It's a Girl!!

August Digital Download

MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT: We are officially having another little girl!! I am so excited for Blakely to have a little sister!! My sister and I are 2 years 2 months apart, and we are super close. I really, really wanted that for Blakely... so I am even more excited that this baby and Blakely will be 2 years 1 month apart!! Yeah for Sisters!!!

 

My OB told me that I wouldn't find out the sex of the baby until 20 weeks... NOT good at waiting, so we headed up to Summerville to "See Me 3D" and found out we are having a GIRL at 15 weeks!! This was a super fun experience, because we got to bring family (IE the Little's, Alyssa and Mom) for the big reveal!!

So..... what are we going to call the little peanut???
Kathryn Ellis ("Katy Ellis") Monk
We are so excited to meet our new baby girl!

I love that Blakely is rocking a sand mustache in this picture.

This girl LOVES to read. She occasionally likes to be read to... but she loves to read it herself. Her Mimi would be so proud it she could see her now!

Double stacker!!

One of the cool things about my parents moving into their new house was all our childhood toys came back out to play! Blakely IMMEDIATELY went for the barbies, and Banks went for the GI Joe's! Banks is ALL boy, and Blakely is ALL girl!

Blakely loves the couch at Gigi and PopPop's house. It is a big, potterybarn sectional, and Blakely just loves to crawl all over it! This is her favorite spot to watch Mickey Mouse do the "Hot Dog Dance."

MUST GET OUTSIDE!! Finally not raining, so these two are getting in the pool. BLINDINGLY HOT!! Only 2 options for the day... stay in the AC or get in the water!

Scrub-a-dub-dub two cousins in a tub...

Popsicle Panniculitis here we come!

It was so hot out there that we ate like 10 sugar free Popsicle's between the three of us!!! They loved it!

These two cousins LOVE each other! So cute!

Banks is "kind of"  a messy eater!! Understatement of the year!!

Best slide for toddlers EVER at the Calhoun/Rutledge park! Shade, stairs, railings and high sides on the slide... this little girl thought she was a "BIG GIRL" because she could do it all by herself!



Let the Dinner Battle 2013 begin!! Blakely has suddenly become a SUPER PICKY eater. I don't know what happened to my baby who would eat anything and everything. If she had her way, she would eat mac n' cheese and grilled cheese for every meal. I have to constantly remind myself... a) she won't starve herself. b) I am doing this because I love her. c) she is growing and developing normally. As a result, Blakely gets offered whatever we are eating, and if she truly refuses to eat... guess what comes out for the next meal. This has been tough and very unpleasant, but I feel like we are slowly but surely getting her back on track.

This little slide has been the best buy ever!!! I bought it used for $20.... and the Little's loved it so much, it HAD to be moved inside!!

Blakely and Banks will literally spend a solid hour sliding and giggling!! Awesome.

Little Mama on the go! Gigi go her this little doll stroller and it is about one of the most precious things I have ever seen. She puts her babies (most I've seen at once was 5) in the stroller, then strolls them around the house while she sings. Occasionally, she'll stop, pick up a baby, give them a BIG kiss and then keep strolling. Preciousness!!

 

This month we helped Banks celebrate his FIRST birthday!!



It was a golf themed "Par-tee"!! Alyssa did a great job with the decorations, the cake, the food and everyone had a great time! The party was thrown at my parents new lake house, and we could not have asked for better weather!!

Every baby has their own style of cake smashing, but Banks' has to be the most memorable ever! For anyone who doesn't know Banks, I think it is important to state that Banks is a BIG EATER! He is skinny, but don't let that fool you! First, he used his hands as scoops. Then to make sure he didn't miss any cake, he would roll his hand from palm to finger tip so that every morsel of cake made it in his mouth. Finally, he just cut out the middle man and buried his face directly in the cake!! It was one of the funniest, cutest things I have ever seen!! Love that boy!

Long boat ride to dinner, and this girl falls asleep.

We started working of swimming techniques this month with "Aunt" Olivia. We would place Blakely on her tummy and only let her go forward if she kicked. To get her to kick, we would tickle her feet and say "kick-kick-kick." Blakely to really into it and the entire time she was "swimming," she'd yell "ki-ki-ki-ki-ki."

This girl loves running water!!

Blakely learned the word "cup" that day, and said it like at least 100x.

These two love the Cozy Coupe!



The mall playground is the best escape! These two cousins love to play chase through this tunnel.

They just giggle and giggle and giggle!! I love that Blakely is so excited to see Banks in this picture!

Follow the leader!



Cool girl in her sun-glasses!

Went to the zoo for the first time with this girl! To say she loved it, is putting it SUPER mildly!! Can't wait to go back with her Daddy!

Blakely loved the zoo so much, that she wore herself SLAP OUT!! We hadn't even pulled out of the parking lot yet, and this girl had passed out!! We are definitely going to be making this a regular outing.