head over heels: May 2011

5.27.2011

handy daddy

another house project in full force

the materials

the workers

the support & snack provider

the beginnings

the happy little guy who knows his days are coming when he'll HAVE to help daddy. at least for now he gets to hang out with the girls in the kitchen.

we're finally putting our deck on, just in time for summer. we love being outside, it's usually the first thing elle asks to do when she gets up (at 7am!). we're looking forward to eating lunches, snacks and dinners out on the deck and just relaxing while the kids play. now if the michigan weather would just cooperate and warm up we could enjoy it even more. as of right now the deck is just a few floor boards short of being done!

deck party in the works

5.25.2011

alex's army

playing games and enjoying carnival food for a sweet 3 year old

{Alex Mandarino}

it's amazing the support of the community over the last few months. business and individual people are hosting fundraisers to help raise support to cover the medical costs for the Mandarino family. Alex is fighting a battle with cancer but has an army behind him

"Alex's Army"

we've been trying to take part in the community events and finally got a chance to last week at the children's museum. we met up with some friends and enjoyed just watching our healthy kids laugh, run and soak up all the joys of being a kid.

our prayers are with the Mandarino family

thank you God for 2 very healthy kids

i do it

ellington is all about independence

you'll often hear her say "I do it, mommy."

she's the typical first born; independent, rule follower, reminds others of the rules, and confident

(don't mind our heap of shoes)

her newest task to accomplish...zipping her coat

a few weeks ago at playgroup she saw an older girl zip her own coat and now that's all she tries to do. "I do it, like Olivia."

so close!

actually just yesterday she got the ends hooked in and started to zip it up, but something somewhere got stuck...she almost had it!!!

her independence is a blessing, at least for now.

my buddy, my buddy, my buddy and me

everyone has a "buddy", right?

well ellington & beckett have plenty of buddies

a boy's best friend besides the real thing

ellington's girlfriend

elle use to play with just the boys, but know she's realizing the fun of having sydney around. they play dolls together and were found "nursing" their babies in church together...and they say kids don't pay attention!

the boyz

trying to PopCoRn each other

beckett trying to hang with the big boy...soon enough

we love all our buddies!!

5.15.2011

my friend lindsay...a post by elle

"where's lindsay?"

a question elle asks often, especially after church and Thursday at bedtime.

who's lindsay? you ask...an amazing 6th grader who loves to hang out with our kids. who could ask for more. it's so fun to see the three of them play together. lindsay's family ties with the white family have come full circle now. when she was much younger anna {josh's sister} use to babysit lindsay and her younger sister abbey. now it's lindsay in the babysitter role. we've had a great time getting to know lindsay and love that we can spend an afternoon each week with her. what a gift she has been to ellington and beckett.

while she's still a little too young to babysit alone, we love the fact that she wants to learn. a few months ago we were approached by her parents to let her do this, so she could learn more about responsibility and spend time with other christian young couples. amazing idea! how could you say no to that? lindsay has such a strong and confident personality {something i wish i had had at her age, or even now}, she doesn't mind stepping in and doing usually household tasks, juggling both kids so i can make dinner, or even reminding elle to obey.

each week i try to plan something fun for them to do together. bubbles was obviously a hit!

lindsay is positive beckett is going to walk soon!...keep trying buddy :)

and of course in the middle of the heat wave for May, we had to bust out the sprinkler. lindsay didn't want any pictures taken since she was wearing one of my "lakeshore" shirts and she goes to "st.joe" it's amazing we even let her come to our house!!! :)

THANK YOU Lindsay & WE LOVE YOU!!!

from ellington & beckett

TRAMPOLINE...

need I say more?

thanks to our awesome neighbor we are now owners of a trampoline. elle {and the rest of us} are in love with it. it's safe to say that we jump on it at least once a day, minus the rainy days we've had lately. elle loves to play "ring around the rosie" and "popcorn" on it. beckett doesn't seem to mind it either. summer is going to be a blast now! our good friend and "mommy's helper" lindsay came over last week and showed elle the joys of combining a trampoline and sprinkler...lots of giggling and sliding.