M.I.A

Yes....I have been missing in action for nearly a month now. This could be my longest stretch of blog-avoidance to date. Maybe....

But I am here tonight mostly because my nieces miss me. :) Auntie Jenn told me so this weekend. And how could I possibly leave my sweet girls in such a state?! LOL! Honestly, I am flattered to know that someone is still out there reading...or checking in. So, this update is for you, girls! I love you tons!

Though I haven't blogged for a lack of knowing what to write about, I guess quite a few things have been happening 'round here in the last month. Life still goes on and we are, like always, still busy. Its not that there is nothing to report from our neck of the woods, but it seems more like the things we do have to report really aren't that interesting to anyone else but us. LOL!

Anyhoooo.....

August has already come and gone. Ellie's 2nd birthday was great! We planned it to be very low key this year (we decided when Luke was tiny to leave the bigger birthday parties to an every-OTHER-year thing for both kids and this year happened to be both their 'mellow' years.) The actual day of her birthday was a Sunday this year and we did our normal Sunday thing...church and relaxing at home. We sang to her a zillion times that day though and made her feel as special as we could muster. After naps, she got to open a few gifts from us....a new baby stroller 'just like Mommy's' (though mine isn't hot pink! LOL!), a new baby that we affectionately named Belle and some pretty dress up things. She was in heaven. :)



And after dinner, we met Grandma and Grandpa for frozen yogurt as a special birthday treat! Isn't she so sweet!?



Is it just me, or does anyone else see how much Ellie resembles her Grandpa?! I just see so much of him in her little features!

A few days later, we had our family over to celebrate just a little bit more. Ellie LOVED all the attention and, to my surprise, really 'got' the concept that it was her special day. :)
Before everyone arrived...


Here are just a few pics of her enjoying the chocolate cake I made from scratch (which, by the way, wasn't all that great! Bummer!)



And my silly boy too!


Luke went back to school that following Tuesday (Aug. 25th) and officially started pre-K.


He still goes just two mornings a week from 9 to noon, like he did last year. We were so blessed to get the teacher we had hoped for AND to have 6 friends from his class last year with him again this year! They all get along so well (and the same goes for all of us Moms!), so there really was no 'adjusting' to the newness of school. He walked right in, saw his friends and was as happy as a lark! :) Luke was so excited to report that his new teacher even has a few classroom pets....2 rats named Max and Ruby and a fish tank full of fish! He LOVES going to school and I love watching him blossom into such a bright, happy, social little guy!

Over the long holiday weekend, we decided to take one last end-of-summer trip to the beach. With even Tess in tow, we headed down to Huntington's dog beach for the day and had a BLAST! Ellie was much more into the whole scene this trip than she was in July when we went. She let me carry her into the water all the way up to our waists and spent the majority of the day digging in the sand and searching for seashells with Luke. And Luke! That boy LOVES the ocean! Much like his mama when I was little, we could hardly peel him out of the waves! He played for HOURS! It was such a great day! Here are just a couple of shots....






And on the random side of things....we came home from the beach to find the lone tomato plant I planted this year missing all but a few scattered leaves. Upon closer inspection, we found Gordo...the Hungry Little (errr...BIG!) caterpillar and his brother feasting wildly on my precious plant! Seriously people...I have never seen a caterpillar THAT big in my life! He was enormous! So naturally, I had to take his picture! Luke thought he was incredible! He even braved holding him for a few moments. That is, until Gordo tried to roll over in Luke's hand, scaring the poor child and causing him to scream like a girl! LOL! Good times!


My poor tomatos!


Oh! And scanning through my pictures, I came across this cute shot of Luke I took after one of my photo shoots in August to coordinate with the one I have of Ellie from her birthday. I'm thinking they'll end up printed BIG in the playroom. :) Isn't he a cutie?!



So that pretty much wraps up the last month or so. The highlights anyway. I'm sure it won't be another month until I'm back again, but certainly don't hold your breathe either! 'Til then....