First up on the tee...

Jason prepared for what he hoped would be a three-peat of our winning performance by exhibiting his favorite golf poses. And his actual golf swing was going well, but alas, it was not to be. Sadly, after holding the Freed Cup for the past 2 years, we had to relinquish the title to Mike & Sue. However, let me caveat that by saying the rules were drastically changed this year in order to give everyone else an advantage, in the hopes that they would be able to compete more equally with the J. Freed team.

Off to the course...

Each year during the Lake vacation, we have a couples golf tournament. All the couples MUST play (to the protest of some of the non-golf-playing wives). And for the past two years, we've implemented a matching outfits requirement, which Kate enjoys because it means more shopping. This year, even Ellie matched the green/white/black Jason Freed team ensemble.

The Big 5-0!

We recently spent a week at the Lake of the Ozarks for our annual family vacation. We go with all of the Freed family and stay in adjoining condos. A good time is always had by all. This year, in honor of Papa Mike's upcoming birthday, we threw a surprise party, complete with "Mike masks" that portrayed Mike through the years, and more pink flamingo decorations than should reasonably be found together in one room (Mike has a problem with the plastic yard ornament variety).

I scream for ice cream

Ellie has discovered the wonderful world of ice cream. Granny and Papi Marler hosted a get together for Aunt Laura and Uncle Nathan's medical school graduation. Everyone had a great time visiting and eating, and Ellie enjoyed watching all the bigger kids. But her favorite part was probably the ice cream cones. You should have seen how quick she spit her binky out when she saw that ice cream coming towards her.

Isn't she a little young for this?

Now that Ellie is mobile, she's enjoying all the freedom that comes with it... The freedom to crawl around to play with different toys. The freedom to sit as close to the tv as possible. The freedom to enjoy Tigger to the fullest extent.

I'll Just Have This

Ellie must have known I was having trouble finding the time to clean out the pantry, because one day she took it upon herself to help me out. Although, apparently she hasn't liked the way I've reorganized it since she seems to rearrange it for me on a daily basis now. Or maybe she's just trying to tell me she's hungry.

Fun in the Sun

Ellie's cousin, Kameron, recently turned 3, and we all enjoyed a BBQ birthday party over Memorial Day weekend. Ellie had lots of fun swinging (she could stay there all day if we'd let her) and playing with her cousins and her Papa Mike. It was a great day all around.

...And Away She Goes

Ellie has begun to crawl!! She did the army crawl for awhile, pulling herself along with her arms. Then she started pushing herself back up to hands and knees, and before we knew it she was a pro. The first time she actually did a full fledged crawl, Mommy started yelling and clapping for her. Ellie gave me a little side-ways glance, as if to say, "What's your problem?" Then she went right along with her business as if crawling was no big deal.

Pomp & Circumstance

Jason graduated with his MBA in May, and we couldn't be more proud. It was a long couple of years...just ask him. But he finally finished. Now that's just one more thing he can mark off his to do list. Next up--world domination.

Happy, Happy

You just can't keep the smile off Ellie's face. She's actually becoming quite the little ham when a camera is pulled out. She's also starting to pay attention to and enjoy a little television. You should see the way she lights up when Mickey Mouse comes on. She's engrossed in an episode while she's sitting in her swing in the picture below.

Lions and tigers and bears, Oh My!

The Freed family enjoyed an outing to the zoo recently. Ellie mostly enjoyed watching all the people since she couldn't see many animals from the stroller. But once we took her out of the stroller and her eyes landed on an elephant splashing itself with water, she got the biggest smile on her face, and did her little kicking wiggle dance. She really liked the elephants, bears, and giraffes. However, it was a very warm day and was cutting into her nap time, so the outing ended up being rather short. I'm sure there will be lots of other trips to the zoo in the future.

Happy Easter

Ellie had a wonderful time on her first Easter holiday. She got to dress up in a pretty dress and let everyone tell her how adorable she was. We're looking forward to all the Easter egg hunts in store next year.

Bunny Sighting

Just days before the big day, there was an Easter bunny sighting in O'Fallon. We can't be sure it was the real thing, but it was awfully cute!

Bath Time

Ellie loves the bath! Now that she is able to confidently sit up, she can play and kick and splash with the best of them. She likes to share the water with Mommy & Daddy too--so much so that we usually have to change our clothes afterwards. But all the fun ends when we pull her out of the tub into the cold air....brrrrrr!

Happy Spring

It's only the first day of spring, but the flowers are already in bloom around the Freed house...sweet, beautiful flowers. Make that sweet, beautiful, sleepy flowers.

Little Miss Fashion

We've been enjoying some warmer temperatures lately, which meant Ellie got to wear a dress for a change, rather than the long sleeves, pants, and socks normally needed. And even though it wasn't quite sunny enough in the house to require the hat, we couldn't resist putting it on for just a few pictures.

Mmm, Mmm, Good...

Ellie is really starting to enjoy her food, and has graduated to sitting in the high chair (although she looks tiny in it). She seems to prefer veggies to fruits--her favorites being peas and sweet potatoes.

...And yes, her bib says "DIVA." We think it fits her perfectly.

Tickle Me

We recently went to Farmington for Ellie's papa's birthday, and Ellie got to experience the Elmo chair. The chair shakes and giggles when you sit in it. Ellie thought it was amazing, and giggled right along with Elmo. How fun!

She was also having an extremely spikey hair day, as you can see. She likes to sport the "back spike," just like her daddy.