The Top Button

For those of you that don't already know, we are expecting a baby in March! Yes, Ella will finally get to be a big sister. I have been cautious to not announce our good news too early, but people are beginning to talk. :) I am currently 17+ weeks and I have reached the point where I can no longer button/snap my pants . . . sigh . . . it's time to break out the elastic waist bands! We are all thrilled with having a new member in our family, and Ella is acting as if she knew it was coming all along. Today she was playing with her baby doll bottle and decided to feed "mommy's baby." She lifted up my shirt and fed my belly the bottle, I giggled to myself. I think I would have laughed a little harder, but it just so happened that she was doing all of this while we were sitting in a mandatory hospital-wide meeting. Oh, the fun begins!

The rest of the Summer

Now that Summer is officially over, I need to update everyone of a few of the remaining highlights from our families adventures this year.

Ella had her second year of swimming lessons, and she did great! She was in the toddlers class, so I wasn't in the water with her. The progress she made this year was amazing; her favorite thing to do by the end of the class was to swim under water. She is a fish after my own heart.

Ella loved to splash and play with her class.
My little swimmer waiting for her turn.
Ella's favorite life guard, Emily Wiest

We also loved being out doors this summer. We take walks every night, and love to explore new trails in the trees that surround our neighborhood. Landon took this picture one evening from our patio; this is truly God's country.

Our close friends, the Bjorkman's, moved to Minnesota at the end of the summer. We have many memories with them and look forward to visiting them!

Time to make some jam! When you live in an area where berries grow wild on the side of the road, you have to take advantage of them! We picked blueberries, blackberries and raspberries this summer. The jam will be delicious during the rainy months ahead.