splish splash

these kids...

like to splash in the water

like to dump water

like to jump in & out of the water

like to have { F U N }

these kids are a blast to hang out with

under the big top

under the big top - you'll find...

an assortment of animals } tigers, elephants, little doggies, camels

jugglers

acrobats

clowns

&

one excited little girl

riding an elephant with gramps

she was so excited to be up so high and of course on an elephant

soaking it all up

this was ellington's 2nd year at the circus

last year she just starred at all the excitement and this year was no different

she just soaked it all up watching ever performing intently

who knows maybe she'll decide the circus is for her

we'll continue to push the college route first!

thanks gramps & gram for a fun night {under the BIG TOP}

growing up!

ellington loves trying EVERYTHING in sight

she's always had a love for books, but her newest thing is to read it UP CLOSE

just checking out the fine print, i guess. or she already has bad eye sight like her mom and dad

the girl has no chance at having 20/20, seeing how i had glasses in kindergarten.

she also loves to draw - well scribble

and yes sometimes the crayons make it to her mouth, but then again she wouldn't be 19 months if they didn't, right??

she is growing up so fast and i know when october comes she'll seem even older with her little brother in the house. just recently she's grasped the concept that there is a baby on the way. that doesn't mean she understands her world is about to drastically change. just this week she moved into her new "big girl" room including a twin bed. surprisingly she's done really well with the transition.

we love you baby girl

don't grow up too fast!

you say...

potty

poopy

tackle

grammie

baby

uh-oh

doggy

sorry

thank you

welcome

please

tree

truck

car

down

hanni - hannah

jos-y - josie

g- garrett

momma

daddy

tessa

hi

by-bye

spoon

pretty

open

close

ucky

all done

balloon

help

book

all gone

play

ball

* pretty much you try to repeat whatever we say

* the list goes on and on...

you love...

flip flops - and can even get them on right and keep them on

shoes

zippers

blankies

baby

jewelry

books

running

swings

phones

tackle- crawling, climbing and chasing him around

outside

water

you know...

where your seat is at the table

dinner prayer time

where your snacks are

how to get a bowl or cup

to take your shoes off when you come in

not to touch remote controls- although you like to touch them to hand them back to us {sneaky little girl}

how to buckle your car seat

where your nose, eyes, ears, hair, teeth, knees, toes, elbows, tummy are

how to climb up and down a slide

how to fill the pool up with the hose

how to brush your teeth

how to wipe your face and hands on the towel when you're done

how to throw trash away- especially tackle's hair

* the list goes on and on...somedays it's hard to believe you know all this and so much more

mr. and mrs.

mr. and mrs. mark & sarah abate

a weekend away just the 2 of us

what a great way to wrap up the summer

grammie and grampie took elle for the extra long weekend so we could head out to cali for sarah's wedding. pretty sure we were the only other michigan people besides her parents and brother. sarah and i met our freshmen year in college. we've spent more times in california visiting her than anywhere else. so this time was no different, especially since we could enjoy a weekend alone before baby boy comes along.

while we were there we spent a day at the local art festival. it is 6 weeks long and there are 3 different venues within a half mile of each other. didn't find anything to buy but it was fun to just walk around and get ideas. there was a glass blower and one of the festivals and we got to see a demo on making a glass pumpkin. watching the process makes you appreciate the price tag {$85} not enough to buy it though!

of course you can't visit CA without stopping at "in and out"

homemade french fries right there and the best burgers ever

thanks mom and dad for watching elle!

family camp

what to you do with 5 kids under the age of 7 during the summer?

CAMP

we had another great weekend away at Gun Lake with my sister's family

the kids enjoyed playing with each other...actually elle loved having kids to play with and olivia, garrett and sometimes ryan enjoyed "watching" a little one.

it is so much fun to see the kids play together and enjoy the experience of camping

helping daddy set up camp

what else are cousins good for???

goofing around with...of course

the little girls hanging out on the bike ride

evidence of a fun day at the BEACH

heading out on a hike

POP goes the weasel

we enjoyed a quick visit with jeff, emily, micah and aj at the near by ice cream store

elle ready to leave another great weekend of camping

here's to next year's camping experience with a 21/2 year old and an 8 month old

camping with friends

thanks gang for a great first camping trip of the summer

we had fun just hanging out spite the rain

ashley the ultimate babysitter

the kiddies at breakfast

still playing even when it's raining

the girls taking a turn at splitting the wood for our campfire

good job girls...way to get your frustration out

daddy and elle taking a turn

we had a blast just hanging with friends around the fire and loved having all the kids around. can't wait for the next small group camping trip

now unto the laundry and the repacking for next weekend's trip with my sister and her family