Waving and saying DADA!!!

I love her laugh!

Ensley and Miss Arkansas!

February!!!

What a fun month this has been!!!! Ensley is just more and more fun every day! She loves to wave "bye bye", thanks Mom, Dad, and Meme for teaching her!!! It is the cutest thing ever! She'll wave to me when I pick her up from Miss Niki's and it melts my heart!!!

She has said her first word-DADA of course!!! I was really trying to teach her to say HI (something neutral!) but it wasn't happening so we started working on DADA. Her voice is so sweet and I can't wait to hear more of it!! We will work on MAMA next!! I will post a video soon!

For Valentine's Day, we went to Memphis for a wedding and had a great time. Emily and Jonathan were there to celebrate V Day too so we got to have dessert that night and brunch the next morning with them! It was fun, I love Memphis and miss working over there!

Well, we finally did it---Ensley is in her own room!!!!!! It was a big step---for me I guess!! Kind of funny--I had to move the matress to the lowest level, b/c she is so big and was pulling up!! I was afraid she would fall out! I think she likes it so far, the first night we put her in there it lasted an hour--she woke up so I moved her in our room. But, she has done great since then! I think this week while I am in NY, she is in the pak'n'play in our room near her Daddy, I hope they're having fun!! I am missing her but I think I'm okay...but it is only the 2nd day away!! I did sleep in till 10:30 this morning and took a 2 hour nap this afternoon, which was very nice...but I'm kind of lonely for my baby girl!!! Oh yeah--and Ryan too :-)

Ensley is now 8 months old!!! I can't believe it!!! Enjoy!

Mexico!

Here are some pics from our trip to Mexico...we had a great time! Ensley stayed in Harrison for the week and started waving "bye bye" while we were gone!! It's so cute! Ensley's Great Aunt Garlanda came to Harrison to help mom out and to see baby E--thank Garggie for all your help, huggs, and kisses for E!!!! SHe loves you and hopes to see you again soon!!!! Thank you Grandjan and Pop for keeping baby E--she had so much fun and LOVES it at your house!! Meme and J thanks for all your help too!!

Hi!!

Hey everyone! I am in New York for work this weekend and all of next week so I am looking forward to getting our blog updated!!!! Lot's to come!!! Hope everyone is doing well!!!!

Puffs!

Ensley loves her Puffs!

Too Funny not to share...

CRAWLING!!

Here is a video taken about a month ago of E doing her army crawl. I took another one the day we left for Mexico but accidentally deleted it!! WAH!!!! Anyway, she is still doing the army crawl but she is so fast now it's scary!

January Pics and Updates!!

The start of 2009 has been fun, busy, and great. Heather and I took the kids to the Peabody for a night of fun and my did we ever leave a trail wherever we went!!! It was hilarious but so much fun!! None of us slept very much either!!! As you can see in the pics, Ensley and Luke love each other and totally carry on conversations, it's so stinkin cute (they are 10 weeks apart)! Ensley can upset him though, I don't know if it's b/c she may be a little much at times and it's overwhelming to him, or if she is telling him something that upsets him. They are precious together and Quince loves them both so much. He doesn't like it when Ensley eats his cars, though.
We celebrated Ryan's, Al's, and Brad's B-days (Jan 11, 8, and 12 respectively!!!) at Pammie and Grandad's in early Jan.
Grandjan and Pop came for a visit and to babysit while Uncle Brad took me to a wedding reception (Ryan was out of town).
Ryan went on too many trips this month but I got a few swimsuits and a new purse out of it so it's OK!
Ensley had her first ear infection this month--WAH! We got rid of it quickly, though, so she is better now. We went to the doctor 10 days apart and she gained almost a pound in those 10 days! She weighed 18lbs 12oz! Maybe it's b/c we've started eating three meals a day this month too.
She is still doing the army crawl this month but is super duper fast--and into everything!! I had to call Poison Control the other day b/c she was eating one of those spider traps/boxes!!! Luckily it's just sticky stuff and no poison, and she didn't have it in her mouth very long thank goodness!! I literally turned my back for 2 seconds, but I have learned that's all it takes!!!
We introduced the sippy cup, she does OK with it, haven't really used it lately, I kind of forgot-whoops!
Enjoy and hope to have more up soon!!

Ice Storm 2009

Wow! Whatta storm!! It hit us on Tuesday Jan 27th, our power went out that early evening and we didn't get it back on until Thursday night. We thought the showroom had power so we went up there Weds night and it flickered on and off all night...crazy stuff!! I think there are still people without power! How awful!! I think it will be a while before our trees ever look the same, some are ruined. I felt sorry for them, they looked so sad! We kept E bundled in a snowsuit mom and dad got for her for Christmas, so she was warm. She had been sick with a cold and an ear infection prior to the storm, and the storm only made her cold workse, but her ear infection luckily went away!!

HOLA!!!!

Hola! We, Ryan and I, are in Mexico!! We are having so much fun! I planned on totally updating our blog this week, but obviously haven't quite gotten around to it...maybe the sun, ocean, and vacation have kept me from it, who knows!??! Anyway, we miss our baby E but she is safe and sound in Harrison with my parents. I will get this thing updated ASAP!!!! Here's a pic of the beautiful Cozumel sunset on our first big vacation away from our precious baby girl. We miss her greatly but are having a really nice time. We've gone zip-lining, had some fun times at Carlos and Charlies and Senor Frogs, thorougly enjoyed the spa servies, and tomorrow are renting a catamaran and going snorkeling. Fun times but can't wait to hold my baby again!

In memory...

Although 2008 was the best year ever and we gained Ensley and Jmac, we did lose 2 very very special friends, our great danes, Chivas and Shiraz. They were our first babies and it was not easy on either of us. Their deaths were within 6 weeks of each other (but E was born in the middle so that helped!). We especially miss them when we have food left over at dinner--or any meal for that matter. They were wonderful companions who loved us unconditionally and we will remember them forever!


Chivas Heringer
Sept 1999-July 2008


Shiraz Heringer
April 2003-June 2008

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!

What a wonderful wonderful year 2008 has been for our family!!! We gained 2 very special people!! Jonathan McIllwain on May 24 and Ensley Elizabeth on June 26th!!! What a fun, busy year we have had!
To celebrate New Years, Ryan and I went with some friends to the 501/Omars (same thing we have done the past 3 New Years!) and had dinner...and were home by 10:30!!!!!! (--Same thing we have done the past 3 New Years!!!) New Year's is overrated anyway, right!??! We had a good time and maybe next year will do something outrageous like stay out til midnight!??!!? Happy New Year to all and Happy 2009!!!!!!!!!

Last family picture of 2008!

Christmas at the McIllwains!!!

The day after Christmas, we were to head to R'vegas to have fun with the McIllwains but we just weren't quite up to it yet so we waited another day. Thankfully we had an uneventful family trip to Russellville! When we got there we had dinner at J'mac's parents house with his brother and sister-in-law (Frank and Nancy), and their 2 girls, Taylor (3) and Lauren (9 months). The kids had fun meeting each other and playing. Thanks Judy and Charlie for the wonderful food!! Emily was supposed to join the church the next day...but came down with the ever-so violent and ever-so contagious stomach bug!! Sorry Meme!!! Oh well it was still fun!! Thanks for having all of us Jmac and MEME!!! WE LOVE U!!!!

6 month checkup!!!!

We had Ensley's 6 month check-up this week! She weighed 17.8lbs and was 26 inches long. She is in the 75th percentile for both height and weight! Her head is in the 90th percentile!!! Pammie said Ryan was always in the 90th percentile too, so she must get that from her daddy. How funny! The shots seemed to be worse this time b/c there were 3 and in the past there have only been 2...wah! It makes me sad but I know the benifit outweighs the risk and I say prayers before during and after!!

CRAWLING!!!!!

Oh my Ensley has started crawling this week!!! It is the cutest thing ever! It's more like an army crawl/frog crawl. I will try and get a video and post it this week!

Having fun eating peas!!

We have teeth!!!

Ensley has been teething for quite sometime but has officially developed her bottom left tooth!! And the next one is almost in too!!! They are so cute! I don't understand why they have to be so painful, though??!! We've been utilizing teething tablets, tylenol, and orajel...hopefully they have aleviated the pain! She loves to stick her tounge out too, I don't know if it's part of the teething or what but she loves showing you her tounge!

Happy Birthday JESUS!!!

This was the best Christmas ever...and it was the worst Christmas ever!!! How is that possible!?!? Well, of course it was the best b/c we have the best gift--Ensley!! She was precious and got such good stuff from grandparents, aunts and uncles, and of course Santa! Thank you all!! She loved watching us all open gifts and wanted to eat everything (what's new?)!
Grandjan, Pop, Meme, and JonJon all came to spend Christmas with us. We woke up and opened presents then had Pammie and Grandad over for b-fast. We cooked quite a feast! It was all so wonderful...until around 2pm when Pop and I started to feel nauseous...then Ryan felt nauseous...then after taking care of all of us, it hit my mom...UGH!!!! We thought we had food poisoning from our lavish feast but as time has gone by, people are dropping like flies so we now know it was the stomach virus...UGH!!!!?!?! We are so sorry (Brett, Pammie, Meme) to anyone who caught it from us! It was AWFUL!!! I would rather deliver another baby than go through that again! So, Christmas was great until that all happened! Luckily E didn't get it as violently as the rest of us, but she did have a touch of it, unfortunately. It will be a Christmas we will never forget!! Enjoy the pics and Merry Christmas!