The Secret Garden

Thank you so much to our pastor Tommy Artmann and his sweet wife Paula for letting us take Ella Kate's pictures in their amazing backyard!!!!

22 Months

Happy 22 Months to Ella Kate!!!! As you can tell from the pictures, Ella Kate has become quite fond/obsessed with all things Mickey and Minnie Mouse. Thanks to Aunt Carolyn for the fun Minnie costume!!!! Let's see..what is EK up to these days??? She is loving all the spring time weather since it means she can spend so much time outside. She loves her soccer ball and is surprisingly good at kicking it while running....must have picked that up from her daddy. She also loves playing in the sand and the water. Inside, she is still very interested in all of her books and is really enjoying her doll house. She is doing really well with using the potty. She tells me when she needs to go and is always so proud when she goes in her froggy potty. We are not quite ready to be in big girl panties all the time, but I feel like she is doing great!!! EK loves going to school (Mother's Day Out) and to church. She BEGS me to go to church every time we go outside or get in the car. I am sooooo thankful that she is so comfortable there....especially considering how much time she spends there. She hates a mess and loves to sing the clean up song when picking up her things. She loves to write/draw. It is her favorite thing to do when she goes to visit daddy at work. She sits in his big office chair and just writes all over all of his papers. Oh well. EK talks all the time now. My favorite thing that she says is "Missy-sip State." I absolutely think it is the cutest thing ever. She is a mess, but we are pretty smitten with her.

Christ is Risen!

What a wonderful day Easter Sunday was! Our church started off the celebration of our risen Savior with a sunrise service....a true sunrise service at 6:15. Early, early, early for this mama, but COMPLETELY worth the early wake up call. It was such a special way to begin the day with our church family. We met at the outdoor chapel, sang praises, placed flowers on the cross, and were served communion.

We came home for a quick breakfast and then headed to the the 8:45 worship service and then Sunday School. The message was clear. Christ is risen. Christ is risen indeed. Praise the Lord for this truth!!!!

After church, we went back home for a yummy lunch with J's parents. We had a truly wonderful time!

My sweet little girl...

We enjoyed having Nana and Pop with us! I think Ella Kate liked all the extra attention!

Happy Easter!!!

A Little Fun in the Sun

Easter morning wore me out!!! Mommy and I took a 3 hour nap and it was glorious!!!! After our "hibernation" as daddy called it, we went over to my boyfriend's house for a little playing and a little grubbing.
I did some swinging.
And some sand boxing....this is one of my new favorite things to do!
I tried to get Warren to pull me around like a princess, but he wouldn't go for that. He has a lot to learn if he wants me to be his girlfriend!!!
Will showed me all about the slip n slide. I wasn't so sure at first, but after he explained everything and did a few demonstrations, I decided to give it a whirl.
It was super fun!!!
I did need a little drink in between all my slipping and sliding. It is hard work, you know?
It was a perfect ending to a perfect Easter Sunday. A great morning in worship celebrating our risen King, lunch with grandparents, rest, and fellowship with friends....a great day for sure!!! Remember, Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed!!!!

Much love,

Ella Kate

All I Do Is Win...

...when it comes to Easter Egg Hunting! Hey there, it's Ella Kate again. I want to tell you all about the preschool Easter Egg Hunt at Heritage. I'm going to be honest...I dominated my competition. Maybe it is because I was the oldest in my group, or maybe it was just because I hate a mess and somebody left all those eggs in the grass....but whatever the case, I was victorious in my egg collection quest.
My strategy was a bit different then the other kids. They all went to the center of the field, found one egg, then sat down to eat their findings. This was not my approach. I went around the outside of the field as fast as I could and snagged a ton of eggs before those little kids even figured it out...I think my mama may have even taken some of my loot to share with those other kids.

This is my kind of hunting season!!!!!
I celebrated my amazing hunt with a cupcake...perfection!!!!
It was great to have so much support as I did my thing. I think I had the largest cheering section with my mama, daddy, Kay Kay, and G. A big thank you to Kay Kay and G for driving down for the hunt. I couldn't have done it without your support!! =)

It was a great day for sure! Hope everyone is having a super week!

Our Little Bulldog

This is my friend "Vegas." She belongs to mom & dad's friend Christina who was kind enough to bring her out to play with me. As you can see from the picture above, we became fast friends. Below is my photo shoot...Enjoy!!!

--Much love, Ella Kate

Super Bulldog Happenings

We started off our SBW Saturday with a little BBQ at the DG house. The gigantic inflatable bulldog out front was a big hit with my little bulldog. Seeing Aunt Haley also made for a happy little girl.
Then, we took in some baseball at Dudy Noble. The atmosphere was great....the game, not so much!!!
We got to hang out with the Sykes family. Thanks so much to their sweet family for the tickets...especially since the seats were shaded and we avoided some pretty severe sun burns!! We love you guys!
Showing off some love for Delta Gamma...maybe this is the new trend in sticker wearing?

After a little cool off time in the Union with some ice cream, we headed to the Maroon/White game. Kay Kay was for the white team and G was for the maroon team. G's team was victorious while Kay Kay's team was rewarded with cleaning up the stadium Sunday morning.

And here come our Bulldogs!!!!
Yes my friends, that is our dear friend Baker Swedenburg!!! He will be the starting punter for the dawgs in the fall!!! We could not be more proud of him. He is an incredible man of God and a pretty special punter. He did a great job on Saturday and we can't wait to see him take the field this fall. I will cry, no doubt.
And once again I leave you with my little bulldog cashed out at Scott Field. She loves her bulldogs and said "Go State" 8 million times on Saturday, but something about being in that stadium just makes her a sleepy little girl.

Church and Beignets

Great weekend with Nana & Pop. I got to go to church with them at FUMC Columbus on Sunday which was a new experience. Thankfully I managed to avoid the nursery and talked my way into "Big Church." Most people probably think that I wasn't listening since I was busy coloring (I'm a girl, I can multi-task) but Dr. Sam's exposition on Ezekiel 37 was excellent.

2 main ideas I gleaned (yeah, I said gleaned):

1. make sure that I maintain the right perspective. It's always "O Lord, You know" and never

"O Lord, I got it."

2. before we go to church we must prepare our hearts. The Jewish people find their way to the Wailing Wall to pray or read the Scriptures, dance, sing, or still themselves before the Lord. They prepare themselves to hear a Word from the Lord and then they go expectantly.

The pictures above and below make my mouth water. Me and Nana made beignets and they were delicious....or as the french would say, "ils étaient délicieux."

--Much Love, Ella Kate

The Beginnings of a Super Weekend

Psssssst....I've got a secret. I got to Columbus to begin the "Super Bulldog Weekend" festivities and it took me about 2 seconds to start running things around Columbus. I'm telling you, this grandparent thing really is working out well for me. I just point, smile (see pic above for an example) and say what I want and it appears. For example, below is me with Pop. I said "up" and what da ya know...he picked me up.

Now, if I could be so bold as to ask you to SLOW DOWN, don't immediately skip to the pictures, and listen to me. I promise to be brief but I feel compelled (yes, I said compelled. I watch Baby Einstein) to impart some wisdom that I have learned in my 22 months of life.

People find themselves rushing to do this, hurrying to do that, and late for the next task on their never ending agenda and I understand this. I hurried to flip over, rushed to crawl, hustled to walk and before you know it will find myself potty training, learning Spanish, and writing my first novel appropriately named "Party at my Crib." The list never ends, but we must never forget that (if I may be so bold as to use a Scriptural concept) tomorrow is not promised to anyone. We are to live fully in the today and make the most of these moments. So tomorrow, don't forget to "Stop and Smell the Roses." And if it's been so long that you don't even remember what that looks like anymore, I've provided some pictures below to serve as an example. Notice the smile that it brought to my face...I hope it does the same for you.

Speaking of putting a smile on your face, let me send my Congratulations to Chandler Lee Harris. Most people will congratulate the mom, dad, grandma & grandpa but I remember that day not so long ago. It's no picnic for us either so, Chandler, welcome to the free world. It's not as warm but it's nice and you can stretch your legs. Now, get on a plane and come to Super Bulldog Weekend. Maroon/White game is at 5. I expect to see you there. I'll have a cowbell waiting for you.

Much love to all,

Ella Kate (with some help from daddy =) )