Big Girl.

Oh my! Ellery's new moves are coming on fast. 

Adjusting from having a rolling around baby to a 'let me crawl towards power cords and pull up on everything' baby is taking a little time to get used to. However, I will say, her new found independence is pretty grand, but I predict that the word 'no' will be used a good bit more around here soon.

 Pulling up on the wall.

 Pulling up on the coffee table.

 Crawling around the coffee table.

 Refusing to nap.

But being cute about it!

Developmental Milestones.

Last week, Ellery learned to sit up on her own.

Yesterday, she started crawling.

Today, I laid her down for a nap, and 10 minutes later she was standing up in the crib.


Where has my baby gone?! 

Gamecocks!

Even though they lost to Arizona in the final round of the college world series, Ellery is still proud to be a Gamecock! :)

Our Week Away.

Ellery and I just got back from a week long visit to see her grandparents, and she enjoyed every second of it. We stayed in the car pretty much the entire time, seeing friends and family, but Ellery was a trooper and more go-with-the-flow than I could have ever hoped for. 

There were lots of new experiences this week....

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Like Ellery sharing her thoughts on baby dolls:

Hey look! Another baby!

 Can I touch your face, baby?

 How 'bout a kiss?

Oh! I think I like you, baby!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And playing outside with Granddaddy Parrott...

 

And Grandpa Tyson!

 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And rolling on the floor with cousin, Avalee.

And then getting squished like an ant.

 

Ellery still loves Avalee.

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Our trip wore sweet Ellery out and gave her a nasty stopped up nose. 

This is how she fell asleep today, playing with the new banner her Nana made for her.

 

It was fun to be away, but man, it's good to be home!

Someone likes book time...

Especially when it involves daddy making animal noises. 

Well-Baby Check up: 6- Months.

*Ellery playing with her reflection in the mirror as we wait.

Although Ellery will be 7 months on the 11th, Friday was her 6 month well-baby check up. And she took it like a champ.

She waited patiently.

She let the pediatrician poke and prod and listen.

She hopped on the scale and weighed 19 lbs 10 oz.

She measures 28 inches long.

When it came time for her shots, she whimpered a little as the needle pierced the skin, but she did not cry. Not a tear. And when it was all over, she reached up to me and snuggled close. She even blew raspberries in my shoulder as we were walking to the car.

She's changing so quickly. She smiles and laughs and squirms and rolls. She skips naps because she can't stop practicing getting up on her knees. She cries when we walk out of the room and giggles when we come back. She's preciously spoiled. No doubt about it.

Pensacola.

 We celebrated our 2nd anniversary in Pensacola, FL, applying sunscreen, listening to the small but constant waves crash onto the shore, and enjoying the white gritty sand between our toes.

 It was heaven. 

The days were hot, but the beach breeze, our umbrella, and the crystal clear water made for a comfortable and relaxing visit.

We watched the sunset. We went out to dinner. We enjoyed being with each other, as a family. 

 

Ellery Meets the Beach.

Pensacola, FL

May 25, 2012.

She loved it!

 

It's been a busy week for us.

Date night, Church, Swimming. Anniversary.

Ellery getting sick. Throwing up. Running a fever. Wheezing. 

The pediatrician seems to think she has a case of acute spasmodic croup. 

Please pray!

Blackberry Jelly!

Saturday, Justin, Ellery, and I headed out to the country in search of ripe blackberries to pick. On our agenda for the weekend was to make blackberry jelly & syrup, and in order to accomplish that, we needed fresh blackberries. 

We drove around 45 minutes to a patch Justin had seen on the side of the road earlier in the week. We picked and picked, it started to rain, and we picked some more. In total, we picked about a gallon and half. 

We got home, found the perfect blackberry jelly recipe (which happens to be found inside the Surejell pectin box), and got to smashing.

We used a potato masher to crush the berries to extract as much juice from them as possible.

Then just rigged up a strainer using an old white undershirt and a wooden platform to separate the juice from the seeds and skins.  We let gravity work all night.

 

Then after church on Sunday, we came home and got to work. We sanitized jelly jars and boiled the blackberry juice, added sugar and pectin, and made jelly. 

 

and syrup. 

We proceeded to put the syrup on everything. And decided to have waffles for supper!

Our taste buds were doing happy dances. It's quite incredible. 

Blackberry Jelly Recipe: Here
Blackberry Syrup Recipe: Here

We ended up with 12 jars of jelly and two and a half bottles of syrup. We've had breakfast for dinner several times this week, just so we could have an excuse to use it!

Yesterday, We Started Solids.

Here's how it went:

She ate about a spoonful.

Here's to hoping we have better luck today.

Mother's Day.

Last year's Mother's day was pretty special to us. With a smile on our face and a little bump forming under my shirt, we made our big announcement: we were going to be parents.

At that time, motherhood was an idea, a dream, a picture of days to come with the Little growing inside of me. In the year between then and now, I have experienced love unfold from places I never knew it could grow. I've seen a helpless 7lb 10 oz baby transform into my 6 month old, who often has quite the opinion. I've seen sleepless nights turn into snuggle-fests and rocking chairs create magic.

To me, the meaning of motherhood is different now. It grows stronger and deeper and more powerful with every passing second. It is about constantly making sacrifices -- well-worth-it sacrifices. And about caring more for another human being than you could ever possibly care for yourself.  My motherhood is created out of my intense desire to nurture and support and give all that I have with hope of raising happy children who make this world a little bit of a better place.

Last year was special, but this year meant more. This year had meaning, purpose, and a sleepy Ellery curled up beside me while husband brought me breakfast in bed. It was perfect.