Sick :(

Last week Miss Elly K came down with a bad case of the snotty nose. No fever just a nasty, no good, snotty nose. By Thursday of last week, I ended up taking a day off work so I could take her to the doctor (just to check her ears). 
During this time, EK starting making a new face. This face is her method of breathing through all the snot. She is still doing it a little this week since the nastiness has lingered a bit. I know its her wanting to breathe better but its so dang cute!

Poor Thing (but so cute)!
 Over the weekend I ended up with the same problem. Not sure what pollen or seed we are both allergic to but this week has been NO FUN! Since I'm still breastfeeding there is very little I can take for allergies.  So I have been suffering through this for almost a week. I am ready for this mess to pass and we can all get back to breathing normal.

Our New Game

Elly K has a new game she likes to play these days. As a means of entertainment while I am doing things around the house, I will put EK in her walker and pile as many of her toys on the tray in front of her.

Then the game begins. One of her toys will hit the floor.

She even watches them as she lets them go one by one...
 

And before you know it (less than 2 minutes) all the toys are on the floor.

Then it starts all over again. I will pile them all back up and she will throw them all off. Over and over and over again.

Sitting Pretty (High-Up)!

Sunday, after enjoying my birthday dinner at Surin, we headed over to Buy Buy Baby. I knew it was about time we had to buy a high chair since Elly K is getting so close to 6 months and the bouncy seat isn't cutting it anymore. I knew I didn't want a full blown high chair just for space issues. I also knew I didn't want one that sat in a chair and took up a place where an adult could sit. So the clip-on kind was right up my alley. I went to Buy Buy Baby earlier in the week and spotted a couple that I liked but I wanted Jonathan to go when we actually made the purchase. AND I am so thankful he did! I had my eye on 2 different ones but he quickly pointed out the issues that we would have with them and noted that there was another one that would be better for us. 

So after about 2 minutes of assembling this bad boy, Miss Elly K is sitting much higher:
It swings around for easier feedings now:
And it goes all away around so she can watch us in the kitchen:
Last night she had dinner in her new high chair! She is still getting use to sitting up to eat but I figure she will have it mastered in no time. Oh and yes this is my dining room (Caribbean Holiday blue). I know I owe you all a house update. Maybe this weekend I will snap a few pictures around the house for a show and tell next week.

Football Baby!

Saturday we had a pre-football game photo session!

Elly K says "ROLL TIDE Y'ALL!"

So stinkin' cute!

All of us getting ready for the game:
 
 

She's Figuring it Out

Over the past couple of weeks, Elly K has started getting her paci in her mouth all by herself. It might take her a couple of tries but she usually gets it in her mouth (right-side-up) within a few minutes. But before that, it's sideways, upside down or even backwards! I'm just happy she can put it back in...regardless how long it might take!

When Gram is In-Charge...

When Gram is in-charge, Elly K leaves the house looking like this:
This bow alone is big enough to represent the "Bows" in "Bows and Bucks".....HUGE!

Getting Fancy

I'm getting fancy with the blog...I just added Instragram on here. I thought it would be a fun way for everyone to see the little pictures I like to take with my phone on a day-to-day basis!
I feel like I am learning so much about blogging again now that I have gotten back on the blogging bandwagon! ;)

Weekly Menu

Now that we are in the new house we are really trying to stick to a budget and of course planning meals helps with this! Here is this week's meal options. Now we know ahead of time what our options are and we don't have to think about it. Love.planning.meals!!

New House Pictures

Before I get any further behind, I need to write about our new house. Back in June we found a house that we loved and met all of our needs. 3-4 bedrooms...Check. Basement...Check. Man cave...Check. Lots of closet space...Check. Closer to my work...Check. Fireplace...Check. More than 8 feet away from your neighbors...check. MORE ROOM IN GENERAL...CHECK! 
So after they accepted our offer we closed on July 31st! That following week we started painting. We only had one week to paint then the movers were coming (I never thought we could afford movers but thanks to Groupon we did). 

Here are a few pictures from the first few days in the house. Jonathan started painting before I could get a true before picture but you can see the other paint color in this one of the living room:

The other side of the living room and the front door:

 Living room again but looking down the hallway:

One of three bay windows we have:

Entrance to the kitchen from the living room:

Our kitchen:

From the kitchen looking into the dining room:

From the dining from to the kitchen:

The master bedroom:

 There are a lot more rooms but all we have really done so far is painted the walls. Over the next few weeks/months I will go into details about each room and what has changed/still needs to be done, so stay tuned in!

The Bucks in "Bows and Bucks"

Well I guess I need to hold true to representing the whole family in our blog. How can I do this? By showing you a buck or two.....literally! 

Jonathan has a deer camera that took over 300 pictures in a few weeks time!

Here is a picture with a couple of bucks. I think in the 300 pictures it took, there are 6-8 different bucks roaming that part of the woods (FYI - I love this picture with the foggy trees in the background):  

And of course there were PLENTY of does:

 Then there are the raccoons. Boy, they are a lot smarter than I ever thought! Here is one that has learned to climb the feeder and spin it to get more food out.

Although I am not sure that I will ever go hunting with Jonathan, I do support him and his hunting. Before Jonathan, I had never really eaten a lot of deer meat. Maybe once or twice if someone ever had it at a get-together or holiday party (or if my friend's husband, Jake, ever made fried deer steak...YUMMY) . However, since Jonathan and I have been together, I have reaped the benefits of his hunting habit! Anything that calls for hamburger meat will be made with deer meat at our house! Tacos, spaghetti, hamburger helper, chili, soups, etc are all made with lean deer meat instead. Jonathan (and my brother Lee) make deer jerky all the time too. We even have deer sausage! This past weekend I made sausage balls out of deer sausage for our tailgating dinner menu. I cooked with it so much while I was pregnant, I would joke that I thought Elly K was going to come out with antlers! HA! 

 Not only can I not tell the difference in taste but its so much cheaper than buying hamburger meat at the store. So if you ever want to try deer meat, just let me know! You can stop by our house for dinner one night because 2-3 nights out of the week, that's whats for dinner.

Jack Attack is One!

Its hard to believe a year has gone by so fast! 

Mr. Jack is 1 today!
 Happy Birthday Jack! 
We can't wait to party with you on Saturday!

Jack and Elly K

Jack and Elly K love each other! When these two get together, it is guaranteed to be a fun time! Jack loves to give Elly K kisses and when she is on the floor, he loves to lay down and roll on/beside/around her. Elly K will smile at Jack as soon as she sees him! They even have conversations together. I love hearing them "talk" to each other. 
The other day, Gram kept all three grandkids and she got a few shots of Jack and Elly K in action!

The two cuties:
 

Jack likes to help Elly K with her bottle:
 

"What the heck?"

Rolling on the floor together:

5 months!


The battle that we had to fight this month:

What she really wants to do with that paper: