Hello Yellow!

Cooperation

The models for this blog do not always cooperate with me.  I'll have to rethink how much I'm paying them. 

Summer Dates

Gram and Pop Pop were in town for the 4th, so we enjoyed a much needed date night.  Can I be totally boring and talk weather for a second?  It's AMAZING!  I can't believe this is West Texas in July.  I'm loving it!  We sat outside at Abilene's new winery and it was fantastic.  The perfect little breeze and refreshing drinks.  It was perfection!

 

A Big Girl

Every time I see pics of EC, I think she's such a big girl.  Not a baby, not a toddler . . . just my big girl.  And she reminds me of that all the time!

July 4th

Happy Independence Day!

Best Friends

Oh how our family misses them!  EC talks about them all the time.  We are so glad they got to come and visit for a few days.  The girls picked up right where they left off and were immediately the best of friends again. 

What's In a Name?

Ellis Annabeth Walker

I'd love to give an elaborate story of how we chose this name based on family history and long standing tradition.  However, the long and short of it is . . . we just liked this name.  We did lean towards choosing an "e" name, since Emme Clare already had an e name.  But other than that, we really loved the name Ellis.  It didn't take us very long to agree on that name, but the middle name was a different story.  It took us quite some time to come up with the middle name.  We tried out lots of different names with Ellis and when we looked at our short list, we had over ten names.  We kept narrowing down and finally agreed on Annabeth.  So that's our story.  We hope you love it as much as we do!

Sister Sister

Pretty

EC was running a couple errands with her daddy.  I grabbed shorts and a t-shirt for her to put on really quickly.  Big mistake!  EC was not having it.  She said- "I don't look pretty.  No one will like my outfit."  Yikes!  Where did we get this mentality?!?!

We have had numerous conversations about what makes people pretty- kindness, generosity, loving, obedient.  Oh goodness!  Help me when she's 16!!!

My New Love

*Disclaimer:  I am in no way affiliated with Fisher Price or the Rock n Play.  I have not been compensated for any opinions expressed in this post.  All opinions and views expressed herein are my own.  I am not a spokesperson for the company (although I should be) and I receive no compensation for content posted below.*

 

I LOVE the Fisher Price Rock n Play.  It's a game-changer.  In the best way possible.

 

 

 

Before I had Ellis, I read about the Rock n Play- it has some pretty glamorous reviews on Amazon.  But we already had a crib, pack & play, bouncer chair, and swing.  I kind of felt this was just one more gimmicky thing that you HAVE to buy and your baby is just so-so about.  EC never really loved the bouncer or swing.  In fact, she probably sat in the swing less than 10 times ever.  I opted not to buy the Rock n Play. 

 

For her early days, Ellis was so-so about her crib.  She woke up crying or fussing a lot and wouldn't really take an entire nap in her crib.  She did pretty good at night with staying asleep in between feedings.  Her last feeding of the night (4:00am ish) was a little challenging at times.  When I was explaining Ellis' sleep issues, a friend again suggested the Rock n Play.  I looked it up (again) and read the raving reviews.  It could work. 

 

One evening, we were laying in bed, just waiting for that 10pm feeding.  And we were holding Ellis- again, not so into her crib.  I decided to tell Jeremy about the Rock n Play.  I read a few reviews to him- "best baby shower gift ever, only way my newborn would sleep, this is a MUST, can't live without it, greatest invention ever."  You get the idea.  Jeremy promptly got out of bed, put his clothes on and drove to Wal-Mart to buy the Rock n Play.  Came home, put it together and we've never looked back! 

 

I kind of thought the reviews were over selling it and I might be a little disappointed.  But no.  It was worth every single penny.  And honestly at $50, it's a steal! 

I feel a tinsy bit guilty about it, because it's probably going to be a tough transition to her crib in a month or two.  But she spits up SO much less that I can justify it.  And oh how I adore my precious sleep!  It's not 100% full proof- she still cries sometimes, but her naps have greatly improved.  I really believe that it's helpful to have her sitting up slightly.  And we moved her into our room.

I would have never done this with EC- I was pretty strict about her room and her crib.  But second baby is a totally different story! 

I've already started putting her in the crib for her first nap and I plan to add a few more each week or so.  Hopefully, the transition won't be completely terrible.

Newborn in your near future- the Rock n Play is a MUST!

Ellis' Biggest Fan

Of course, an addition to the family is a big change for everyone, including our dog.  But Win seems to love Ellis as much as we do.  She comes in Ellis' nursery all the time and lays on the floor while we are feeding her or rocking her.  She always want to be close by.  I think she's still figuring everything out, but she adores Ellis. 

 

And I love that Winnie is so good with both our girls!