I'm A Barbie Girl!

Elizabeth has been asking for a Barbie ever since we went and saw Toy Story 3 back in July. We have been waiting for a special occasion to finally get her one...and today was the day. We are so proud of our sweet Elizabeth. She has been sleeping in underwear for over a week and has done great!


Elizabeth was so excited when Matt and I sat her down and presented her with her very first Barbie. She immediately wanted us to take her out of the box. She loved that her Barbie was a princess and had a tiara.


She hugs her, loves her, dances with her and carries her around everywhere she goes!


Congratulations Elizabeth! You are such a big girl and we are so proud of you!

Giraffe and Zachary at Four Months

My little Zachary is just growing and growing. Here he is at four months old with his darling little giraffe. If you want to compare click here. Don't worry if you cannot find photographs for months two and three...they never were taken. Whoops! Here's hoping that Matt and I are better about this in the future!

Stay Late 'til 8...again!

Elizabeth and I enjoyed another night together at the zoo. Since this was the last "Stay Late til 8" event, I wanted to make sure to take Elizabeth. To make the night even more special, we went to McDonald's for a Happy Meal, and I gave Elizabeth some fun animal-shaped bracelets. These bracelets are all the rage right now and Elizabeth was so excited to have some to call her own.


We started our zoo adventure at the playground. Elizabeth loves to climb, jump, and slide. She was in absolute heaven playing on all of the equipment.


We rode the train and the carousel.


We ate the traditional pretzel and even got another fun animal-shaped water bottle.


We went shopping in the gift shop; where Elizabeth fell in love with this huge snake. No she did not get to bring it home!


We walked around and looked at all of the animals.


As we entered the Asian Highlands, we noticed that one of the tigers was swimming around. Elizabeth thought that it was so funny because she has never seen a tiger in the water before. She was amazed and said, "Mommy, he is swimming just like me at Meme's pool!". As we sat there watching the tiger, three more tigers decided to come and play too! It was so fun to see all of them interacting and playing.


I am so glad that Elizabeth was able to have this experience. It is not every day that you get to observe a tiger playing, swimming, pouncing, and hunting. There were times that the tiger was right up against the glass...right next to Elizabeth. I don't think she could have gotten any closer to these amazing animals.


Elizabeth and I had a great time just walking around the zoo together. We talked, danced and acted silly as we spent some one-on-one time together. It was so nice to just be able to focus on Elizabeth and give her all of my attention.


I am seriously the luckiest mommy ever! I have a beautiful, healthy little girl that I absolutely adore. It was so nice to be able to sneak away and share this night together. I don't know if Elizabeth will remember all of these fun things that I try to do with her...but I always will!

Birthday Celebration for Uncle Bill

This weekend, we gather together at my parent's house to celebrate my Uncle Bill's birthday. We started the celebration by visiting with one another and by playing some games. My uncle loves games so it was nice to be able to do something that we knew that he would enjoy.


My brother brought his girlfriend Kris, their son Talon, and Kris' kids. It was a large gathering...and was a little more chaotic than we are use to...but to be honest everyone was great. Elizabeth did a great job of sharing all of "her" toys.


Talon is such a sweet guy and did a great job playing with Elizabeth. His favorite toys seemed to be the Potato Heads...now we know what to get him for Christmas!


MeMe and Zachary got to spend some quality time together before Zachary took a nap with daddy.


After games, we sang "Happy Birthday!" and had cake and ice cream. Elizabeth was so excited about the "Happy Birthday Song" and did a great job of singing to Uncle Bill. Happy Birthday, Uncle Bill. We love you and hope that this upcoming year is filled with happiness, good health, and success!

Summer is Winding Down

This weekend, we decided to take advantage of the warm weather and go swimming one more time. The summer is winding down and MeMe's pool is only open for a couple more weeks. Elizabeth has really enjoyed swimming this year. I may just have to find an indoor pool that we can continue to go to during the Winter.

Elizabeth has done so great this year. She has gotten much more comfortable in the water. She floats using a "noodle" or an inflatable toy and doesn't want anyone to hold onto her.


She loves to paddle and kick to move all around the pool. We just have to watch that she doesn't head for the deep end of the pool.


Today, she looked at me and said, "Look Mom, No Hands!"


Zachary had a great time sitting in the shade. He loves to rock in his chair and to watch everything that is going on.


MeMe gave Elizabeth a fun watering can to play with. Elizabeth had so much fun watering all of the flowers around the pool area. She even watered the top of grandma's head!


Elizabeth discovered that she loved to jump into the pool. Uncle Bill did a great job of catching her and keeping her safe!


Zachary was in for a real treat today. MeMe did not go swimming, but instead stayed in the shade with Zachary. They got to spend some one-on-one time together. Zachary was all smiles and loved all of the attention.


After Elizabeth was done swimming, she got to have some yummy juice and a fruit cup. MeMe always treats us so well.


Thanks MeMe, for another fun-filled afternoon!

Wish Us Luck...

It's official. Matt and I are not going to buy Pull-Ups anymore. We really feel that Elizabeth is ready to wear underwear during her naps...and even at night. Maybe we are crazy but only time will tell. Tonight is the first night we are trying it...so wish us luck!

Play-doh Head

Today, while we were out shopping, Elizabeth fell in love with this play-doh set. She pointed and exclaimed, "Mommy, can I please have that play-doh head?" Since she asked so nicely, and because I love to spoil her, I just had to get it!

As soon as we got home, she had me get it out of the package so she could play. I could not believe that it kept her entertained for three hours. For any of you that know my little Elizabeth, she never sits still for five minutes...let alone three hours. At one point, she turned to me and said, "I love this play-doh, but it's hard to do because the play-doh is really mushy." I didn't even know she knew the word "mushy".


Here is one of the many play-doh heads that she created during her three hour play time. Isn't he cute! Elizabeth named this one Charlie.


All I can say is that, if this play-doh set continues to entertain her for three hours at a time...me and this play-doh set are going to become very good friends!