Updates Galore!

We have had a very busy late winter and spring, but nothing too out of the ordinary. I was in NYC for a conference in February and enjoyed a much needed relaxing spring break! Ryan presented in two conferences in New Orleans and Orlando, and went to Italy for 10 days for work. Lucky guy! The kids are amazing, as usual, and a true joy to be around every single day! Here are some of the latest updates - pictures from my phone....but more to come from the other camera soon!

Adelyn gets her first trophy at gymnastics....

And Abel does headstands EVERYWHERE. (This is at the Y after swim lessons)

We celebrate the Butler Bulldogs going to the National Championship AGAIN! Here we are at a pep rally on campus...

And here I am celebrating in alternative ways...

And we put on our fancy clothes to have Easter dinner with my family. It was a beautiful day!

Back to Back: GO DAWGS

Hell yeah!

Enough said!

Happy Birthday Daddy Ryan!

Happy Birthday Ryan!

He just keeps getting better and better with age! We love Daddy!

I Resolve...

To do a better job at posting on our blog???

I've learned to not do resolutions. For me, they're always about losing weight, and frankly, I'm tired of that resolution. So this year, I'm just working on me. And working on me includes making sure that no matter how busy I (we) are, I'm making time for friends and family - and that includes keeping our blog somewhat up to date.

So, what I'm posting below are some of my favorite pictures from 2010 (from after when I posted in July) - which will hopefully lead to even better ones in 2011! Cheers and love to you all!

Celebrating Adelyn's 2nd birthday

Abel's First Baseball Team - check out that swing!

At our friend's lake house - Adelyn had NO FEAR

Abel and Adelyn - great friends!

Big brother helping out little sister...on a hike in Santa Fe

Yoga pose in Santa Fe - I've still got it....sort of

She's just developing it....

We said, "Smile!" and they did this...they truly love each other!

"Adelyn, what do you want to be for Halloween?" Um, Mac and Cheese...so there you have it. Mac and Cheese and Batman!

Abel's 4th Birthday....Daddy's new job is at Butler and Abel's become a BIG Bulldog fan!

Annual trip to Chicago at Christmas and annual picture in front of the tree at The Drake

Daddy does yoga on a hike in Santa Fe at Christmas...

These two would run everywhere if we let them...on a hike in the Santa Fe moutains

Last family picture of the year - love love love!

Joy, joy, joy!

These babies are the best - and I guess they aren't so much babies anymore, but it's what I'm calling them for as long as I can. Here are some new pictures - enjoy!

Adelyn Lee






Abel Bates







Sibling LOVE!

She's TWO!

Adelyn turned TWO this past weekend! She's awesome. Seriously. The picture above is so indicative of her, it's amazing. She has tons of spunk, even though she's very particular, she's happy all the time, she has a voracious appetite, she loves to read, she's a great dancer, she sings at the top of her lungs, and we hear new words every day.

She's just awesome.

Her birth (and age for that matter) represents much to us. Ryan defending his dissertation and graduating, us moving to Indy, buying a new house, starting new jobs, making new friends....and it all started with Adelyn's birth on May 29, 2008.

WE LOVE OUR SISTER GIRL, ADELYN LEE!!!

She Did It! She Did It!

On Saturday, Court ran the Mini-Marathon in Indy. She's been training hard for months, and she met a huge goal! We're so proud of Mama!!!!!

Spring Update

Hello all!

It's been forever since I posted - mostly because I was having a terrible time with getting pictures onto Blogger the day I sat down to post about our Florida trip! We are having a busy and productive spring - Abel will start tee ball in June, we're spending lots of time outside taking long walks and playing! Here are some pics from our Florida trip - they speak for themselves - fun was had by all. The kids, needless to say, we're AWESOME!












I mean, really, does it get any better than that?? Love to you all!

Unbelievable!

This is unbelievable! Butler is going to the Final Four and the Final Four is in INDY! We watched the game yesterday in various places at the Atlanta airport. The picture above is us literally sitting in the middle of the terminal, blocking travelers as we camp out to watch the game. We had a MISERABLE 5 hour layover but had much joy in watching the Bulldogs win! A little history about BU. My grandpa graduated from Butler in the thirties. He was the first kid in his family to attend college. He met my grandmother there. My dad went there. My aunt went there. My great uncle is in the Hall of Fame for baseball at Butler. I went there. I met Ryan there. We now live a mile and a half from campus. And this fall, Ryan starts as faculty there in the College of Education. We are so so proud!

Unbelievable!

GO DAWGS!!!

WE ARE SO PROUD!

Sweet 16 in SO MANY WAYS!

GO DAWGS! This weekend was a great weekend for Butler. I participated in the Bulldog Jog, had the best cheering section ever, Butler won and is headed to the Sweet 16, and we had a beautiful Saturday morning on campus. We updated the kids' shirts and snapped these photos. GO DAWGS!

Valentine's Day

I had these pictures on my phone at Valentine's Day and couldn't get the thing to sync with my computer. I seemed to have worked it out this evening. I wanted to share this picture - I took it for Ryan because he was out of town and I wanted to share how awfully cute the kids looked! Anyway, here's an update and no, Abel's not strangling Adelyn. It's all loving.

An About Time Update!

Ok --- I would like to just point out that I know it's been forever. I haven't even posted pictures from Christmas! Basically, right before Christmas, things got really really busy at work and whenever I could, I would nap and just chill out. This afternoon is one of the first afternoons in a long time on the weekend that I haven't wanted to nap (thanks to a nice sleep-in this morning!) - so I'm updating! I'll do better from now on. I promise!

Ryan spent a day in Chicago at a conference in early December. Abel, Adelyn and I spent the day together doing some elves shopping and having all kinds of fun. The kids started their day with a spoonful of peanut butter - a new favorite treat. They both get their own spoons and go to the pantry to get the peanut butter. Nice. I snapped a photo - so cute!



We celebrate Christmas in Chicago - our annual weekend trip to play and have brunch at The Drake. The kids were awesome on this trip and had a blast! The Cox family joined us, so we had quite the crew! We sang Christmas carols, ate incredible food - including lobster that Abel actually had the courage to touch (but said, "Ewwwwwww," and wouldn't eat it for his life!). Adelyn enjoyed devouring Grandma Peggy's ice cream. We got gifts from Santa and did a huge photo shoot in front of the tree at The Drake. It was a wonderful time!
















At the start of the winter break, our house got broken into. We were home and it was really scary. We think they got spooked because nothing was taken after they got the door open - or maybe they saw the police arrived which happened really fast. Doesn't matter - we were safe and all was well! Within a week, we had a new dog and alarm system! We welcomed Winter Solstice Flessner to our house on the first day of Winter. My sister suggested the name - we call her Winn. She's soft, cuddly, and spunky!



We celebrate Christmas Day in Indy at home and Grandma Peggy and Grandpa Dave's. We wait at the top of the steps (per a Cranfill tradition), open presents, have a delicious breakfast, and head over to Peggy and Dave's where we open more presents, play with our cousins, and eat a delicious meal (Adelyn gets very comfortable at the dinner table!)







We celebrate Christmas in Troy with Mimi and Bobby. We open presents, play with our cousins, and paint pottery for Mimi's birthday!






We get lots of snow! We have real winter in Indiana! We sled, shovel, and play - it's awesome!









Adelyn helps cook! She's more interested in the Theraflu box - I tell Ryan I don't blame her!



We come across a picture of Mama at 3! Isn't that just the perfect combination of Abel and Adelyn?



Abel and Adelyn snuggle on the couch, share a blanket, watch TV, and read. Adorable!



Abel even reads cookbooks. Be still my heart!!!



Daddy plays Winter Olympics on the Wii. I was so excited when I found this for him for a (VERY!) late birthday present as anyone who knows Ryan knows how much he loves the Olympics. In this photo, he's downhill skiing.



And finally, yesterday, Mama ran a race - the Polar Bear - five miles with my running buddies through downtown Indianapolis! I've taken to a run/walk method for now to save my knees, but still love it!