Ella's 1st Lollipop

(Our Little Blue Eyes... Who melts her Father's heart)

This past Sunday, Ella had a treat like no other...... a lollipop! I know this might sound crazy but Chrissy and I have tried to avoid sweets with Ella. (She seems to be doing fine with her caloric intake. :) We are not sure how it really happened but we were at a function where lollipops were laying on the table. The next thing we know... Ella has made it one step closer to heaven as she is enjoying her new found treat. Words cannot express the joy that we have in daily watching our little Ella grow....especially in personality. Each morning I can't wait to retrieve my little bundle of joy from here bed.

Chrissy and I feel so blessed by God.


(A true picture of enjoyment)

Ella's Nest

Well... it has been 12 months and I can finally say that Ella's room has a mural installed. One of our major sad points of leaving ATL was the loss of Ella's nursery. We loved her nursery in ATL! So, we move to Birmingham.. and I have all intentions of doing a mural for Ella right away. As one should guess... that doesn't happen. We find a new surprise on the way... Hudson! Hudson gave me yet another new project.. his nursery... which pushes Ella's room to the end of the list. Now.... I can actually say that Ella's room is complete! Ella loves birds. We found some awesome bird bedding from Potterybarn Kids. For inspiration I took the birds from the bedding and drew them in various forms on the walls. One of the major restrictions in doing the room was the collage of pictures that were hanging over Ella's bed. I decided to create a tree for the pictures to hang upon. I then took some of the bird forms and drew them in a way that looked as if the birds were delivering the pictures to the tree. So, there are birds flying around the room with pictures waiting to be delivered. Needless to say.. Ella loves the room. She now has her own little "nest".

Ella's pet bird.
Part of the bedding that was used for inspiration
One of the birds that are delivering the pictures

Early Mornings in the Park

One of the new things that I have been trying to do is to give Chrissy a little "get-ready" time in the mornings. Once I leave the house in the mornings Chrissy does not get a break until I return home. To alleviate the morning hustle, I have been taking Ella to the park for a 45 minute play date. As one should guess, we are the only people @ the park that early in the morning. When I say early I am meaning 7:30-7:45. Ella seems to enjoy this one on one time. We spend most of our time in the swings... which have become her favorite activity @ the park.
I almost didn't put this on here.....simply b/c of the cheesy smile... but it gives you a good idea of what our time is like.

4th of July

Homewood Part 1- " The Cheesemans"

Chrissy and I decided to invite our neighbors, The Cheesemans, to the 4th of July event with us. The Cheesemans are a family that live 6 doors down from us. They moved here from Wisconsin. Wayne and Lisa have a boy and girl who are twins. Chrissy and Lisa take the kids various places during the day. Wayne and I ride bikes @ night. We have grown close to this family. We realize that God has placed them in our lives.

Ella, Brandon and Ava eating dinner at the festival

Homewood Part 2- "The Pony Ride"

Ella had her first pony ride @ the Homewood 4th of July celebration. Ella was a little hesitate at first... then decided to give the pony a try. Her ride was true Kodak moment....especially when Ella smelled the horse's dung and began to grab her nose. She followed by saying "Stinky poopoo".


"Stinky poopoo"

Homewood Part 3- "The Friends"

Ella has a special friend named Camryn. Camryn enjoys playing with Ella.
Ella's surprise visit with a local dog.

Chase, Julie and Hudson

We love our awesome friend Julie. She helped us in taking care of Hudson during the festivities

It was getting late and Ella was starting to get tired. Camryn helped us in reading Ella a book.

Ella's First Fireworks Experience

(A little scared...wondering what is going on.)

Chrissy and I decided to leave early during the Homewood 4th of July festival. It was 8:45 and we knew that the fireworks would begin in 15 minutes. Ella was tired, ready to get in bed. We changed both of the kids before jetting back home. On the drive home Ella saw fireworks going off all around us. She couldn't stop saying "Cracker... Cracker". Upon our arrival to Trussville we say the city fireworks display going on. We stopped in the CVS parking lot so that Ella could see the fireworks. These photos give you a small glimpse of Ella's transition of facial expressions.

(Happy to see all of the colors)

(Excited!)

Milk does a body good....

Milk is obviously working for Hudson. Our boy is growing. Chrissy and I can't believe how big he has become. He is only 3 months old .... and is looking like a 6 month old!

Hudson & The Jumperoo

Hudson has a new friend....the "jumperoo". Ella loved the jumperoo as a baby. We decided a few days ago to try Hudson in this energy zapping contraction.

Hudson, like Ella, has discovered a new friend.

(FYI... the only issue that we have with the jumperoo is Ella trying to crawl in it!)

Sunday Mornings

Sunday mornings around the Skelton home can be very interesting. Some Sundays can be perfect, while others can be a complete disaster. On this Sunday morning, I think our pictures speak a 1000 words. Chrissy decided to have a little photo shoot before church. As you can see Ella did not like the idea.

(Poor Hudson.... he is learning to deal with Ella's screams! )

Hudson found a smile even in mist of the emotional event with Ella.

Ella finally gives us a somewhat normal photo.

For this Sunday morning....this is about as good as it gets.