Thank you for your love. A few photos too...

Shelly you are hilarious...

Just a little pose... I have been working on my modeling.

Thanks Barbara! I love my bikini!

First and foremost, I really feel the need to stop and thank our family and friends. It makes me emotional to think about how well y'all love our family. The love and encouragement that you give to our little Elliot, and in turn us, is so real. Now, I know every parent feels this way (as they should), but I often think to myself and sometimes voice it to Mark...I don't think there has been a child more loved than Elliot... I say this because of the enthusiasm and genuine kindness we encounter daily from you. You have truly shown us what it means to share in one another's joy because of the way you have come alongside us and shared in ours. I pray that Mark and I can do the same for you.

So, September has come and gone quickly. Between vacation, work trips, and other little adventures this month has flown by. The next few weeks are a little slower, which is much needed. It is wonderful to have some family time at home.

Here are some pictures from the past month. Some are taken when Elliot flew up to Ohio for my mom's birthday and some are from Mark and Elliot's YL weekend out at Edisto when I was out of town. As the photos indicate, the child has a good time wherever she is :)

What is blowing my mind is that my sweet girl is 11 months tomorrow! I have such mixed emotions about it. I am amazed at how by God's grace she is growing into such an incredible little lady and how everyday is something new and exciting. I always tell people that I feel like I can see the wheels turning in her head...she is just taking everything in. But I am also sad because it is just going so fast that there are so many times I don't feel like I am savoring things as much as I should, but oh how I try...

Side note: Mark and I are doing the Visionary Parenting course and have been blessed and thought provoked by what we have learned/are learning. I would definitely encourage anyone interested to do it.

"It's Vacay..."

The Ables family went on on first little family vacation. We headed down to my grandparents condo in Florida and it was wonderful! It was such a blessing to have time to just relax and enjoy one another. In between a lot of lounging we went to the beach and pool, out for dinner and ice cream, and checked out the shops in the area. I mean really, we did not do much, but we had so much fun and it was such a refreshing vacation.

Our quote of the trip was "Oh, it's vacay..." Let me give you some examples....

- We were watching Project Runway late Thursday night and Elliot woke up... "Oh, it's vacay..." We then proceeded to pick our sweet girl up and let her fall back asleep on us.

- We were at Coldstone after dinner on our last night... "Oh, it's vacay..." Mark then proceeded to let Elliot indulge in a little of his ice cream cone.

And so on it went. Needless to say, we might have a little unspoiling to do :)

Link to pictures below.

http://www5.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=2218330014/a=119903361_119903361/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

To: The Alexanders Love, Elliot

Little Punky is a walking girl. She has been standing for weeks now with a few steps here and there....but she is growing more steady and confident every day, literally. She can walk from the sofa to the chair to the the coffee table and on and on it goes :) Granted, once she loses her balance she decides she might as well stay down and crawl, but she is definitely opting to walk everywhere she can and when I hold her hand she is quite the go-getter - we walked all the way to the mail box to check the mail. I am already working on her chore list... check the mail, walk the dog, take out the trash. It's about time she chips in around here.

Not the best pictures, but they'll have to suffice. Side note: Notice the bait on the chair - a pile of remotes works like a charm :)