Booth Park

We met up with Charli, Brooke, Josephine, and Kendyl at the park this morning and the big girls were so excited to see each other!  It was super hot, so we weren't able to stay too long, but hopefully we can all get together soon. 

Mackinac Island

Hannah, Jordan and I had a great trip to the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island as a family of three.  Ella stayed home with Mina who is living with us until she finds a new house.  It is so easy traveling with just Hannah!  Jordan had a conference, so Hannah and I were mostly on our own during the days.  We went to the school park, threw rocks into the water on the beach (and saw a snake slither right by us - Hannah tried to catch it), swam at the pool, ate lots of superman ice cream, played baseball on the hotel's front lawn, visited the butterly house, and walked around town.  Daddy also joined us at the pool and Hannah got to show him that she was tall enough to stand on her own at the shallow end.  She was also sure to point out the Sno-Kone machine at the pool.  Hannah was a BIG fan and had a blue mouth all day!

9 Month "Well" Visit

Ella had her 9 month visit today and got a reprieve from her shot since she had an ear infection over the weekend.  It was the first ear infection for either girl, and it was AWFUL!  Poor Ella was so miserable, but she is thankfully back to her happy self today.  Ella is smaller than Hannah at this age, we were shocked!  I put a 9 month picture of Hannah below Ella's for comparison. They are definitely sisters!

Stats:

15 lbs 14 oz

26.5 inches

Hannah came too and weighed 29 lbs 4 oz - she is obsessed with going to the doctor.

Ella at 9 months:

• Self feeds all solids
• Scoots while sitting - she looks like a dog wiping its butt on carpet..
• Occassionally army crawls 5-6 feet, but mostly rolls to get around
• Stands at her laugh and learn table and rarely falls
• Talks a LOT - mimics words
• Turns pages in her books
• Has 1 bottom tooth
• Loves getting tickled, clapping, waving, high fiving, swinging and doing anything with Hannah - Ella thinks everything Hannah does is hilarious
• Tolerates swimming, but so far isn't a big fan
   

Visit to the Barn

We headed out to a friend's barn today and Hannah had a great time feeding the horses, and running around with Jake, Nate, Tyler and Norah.  Tyler and Norah's mom (the barn owner) had the brilliant idea of sending the kids running to the woods and back.  As a result, we all got great naps!  The picture below is their slow walk back.  Ella also enjoyed herself sitting on a blanket under a shady tree.

School's Out for Summer

The girls are officially on summer vacation!  I am so jealous.  They both got to take home a picture collage for the year - they put up monthly pictures of each kid in the program and the teachers created a collage from those photos for each student.  They both had great years, and we will definitely miss all of their teachers this summer.  Hannah will move to pre-school next year, and Ella will start her year in the infant room and move to the toddler room in December.

Jeff and Sari's Wedding

We had Jeff and Sari's wedding today and both girls loved dancing.  Ella especially enjoyed watching her big sister Hannah on the dance floor.

Swinging Incident

Hannah went to dinner with Softa and Zayde tonight, so Ella, Jordan and I had a quick dinner at Beyond Juice. Ella LOVED my smoothie, which was no surprise since she will eat pretty much anything.  We then headed to Shain Park and Jordan pushed Ella on the swing.  Apparenly he forgot he was pushing an 8 month old, not a 3 year old.  Watch Ella's head after he releases her.  Thankfully, she seemed to enjoy it.

At the Beach

Cousin Ali was in town and invited us over to the beach they just put in.  It was a bit chilly this morning, but that didn't stop Hannah from making a million buckets of mud soup with Ali.  Ella also had a great time hanging out with Grandma Joanie and Aunt Nancy, and playing in the sand on a blanket.  Unfortunately, I wasn't paying too much attention to her and when I looked over she had made her way to the edge of the blanket and had fistfuls of sand and a sandy mouth.  Delicious.

Sleepover at Macy's

Hannah and Unky Ian passed out after a long night of playing at Detroit Kid City.

Birmingham Fair

We had a blast at our annual visit to the Birmingham Fair with the Pulis', but missed having the Hays' this year.  Hannah, Charli and Josephine all enjoyed a ride on the carousel (Ella was home with Grandma Joanie).  Unfortunately, I didn't get any good pictures of the girls together.  Hannah did NOT enjoy the rollercoaster this year and was sobbing by the time it stopped.  Poor Hannah!  We ran into the Glass' and it was great to have the big kids take Hannah on the rides.

Before it started...

...and after.

Trike-A-Thon

Hannah and Ella had their trike-a-thon at the end of a transportation themed week at school and Hannah had a great time on her scooter.  She did what felt like a million laps around school with all of her friends, stopping at the water station to re-hydrate.  She also made sure to stop and say "hi" to the police officers there to keep the kids safe.  Ella hung out with her Unky Ian and took a ride in the buggy with her buddy Josephine.