2007 Archives

December 19, 2007- Christmas at Home

I was going through our pictures to try to catch up and almost forgot to post pictures of our pre-Christmas at home! It was small, but I thought I'd go ahead and post some pictures from it.

Click here to see pictures from Christmas at our house.

December, 2007- Christmas with the Hollis family

We celebrated Christmas in Kansas this year with Justin's family. It was definitely hectic with three new grandchildren this year (both Justin's sisters had babies towards the beginning of the year), but it was nice to see family again.

We took lots of pictures so make sure you look at both pages. Click here to see the pictures.

December 14-19, 2007- Christmas with the Black family

This year, we went to Kyle and Lisa's for Christmas so that we could go to their Christmas service Saturday night. Tommy, Sophie, and Jake, Gran, and our family all stayed the night Friday night and celebrated Christmas Saturday morning. It was nice to enjoy time together over the whole weekend rather than just one evening like it usually is.

Click here to see pictures.

December 10-14, 2007- Ella's Birthday

Since we did a family party for Ella's birthday in October after Everett was born, we just did a mini party on her birthday and invited Megan and Noah over. Ella really enjoyed blowing out the candles - I can't tell you how many times she blew them out...

Click here to see birthday pictures and other pictures.

December 1-9, 2007- Playing in the Leaves

It seems like we waited forever this year to rake the leaves - okay, so we did. Well, it worked out nicely because we had a HUGE pile of leaves for Ella to play in! She absolutely LOVED running through the pile, being thrown in the pile, and tossing leaves on her head. I really enjoyed the time we spent outside that day (I'm sure Everett was inside napping, but who can really remember that part... after all, he is the "2nd" born!). Actually, we've got some really cute pictures of him in this bunch, too, and he's smiling now!! Click here to see pictures of the kiddos.

End of November, 2007- Trimming the Tree

This year, Ella really enjoyed putting decorations on the tree rather than trying to pull them off like last year (though she did a little of that, too). It was definitely a busier time with Everett around, but we still managed to get the Christmas decorations out and our tree up.

Click here to see some pictures of Everett getting bigger and Ella decorating for Christmas!

November 20-23, 2007- Thanksgiving

We went to Dallas for Thanksgiving this year. I took the kids a little earlier in the week since Justin had to work and then he drove in on Wednesday night to be with us. Thursday, we went to my sister, Meridith's, house for Thanksgiving and spent Friday at my mom's house watching the Texas A&M vs. Texas game.

It was an enjoyable time for us to spend with family and Ella enjoyed playing with the kids. Click here to see pictures!

Beginning of November, 2007- Some Typical Days at Home

Click here to see some pictures around the house and some newer pictures of Everett.

October 27-31, 2007- Halloween

We went to "Boo at the Zoo" on Saturday with the kids. It was very fun! Ella played one game of toss the rings and even picked out some candy and a notebook along the way!

Wednesday night was Ella's first night Trick or Treating. She was bashful at our neighbor's house (the first house we went to). By the third house, she tried walking in their front door. She figured out pretty fast that she would get candy from each place and was excited to participate! Click here for pictures.

October 26, 2007- Pumpkin Carving Party

We hosted yet another pumpkin carving party at our house this year with our Sunday school class. I can't remember if this is the third or fourth one - I'm thinking the fourth... It turned out great - we had more people come this year than ever before and our house felt smaller than ever. I'm glad we were able to host it (weren't planning on it since the baby was due Oct. 14, but since he came earlier, we were able to do it!)

Click here to see pictures from the party!

October 23- 26, 2007- Clowning Around

Click here to see pictures of Ella and Everett around the house. I also have pictures of them in their costumes.

October 12 - 22, 2007- Ella's Early Birthday Party

We decided to throw an early birthday party for Ella so family could come and meet Everett and not have to make a second trip so close to Christmas. It ended up being a great idea! Almost all of the family was able to make it and Ella has really enjoyed getting presents separate from Christmastime. Click here to see pictures of the party!

October 5 - 11, 2007- More pictures

Click here to see more pictures of Everett and Ella.

October 2 - 4, 2007- Time with the grandmas

After Everett was born, we had Gran (my mom) and Grandma (Justin's mom) staying with us for a few days. Ella really enjoyed that time since they were here to spoil her silly and give her all of the attention she desired. I really enjoyed that time because of the same reason - they gave me time to recover and not be stretched between two needy kiddos. Almost every morning, they took Ella out and gave me some time with just Everett. Ella enjoyed getting out with them and again, I did too! Click here to see some pictures of during this time.

September 28-29, 2007- Everett Walker Hollis

It's a boy! If you haven't heard, we went to the hospital Friday night and checked in at 9:45. Three hours later, at 12:55 am on September 29, we had a baby boy! He was 20 1/2 inches long and weighed 7 lbs, 14 oz. It was a bit of a surprise for us that he made his appearance so early (16 days before the due date), but I'm not complaining one bit! He is a beautiful baby and has been a great eater and sleeper so far! Ella has taken to him quite well and wants to hold him and give him his pacifier, etc. It's really cute. Click here to see some pictures of our new little one!

August 6-9, 2007- Ho-Ho & Grandma's

We're visiting Ho-Ho and Grandma and having a blast! We flew in on Monday and have been busy ever since. It has been good to be visiting family and to watch Ella grow closer to her Grandma and Ho-Ho. Every day she seems to be opening up a little more to them. Hopefully she'll continue warming up and be less clingy to Mommy by the end of our visit! Click here to see the pictures of our visit so far.

End of June - Middle of July, 2007- Around the House & Gran's Visit

Here are a few pictures of Ella around the house playing. I have really enjoyed having all of the extra time at home to play with her and am glad to have the opportunity to stay home with her this school year. Click here to see some of our fun together.

June 20-23, 2007- Lubbock & Amarillo

Our family took a trip to Lubbock and then to Amarillo at the end of June. While we were in Lubbock, Justin took us to see the Texas Tech campus. We staged a few pictures of Daddy and Ella together on campus. After Lubbock, we drove to Amarillo to visit family. We were able to get together again with family and do the big pool party again. It was a short stay in both places, but good to see everyone again. Click here to see pictures.

June, 2007- Random pictures

Here are a few random pictures of Ella around the house. Click here to see them.

June 8, 2007- More Fun

Here are a few more pictures from Friday when Tommy and Sophie were here. Click here to enjoy them!

June 6, 2007- The Zoo

As promised, here are some pictures of the kiddos at the zoo. Tommy, Sophie, and Ella all had a lot of fun playing and seeing all of the animals. We met up with a friend of mine who has a little boy named Hayden. He's a month younger than Ella. Some of the pictures of them together are pretty cute.

Click here to see the pictures at the zoo!

June 5, 2007- Visit from Tommy and Sophie

This week, Tommy and Sophie came into town to visit us. We have all been having lots of fun playing and making special projects. Click here to see pictures of everyone playing in the pool! Check back soon for more pictures from the zoo.

May 30, 2007 - Coming Soon... Our Newest Addition!

Today, we had the BIG sonogram where people typically find out what they're having. But, as you know us, we love this surprise and are happy to announce that the gender of this child will be remaining a surprise until delivery time! We did, however, get some terrific pictures of our new little one and were able to see that all of the organs and systems of this baby look great. We are very blessed to know and will continue to pray that we will be having a healthy child in the beginning of October! Click here to see pictures from the sonogram.

April, 2007- Visit from Grandma and Ho-Ho

This spring, we were visited by Grandma and Ho-Ho. Ella had a blast entertaining and playing with them. They stayed with us all week and Ella (and we) really enjoyed that time. While they were here, we went to the zoo together and were able to spend some good time with them. At the end of their visit, we had a birthday party for me since they were here just a few days before it.

Click here to see pictures of their visit!

Very End of March, 2007 - Ella's First Camping Trip

We took Ella on her first camping trip the last weekend of March and she had a blast! Overall she did really good, considering it stormed during the night and the lightening and thunder (very loud thunder) didn't wake her up. At times, we were a little concerned with her wanting to get into things that she didn't need to get into, but for the most part, she was safe enough... It was nice to be able to get back to nature again and go camping. We hadn't gone since before I was pregnant with her so it had been a while. I'm dying to go again, but it has already warmed up too much. Maybe in the fall before baby #2 arrives? That is, if I can find a cot or comfy padded air mattress to borrow...

Click here to see pictures of our camping trip.

End of March, 2007 - Fun at Home

Here are some fun pics of Ella to enjoy. There's not a lot, but they're cute nonetheless.

March, 2007 - The Train Ride

Over Spring Break, Gran came out to visit for a while. We did some fun things that week, including taking a train ride the first weekend of the break. On Saturday, we drove to Rusk and rode the train from Rusk to Palestine and back. It was an enjoyable experience to spend time with family and nature. Ella handled it pretty well. There were times when all she wanted to do was run up and down the train car to say "Hi" to everyone. The first few times were cute, then I think she just annoyed the other passengers... ha ha. Click here to see the pictures from our first train trip!

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