Wee-Ballin'!!

Today Ella had her second "wee ball" game. Think tee ball for three year olds. It's a hoot. And I have to say it has me and Ronnie pretty excited. We both grew up playing sports. My entire childhood was basically spend playing softball. So getting up on Saturday mornings and piling into the car to go watch our child play ball is pretty fun!

So here is how wee ball works...they play with foam bats and tennis balls. Each child hits off the tee once each inning, and each hit is a homerun. While the kids run around the bases (believe me, it can take awhile: run the wrong direction, turn around, pause to walk awhile, run again, can I have a snack, woops wrong direction, turn around, stop to sniff some flowers, run some more, hey there's a bird, homerun!) the coach of the other teams rolls more balls into the field so each child has a ball to throw in. There are three innings, so the games are short, pefect for three year old attention spans.

Ella actually missed her first game because it was the day of Tara's wedding. The next Saturday we woke up to a monsoon, so that game was cancelled. So last week was the actual first game she was able to play in. We weren't sure how it would go. She seemed excited about wee ball, but you never know how she will react in the moment. She did great! They practice 20 minutes before each game. This gave her a chance to swing the bat a few times and figure out how to run around the bases (sort of). Before each game the kids repeat a pledge. I can't remember how it goes, but it's all about good sportsmanship. You get the idea. Then it was game time. Ella did really well! She hit the ball well and made huge progress running the bases from her first hit to her last. The first hit we basically had to guide her the entire way. By her last hit she ran fast around the bases by herself, and actually skipped over 2nd base but went back to touch it when she realized what she had done! Way to go! The funniest part was her fielding. When she would get a ball she would throw it back to the coach with this crazy wind up, underhand, fast pitch throw. We had never seen her do anything like that before, she had always thrown a ball the normal way, but for some reason she did this every single time. It was hilarious. When I tell people they usually say something about her being like Aunt Jamie...but Ella has never seen Jamie play softball or pitch! She was a baby Jamie's last softball season. I have no idea where this came from!

Today was her second game. She had the early game this morning and we actually had to wake her up to go. We literally put her in her clothes and put her in the car with a cup of water and a bag of cheerios. She did really well today. You could tell she hadn't been up long. Her patience in the field was definitely tried today, but she was tough and stayed out there. The team they played had more players than normal, so they spent more time in the field than they usually do. She did a good job throwing today, and after a little practice before the game she was back to throwing over handed again.

For the kids the best part of the games are the post-game snacks. We have a parent snack rotation for the games and the kids look forward to it throughout the game.  It's what I use to keep Ella going, "Bat two more times and then you can have your snack!" I should also mention that I really like Ella's coach. She does a great job with the kids. She tries to show them the right way to do things but keeps it at a three year old level. Here are some pictures and a video!

About to play in her first wee ball game!

Run Ella Run!

Ella up to bat!

Fielding

Here is a video of Ella's last at-bat today! Check out the practice swing before the real swing!



Kendall's 15 month checkup, Ella allergy update

There are still several events from June that I want to post about, but I thought I would go on and mention that today is Kendall's 15 month birthday, and talk about her checkup this morning.
We will go chronologically through the day. Before we headed to Kendall's checkup we took Ella for an allergy shot. She started getting shots in late-March, and I can't put into words what a difference they, along with her new medication, have already made. Compared to this time last year, she is a different kid. Last summer we spent very little time outside because her nose would pour constantly and her eyes would swell up, but I can't even remember the last time she had a reaction like that. Today she finished up her second vial...there are ten vials before we start "maintenance"...when we can start spacing out the injections a little more. Right now we are going at least once a week...usually twice a week. The more we do now, the sooner we can start maintenance and the sooner she will reap the full benefits. She's already improved so much that I'm hoping we can drop some of her medication soon - she is currently taking Claritin, Singulair and Nasonex daily.
Ella is so tough when it comes time to get a shot. The first few were rough, but once we got used to it, and once she saw several other tough kids get shots without crying, she stopped crying and took the shots like a champ. Ronnie took her for the first time a few weeks ago and he couldn't believe how brave she was. He got home and said, "She just sat there and took it...she never even flinched!" Today they called her name and she hopped into my lap and had her arms ready. The nurse always asks me to verify her birthday and vial number. When she asked her birthday, Ella pipped in "January 16th!" before I even had time to answer. Since it was the last dose of the vial, today was a pretty big dose, but she never flinched or squirmed or anything. We are so proud of her for being so brave!
After her allergy shots we took Kendall to see Dr. Bindner. Kendall was in a grumpy mood this morning. She is cutting her bottom molars and also has a cold, so she's been a little grumpy for the last couple of weeks, but this morning she was especially out of sorts. So today she wasn't too excited to have a nurse poking at her and measuring her. She weighed in at 23 lbs (50th%) and was 30.5 inches (50th%). Her big old melon head still came in at 97th%. :) When Dr. Bindner came in I asked about a couple of things that I was worried about. First, she took a pretty hard fall right on the middle of her forehead a few weeks ago. You can still feel the vertical knot going down her forehead. She said that was fine and would go away soon. Then I told her I was a little worried about Kendall's vocabulary. She isn't saying very many words, and usually doesn't say any words unless she is encouraged to do so...."Kendall, say 'bird' now Kendall, say 'Ella!'"  And the words that she does say, it's usually just the first sound of the word that she will make. After we talked about it Dr. Bindner assured me that her vocabulary is average for her age. I recently watched a video we have of Ella at this age, and she was talking so much more, that is what made me kind of worried. But, Ella had a very extensive vocabulary at a very young age, so it isn't really fair for me to compare them. Kendall does other things very well. She can identify a lot of body parts and she understands commands very well. One of my favorite things that she does is bring me the right book when I ask for a specific one.
Ella absolutely cracked me up during Kendall's checkup. When the nurse was getting all of Kendall's measurements and asking me questions about her progression, Ella kept trying to talk to the nurse. Then she asked Ella how old she was. Ella held up three fingers and said, "Three." Then she said, "When will you be four?" Ella matter-of-factly said, "At my next birthday." The nurse laughed and asked when that was and Ella told her January 16. After the nurse left Ella was pretending to write on a book and asked me questions about Kendall..." how old is she?...can she put her clothes on by herself?...can she ride a bike by herself?" It was quite funny listening to Nurse Ella's assessment!
Then, unfortunately it was time for shots. Today Kendall received the MMR and the Pentacel vaccines. Of course she wasn't quite as brave as Ella, so there was some screaming and there were some tears! But we survived and will anxiously await the next checkup. I'm sure the next 3 months will fly by as quickly as the last 3 did. Next checkup will be at 18 months in October!

Here is Kendall on the 4th of July :) Such a little sweetie pie!

Ronnie is DONE!

Ronnie’s residency is officially OVER. After 4 years of undergrad at Georgetown College, 4 years of Medical School at the University of Louisville, and 3 years of residency at the University of Louisville hospital, where he specialized in Emergency Medicine, he is finished! On Saturday, June 18 Ronnie’s residency program had a dinner for the graduating residents. It was held at Dr. Danzl’s house, one of the attendings who Ronnie often refers to as the smartest man he’s ever known. He has a beautiful home on a farm, with a dock over a huge pond. They had a delicious catered dinner and everyone chipped in and brought a huge assortment of appetizers and desserts.

Soon after we arrived Ella discovered some kids playing in a big sand pile by a slide near the pond. Soon her buddy Gary arrived. Gary’s mom is one of the graduating residents. They hadn’t seen each other since Ella’s birthday party in January but they were instant friends and had a blast playing together! Kendall also had a lot of fun…she always wants to do whatever the big kids are doing! I spent most of the evening chasing her as she ran around in circles!

When the residents were recognized they gave away a few awards, and Ronnie received the Pediatric Emergency Medicine award. I was so excited for him! He really enjoys working with children in the ER and throughout his residency he went back and forth about doing a fellowship in pediatrics. His gift was a set of very nice bookends with his name inscribed on them. After the awards each resident was recognized and received very nice gifts. One gift was a wine cooler from Louisville Stoneware – one side says “University of Louisville Emergency Medicine 2011” and the other side has the fleur de lis (which his part of Louisville’s seal). We aren’t wine drinkers, but it’s a very nice, decorative piece! The other gift is something Ronnie has been anticipating since his first year of residency. One of the ER attendings takes lots of pictures in the ER and puts together an amazing personalized book for each graduating resident. It contains lots of “action” shots of Ronnie at work in the ER, and is actually quite graphic! I have had so much fun looking through it. I always tell Ronnie that I wish I could see him at work, but obviously you can’t just go hang out in the U of L ER! This may be as close as I get! It’s a beautiful book and a fantastic keepsake. If you ever come to our house please ask to see this book!

When Ronnie was recognized and received his gifts, Ella walked up with Ronnie. Dr. Mallory, one of the attendings, said something about Ella being "the next Dr. Pridemore" and put her on the spot and showed off some of her medical knowledge. In front of everyone, she asked Ella what Daddy uses to check people's hearts. Ella immediately replied with, "a stethescope!" Then she asked her what her skin is called...Ella said, "Epidermis!" Then she asked what her fingers and toes are called..."Phalanges!" It was really funny and everyone got a kick out of her.

Later that night Dr. Danzl brought out one of his horses. Ella was so excited when she saw it! Dr. Danzl put her on the horse and she was so excited! I keep using the word excited…if you only had seen her you would understand! He kept moving his legs around because bugs were biting him, and every time Ella would say, “oooh he almost walked!” or “ooooooh he almost jumped!”

We had a great night and it was nice to spend time with the other residents and their families. It was also great to see Ronnie and the other residents recognized for their hard work. The girls absolutely had a blast. They were both asleep in the car long before we got home!

Ronnie has some time off before he starts his next job. In mid-July he will have his first shift at Clark Memorial Hospital in Jeffersonville. It’s been really nice to have him around! The girls have turned into “Daddy’s girls” and we’ve had a lot of fun doing things together! We are excited to get used to this, since he won’t be working nearly as often at his new job as he did in residency. It’s a wonderful new chapter in our lives and we are so happy and proud of Ronnie!

Ella & Gary playing on the hammock

Ronnie receiving the Pediatric Emergency Medicine Award

Ronnie getting his gifts and Ella getting quizzed!

Ella was so excited to sit on the horse!

Happy Birthday to Me

My blog posts are all a little behind, but I'm still catching up on our busy, busy June. I don't want to leave anything out, so I'm posting as fast as I have time and hope to eventually be completely caught up!
We were still in Scottsville on June 13, my 27th birthday. Ronnie was at Kentucky Changers with our youth group at church (I'm trying to get him to write a post about this...) but I had a great time celebrating with the girls, Travis and mom and dad. Mom actually gave me my birthday presents three days early. My mom is NOT the type to ever ruin a surprise. She doesn't even want me to know what she buys the girls for Christmas or their birthdays, so when she said she wanted to give me my present early I knew something was up! She had made me an awesome quilt made up of t-shirts from my childhood. The first shirt is a WKU shirt I used to wear to Aunt Laura's ball games when I was around 2 years old, and they went all the way up to my YMCA Staff shirt I wore when I worked at the Y from age 16 to age 21! Most of the in between shirts were basketball or softball shirts, and shirts from trips. The last time she was at our house she actually stole an old Minnie Mouse shirt of mine that Aunt Laura had gotten for me in Hawaii. Ella loves wearing that shirt, but mom replaced it with new Minnie Mouse shirt for Ella. :)

That night Dad grilled out. Nothing better than a "Teddy burger" for my birthday...or maybe two! Mom bought an ice cream cake and I'm pretty sure I ate about half of it. My grandma (Mema) and my great-aunt (Ma) both came over to eat with us. My grandma gave me a a beautiful keepsake. It was an antique angel that said "June" on it. It belonged to my great grandmother (my grandpa's mother) who actually had the same birthday as me. When she passed away it was given to my grandma, she was the only person in the family with a June birthday. So Mema decided to pass it down to me! I love family keepsakes!

Here are a few birthday pictures:

Opening my quilt

So cool!

Blowing out the candle!

Uh oh, Travis fell asleep!

June 11 - Goin' to the Chapel

I love weddings, and this wedding had me especially excited. I was so excited to see Tara and Daniel get married, I was so excited to see Ronnie and his brothers walk Tara down the aisle, I was so excited to see Ella and Kendall dolled out in their beautiful flower girl dresses, and I was so excited for Ella's first flower girl role, though super nervous because I had no idea what my fiesty and strong-willed 3 year old might decide to do with an audience.
So the day started off nice and calm. Both girls had a good night's sleep. Ella seemed super excited and we found a makeshift basket and flowers to practice tossing the flowers as we walk. She couldn't wait to put her dress on, and had been so disappointed when she couldn't wear her flower girl dress to the rehearsal the night before. She was pretty disappointed when I told her that she couldn't put her dress on until we arrived at the church.
Ronnie and Ella needed to be at the church at 2 p.m. for wedding party pictures. Kendall and I needed to be there at 3 p.m. for family pictures. The wedding began at 4:30 p.m. As hard as I tried, I could NOT get Kendall to take a nap before we had to leave to take Ronnie and Ella for pictures, but thankfully she fell asleep in the car so we drove around for an hour after dropping them off so she could get a somewhat decent nap in. I probably wasted 1/4 tank of gas, but it's worth it for a nap! I was disappointed to not be at the church to see Ella in the pictures, but also thought she might do better if I weren't there. Thankfully Ronnie said she did great and was cooperative. I can't wait to see the wedding pictures!
After we took photos Mom and Dad arrived and I handed Kendall off. They sat in the back with her for an easy exit, just in case she decided to be loud (if you've ever met Kendall, you know what I'm talking about...she's a pretty vocal little girl!). I handed her off hungry, and thankfully she didn't make a peep thanks to a full ziploc bag of Cheerios I sent her with. I was ready in the front row...ready for a quick Ella-grab if need be. Ella was hanging out with the female bridal party, I hoped bonding so that she would be ready to stand with all of them during the ceremony. Then it was time!
The wedding was absolutely beautiful. The singers, and song choices, were perfect. They had a duet of "When God Made You", a song that was also sung in our wedding, and also had the song, "God Gave Me You", which is one of my favorites! Everyone looked beautiful. Tara was absolutely stunning, and all the girls looked gorgeous in their purple dresses and the men were handsome in their tuxes. When it was time for the flower girls to walk out my heart was literally beating out of my chest. Ella looked adorable, and was walking with her oldest cousin. Things went well until they got about 3/4 of the way down the aisle. Then I watched her expression change from "having fun, throwing flowers, having fun, throwing flowers" to "hmmm, everyone is looking at me and a photographer is taking pictures of me, what should I do". So, she stopped and dumped all of the flowers out of her basket, with a look on her face that was part innocent, part mischevious. Then she ever-so-lightly dropped her basket, then gave it the slightest little kick. Not a soccer kick, just a "this is in my way, I think I'll move it" little kick. Of course the guests erupted in laughter. It was pretty funny, and much along the lines of what I expected. But since I had no idea what would happen next and was 100% sure that she would NOT be able to stand still for a ceremony, she sat with me. Next came Ronnie, Rocky & Ross walking Tara down the aisle. It was a very special moment for all of them, and Ronnie was a little teary when he sat next to me after giving her away. I couldn't help but think about Ronnie giving away our girls one day....SEVERAL YEARS down the road! After the ceremony we told Ella that she could exit down the aisle with the other flower girls. Unfortunately that didn't work. She started out walking with them, then stopped right in front of the altar and began picking up flowers. Oh well. At that point, she was done. A long day with lots of pictures, lots of people, lots of things to do, and no nap had caught up with her. Thankfully we had about a 20 minute drive to the reception for her to relax for a minute.
The reception was a blast. The food was delicious, the DJ was great and the dancing was pretty awesome. Tara, Ronnie, Ross &  Hannah had a special surprise dance planned that they had been practicing. It was from the "Evolution of Dance" on YouTube. Check it out...

Ella danced her little heart out. As soon as the dancing started, she did not stop until we literally had to drag her crying from the dance floor. She had so much fun. You can see her in the video above...she really wanted to participate!
So I seriously have like no pictures from the wedding. I was so busy chasing the girls around, making sure Ella was doing ok and Kendall wasn't disrupting anything. Hopefully Tara's wedding photos will be ready soon, but for now I only have a few pictures to share!

Me and Ronnie before the wedding

Ella dancing her little heart out!

Kendall dancing with Daddy and Mammaw

Yep, somersaults on the dance floor!

Ross, Tara, Ronnie & Ella!



Passed out!

June 10 - Anniversary, Rehearsal & Diamonds!

Friday, June 10 was a very special day for our family. It was mine and Ronnie’s 5 year anniversary! We celebrated in Scottsville and arrived the day before because we had a busy weekend ahead. Ronnie’s younger sister Tara was getting married on Saturday!
Ronnie had a HUGE surprise for me! He had mentioned several times that he was really excited about my gift. I was anxious to see what it was, but was absolutely stunned when he handed me a Shane Co. jewelry box…and even more stunned when I opened it and saw a gorgeous pair of diamond earrings!! I was embarrassed to even give him his gift. I had bought him some new golf clothes and hat. Don’t get me wrong, they were really nice, but greatly paled in comparison to what he got me. They are beautiful and literally haven’t left my ears!

Because of a lack of time and the insanity that June has brought, we weren’t able to do anything special for our anniversary. On our honeymoon we talked about how it would be great to go back to Mazatlan for our 5 year anniversary. But we weren’t expecting to have a 3 year old and a 14 month old at that point! But we still had a great time and were able to be with both of our families. The Mazatlan trip will probably have to wait until 10 years! More than anything we are so thankful with the blessings God has given us in the last 5 years. We have a wonderful marriage and two beautiful, healthy children. Happiness is really all you can ask for and we strive to not take it for granted.

That evening was Tara and Daniel’s rehearsal and dinner. This was a pretty big deal for Ella, who was a flower girl for the first time. We have been talking about Ella’s role as a flower girl for quite some time now, but I had no idea how she would handle it. Tara surprised Ella with a sweet book called “Fiona the Flower Girl” and also Flower Girl Dora. If Dora can’t get Ella excited about something, then nothing can!! Ella was so excited to meet the three other flower girls, her older cousins who live in Texas. They clearly had more experience being flower girls, and unfortunately Ella didn’t feel too enticed to follow their lead. Of course since Ella is only 3 my expectations weren’t too high, I’ve heard stories about my flower girl experience at age 3, but she wanted nothing to do with standing at the front of the church, and preferred to just wander around. Thankfully I knew I would be sitting with Ronnie in the front row and would be able to grab her if things got out of hand! I’ve always heard my parents say that they were more nervous before weddings in which I was the flower girl than they were before their own wedding, and let’s just say that I completely understand that feeling now!

After the rehearsal we enjoyed a delicious dinner of barbeque at a new place in Scottsville called The Lyric. The food was delicious and we had a great time with family and friends we hadn’t seen in a long time.

Stay tuned for my next post to see how the wedding went. Here are a few pictures from the day!

Me and Ronnie

Our Family, on the way to the wedding rehearsal

Kendall playing during rehearsal

I think this was taken during the only 10 seconds Ella stood in place

Ronnie and Ross walking Tara down the aisle

First Baseball Game!

A couple of weeks ago we took the girls to their first baseball game…actually it was also mine and Ronnie’s first MLB game together. I hadn’t been to a MLB game since I was 16 and saw the Braves play in Atlanta, and I hadn’t been to a Reds game since Spring Break my sophomore year of high school. It’s a shame, since we are under 2 hours away from Cincinnati!
On Wednesday, June 8 we traveled to Cincinnati to watch the Reds play the Cubs. We met up with our friends Sarah and Nate and their boys Cooper and Hank. They were a few days away from moving to Knoxville, TN. It was a great day to spend together and the kids, especially Ella and Cooper, had a great time playing, though it was HOT. Plus 90 degree temps at a baseball game can be pretty miserable, especially with a 3 year old and a 14 month old. But thankfully our seats were high enough up that we were shaded. If not we probably wouldn’t have lasted very long! Unfortunately we weren't able to pay a whole lot of attention to the game, but we do know that the Reds ended up losing to the Cubs. Here are a few pictures of our day. You'll notice that Ella has a blue mustache in all the pictures - about 3 seconds after we arrived at the park Ella drank a blue Gatorade...it obviously stayed with her! These pictures are completely out of order. I don't know what happened, but I got tired of messing with it so here they are!



Ella said, "Take a picture of me with him!"



 

Ella and Cooper being silly





Me & Sarah





Ella up to bat!

 














Ella the Catcher!





The whole fam







Kendall and Daddy!

 


Beautiful park