Never, ever, ever

I saw this shirt on a very popular retailer's web site the other day and just had to do a post on it.

 Some people might look at this shirt and laugh; but in our family, and I'm sure in many of yours, there is nothing funny about this statement - especially when the shirt is made for little girls.  I remember when the worst statement a young daughter could display was 'Spoiled Rotten'.  This statement is definitely disrespectful and somewhat emasculating.  To suggest that father's are not capable of being strong enough to own their positions as dads by displaying the thought on a little girl's shirt is a little shocking to me.  I know there are those father's who answer to their girls - otherwise no one would have come up with this caption.  But not in this household.  No way, no how!

The New Bathroom

It turned out so well and I only wish I had the picture-taking ability to capture it just right!  But these will have to do.  Many thanks to the hard work from Brian and Dad!

That Girl

Aubrey is almost two years old and I don't know where the time has gone. She is such a cute little stinker and I have to document what she's about before she grows any bigger and I forget. It's so true that you remember everything about your first child and struggle to pay attention enough to remember what the second one does, what their personality is, etc. While Aubrey and Ellie are somewhat similar, they definitely have their differences. Ellie was walking and talking at 12 months. Aubrey JUST started walking; but has taken off and is just now increasing her vocabulary.  Her favorite things to say are:

• Sees-uh (sister)
• Thank ooh - she knows exactly when to say it, too!
• Why - this means I want to watch Super Why!
• Baby
• Dogdog - her favorite thing - as in we can't lose it ever or we'll be in big trouble
• Mama & Dada
• Snow - she wrinkles her nose and says this very nasal-y.  Not sure where this came from!
• Cerul - cereal

Aubrey loves to play pretend with her animals and baby dolls.  This is way earlier than Ellie enjoyed this type of play.  She pretends that she's feeding them and makes a clicking sound with her tongue and teeth as if she were eating.  Yesterday, Dogdog was attempting to eat upside down!  She also does this when she gives her baby dolls a bottle to drink.  We go through the motions of burping and rocking too.  She just loves it!  She'll take them for walks around the house in the baby strollers with sees-uh by her side.

Aubrey is quite the little dancer too!  While Ellie is now enrolled in dance lessons, her boogie-ing genes kicked in a little later.  Aubrey dances to just about anything - you just have to get her started.  Her favorite things to sing are 'La Lu La' - she just sings this when she's happy.  She also tries to sing Jesus Loves Me with us at bedtime now.

She loves playing with her sissy and Ellie loves Aubrey so much too.  They really play well together most of the time: coloring, playing kitchen, dolls, playing in their room, etc.  Ellie loves teaching Aubrey new things and really is a helper (and sometimes a little mother).  They especially love being in a room together now, which is so sweet and bound to deepen their relationship.

 Gotta have an Ellie picture.  I'll come back with another post about her later - she's amazing!

This one too!

Also from last year, this picture will go on display too! I wish I had the energy for beach trips and pictures this year! This one is from our Labor Day trip last year, which we will miss again this year. The two years we've missed it have been due to our fall babies!

Beach Babies

I LOVE this picture from last year. What joy! This is going in the girl's new bathroom. More pics to come!

Under the Sea...in our bathroom!

In our family, and probably most others I know, new babies bring more home improvement projects. Of course we are redoing Ellie's room of five years to fit a little boy, we've moved the girls into bunk beds in Aubrey's room (now for the two of them and they're doing great) and we've finally tackled the 'guest/kids' bathroom upstairs. It was the last room to have lovely black, gray and pink wallpaper in it and it was time to go. When I saw this set at Target, I knew that was it!  I hesitated on the pirate octopus but Brian said we had to have it for Ethan, so I went back and got it.

Dad came over to help install beadboard and paint this weekend and it turned out great (well, it's not quite finished but close enough)! I'll post pictures when it's done. He and Brian only made like 20 trips to Lowe's to get various things throughout the weekend. I sure hope one of those receipts lands us that $2500 gift card they say it will!

Baby Boy

Poor thing - I keep calling him Baby Boy but he does have a name! It's actually kind of endearing - we're so used to everything being girlie, that it's fun to say 'boy'. Ellie keeps saying 'Mommy, he has a name!' And he does...

Ethan Robert Wolfe

And here's what the room may look like...We painted navy this weekend and it looks really good - thanks Brian and Dad!  And Auntie Rachel picked up the striped sheets for us in Atlanta - thank you!

Pictures...

It was a great year...

Ellie and Aubrey both had wonderful year's in school this year. I am happy for the summer, though and thankful Aubrey doesn't have to go to school next year, although we were very blessed by her teachers and her school this year.

Here's Aubrey with Mrs. Venita and Mrs. Lillian on the last day!

And here's Ellie with her whole class (courtesy of Susan Mullins)

My First Dance Recital

Ellie has been in dance all year - I probably told you about that back in September. It starts then and culminates with a huge recital at the end of May. Ellie did great all year and developed some new little friendships (and I did too)! While her class was tap and ballet, they only did one routine, which was ballet. I was secretly thankful for this because she got to wear the most adorable little blue costume and dance to the sweetest song dedicated to mommies. Meredith, my good friend and mom to Ava and Ella, who are Ellie and Aubrey's ages and good little friends themselves, managed to find the lyrics:

Moms are special people
They hug you all the time
They help you do a lot of things
You might be scared to try
They take us to the playground
The movies and the zoo
Mom, we're really lucky
Cause we've got you

Oh, Mother, we need you every day
We think we'll keep you
Oh, Mother, we love you
Even more than songs can say

You're funny and you're smart
You finish what you start
If we could, we'd elect you
President of the Mothers
No matter where you go
We hope it always shows...
You're the very best Mom we know

Oh, Mother, we need you every day
We think we'll keep you
Oh, Mother, we love you
Even more than songs can say

You're the very best,
specialest person in the world

A cute memory and funny observations

Wow - it has been a while since I last updated our blog! I have honestly not thought about it much at all in the past six months; but now that I'm not working anymore, the importance of preserving the memories and sharing our life with you resumes. I will do a 'catch you up' post later; but this one is so I remember these things later.

The First Wolfe Girls Slumber Party:
Ellie loves getting Aubrey up when she wakes from her slumber - whether in the morning or from naps. She greets her by herself and gets in the crib to play with her. I have learned that although Aubrey may fuss at first, if I just wait a minute, they'll soon be laughing and then quiet play time ensues - music to a mommy's ears! The other day I walked in and Ellie had put as many bows in Aubrey's hair as she could (Aubrey loves bows in her hair!)

When it was Aubrey's nap time yesterday, Ellie said she wanted to take a nap with her. Now, Ellie has not napped in FOREVER, so when she suggests a nap I do not put up a fight! Ellie attempted to sleep on the floor and Aubrey was in her crib. I left the room...no crying from the little one - so I continued with my tasks. Soon, the sounds of little girls playing when they're supposed to be sleeping filled my ears with joy. I didn't care that they weren't sleeping - I know the talking and playing happens first and the sleep later. But they never slept, and that was okay with me. I'm happy for the bonding they are doing. It reminded me of Amy and I sharing a room - which Aubrey and Ellie will be doing by the end of the summer! That was their first slumber party!

Funny Observations:
You know, by the time you get to the third pregnancy (and I'm sure any subsequent pregnancies, although praise God, I won't know anything about that) you've heard everything anyone has to say about you being pregnant. It starts with 'Your life is about to change' and progresses to 'Oh, boys are different' or 'Your hands are gonna be full'. Yes, they will be full - with precious cargo that I wouldn't trade for anything. Yes, boys are different...Really? They're more active...Really? I actually know some girls who are just as active (although not mine!) I'm married to one. My dad is one. I have two brothers. I know BOYS ARE DIFFERENT. God made them different - I know this and I am THANKFUL for this. Because this means a little less whining and a lot less emotions! I welcome that change. 'You're due in September? That means you'll go through the summer - ugh!' Really? Is that what that means? Sometimes I don't say anything while other times, I let them know it's not my first time to the rodeo. I'm glad I'm going through the summer. That means I get to wear flip flops and tank tops and go swimming and sit under fans. It also means we'll have huge family birthday parties and that will be a special tradition. You know, if it were socially acceptable, I may look at people like they have two heads sometimes. In my better judgment, I try to be gracious in responding:)

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Happy New Year!

We had a great Christmas with the girls and Brian's family down in Central Florida.  It was topped off with Ellie's first trip to Disney!  She had a blast and so did we.  Can't wait to do it again!  Enjoy the pictures!

 

I enjoyed making them these cute outfits with Michael Miller's Christmas Trees fabric:) 

Click Here to view the rest of the pictures.

She LOVED the Teapots!  They were her favorite, along with Small World,

Pooh and meeting the Princesses:)

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We're Back!

I'm sure you're beginning to wonder if we've fallen off the face of the earth or think our life has nothing to report.  Sometimes I do feel like that and feel blessed that I have nothing crazy to report; but at the same time I'm missing opportunities to report on life as it happens each day.  That's okay - two months of no posting is nothing to feel guilty about, right?  I had to take a little break from the blogging world - and I don't even do it near as much as others I know! But the pressure of doing it is sometimes enough to break me down.  I'm just being honest.  And living life through reading other people's blogs or facebook statuses robs me of living my life and that's what was happening.  When you begin to think in terms of 'I've gotta blog about that' and 'Julie is...', there's a little imbalance happening there.  Especially when you're not doing taking care of your responsibilities around your world or creating memories for your family.  So, I took a hiatus to re-focus on what I should spend my time doing.  It has definitely been freeing; but I've got a long way to go!

Enjoy my look back on the past couple of months!

The token pumpkin patch picture.  Of course we chose a cloudy day; but at least it wasn't raining!

Ellie was Iridessa for Halloween and wanted her hair braided!  So, we sat for an hour and a half and braided her hair.  I thought it turned out really cute!

 

The day after Aubrey's birthday, she finally got her cake!  And loved it!  We had to cancel her party because Brian and Ellie were sick.  We made it up to her, though!  See below:

Aubrey's second attempt at a birthday celebration came at the same time as Brian's birthday. We enjoyed Mexican with friends.  Aubrey had fried ice cream and Brian had a tequila shot!

And this is my precious baby with her favorite animal in the world.  We call him Dog Dog and he has slept with her every night for quite some time.  Mom and Tom have it to her; but I don't remember the occasion.  I started giving it to her to see if she would adopt a 'lovie' (ellie never did).  She loves him alright; but we leave him in bed during the day.  Her favorite part?  His tag off the back of his left leg!  Yet another thing Ellie didn't care for -tags.  Aubrey loves them and every time you give her an animal, she turns it around to find the tag.  So precious!

Soccer and Birthdays

Yesterday was a full day! Ellie's birthday, of course; but she also started soccer! She looks so cute in her shorts, tube socks and cleats. Coach Bev is her coach and the founder of Warner Soccer - boy, do we feel lucky to have been placed under her! She said they came over from England 20 years ago and only planned to stay a year; but have now been here for 20! I guess they began Warner Soccer that year because they're celebrating their 20th anniversary this year. She's great with the kids, using all kinds of enticing scenarios such as flying to Disney World and looking for chocolate in Switzerland to get them to perform the drills she wants them to do. We really hope Ellie sticks with it because it is truly fun to watch! You can click on the picture to see more of this fun morning!

Ava, Ainsley and Ellie

After that, we had Ellie's birthday party at Red Elephant, a local pizza grill and the favorite restaurant for Ellie and many of her friends. We're not sure if it's the Red Elephant they see when they walk in or the game room or the pizza; but they love it! Everyone had a great time! Thanks to all of Ellie's friends for joining us and thanks to Red Elephant for a great party!

Dearest Ellie...

Four years ago today, God blessed us with you, our firstborn! You came into our lives and changed everything! And we are so thankful that He chose to give us someone so sweet, kind, caring, beautiful, intelligent, imaginative and energetic. It has been amazing to see how you've grown and what you've learned over these four short years. We love seeing you dance, do gymnastics and entertain everyone (even when you think no one is watching!). You are a wonderful big sister who loves Aubrey more than we ever imagined possible. We look forward with great anticipation to what God has planned for you and the young lady you will continue to become - but we're not rushing anything! You can stay a little girl for as long as you want;) HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Quesadillas, It's What's for Dinner

Do y'all love quesadillas? I do! I love that they're simple and super-quick to make. I love that you can put almost anything in them and have a different flavor every day of the week. I love that they're kind of snacky, which takes care of my snack cravings! And tonight, I loved that they were a great way to get the girls to eat the veggies that otherwise looked like, well, leftover veggies. I used leftover roasted veggies from a couple of nights ago and a bag of cheddar/jack cheese that I've had ever since it was on super sale at least two months ago! I hadn't opened it yet and it was still quite good. For those of you that this may make a little squeamish, the use by date is at the end of the month, so I'm okay;) Of course we had to top them with sour cream and Jack's Salsa from Costco. I couldn't find a good picture or it would have gone here. That stuff is sooo good and so fresh! And, it's got a coupon this month, so if you want some, let me know - there's no limit!!! Our dinner was so yummy tonight, I ate what Ellie couldn't! Oops;)

End of Summer:)

Labor Day weekend, my family all met up at Grayton Beach (right there with Seaside, Watercolor and that whole awesome area)! We rented a gorgeous house - thanks, sis - and had a blast. David came from Colorado and it was good to see him and chat some. I'm really trying to move more into conversation with my family and not just let it be surface type lingo. It was good to ask David questions about his life out there and where he's headed. Whether or not he has a girlfriend, etc! Jon, on the other hand, has a wonderful girlfriend, Jaime, who is full of life and enjoys every minute with our family. Ellie just loves her and we all love that! Amy and Chris had a good time; but poor Brayden was completely off his schedule, which made their weekend a little more stressful than planned. We can definitely relate! We ate lots of good food, played games, soaked up the sun, chatted and just had a good time together. Jon and Jaime even picked up the grandparents on Sunday and brought them over for lunch and cake for granddaddy's birthday (his is the day after mine!) I think they really enjoyed it!