cousins...

or as addie would say, "cugins"!

the girls love their cugins and we're so thankful they live close enough to enjoy.

adeline talks about them everyday, prays for them every night and misses them SO much when she's away from them. 

here are a few shots of some of the fun we had with them easter weekend

ella had a great time at her birthday party. 

she loved seeing her favorite california friends.

she laughed when everyone sang to her.

she took 2 bites of her cake!

she smooched and squeezed her new baby!

Happy Birthday Sweet Ella!

one year ago today our precious ella was born.

she's such a wonderful little addition to our family.

she loves her sister (whom she calls "buba"),

she squeezes her momma,

she plays with her daddy.

she adds such joy to our lives & is a constant reminder of the kindness of our God to give us such a perfect gift in ella.

everyday we get a clearer picture of who she is, what she likes & the little lady she is becoming.

when i saw her face a year ago i didn't think it was possible to love her any more than i did at that moment,

now i know that was just the beginning.

she steals my heart a little more each day.

i love you sweet lolly bird!

Hungry Creatures Everywhere!

tonight adeline was eating her very favorite potty training reward when she had to go potty so she quickly put her treats on the bench and we went to the bathroom. when i returned (after less than one minute) this is what i found... 

and when ella realized i was about to take them away this is what she did... she's so funny! 

we have been growing strawberries since the fall and just when one of them is about to turn red our pesky squirrel eats it. we've been very sad about our poor strawberries, then tonight adeline and i found 21 strawberries almost ready for picking! she was so excited. 

here is the biggest and reddest of them all. i think we'll pick it tomorrow, hopefully before the hungry squirrel or even hungrier sister gets it!

Oh So Sorry...

i've been a bad blogger. i'm sorry that i've been silent for so long! here are three short updates on what's been happening with our sweet girls. sorry for the lame overview but now that i'm up to date i'll be more faithful! enjoy!

Adeline is Growing Up...

adeline is such a big girl who loves big girl things. she loves pillow parties in the living room where she stays up really late (7:30!), eats treats & watches a bit of a movie with me & austin...

she enjoys eating her ice cream very slowly, savoring every bite...

she's a pro at using the big girl potty in her potty training wonderland...

she is a very sweet hostess when she invites people to visit her in her play house...

she laughs at the most appropriate things, even when reading...

she goes to bed like a big girl...

she has a great time playing with her little friend, daniel. 

she's our very sweet little addie and she makes us laugh daily. she loves Bible time and can retell every story we've taught her. she is sweet to her sister and loves her family. she talks like a champ and tells us exactly what she thinks about almost everything. we love her more every day!

Our Little Birdie!

ella's favorite things are: chasing us as fast as she can,

eating like a big girl,

kisses from pappa,

playing on momma's bed,

making faces,

her hanna,

and spending time with her "twin"!

she's turned into such a lady. she's changed so much since my last post. she got her first tooth on thanksgiving day, started crawling on the 2nd of january, talks up a storm and gives really juicy smochers! she's our sweet birdie and as her first birthday rounds the corner her little preferences and personality become clearer every day. we love her so much and can't believe how blessed we are to have her!

The Girls Love...

spending time together, reading, playing & cooking in the kitchen!

they love every minute they spend with their dad

and they love visits with family

Albuquerque Favorites

i didn't take very many pictures in albuquerque so this doesn't really give an accurate depiction of our time there. we had a great time with both austin and my family. the girls loved being with the family and especially their cousins!we had an adventure with these two little pipsqueaks! they were a bigger handful than they appear and really liked to wake each other up from sleeping peacefully! it was such fun to see them together. charity and i like to call them the twins!

it snowed one day so we bundled up and took adeline outside. she was not thrilled about being so bundled! and not a big fan of the snow because it "made her shoes wet and cold". funny girl!

we had a long delay at the airport returning to la. austin took this little shot which pretty much describes how we all felt!

Well, they say in LA it's a warm holiday...

here are some highlights from decemberella was acting so sweet to her aunt stefie but was really just plotting her big move...to pull as much hair as possible!
adeline loved making a gingerbread house with her cousins and grammy. thankfully she was sweeter to her aunt stefanie than ella was!my parents came for a visit and adeline spent most of her days sitting with papa doing some reading. i found them like this every morning and throughout the day! so cute, hopefully she'll study as much as he does. we had a very sweet time at our annual lunch with our favorite mrs. switzer. the girls loved catching up with her as well. i took the girls to their first tea with our dear friends, the norton girls. they loved every minute of it!
adeline was a very good helper wrapping presents and decorating for christmas. she also proved to be quite a fan of christmas carols!ella loved wrapping paper and bows!we had a great time celebrating as a family before we went to albuquerque. we are so thankful for our sweet little ladies and our life in california. we are more blessed than we could ever imagine.

We've been a long time gone...

i can't update our blog with a decent post because my computer is on the fritz so i just wanted to give a quick update to let you know that i'll give a big update once i have the computer situation figured out. thanks for your patience!

Girl on the go with a lot to say!

ella is on the move and is saying "dada" to austin and occasionally me. i think sometimes she gets confused and thinks dada means either parent. it's the cutest thing to hear her little voice (which is much higher than little addie's was) call for us. she melts our heart and is such a big girl.