15 Months

Ella Kate is 15 months old...WOW!!! She is quite a mess but she is more fun than I could have ever imagined. Things EK LOVES: her Lambie...we never leave home without it. She loves old men...the older and more gray the hair, the better. Books...she picks her books over any of her toys. Her current favorites are "The Snowman" (confused with the slightly cooler weather maybe?), "Who's Coming to our House," "There's a Monster at the End of This Book," "Are You My Mother," and "The Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly." She loves to cuddle, especially if it is after waking up her daddy in the morning. So sweet! She loves being outside and she loves to eat...both of these things lead to another love...the bathtub...sister girl would stay in there all day. She loves her babies. She rocks them and pats them and even will stick a paci in their little mouths. She always crosses her feet when she sits. I LOVE IT...such the lady! She has also started going to Mother's Morning Out and she is loving it! All this to say, Ella Kate is a huge blessing in our lives and we are loving getting to watch her grow and develop. She is so curious and is so aware of everything going on around her. It is truly amazing to watch and such a honor to be her mommy.

Maroon, White, Fight, Fight, Fight

It was so exciting to be in Starkville on Saturday! J stayed in Hattiesburg for some much needed relaxation and also a bit of work, so Ella Kate and I met my parents and rode with them. We really missed having J with us, but it was great to see the Dawgs pull out a victory.

We got to visit with Aunt Haley for a bit. This made Ella Kate VERY happy. EK was a big fan of Haley's tatoo...I guess we will need to get her one for the next game.


EK and I were able to visit with lots of friends. It was super hot while we tailgated, but Ella Kate was the perfect angel!!! We met up with Sally and sweet Vera Kate. EK was obsessed with VK. She just watched her and would say "baby." She LOVES her little sis!!!
We also got to hang out with Meaghan, Mary Reeves, and baby Murphy. Murphy made his MSU debut at a whopping 2 weeks old! He is ADORABLE!!! We are SOOOOOO excited about the Gordon family moving to Starkville!!! Congrats Wes on the new job!!!!

The parachute crew brought in the flag and game ball. I LOVE when they do this...I get teary eyed (surprise, surprise!) Mrs. Cynthia, they made me think of Walt! Maybe one day he will get to jump onto Davis Wade Stadium!!!!
And once again, Miss Priss fell asleep. She only slept through the first quarter though. Once she woke up, she was so in to the ball game. She cheered and danced and "woofed" the entire time. She is so fun!

I Love a Parade

It is Homecoming week at PCS and one of our sweet students, Kristin Cothern, is on the court. PCS puts on a parade with all the players, cheerleaders, and the court so we headed out yesterday afternoon to watch. We are so excited to get to see Kristin on Friday night. She is soooo precious!!!!
Ella Kate seemed to really enjoy getting to watch everything pass in front of her. She really liked the horses that were at the end of the parade. She waved, and clapped and had a big time.
And completely unrelated....how cute are Ella Kate's Tiny Toms???? We ordered these before she was even born and I am so happy that they finally fit!!! Happy Thursday everyone!

Last Weekend

J and I headed down to Death Valley on Saturday to cheer on the Bulldogs...well, we didn't cheer loud enough to pull out a W, but we had a good time spending the day together without little bit. I was not as impressed with the whole LSU experience as I thought I might be. I expected more excitement/enthusiasm from the fans. LSU has NOTHING on a game at Davis Wade Stadium!
I did enjoy getting to see the tiger. Our seats were super close to the field...like the camera is not even zoomed in...so we got a really good look at him. Pretty good life!
Our sweet friend Baker Swedenburg gave us the tickets and it was super to get to watch him warm up! We are so ready for next season when he will be punting every game!!!!
While we were in Baton Rouge, Ella Kate got to spend the weekend with Big G and Kay Kay. Aunt Haley was home for the weekend and they seemed to have a fabulous time playing together. Thank you G and Kay Kay for keeping EK!!!!
Ella Kate thinks Haley hung the moon...I think Haley is pretty smitten with EK as well!

Happy Birthday Kay Kay!

Happy, Happy Birthday Kay Kay! We hope you have a fabulous day!!! Thanks for letting us hang out with you the last couple of days! We had fun...with the exception of the waiter dropping a drink on Ella Kate last night!!! We love you tons!!!!!

Ella Kate and the Boys

While we were in Columbus this weekend, Ren, Lee Ellen and the boys came by for a quick visit. Ella Kate LOVES her cousins and she LOVED getting to play with them. She studied John David and Gregory's every move and would then try and do the same thing. John David wanted to jump on the couch, so EK wanted to jump on the couch. The boys wanted to go outside and play with water balloons so Ella Kate just had to go outside too. (The water balloon fight ended after just one balloon was thrown. J hit John David with a water balloon. It left a large red mark on his back. He cried...balloon fight ended.) We had a great time getting to hang out with all the Nelsons and here are just a few of the pictures I snapped while the kids were playing.

Game Day

We headed back to Starkville to open up SEC play...if only we could have pulled out the W. It was not a very well played game and we had sooooooo many opportunities! Oh well, as is life as a Bulldog! Despite the outcome, we had a fabulous time at the game. Ella Kate was WONDERFUL and had fun cheering on the dawgs. When I would ask her where the Bulldog was, she would point to my shirt and say "dog" and would then say "woof, woof." Mom said that Ek's "woof" sounded a bit too high pitched and girly, so we will now be working on a more ferocious bark.

Warming up the bells before the game started...
Cheering on the dawgs with Big G.
Surprise, surprise, Ella Kate slept through all of the 3rd quarter. Bless her. I don't know how she does it! We are so lucky to have such a "go with the flow" baby who just goes along wherever we drag her! Now off to some relaxation time in Columbus with the Nelsons and then in Jackson with my parents.

1 and 0

I love football season! I love everything about it. For weeks now, I have been counting down until kickoff and it finally is here!!!! What a great way to start the season too! We had a great day in Starkville on Saturday and we can't wait to get back up there on Thursday for some SEC play!!!We met my parents and my sister at Old Venice for a little pregame meal. It was quite delish!!!
Aunt Haley and Ella Kate...EK had a great time hanging out with Haley on Friday too! She LOVES her aunt Hey Hey.
Our little Bulldog Family
Ella Kate did very well with following all the cowbell rules. She "respects the bell."
Ella Kate slept through every game she went to last year. Apparently, there is something about Davis Wade Stadium that makes her want to sleep because she slept through the first half on Saturday as well!
She woke up for halftime though and she really liked the music. She danced and clapped and had a big time.
It was a great night to kick off hopefully a great season and we were so lucky to be there. Ella Kate was wonderful and we had such a fun time. Thank you G and Kay Kay for our tickets and all the help wrestling the little monkey pre-game. Only 3 more days and we get to do it again!!!!

Boating

Yesterday was GORGEOUS so we took advantage of the Labor Day Holiday weekend (meaning no Sunday night youth activities) and headed out on Lake Serene with some sweet friends. It was a perfect day and we had a blast! J did some wake boarding and Ella Kate and I just relaxed in the boat. She absolutely LOVED it!!!! Thank you Patrick and Lauren Hutto for taking us out!!!!!
Ella Kate is thinking...."Does this life jacket make me look chubby????"