we've had our fill of the bitter cold...we are so ready for spring! we've had to stay inside a lot, but we're still having fun! ralphy is rolling over well and pushing up with his arms...he is 5 months old now...he likes to sit up, but needs a little help...he laughs so much and his favorite thing to laugh at is still elli...he has already started wrestling with ralph and elli on the bed and he loves it! ralph gave ralphy his first haircut a couple of weeks ago...now he is a big kid! i will admit that it was emotional for me (he's my first baby to have a haircut), but he looks adorable...he'll be moving upstairs to his own room soon...he is such a sweet baby... elli's favorite thing to do lately is play hide and seek...she tells us, "you hide in a new place and i can find you" and then she counts to 10 and says, "ready or not, here i come!" when we can't hide for her she hides a stuffed animal, counts, and then "finds" it! elli is a hilarious kid...
we've been working on her "big girl" room and she is very excited about it...every day she looks forward to helping ralph work in her new room...she gets her tools and dumps them out on the floor, looking for one to match daddy's ...the room is lavender and one wall has a picket fence with green grass behind it (that's where the flowers will grow)...i'm sure there will be pictures of the new room soon...we're hoping the transition goes well for both kids...there are some unknowns: will elli really stay in bed? will ralphy sleep all night without feeling lonely? will ralphy's cries wake up elli? will she end up in bed with us? will max really sleep in her room like she thinks he will? we'll keep you posted!

elli & ralph built an igloo on the driveway last weekend...it lasted for about a week, but it couldn't withstand friday's temps!

well...another month has gone by (quickly, i must say), and ralphy is now 4 months old...

at his check-up, he weighed in at a hefty 19 pounds, 3 ounces and is 28 inches long...lookout elli, because he's on pace to pass you up!

we're ready for a change in weather so we can play outside! we don't care if it is warm weather or snow that comes our way, as long as it is something other than just cold and windy!

elli riding her new spring horse (it's name has gone from chief to spirit to rain)

bath time

the cutest kids

a day at the park...
wild girl!
sweet baby

we had a great christmas! after we got home from grandma & grandpa brown's on christmas eve, elli sprinkled the magic reindeer dust in the front yard and then helped put out cookies and milk for santa and carrots for the reindeer (elli had to have a carrot, too) she picked out 3 special cookies to put on the plate (thanks to gram and kristin for making sure we had plenty of cookies in the house!)

she was so delighted to see that santa ate the cookies, drank the milk and gave the carrots to his reindeer! he also left the much anticpated purple rubber ducky in her stocking, along with some other very cool things!

ralphy was in good spirits throughout the festivities...he is so laid-back and easy-going!

the kids were thoroghly spolied by our families (thanks everyone for such wonderful gifts!) some of elli's favorites are her new baby indian doll and her shark tent! ralphy loves his tigger bouncer!

our best present came a few days before christmas on december 20th when elli decided to use her potty chair! yippee! she's a big girl now....

we've enabled the "comments" feature on this blog, so if you want to leave us a note, click on COMMENTS just below ralphy's picture...thanks!

growing up...

ralphy is 3 months old and gets cuter everyday! he "talks" to us all the time and is always smiling...elli can really get him to show a smile - he just loves to watch her and listen to her talk to him...

elli helping papa brown feed jake a carrot (chief didn't make into the picture, as he was sunning himself on this 60 degree december day!)

woo-hoo!

waiting for santa...

so...we tried the whole "sit on santa's lap and have your picture taken" thing...but it didn't work out so well...ralphy sat there just as content as can be, but like most two-year-olds, elli completely refused the idea...she did tell him that she would like a rubber ducky (a purple rubber ducky, to be exact...), but she gave him that message with several feet in between them...oh well...we'll try again next year! and why a rubber ducky? who knows, but that's what she tells everyone who asks what she wants santa to bring...she's asking for jelly beans and a candy cane, too....

ralphy loves the lights on the christmas tree...we position his swing so he can see the tree when he gets fussy! elli has another new friend - she dances with her, pretends to put her to sleep and puts beads around her neck...how did aunt tina know that this snowman would become a perfect christmastime companion?

snow day!

we've had lots of fun in the snow! elli didn't want to leave her gloves on...until she realized that her hands really hurt without them on and she could still pick up snow with them on...
















elli likes to eat the snow/ice combo...she said, "mmm...that's so dood!"

ralphy got to hang out inside...

just haning around...

our little guy rolled over today for the first time...amazingly enough, i caught it on video!

he'll be crawling up the steps before we know it!

max has a new friend...
yes - her shirt says "WILD"!

we've just been hanging around (literally)...outside it is sleeting and hopefully changing to snow soon, so the next post will hopefully include pictures of us playing in the white stuff!

best friends

i realized i have not posted a picture of elli's favorite friend, max-dog!

elli has been cozy in her footie pajamas - she wants to leave them on all day!