This weekend, Ella, Jack and I drove back to Iowa for Reid's birthday party while Liz took a long overdo trip to see her sister in Austin. A word to the wise, do not tell your child about a birthday party that they are going to a week early. That said, Ella did go to bed early on Thursday night so Friday would come quicker (she woke up yelling Reid's birthday party). Ella was nonstop all weekend playing with the plethora of toys at her disposal and any family member that had the energy to keep up. Jack was a huge fan of Beagles and a few of the new toys but he definitely had a little bit of anxiety issues. Jack was a big fan of Adam, Grandpa B. and Uncle Jeff which helped a lot. As shown in the last photo, Ella was sad to leave but was exhausted. She fell asleep immediately in the car. Overall, Jack and Ella were great in the car which made my life much easier.
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| Playing in the sandbox with Grandma V (Nee-ma) |
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| Teaching Jack to walk (he's getting close) |
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| Jack was a huge fan of Beagles. |
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| Ella and Aunt Jill hanging out |
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| Jack was also a fan of Adam. |
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| Playing with Cousin Reid |
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| "I see you".... |
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| "Hello"... |
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| "Come here"... |
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| "Gotcha"! |
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| Jack and Grandpa B after a much needed bath. |
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| Ella and Ava reading books. Ava is a great cousin. |
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| Jack found a new favorite toy (we brought it home with us!) |
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| Parade time. |
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| Pinata Time! |
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| No birthday party would incomplete without silly string. |
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| The birthday crew. |
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| Cake time! Below are the phases of Ella waiting for her cake. |
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| Ella found a seat early. |
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| "You look so good"... |
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| "If you don't hurry up Jill I am going to crawl across this table"... |
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| "Delicious"... |
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| Piece number 2! |
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| I should have stopped at 1. |
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| Kembry and Ella shopping. |
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| Paying for the groceries... |
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| ...and getting change. |
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| Ella and Grandpa B. playing with blocks. |
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| Careful.... |
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| And they fell |
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| More faces of Jack |
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| Uncle Jeff and Jack |
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| Jack and Great Aunt Annette |
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| Ella and Adam reading a book. |
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| Ella wanted to explore with her new "noculars" from Grandma V. |
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| Ella was a little curious about the corn. |
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| Ella was sad when we had to go home. |
