The Neeley's

Santa Pictures 2011

2011-12-21T09:00:00.000-08:00

Well it did not go like we had hoped it would go with Santa this year. Ever since Elliott was born we have gone to see Santa at the South Hill Mall and it has been a great experience. Well this year not so much. Elliott always loved Santa and would do a great job. Edith was not sure last year and this year we were pretty adamant that we were not going to sit on him. We took her to see him and just visit one day and he came out and talked to her and played with her and she did great but then we came back and tried the actual sitting on his lap thing and that was not going to happen. Elliott went right for him and Edith had the death grip on my shoulder. Santa then said that he had to go help his Elves and left and we got her to sit in his chair and play and then Santa popped up behind the chair and we got a few of those and then she saw him and was okay. We then thought that we would try the sitting on his lap thing again and well here are the pictures.

This was just a fun one that the photographer took. I asked Wes to hold my purse while I delt with Edith and the photographer asked Wes to fix Elliott's shoes and then the picture happened.

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-26T10:25:00.000-07:00

So every year since I can remember my family had made the trek down to Scholz pumpkin farm. Well when Wes and i had Elliott the tradition continued and now with Edith as well. We start of our trip with a stop at the coffee stand and get a seasonal beverage and then head to the pumpkin patch. When we got there Elliott and Edith were so excited about everything. Here is the one picture that mommy say's that we have to have every year. It is really hard to get both kids to look at you at the same time yet alone look decent.

We then headed over to pick out the perfect pumpkin and of course take some more pictures. It just so happened that as we were taking some pictures the tractor was bringing in more pumpkins. Both kids were fascinated by this!

We of course had to do the corn maze and all of the pictures that go with it and the photo opportunities on the way. It is so fun to see our kids having so much fun.

Edith is a little short to look through the cut out but she is trying!

Elliott was our guide through the corn maze. We only had to turn around once.

We tried to take their picture together but Edith wanted to stand by the princess statue!

Disneyland

2011-10-03T13:20:00.000-07:00

It is hard to believe that all the waiting is over and we finally were able to go to Disneyland. We spent an amazing 11 days in California with family and Mickey and all of his friends. It just so happened that we were able to go for my birthday again. we made so many memories with the kiddo's and my parents that we will never forget and we are already planning our trip again in 3 years. The kid's had a blast and so did all of the adults. We started off the trip by visiting my Aunt's, Uncle's and cousin's Durate for 3 days and then to see Mickey for 6 days and boy did we fill our days! Here are a few pictures to recap our wonderful vacation.

These are some of my favorite cousins. We are missing 3 from the picture but we still had a blast together!

This is all of the family except the 3 that were missing. Thank you Aunt Patti and Uncle Mike for having us! We love you guys!

The perfect place to take our first photo of our vacation.

Edith would look at the characters but would not touch them.

This was the closest we could get her.

Edith LOVES Snow White now!

Our new favorite sunglasses that mimi bought us

Our delicious cookie treats one night.

This was the very last ride we did on our last day at Disneyland. It was so fun to share this special place with my favorite little man. Thanks for the fun ride Elliott!

Horseback Riding

2011-08-31T15:06:00.000-07:00

Elliott has decided that being a cowboy would be pretty cool. It all started last year when we took him to the rodeo and all he asked us for was a cowboy hat, a real one! So a good friend of ours from church has horses and invited him to come out to her house and go riding we we finally did. He was in seventh heaven. She showed him how to brush the horse and even gave him a snack on the trail(their yard). He is now asking all the time when he gets to go again. Here are the pictures from his ride.

Checking out Ms Kathy's Horses

Brushing B to get ready to ride.

Saddling up

Heading to the field

First time petting a chicken.

Got to the very top of the tree fort but then had a hard time getting down.

Plum from the trail. Not to sure if he liked it or not

First Camping Trip

2011-08-31T14:41:00.000-07:00

Ever since Elliott was little we have wanted to go camping. He is now 4 and Edith is 17 months and we finally did it. It was a lot of fun. Wes' parents have some property on the Cowlitz River and they decided to have a family camping trip. In preparation of the trip Wes and I were talking about what we had to do with the kids to make it like we remember. We had to roast Hot Dogs over the fire and have Hobo Pie's. the kids had a blast and so did we. We are going again for Labor day weekend since we know know that it is not that bad. We did not tent we used my parents Tent trailer so a little better. We even made it to Mt Rainier for a day trip. Here are a few pictures.

Edith in the morning!

This is one happy daddy! He loves snuggles

This was a playground at the Mt Rainier Visitor's Center

A Helicopter that was in the visitor center

Trying to get a good picture of the 2 kiddo's is somewhat impossible anymore!

Edith Loves to play in the back of Daddy's truck

Roasting Hot Dogs for dinner

Hanging out with grandpa

In deep conversation with Grandpa

First T-ball Game

2011-08-25T09:49:00.000-07:00

For the past year Elliott has been saying that he wanted to play baseball so this summer he was finally old enough to play and had a blast. For his birthday is Auntie Molo got him is very own T-ball stand and a bat and ball so we spent a lot of time out playing according to a 4 year old. Here are a few pictures of his very first game. We learned one thing about our son while he was playing. 1) He needed permission to be aggressive and go for the ball and 2)he wants to be where the action is. He kept asking his coaches to be out on 1st so he could get all the balls. He can not catch the ball very well yet but it was his first time so we will see what next year brings.

Getting ready to start the 1st game.

Waiting for our turn to bat

1st time hitting in a real T-Ball game.

First time out in the field

I am ready to get the ball!

4th of July

2011-07-20T12:42:00.000-07:00

We were trying to remember how long we have been going to Port Townsend for the 4th of July and we came to the decision that it has been 7 years. It has become a tradition that we have grown to love. My mom's cousins have a house that is right on the water that is just absolutely the best place to go and relax. Now that we have kid's we love to go here even more and make great memories. It is a tiny community that is on the water and every year on the 4th they hold a little parade for the kid, well actually the kids are the parade. It is so fun to decorate the bikes and strollers and have the kids be a part of this. There is even a local fire truck that comes for the parade. It has been fun to see Elliott's progress every year. It started out him in the stroller and then it was daddy pulling him on his tricycle and then him riding his tricycle and then this year it was him ridding his big boy bike. He was so proud that he was able to do it all by himself (little help from daddy). This is a tradition that we hope to continue for many years. Thank you Ross family for including us every year, we love you guys!

We stayed at my cousin's house and one night we found Elliott like this. He never woke up!

Edith and One of my favorite people in the whole world! Love you Darren!

Daddy and Elliott teader tottering

One of my favorite pictures of my boys

Elliott had a blast looking for sea shells

The best picture of could get of the kids on the front of the fire truck. Edith was done!

Getting ready for parade

The 4 kids ready to go

This is the best family picture we could get all weekend. At least 3 out of 4 of us are happy

Family Fun Day

2011-06-21T15:14:00.000-07:00

Since we had a nice night, we decided to pack a picnic dinner and head to a place that a good friend of mine suggested. It was so much fun. The kiddo's loved to run and then they found the water and it was hard to get them to leave. I did not think that Edith would love the water because it would be cold but she wanted to go in and would have kept going if we did not stop her. Elliott got right in as well, a big step from last year. Thank you Tavern's for sharing your special place. We love it!

Playing in the rocks.

Thinking about how to get away to get to the water.

Having a picnic

Throwing rocks in the water, or at least trying to.

First time in the sound.

Meeker Day's

2011-06-21T15:04:00.000-07:00

This year we were able to go to Meeker Day's since it was not raining. It just so happened that it was also on my Mommy's 60th Birthday so we packed up the kiddo's and headed downtown. We had a lot of fun and so did the kids. It was easier before kids but still fun.

This is how Edith did Meeker Days. What a life!

Elliott would have spent the whole night on the bouncy toys.

This boy loves his tractors. We had to take a picture at every tractor wheel.

Mother's Day

2011-06-14T12:27:00.001-07:00

Ever since Elliott was born we have either gone to Northwest Trek or the Zoo for Mother's day. We discovered that the Zoo is much more kid friendly right now since the tram at Northwest trek is a little long for the little one yet. We started out the morning with Starbucks and then headed to the zoo. We were sure that it was going to rain on us but it ended up being a sunny day. We started last year going with my parents and it has become a fun tradition.

Our tour guide for the day!

Every family has to have a picture in the Shark Mouth. It is hare to wrangle a 3 1/2 year old and a 1 year old.

This is one of my new favorite pictures. 3 generations!

Me and my little peanut!

Daddy's favorite pictures, he loves to take pictures through the trees.

The new family favorite, the walrus or LOUD as we call it.

Easter

2011-06-13T14:46:00.000-07:00

So I know that I am way behind on posting but life just has seemed to get away from me these days. We had a fantastic Easter this year. We spent the morning at Church celebrating our Risen Lord and then we headed to my parents to celebrate with my brother and his family and close friends. Here are a few highlights from our day.

We woke up to this at our back door. Where did the Easter Bunny go?

This was the best we could do of teh 2 of them together.

Our handsome little man! he is getting so grown up!

She was so excited to open her box.

Our little princess!

Mutin Busting Again

2011-04-21T14:50:00.000-07:00

Well it was the Spring Fair last weekend and they had Muting Busting again and Elliott decided to try it again. It was a questionable day so we packed a complete change of clothes and headed out. We got there for the 1:00 show and he was #2. We got all suited up and waited our turn. I was looking around and saw the sheep and thought, this is not going to go well, they had sheered the sheep so there was nothing for the kid's to hang on to. When you put a 3 1/2 year old on a sheep with nothing to hang onto it is like asking them to fall. Well we got in the shoot and hung on as best we could and they released the sheep and it ran like 2 steps and there went Elliott. He laid there for a minute until the guy came and got him and he saw me and started to cry. All I could do was be that sympathetic parent (yeah right) I laughed. He did say that he wanted to do it again in the fall. We will see. Here are the pictures of him.
Getting ready to ride!

After the ride. As you can tell we were not very happy

Daffodil Parade

2011-04-21T14:34:00.000-07:00

It has been a tradition for us to go to the Daffodil Parade since Wes and I were in Junior High, I guess that is because for 6 years we had to march in the parade. We took a few years off from going but since Elliott was born we have gone. This year was no different. We were all set to go to the Puyallup Parade but with the kiddo's naps we decided that this year Tacoma would be better. The weather was questionable so we decided that we would park at Wes' office and if it was raining we would watch it from his conference room. Luckily, it did not rain so we sat in front of his office a watched a wonderful parade. The kiddo's had a great time and Wes made Elliott his 2 favorite things to keep him happy, Popcorn and Hot Chocolate. Here are a few pictures of our fun morning.

Elliott's favorite things were the Marching Bands

Nothing like a huge firetruck to bring a smile to a little boys face.

Gotta love Cookie Monster!

Combined 1st Birthday

2011-03-31T16:18:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday we decided to have a combined 1st birthday party for Edith and our nephew. They are about 5 weeks apart and are so cut together. T-man is very laid back and just takes everything in and Edith just gets in there and goes for it. It was a small gathering but lots of fun family time. We look forward to many more wonderful birthday's together.

The Birthday Kiddo's!

Mimmi with her little ladybug

The Kiddo's cakes

T-man was not really into it

Edith was so into the frosting, not so much the cake part.

Edith's 1st Birthday

2011-03-14T21:30:00.001-07:00

It is so hard to believe that a year ago our lives changed for the better. I never thought that I wanted a little girl but now I can not imagine not having a girl. This past year has gone by so fast and there are so many memories that we made this first year of her life but I know that there are lots more to come. We could not have asked God for a more perfect, spunky little bundle of joy to make our family complete. There is not a moment of every day that I do not thank God for the wonderful family He has blessed me with and the opportunity that He gave me to be able to stay home with these wonderful children. Happy Birthday Peanut, Mommy and Daddy Love you so much!

Edith a year ago!

Edith today at 1!

Pinewood Car Race

2011-03-10T15:21:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday Elliott was able to participate in his first ever Pinewood Car Race at our Church. After about a month of Daddy getting his car ready (Elliott's Car) they raced it on Saturday. Elliott had a blast and ended up winning 3rd. He will tell you that he WON! Here are some pictures.

Lighting McQueen car #14 is ours.

With Car and Trophy. He would have slept with it if we let him!

Imagination Movers!

2011-03-10T15:12:00.000-08:00

So last weekend was a busy weekend for our little man. My parents decided to take Elliott, Wes and I to the Imagination Movers Concert in Seattle. Elliott has loved these guys for ever so when we heard they were coming in concert again this year we jumped on it. We took him last year and he loved it but this year he really got into it. It was so much fun and it was an outing that we will never forget with him. We love just spending time with him and making him feel special since his special little sister came into the world. Here are a few pictures of the concert.

When he finally realized where we were!

First Black Eye

2011-03-03T16:58:00.000-08:00

So Edith had a run in with a Buzz Light Year last night. Elliott and Edith were playing and he was trying to save his Incredible Helper (Incredible Hulk) from Edith last night by either throwing or hitting her with Buzz. Not a little buzz but a foot tall hard plastic Buzz. Needless to say Buzz won!

Right after the incident:(

The next morning.

Outing as a family

2011-02-16T16:53:00.000-08:00

This past weekend we decided to brave the weather and head to the Zoo. It never rained on us but boy was it COLD! The were doing a special valentine's day treats for some of the animals so we thought that would be fun to watch. Needless to say when you are doing the zoo with a 3 1/2 year old you never really get to stay and watch some of the things that you want to watch. The only one we got to watch was the Walrus getting his teeth brushed. Elliott thought that was the coolest thing. His other favorite part of the outing was playing the fantastic Kid's Zone. It is so much easier to do outings now that Edith is almost 1!

Always a highlight of our Zoo trips!

The Famous Shark Mouth Picture!

Elliott loved watching the porcupine!

Our Favorite Animal!

We are way past nap time at this point but still a trooper!

Home Depot Clinic

2011-02-16T16:49:00.000-08:00

Since Edith was born we have been trying to do something special with Elliott so we started do the Home Depot Kids Clinics. He loves it because he gets to build stuff with daddy and use real tools. This past one was a heart shelf for Valentine's Day and he loved it. They also built a few that we had missed in the past.

They do love each other!

2011-02-16T16:45:00.000-08:00

So it is so cut to watch Edith and Elliott play. They love each other so much one of them sometimes a little to much but he is learning. They have been interacting more and more with each other now that Edith is getting older and mobile. Here are a few pictures of them playing together.

Gingerbread House

2011-01-27T16:37:00.000-08:00

Before Christmas, our niece came down to stay with my mom and we were trying to think of something fun to do with the kids so we built a Gingerbread house. It was really neat to see how different the kids decorated their sides. One of them had a much longer attention span than the other.

Cowboy & Cowgirl!

2011-01-27T16:33:00.000-08:00

I was watching some country Christmas special and Elliott decided that he needed his cowboy hat and guitar and started playing along. He then decided that Edith needed to wear his hat. He is such a great sharer! She makes a pretty cut cowgirl!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-23T07:56:00.000-08:00

So this year we took our annual family picture when we were in Leavenworth. I am actually impressed at how well it turned out. Thank you to my brother for taking the picture. Here is the picture that we used for our Christmas card and then Wes got creative with it and created our own cards this year.
Merry Christmas to all of our friends and family. We love you very much!

First Snow Play

2010-11-23T11:35:00.000-08:00

Elliott and I decided to bundle Edith up and take her outside this morning. It was very cold but she seemed to like it until she fell in face first and got a nose full. We were out for only about 5 minutes and then it was nap time. Elliott and I then went back out to play for a little but. Mommy got cold before Elliott of course so we had to come in and have so Hot Toe co as Elliott calls it. Here are a few pictures of our fun time.

Halloween

2010-11-10T12:16:00.001-08:00

So Elliott was going to be 3 different things this year but finally decided on a Cowboy and if I do say so myself, he made the most adorable cowboy. Edith was a caterpillar but hated the thing on her so we had it on long enough to take pictures then took it off. It was a weekend full of fun, family and friends!

Carving Pumpkins

2010-11-10T12:09:00.000-08:00

For some reason Elliott really got into carving his pumpkin this year. He even for the first time in all his life touched the inside! That is a big deal for him. We asked him what he wanted it to look like and this is what he came up with. He was really admit that he do it but of course we helped. We did end up giving him the safety knife and he made ears. he would have just kept carving if we did not stop him sometime. He decided Edith's needed to be a cupcake and mine was just fun.

Puyallup Fair 2010

2010-10-06T16:22:00.000-07:00

So this year we took just Elliott to the fair since Edith was so little and that gave us some good mommy, daddy , Elliott time together just us. He decided that he wanted to do the Muttin Busting this year so we let him. We were really excited about it and then as it got closer to his turn both Wes and i started getting a little nervous. Elliott had a blast! When i got back to him, the first thing he said to me was the the sheep bucked him off! He wants to do it again next year and be a cowboy for Halloween now. Here are a few pictures to show you how he did.

The gift that keeps on swinging!

2010-08-04T09:52:00.000-07:00

So for a baby shower that we had before Elliott was born, my parents bought us this swing to hang from our porch for the kids. There have been many kids that have swung in it and now it is Edith's turn. She loved it!

Family Reunion

2010-08-03T14:03:00.000-07:00

Every other year my mom's family gets together for a family reunion. Elliott was just over a year at the last one and not we got to take Edith for the first time. On Friday night we get together with just my mom's close family for a dinner and then on Saturday the whole family which is about 160 people (a little over whelming)! It was a little cold this year but still fun. Each year that we have had kids, my brother and I try to get the kids to match. The first year they were think 1 and thing 2 this year we wore our 4th of July outfits. The older kids had so much fun playing with their big cousins and each other. Here are a few pictures to highlight the weekend.

This is our nephew that is a month younger than Edith but weight's about 3 pounds more.

It was so cold at night that we had to break out the winter suit for little girl.

It was fun to watch the kids play like my brother and i use to at their age.

Kiddo's

2010-07-12T14:15:00.000-07:00

So for the 4Th this year we got the kids matching pajamas. It is so cute how much Elliott loves his little sister. I just hope that this will stay that way as he gets older. It makes me so proud to be their mother.

4th of July

2010-07-06T16:10:00.000-07:00

So again this year for the 4Th we packed up and headed to Port Townsend. It was a lot easier before we had kids but now it is more fun. We had great weather and great family time. Elliott has been going to Port Townsend ever since he was born and now we have Edith to share it with. We had so much fun. Here are some pictures of our fun trip

Elliott playing in a Hula Hoop. He loves big kids;)

So I asked Wes to hang out with the kids on the beach and this is how I found him.

This is what Elliott was doing while daddy was watching him.

It was not the warmest this year for the parade but we still had fun. Elliott was freezing by the end so not that excited about pictures.

He loves his bike and is even more excited this year because he can peddle and steer at the same time. There is no keeping up with him now. There is nothing but pure joy on his face when he rides. maybe he will follow in his kuncle's foot steps and do bike races when he gets bigger.

They were fascinated by some rocks that were on the railing.

It has been awhile!

2010-06-15T15:09:00.000-07:00

So it has been awhile since I have posted anything. Life is crazy but great. Elliott turned 3 last month and is doing great. At his 3 month check up he was 38 1/2 inches tall which is the 90th percentile for height and he weighed 32.5 which was the 60th percentile for weight. He is very active! We have him in a gym class at the YMCA that he loves and he just completed a year of swim lesson's with daddy and are now moving him up to lesson's on his own without one of us. I am excited for him. He went from hating the water to loving it. He goes to Sunday school at church now and loves it and Wes and I feel pretty good about what we have taught him so far because he can tell us about the bible stories that they do in class and he even answers questions in class. He has adjusted well to having a little sister. He loves her and helps mommy and daddy a lot. Edith is now 3 months old already and I am not sure how that happened. She started rolling over about 2 weeks ago and has been sleeping through the night for about 3 weeks. At her 2 month check up she was 24 1/2 inches long which was the 90th percentile and weighed 11.11 pounds which was the 60th percentile. We apparently have tall children. Life for us has gotten busy but we would not change it for anything. We have been having a lot of family time lately which is great. Wes is doing a lot with Elliott for daddy son bonding and that is awesome. We have a new nephew that was born a month after Edith so we have been enjoying his as well. I will post pictures as soon as I get my laptop working downstairs. That is just a little catch up on the Neeley's.

Before Edith!

2010-04-20T16:01:00.000-07:00

For Valentine's Day this year Wes and I decided to take Elliott on a date just the 3 of us before baby came. We thought that he would love the Rain Forest Cafe so we made reservations and headed out! We got there and he was in seventh heaven! He even got to see the green frog. So now every time he see's a commercial for the Rain Forest he say's I been there and we should take baby to the frog restaurant. Here are a few pictures of our outing.

Our newest addition!

2010-03-30T15:38:00.000-07:00

Well we are proud to announce that we have added a new little girl to our family. Edith Louise Neeley made her grand entrance on March 14th 2010. Daddy is pretty excited because she was born on PI day. It all started at 6 in the morning as we were getting up and getting ready for Church. I was not feeling good so we decided to stay home and rest. Well little did we know that we were going to have a baby 3 hours later. We barely made it into the delivery room before she decided to make her way into the world. We did not even have time to call my parents. Edith was born at 9:32 am and weighed 9 pounds 6 ounces and was 21 1/2 inches long. Here are a few pictures of our precious little girl and her proud brother.

Random Pictures

2010-02-23T14:31:00.000-08:00

I was going through our pictures and found some pictures of Elliott that made me laugh so I thought I would update.

We were up celebrating our Niece's birthday and she had these red glittery shoes that Elliott wanted to wear. I laughed hard!

For a couple Sunday's I was on our Church's Worship team so it was Daddy and Elliott bonding so after Church, daddy took him for a special snack. They went to Krispy Kream and Elliott got this paper hat.

Daddy was working in the garage and Elliott built a fort for himself to play in.

Elliott's First Concert!

2010-01-08T15:00:00.000-08:00

Since Elliott was little he has loved the Imagination Movers. I think it has a lot to do with the music. Well this year they happened to come to Seattle so we decided to surprise him with tickets to the show. When we first got there he was not quite awake yet because of course that day he decided not to nap very well but as the show went on he got really into it and LOVED IT!!! Here are a few pictures of our adventure.

Leavenworth

2009-12-10T14:33:00.000-08:00

This past weekend we made out annual trip to Leavenworth for the Lighting Festival. There was no snow on the ground when we got there but boy was it cold! As always, we had a blast. It is so fun to now have a little on to take over there and just see the joy on his face. The lighting was beautiful as always and Elliott loved all the lights. About 10 minutes after the lighting, it started to snow. We headed back to our room to warm up a little and then decided to head back out to let Elliott play in the snow. He had so much fun, all he wanted to do was build a tow man as he calls them so we did and actually pulled it back to our room in his sled so he could have it for the next day. Sunday when we woke up it had snowed more and we were able to stick around town for awhile and play. the wind had picked up so it was even colder but still worth it to see the joy on a 2 1/2 year old face just having the time of his life. Here are a few pictures to recap our weekend.

He turned to Wes and I and said look at music note at the top of the building.

The tow man that was brought back to the room buy Elliott pulling him in his sled.

This is what we woke up to on Sunday morning.

All he really wanted to do was shovel snow!

This is always our favorite stop before heading out of town. The Breger man House (Gingerbread House)

A visit with Santa

2009-12-09T15:59:00.000-08:00

The weekend after Thanksgiving we took Elliott to visit Santa. He was very excited and there was no wait. We kept asking him what he wanted to ask Santa for and he told us Trains, train Tracks and a Ball. The ball has to be Orange apparently and baby wants a lello (yellow) one. So he got up there and did the picture thing and then Santa asked him what he wanted and he looked at me and said "Mommy tell" That is what we do now when we do not want to talk to someone or answer someone. He loves Santa and can not wait until Christmas. Here are a few pictures.

Halloween

2009-11-19T14:30:00.001-08:00

I know it is a little late but here are some pictures of Halloween. Elliott was a little monkey which is very appropriate lately for him. At one point he looked at me and said, "no mama you wait here." He went up all by himself with us close behind. Have I ever mentioned that he is our little mister independent?

This picture above is from when we went to visit Daddy at work on friday before Halloween.

Pumpkin Carving

2009-11-06T13:27:00.000-08:00

As per last year, our son hates the inside of Pumpkins! We tried again and he wanted no part of it. He liked to watch but when it came to touching, he thought it was yucky! He must be like his Kuncle in that aspect. He did like helping daddy as long as he had a spoon. He loved the end result and helping daddy decide on the shapes for the eyes, nose and how many teeth the "punkin" should have.

Pumpkin Patch #3

2009-11-06T13:11:00.000-08:00

So the third and final time we went to the pumpkin patch was with my family. We have done this for years. I love to go when it is cold and muddy. Just call me weird! Elliott absolutely loved the pumpkins and picking out his "punkin" as he calls them. He had the most fun in the saw dust mound that they had and I am pretty sure there were big tears when we told him that we had to leave. He is 2 1/2 remember! Her are pictures from that trip

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Pumpkin patch 2

2009-11-06T13:06:00.000-08:00

So for some reason this year we went to the pumpkin patch 3 times. The second time I went with my mother i law and out nephew. It had to be my favorite trip because it was really muddy and Elliott had his boots on and loved walking through the mud. Here are a few pictures of that trip.

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-12T14:35:00.000-07:00

So we decided last Saturday to head out to the Pumpkin Patch. It was a great fall day. We stopped at Starbucks and got hot apple ciders for all of us and then headed down to Spooner's in Sumner. We have never been there before and it was a lot of fun. Elliott had a blast running through all the pumpkins and picking out 3 small pumpkins for the front of our house. As soon as he had the 3 picked out he was all done. He is getting such the little boy independence and is so much fun. We are laughing all the time at the things that he says to us and what he comes up with. Here are a few pictures to show you how much fun he had.

We are not sure why but he loved the white pumpkins. We did finally convince him to get an orange one but he loved the white.

On our way out Elliott found this tractor and wanted to ride it but Mommy said no so we had to stand at stare at it for about 5 minutes. He has the love for John Deere tractors and we are not sure where it came from but it is so fun.

Hellping Daddy!

2009-09-18T15:36:00.001-07:00

Elliott has been very into helping us cook lately. On labor day Daddy and Elliott decided to make Apple Crisp one of the Neeley's favorite desserts. He had so much fun. Here are a few pictures.

4th of July weekend

2009-07-07T12:56:00.000-07:00

So for the past 5 years, we have been going to Port Townsend to see my mom's family at the family cabin and this year we actually got to stay the whole weekend. The weather was amazing and Elliott loves to play on the beach, or rock beach in this case. The community that cabin is in has a parade every 4th of July complete with a fire truck. It is just a low key weekend. We have been taking Elliott ever since he was born so it is now a family tradition. Here are a few pictures of the weekend.

2009-06-19T13:32:00.001-07:00

Here are just a few of Elliott playing with his friends.

Building like Daddy

2009-06-19T13:25:00.000-07:00

For for the past month, Wes has been working on fencing in out Patio and also building a BBQ cover. Last Sunday, Elliott decided that he wanted to build like daddy. Here are a few pictures.

First time in the big pool

2009-06-19T13:17:00.000-07:00

So I think that swim lessons paid off. He is no longer hating the big pools. We went swimming one day at our friends house and he loved it. He is riding in his turtle floaty that he got last year for his birthday and hated. He loves it now!

Birthday trip to the Zoo

2009-06-19T13:11:00.000-07:00

This is now the closest that we will ever get to the Walrus

He is such a cutie!

Watching one of the last Whale shoes. This has always been a highlight for Elliott. It is sad to see them gone. Can you tell who Elliott is the most like?

Elliott turns 2!

2009-06-08T14:31:00.001-07:00

I know that I am a week late but better late than never. So my little baby is now 2. I can not believe it. We had a wonderful birthday weekend. His birthday was on a friday so Wes took the day off and we decided to have a family day. We went to the zoo, along with every school in the state of washington it seemed. It was still fun. Elliott always talkes about the Walrus, so we went to see it first and again, the Walrus came up and made it's noise and Elliott got scared and ran away. Later on that day he wanted to go a see the Walrus and we reminded him that as Elliott puts it "Walrus Load!" Again he wanted to see it. So off we go and agian he for scared. I am not sure what it is all about but it is pretty cute to hear him talk about the Walrus. After the Zoo, we headed to the store to let Elliott pick out his birthday toy. He is really into tractors lately, not sure where this has come from but it is pretty cute. So he got to pick out his tractor. I love that my husband is willing and able to take time off to spend with his little man on his birthday. Elliott loves his daddy! After nap we had a party for him where he got a lot of art supply stuff. His is really into coloring and stickers so it was a perfact gift. Saturday was the Big family party. We had the best time and the best weather. we are so blessed! So all in all, we had a perfact 2nd birthday weekend. We will post pictures as soon as we unload the camera.

Elliott, your mommy and daddy love you very much and want you to know that. You are such an easy going little boy who is all boy. You love balls, cars and dirt. It has been such a blessing to tbe able to stay home with you and watch you grow every day. You love your family so much and we hope that you know how much we love you. God truly blessed us when he gave us you. We just hope that you continue to grow to know the Lord and to love Him as much as He loves you. God Bless you little one. Thank you for all the joy you bring your mommy and daddy. We love you bunches!

2009-05-18T15:33:00.000-07:00

So now that I have caught up on the big events, here are a few pictures just to recap the past few weeks. I feel so blessed to be able to stay home with my little man. He changes so much every day and is talking up a storm. I can understand almost all of what he is saying but we are constantly learning from him and laughing with him.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Mother's Day

2009-05-18T15:01:00.000-07:00

Ever since Elliott was born, which was almost 2 years ago, we decided that on Mother's Day we would have Eggs Benedict and go to Northwest Trek. This year we did Eggs Benedict on Saturday and then to the market. We just hung out as a family that day. We did not plan very well because Wes and i were both scheduled to be on Worship on Sunday so we had to go to Northwest trek after nap. We did not get out there until almost 5 which is when it closes but we discovered that that is actually the best time to go because the feeding trucks have just been around and all of the animals are right by the tram. The other advantage is that the trams are not that full. On our Tram was the 3 of us and the tram driver's family. We had the whole back of the tram to ourselves. Here are a few pictures to recap what I feel is the best Mother's Day.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Swim Lesson's

2009-05-18T14:55:00.000-07:00

So we have decided that it is time that Elliott learn's how to swim. We have friends with a pool and we want him to be able to enjoy it this summer. Last year was not so good. We enrolled him in swim lessons at Puyallup High School (not so easy for mommy and daddy being that we are RAMS). The first lesson was not so good. He cried and wanted to get out. The next one he loved. He is always excited when we ask him if he wants to go swim. It is something that Daddy and Elliott get to do together. Here are a few pictures to recap the first few lessons.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Easter

2009-04-14T13:38:00.000-07:00

So we had the best Easter. We started off our morning at Church. Elliott was the talk of the church because of his outfit. I have to say that he did look pretty darn cute. We then came home and took a nap and waited for Mimmi, Papa, Auntie, Kuncle and Aubi to come and play. We ate dinner and then did our Easter baskets and Easter Egg Hunt. Elliott had so much fun. We the were able to have another Easter Egg hunt when Grandma and Grandpa came to play. It is so fun to watch him grow. He is saying more every day. Here are a few pictures of our wonderful day.

What happens when mommy is away!

2009-04-10T16:09:00.000-07:00

So a few weeks ago, I went to a baby shower for a good friend of mine. It was hard to leave because Elliott was up all night and was not feeling good. Well, daddy and Elliott had a good time even while not feeling good. They were both actually sick but at least Wes was a little better. When I was on my way home, I called to see how things were going and all Wes could say was that he took 230 pictures (thank goodness for digital) but I would have to wait until I got home to see what they were of. Well when I got home I found this. They had so much fun!

STS-119

2009-03-11T14:45:00.001-07:00

So I am calling all of our prayer warriors. We have a really close friend who is the pilot on the Space Shuttle Discovery that was scheduled to launch in February of 2009 but they found something wrong with the flow valve. So the launch has been postponed and postponed until today. I just went on the NASA site and they have scrubbed the launch for tonight and are trying to launch tomorrow night. They found a slight leak in the gaseous hydrogen vent line which prompted NASA officials to scrub Wednesday night's attempt to launch space shuttle Discovery on STS-119. The scrub was ordered at 11:37 p.m. our time. The launch team is resetting to make another attempt Thursday night at 8:54 p.m. EDT or 5:54 our time. We ask that you keep Tony, Janeen , Michael and Danny Antonelli in your prayers are they wait to hear if they will launch tomorrow or what will happen. We are looking forward to watching the launch on NASA TV online but are also very hesitant to watch because this is family. Prays please!

2009-02-20T15:37:00.001-08:00

Make a Smilebox photobook

Winter Storm 2008!

2008-12-18T14:54:00.000-08:00

So we finally got my long awaited snow. I love it as long as I do not really have to go anywhere. So needless to say, Elliott and I have been at home for 2 days now just playing and cleaning. We did go out today and play. HE LOVED IT! Here are a few pictures.

2008-12-04T10:54:00.000-08:00

So this year was our turn to go to Spokane for Thanksgiving to see Wes' Brother and Sister-in-law and their family. Before we had Elliott we never really minded the 5 hour drive, but now it seems to take us all day. We left Wednesday morning and got to Spokane around dinner time. Elliott did great. We stopped for an hour for lunch and then pushed on. We had a wonderful turkey day with Wes' Aunt and Uncle and their family and our family. There were about 25 people. The highlight of our trip was probably Friday when it SNOWED! Elliott has never been able to play in the snow because he was to little last year. I was not sure how he would do but he loved it. He did not however like to eat it. Here are a few pictures of the snowman building that Grandpa did with the kids.

Fall with the Neeley's

2008-11-04T12:28:00.000-08:00

So I have to say that I love this time of year! I love the rainy and sunny days, the cold and most of all the Pumpkin patches. Every year since I can remember we have gone to the pumpkin patch as a family and now that we have Elliott, the tradition continues. As Wes will tell you, I am all about traditions. This year we went to 2 pumpkin patches. One up north with my brother, sister in law and our niece. It is so fun to see Elliott and Aubi growing up together. They are so different that it makes it so fun. We then went to Scholtz Pumpkin patch down here on Sunday the 26th so that we could get Elliott's picture taken in front of the "How tall this fall" sign. We just love being able to do things as a family. We ended the pumpkin time with Trick or Treating in Downtown Puyallup as well as at our friend Molly's neighborhood. At first Elliott and Aubi were not sure what to do but Elliott loves to watch the big kids and he just took off and started doing what they were doing and pretty soon Aubi was right along with us. We love every minute of spending time as a family that we can get. Here are some pictures of the fun trips.

Make a Smilebox photobook

Disneyland!

2008-09-28T14:18:00.000-07:00

So I am sure those few of you that actually check my blog are tired of seeing the pictures of this past summer well I finally have something exciting to post about. Last weekend was my 30Th Birthday and Wes decided in June that we needed to go see Mickey for my birthday. I told him last year that I would take him but we ended up having Elliott instead. I think that was a good trade. So anyways, we decided that we were going to take Elliott with us. I was really worried about this. he had never flown before and is 16 months old and does not want to sit still for anything. Well our great friend Molly decided that she wanted to go with us so it was 3 adults to one 16 month old. The odd were in our favor. He did great on both of the flights. He only really got tired the last 30 minutes but so did I. We left on Thursday the 18Th and returned home on 22ND. He loved all of the characters and we did take him on several rides. He loved the Jungle Cruise. the adults even go tot go on several adult rides. Wes and Molly had the whole day on Sunday planned which was my actual birthday. My parents had bought tickets for Wes, Molly and I to attend the character breakfast that is held in Disneyland. Elliott LOVED it! We discovered that he really likes Eeyore. Who knew? Then we headed back to the hotel for nap time and then back to Disneyland for a surprise birthday party that Disneyland puts on. We got to decorate our own cakes and it was just a lot of fun. We then ended the evening having dinner in the Blue Bayou which is the restaurant that you see from the Pirates ride. Molly then took Elliott back to the hotel for a shared ice cream sandwich and then bath. Wes and i were able to have some mommy and daddy time and it was great. As many of you know, I am a huge Mickey fan and I could not have asked for a better 30Th Birthday. Thank you Wes and Molly for making it a birthday I will never forget. I love you both! Here a a few pictures of our event
His favorite the Jungle Cruise

His First Mickey encounter and he loved him!

Mommy's very favorite ride

His new friend

Birthday Party

The last day which for mommy is always the saddest day as well

Our summer so far!

2008-07-22T12:33:00.000-07:00

So this summer has been in full swing since June. It started out with Wes and I taking a trip to Tonasket with our former Praise band from our old church to put on a Worship service for our former Pastor. It was really hot and a lot of fun. That was the last weekend in June. Elliott stayed home with the Neeley grandparents and had a blast as well. We made it the whole weekend without even calling, granted it was only one night but a huge step for mom. The next weekend was the 4th of July and we did our annual trip to Port Townsend for some rest and fun in the sand with the extended family on my mom's side. It was a great weekend with only 1 little scare with Elliott. He hurt his foot and we thought that we might have to go to the Hospital but it all turned out fine. He just twisted his ankle. On Friday night we took a ferry ride over to Everett and spent the rest of the weekend with Keith, Sarah & Aubi hanging out and going to the Woodland Park Zoo. We then we able to have one weekend at home and then we packed up and headed to the ocean this past weekend for our Johnson Family reunion. Keith, Sarah, Aubi, mom, dad and the 3 of us shared a condo for 4 days. It was so much fun to see the 2 little ones playing so well together. We went to the ocean on Saturday and Aubi loved the ocean but not so much the sand and Elliott was the opposite. He loved crawling on the sand. We also made a little milestone this weekend. He started to take more steps on his own. He is up to about 15 steps now. So that is our summer so far. We have a few more outing planned for later this summer. Here are a few pictures.

2008-06-17T10:49:00.001-07:00

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Recap of Elliott's Frist Birthday Weekend!

2008-06-17T09:51:00.000-07:00

So it is still hard for me to believe that my baby is a big 1 year old. We had a great weekend celebrating his birthday with a lot of friends and family. We kicked off his birthday with a Spaghetti dinner that he pretty much cried through. He does not like to pick up messy foods. We then preceded to eat way to much in a short amount of time and had our first cupcake and frosting. He loved it. He really just liked to play with it. We then preceded to finish our bottle for bed and then threw up all over daddy. What a way to remember his first birthday. that was all Thursday night his actual birthday. On Friday, we went to the doctor for our 12 month check up and we weighed in at 23 pounds 15 ounces and are about 31 inches long. We are a big boy. We realized that at a year they finally realize that this whole shot thing sucks and we do not like it one bit! We then took a good nap to get ready for our party on Friday night with our frolic family. We got fun presents that make nose, swim stuff and cars that we can not play with until we are older. We ate bacon, french toast and had a little more cake. We love fruit! No throwing up this night. We finally came Saturday, the day of our party. We had lots of friends and family come by to wish you a very happy first birthday and we again got a lot of really fun toys that make noise. Right now our favorite toy is the Zoo train that we got from our friends the Snyder's. Thanks guys! We ate a little cake but really played more with it and than we took a bath. All in all it was a great first birthday. We want to thank everyone for all of your love a support over this first year of Elliott's life. It is true what they say about it takes a village and we feel truly blessed by God that he put each and every one of you in our lives. We love you all so much and again thank you for helping up celebrate our little man! I will do a slide show of his birthday weekend for you to see.

2008-05-29T14:59:00.001-07:00

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Happy Birthday Elliott!

2008-05-29T13:59:00.000-07:00

I can not believe that it is time for me to write this. Elliott can not be one yet. At least that is what I am telling myself. Everyone always told me that the first year goes by fast but I never believed it until now.

Well one year ago today, Wes and I headed to the hospital at 7:00 in the morning. We were checking in and given the potassium (if that is how you spell it) at 8:15. You were so content in my tummy that you would not come out. Here is a little bit of the process of trying to have you. We went to the doctor on the 24th which was your due date and the doctor checked me and said that it could happen any time. So the next few days, your daddy, auntie Molly and I did everything that we could to try to get you to come out. Nothing worked. So Tuesday morning the 29th we called the hospital to see if we could come in and be induced. So after the potassium, you just hung out. At about 11:15 the doctor came in and gave me my epidural which made everything better until about 3:00 pm. that is when I developed back labor and there was nothing that was making me comfortable. So, they did everything to make me comfortable and at 3:50 i told the nurse that I was going to push and she told me to wait and then she checked me and I was dilated to a 10 so I could start pushing. Well according to your Grandma Lynnie and Grandma Jan Dr. Edstrom came running in and I only had to push for 1/2 hour and you were born at 4:33 pm on May 29, 2007. Your Daddy was there for your birth as well as your Grammie and Auntie Molly. We did not know whether you were a boy or a girl until the day you were born and when you cam out your daddy announced to everyone in the room that you were a boy and then told everyone your name. Elliott Leroy. I can not begin to tell you how much your daddy and I love you and are so blessed that you are in our family and that God gave you to us to raise for Him. We love you and look forward to many more birthday celebrations with you.

Love,
Mommy

2008-04-28T13:15:00.000-07:00

Make a photobook - it's easy!

Easter!

2008-03-27T10:36:00.001-07:00

Aubi in her easter Dress

Elliott with his new outfit from Grammie

Check out Elliott's shoes. This is what happens when you leave your son alone with his Grampie and Uncle

So in our house it seems like the easter bunny thinks that it is Christmas all over again. We got a lot of books and no candy which is good. I have to say that the Holiday's are so much more fun now that the little ones are a little older. It is so fun to watch them react to each other. In every picture Elliott is all smiles and Aubi is not sure what is going on. It is going to be so fun to watch them grow up together. here are just a few of the pictures that were taken on Sunday.

Happy St. Patrick's Day1

2008-03-17T14:50:00.000-07:00

Wishing you a very Happy St. Patrick's Day!

An Irish Prayer
May God give you...
For every storm, a rainbow,
For every tear, a smile,
For every care, a promise,
And a blessing in each trial.
For every problem life sends,
A faithful friend to share,
For every sigh, a sweet song,
And an answer for each prayer.

9 Months Old!

2008-03-11T10:10:00.000-07:00

I know that I am late on posting these pictures but better late then never. So Elliott turned 9 months on the 29th of February. Daddy took some really cute pictures of him. We went to the Doctor on the 5th of March for his 9 month appointment and her weighed 22 lbs, was 29 inches long and his head is 18 inches round. He is healthy and happy except that second top tooth that will just not break through. So as of now we have 3 and one almost through. He is crawling all over the place and is really trying to pull himself up on things. I love to just sit back and watch him! Here are his 9 month pictures.

What happens whe Mommies leave for the weekend!

2008-03-04T11:51:00.000-08:00

This past weekend I was gone working a Women's weekend and Elliott stayed with Aunt Molly and Daddy. They decided that it was time for Elliott to experience his first non baby food. They took him to Red Robin on Friday night and gave him a big French Fry. He ate about half of it and then they took it away from him because he was trying to eat the whole thing at once. I think he liked it but it will definitely be something tat is not given to him all the time. Here are some pictures of the experience.

8 Months Old!

2008-02-06T14:01:00.000-08:00

I know this is 7 days late, but better late than never. You see, we had our first cold in 8 1/2 months. He came down with the runny nose on Tuesday and still has it but has been in good spirits. He is so much fun and is now Army crawling. He really gets around. Here are a few pictures that we took for his 8 month pictures.

His new favorite game is SO BIG!

Mathcing Sweaters!

2008-01-17T09:41:00.000-08:00

So we are a little pathetic in the father son matching thing but i think it is so darn cute and Wes Loves it. We were at Old navy and I saw this sweater and wanted to get it for Elliott but Wes talked me out of it by saying it would be so much cutter if we could find one for daddy as well. So we were in line to buy some pants and I decided that the line was too long so I turned around to put the pants back and saw the sweater for Wes. There were only 2 of them so I went to check the size and one was to big and the other was Wes' size. So needless to saw we went and got the one for Elliott and here is a picture of how cute they are together. I am a little prejudice however!

7 Months Old

2008-01-08T09:04:00.000-08:00

So not only did we have our first Christmas with Elliott, we also celebrated our 5 year Anniversary and Elliott's 7 month birthday. It is so hard to believe that he is seven months old already. He is getting so big. He is not crawling yet but is so close and has 2 teeth that we did not even know broke through. he has been a trooper with the whole teething thing.
Here he is on the 29th of December which is his 7 month birthday.

Christmas 2007

2008-01-08T08:51:00.000-08:00

It was so much fun to have the first Christmas with Elliott. Granted, he did not understand what was going on just that he was kept up late for a few nights. We had the best time with family around. I think that is my favorite part about Christmas. This was the first year that the Linington Christmas had little ones around and boy did we just play. Even the adults. Here are a few pictures to show how much fun we all had.

Auntie Sarah laughing at Elliott spitting!

Aubi is a full on crawler now!

Elliott got a rocking Moose from his Auntie Shannon and Uncle Mitch but of course Aubi has to do everything first :)

Grammie decided that the grandkids needed big animal chairs. Aubi's is a little lamb and Elliott's is a red monkey.

Little Man Haircut!

2007-12-20T08:06:00.000-08:00

It was hard for mommy to watch her little boy get his first real haircut. We went to our friend who has cut my hair for years and Elliott and Gail did a wonderful job. Gail's husband was a great entertainer for Elliott while Gail cut. 6 months old and already a haircut!

Before

During

After

Thanksgiving!

2007-11-27T10:09:00.000-08:00

Here we are all 43 of us!

Well, usually every other year we are with my side of the family for Thanksgiving. This year, we were suppose to be at my Great Aunt & Uncle house but she was diagnosed with Cervical cancer this past summer. She is doing great! Anyway, Wes being the great man that he is told my mom that we could have Thanksgiving here. Now for most of you, thanksgiving is a small family gathering with paper plates or real plates if you have enough for everyone. Not in this house. You see, hosting thanksgiving for my mom's side of the family means anywhere from 20 to 50 people. We had 43 this year. We cooked 2 turkeys. One smoked and one roasted. Thanksgiving went off without any problems thanks to the help of my brother and his wife, my mom and dad, my Cousin Jennifer and of course WES. Wes loves to be in the Kitchen when he has time and he is awesome. The turkeys were wonderful and everyone had a great time. I feel so blessed that I have such a wonderful husband and son. My brother and his family are the best. I love them so much and my mom and dad are so supportive and loving to all of us that we feel honored that they are so close. God has truly blessed us in many ways and I thank Him everyday for all that he gives to us!

Elliott & Daddy Bonding!

2007-11-27T09:57:00.000-08:00

We were waiting to leave for Spokane and it was right at Elliott's normal nap time and I guess he just decided that daddy was just as comfortable as his bed.

We joined a book club for Elliott and daddy decided to read him his first full book. Dumbo. He sat through the whole book. It was so cute to hear them.

This has to be one of my most favorite times that I have seen Wes interact with Elliott. He is such a wonderful father and husband and I feel so blessed every day that I am married to him. He is truly a man of GOD!

2007-11-01T10:42:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween!

There's a pumpkin on my butt?

What was I suppose to say?
When I am 1, I can have candy they tell me!
Se we had our first Halloween with our Little Elliott! Needless to say, at 5 months old we did not go trick or treating. We went to grandma & grandpa Neeley's house and than to Great grandma & grandpa Neeley's. He got clothes from both of them. Now that is what I like as a treat! We than headed off to Grandma Lynnie's & Papa Wayne's where Elliott got his first candy(more for mom and dad than Elliott). Than we went to Aunt Molly's house to help her hand out candy. She had about 175 pieces of candy and we ran out. That was with only giving one piece to each child. Here are a few pictures of our little Pumpkin!

2007-10-23T11:20:00.000-07:00

Our first trip to the pumpkin patch!

Look at me I am almost as big as a pumpkin!

Mommy & Elliott in matching Hats

So we were able to take Elliott to the Pumpkin Patch this year. Every year I love to when it is raining. So we bundled up, got Grammie & Grampie and headed down to the local Pumpkin Patch. It was so much fun.

Family Friendly Rivalry

2007-09-27T09:37:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was my birthday so Keith, Sarah & Aubi came down to hang out. it is so much fun to see the cousin's together. Even though they really have no idea what is going on right now, they are so darn precious together. Wes and I went white water rafting on Saturday morning so Elliott stayed with Gramie and Grampa Friday night. Well for those of you that do not know, there is a friendly family rivalry between Wes and Keith over the Cougs and the huskies. Well, when Wes and I got to mom and dad's Saturday afternoon, you can imagine what we found our little one in. He was dressed in a Huskie Sweatshirt. We had sent him cougar clothes to wear but his Uncle changed him. Well after a photo opportunity in the Huskie gear, we quickly changed him back into his Coug gear for the game. Here are some pictures of the future rivalry between cousins.

Elliott's First Cattle Drive!

2007-09-12T09:51:00.000-07:00

Elliott Before the Cattle Drive

Here comes the cowes!

Ever since the Rodeo came to the Puyallup fair, they have had a cattle drive down Meridian in Downtown Puyallup. Well this year since I am not working anymore, Wes decided to take the first day of the fair off so we could go to the rodeo. Since we were both home we decided to go to the cattle drive. We took Elliott to his first cattle drive and parade. As you can imagine, he slept through almost the whole thing. he woke up when the Fort Lewis marching band came by and hit the big bass drum right in front of him. He did not cry but it did scare him a little. I have to say that is was really fun watching about 20 cows run down Meridian. Elliott was not able to go to the fair this year because after all, he is only 3 months old! Here are a couple pictures of the cattle drive and Elliott.

Labor day!

2007-09-12T09:15:00.000-07:00

This is how Elliott Spent the first few hours Camping!
This is how we tried to keep Elliott from getting Burnt.

Chillin with Papa Wayne

This is how to stay cool in 80+ degree weather.

Oh the life of a 3 month old!

I know that this is a week late but we wanted to let you know that we took Elliott on his very first Camping trip over Labor Day Weekend. Wayne, Lynn, Molly, Mom & Dad Linington, Ken, Karen, Wes, Elliott and I all went to Leavenworth for the weekend. It was a great get away. This was the first time that Wes and I had really left home for a long trip with a baby and boy do you have to pack a lot of stuff. We took my parents tent trailer and the 5 of us slept in it. When you add a baby to a trailer it gets pretty tight but we survived. Elliott did awesome. He slept through the night every night and for those of you that know he only poops every 2-4 days, he pooped every day we were there. He likes the wilderness. He did get a little pink on his checks but nothing really bad. They were all trying to convince me that it was just "wilderness"! We do not have very many pictures of the weekend because we took more video but here are a couple of pictures to show you how Elliott hung out while camping in the heat.

Why we have Children!

2007-08-14T18:46:00.000-07:00

So Wes and I decided that the reason that you have children is 1) to love them unconditionally, and 2) to use them as your entertainment. We were giving Elliott a bath one night and I told Wes that my mom was calling him her little moose so what does Wes do, he gives him Moose antlers. We laughed really hard. We just had to share it with everyone. He is becoming so much fun. I just love being a stay at home mommy.

First baseball game!

2007-08-09T08:43:00.001-07:00

This is how we found him when we arrived at the game. He had fallen asleep this way!
We went to the Tacoma Rainiers game last Friday. I was not sure how out little slugger would do. He was awesome! He slept for about a half hour and than ate and was alert for the rest of the game. We were there for about 2 hours and everyone was amazed at how well he was doing. He will be a true sports fan. This is the little outfit that Grandma Jan bought him to wear. he looked so cute!

2 Months!

2007-08-02T08:42:00.001-07:00

It is so hard to believe that Elliott is 2 months old as of the 29th of July. We had his 2 month appointment yesterday and he weighs 13lbs, is 23 1/2 inches long and his head is 15. His doctor said he is doing great. He has been sleeping through the night since the beginning of July and we are so lucky. I am looking forward to not going back to work this fall and just being Elliott's mommy. Wes is awesome with him. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful husband who loves his family more than anything and loves God! Here are som more recent pictures of our little one. God Bless you all!!

More Pictures from the 4th

2007-07-11T08:12:00.001-07:00

4th of July!

2007-07-11T07:53:00.000-07:00

Well it is hard to believe that our little Elliott is 6 weeks old! He is so darn cute and we just love having him around. He went in for his 1 month appointment on the 2ND and he was 23 inches long, 11 pounds and very healthy!

We were luck enough to have our family here on the 4Th this year and a great time was had by all. There was lots of food and fun. It is so fun to get to see our niece Aubi and see how she changes every time we see her. We though that it would be fun to take pictures of the together in our hammock. It was interesting to see them laying next to each other because Aubi is only 2 inches taller than Elliott and is 5 months older than him. I am not sure if they enjoyed the time together but the adults enjoyed watching them somewhat interact. It will be fun when they are old enough to know what they are doing and to see them grow together. We love you cousin!

Bumble Cousin's

2007-06-29T13:56:00.000-07:00

We were able to go up an see Elliott's big cousin on Monday and they had fun hanging out. Aubi was so interested in Elliott. I can not wait for them to be able to play together. Here is a picture of the Bumble Bee Cousin's! We love you Aubi!

Elliott is 3 weeks old!!

2007-06-18T19:42:00.000-07:00

It is so hard to believe that 3 weeks ago tomorrow, our little Elliott was born. He is so much fun to have around even though he does not do much now. We can not imagine our lives without him. He has had several outings in his short little life and he does really well. Everywhere I go people are just amazed at his hair. Well this past weekend was father's day and it was a lot of fun to celebrate Wesley's first father's day as well as our dad's first father's day as grandpa's. My dad was so excited to have both of his grandkids down to play with him. Here are a few pictures of Elliott with his big cousin giving knuckles. The other picture is of the Neeley generations. It is so awesome to see all of them together just loving this little guy.

First few days at home!

2007-06-09T20:09:00.000-07:00

Elliott was not to happy to get his first bath at home. Grammie got the pleasure of giving it to him. He does not like to be cold or naked. I guess that is good. He had a very busy day last Sunday with visitor's. His Great Grandma and Grandpa Johnson came to visit him as well as his older cousin and Auntie and Uncle. It was very cute to see Aubi just look at him. I can not wait until they are old enough to play together. We are all doing well. I have had 3 big outings this week and am feeling pretty good. I have to take it slow still but I am healing. It is so much fun being a mom. Even the late night feedings are not so bad. Hope all is well with everyone.
Love to you all,
Wes, Erin & Elliott

Our newest addition!

2007-06-04T11:18:00.000-07:00

This is our Newest addition to our Family! This is Elliott Leroy born May 29th at 4:33 in the afternoon. He weighed 8lbs 13oz and 20 inches long. He has very dark brown hair and lots of it. We are home now as of last Thursday and we are all adjusting. He is very good. The eating has gotten better and he sleeps really well. Mom is a little sore and has a hard time sitting for long periods of time but that is starting to go away. Daddy is awesome. I could not have asked for a better father for our child. He worships this precious little one. Daddy is back at work part time this week and mommy is adjusting with help from Grammie Jackie and Grandma Jan. This would be a lot harder if it weren't for family. They are such a blessing. Thank you all for you love and support through out this whole experience. We love you all!

Wes, Erin & Elliott

Hopefully Soon!

2007-05-25T14:19:00.000-07:00

Well we went to the doctor's again today and it sounds like we could have this little bundle of Joy between now and Tuesday. If it does not decide to come out on it's own then we will go in for an induction on Tuesday. We will let you all know. Keep praying for safety for us and the baby. We love you all!!!

2007-05-24T11:34:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of our Niece. You have to Check out the Hair! Isn't she just Precious?

Still Waiting!

2007-05-23T10:43:00.000-07:00

Well we have decided that we have a very content baby. It is not wanting to come out and meet the real world just yet. We are so ready for him or her. Sorry Lindsey you may not have the initials or any part of the name just yet, and for Keith, Sarah, and Aubi, No there is no cousin yet! We will keep you posted! Love you all!

Waiting for the New Arrival!

2007-05-22T15:15:00.000-07:00

So many of you are calling or emailing to ask how things are going so I thought that I would post something on our Blog page that I have had for awhile now. Things are going as well as can be expected. I am 2 days away from my due date and I am feeling pretty good. We are just sitting around waiting for this little one to decide to arrive. We are very excited to meet him or her. Wes is being very supportive and helpful. I could not ask for a better man. I know that he will be a great father. We will let you all know when the baby arrives and what it is and the name. Sorry Lindsey you still have to wait. I guess that is all for now. We will be in touch!