Elin Cole- 9 Months!

I cannot believe our Elin Cole is already 9 months old!  It pains me to say this, but time seems to fly by even faster the second time around.  She is such a precious little girl with such a joyful personality.  Elin will smile at almost anyone who looks at her, and it is so sweet.  She is also SO easy to make chuckle out loud, which is really fun.  Payton can usually get her laughing more than anyone, and it is too cute. 

Elin is very close to becoming mobile.  She gets on all fours and can scoot backward.  We just know it will be any day before she is moving all over the place.  She is also showing interest in trying to pull up to things, so I am sure that as soon as she is strong enough, this will come.  She really enjoys playing with toys and will sit in the floor for quite a long time and entertain herself with books and toys. We can now say "ma ma" and "da da." I'm thinking that this was right at around the time Payton started saying those words as well.

Miss Elin is a terrific eater!  This makes me so happy since I already have one picky eater at home.  She loves all her fruits and veggies.  Some of her favorites include sweet potatoes, squash, carrots, pears, bananas, and peaches.  She is a big fan of yogurt and cheese as well.  She has already starting picking up finger foods.  Ryan and I joke, because we will be out to eat, trying to shove food in Payton's mouth while little Elin sits and feeds herself. Haha!  Crazy how different sisters can be!  It makes sense that she likes to eat, because we went to the doctor yesterday for her 9 month check-up and little miss is in the 90th percentile for height and 80th percentile for weight.  She also has 6 teeth!  Dr. Hurlock is very pleased with her growth, and we are too!

We feel so blessed to have two happy, healthy little girls! 

That 3 Year Old Attitude!

Payton is full force into her 3's, and we've got the attitude to go right along with it!  She has such a sweet spirit, and we love her precious soul to pieces, but this little miss has a BIG personality, which can lead to some dramatic meltdowns and some attitude!  We've been told its normal, and are pretty confident that its just a phase, so we are working through it with discipline and patience.  However, we've noticed that if we can find the humor in certain situations, it makes some of the challenging moments a bit easier to deal with.

The other night, Payton was in the bathroom trying to go potty.  After noticing that she was having some trouble, Ryan went in to try and help her.  I quickly heard her say, "No, I want to do it myself!" (Also with the 3's we are noticing a huge independence streak where we want to do EVERYTHING on our own.  Both good and bad, I suppose.) I then heard Ryan say, "Alright then, I was just trying to help." He quickly left the bathroom.  A few minutes later, Payton came running out. After pausing to play with her toys for a few minutes, she came into the kitchen, turned around, and quietly asked me, "Mommy, did I do it right?" The picture below is what I saw. I couldn't hardly contain the laughter. :)

Holiday World 2014

The girls and I got season passes to Holiday World this year.  Payton had so much fun last summer, and this year can do so much more, so we thought it would be worth the investment.  So far, we have taken trips with our friends Stephanie and Addy, Lindsay, my mom and sister, and Brent, Ashli, and Liam. I think we have made some pretty good memories!

 

 

 

Elin really is the best baby to take anywhere. (As long as momma's in sight! lol!) She loves watching all the people and will nap in her stroller pretty well.  Payton is our wild child and would probably ride any roller coaster if I would let her.  We actually had a couple meltdowns, because we weren't tall enough to ride certain rides! lol! All in all, we have SO enjoyed our trips!

Elin's Weekend Trip with Mom and Dad!

Ryan was asked to be in a wedding of a good friend of his up in Chicago over the Fourth of July weekend.  Due to the fact that poor Miss Elin is going through some pretty severe separation anxiety, we thought it was probably best not to leave her over night just yet.  Payton on the other hand, would probably stay at grandma's house for weeks! Haha! We thought it might be a nice opportunity to spend some one on one time with little Elin, and we knew Miss Payton would love every minute of getting all the attention at grandma and grandpa's! :)

Wagon Rides!

The weather this summer has been SO nice, and the girls and I have gotten to enjoy many walks around the neighborhood.  A couple weeks ago, we discovered that Miss Elin was big enough to sit in the wagon all by herself!  Payton and Elin both really enjoy this, and it has simplified things a bit for our weekly walks. Its crazy to think that just a few years ago, I took some of the same pictures of Payton enjoying her first wagon ride in the same wagon at about the same age.  Time really does go so fast!

Summer Playdates!

Payton has gotten to enjoy several play dates with her good friend Tinley this summer.  The two of them will be starting preschool together this fall, and she seems to be really excited for it!  Of course, if you've ever been around multiple 3 year olds for any amount of time, you know that one minute they are best buddies, and the next minute they are spatting over a toy. Haha!  We know it's all part of the toddler years, but it can make things a bit challenging at times.  All in all, these two have a blast more times than not, and anyone can tell that they genuinely care a lot about the other!  It's so fun and rewarding to watch Payton make new friends.  I'm so blessed to be able to stay home and get to enjoy it!

Elin's First Boating Trip!

So far, We've only been able to make it down to my parent's cabin to go boating this summer.  We are learning that packing up and traveling is a little more difficult with 2 little ones! :) However, we are still trying to make the effort to get out and do things as often as possible.  We know the memories made will be well worth it! Little Elin really couldn't be a better traveler!  She is pretty easy going through the day.  She LOVED getting to ride on the boat and wiggle her toes in the sand. Payton seems to enjoy it even more this summer and got to take her first ride on the tube! How exciting! We only had one major meltdown when it was time to get out of the water, so I consider that a success! ;)

Destin 2014!

We went to Destin, Florida for our annual family vacation this year.  We were a little nervous about traveling, given that Elin was still pretty young and that Payton is kind of at a crazy stage where she doesn't like to sit for very long and is still working on mastering potty training. (Typical toddler, I hope! lol!) However, things seemed to go pretty smooth, and we had a great time! Thankfully, when we travel with family, we always have many people who are more than willing to help out!

Some of our highlights include:  spending days on the beach and in the pool, a night out at Baytown, kayaking in the ocean, shopping, and family dinners inside our beautiful beach house. It was so great to spend a week with family. The girls loved getting to spend so much time with everyone, and we feel so blessed to be able to do this every year!  Below are some pictures to capture the memories.