Go Fish!

Ellie has loved Finding Nemo and all things "fish" related since she was about 18 months old. We have wanted to take her to the Dallas World Aquarium for some time, but wanted to wait until she was old enough to really enjoy it. We went this morning as a family and had a wonderful time. Unfortunately, my camera battery wasn't charged so here are the few shots that I got of our fantastic family outing.

The three-toed Sloth

Red-footed tortoises (way in the back)

Not sure what this bird is!

Our own little monkey

More turtles

The family in the Orinoco Rainforest

A giant red-tailed catfish

Ellie looks at the arapaima, catfish, and manatees

Viewing the sharks in the Cenote tunnel

Mommy, Wow! I'm a Big Kid Now!

When Ellie turned 2, we went out and bought her a potty seat and a step stool to get up on the toilet. She tinkled a few times at the beginning, but wanted nothing to do with the potty for the last few months. I think that she developed a fear of the toilet, or something like that. Anyway, while Rich took his last trip to Mexico, I noticed we were running low on "Ellie diapers" and, not wanting to go and buy another big box, decided to give potty-training another try. I put Ellie on the toilet and we sang some of her favorite songs from nursery. We sang The Itsy-Bitsy Spider, The Wheels on the Bus, Book of Mormon Stories, Popcorn Popping, and Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam. This made potty-time fun, and Ellie was tinkling again. I decided to put her in some big-girl panties that I had bought (which are really big-boy panties since she loves Buzz Lightyear, The Incredibles, Lightning McQueen, and Wall-E) and she continued to go in the potty all day, accident free. I am happy to report that it has now been two weeks, and she has only had a handful of teeny-tiny accidents where she is able to stop herself, and we are still able to rush to the potty and go. We are so proud of our big girl!

Two of Ellie's big incentives to go poo-poo in the potty:
Woody and Buzz

Ellie's Buzz Panties

Another of Ellie's favorite incentives:
Calling Dad on the phone to say, "Ellie go pee-pee uh potty"
(uh = in the)

Happy Birthday, America!

We had an awesome 4th of July including many wonderful testimonies born of the great country that we live in and the wonderful freedoms that we share. I am so blessed to live in this great nation and am so thankful for the men and women (including my little brother) who have fought and will continue to fight to preserve the liberties that we hold dear. We had a very non-traditional dinner of chicken fajitas, and went out to watch the Plano fireworks for the first time since we moved here. The show was really great, and our viewing location was awesome! Here are some pictures of our 4th.

The girls in their red, white, and blue before church


Juliette turned 8 months old that day


Ellie gives a shout-out to Uncle Tay-Tay


All-American girl


Waiting for the fireworks




Mommy and her girls


Proud to be American!


Daddy and daughter


The finale

Family Photo Shoot - June 12, 2010

Wonderful Day

Today is such a happy day. My wonderful, beautiful, talented, fabulous (I could go on) sister turns 25 today!!! That is so amazing. She is my very best friend and I am so lucky to have her as my sister. I am so proud that she is in Sweden serving a mission for our church.

Rich, the girls, and I love you Suz! Hope you have a wonderful day!
Here is your birthday message from Ellie:

Also, Rich and I are celebrating our 7th wedding anniversary today. Yes, I got married on my sister's 18th birthday. I know...I'm terrible. But hey, we put candles on top of the wedding cake and sang to her. She forgave me...I think. Today is also my half birthday and Flag Day. Like I said, it's a wonderful day!

Now to Rich (and anyone else who wants to read my mush): I am so blessed to have such a hard-working, handsome, and wonderful husband and father as my eternal companion. I am so glad I married my best friend. Thank you for the best 7 years of my life. I look forward to spending all the years to come and eternity with you. I love you so much!

Here's some highlights of Year 7:

U2 Concert in October

Birth of Juliette in November

That crazy Dallas snowfall in February

Disney World in April

Hope you all have a wonderful day, too!

Butt-Scootin' Boogie

Jules is CRAWLING! She actually did her first scoot-crawling on June 4th, the day she turned 7 months old. She is practicing and getting better every day. We are so proud of our little Julesie.

And here are a couple of recent cute shots of both Eliza and Juliette just for kicks.

What's up, Mom?

I love to laugh!

Self-portrait

I can wear eye shadow, too!
(And is it just me, or do you notice the flux capacitor on her face, too?)

Thanks for my skirt, Nana Nguyen!
(Again, flux capacitor ... fluxing.)

Jules is 6 Months!

I can hardly believe it. Time keeps flying by and my newborn is a big baby girl now. She is a pro at sitting, rolling, and lifting her head all the way while on her tummy, and I noticed last week that she cut her bottom front teeth! We just started her on solid foods and she loves her rice and oatmeal cereals. She loves to smile and babble and is toying with the idea of crawling. She is such a joy to have as a member of our family.

6 Month Stats
Weight: 15 pounds, 12 ounces - 48%
Length: 26 1/4 inches - 72%
Head Circumference: 42 centimeters - 39%

Teeth!

Jules' first cereal - YUM!

My wonderful cousin, Julianne, came out and took 6 month pics of Juliette. Here are a few of my favorites.