Vote for Analy

Please vote for Analy at http://photos.parents.com/category/vote/photo/629723

 Our photo is currently in the running to become one of our weekly Reader's Choice Finalists.

You can vote once a day everyday this week.

Santa Visit

I think the photo speaks for itself.

First Tractor Ride and Making "Sand Castles"

Analy got her first tractor ride with Daddy a few weeks ago. I have to say she wasn't too thrilled about it. She didn't cry but had a frozen look of terror on her face the entire ride.

 See the little pout.

 But she and Mathias have enjoyed building "sand castles" lately. Mathias found our beach stuff in the store shed and apparently has accepted the fact that we aren't taking him back to the beach anytime soon.

We do have lots of sand in our yard so he has picked his favorite spot to make sand castles.

They both enjoy getting dirty! We are planning on getting them sand for their sandbox that we built back in June so if anyone around here knows where to get some please let me know!

Album 12\08\2010 (161 photos), by Jamie Ellis

I'd like to share my Walmart Digital Photo Center photos with you. Once you have checked out my photos you can order prints and upload your own photos to share.

Christmas Photo Outtakes

Happy Christmas?

 Everything is better with a sucker.

 Can't you see the love?



Christmas photos 2010

It's always loads of fun to try and get photos for our Christmas cards. This year was no exception. Mathias was actually asking to having is photo taken with the Christmas tree so I thought maybe it would go okay. The screaming started while getting dressed. Mathias did not want to wear the "church shirt" he called it under is "choo-choo" sweater. That would have looked wonderful! So after tackling and begging we finally got dressed. Then he didn't want to sit or stand by Analy. So he screamed about that forever. Finally we were able to bribe him with a sucker. I'll start today with some of the "okay" photos we got for our cards. 

Gingerbread House

We were in Sam's and ran across this cute, assemble your on gingerbread house that we had to get. Unfortunately, as soon as I took it out of the box I knew it would not work. The base piece wasn't flat. I don't build houses but I think I've heard something about flat, firm foundations. Anyway, we continued with our project. Mathias kept trying to eat the pieces before I could "glue" them together with the icing.

 He was eating my "glue" as fast as he could!

 Everyone ate more candy than they put on the house.

 Even Jamie ate his share of icing!

 And Analy too!

 Mathias had never seen so much candy!

 We also didn't read the fine print that says "wait 30 minutes for the icing to harden before decorating." So eventually our house started to crumble. The cups on each side was for structural support. The big split in the front is where I pushed too hard trying to make it straight.

 If you squint your eyes, it looks just like the box!

 It eventually did collapse so I remodeled it as an A-frame. It is still standing!

Tree Decorating

Mathias has loved every moment of the Christmas season! I guess I should confess that we all have. We were able to get our tree up the day after Thanksgiving. Mathias was so excited about decorating it! 

 Analy just stood back and enjoyed watching us do the work.

 Jamie is very particular about what ornament goes where. The majority of our ornaments are from his childhood. Mathias got to hang the "safe" ornaments at his height.

 After we were done, he begged me to take his photo in front of the tree. He never does that!

What a beautiful tree! The kids have done great with it. They like to play with the ornaments some but don't bother the tree much. Jamie has trained Mathias to stand by the tree and clap to turn on the lights. We quickly plug it in while he's busy clapping. If we didn't do that, he'd be trying to plug it in himself.
It's so much fun to see our kids get excited about the Christmas season!

November Miscellaneous

Here are some miscellaneous photos from November.

Pickin' and a grinnin', complete with coon skin hat.

 The artist. Mathias loves to paint.

 I've always wondered if Analy was going to roll in the dirt like Mathias. I think this photo answers that question!

 But Mathias still has her beat for the moment. Here he is right after it rained at our house. We don't get puddles much so he was pretty excited.

 The boots were eventually abandoned so he could splash in his socks.

What a mess but you can't stop him from having so much fun!

Thanksgiving 2010

 We decided to spend this Thanksgiving in FL. Travelling with our two kids can be quite miserable. Also, everyone had just gotten over head colds so we figured we would enjoy a nice, long week at home. Jamie still wanted his full Thanksgiving spread so we invited our preacher and his family to share with us. I spent a couple of days in the kitchen but everyone seemed to enjoy the food. We all enjoyed the fellowship too.
Here's a photo of us with the Crosby kids.

We also made it out to the Hines' to watch them make cane syrup. Mathias enjoyed driving the toy jeep and Analy loved the cows. She kept pointing and saying "cows, moo, moo, cows."
I'm so thankful for all of God's many blessings!

Our "almost" vacation

Jamie had a meeting in Asheville, NC earlier this month. Our plan was to drive to GA, drop off our kids with family, and spend a few days in NC all by ourselves. The kids were pretty snotty when we left them but just headcold stuff. So we decided to head on up to NC. Analy ended up with a fever that weekend so we ended up cutting our trip a few days short and just heading back home. I was pretty disappointed since because of Jamie's meeting we were enjoying an all expense paid vacation at a secluded cabin on a 200 acre farm. Oh well, so goes the responsibilities of parenthood. Jamie ended up being sick anyway and I had to drive home a carload of sick babies. We did manage to visit the Biltmore house on our way home (since we had gotten complimentary tickets). It still makes me sad to think that I almost had a relaxing vacation. Maybe someday!

JAX ZOO

Monday, our family set out for a day at the zoo. We had been waiting for a cool, weekday when Jamie would be off. The timing was perfect for this adventure. Mathias asked when we would get to the zoo the entire trip. We had a detour because of an accident so it took longer than expected so we were all extra eager.

See any resemblance?

 Everyone was excited to get inside the zoo and start seeing animals. Mathias ran from exhibit to exhibit yelling "More Animals!"

 Analy really enjoyed looking at the animals as well. Here she is leaning out looking at the leopard.

 Mathias and Analy admiring the giraffes.

 Mathias hanging out with the elephant.

 Analy checking out the snake.

 Everyone enjoyed the carousel.

 Even the Komodo dragons were friendly.

 Mathias loved brushing the pygmy goats.

 and swimming with the penguins.

 An attempt at a group photo.

 Less than five minutes after we got in the car.

 We got stuck in traffic from an accident on the way home as well. This time we were stuck on I-10 in the same spot for 2 hours. As you probably know, kids don't sleep in a parked car! So we cleaned all the snacks out of the diaper bag trying to keep them happy and calm. Finally, we made it to a Burger King. The kids loved their crowns and the toy was a stuffed giraffe, how appropriate.

We asked Mathias on the way home what were his favorite animals. His reply was "goats." We asked him what else he like and he said "mingos" as in flamingos.
The day turned out pretty long but we all had a great time. Praise God for allowing us to admire His creation and enjoy time with our family!