The Desert Plains of Calimahary

Actually, it's just our backyard!! The previous owner of our home was a builder, and as he put it, "a Builder's home always comes last".

There sits 12 years of debris and random stuff to prove it. I figured we would get plenty of "before" pictures because after we're through, we'll have a mini paradise out our back door!! Well, that's always the dream at least :)

I was inspired by the Findlay blog to put candid pictures of Elina, rather than making sure her hair is done and clothes are matching....so here she is in her everyday glory. She loves her snow boots and wears them everywhere. It has actually come in handy because the melting snow has transformed our beautiful backyard into a mud fest! And yes, if you're wondering, behind that cool hill sits a barrel FULL of used oil. If anyone would love to have some, we're auctioning it off to the highest bidder. I'm sure it would make a great slip n' slide!!

Vintage

Like father like son....other than Bryce had a bigger belly :) These are clothes that Bryce actually wore when he was a baby. It really is true....baby clothes never go out of style!!

Aaron is my adorably cute, chubby, big boy! He is growing sooo fast! At three months, he was 15 pounds. It took Elina 7 1/2 months to reach that! Crazy. I hope he eats well when we start him on solids!!

A Moment of Sunshine

One day, I looked in the Piano room and saw Elina lying down in the sun talking to herself. I couldn't pass up the photo op. The amazing thing is that she actually let me take her picture instead of running away, or frowning!!

Elina has been testing my patience lately. She has discovered that if she hurts Aaron, she gets immediate attention and uses the tactic often. After many trying moments, and wondering where my sweet little girl disappeared to, I was grateful for the special moment of sunshine in our day!!

Fun Times at Dairy Queen

We all went to Dairy Queen yesterday, and Elina refused eating any of the pecan turtle ice cream sundae in a chocolate dipped waffle cone bowl, in favor of ice. Yes, plain old frozen water. She spit out the ice cream I tried to feed her, and then eventually tried to pour salt on the sundae. She also squished a little fry-sauce container. It was fun times.