Grammi's little baker

adeline and grammi baked up some tasty cookies while she was in town.

addie loved it & had a wonderful time spending time with my mom.

lots of love & only one small injury!

i think all great bakers have a little flour on their faces!

"ella, you look like an american"

this was just one of adeline's classic lines on fourth of july. she has continued to sing patriotic songs around the house. her favorite is "proud to be an american". it is so funny to hear her sing the line, "and their aint' no doubt i love this man, God bless the usa!" i haven't corrected her because it makes me laugh so hard.

for the fourth we had a great time with my sisters and their families. so nice to be together! i didn't get any shots of the fun day full of poolside fun (for most of us, my girls excluded), great patriotic cake, tasty food, and lots of laughs. here are some photos of our firework fun by a little duck pond.

ella, the sleepy american

when push turns to hug...

baby trey and ella had a great time together when he and my sister came to visit. they played together so well. they both thought the same things were funny, they loved to hug and kiss and shove and laugh.

one night we had some spontaneous sprinkler fun so we took the babies clothes off and let them play. they both wanted the same toy so...

there was a lot of pushing...

followed by tons of kissing...

followed by more pushing...

and eye pokes...

followed by hugs for "baby" (this is how ella holds her babies)...

followed by lots of giggles!

they both loved the sprinkler. trey tried to play with it once we were done and in all the excitement...

oops! big fall!

ella loved her time with her aunt and cousin. she loves baby trey & was so sad to see him go.

We like the things that summer brings...

we've had a fun summer. some of the highlights have been...

going to the beach with some of our favorite friends

watching adeline learn to get dressed by herself

watching asher play baseball

having a hot dog smore cook out (ella broke into trader joes cheetos and couldn't get enough!)

reading the paper with austin

having a little family lunch on the town

eating ice cream at the soda fountain!

Busy May

austin graduated in may.

the girls loved his "fancy little dress" (as adeline would say)

and his silly hat.

they also enjoyed spending time with all the visiting family

we went to oxnard for the epoch retreat.

the girls loved being in a hotel together.

they thought it was very funny that we were all sleeping in the same room.

ella's one year old photo shoot

http://mattfloreen.com/view/duncanfamily/

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!