Family on the beach

On the beach on LI.

Ella struts her stuff in the living room

Here's Ella rocking and rolling to some Keb Mo.

Bianca

With a tenth birthday on the horizon (March 24th), Bianca is doing quite well. Though she receives more love and affection than she'd care to at times, she indulges her biggest fan (Ella) and remains a wonderful family dog. She definitely has an attachment to her two charges, and places herself in between them whenever a vacuum or garbage disposal is turned on, which makes us wonder - is she protecting them or are they protecting her? Either way, we love our Beeky and hope to celebrate a few more birthdays with her...

Grandparents

Grandparents are "le top du top" as a friend of mine used to say... They add so much to Ella's and Liam's lives and we are so thankful for them. Here are some shots of Ella getting her first haircut (c/o Grandma) and another of Liam sleeping, while making a statement (c/o Deanne and David).

Let me take a moment here to thank my parents for committing a combined total of six weeks to taking care of us all this February. They were extremely helpful, patient and indulgent and the four of us will be forever grateful. We might not have survived without them!

Dancing, snoozing and GROWING!

These days, Ella does a lot of dancing - especially with her adorable new sock monkey (an excellent partner) - and Liam does his share of napping (in this shot he seems to have the weight of the world on his shoulders, or maybe he's just had enough of all of our antics). They are both growing a great deal every day. Ella has shot up three to four inches in the last few months and Liam is definitely adding ounces every day - you can really see it in his cheeks. It is fun to see her shooting up and him filling out!

Aunts and uncles

We were lucky enough to have a visit from Uncle David and Aunt Deanne this past weekend and look forward to seeing them again, along with Aunt Cassidy and the rest of the Morris crew this coming weekend for Grammie Sue's birthday. Soon afterwards, we'll be visited by Aunt Cynthia and Ella's much beloved cousins, Robert and Matthew, hailing from Alaska. Though our distance means that we don't have frequent visits from family, it means that we appreciate them all the more when they happen. Here are two shots taken with David and Deanne's camera.

Bonding bit by bit...

So Liam will be one month old on Monday and our first month has gone remarkably well. Ella is VERY into her little brother. She frequently asks to see Liam (only "Baby Boy" about a half of the time now) and then sweetly tells him "Hi Liam, it's your big sister!" With one week of Spring Break already behind us and one more ahead, we are sitting in the catbird seat - relaxed and ready for more family time. Here are some shots of Ella and Liam sharing some secrets and a few kisses.