Hope 11 Months/13 Months

While Cindy and Charlotte were here I enlisted their help to take Hope's 11 month pictures.  It was quite the ordeal.  But look at this one...  What a sweetheart.

I'm writing this just as she turns 13 months, and I can barely remember what she was doing at 11 months.  I don't think she had much teeth - maybe just one or two, and she's up to 7 now with more on the way.  She still hasn't taken any steps or even balanced standing without holding on to anything, but is getting more sure on her feet every day, walking along furniture and while holding our two hands.  She is still vocal and will say "Da-" when Marc comes in the room.  She's eating lots and nursing less and less - becoming more of a toddler than a baby.  She loves to climb the stairs and climb up on short platforms (and has taken her fair share of topples off them - the platforms, I mean, not the stairs).  She cries (and stops) at her daddy's stern "no", which I think is so cute and Marc is quick to comfort her (though not let her continue what she was doing).  When you pick her up, she lovingly pats you on the back and is quick to give hugs and kisses.  She can blow kisses, though I don't even feel like we taught her that.  What a joy!

C & C Visit

Oh man!  Cindy and Charlotte came to visit on their way home from Colorado.  What a treat!

Hope got a ride in her favorite - the Cozy Coupe!  As I was fixing supper I could see Cindy taking her all around the yard, picking up twigs as she went.  What help!

A trip to the City Park while Daddy kept Hope - some good three on one time for Cole.  Cindy took us for a drive to the zoo...and grocery store...and post office.

We took them over to see the progress on our new house and we took a jaunt down the alley to the "Cole's Park".  Charlotte enjoyed herself on the old fashioned merry-go-round.

We all got lots of love and lots of attention.  Thanks for coming to visit!

Hope Outside

I'm not really in any hurry for Hope to walk - except for when we play outside.  It doesn't seem to bother her to crawl on any type of surface, though, if I can get over it (and the knees of her pants can handle it).  Here she is making her way around the yard, exploring with the lawn mower.

Friend Comes to Play

Our friend, Lilli, came over to play.  She's the same age as Cole and they do really well together.  She stands up for herself but is really easy going - doesn't get riled up by hardly anything, which suits us well when Cole's behavior feeds on reactions.  Cole loved having her over.

And this is Hope's favorite thing to do outside - take a ride in the Cozy Coupe.  And Lilli was happy to oblige.

It's fun to have friends come to play!

Lunch

The Blogger App on my phone has stopped working, so I've stopped blogging.  But Marc reminded me that I had uploaded a bunch of pictures before it went on the outs.  So, here are some blogs from a while ago.

One day after our 9 year old friend, Ashton, mowed our lawn we took him out for lunch at Subway.  Ashton hadn't been to a Subway in ages since his sister can't have gluten and also doesn't have much bread at home.  He took his first bite and said it was as good as eating a hamburger.  That made me laugh.

He was a big help with the kids at lunch - getting straws and napkins and chasing Cole.  We had some good conversation and talked about being a big brother.  At one point Cole was annoyed with Hope getting into his space or bothering him and I asked Ashton how he handled it when his younger siblings did the same thing.  He said that sometimes he calmly asks them to stop and other times he gets upset, even though he knows he shouldn't.  I thought that was pretty good and pretty honest.  

Cole looks up to him, and I think that's a good thing.  So glad to have community like this.

Writing

Look what Cole wrote...

HOPE!!

Eleven Months

Look who greeted me yesterday morning! 

Hope is 11 months old and becoming more and more vertical. This was the first time I found her standing up on her feet in the crib. She was so proud of herself. 

Homecoming Parade

Cole and I rode our bikes up to the homecoming parade this evening. Hope was already in bed, and Marc stayed back with her. It was so fun to ride there with him. I felt like I was living the dream. 

Here we are waiting at the courthouse for the parade to begin. 

It didn't take long for Cole to find our neighbor girl, Maddie, across the street and want to go greet her. We ended up watching the 15 minute parade with them and filled up our candy sack. 

Here we are on our way back home with our loot. 

Small town fun...

BBQ Ribs

Hope enjoyed eating a BBQ rib the other day at the Voths' house. :)

Taking after her Grandpa Ellis?

Volleyball

Yesterday the kids and I met Kristy and Grayson Zeller at the volleyball games in Sublette. Kristy's niece was playing. It was fun to watch, and Hope did great sitting on my lap chewing on my car keys for the entire time. Grayson is used to going to lots of his cousins' sporting events and seems to just sit well and watch but Cole lost interest after a while and talked Grayson into exploring the bleachers. Luckily, they weren't very full, and I don't think their roaming bothered anyone. 

In between games, a team was warming up and I noticed two Sublette grade schoolers shagging the balls. To keep Cole busy, I suggested Cole go join them, and he did! The boys were good about being aware of him. They thought it was funny. He never got a ball, but I love to see his boldness. 

If you couldn't make it to the Sept. family birthdays....

Brad and I had an announcement......We're pregnant!!!!

Our due date is April 19th! 

I am 11 weeks along right now and the baby is the size of a lime :)  We are planning on finding out the gender in the end of November. As I am getting closer to the second trimester I am starting to feel a lot better. During weeks 4-9,  I was pretty exhausted! Getting out of bed was really difficult and then around 5:00pm I was ready to go to bed for the night. Needless to say, we ate out a lot during that time because I was often too tired to cook anything for dinner! I've been feeling a lot better lately too. I had a few weeks where I had an upset stomach in the morning right when I'd wake up and then throughout the day if I didn't snack often.

Brad and I are so incredibly excited to be parents!! It is still daunting to think about, but I just can't wait! Getting to see the baby when we got the ultrasound was such an amazing experience. We also got to hear the heartbeat which made it so real for me. Up until then, I had times when I honestly kind of doubted if I was pregnant haha. Just because I wasn't showing and couldn't feel any movement, but when I heard the heartbeat, it was the most amazing thing!! So unbelievable that there is a living thing growing inside of me! I love it. I just get so giddy thinking about it!

Please be keeping us in your prayers. I've been nervous towards the end of the first trimester, just praying that I and the baby would stay healthy and move into the second trimester with no complications.

Baby Ellis coming soon!

KAICC Logo

Marc is the president of his crop consultant association. He's done a lot in the way of leadership for the organization over the past few years. This year is their thirtieth anniversary so he planned a skeet shooting event to celebrate in October. He's also orchestrated the redesign and update of their logo. One of our pastor friends in town does graphic design on the side to help make ends meet. We were happy to give him some work and liked what he came up with. 

Here is the new logo on the sleeve of Columbia jackets that Marc got made for all the guys at the shoot. 

He's also getting hats made. I think it turned out great!!! Proud of Marc and all the work he's put into this. 

Breaking Ground

Mark it down, Monday, September 19 we broke ground on our new house!

Here was the hole for the basement to start

And here's the final product

I was so impressed with the precision and finesse of the digger (the track hoe, I learned). He was so precise and made the bottom very level and the sides straight too. It was fun to watch. 

I had shared the excitement with my friends and a lot of them showed up to check it out. Here's Tiffany and her kids. 

Marc was over at the site all day! He never even took a break for lunch. He enjoyed watching but was also doing a lot of coordinating between the digger man and the guys coming to haul the dirt away. There was a LOT of dirt! It was a draining day for him, but he did a great job. I'm glad he's 'on my side'.

And so it begins!

Spaghetti

Classic "Baby Eating Spaghetti" photos. 

Cole saw me taking pictures and came over with tongue wagging saying he could get Hope to laugh. He did, but I didn't catch it on camera. 

Hope enjoyed the saucy meat the best. The pasta was an afterthought. 

Exersaucer

Cousin James is letting us borrow his exersaucer, now that he's grown out of it. I think Hope likes it! And I'm grateful for a safe, stationary place to put her!

Entertainment

Just sitting on the tailgate watching the resurfacing of the roads by grandma's house. Small town entertainment!

New

Just a boy proudly walking out of Target with his new undies...

He talked me into changing into them before our next stop - the zoo!

Attack!

Cole and Grandpa Voth waiting to attack Daddy when he gets out of the pick up. (And Hope)

Attack!!

Cole had it all planned out and executed it perfectly!

Mowing

My friend Tiffany's son Ashton asked if he could mow our lawn. He is 9 years old and would like to start a mowing business next year. His family has someone mow their lawn and doesn't have a working mower, so he thought of us. 

Marc's summer job all through jr high and high school (and even earlier) was his own mowing business, so naturally he wanted to be around to teach Ashton the trade. Today was their first day. 

Ashton took it really seriously and listened well, Marc said. 

Cole had to get in on the action. Can you see him following behind with his little play mower?

Marc was a thorough teacher, and it was good for Cole to see a young boy taking some initiative and working hard - and i didn't have to mow!! It was a good experience all around!

Basement Prep

The guy who will dig and pour the basement for our new house was here this week. Marc, Michael and he met and painted lines on the ground to indicate where the house would be and where he would dig. It was neat to go over afterwards and see it all laid out. It seems bigger and smaller than i thought all at the same time. He hopes to start digging this Friday or Monday. Won't be long!

Here are Marc and Cole talking to one of our new neighbors. This guy recently finished building a house across the street, so he's been a good resource. 

This picture is taken from the front of the house. Marc's truck is parked in the alley.

Here Cole and I are standing in the kitchen - taken looking at the street from the back of the house.