Trees and Flowers

Chloe, Ella, and I spent most of the day Saturday out at Grammy and G-Paw's house just enjoying the country life. Chloe and I made chocolate chip cookies and baked them in Grammy's new oven. They were scrumptious! Later that afternoon, we headed over to Aunt Marley and Uncle Dustin's house, so Chloe could play with a couple of her favorite kids, Dawson and Conner. They had a great time as usual playing a little hide and seek and other things. Chloe hasn't quite got the idea of hide and seek yet. Maybe next time I will join in and help her to hide, since she just runs around the yard instead of hiding. She is better at seeking. They also climbed a magnolia tree (best climbing trees ever) with Uncle Dustin's help. Mother's Day was spent at church and again at Aunt Marley and Uncle Dustin's house. We just relaxed the afternoon away and visited with everyone. Grammy helped take care of Ella for most of the day to give me a little break... thanks Mom; it was nice. Chloe didn't have a nap all weekend and almost didn't get one Monday because of an ear tube checkup (Everything looks good). At supper, her eyes were just rolling and eventually, she just put her head down on the table and fell asleep next to her taco. Poor thing was worn out. (Should have got a picture.. sorry) Lastly, I have had a couple more daylilies bloom in my new flower bed. Aren't they pretty?

Camper Fairy

Last night the camper fairy paid us a little visit, and when Chloe woke up this morning, we had a pop-up camper! She loves it, and as soon as Ben gets back from Yazoo City, we are going camping. (Thanks camper fairy, you know who you are) Today, we had another playdate (two in a week, woohoo!). My friend Amanda invited us over to play with Lola and her new sprinkler. Becky, Neil and Camden came over too, and we all had a great time playing in the backyard. Also, the daylilies that I planted from seeds had a bloom today.

Nurseries

My family put their heart and soul into allowing both my babies to come home to a "little girl's fantasy room" (as my friend Heather put it). I am posting pictures of Chloe and Ella's nurseries, because I am extremely proud of them and appreciate greatly all the hard work and creativity their Grammy, G-Paw, Aunt Marley and Uncle Dustin put into making these beautiful rooms.

This bassinet was given to us by some friends at church. Isn't it so sweet? Chloe and Ella both spent their first weeks at home sleeping in our bedroom in this bassinet. The Precious Moments picture on the right of the shelf was put together and given by my cousin Amy. I love the shelves that came with the house! Aunt Marley painted the sweet butterfly pictures on the wall and also the green picture from beside the piggy bank. The grandparents painted the rocking chair that has been passed down from my Grandmother Pentecost. Grammy sewed the cushion). Aunt Marley and Grammy painted the walls pink with a pale green stripe, while I was in the hospital for 4 days with kidney stones and pneumonia. The crib (was mine and my sister's crib when we were babies) and the changing table (thanks Crechale!) were both painted white by my family. Grammy gave the rug and also painted and decorated the adorable heart shaped table on the left. The legs are green with handpainted pink polka dots and flowers. The flower pegs on the wall and Chloe's name were also painted by my family. Cousin Karry gave the diaper bag that lasted me two years!

Grammy sewed the Roman shade curtains and made the photo bulletin board. G-Paw cut out each flower on that wonderful dresser that was previously painted with a face of Minnie Mouse from top to bottom. The grandparents both worked together to sand and repaint it. Aunt Marley made the cute display on top of the dresser (far left) and Great Aunt Cherry made the diaper cake for the baby shower they gave.

Now you think Chloe's room was a lot of work??? Check out Ella's room...

Ok, where to start? Grammy and G-Paw redid the dresser with new hardware and new paint (You should have seen it before!) Grammy sewed the diaper holder, curtains, and photo bulletin board. She also made the sweet animal pictures on the left of the wall. Grammy and I both painted the room yellow and the trim white.

The shelves and the daybed were built, designed, and painted by Grammy and G-Paw (with a little help from some others). The bottom of the daybed is a drawer that slides out for storage. The pillowcases, quilt, sheet, and curtain were sewn by.... you guessed it... Grammy! The cross on the right was hung on the door at the hospital when Ella was born. We reused Chloe's crib, but Grammy sewed all of the bedding. The mobile was given by my mom's side of the family. Ella loves it!See the super cute bedding Grammy made? You can also barely see the toy bag at the left end of the crib that she also made. The curtains are so neat. They have a bar sewn in the bottom that you roll up and then fasten with two strips of fabric that have velcro attached.

For Their Dada

Ben is in Yazoo City indefinitely working to help get the area back on track after a tornado devastated the area on April 24th. The tornado ripped through 149 miles for nearly 3 hours killing 10 people. Ben will be working 13 days straight and then 1 day off. He plans on coming home every few days, but that only gives us a couple hours to visit, because he works so late. I am posting some pictures of the some things we've done the past few days, so he can see all the excitement he is missing.

"I want some Mickey D's!"

Mrs. Becky, Baby Neil, Mrs. Roxanna, Baby Johannah at our playdate

Chloe in action, throwing the ball with Jingles and Camden

Camden got the ball!

Ella and me after our playdate

Chloe taking a blue bath with a blue Ring Pop. She had a great time at church playing with the kids!

Is that Snow White?

Chloe and our "LuLu's" fountain

(Chloe is wearing her LuLu's t-shirt with a picture of the actual fountain on it)

Ell's first tooth (Can you see it?)

Visit at Cock of the Walk

Yesterday, the girls and I traveled to Jackson to visit with my mom's family for an early Mother's Day. We went shopping then met up with the family at Cock of the Walk. Chloe had a great time with her cousins (second cousins once removed) Andrew and Conner. They played hard at the indoor treehouse at Backyard Burger. They also watched and honked at the ducks and geese at Cock of the Walk. Ella loves to ride, so she had a pretty decent day as well. She looked quite cute in her new pink duck onesie with plaid skirt outfit that her Grammy gave her. My brother-in-law, Chloe's uncle, has been trying real hard to make it on the blog, so I posted a picture of him and Chloe. All in all, we had a wonderful day with good food (fried catfish, cornbread and turnip greens... yummm) and good family fellowship.

Cousin Crechale (left) and her mom Aunt Lynn (far right)

Cousin Amy (right) and her mom Aunt Cherry (Cousin Karry in the distance)

Papaw, Mamaw, G-Paw and Grammy

"I see the ducklings!"

Chloe and her Uncle Dustin

Honk! Honk!

Chloe, Andrew, & Conner

"Barkly" Shoes

Ever since Chloe saw our friend's daughter wearing these shoes, she has been talking about getting some shoes like Hannah. I wasn't that adoment about getting them, because I knew they weren't cheap, but her daddy likes to spoil her. So he took her to a couple of shoe stores to find them and then ended up getting them off the internet. They are so cute, and she was really excited to put them on when they arrived. They flash when she walks, and so she stomps around just to get them to flash. She thinks her Aunt Marley got them for her since she brought the box in from outside. She calls them her "barkly" shoes (AKA sparkly shoes).

Fish & Worms

My family and I took the girls fishing Sunday afternoon. Of course Ella just enjoyed the fresh air, but Chloe had a great time watching all of us fish. She didn't get into fishing herself that much even though she has her very own Disney princess fishing pole, but when I caught a small fish, she wouldn't let it go. She carried it around and even put it in her overalls pocket. It was like pulling teeth to get her to let it go after she loved it to death... literally. We had some worms leftover, so her dada told her to put them in our watermelon patch, and we did. She played with them for a good while. She would say, "They're so wiggly!" She is my little Ellie Mae.

Storytime Live!

On Sunday, April 11, Ben and I took Chloe to see Storytime Live at the Orpheum Theater in Memphis, Tennessee. We went with my friend Sylvia and her daughter Vivian. We met Ben's brother Jason and his daughter Amanda on the way. When we got to Memphis we strolled over to Spaghetti Warehouse for lunch. It was delicious! Then we very quickly strolled back to the Orpheum and got in our seats just a couple of minutes before the show. It was hosted by Moose and Zee from Nick Jr. and included stories from Ni Hao Kai Lan (spelling?), Backyardigans (AKA Backiyardigans as Chloe calls them), Wonder Pets, and Dora the Explorer. The show ended with the entire cast singing Shout! My favorite part was watching the girls see their favorite characters on the big stage.