Best Friends

Ellie & Madelyn have been friends from the start! Madelyn's mommy, Marianne & I met at the resident picnic when we first moved to Johnson City. She was very pregnant with Maddie & I didn't even know I was pregnant with Ellie!! We became friends & now our daughters are friends! The girls daddies are both surgery residents here at ETSU. They are friends as well as co-workers, so that makes it really easy to get together often! Doug & Chad have very busy schedules. Neither of us have family here, so the McDonald's, among others, are our 'resident family'.
Marianne & I plan play/lunch dates weekly! We enjoy getting together as much or more than the girls do ;) I am happy to have met such wonderful friends here. Here are a few pictures of Ellie & Maddie over the year...

Summer time play day @ Maddie's house. We went outside & played in the baby pool ... which didn't last long :)

Maddie come over one day while her mommy had a hair appointment. It must have been in September, after she turned 1!

Happy Halloween (Marianne is on the left;)) Maddie was a lady bug & Ellie was a nurse

Here the girls are before Christmas~ they are both paci girls but this shot for some reason they are chewing on their fingers ... must have been snack time! They have a lot in common, & loving to eat is one of them!

Happy New Year & Congratulations to Maddie ~ she is going to be a BIG sister. Doug & Marianne were @ their ultra sound appointment to find out the sex of the baby ... It's a BOY!!!

The girls LOVE babies~here they had one anothers baby~so cute they are sharing!

We feel so blessed to have the McDonald's in our lives! They will definitley be 'forever friends'. It has been & will be fun watching the girls grow up together & we look forward to having an addition to the group. Since Ellie was born in March, all the resident babies born have been BOYS (this baby will make 6) ~ Ellie has lots of good choices :)

Cheers to friends & good memories~

Ellie Marie 2010 Slideshow

Ellie Marie 2010 Slideshow: "TripAdvisor™ TripWow ★ Ellie Marie 2010 Slideshow ★ to Johnson City, Myrtle Beach and Nashville by Lynne Moss. Stunning free travel slideshows on TripAdvisor"

Christmas

Well, I sure hope you all had a very Merry Christmas! We sure did!! It was such a joy to celebrate with our sweet girl~last Christmas when I was pregnant, it was hard to imagine how this year would be. But, it was wonderful & I am sure the upcoming years will be even more fun!
Chad was on-call Christmas day, so we had our little family Christmas on Christmas Eve~I cooked dinner & we opened gifts. Ellie wasn't so sure about opening, but she LOVED her baby doll from Santa which was sitting in a little umbrella stroller :) As for the rest, she couldn't have cared less!

Here is Miss Ellie before church on Christmas morning

Lovin' her baby~she kisses her all the time

I just love this outfit~

Helping mommy make Christmas cookies for Santa

Merry Christmas~in her cute little jammies

We went to Nashville the day after Christmas & spent the week there with family & friends. It was a busy, but as always fun, week. Ellie got lots of very nice gifts from her aunts, grandparents, cousins & friends! She got some clothes, dvds, toys & my fav. a PB anywhere chair which she LOVES!

We rang in the new year with family & friends! It is hard to believe that 2011 is here & my girl is going to be turning 1!! CRAZY how time flies! (I am starting to plan her birthday party :) We have an exciting spring coming~ March is birthday month & May is wedding/baby month! no, no, no ... not me!! My sister, Marie is having a baby boy in May! We are so excited:) & Chad's sister is getting married on the beach! So it will be party party party/shower shower shower!

HAPPY NEW YEAR ~

9 months & Visiting Santa

Ellie is 9 months old~ already!!
We went to the dr last week ~ Dr. Farmer said that she could not find a thing wrong with her! She says she is ahead of schedule & doing just great! We really like her & the LC @ the office, Gloria! No shots this time :) I think @ her 1 year visit she will get several :( But here is our happy girl in her new shirt from 'Blazin Stitches' before the appointment. oh, & aunt ellen came to visit us this day, too!! She finished her first semester of college:) yay!

@ the Dr. : 20 pounds 2 ounces & 29 1/4 inches
We went to visit Santa @ the Carnegie Hotel this Sunday! She was not a fan as you can see. She checked him out for a minute from afar, but as soon as i sat her on his lap she started crying:( Maybe next year we can get a better picture...

"oh no get me off of this scary thing!!!"

all better with mom&dad...

(love her dress from Kelly's Kids!!)

merry christmas to everyone~have a blessed holiday season!

VACATION

black friday shopping

christmas card attempt @28

happy turkey day

date with the Cantrell's

The Peabody Ducks

The week of Thanksgiving was Chad's week of vacation! We are home now needing a vacation from vacation... needless to say, we were BUSY!!!
Ellie & I left on Friday morning to go watch Marie & the lady govs play in the OVC volleyball tournament in Morehead, Kentucky. It was a long drive, but we made it & they won the tourney~ YAY, NCAA tournament here they come!! Congratulations to Marie & the govs! We got in to Nashville late on Saturday night. Chad drove his own car in to town & he met up with us on Sunday!

We watched the Titans game with my in-laws, then went to visit his aunts before meeting Cara & Ann @ Outback for dinner! It was so good catching up with Cara before she had her tonsils talken out the next morning. Monday, we met my cousins wife, Olivia @ Centennial Park for family pictures. It was a BEAUTIFUL day & she got some great shots! So, if you are looking for an affordable photographer in the Nashville area ~ OI photography! We met my dad for lunch before driving to Memphis! I decided that since we weren't able to visit Ken in Florida this week that I at least wanted to drive to Memphis for the day & see some friends ... so we did! We met Emily & her family for dinner in Cordova then headed downtown to our hotel. Chad went back out to visit with Aron, a med school buddy, while me & Ellie went to bed. Tuesday morning we went out for breakfast & then went to the Peabody to see the Christmas decor & the DUCKS! I felt like since we don't live there anymore, we could be like tourists ;) hehe~ Amanda met us for lunch in Germantown & I finally got to meet Preston! He is such a precious baby & Miss Kate was such a good girl! Her & Ellie were checking each other out ~ they were so cute in their turkey shirts! Amanda took me on a tour of the new Methodist Germantown women's&childrens hospital ~ very nice!! Then we said our goodbye's & drove back east. I miss my MEmphis friends so much!! We did stop in Jackson to visit Rachel Morris & her fam in their nice, new, BIG house!! Once we got back to Nashville, it was time for Thanksgiving dinner @ Ann's house with friends! MUCH FUN!

Wednesday we just had a lazy day before dinner with the Sutton's ~ all the girls played while we ate chili & caught up! Thursday was THANKSGIVING!! We sure do have a lot to be thankful for this year ~ Our little Ellie is such a blessing! I give thanks to God everyday for her & the presence she is in all our lives! She is such a sweet baby & we love her so much!! She is crawling all over the place & pulling up on any/everything! She can wave byebye, give kisses & say mamama. Before we left last week, her top two teeth came through ... she is growing up too fast!

But, back to Thanksgiving ... we ate lunch @ The Moss' & dinner @ The Mullins'. We had a good day & we were SO stuffed!

Friday ~ Black Friday, was of course our shopping day & Ellie's first one!! We didn't get out @ 4am or anything, but we did make an afternoon of it! Marie had to go back to APSU, so it was me, ellie, mom, ann, ellen, & maggie! We ate lunch at one of my favs... J Alexander's, yummmy!

Saturday was dinner with my mom's side & Sunday Chad had to come back home :( but since we had two cars, I stayed over an extra couple days. We found out Sunday afternoon that not only Marie's team would be in the NCAA tournament but Ellen's team would be as well. The UT Lady Vols got an 11 seed overall~AWESONE!! They won;t have to play each other thank goodness!! GOOD LUCK to both of you!!

Chad was on call his first day back, so me & Ellie stayed in Nashville & went to the Baptist Christmas Ornamental Party! It was so nice to see some old work friends! We drove back Tuesday morning & I feel like I am still recovering. Ellie had a pretty rough week because she did not sleep very well in the pack 'n play. Most nights she ended up in bed with us. When we are in Nashville next time (the week after Christmas) we will do one thing different ... not change sleeping locations every night!! It was just too hard going back & forth every night. Next time we are staying put a little more often!

Happy Christmas Season to you all~

1st SNOW

We have already had our first snow of the season!! Knowing me, I could not hardly wait for CHad to get home that Saturday morning so we could take Ellie out in the snow for the first time & take pictures of course!! I was so glad that I had bought Ellie a hat & mitten just last week ~
Oh & while I am posting ... our girl is crawling on her hands & knees now!! Watch out, her she comes!! She is fast & all over the place & she pulls herself up to standing all day but is so careful not to hurt herslef on the way back down! So, sweet :) Love this girl so much ~

almost ready to go out in the snow

Christmas card attempt #3~you will have to wait on the finished product

Daddy & Ellie in the snow

She loved her mittens & could not keep them out of her mouth!

So, it is winter now I guess .... & it has stayed pretty chili until this week & the temps are back up in the high 60's !!! No wonder everyone is sick!! Lovely Tennessee weather! Have a wonderful day!

HALLOWEEN

WOW~ October is already over & November is here!
We had such a busy month & I tried to keep you all posted on our activities. We had a fun Halloween ~ very busy but fun!
Last Wednesday, Ellie & I drove to Knoxville for a volleyball game. We met my mom for an early dinner & then cheered the lady vols on to a VICTORY! YAY!! Ellen is doing great! Mom drove to JC and spent the Thursday & Friday with us! She watched Ellie Thursday night & let Chad & I have date night! We went to Carrabba's & enjoyed our time together. Chad has had a pretty good month @ the VA, but today he moves back to the Med Center on a Trauma rotation... no more home call :( .
Well Friday, we went over to a friends for dinner after mom left for Knoxville. Marie had a match that dad went to & Ann's high school team got 3rd in the State! YAY SISTERS!!!
Then Saturday we went non stop til bed time Sunday! We were busy, but we did it all & had a great time as a family! We ran errands, went to the ETSU volleyball match, went to the Mobley's Halloween party, then came home to trick or treat! Sunday we drove to Knoxville, had lunch with the Travis' & Coy's before the Georgia match, we won, then came home to head over to the Champney's for their Ellie's 3rd birthday/ Halloween party! WHEW~ I told you we were busy! But hey~it is how we do it, I am so thankful Ellie is a good girl & goes with the flow!
Here are some of her weekend pics~

Before Trick or Treating Saturday night

Her scrubs say "Nurse in Training"

Daddy was so proud that she had her own scrub cap!

Sunday in Knoxville @ Calhoun's with Rah-Rah
wearing her other pair of scrubs with Ellie embroidered, her crocs & med bag!



Baby's 1st BOO!

Our little nurse (with her 2 teeth)!!

Hope everyone had a fun & safe Halloween! Hard to believe it is already November, with Thanksgiving on the way & time to start Christmas shopping!! We are planning to take family pictures soon :)