The Girls' [First] First Birthday Party!

The girls' very first birthday is only a couple of weeks away...since we were in Indiana for (Aunt) Natalie's baby shower, we decided to have a Richards bday celebration for the girls over the weekend as well....

Ella & Nora in their new dressesNora in a sink bath, happily
Ella was not as sure
On a blanket outside,
Opening presents
Taste-testing the presents
Here comes the cupcakes and singing!
Their first taste
Ella wears the whip cream
and takes a bite
Nora enjoys hers
leftovers
Aunt Mia and Nora, in her new swimsuit
Ella was not very enthusiastic at first
Nora, in their new baby pool
Ella learned to enjoy herself
Keeping an eye out for pirates...
SOOOOO cute!
After the pool: Aunt Mia holding Nora, Aunt Natalie "holding" baby Lincoln, Grandma Richards holding Ella...
Nana holds her great-granddaughters

Natalie's Baby Shower

Sis Natalie had her (first) baby shower this weekend at our parents' house in Kendallville, IN. And we also found out she will be induced on July 27th. We will meet little baby Lincoln soon!

watermelon baby carriage
Diaper cake
Cake and cupcakes
the feast


Mia, Natalie, Me

Little Li'l Miss Talker

Well, Ella is generally Miss Quiet. When she wants someone's attention she can be very loud, but it is Nora who is always who is talking to herself, her toys, the tv, and her sister. Nora is the Great Imitator so we are often trying to get her to repeat words, such as "ball" (which the fam had been trying to get her to say weeks ago!). Well, Ella overhears and says "ball" every time I showed her the ball. Behold (she is just so darn cute!):

Stacker

We just love Ella in this little dress. We need to find a baby tennis racket to go with it! (She is so posh--she insisted we keep her collar flipped up!)We were all playing this morning and discovered Nora can put the stacker rings back on, rather than just taking them off. I don't know about anyone else, but we were thrilled! Ahh, development!

Just some photos

A typical moment in a typical day...This is what Ella does during meals now (and only during meals when she has food on her finger):
Nora, a big mess (this what SHE does during every meal):
Standing at the coffee table
The ladies watching Daddy at his ultimate frisbee game


Ella got her first top tooth!
Nora visits Ella in prison
The one photo of me on my first Mother's Day!

Mobility

They're getting bigger and moving more every day! Today Daddy found Ella standing in her crib. She went from scooting to crawling overnight! Nora--she can't be stopped at this point!

Watching their video: too funny!
Daddy bought a little tent for them to hang out in while he plays ultimate frisbee. The idea was to protect them from the sun, but this past weekend was rainy (so Mama hung out in the tent, too!)



As the old saying goes, kids love the most inexpensive "toys". Here the girls are each playing with a wipe box. They LOOOVE these things.