Happy Birthday to me!!

Well, it is official. I am no longer in my 20's. Sad, huh?? I turned 30 yesterday. I thought I would feel somewhat different, but surprisingly, I don't feel a thing. We had such a fun day!! My sweet husband gave me the sweetest necklace with Ella's name on it and a few charms which included her birthstone. He also gave me a gift certificate to Continental Sewing. As some of you probably don't know, I have started sewing classes. Funny isn't it?? My sweet parents also came over and took me to lunch. Then Tyler and I went out to eat at Tico's last night. It was a fun day with family.

Here is a picture of my beautiful birthday cake Mrs. Donna Poole made for me. She is a long time family friend and really my second mother. Thank you for the beautiful cake.

Fun times at the Neshoba County Fair!!

I had the privelege of taking Ella to one of my favorite pasttimes this weekend. We went to the Neshoba County Fair. I usually stay the first weekend with my family (we have a cabin there), but this year I opted not to attempt this with a 10 month old. I think I made a smart decision. My sweet parents drove us back and forth from the fair to their house in Newton. We had a blast!! We went Friday night to eat with my family and then we walked around so I could visit all of my friends that I only get to see at the fair. We had a slight set-back on Friday night. Ella developed a horrible cough and we ended up having to see a pediatrician in Union, MS Saturday morning. She diagnosed her with bronchitis. We are on lots of medications and doing nebulizer breathing treatments. So, all in all, it was an eventful weekend. But no bronchitis is going to keep her from the fair. We went back on Saturday and stayed for just a little while. She didn't feel good, but she was a trooper. Here are a few pics from the weekend.

Splish Splash!!

Fourth of July Festivities!!

We had a big day!! We first went out to the Barrett's lake house and hung out with all of Tyler's ortho buds. Then we went to the Haraway's for some fun. Here are some pics.

Just Us Girls!!

Tonight is Tyler's first night on-call as a new resident. He is rotating through the surigical intensive care unit (known at UMC as the sick-u). He is by himself in the unit taking care of the patients the nights he is on-call. Please keep him in your prayers as I know he is a little nervous.

So tonight it was just Ella and I for the first time since about November of last year. It is sad to not have Da-da here!! We will just have to get used to it though. Here are some pictures that we took for Da-da so he wouldn't miss out on anything.

New toy, new friend, new hobby!!!

Busy Little Bees!!

Hello everyone!! I'm so sorry that it has been an eternity since I updated our blog. Alot has gone on in the Marks household since my last post. I'll briefly let ya'll in on all the happenings.

In February, our sweet husband and da-da turned 30!!

In March, we found out that we will be staying in Jackson for Tyler to do his 5 year orthopedic residency at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. Words cannot describe the excitement, relief, and anticipation that we have. He will start his residency on July 1st. Ya'll please keep all of us in your prayers. It is going to be an adjustment for all of us. We also celebrated our 3rd year anniversary on March 19th. We went to the Alluvian for the weekend. It was so nice to get away.

In April, we went to the beach with our sweet friends Reed, Caroline, Dendy, and Millie Hogan. We had a blast!! It was a wonderful week!! Ella really doesn't like the beach, sun, or water that much!! We found out that she was allergic to pretty much all sunscreen that week. We spent most of the week in her cover-up. The Hogan Family has moved to Dallas, where Reed is doing an internal medicine residency at Baylor University. They are truly wonderful friends to us and we will miss them dearly.

Also in April, little Eloise Brickell was baptized at Highlands Presbyterian Church. It was a wonderful day. We had everyone over to our house for lunch. It meant so much to us to have all of our loved ones there for this special day in all of our lives.

In May, we celebrated Tyler's Long Coat Ceremony and his graduation. We are so proud of you Daddy for all of your hard work!!

Most recently, we went to the beach with my parents. It was so much fun. We finally found a sunscreen that she wasn't allergic to, but guess what?? She still really didn't like the beach. Something about getting hot, sweaty, and dirty is not appealing to her. I guess she is just all girl like her mommy!! Thank you Granann and Papa for taking us on such a wonderful vacation. It was so special to spend that time with you. Ella especially liked spending time with her Papa, considering he was the only person she would go to all week.

Let me give you a little update on Ella!! She now has 4 teeth, almost 6!! She is crawling and pulling up on everything. She is saying ma-ma and da-da. I don't think she is doing it intentionally, but we like to think she is. She just started waving bye-bye and eating little cereal puffs. We have had some major breakthroughs since my last post. We visited the doctor today and she weighs a little over 20 lbs. and her head circumference is still in the greater than 97th percentile. I think that is just the funniest thing.

I guess that is enough information to process in one post. I promise to do better in the future!!