Camera malfunction

Our camera was malfunctioning for about a day. It is back up and running so were back to blogging..... We are still having so much fun. Erik and I went out together today while Elaina napped and my mom stayed home with Elaina. We talked about how sad it will be to leave tomorrow. I hate leaving - it's the worst part. But, life goes on... Pretty much our days have been filled with sleeping, getting up, eating, going to the beach, resting/eating, going to the pool, eating, and going back to sleep - with fun in between all of this. Yesterday, we took Elaina on a bike ride. We don't have pictures because our camera was screwed up. Hopefully, we'll get pics tomorrow now that our camera is fixed. Elaina did not love it yesterday but today she had a ball. So, we'll do it again tomorrow morning.

We pretty much have a water dog - Elaina LOVES the water. We are so impressed with how well she is adjusting to the water. She loves to blow bubbles and also jump in from the side. Here is a shot of her jumping in to her daddy.

Tuesday night the kids had smores for dessert. Elaina has never had them before and she LOVED them - what kid wouldn't. Here is some shots of her with her smore face and trying to give kisses to some people.

Kissing her daddy...

Elaina kissing her Granny with her "smore" face

Elaina with her Aunt Abby

Smore Face girl

Elaina with her cousin, Celia

More smore face.....

Elaina loved playing in the sand with her cousin, Celia. They are big buddies

Hannah Montana

Elaina's cousins, Sadie and Celia, are crazy into Hannah Montana. We had a b-day party for Celia and Blake's birthdays. Elaina got Celia a Hannah Montana costume kit. Celia and Sadie put on the garb and sang like they were Hannah Montana. We caught Celia singing and dancing in front of the mirror. Soon after Elaina thought she'd do the same thing (you know, monkey see-monkey do)... It was pretty cute. Here are some shots of that.

Celia singing in the mirror....

Celia... a.k.a Hannah Montana

Elaina mimicing Celia....What a crack up!!!

Just a sweet shot...

Sadie... a.k.a Hannah Montana

And the fun continues.....

It's Tuesday and while Elaina is down for her nap I thought I'd take another opportunity to update everyone on our trip. It's been so much fun. Elaina is warming up to the beach and loving it more and more each day. Yesterday, she starting walking in it thanks to the help of her Aunt Kate. That is nice because we don't have to worry about carrying her everywhere. Here is a shot of that...

Elaina with her cousins Sadie, Hannah, and her Aunt Kate

We have pretty much been enjoying the sunshine and family time. Lots of beach and pool visits. Elaina and her cousins are having a grand time. I am glad she is enjoying the beach and sand more. We have tents set up so we are able to stay out for a long time and keep the little ones in the shade some. Here are some more beach shots...

Playing in the sand under the tent with her cousin Celia

Standing in the sand..... YAH!!!

Her Aunt Kate took her out near the water and Elaina and all her cousins made a sand castle covered with shells. She loved this SO much.

She was so content making her sand castle that we didn't have the heart to move her because she'd had enought sunshine so her sweet daddy sat with her and covered her with this umbrella. That's love - so sweet!

During Elaina nap yesterday Erik and I went on a bike ride to what is called "The Cut" - the inlet between St. George Island and Little St. George Island that connects the Appalachacola Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. It was very fun. I did not bring my camera so no pics of that.

We made it...

We arrived yesterday to the house and we have internet acces. So, I thought I'd blog a bit while we are here. The trip was good, safe, and uneventful. Elaina traveled very very well. We arrived about 4:00pm yesterday afternoon. We hit the beach for the evening. Elaina was not too crazy about the sand. She didn't mind the water but she hated the sand. We're hoping that by the end of the week she will be used to it because she has already showed progress. Here are some shots of yesterday.

This is about all she would do yesterday. She'd sit on your lap and let the waves come up and get her wet. Not much touching of the sand.

Her first dip in the ocean. She liked this as long as you were holding her

Today was much better. She sat for a long time and played in the sand with her beach toys. She loved this. We had a tent so we were able to stay out there for a long time. She still won't walk in the sand but she will play in it. Progress.

After playing in the sand, she went and sat on the sand in the water. She loved this too.

After a 3-HOUR nap (can you believe that??), we went out to the pool. She was SO tired so we are thrilled she took a 3 hour nap. She needed it. She was in a fantastic mood after that and had a ball at the pool.

Here is shot of Erik throwing her up in the air. She loved it!Elaina swimming with her Aunt Kate

Stay tuned for more pics of the week.... see you soon!

Heading South

Tomorrow we are headed down South to the Beach. Elaina's first trip to the beach. We are excited and hope that Elaina will like the beach. She will either love it or hate it. We're hoping she loves it. Stay tuned for pictures and updates of our fun trip..... Please pray for a safe trip for all of us going.

Meanwhile, while I was downloading pictures off my camera, I found the following picture of Erik and Elaina playing with the camera. I thought it was cute so I just had to share. Sorry Erik :)

First Swim of 2009

This past Memorial Day was a fun relaxing weekend for the Stringfellows. Not much to report on other then Elaina went for her first swim of 2009 at her Aunt Nell's apartment. She had fun - the water was cold but she didn't seem to mind. You will notice, there are no pics of me in the water. Some how I suckered my sister, Nell, to brave the cold water with Elaina. She's such a good aunt!

Preparing for the moment - just a cute shot of her. I love her little bathing suit cover up:)

Elaina testing the water

She's warming up....now she is throwing stuff into the pool

One toe at a time....

Now for the full body dunk... sort of....

just a cute pic - I love her new bathing suit...

Elaina with her Aunt Nell - they are big buddies

I missed the Mother's Day Post!!!

I realized today that I did not post my Mother's Day pictures. On Mothers Day, we always go to my mom's and plant flowers in my mom's garden. This year Elaina got to partake in the action. She loves to take the shovel and dig in the dirt. It keeps her entertained for a long time. It's great. Here are some shots of the day...

Digging

Elaina with her aunt Nell - sporting her "cheese" face

Elaina with her granny

My sister, Kate, with her children - Alexandra and Quentin

More digging...

Elaina decided it would be helpful to pick up the bucket and take it across the yard When we were all done, she picked up the dirty gloves and put them on. I guess she wanted to do what everyone else was doing....

Here she is putting her hands down in the dirt with her gloves on. She is mimicking what everyone else was doing. That is so cute to me.

Cheese!!

So I posted the video of Elaina saying "Go Irish" in the garage last week. Spending time in the garage last Saturday was fun for Elaina. She enjoyed helping her daddy change the oil in my car. We got a lot of fun footage of her playing around and being goofy. Here is my favorite scene from the day..... This cracked me up. She is such a ham. Whenever the camera is on and pointed to her she says "CHEESE!"

Here is Elaina taking out all of Erik's sockets. She loves to do this. Erik, aka"Mr. Organization", does not love it so much :)

Let the brainwashing begin

I have nothing to say about this....

girls will be girls.....

This past weekend while we were in the other room, Elaina got her baby doll that she got for Christmas out. She hasn't really played with it too much since she got it. Anyway, she got out a diaper too and attempted to put it on the baby. Then she pretended to feed it, and hold it. I realize that this is not abnormal for a little girl to do but we have never really shown her how to do this. It just come natural to little girls, I guess. And, it's just so darn cute to watch. We spent a lot of time helping her diaper the baby and then she would take it off. It was a continuous process.. Here are some shots of her taking care of her baby doll. I think it's just too cute....

Diapering the baby doll

Feeding the baby doll

"Shhhhh" the baby doll to sleep
Talking to baby doll