Fun up in Michigan

Hello! I just wanted to post a couple more fun photos taken during our 3 weeks together up in Michigan. Their are some really cute ones of Jonah & Ella. 

Briefly, Jonah is over in Afghanistan; I'm not going to go into detail on his whereabouts, but I'll keep you updated as much as possible. Also, If you're interested in sending him packages please email me & I'll give you an address. I should have the address within the week. I know that he'll need food that is ready made because it's likely that he's not going to have electricity. Books, snacks, photos, & letters would be wonderful, and the more packages sent, the better. It's going to be another long approx. 7 months for the 3 of us not being together. Please keep Jonah & his team in your daily prayers.

Enjoy the photos & thanks for keeping us in your thoughts!! Lots of love!!

Ladybugs!

Here's the pictures from Ella's little birthday party taken last Saturday. We had a lot of fun & it was a great celebration. I'll be posting up more photos throughout the next couple of weeks from our 3 weeks spent together up in Michigan as a family. We've some cute ones taken at Jonah's grandparents house while spending a weekend with them & having lots of fun in their pool.

Right now Jonah is back safe in So Cal. He is to be deployed soon; please keep him & our family in your thoughts and prayers; especially for safety over Jonah. I'll continue to keep you all updated. Thanks for all your love & support. ~E, J, & I

This Monday I start week

Ella's 1st Birthday!

Today was a blast! Ella started off as chipper as ever. She had so much fun opening her presents. We started off this morning with one & she opened 3 more throughout the day. Her birthday cupcake was a big hit. We had to stop her during the enjoyment of it because we didn't want her to get a belly ache. It's hard to believe that she is one year old already. The year has flown by. Anyways, this is going to be short b/c I want to go spend time with my hubby. We've one more week together until he has to head back to So Cal. We're not looking forward to being away from each other for so long. Please keep him in your prayers for safety so our little family can be home together again in the spring. Thanks for all the love and support. ~E

Moving...ick

I'd have to say that moving would be high on the list of things that Jonah & I dislike doing, however, it has to be done. We'll be excited when it's Thursday & it will all be over with & we'll be on our way up to Michigan to spend a good 3 weeks together as a family. We're going to try and not be as eventful as last time & relax some. We're excited about visiting with family & friends though, however, we're pretty bummed that it didn't work out for us to stop in Tennessee on the way. The cost of travel is just way too much on our wallets right now. 

As of the moment, we're busy boxing up our stuff & doing lots of last minute preparations before we head up north. Ella & I will be staying in Michigan the full 7 months that Jonah will be deployed. For the time being, all of our belongings are going to be in storage until Jonah gets home in the spring. Then in the spring we'll move everything into a new place (hopefully on base). We figure we'll be able to save money this way & it will be nice for Ella & I to be close to family again. 

Tomorrow is Jonah's 24th birthday! We're starting the celebration today with a little cookout on the beach with some friends & their families. Seeing that our kitchen is all boxed up at the moment, we're doing whatever is easiest in the way of cooking/entertaining. Yesterday I picked up some yummy cupcakes for a get together. They've yellow icing with batman rings on the top. I figured they were appropriate seeing that Jonah & I are going to go see the new batman movie together tomorrow night as his big birthday present. We're pretty excited b/c our friends Bob & Dana are going to watch Ella for us so that we can have a date night. FUN!!

Here's a little Ella update: she walks everywhere now. She has the occasional fall, but it never seems to mind her at all. She has 7 teeth that are working their way in. Yesterday she had crackers for the first time & thinks they are delicious. She's pretty much done with purred foods & seems to be mainly interested in whatever we're eating. Once we get up to Michigan, we're going to get her started on whole milk, so that should be rather interesting. She takes 2 naps a day & goes to bed around 7PM each night. She knows how to wave, clap, & give a high five. She's pretty super cute & so much fun. She's discovered that she can squeal really loud though & thinks it's funny (also realizes she can get our attention along with everyone else this way); it's cute when we're at home, but in the car or at a restaurant isn't so cute. LOL. Ella is turning one year old on August 7th! 

Above are some older photos taken around 4th of July weekend. Jonah & his friend Bob did color guard that Sunday & got to wear their dress blues. Handsome!

Summer Fun!

Ella is walking! She started taking a couple steps about 2 weeks ago & now is all over the place with it. She falls frequently, but luckily she's close enough to the ground that majority of the time she's OK. She's so much fun. Today we went down & played some soccer & let her get out of the stroller & walk around on the grass for a little bit. She enjoyed herself & we had fun teaching her how to kick a ball. We also have been going to the beach a lot lately & bought Ella a little swimming pool to kick around in. I hope you enjoy the pictures & that the video works out for you. I haven't figured out how to down size them yet; I'm going to play around with it more this week. Hopefully I'll get a good one up and going for you all to enjoy! Also today we started dumpster diving for packing boxes. We're getting a little head start so that things aren't too crazy. We're looking forward to a long 4th of July weekend together. Lots of love! ~J,E, & I