Elliott's Barney Birthday Party

My baby girl turned 2 last week, and Saturday we had a Barney birthday party to celebrate. Here are a few pictures from our get together.

I was trying to get Elliott to model the dress I had made for her, but she was way more interested in opening her "pwesents".

Elliott's Aunt Allison embroidered the "I'm 2" on the front and I thought it turned out really cute.

And, of course, she was wearing her very favorite hot pink cowboy boots.

She appears to be really intently reading this card, but if you look closely, you'll see that it's upside down.

I think she was having a good time...
My parents snuck into town late Thursday night (after I was in bed!) and surprised us (well, not Sean). It was great having them here for Elliott's birthday party. Friday night my mom and I stayed up late making tutus for Elliott, and it was so much fun! Of course we made her an orange and blue one, and also a pink and purple one.

She LOVED them!

She also loved playing "Ring Around the Rosie" with her Mamaw,
cousin Alexis and her BFF Emma .

I won't even begin to tell you how long it took me to make this cake. There was a near melt down involved (I had made the Barney separately and frozen him - and he cracked into several pieces as I tried to put him on the cake about two hours pre-party), but it was all worth it when I showed it to Elliott. She was so excited and said "It BARNEY, Mommy!!!"

This is the look I get from Elliott when I tell her to smile. She's already got the fake "cheese" smile. Ugh.

The big girl blew out her candles all by herself.

The cake and icing were completely milk-free. As you can guess, Elliott doesn't eat a lot of chocolate since she can't have milk, but she was seriously digging this chocolate cake. She went after it with 2 forks at once.

After presents and cake, Elliott decided it was time to play with some of her new treasures. She put on her tutu and new "high heel" shoes and made Adrienne take her to find Emma, who had been playing with some of the other kids.

Emma put on one of Elliott's tutus, and they both put on the dress up hats Emma had gotten for Elliott. They always have so much fun playing in tutus together (it's their absolute favorite thing to do). Aren't they so sweet? They really do love each other!

They had a ton of fun jumping up and down in Elliott's bed, too.

Elliott really knows how to party - this is what birthday party hangover looks like on a 2-year-old.

Even when she's a mess I think she's adorable. Happy 2nd birthday, E!

Elliott's 2nd Birthday!

Today my sweet baby Elliott turned 2 years old. Here are a few pictures of her I took today.

Maybe it's just because I've only mothered boys before her, but I really do think she's about the prissiest little girl I've ever known. Right now she LOVES tutus. Her Mamaw bought her this leotard with an attached tutu, and she wants to wear it pretty much every single day. She even napped in it today!

She's also really into her hot pink cowboy boots. These belonged to her best friend Emma, and she was kind enough to pass them on to Elliott after she outgrew them. (In truth, Elliott put them on while we were at Emma's house one day, and she was instantly in love. I'm not sure Emma could've pried them off of her with a crow bar.)

I love this picture of my baby's baby blues. Her eyes are one of my favorite features.

At her birthday dinner, her papaw had a special birthday wish for her.

It's hard to believe that THIS tiny little thing is now 2! At the risk of sounding like a total cliche, I really don't know where the time has gone...

Kellen's Birthday/Valentine's Day

As most of you already know, Kellen, my little sweetheart, is a Valentine baby. He turned 12 this February 14th, and we celebrated with family by going to his favorite restaurant - P.F. Chang's - after church.

We always get the best treatment at P.F. Chang's, and thanks to a good friend, we got some complimentary appetizers and desserts! The Great Wall of Chocolate is Kellen's favorite...

As we were leaving P.F. Chang's, Elliott's Valentine, her sweet cousin Nolen, picked a flower and gave it to her. How cute is that?

That's not all he had for her - he also gave her a BIG hug and a kiss.

Kellen got another snowglobe for his birthday to add to his collection. This time it was the brand new Toy Story snowglobe:

Kellen finished off his day by having cupcakes with the middle school youth group at church, pizza for dinner (his choice), and a Reese's Cup ice cream cake from Marble Slab. And he hasn't even had his "party" yet! Happy birthday, Kellen!!

what a month...

I said I'd be better about blogging, and yet it's been a month since the last time I updated you on the happenings of the Little Giffords. I promise I have a good excuse. Actually, I have a bunch of them.

We're all busy. Everyone I know is in perpetual motion - running in different directions all the time. We're no different - between 3 kids, social obligations, sports, our care group and working with our church's youth group, we stay busy any given month. February gives us the added joys (and I really do mean joys) of celebrating Kellen's 12th birthday (on the 14th) and Elliott's 2nd birthday (on the 25th). February also finds me chairing the Knox County High School Mock Trial competition on two Saturdays of the month, which involves approximately 100 students, 40 volunteers, and more than a couple.... ummmm.... very supportive parents. And it's also the shortest month of the year. So February is always jam-packed.

All of that would be enough to make me happy to see March come along, but on top of all that, everyone in my house (well, except me, come to think of it) has been SICK this month. And I don't mean we've had a little bug of some type. We've had 7 trips to the doctor in the last 3 weeks (yes seriously). A list of our ailments? Elliott had the mother of all throw up bugs. Then Wyatt and Kellen got it, and finally Sean. As we were on the mend, Elliott developed a severe respiratory infection and a strange all-over rash. Kellen got a nasty sinus infection. After a week of antibiotics and improvement, Kellen had some major asthma/breathing complications. Then it was Wyatt's turn for a sinus infection. Elliott was well for a week and then got yet another, different respiratory infection, and the first ear infection she's had in many many months (since we discovered her milk issues). Apparently Kellen and Elliott thought we hadn't had enough fun yet, because they each decided to give the throw up bug another go-round. This month we've had zofran, azithromyacin, amoxicillan (times 2), cortizone skin treatments, albuterol breathing treatments (times 2), orapred tablets, prednisone liquid, xoponex inhalers, and ciprodex ear drops. Our pharmacist loooooooves us.

I thought one of the advantages of homeschooling was being able to avoid the little petree dishes called "classmates" who carry so many germs?!?

Anyway - lest it sounds like I'm full of complaints, I should say that the plus side is this: every day my kids are healthy, I give thanks. And as I type, Kellen, Wyatt and Elliott are dancing in a conga-line through the living room - fully recovered and happy. The sound of their giggles is just about enough to make me forget what a rough month it's been... Almost.

Christmas Eve

Here are a few pictures from Christmas Eve at Sean's mom and dad's house.

Wyatt got a bow - which he was VERY excited about.

He was also really excited about his Polamalu jersey and Steelers hat (please don't ask me how he became a Steelers fan. I have no idea).

Kellen, Wyatt and Gavin got a pellet gun to keep at Mamaw and Papaw's house.

While Elliott got some great toys, she seemed especially interested in Uncle Eric's hunting hat...

...and hanging with her cousin Nolen.

Kellen got 2 new slowglobes for his collection - a Phantom of the Opera snow globe from Uncle Eric and Aunt Ali, and this one - "Mickey through the Years" - from Mamaw and Papaw.

We wouldn't let him take it out of the box with is siblings and cousins running around, but here's what it looks like:
Instant classic - of all his snowglobes, he says this one is now one of his favorites!

Thanksgiving

Ok, so I lied. I said I wouldn't go back and reblog the last six months, but I've decided to do separate posts from a few specific events, in no particular order. I'm starting with Thanksgiving.

My mother-in-law was out of town for Thanksgiving this year, so we had Thanksgiving dinner at our house.
After a little drama involving the fried turkey, we had a great day with great food and lots of Giffords: Sean's brother Eric and Allison and their boys Gavin and Nolen, my father-in-law, John, grandmother-in-law Irene ("Mamaw Camper"), and cousins-in-law (is that a word?) Brad, Lindsey and their girls Alexis and Alyssa.

It wouldn't be a holiday if we didn't do something crafty, so we made Turkey cupcakes.
Kellen seems super excited about it, don't you think?
At least his cousin Gavin was stoked about his cupcake - it was totally milk-free so he could actually eat it!
Elliott, of course, could care less about the cupcakes; all she wanted was her "Bop Baw" (which is what she's named her Papaw John).
After our company left around 7, we made a first-ever Thanksgiving Day shopping trip. Because Sean and I were leaving for Europe on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, we had to squeeze in some Christmas shopping when we could, including Thanksgiving Day. And, of course, Kellen and I got up with the chickens - make that before the chickens - on Black Friday for our annual shopping trip. Here's a picture of Kellen with the clock as we were about to head out the door (yes, it says 4:49).
We didn't buy much (we never do), but we had a great time people watching!

New year, new start

I decided that it's time for me to hijack the blog back from the kids who, while completely adorable (in my totally biased opinion), are NOT the world's best bloggers. I mean really - they haven't updated since July?!? Really??*

I've never been one to make resolutions this time of year, but if I were the resolving type, I guess I'd say my resolution is to do a better job of keeping the blog updated. I started this blog 2 and 1/2 years ago - way before blogging was even cool - as a means of keeping family and friends who don't live near us up to date on the goings on of the Gifford gang. Shockingly, the Gifford gang hasn't slowed down any in the last 2 and 1/2 years, and since no slowing appears to be on the horizon, the need for me to pass along our stories via blog is as great now as ever. So, here goes. Again.

I'm not going to attempt to go back and fill in the last 6 months with separate posts, as though I'd been blogging all along, so instead I'll skip to the good parts (at least what the far-off family members consider the good parts) - the pictures. Without further adieu, half a year of Giffords in pictures:

Fun in the Sun: Kellen and Wyatt hanging out at the Gifford Family Reunion, 4th of July, with their cousin Gavin in the middle.

Elliott at the Gifford Family Reunion
Labor Day beach trip - Blue Mountain Beach, FL

How Kellen spent most of his beach time...

Wyatt and his wake surfer (which is how HE spent most of his week at the beach)
Elliott at the resort pool.
In September, we were supposed to go to Gainesville for the Florida/UT game, but illness kept us home. Here's our swine flu tailgate.
Elliott says, "Go Gators!!"
For Halloween, we had a kitty cat (Elliott), Special Forces Agent (Wyatt), and glow-in-the-dark stick man (Kellen). And lots and lots of rain.
We made the trip to Gainesville for the Vanderbilt game, and this time no illness stopped us. It was our last time to see Tebow play in the Swamp.
Elliott was just about to run out of patience - "So WHEN do I get to meet Tebow already?!?"
Meanwhile, her brothers got to meet Urban Meyer. Their parents were at the back of a thick crowd and didn't get any pictures of them hugging him/shaking his hand, but Kellen snapped this picture with the "little" camera just before they got to meet him.
The Florida/South Carolina game in Columbia, SC.
Elliott - just being Elliott one Sunday before church.
Kellen and Wyatt went snowboarding with daddy.
Christmas Eve at Sean's parents' - sporting our mommy-made matching pajama bottoms.
Christmas morning at home...
Post-Christmas/Pre-New Years festivities at my parents - which consisted of a WHOLE lot of Beatles Rock Band. Far left is my dad, next to me in USM Golden Eagle-Yellow is my brother, Jon, rocking the drums is my brother Robert, and of course Sean's on lead guitar. (Yes, we're wearing our Christmas PJs again. Poor Sean.)

So that's it - six months in 60 seconds or less. Here's to hoping my next post will be before July...

*Please don't tell me you ACTUALLY thought my kids are tech savvy enough to have been the ones blogging all along. If nothing else, surely the posts by a one-year-old Elliott would have given that away?