the hedgie dance

elle has the BEST dad ever!
he is the best at rapping with her on the fly.
i can't even begin to try, i tend to just repeat the same phrase over and over again.
you'd think josh has musical talent, but sit next to him in church when the music requires you to sing AND clap. not happen' for him! yet, he's so good at making up songs on the spot.
here's the "hedige dance"



elle's hair doesn't exactly resemble a hedgehog much anymore,
but none the less the nickname has stuck!
it's actually become my inspiration for writing a children's book
Ellington's Hairdos

what do you think? should i use it for the back cover the book?

swing!

elle's new favorite toy!
she loves just swinging away in the breeze, what a life!

6 months old!

From Drop Box

we can't believe she is already 6 months old.
elle has been an awesome baby, so easy and content...unless she's teething, then she just wants to snuggle up. i don't mind! she's talking a lot, smiling and laughing at everything funny especially her doggy, tackle. she rolls and rolls until you stop her and chews on everything!
we've loved every minute of it.

From Drop Box

saying goodbye

this weekend we said goodbye to the vogel farm, it has been bought by a young family from Belgium. my dad shared with us the history of the buildings and his fond memories of growing up there. his two brothers, ken and bill just sold the farm and are now enjoying the life of a retired farmer. it was fun to go back as an adult and remember all the memories. as kids we use to spend hours hanging out in the barns jumping off bales of hay, playing with the kittens that roamed the farm, and helped feed the baby calves. it's funny how it looked the same, but a lot smaller than i remember as a kid.

here's a little funny tidbit, my dad had 4 other siblings and when they were younger their mom gave them each a drawer in the kitchen. when we asked our dad what he kept in his, he said...you're not suppose to tell. :) anyway, what a nice mom to give up 5 drawers in the kitchen. (which was all the drawers)

there is a little picture of the youngest Belgium boy, Pipen, giving my dad a picture. he drew a picture of a combine harvesting the crops. he thought my dad might like to remember the farm that way. so cute!

ionia free fair

elle visited the ionia free fair for the first time this summer.

she loved seeing all the animals and of course people watching...who doesn't?

From Drop Box

5 years and still going strong!

happy anniversary!
i love you

3 years of dating + 5 years married = 8 awesome years together
3 houses
2 cities
5 jobs
1 dog
1 daughter
all in 5 years...can't wait to see what God has in store for the next 5 years!!
here's to many more!!
(years and kids)

wordless wednesday

finally...

i finally got it captured on video! elle has been rolling for quite sometime i just haven't had a chance to catch it on tape. she rolls all the time and is getting really close to pulling herself up onto all fours. soon she'll be crawling before we know it and we'll wish she was back to just laying on her back. while it might get crazy we can't wait to see her move about freely.

secret garden

From Drop Box

just playin' with the camera and the computer. i'm realizing that my summer is almost over and i haven't accomplished half the stuff i wanted to.

1) organize basement
2) design art studio
3) elle's scrapbook
4) organize photos on computer
5) garden: weed, plant more, etc...
6) run
7) read camera manual for all 3 cameras!
the list keeps growing....

yikes! where has the time gone. but i wouldn't give up the carefree days elle and i have spent together. she is growing so fast and is developing her own little personality. each day we watch her play and are amazed at the blessing she is to us. thank you God for this amazing little girl.

just a girl and her football

wordless wednesday

who doesn't love a baby face covered in food??
elle is moving onto new and exciting foods...sweet potatoes, avocados, carrots, & prunes
yum, yum!!

happy 4th of july!!

elle made her first weekend trip to the vogel cottage.
she had a great time playing with her cousins and hanging out on the boat. surprisingly she slept through the fireworks, what a champ! it was a crazy fun weekend with lots of memories made. it is so fun to see the kids growing up and remembering back to when i was the kid lighting up sparkles and eating s'mores all night long.

best memory of the weekend:
aunt wendi brought nail polish for the little girls to have a spa day. however, with two little boys who are very curious and don't want to be left out...they too got their nails painted. at least it was orange- but they did add the sparkles.

garrett the next morning: as he's jumping into the water stops and says
"WAIT! is this going to wash off my nail polish??"
hahaha...josh couldn't keep it together. we love you G-man!

sparklers at the lake