Ellie Grace is "1" today!

I woke up this morning with an intense feeling of sadness. I had to hold back my tears! Time really does fly by....I cannot believe that my baby is already a year old! Where did that time go? Oh the things I feel like I have missed over the past year! It seems like just a few months ago I was still hot AND pregnant! Ellie Grace's first year was so different from Ashley's. I was able to spend quality time with Ash but with EG, well she had to share all of my time with her big sister! I wasn't able to savor her the same! My baby girl is almost a big girl! She has 3 teeth now, she cut her first 2 at 10 months and her third came August 1st. Poor baby's gums have been soo swollen! She has really been a trooper though...still sleeping through the night! We had a horrible storm this past Saturday night and our power was out for 6 hours. She slept through the whole thing, even when the transformer blew up! A couple of weeks ago I put her to bed around 8:30 and she did not wake up until 12:45 PM the next day! I think that was obviously right before that top tooth cut through! She is still speed crawling all over the place! She has toys in the family room where she plays and she loves being in the kitchen where she plays with her LeapFrog Fridge Phonics! If she isn't in the kitchen or family room then she has made her way down the hall to the playroom. It is so nice now because I can actually get some things done around the house. I always know where she's at and definately can hear her no matter what room she is in. She tries to talk up a storm. I was hoping she would be a little quieter than Ashley...but oh no, she and Ash will eventually be trying to talk over one another! What a crazy life we have to look forward to, I mean I realize they get it honest but I do enjoy being quiet sometimes! God blessed us with two little social butterflies!! She can say quite a few words now: Ashy, Mama, Dada, ByeBye, Hey, JenJen, Up, Nana, Papa, NoNo, UhOh, something like bottle. I am sure I am missing some. Again she literally babbles all the time, it is hard to keep up with her! She has been pulling up for a couple of weeks now. Yesterday, our friend, Jennifer (the girls call her Jen Jen) stood her up and let go and she stood there by herself for a few seconds! We cheered...we tried again but she caught on and decided she did not like feeling that vulnerable so she kept buckling her legs! Who can blame her...she has a lot to hold up! What a gorgeous Chunky Monkey though!! Her smile is absolutely amazing! She has the cutest little dimple on her right cheek and her eyes almost squint closed when she is really happy! Her laughter is the most beautiful sound! We plan on celebrating her birthday with family and friends on Sunday. I think actually celebrating her birth will make it more real for me and more than likely these tears I have been restraining all day will finally overcome me! Thank you Lord for blessing our lives with this little miracle to love!

Hello all~
A friend of mine told me awhile ago that I needed a blog. Well, I know a little about computers but nothing about blogging! She now has a blogspot and I have been reading it and checking it all out and decided "Hey, this isn't hard! I could do that!", so here I am! This is my first official blog! Ashley, who is 3 now, is such a big girl! It is so amazing to watch her with her little sister. I swear sometimes I think she thinks Ellie Grace is her baby! She loves on her so much that EG gets frustrated with her. Ashley will be going back to preschool in Sept and this year we have her enrolled for 3 days from 9-12 on Mon, Wed and Fri. Ellie Grace will be going to Mother's Morning Out on Mon and Wed mornings from 9-12. She will be 1 year old on August 6th. As one of the Little Einsteins would say, "I cannot believe it!" She is crawling all over the place and just recently started pulling herself up! Ashley walked at 11 months...I wouldn't count on EG walking until after her first birthday! She doesn't need to, Ashley gets her anything she could possibly want! She has 2 teeth on the bottom and is seriously trying to cut one of her top. She put everything in her mouth! I am not used to this because Ashley never did. I think when you have a second chold you automatically expect for them to be just like your first. I can tell you this is definately not the case! Ellie Grace has been totally a different child! Of course she is just as happy as Ashley was and I think is going to be just as talkative! Both are beautiful girls. We just had professional family photos taken on Saturday. You can check them out at http://www.hopejphotography.com/ . Go to client proofs, then Fowlkes Family! AJ is still selling cars. The market hasn't been too good lately but we will struggle through just like everyone else! He still has his weekly garage night with the fellas to give him a chance to get away from the bump and grind of the work week! I am an Independent Consultant with The Pampered Chef now! My personal website is www.pamperedchef.biz/cooking4fowlkes if any of you are interested in ordering or if you just want to keep up with the new products. I absolutely LOVE my job! I have so much fun and I get to meet new people and I am constantly getting to earn free stuff on top of my commission! My sales have increased every month so far March when I joined the company! I hope my business continues to grow and I continue to enjoy it! We definately could use the extra income! We have a very blessed life and I thank God for it everyday! Check back regularly to see what new things my babies are doing!