers, black snacks, color bombs...ya know the hard core stuff :)  Although, when the time comes I will probably be a nervous nelly and keep her as far away from them as possible.

Once the 4th is over I'm ready to wrap up summer and dive into fall.  It's taking some serious restraint to not fill my house with Pumpkin Spice scents.  The amazing weather we've had this summer is teasing me.  It's almost fall, y'all!

June 2014

With our family vacation kicking off the month of June the rest of the seemed pretty quiet in comparison. 

We did celebrate Paige's birthday at mom and dad's one night.  It is now the norm for Henry and Elle to sit on the birthday person's lap and help open all the presents.  Imagine the crazyness once Charlie is helping as well! 

We had some fun times with the Voss boys this month.  We watched Charlie Bear one Saturday while Mary, Nick and Henry went to a Cardinals game.  Eric had to work that night so it was just me and the 2 babes.  Game changer.

The next weekend Henry, Mary and Charlie came over for a slumber party.  Henry loved Elle's little toy laptops and worked most of the night. :)  Mom and Dad stopped by with surprises for the babies, an ice cream cake and fun new cups! 

Then the next weekend we had Hensy over for a slumber party while Mary and Nick were at a wedding.  Eric was working again so I was on my own.  Henry loved Elle's "Go Husker's Barbie" as he called it.  Now every time Elle plays with it she talks about "Hensy".  These two were crazy so I ended up taking them to the splash pad in the hopes of wearing them out.  I was shocked at how timid Henry was at first but before long he was right in the middle of all the action.  My plan to wear them out did work, they came home, ate dinner and soon were fast asleep. :) 

 

Smelling the flowers :)

Elle still loves being outside.  Sidewalk chalk is one of her favorite things right now.  Elle and I go outside and doodle.  I write our names, draw pictures of puppy dogs, ice cream cones, the sun.  I laughed so hard when Eric sent me this picture at work one day.  This is daddy's version of sidewalk chalk.  If you can't make it out it says ITALY...in support of Italy's World Cup Game that day.

Vito celebrated his 9th birthday this month!  Elle had so much fun going to PetsMart to pick out a birthday present for him.  First was stopped to look at the "fishys" and she loved them all!  The last thing we need is another pet...famous last words.  Eventually we made our way over to pick out a toy and treats for Vito.  She saw a Mizzou jersey when in the store and pointed to it and said "Daddy!"...this girl knows her Father's team!  I'm pretty sure Elle thought Vito's new toy was for her but to my surprise she gave it to the birthday boy when we got home.  I love this picture of Hermann pouting in the background, his feelings are hurt so easily!

Elle has decided she no longer likes sitting in her highchair so she does meals at the table with us now.  I just got her a booster seat last week which is working really great, I needed something to keep her little buns strapped down!

We had a few splash pad visits this month and Elle and daddy go to the pool together when he's off during the week.

Some more Elle highlights:
-Her speech is out of control.  She forms little sentences and can say just about anything.  She mocks things the we say all the time.  If I yell for Eric, she yells "Eric", I always have to tell Hermann to go to the bathroom in the grass so when he's outside sometimes she beats me to it "Mermy, grass!"
- Calls Vito monkey and hates when they bother her when she's walking around eating a snack
- Says "Hensy" in the cutest little voice, Will imitates her perfectly
- Loves watching videos of herself on my phone
- Asks to see pictures of babies when I'm looking on Facebook or Instagram
- Every night before bed we either watch "Elmo" - Elmo in Grouchland, "Barney Ho Ho" - Barney Night Before Christmas, "Birds" - Rio or "Zen" - Frozen...every once in awhile she requests "Monsters" - Monster University
- She is such a caretaker, always holding her baby dolls, burping them, giving them bottles and she loves to hold Charlie Bear!

 

Flying a kite

 

Unc helping with a ponytail

Father's Day

This year for Father's Day we celebrated with Eric in the morning and my dad in the afternoon.  Eric worked Saturday night so when he got home Sunday morning we had breakfast ready started and were able to enjoy some time with him before he went to sleep.  He also had to work Sunday night so this was our only time to spend with him. :(  The day before Elle and I finished up our shopping, we got him a Bass Pro gift card and framed a cut out of Elle's hand-print.  I took Elle to Target to let her pick out a card.  She was pretty dead-set on a dancing and singing Hamburger card that was $8 (!!!) but changed her mind when she saw on Elmo card.  It read "To Dad from your Son" but I was happy to cross out son, replace it with daughter and save about $5. :)

Elle is so lucky to have Eric as a daddy.  I will never forget the night she was born and how ecstatic Eric was.  Women get 40 weeks of falling in love with a baby before they're born and for Eric it hit him like a ton of bricks that night...and Elle has had him wrapped around her little finger ever since.

In the afternoon we headed over to mom and dad's to celebrate my #1 dad.  We are all so lucky to have him.  My dad passed on the trait to both Mary and I to get out and have experiences with our kids.  He was always taking us to the Zoo, Science Center, Magic House, New Kids on the Block, Six Flags, Barbie on Ice, etc.  I remember loving these little adventures so much as a kid so it's something I've already started with Elle, I mean we already have our tickets for Frozen on Ice in February 2015. :)  Plus, there is something to be said about a dad who will withstand thousands of screaming kids at a New Kids on the Block concert...he's a keeper!   My dad is someone who has always put his family first.  He has worked hard his entire life to give his family so many amazing things and experiences.  A cute car when I turned 16, you bet.  An unforgettable trip to Disney World, absolutely.  The wedding of my dreams, of course...and the list goes on and on and on.

Not only is he amazing to me, he has my sweet Eleanor absolutely spoiled and is always there when Eric and I need a hand with something.  He treats this little Hylton family like gold and we are forever grateful for him.  Love you, dad!!!