Meeting Ellie

This past weekend we were finally able to go to Jacksonville to meet our niece/cousin Ellie and help Amanda and Jeff. Ellie was born on July 14 and while we wanted to go earlier, we could go too early because I didn't want to expose Ellie to any crud that Drake might have and then school started and home football games (which we haven't gone to, it just means I have to recruit those Saturdays). Finally we had an away football game, so off we went!

With the healing problems Amanda has had from the c-section, my parents were also in town helping Amanda and Jeff. It was great that they were able to see both of their grandchildren together. Drake loved Ellie and wanted to give her kisses. We also learned that when he hears "shhhhh", he puts his figure to his lips and says "shhhhh". On Monday we asked his teacher about this and she said it is from "The Wheels On the Bus". He knows all kinds of hand motions from that song!

Drake and Ellie

In going to Jacksonville, Amanda and Jeff had asked that we help them install wood floors in their family room, so this was out big project for the weekend. I was able to help a little, but for the most part, my help was with distracting Drake from the activity. David was the floor installer with Jeff and my cousin Zach assisting. While there is a little work left to be done, the floors turned out great.

Drake the Helper

One of my distractions for Drake was taking him to the Jacksonville Zoo. I was hoping to fit this in before nap time on Saturday but Drake fell asleep about 5 minutes after leaving the house, so we turned around for his nap. After he slept and ate, we headed back to the Zoo to see some animals. The zoo is so much fun with Drake now because he really is interested in seeing the animals and making animal noises. This zoo had a carousal, which I wanted to take Drake on. This was his first ride of any sort and he was very apprehensive at first. He rode a jaguar and wanted to get off as soon as I put him on. Once he started moving up and down, he loved it!

We are so happy to have Ellie as part of our family and look forward to seeing them again soon and watching Ellie grow. This trip started our four months of a monthly, alternating trip between Florida and New Orleans.