Feeding the Swans

This week Daddy and I took Ellen to feed the swans near Grandma Nathan's house. Ellen thought this was pretty fun!
Daddy was giving them bread as they honked very loudly at him.

Ellen was mesmerized by the loud noises they made.

She really wanted to get closer to have a better look but we were afraid that she might jump in the water after them!

Here she is wagging her finger at the swans and telling them something very important! This was a pretty fun after school adventure. Love, The Little Bee and her Momma

The Years are Short

I found this old blog post hidden in my drafts. This is from when I was told that Ellen would be moving up to the toddler class and that she needed to hold her own bottle. Her teacher and I both knew that Little Miss Priss knew very well how to hold her own bottle but that she preferred to have it held. This picture was evidence of this.
She still likes to sit in our lap and have a bottle, even if she is giving it to herself. She is such a snuggle bear. Now we are facing giving up the bottle for cups and giving up the formula for whole milk. We have made more progress in giving up the formula. Again, she knows how to use a cup (very messily) but prefers her bottle. I also prefer the bottle and had a little cry about giving up this stage of her babyhood. Now when Lloyd sees me start to read the book about feeding he says, "please don't cry". Who knew that motherhood was so steeped in ambivalence. This whole year has had me tied up in it! On one hand I am so proud that she is growing and advancing to the next milestone but on the other hand it tugs my heart that she needs me a little bit less. Oh sure, she will need me the rest of her life but not in the way that a baby does.

Here she is at Papasito's reminding me of how grown up she is. Little Bee, I am so proud of every move you make but it does tug at my heartstrings. I think I am doing a good job of keeping this ambivalence in check and not preventing you from taking that next step but sometimes it is harder. There are some days that I am at work and my arms ache to get home and hold you. Luckily, we have years of that ahead of us and you are the best snuggle bunny around! Love, The Little Bee and her Momma

Gus and Henry!

Recently Ellen got to meet her two newest friends, Gus and Henry. She thought that they were pretty cute and loved taking a walk with them. When she sees a baby she thinks it is pretty funny and I can almost hear her thinking, "Look at that baby, I am a big girl". Little Bee, you are such a big girl but you are also Mommy's baby and always will be! I feel like I have to remind her of this regularly lately. She has been pretty sassy and telling Mommy, Daddy and the dogs how the cow ate the cabbage. Her teacher told me that she was even bossing around her friends at school. She had the whole finger wag down and everything. Is it possible that we are hitting the terrible two's early? Love, The Little Bee and her Momma

Friday Night = Molina's with the Dabneys

We have a tradnition of meeting the Dabney family for dinner on Friday nights for dinner. With our little ones this has been a less regular occurance but we still make it when we can. Ellen and Charlie love to munch on tortillas and try to color on the kids menus. The Mommy's love the margarita's...
They each love to watch each other and crack up at what the other one is doing.

We try to sit outside when it is nice so that they can watch the bigger kids play.

Ellen tries to share her tortilla with Charlie.

When you're looking for some Friday night fun, come join us! Love, The Little Bee and her Momma

Bee Day Party!

Ok, so I have fully recovered from Ellen's Bee Day bash! It was so much fun and I will have professional pictures to share soon. Thank you, Maudie, for also taking pictures at the party. I really appreciated it and didn't have a hand to do it myself. Ellen started the party in a dress my mother smocked her and a cute bee bow. However, when she saw all the fun she was missing in her dress we did a quick change and got her in her swim suit.

It would have been funny to put a pedometer on Ellen for the party. She walked from one activity to the next for the entire two hours. From the bubble machine, sprinkler, playhouse, pool, slide, ball pit, sandbox and sidewalk chalk. She had so much fun! I was a bit worried that she would get overwhelmed with all of the people and fun but not our Little Bee! Seriously, this girl was here to party!
Ellen had a great time with her bestie, Betsy!

Ellen loved her birthday cake! It matched her invitations and all of the decorations.

Little Bee, we had such a good time at your party and I think you did too! We look forward to planning many more fun parties for you but I'm glad that they only come once a year. Mommy was so ward out on Sunday that we let Ellen watch cartoons for the first time ever. She loved "Yo Gabba Gabba" and danced when they sang. Love, The (1 year old) Little Bee and her Momma

Mommy's Wishes

Bee, you answered so many of Mommy's life long wishes when you came into this world. I am so happy to have the family we have. I love your Daddy so much and in him have found a true partner in every thing we do. He has been my strong and wonderful partner in rearing you and in life. I wish that, one day, you will find a man who will love, spoil, respect, and protect you in the way that your Daddy does for me. We are so lucky that we have him, Bee.
I don't know if you can really understand how happy you make me until you have your own Little Bee. Your crooked little toothy smile as you run towards me and grab me at my knees melts my heart. Your sweet strokes on the back of my arm as I rock you to sleep bring tears to my eyes. Your spontaneous kisses (clucks of the tongue really) across the room are my world.
The way your head smells as I bury you in kisses and how perfectly we fit when we cuddle makes me know how right God was when He chose us for each other.
Being your Mommy has made this the best year of my life so far! I am so proud of you and everything you have done this year. You have learned so much about the world and have so much more you want to learn. I love how curious you are. My birthday wish for you, as you turn 1!, is that you continue your life as happy as you are now. I hope that you continue to love people the way that you do and that they love you back. We pray every night that you learn how to give your heart to God and I wish that this comes easy for you. I hope that you find a life worth living and that you are in love with the path you choose. I wish that you will always know how much your Mommy and Daddy love you, even when you are 13! I have loved seeing the person you are becoming and I hope that I can get out of your way so that you can become exactly what you want to become. I will be so proud of whatever that is, just because it is you and that is enough.

Here's to many more wonderful years of carving out this family and this life that I feel so blessed to be living!

Happy First Birthday, Little Bee! Love, Your Momma

Celebrating Buzzing Bees on Etsy!

source

I recently discovered how to create a treasury on www.etsy.com. If you don't know about this site you are really missing out! Etsy is home to many do it yourself craft types who have launched their own businesses right from their home. I recently bought a ton of stuff for Ellen's birthday party on the site and last year got most of my Christmas presents there was well. Click on the link above to scout out some of the best bee purchases on etsy. Love, The Little Bee and her Momma

Daddy Love

Ellen, one of my biggest wishes for you has already come true in that you are your Daddy are so devoted to each other. You share inside jokes, play games and love, love, love each other! When Mommy means business you sometimes try to appeal to Daddy but, being that he is a good Daddy, we stick together! When you first came home your Daddy was such a nervous Nelly! I thought we would never get home from the hospital because he was driving so slow and careful! (Daddy never drives slow, so this was a big deal.) To reassure him that you were fine, I kept taking pictures of you and showing them to Daddy.
Daddy has learned to relax and really has become an amazing father! I love your relationship with each other. You two are my world and I am so blessed to be a part of this family.

Daddy wrote very sweet wishes for you. He said, "I could have gone on for days, but I kept it short."

My Sweet Daughter Ellen, This year has gone by too quickly. You have grown and developed so well and I am very proud of you. I wake up every morning wondering what new facial expression, hand gesture or sound you will make. Your laugh and smile warm my heart more than anyone can imagine. The coming years will be very exciting and I can't wait to spend every moment with my little girl who is the center of my world. Your mother and I love you very much and look forward to celebrating your first birthday with you very soon. Love, Da!

You crack your Daddy and I up when you walk around the house saying "Da!" when you are looking for him. You also seem to be giving him all sorts of instructions about something that neither of us understand yet. It is almost time to start celebrating your big Bee Day! Love, The Little Bee and her Momma

Wishes from Gramps

Little Bee, what to say about your Gramps? He was so happy that you were a little girl! Actually, I think that everyone who put in an order asked that you were a little girl. The first three months of your life we spent with Cece and Gramps traveling around Texas. Mommy really needed the help and you always had someone to hold you. I was a little bit worried that you might get used to always being held but I decided that this was just fine with me. You certainly loved all the attention. You love all the fun games Gramps plays with you and the funny faces he makes tickle you to pieces. He loves so much and covers you in kisses whenever you are around.
My birthday wish for sweet Ellen is that you stay as sweet and cuddly as when you sit in my lap on the porch early in the morning. Me with a coffee and warm baby all snuggled in with one thumb plugged in, the other hand holding a lovie and pointing to all the pelicans as they glide by. It is a pretty special time for me. I love you, smiling girl. Gramps

Here is Gramps pretending to stuff you into a cooler so that he could take you on a hunting trip. You love to laugh at these kinds of jokes. I am looking forward to many more summer trips with Cece and Gramps. You love spending time with them and sometimes don't want to come back to Mommy afterwards! We are getting ready for a big Bee-day celebration at our house! I can't wait to see how much fun you have at your first birthday party! Love, The Little Bee and her Momma

Wishes from Aunt Muffy

Little Bee, Aunt Muffy may be your number one fan. She was so excited to hear that we were pregnant with you and then super excited that you were a girl. You love playing with Aunt Muffy and get very excited when you see her. She keeps you in great clothes and fun toys and is a big advocate of you getting more "naked time". I think you will grow to love Muffy more and more as you get older and can really appreciate her creative use of glitter and her ability to always have fun. She covered our front porch in baby carriage confetti before we brought you home from the hospital and we are still finding evidence of this festiveness almost a year later.

Dear Ellen, This past year has been a very exciting one for your whole family. There have been many exciting things to celebrate, new houses, jobs, cars and friends. But I can say without a doubt that the most meaningful day in the past year was the day we went to the hospital for your birth. I took the day off work, woke up early, met Cece, Gramps and John at breakfast where we talked about what we thought you might look like. Would you have light hair like your Mommy, dark hair like your Mommy, your Dad's eyes, or your Mom's cute nose? We were very excited to meet you and cuddle and love, and welcome you into our family, no matter what you looked like. Before we could finish our breakfast your Daddy sent us a picture of you and we all talked about how much we love this tiny little baby already. As a matter of fact, I have loved you way before you were born, before I even met you. I look forward to seeing how much you've grown and what you've learned each time I get to see you. Over the past year I have see you grow from a loving tiny baby into such a smart, sweet little toddler. I can't wait to see what each new year brings! Happy Birthday, Ellen! Love, Aunt Margaret

Little Bee, You truly are blessed to have Aunt Muffy in your life. She is one amazing woman. She is smart, beautiful and more talented than Martha Stewart. I hope that you share some of her spunk, love of life and loyalty to friends. Love, The Little Bee and her Momma

Birthday Wishes from The Horns

Our Little Bee is so funny! She is fascinated with the dishwasher and when we open it she rushes over to check it out. This week she pulled out the utensil basket and carried it around like a purse. It cracked us up. Here she is rearranging the sippy cup top she was toting around in her basket. Ellen is also really into sippy cups right now. She loves carrying them around and will stop walking, throw her head back and take a big drink. She sure makes a mess but we are letting her do it because she needs all the sippy cup practice she can get!

Our sweet friends, the Horn family, sent Ellen birthday wishes. These are more of our church friends and we are so excited to have met them and to be going through parenthood with them. Garrett is one of Ellen's cool older friends and has grown up so much in the past year. He is talking up a storm and walks around wearing sunglasses just like his daddy! When he was still a tiny baby, Alison and Jeremy took him on a fun trip out of the country. When Ellen was that age taking her to the grocery store seemed like such a big deal that I can't even imagine what that was like! Garrett did great and they are off on another adventure as I write this.

Happy Birthday Little Bee! We hope that all of your years are as fabulous as your first has been. We've enjoyed so many activities with you throughout this year including your first Halloween, strawberry picking, and enjoying sunny afternoons in the grass. You are such a happy, spirited, and fashionable Little Bee and you are loved by all! We look forward to spending many more birthdays with you and watching you grow into a beautiful young lady.

Love, Jeremy, Allison, and Garrett Horn

This summer we are planning a kids trip to Hunt, Texas with the Horns and some of our other friends. Little Bee and I are so excited for this trip. We can't wait! Love, The Little Bee and her Momma

My First Popsicle

Blogger has been down for a while so I wasn't able to post! It is up and running again so here we are! When the weather began to get a bit warmer and Ellen's teething was really bugging her we decided it was time to introduce her to popsicles! It was love at first bite!

The cold really helps her sore gums and she also had fun watching the ice drip. Winnie thought it was fun to lick the drips off of our Little Bee.
These are the little everyday memories that I am happy to capture with this blog! I think I will remember the big stuff like how much Ellen loves doggies and how quickly she learned to walk. But it is the little stuff that I am afraid I will have a more difficult time holding on to. I love the way she sucks her tongue when she is really asleep, points her finger and excitedly talks about her world, she loves eating chickie sticks and berries, and knows how to open books and turn their pages. She even pretends to tell the story! This weekend she pulled the silverware basket out of the dishwasher and carried it around like a purse. Little Bee, every little thing you do is fascinating to Mommy and Daddy! We are forever calling to each other to see what you are doing. "Look at this!" "How cute is that!" We are amazed by you.

So many people in your life are amazed by you! Today's birthday wishes come from Daddy's father, step-mother and their family, who all love you very much!

Dearest Ellen, We have had our hearts warmed by your entrance into this world and into our lives. In the past year we have been delighted by your smiles and laughs. We have seen you start to walk and begin to talk. We wish you another year of happiness, healthy and joy. We know that with the wonderful Mom and Dad you have, that wish will certainly come true. We love you so. Grandpa Steve, Grammy Wendy, Bubbie, Jason and Jeremy

Ellen, I have said this before but it is important, you are so lucky to have so many family members living so close who all love you so much! You love them all too and we look forward to watching you build relationships with your extended family. Your birthday is getting closer and closer! Love, The Little Bee and her Momma

Charlie's Babtism and Dabney Wishes

A while back Ellen's brother from another mother, as his mother and I call him, got baptised. He is the cutie looking like his daddy's clone. Charlie was born about three months after Ellen and they are good friends. We love to hang out with the Dabney family and Charlie and Ellen crack each other up. I should also add that Ellen thinks that Charlie's daddy is one of the funniest people on the planet.
Ellen had a great time going to Charlie's baptism and then to his house for lunch afterwards. She even tried a pepper cracker!

Charlie is part of our church family and we are so happy that he and Ellen get to grow up together. While Charlie was busy being loved on by all of his family and friends Ellen got to play with Caroline.

Here is a birthday wish from Charlie and his family.

Dear Ellen, Happy 1st Birthday! You are very special to us because your mommy and I were pregnant together and you and Charlie were friends before you were born. Thank goodness you were born first as you were very instrumental in teaching us how to be good parents before Charlie was even born. You are such a special, smart, beautiful girl and we have enjoyed getting to see you grow up this year. We wish you a happy Bee-day and many more! Love, The Dabneys

What a sweet wish from very special friends! Love, The Little Bee and her Momma

Tiki Boat Ride

We recently got the Little Bee a new life jacket for boat rides at Tiki. She seems to tolerate this one better than the previous one and is starting to enjoy boat rides. She enjoys looking for the birdies and waving to people in the canal.





Here she is about to take off on a canal cruise with Gramps and Daddy.

Today's birthday wishes come from Cece's sister and Ellen's great aunt, Sara. Every time Aunt Sara comes to see the Bee she has a big bag of clothes, toys and books for Ellen. She has kept Ellen very stylish and well read.

Dear Ellen, Happy 1st Birthday! I can't believe you are already turning one! It seems like you were just born. I was telling some of my friends that we were getting ready to celebrate your 1st birthday and they said that they remembered the day you were born. Aunt Sara was in her water aerobics class when Cece emailed me a picture of you in the delivery room. I showed it to everyone and then emailed your cousin, Maudie. (I don't know how I did it and am pretty sure that I'll never be able to do it again.) Maudie and I came up to the hospital the next day for our first look at you. You were so beautiful and we feel in love with you on site. This past year has been wonderful for everyone. You were the first baby in our family since Maudie was born 20 years ago. I am so happy that your Mom keeps us up to date on you day to day progress and we can see all your firsts! My birthday wish for you is for you to continue growing strong and healthy and that you will always be as beautiful on from the inside out as you are today! Much love and a whole lot of kisses from Aunt Sara and the puppies!!

Reading that makes me remember that you have never met Aunt Sara's puppies! I think you would love them. She has a bunch of Dachshunds that she calls her "girls". You and I had many outings with Sara and Maudie during my maternity leave. It was so nice to have them come visit and take us out into the world. We got a little bored with just the two of us!

Here you are in your life jacket again. You fell over and like a turtle could roll one way or the other so you just laid there until someone stood you up. Mommy had to snap a picture because it was too funny! Love, The Little Bee and her Momma