Summer Fun!

We have had a lot of fun this summer with Miss Ella!  Over the 4th of July weekend we went down to Houston...I miss Houston terribly; I miss the myriad of great restaurants & things to do, health food stores and most of all I miss my wonderful friends who are still there.  So, I really wanted to get Ella down to H-town & introduce her to the dirty south and all our friends there. 

We went out to dinner with some wonderful friends, we actually all got married within a few months of each other last year.

We had a great time catching up & everyone got a chance to love on Ella.  Exciting to hear about the new accomplishments in their lives....never hurts to have a lawyer & a lawyer/judge on your side!!! 

After a great dinner we got back to our hotel room just in time for Ella to watch the fireworks at the Juice Box aka Minute Maid Park.  She was mesmerized!

The next day we had a great brunch with more friends, some good ol Nazarene folk whose baby boy is 4 months older than Ella.  Then headed south to stay with some friends from Norman who have since moved to Houston.  We had a great time just visiting and seeing their kids be so sweet to our little girl.  Wish we could have hung out with them longer.  I miss the long chats around the kitchen table.  Ella had a blast and was spoiled by Janice & Cha Cha, she also got to go swimming for the first time and LOVED it.  I was a little less thrilled about being in a bathing suit, luckily it was a judgement free zone! 

We've also spent some time this summer with my dearest friend & her kiddos, see this post, and loved seeing Bay Hope playing with Ella, she loved watching the big kids and apparently got a pretty good kick out of Jett. 

Ella still has a trip to Maryville & KC ahead of her this summer before we hunker down and prep for the start of football season.  Hope you enjoyed the update & the pictures.  If we haven't made it to see you I'm sure Ella will be in a town near you soon.  Until then.....hugs from the Courters!!!!!

Wonder Moms

I was told that I was not updating the blog enough, so here I am.  The funny thing about that is my dearest friend in the world told me this as she held sweet Ella; it doesn't sound funny but it is because this came from the mouth of the woman who, once upon a time, could barely get through a 10 minute phone call because her 2, then 3 very young children always seemed to need something at the very moment she wanted to do something for herself.  I remember thinking how crazy her life was as I lived the "pick up and go whenever I feel like it" life of a single college student.  Now I look at her with her 3 children who look so grown up that it makes my heart hurt, and she is a different lady.  She is still my Ash, but she is so much more relaxed and seems so comfortable in her skin.  It makes me wonder what Scott & I look like now.  Do we look frazzled?  Do we walk around looking like crazy people.  Please don't answer that!

I read something the other day and I think it's very spot on.  A woman was talking about how as she was walking with her 3 kids, one of which was a newborn, she saw a new mom still in her pjs going out to get the morning paper looking like a hot mess.  She started remembering when her first child was born she would go through an entire day and then realized she had yet to shower (yeah I can relate) but somehow with 3 she's up and ready for the day by 7 am.  She went on to say that parenting doesn't get easier, especially when you add more kids, but we as parents get better at our job.  With each day that passes God gives us what we need for that day...he meets us where we are and then, as time goes on, we become more confident in our roll as parents and in turn become better.  My best friend is the living example of that.  Please don't be mistaken, she has always been a wonderful mom but now she is a graceful mom that makes it look easy, especially to those of us newbies.  It is just so awe inspiring to see how she has grown as a mom, woman and wife.

I'm extremely blessed to have more than one of those "Wonder Moms" in my life....moms that should wear capes because they are truly superheros.  We have also been fortunate enough to spend some time with 2 of those ladies and their families the past few weeks.  One of those ladies (mother of 2 boys & 2 girls) has a wall hanging that I noticed years ago; I thought it was great then but now I think it is profound....it says, "Strong women...May we know them, May we be them, May we raise them."  I am happy my daughter will have these women in her life, God sure put them in my life for a reason!  Amazing Moms.  Amazing Women.  Amazing Friends.  Amazing Roll Models. 

1st Father's Day & growing like a weed!

Ella had her First Father's Day a few weeks ago and she celebrated by playing golf with her Daddy, me, Poppa D, DanDan & Uncle Chip.  She is so good at the course and seems to love riding in the golf cart, naps well in it too.  Scott really enjoyed spending the day with her but it was also special for me to be with my Dad and my daughter.

Scott & his baby girl

Poppa D, DanDan & our future LPGA superstar

Ella started daycare and really seems to enjoy being around all the big kids.  We are blessed to have found someone we really like, trust and know is taking great care of our precious baby girl!  Everyday when I go to pick her up, all the little girls at daycare huddle around her carseat and ask a ton of questions about why Ella is leaving....they are such a bunch of mother hens and it's adorable.  I am just so thankful that God put Lacy in our lives, I can't imagine anyone else watching her.  

I resigned my position in Child Welfare recently.  While I loved what I did, it was just going to be too much with a new baby.  Surprisingly, or maybe not, the Department of Human Services is not the most family friendly place to work.  With football season coming up, we were looking at Ella being at daycare for 9-14 hours a day.  I had been really upset about going back and had been praying for weeks.  God had it all worked out and in His timing (the day before I was supposed to start back) I got a call from my old supervisor in Oil & Gas that he had work and wanted me back.  I jumped at the offer and we truly believe this is the best possible scenario for our family!  I am thrilled to be working for someone I trust and who I know is a man of God.  It is a HUGE blessing for us!!! 

The Courter household is starting to gear up for our 1st football season as a family of 3!  We had our annual golf tournament this past Saturday and Ella came with us to help work the registration table.  She was quite the social butterfly as her Daddy showed her off to all the alumni and SE football supporters.  She was "talking" to all the golfers as they passed the registration table.

Ella also turned 12 weeks old yesterday.  It is unbelievable how fast the weeks have flown by!  The whole weeks/months thing is a little confusing so next month we are going to start counting months in terms of the 4th of the month and not weeks. She is such a happy baby and loves to talk and smile.  She is so much fun and we are honored that God chose us to be her parents! 

We are looking forward to a trip to Houston to visit some great friends, Ella's first pool experience, the start of fall camp and football season.  It's getting busy around here but we wouldn't have it any other way!

Thumbsucker

Well, Ella found her thumb yesterday and it was love at first taste.  I immediately started imagining a 12 year old who refused to stop sucking her thumb and the internal freak out commenced!  I quickly came to my senses and realized that A) she's only 2 1/2 months old and B) this was the first thing my daughter had ever done for herself to feel better....it was a big moment for her.  It's pretty cute too.  It's also a way for her to self soothe that can't be lost, is almost always clean (clean enough anyway) and we can't forget it when we travel!  So, we are the parents of a thumbsucker and couldn't be happier.

"Hey Ella...You'd Look Awesome In Green!"

I didn't know Coach Scott Bostwick all that well; I had met him several times and instantly liked him, but my husband, Scott is a different story.  Scott knew Coach Bostwick as a player and then later, Scott coached alongside him as a GA and the two Scotts logged many hours in a car or hotel room together while on the road recruiting.  So far during our life together I've heard more Bostwick stories than I can count, and I am lucky to say that I've heard a few of those from the mouth of Scott Bostwick.  So when the news came last Sunday that he had died, we were shocked.  Surely it was a mistake.  Once we got the sad news we started making arrangements to head back to Maryville, it would be Ella's first real road trip.  We were excited to take Ella to Maryville but just couldn't believe the reason for the trip. 

Tuesday before we left, Ella had her 2 month doctor's appointment and received her first 2 vaccinations.  We were concerned about how she would do on a 10-13 hour road trip in general, much less after her first round of shots.  I'm not sure why we were so worried, from the beginning she's been proving how tough she is.  The nurse gave her the first shot and she didn't cry, after the second, she wailed for a minute but then I got her in my arms and she calmed right down.  She was pretty clingy the rest of the day, but was still our smiley little girl.

Giving her sad face

Showing off her first band aid

Cuddling with Daddy

The next morning we loaded up the car and headed north.  Ella was better than expected, she slept a lot, and enjoyed the stops every few hours to stretch and be held.  

Ella strapped in & ready to go

We pulled into the 'Ville a little before 7 PM, but she still had to eat, so we didn't have enough time to go to the prayer service at 7, so we listened to it online.  It was a nice service and the Priest really nailed how I think everyone was feeling.  We had a good night with family & Scott got to hang out with some old friends he hadn't seen in a while.  Thursday was the memorial service and it was perfect Awesome.  There were lots of great stories and words of wisdom from Coach Bostwick, and I think everyone who spoke really gave a great description of the kind of man he was.  I never dreamed that the first time Ella heard the Bearcat fight song in Bearcat Stadium would be because Bostwick was gone.  The two moments that really got to me were when the team walked out; because I couldn't help but think how unfair it all was, all those years he waited and he should have been able to lead them out, just once.  The other moment when I lost it was when Sue Bostwick and the kids walked out, through her tears she blew a kiss to the massive crowd.  It was the definition of heartbreaking.  If you're reading this and you knew him, I hope this post did him justice.  If you're reading this and you didn't know him, I hope you can see how much this one man touched so many other lives.

Ella's Red Hat Tribute to Bostwick

Daddy holding his baby Bearcat

After the Memorial Service in the stadium, everyone moved to the Raymond J. Courter pavilion (yep, it's named after my wonderful father-in-law) for a good ol tailgate, beer, burgers and Bearcats...just like Coach Bostwick would have loved.  We got a chance to talk to a lot of friends and show off Miss Ella.  

Grammy & PaPa Courter loved showing off their newest grandbaby and of course they got her a Bearcat onesie!

All of us

So in the end, we said goodbye to Coach Bostwick, we spent some wonderful time with family and we got to see old friends and after all was said and done Bostwick was right....Ella looked Awesome in Green!

 B-E-A-R-C-A-T-S!

Miss Social Butterfly

Ella has been entertaining quite a bit lately so there has not been much time for blogging.  First we had a visit from some of our best friends, The Stevenson Family.  Auntie Iashah had to get some good cuddle time in so Ella obliged by waking early from her nap.

  

Braeden & Amirah both took turns holding Ella and were so sweet.

Fanny even dressed for the occasion.

We went down to visit MeMe Sharon & she was having a good day so she got to hold Ella!

A few days later we had a special visit from Grammy & PaPa Courter as well as Uncle Adam, Aunt Jill and cousins Pierson & Kendal.  Pierson was far too busy to bother with a baby but Kendal was curious about her new cousin, she just couldn't seem to navigate how to give Ella kisses while she was in her car seat.

Grammy & PaPa Courter with all of their grandbabies! I'm thinking it was worth the wait!!

Here's the whole family all together

We had a great time with all our visitors and got to spend some good family time together!  We are trying to really enjoy this family time because we know it will be hard to come by this fall.

Oh and last but not least, Miss Ella turned 2 months old!!!

First Photo Shoot

Our good friend came over to the house a while back to get some pictures of our little family...George and the cats were left out of this one as we wanted Dan to leave in one piece and to avoid mass chaos. Here are a few of our favorites. We're looking forward to our 1 year anniversary/family photo shoot with Josh MCCullock sometime this summer.