May flowers

This year for my Mother's Day gift, Robby took the girls out for the afternoon on Saturday. They headed to Lowes to purchase some flowers and plants to fill our pots that have been begging for something beautiful to grow inside them.  Jenny was out of town over the weekend for a wedding in Texas so Steve joined the fun and helped Karis plant something for her mommy too. While they were gone, I got to spend some much needed quality time with my sewing machine to finish some pillows for the back porch and a birthday banner for Eloise. I LOVE sewing in a quiet house : ) That was a present in and of itself!

We potted flowers as a family last year (See the post: Planting Flowers) and we had such a wonderful time. It was the weekend before Eloise was born so I had quite the big belly! It was fun this year to watch her crawling around in the grass & think about how this time last year, we hadn't even met her yet. Oh my, this month is proving to be an emotional one. There have already been more than a few tears shed on my part as I think about fast approaching birthdays of two little ones, the incredible joy of motherhood & am overcome with thankfulness. There have also been tears shed because I have not had much sleep in a week & have a house full of sickness. Motherhood is incredibly joy-filled and exhausting at the same time quite regularly actually now that I think about it : ) 

So as our little Charlotte & Eloise blossom into beautiful little girls right before our eyes, we look forward to watching our new flowers do the same.  

Onto the great planting adventure with 3 two & under helpers....

Karis had no reservations when it came to scooping up dirt in her hands.  She actually got to come spend some time next too me because she couldn't stay out of the potting soil bag ; ) Steve said it wasn't his brightest idea to dress her in white capri pants but kudos to him for being an AWESOME stay at home Dad for 5 days while Jenny was gone! 

The more the merrier when it comes to hands in a pot!

Eloise crawling over to check out the new flowers. She thought they looked pretty tasty. 

We bought a bird feeder a couple weeks ago and have SO enjoyed watching the cardinals that come to eat frequently throughout the day.  The night that Robby & Charlotte were filling it with seed & hanging the feeder, I was in tears on the back porch as I held Eloise. Charlotte was so excited to be participating & was trying to carry the big bag of birdseed herself. She kept dropping it so Rob scooped her and the bag up and carried them over to where they would hang it. Char was giggly & Rob was grinning ear to ear. As I snuggled Eloise close, I was thinking about how quickly the time has gone & how deep my love has grown for these precious girls.  The thought crossed my mind that I wanted to have at least 10 more kids so I can keep experiencing sweet moments like these for a long time ; ) Haha, I don't think I would survive bearing & raising that many! Although, whatever the amount we end up with, I pray the Lord gives me countless moments of seeing God's goodness to me through tear filled eyes.  So, back to the new bird feeder...every morning the feeder is missing at least half the seed that was there when we went to bed.  We keep joking that we are going to stay up all night and watch to see what is SO hungry.  If I didn't know these two were inside all night, confined by locked doors & alarm systems, I'd say they were the culprits!

Robby decided to pick up a couple jalapeno plants and we decided that no place other than the Texas pot should be their new home. Hot salsa here we come!

Charlotte liked the potting part but LOVED the watering part even more.  There is a picture on the post from last year where she was trying to carry a little blue watering can. She was spilling water all over and was as uncoordinated as could be compared to the coordinated & confident almost three year old she is this year. She was swinging that thing all over the place : ) 

Elo's hair is long enough to blow in the breeze?!

Big hands. little hands

I love seeing this Daddy with his girls.....he is one happy man!

Dirty feet kept this girl from smiling for a picture with her sister.  Who would have thought?

The best we got for a picture of me, my little ladies and my mother's day gift : ) 

I think another part of my gift was that Rob let me take pictures without uttering one complaint when I asked him to smile ; ) Thanks honey, Mother's Day was kicked off with a bang due to your thoughtfulness!

project 365: [days 126-132]

*May 6th- Mint Juleps for the mommy & daddy in this house. I missed out on the Kentucky Derby Party  while I was at so Rob hooked me up with our own little party....minus the horses...a day later : ) 

May 7th- Charlotte taking care of Libby while she spent the day on the couch with a bad cough & sore throat.

*May 8th- Eloise started getting sick & was only content in the Ergo WITH her new baby she has been carrying around.  This picture makes me laugh...hard. 

*May 9th- We are enjoying the newest addition to the backyard or should I say                                                                   we are enjoying what the newest addition brings to our backyard : ) 

May 10th- Remnants of the two naps I took...the sickness has over taken the Valentine Nest!

May 11th- Charlotte is feeling better and insisted on wearing her new "beutes" (as she says)  to take the dogs out. 

May 12th- My Mother's Day gift, watching beautiful plants & flowers be planted for me : ) 

Oldies but goodies

While we were in Kingwood visiting my family in April we spent lots of time just playing.  My mom saved many of our toys & has them all organized in her attic so she can easily pull out just the right toys for their ages when we come to see her. 

She has added some new toys to the mix with each visit whether she has done a little shopping or borrowed from one of her friends but I think it is safe to say that the "oldies" get the most attention. The favorite by far are the Little People- 80's edition which apparently is considered "vintage" on eBay. I didn't think I was old enough yet to have toys that I played with be considered "vintage" haha! Vintage or not, they were my favorite thing to play with while I was there too & I am on a hunt for a good deal on a set for our house.

The first morning we were there, Charlotte made a bee-line to the container that had these in them, dumped them out & began to arrange to her liking. She is quite particular & lined them up in a straight line. She had no interest in my assistance so I just enjoyed watching her little hands touch each piece. I couldn't help but think about how my little hands did the same thing 25 + years ago. Char wasn't the only one who played with these.  Eloise got ahold of the little buggy & car and began making "vrooom" sounds all on her own. Where do kids learn to do that? It kept her entertained at Carraba's while we waited for our dinner one evening. Aren't they cute? 

Ol Grandma in the high chair ; )

The doggie is snoozing with the little girl : ) I know a doggie or two that would like that!

Another blast from the past that got quite a bit of attention from Eloise was "Baby" who was my very first baby doll. It was pretty sweet to see Elo be motherly for the first time. Charlotte has a few baby dolls but Eloise has never paid them much attention so I was surprised when we really took a liking to Baby. She would pass her back and forth with my mom and they would take turns patting & kissing her. Eloise would most always attempt to mimic whatever her Grandma did....so precious. One afternoon when we were sewing, we sat Elo in her high chair with some O's. She wanted to keep Baby by her side.

Someone's silly bone seems to be growing well ; ) 

I have about 10 books from my childhood that I picked out of a box at my parents before Char was even born.  These are 4 of my favorites that were well read by the Ellis children & now the Valentine's as well.

Just to prove that they belonged to me, I included this photo ; ) 

It is funny to look at the toys the girls have now & think about them being labeled "vintage" in 30 years on eBay (if it's even around anymore).  What will go for top dollar? the Pottery Barn owls that sit on Charlotte's bed? the wooden fruit in their play kitchen? Scout the dog? I mean he is kind of like Teddy Ruxpin but a LOT less scary!

I do love those toys/books & LOVE seeing my girls enjoying them just as we did as young children. I will definitely be collecting a few of our favorites & placing them in a storage bin for grandchildren to use someday. Wow, okay, that statement alone makes me feel a little old ; )

project 365: [days 119-125]

April 29th- My heart was happy watching these two snuggling on the back porch.

April 30th-  Enjoyed a favorite book with the girls from my childhood: "Baby Dear"

May 1st- Life Group dinner on the patio...humoring me with their fake laughter ; ) 

May 2nd- Char practicing her jumps off the bus.

May 3rd- Eloise checking out the completed invites for the 1st birthday bash. 

May 4th- Put my new purchase to the test. 

May 5th- Putting my other new purchase to the test: Ben Ben working on getting the bone out of his new toy.

The people on the bus go UP & down!

It was a relaxing Wednesday morning at the Valentine Nest. Eloise & Charlotte were cooking in their kitchen and I was sitting on the floor waiting to be served something yummy.  I guess it was a little too boring calm for a rambunctious two year old who quickly decided it might be fun to jump off the school bus repeatedly for 30 minutes straight.  I was laughing SO hard! She would jump, I would snap away then we would look together & laugh about the photo then do it all over again. 

It was all good fun until a baby & a pit bull got in her way.  You can see in the photo below that Bennett decided to do some stretching right in the flight path while Elo was about to attempt a steep climb. Charlotte looks either a little concerned or is contemplating how to jump over those two "road blocks."

Then Benny Boy did a great big yawn as if to say, I think I may rest here for a moment. Charlotte was seriously annoyed by his behavior. Haha! I can hear her teenage voice saying "Mom, are you seriously going to let him act like that?"

He eventually moved and the fun continued.  Char decided rather than complain about her sissy, involve her in the excitement. She tries to lift her all the time and while carrying her across the floor she says "Mommy, she so heavy!" It's true Charlotte!

And one last look at some awesome hair during a jump...

While she was jumping and crashing to the ground I was wondering where we went from walking behind her making sure she didn't fall to seeing her scale anything in the house or at the park without a flinch. Not sure but she is quite a little monkey now!

Eloise at 11 months

I am actually a bit teary eyed as I write this 11 MONTH blog post. We are a month away from celebrating the first birthday of this absolutely precious little one.  I think the tears are from experiencing this deep thankfulness to God & love in my heart for these children coupled with seeing month after month fly by as they do not cease to grow & learn new things. I love it, I really do but lately I seem to have more than a few moments where I just want to freeze them exactly how they are...just for a bit : ) 

I mean seriously, who wouldn't want to freeze this?

"Elo Baby, Elo Pancakes" is Charlotte's new and favorite name for Eloise.  Not sure where she came up with that but we can't help but join in!  

So, without further adieu, here is what Elo Pancakes has been doing as of lately:

• crawls speedily EVERYWHERE but especially towards bathroom trash cans
• pulls up on everything
• lets go & stands for about 7 seconds without holding onto anything
• knows where her head is 100% of the time and where her ears are 50% of the time
• does the sound for an elephant when prompted
• repeats the sound for a snake after we do it
• waves hi & bye
• has said (no more than a couple times) "blue"-boo,  "hi" & "dog"- da
• giggles uncontrollably when her Daddy traps her on the ground and covers her with kisses
• gives us big wet open mouthed kisses when asked
• has even been known to attempt a french kiss a time or two ; ) 
• HATES getting her diaper or clothes changed unless it is the removal of them for bath time
• experiences a little separation anxiety Sunday mornings in the nursery
• will sit through a book if I let her touch all over every page
• likes to point at things
• top two front teeth came in April 7th
• if given a brush, bow, shoe or toothbrush she puts them in the right spot

Mellow Elo is not quite as mellow as she once was.  She is still mellow in the area of going with the flow while out & about but at home, oh my. If this girl does not get what she wants quickly....you are surely going to hear about it!  A common scenario ending in seeing this face & hearing the screech is when Charlotte is "helping" to keep shoes, paper, dog toys etc away from Eloise. 

It makes me grin. I know we are at the beginning of playing referee all day every day as these two little ladies learn to interact with one another in a loving way. This playing together has really taken off in the past few weeks which has been fun for all of us.  Eloise is way into chasing her sister down and tackling her.  The pulling up and standing has really revolutionized playtime! If I happen to be missing a kid in the house, I am aware of Elo's interest in everything Char has along with her ability to get to her quickly. This means I am guaranteed to find both kids at the same time : ) Eloise loves to look Charlotte's way for a response after screaming or throwing food on the ground. She gets a kick out of Char responding with laughter. Here are some pictures of them playing together yesterday.

this was one of those "freezable moments"

With the addition of mobility into her life, the possibilities of exploring are endless!

Her face here reminds me of when I catch her in the dog bowl : ) 

She is eating like a champ with no changes to her schedule.  I feel like we have been doing the same thing for SO long which makes it easier to remember.  Nursing at 7:30, 11, 3 & 7. Solids at 8, 11:30 & 5ish with a couple snacks in there.  I really think that if you sat her in her high chair and left her there all day with food in front of her, you would never hear one complaint! New foods this month: sugar snap peas, pineapple, oranges, Judy Juice, muffins, pancakes (for Elo pancakes), cauliflower, pot roast, quesadilla & grilled cheese. She will eat anything you put in front of her but bananas. She just cries when she sees a ba-mena (as Char says).  That's how I am when I am pregnant so I understand ; )

With Charlotte, I was so convinced I would stop nursing when she turned one. Not sure why I felt like that but when she turned one, I kept going. She was still interested and it worked well for us. I stopped when she was 14 months old & got pregnant within a week. So maybe the outcome of that is influencing my thoughts a bit since we might like to wait a bit longer to get pregnant.  All that to say, with Eloise, she is still very interested and I am feeling like I may go longer with her than I did with Char.  So at this point with Charlotte, I think I cut out the afternoon feeding but for now, we are going to keep on keeping on : ) Due to a shortage in the frozen milk section in our freezer, Elo is getting a combo of whole milk & breast milk while I am away. She has had no problem with it & drinks it ice cold from her bottle.

With all the energy spent crawling & pulling up, she wears herself out & sleeps great 99% of the time.  Night time sleep has been 7pm-7:30am with naps from 9-10:30 & 12:30-3. Although today, she slept from 9-11:45 for her morning nap...like she knew I needed to have some time to write her 11 month blog post ; ) What a sweetheart!  She loves her crib & pack n' play and rarely complains when you lay her down. The question to be asked is, will she sleep 14 hours a night after she starts walking? 

Well little Miss Elo, you and your cute faces are killing me!  I love you and can't wait to celebrate 1 year of having you in our arms. God made you so beautiful, so special & so silly....

Uncle Kyle bought Elo this dress for Christmas...I LOVE IT & was so excited that we had a cool couple days last week to wear it one last time before the Florida heat takes over!