Last night we went to Animals and all that Jazz at the zoo with Uncle Syd and Aunt Katie. It was really fun and I would encourage anyone to try to make it...it's held on Thursday nights in the summer. When we were near the band Elli enjoyed dancing to the rhythm. Some of the animals weren't out, but we were able to see quite a bit with the ambiance of the jazz music in the background. Below is a picture of Syd, Katie & Elli in front of the sleeping sea lions. It was their bed time apparently. Elli blew them kisses. :)
Elli is getting so big! When I saw the below picture I just couldn't believe how Elli has just become a little girl overnight...she's not a baby anymore!
We went to our second annual Nicholson/VanDam Chicago Bears Training Camp adventures in IL. There was a huge turnout at the practices. I enjoyed playing with Addie and Elli and didn't see much of the practices...I figure I have many, many weeks of watching/talking/obsessing about Bears football so I wan't too sad about missing some of the practice. Besides, I was watching the two sweetest little girls which doesn't even compare to my boyfriends Brian, Adrian and my newest BF Jay! :) Below we are at the mall...Elli & Addie have on their Bears cheerleading outfits that Papaw and Mamaw got for them. They were so funny running/playing down the mall.
This is our second year to get pictures taken with Staley. Elli kind of hated it, but I made her suffer through lots of pictures with him.
Suckers!!! I figured this would be a good distration. Both girls were amazing at the 2+ hours of practice on three different days. Both Friday and Sunday were really warm but they didn't seem to be bothered.
A family tradition...you gotta' teach them young, right?
Elli did a lot of 'wallering' all over Aunt Sara! :)
Books...another distraction! :)
My boyfriend, Jay, who is going to lead the Bears to a Super Bowl victory this year!
I was in CA for work last week and missed Greg and Elli terribly! Thankfully Greg got some help from his parents. Both he and Elli had a great time hanging with Papaw and Mamaw when I was away.
Two Sundays ago we took a trip to the mall so we could take Elli to Build-a-Bear. Below is a picture of Elli at the Disney Store. This Minnie was as big as she was but she carried it around for quite some time until we were able to distract her and take it away. She wasn't too happy about it, but as much as I love her I can't see spending $40 on a stuffed animal!!!
Here Elli is trying to decide which animal she wants. I think she had three she was clinging to at one point. We ended up with the doggie, which we named Rawf.
Elli is FINALLY facing forward in her carseat. Ironically, she didn't meet the weight requirement for the seat, but did meet the height requirement so we were able to face her forward at almost 14 months. It's so much better for her and we are excited to be able to interact with her more while we are in the car. Elli weighs right around 20 lbs now. So big!
This is our second year to get pictures taken with Staley. Elli kind of hated it, but I made her suffer through lots of pictures with him.
Suckers!!! I figured this would be a good distration. Both girls were amazing at the 2+ hours of practice on three different days. Both Friday and Sunday were really warm but they didn't seem to be bothered. 
A family tradition...you gotta' teach them young, right?
Elli did a lot of 'wallering' all over Aunt Sara! :)
Books...another distraction! :)
My boyfriend, Jay, who is going to lead the Bears to a Super Bowl victory this year! 
I was in CA for work last week and missed Greg and Elli terribly! Thankfully Greg got some help from his parents. Both he and Elli had a great time hanging with Papaw and Mamaw when I was away. 
Two Sundays ago we took a trip to the mall so we could take Elli to Build-a-Bear. Below is a picture of Elli at the Disney Store. This Minnie was as big as she was but she carried it around for quite some time until we were able to distract her and take it away. She wasn't too happy about it, but as much as I love her I can't see spending $40 on a stuffed animal!!!
Here Elli is trying to decide which animal she wants. I think she had three she was clinging to at one point. We ended up with the doggie, which we named Rawf. 
Elli is FINALLY facing forward in her carseat. Ironically, she didn't meet the weight requirement for the seat, but did meet the height requirement so we were able to face her forward at almost 14 months. It's so much better for her and we are excited to be able to interact with her more while we are in the car. Elli weighs right around 20 lbs now. So big!
