Some Christmas Photos

We spent Christmas at Willa's parents home. We had a great time! On Christmas Eve the whole family got together and shared a fun evening of pizza (much to my mother's dismay), cheeseballs, taco dip and oodles of cookies! We then were able to read an abbreviated version of the Christmas story (a children's edition) and celebrate by giving presents. The presents were opened in about 2 minutes...record speed for sure! It was a lot of fun for everyone!

A picture of all four kids...Graham, Porter, Suzanne and Ellie!

Cute Graham Moments

I just wanted to share a few cute moments with Graham recently. I know if I don't write them down that I will forget them, so I need to get busy writing! :)

On Saturday we went to our church's Christmas production of Unwrapped, an original musical. It was really good. They provided childcare during that, so afterwards we went to pick Graham up. He happily came out to greet us in the hallway. Then he quickly ran over to a bulletin board that had cute little gingerbread men that the preschool children had made and decorated. Well, I told him to say goodbye. I meant to say goodbye to the nursery workers, however he looked at the gingerbread men and said "Goodbye Curious George!". The gingerbread men were brown and I could see the resemblance. It was pretty cute.

The other cute moment happened this week. We transitioned Graham to a toddler bed and he has been doing wonderfully with it! We're really proud of how good he's been. We haven't had one single issue, he loves being able to climb in and out of bed and is so excited about it. We know that this could change and he could suddenly decide not to stay in bed, but for now we are showering him with praise.

The second night of sleeping in his big boy bed, we were hosting Bible Study at our home. Our study started at 7, and that was a bit early for his bedtime. Ellie was already in bed and not other children were here, so we told him to play in his room for a little bit. We put his train set in his room and he played nicely for about 15 minutes. Then he started to come out. I decided to go ahead and put him to bed. I allowed him to put his trains in bed with him, but he wanted more of the train set. I said no. So, he went to bed without any fussing, however a few hours later right before I was going to bed I checked in on him.

Sure enough...every single piece of his train set, plus the plastic storage bin we store it in were in his bed with him. He was sound asleep, however one single movement by him would've sent it crashing to the ground. We quietly picked it up and put it back on the floor. The next morning when I went to get him out of bed everything was back in his bed with him. We never heard a peep out of him, so it must have been the first thing he did when he woke up! Too cute! :)

Baby Dedication

Ellie's baby dedication was this past Sunday, November 27th. We were excited to have her dedicated and looking forward to that special time at church. The name Eleanor means 'light' and her middle name, Kate, means 'pure'. We wanted to pick a verse out for her that would reflect the meaning of her name. We finally settled on Matthew 5:16 "Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.". Our desire for Ellie's life is just that. That she would grow to love the Lord and to serve Him, and in doing that others would see Him through her life. That she would reach others by her faith and actions!

We were surprised by my mother on the day before Ellie's dedication. She called and asked if it would be ok for her to come down! Um...YES!! So, she came down and joined us for the special day. It was great to have her here for a visit. We made a trip to the park and had a lot of fun just hanging out at the house. The kids were sad to see her leave, but we were all so thankful for the short visit and that she could be a part of Ellie's dedication.

In other news, Ellie was sick recently. We believe she had Roseola. She had a high fever for several days, then broke out in a rash. She was miserable during this time and just laid around. It ended up being about a two week time frame from the time she started coming down with it until she was back to her normal self. However, it seemed to then be overnight that she began crawling, could sit up on her own, could go from sitting to crawling and vice versa and also began cutting teeth!! She literally grew up overnight it seemed! We're so thankful though that she's back to her happy smiley self!

Here's a few pictures from Ellie's baby dedication weekend!

And, yes...Graham did try to escape! ;) He was very quiet, but a little on the active side while on stage!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

As I sit here this Thanksgiving morning, I have a lot to be thankful for! First and foremost I'm thankful for a God who saw fit to send His only Son to this earth. He sent His Son as a sacrifice for my sins that I might be saved. Wow...sometimes it's hard to grasp that. He sent his Son for ME?!? But, He did...and He sent Him for YOU too! How thankful I am for that gift!

I'm also thankful for my family. For my husband. He's wonderful. He's become such a Godly leader for our family. He helps me out so much, more than I could ever ask for. He's currently prepping the Thanksgiving turkey! :) For my children. I do not take for granted how much of a miracle they are. The Dr's didn't really think Graham would make it...or if he did he would be born SUPER DUPER early. He wasn't....he was born almost at full term, and he was healthy! I'm thankful for God's protection during those days (and all the days to follow!). Both Graham and Ellie are such a delight in our lives. We count them as blessings and cannot imagine our lives without them! For my parents. They were wonderful examples to me growing up. They loved us and raised us to love the Lord. For my father-in-law. I wish we could see you more!! :) Your love for our children and the light in your eyes when you see them is so special to me! For everyone else...we love you so much! :)

From our family to yours...we hope you have the most wonderful Thanksgiving Day! Blessings!

Just a few pics

These are all new pictures from the past week. We haven't been up to too much, but Ellie did have her 6 month check-up. She currently weighs 16lbs 5oz (50th percentile) and is 26.5 inches long (75th percentile). This is the first appointment where she weighed in less than her brother did at the same age! The Dr said she looked great, not that we needed her to tell us that! ;)

Here's a picture of our sweet girl.


Graham wore his first tie to church the other day. He looked pretty sharp!

Ball Game

Ok, I know...I have not been very good about updating here lately. No good excuses, although we have been experiencing some sicknesses around here, again! Graham came down with a nasty cough, fever, runny nose. You know, the whole nine yards! A few days after that Ellie started to show signs of the same sickness. My normally sweet little baby girl was very fussy. We finally decided to take her to the Dr after her eyes became puffy and red. Sure enough she had pink eye. After a few doses of antibiotics she's much improved, just a lingering cough. Phew...it's only the beginning of November. This could be a fun winter! ;)

We recently bought a few pom poms to let Graham play with. Initially I was going to cut a hole in the top of a tupperware lid and let him slip them in. We did that and he loved that. However, now he wants to do additional 'games' with his pom poms. He likes to sort them by color, line them up, stuff them in the back of a dump truck, etc. They've been worth the dollar they cost. Here's a couple pictures taken the other morning while he was playing his 'ball game' as he calls it!

He had to test out putting the bowl on his head...

Go Bucks!

Ellie's Uncle Greg & Aunt Kathleen (and cousins Suzanne & Porter) sent her an Ohio State cheerleader uniform to wear for football season! It's a perfect fit (and she looks absolutely adorable!) and Ellie loves to wear it to cheer on her favorite football team...Go Bucks! Thanks Greg & Kathleen!

On another note, we've been working with Graham on saying 'Go Bucks' and 'Go Tarheels'! He says those pretty well. However, the other day we were practicing with him and he started saying something that sounded like 'Go Blue'. Now, I'm SURE he wasn't saying that, but we realized that we need to keep working with him on this! It's very important to train your children properly!! :)

More cute pics

We have finally settled back into a routine after vacation and having lots of visitors. It was a good couple of months, but it's nice to not be quite so busy for awhile! Graham had his 2 year Dr's appointment on the 19th. He weighed in at 30lbs and was 35 3/4 inches long. Which is 75th and 80th percentile. He's meeting every milestone that they asked about and is ahead in quite a few. We're really starting to notice changes in him. He's speaking more and more, linking words together and even a few small sentences. He continues to love to learn, so we try to teach him something everyday! :)

One of Graham's current favorite things to do is feed the cat his treats. Everyday he'll come into the kitchen and start asking for a snack. When I ask what he wants for his snack, he says 'kitty cat'. That means that he wants the cat to have a snack!! He's so thoughtful....right? :) He then put the cat treats on the floor and will get down to floor level to watch Sammy eat them! Sam doesn't seem to mind since he's getting fed!

Graham is also enjoying helping out in the kitchen. I can't mix anything up or wash dishes without him dragging a chair into the kitchen to help out! Sometimes he's a good helper...other times, not much 'helping' is done! We've started a blog....Armstrong Family Fare. It's a cooking blog and I'm enjoying making meals and other baked goodies to share on their! Check it out if you haven't already!

Ellie continues to grow. She's a happy baby most of the time. She used to be a bit camera shy, but recently has begun to warm up to the camera! These shots capture some of her precious smiles!! I love them...they bring us so much joy!

She's Flying!

I love the current stage of development that Ellie is at! She's absolutely precious. She spends most of her time on her belly, don't try to flip her over unto her back! She can pull her whole abdomen off the floor and push herself forward with her legs. She can inch along fairly easily to reach whatever object is in her sight! She's not fast by any means, but she's working on it. Ellie has a sweet disposition. She laughs a lot and smiles instantly when her Mommy talks to her. She loves to watch Graham and adores his attention (however many seconds it lasts for!). It's amazing how quickly she's growing, as it seems to be going too fast!

Graham's Birthday Party

Today, Oct 9th, we celebrated Graham's second birthday. He doesn't turn 2 until the 14th, however Eric's dad was in town and his cousins from Indianapolis were coming to visit today. We decided to go ahead and have a birthday celebration. It was a lot of fun. We told Graham last night that today was going to be his birthday celebration day. He didn't know exactly what that meant, but he knew it was something to be excited about!

We had a nice cookout with hot dogs and burgers. After lunch Graham found a few presents sitting in the living room that were for him! He opened presents (with no problem at all!). He got several great gifts...a new pair of pj's with a bear on them, matchbox cars, Wee Sing Bible songs, The Storybook Bible, a blow-up car that he can sit in filled with balls and his big gift from his Grandpa Armstrong; a train set! Plenty to fill his time in the days to come!

Here's a big smile while opening presents. He actually enjoyed being the center of attention this year!

His sister got all dressed up to celebrate!

Another picture showing how excited Graham was!

Who wouldn't be excited to play with this fun train set?!? Ellie sure wanted to check it out! :)

What goes great with a new train set? Well...a birthday cake with a train on it!

Graham loved the fondant train. He grabbed it immediately!

He really enjoyed playing with the train. He wanted to try it out on his new train track!

The guys finished off the day by raking up the leaves in our backyard. Graham was a big help! It was really nice of Grandpa A. to help us rake up the leaves. It's always a really big job in our shaded backyard!

I can't believe this little boy is turning 2 this week. Where have those two years gone? He's been such a blessing to both Eric and myself. He melts our hearts with his smiles. He is becoming such a little boy...the toddler days are leaving quickly. He talks a lot and his vocabulary is expanding daily. He has an opinion about almost everything and likes to share it openly. He loves his sister and gives her kisses everyday. Each morning when she wakes up he's sure to say 'Hi Ellie or Hi Sissy'. He brings her toys to play with and throws away her dirty diapers. He's becoming quite the little helper. He loves to go to church every week. He gets excited when we pull into the parking lot....and he always points out the steeple to us. He leads the way to his classroom and enters without looking back. But, when we go pick him up he's giddy with excitement to see us.

We pray in this coming year that he'll continue to grow and mature, but mainly that he'll learn more about Jesus. He's learning more each day. He loves his book about Easter and wants to read it all the time. He sings the B-I-B-L-E all the time.....every time you mention the word sing he starts to loudly serenade us!

He's such a good boy (with the occasional two year old tantrum). We love him so much and are proud to call him our son!

Best Buds

Here's a very recent picture of Graham and Ellie. They were hanging out together on the couch. Graham is enjoying having his sister be more interactive. He loves to give her toys, although you have to be careful since he thinks things should be placed on her head!

Graham has started to become quite the helper. He'll take things to the trash can when asked (sometimes not when asked), he placed napkins on everyones plate while we had guests here over the weekend, he put away some silverware for me today, etc. He likes to help most of the time. He's learning to pick up his toys...although that's a daily work in progress!

Ellie is growing like a weed. She had her 4 month checkup last month (she was about 4 1/2 months at the time). She weighed in at 14lbs 11oz and was 25 5/8inches long. The doctor was quite shocked when she walked in the room to see Ellie on her tummy pushing her whole abdomen off of the table. Yes...my little baby is already pulling herself across the floor. I wouldn't call it crawling yet, but she can move from point A to point B when she's determined to do it! And, she's been doing this for a few weeks now (slow down baby girl!!).

Ellie

I like this picture of Ellie. You can see her hair starting to come in a little bit. It's definitely going to be blonde! She's our precious little girl and we love her a LOT! :)

Oh Graham...

Graham is always looking for fun things to do. He's always coming up with creative things!

Like:
Crawling through the kitty door...


Or lining up his letters (or anything else for that matter...he likes things in lines!)

But...not always. Sometimes he just like a random mess! He was playing 5000 card pickup with Daddy! If only Graham knew that there were MANY more baseball cards hidden in the basement! What fun he could have then! ;)