fall and the {sorts}

we've been pretty busy here this fall...

birthday celebrations

homeschooling

pumpkin patch & apple orchard

more on those to come, but for now....

elle and i are enjoying our morning "school" time. she is more like her daddy than me, she just soaks everything up the first time. she loves to learn new things and asks "what are we going to do today, mommy?" everyday. she likes to know the plan, that's more like me!

we've been working on our letters, sorting objects based on colors, shapes, size and lots of art projects ( my favorite!!)

fall is perfect for leaf projects: leaf rubbings, leaf sorting, leaf paintings

finding lots of different kind of leaves in our backyard.

sorting out the leaves based on color and size

last week elle and i spent the morning outside having some fun with the camera. i realized when i was getting beckett's birthday decorations around that i have a lot of pictures of him and not a whole lot of her recently. usually the 2nd child doesn't get as many pictures taken, but seems like i've done the opposite. i'm still enjoying photography and hoping to get something more formal off the ground soon, but for now it's just friends/family which fits my schedule pretty well right now.

she's such a fun little girl and surprises me each day with what she knows and what she thinks of. she has such a thoughtful spirit and really cares about others. lately during lunch or dinner she'll say she needs some "loving" and will come snuggle with me. i love those little moments when she shares her love freely. i know the years aren't far off when that won't be so frequent.

so what's the little dude been up to while we've been party planning...

::mr. beaver::

he's for sure cutting teeth as he's gnawed a nice strip on his crib

he also figured out how to wiggle out of his pants during nap the other day

and then there's his usual scurrying to get someplace he shouldn't be...

the dog food bowl!

it cracks me up every time and it obviously tastes fine as he continues to do it. just in the last few weeks he's been realizing what "no" means and is actually doing pretty well listening. not 100% yet, but what kid is?

we're enjoying our fall and know that winter will be here before we know it. trying to enjoy the outside time as much as we can before we're forced to be inside.

happy birthday beckett

1 year ago God blessed us with a sweet baby boy and today he's turning 1

happy birthday beckett warren white

you are a sweet reminder to us that life is all about being patient, taking one day at a time and enjoying every minute of it.

you are dearly loved by your sister. there will be days soon to come when you won't always like one another, but we hope that you'll be the best of friends. we know you'll be her protector as you grow older. she loves helping you and teaching you new things.

you have turned into our little charmer, flashing your smile at just the right time to make someone laugh or to get out of trouble. you love life and love showing it.

you have mastered walking!!

you love to hug, snuggle and even tackle your doggy

happy birthday son

dear beckett,

we are so proud of the little boy you are growing up to be. we know that God has big plans for you. we pray that you continue to grow in Christ and someday you'll make him your personal savior. your love for life is contagious, we look forward to seeing how you encourage others to be their best and enjoy the life God has given them. thank you for teaching us patience this year as we've learned to be more flexible and take each day one at a time. we love seeing you and your sister grow together, laughing at the dinner table, wrestling with daddy and sharing your toys. you try so hard to keep up with her and do so for the most part. keep being just you and challenge others to be the same. we love you beckett and love that God has blessed us with the gift of being your parents. your a joy to parent and we look forward to seeing what He has in store for you this next year. much love!!

xoxo

mommy & daddy

a trip to the zoo...

with my grammie & grampie

a few weeks ago my parents came down and took ellington to the zoo. it was a day just about her, what kid doesn't love that. ellington loves animals and keeps talking about her trip and all the animals she saw, the train, the candy, the mask and of course the animal she didn't like...the lion.

the zoo had a craft area where kids could draw and color a red panda mask

"where'd ellington go?"

this is what she says when she holds up her mask at home and then cracks up at herself.

grammie & grampie let elle pick out a special animal to bring home. one for her and one for beckett. elle found "Leo" the leopard right away and a tiger for beckett. She sleeps with Leo every night now.

checking out all the animals

grampie and elle find a little duck waddling around

stopping for a lunch break with the flamingos

grammie and elle checking out the swans

{notice the black one in the pond}

sweet love

next up...train ride around the zoo

my dad told elle to "hang on!" she then asked "how do you do that?"

my dad replied with holding his arms...and so elle followed and did the WHOLE train ride. how funny! she's so stinkin' cute and for sure a rule follower

thanks for the fun train ride grammie & grampie

taking a break with leo and tiger

i think i see something in here...

grampie gave elle some fish food and boy did they love it...

that's a lot of fish..yikes!

and of course you have to make a stop at the candy store

these next 3 pictures just melt my heart...so much love

finding just the right one

thanks grammie

i love you!

thank you grammie and grampie for an AWESOME trip to the zoo. next year beckett can come too, but i for sure liked my day with just you 2.

a few days after the zoo i got a coupon for a photo book, so the mailbox should be full soon with a fun photo book of elle's trip the zoo. pretty sure she'll read it over and over and over again. it's so great to have family close and grandparents who love our kids. thanks mom and dad for spending a day with elle, she absolutely loved it.