First Baseball Game

We were lucky enough to have our good friends, Bryan, Cameron, & Ella Holcomb, invite us to join them in their box at a Greensboro Grasshopper baseball game. We had such a great time, and the evening was so beautiful that night. Ellison thought she was in a new playground she had so much fun. It sure is nice with kids to have box tickets - Ellison burned off a lot of energy just going in and out of the indoor part of the box, and going up and down the 2 stairs of the outdoor part. When she wasn't doing that, she kept climbing on the railing and climbing the furniture.

There were 2 highlights for Ellison, the first being the giant ice cream cone Daddy got for us to share. He got sprinkles on it just for her, which she loves, and she proceeded to pick off each one to eat with her fingers before she would even consider licking the ice cream. The biggest hightlight for Mookie, though, was "Hopper" the mascot. When she would see him in the stands or in the concession area, she would get the BIGGEST toothy grin on her face and wave frantically while wrinkling up her little button nose. When he would disappear out of sight, she'd immediately get worried and say, "Where go?". When Hopper came into the box, it was pure joy for her. She pointed out all of his big body parts (from the neck up), and then gave him a hi-5. That's ALL we heard about for 2 days after - "Hopper....hi-5!". [August 28, 2008]

Wiggles!!!

Yay for Ellison! After seemingly doing well Friday afternoon into Saturday afternoon, we decided to go ahead & try to make it to the Wiggles show at the Coliseum, since it wasn't like Ellison was going to be touching & playing with other kids. I've heard a lot of grief from many of you adults out there, but hey, we had a lot of fun! It was a good family outing. Ellison got a Henry the Octopus doll before the show, and she had fun dancing & swaying in the aisles before the show, and playing with the complimentary Wiggles sticker set while we waited. For a lot of the show, Ellison stood in awe, just watching and staring. After the first few songs and her favorite animal characters hadn't come out yet (Dorothy the Dinosaur, Henry the Octopus, & Wags the Dog), she started repeating their names until her desire came to fruition. There were times when she would smile, and there were times she would dance a little or clap, but those are very hard to capture on camera! We did get a few tiny camera video clips, though. And Anthony Wiggle (it is WAY sad that I know their names, not to mention which one is which!) came right up the aisle & touched Ellison & greeted her (thanks to Jonathan's assertiveness). OK, so it helped that our seats were right in the middle aisle in the 12th row. At the end of the show, a bunch of confetti came down from the ceiling, and Ellison wanted us to keep collecting it, as she would put little pieces of it in her tiny shirt pocket. [August 23, 2008]

(Objects in camera were closer than they appear)

(No Title - Creative Juices Are Not Flowing)

Sweet baby girl trying to be tough even though she doesn't feel well. Looks like she's trying to strike a pose a la Madonna.

"Really, Mom, I don't need to go to the doctor. I'm fine. Look, I'll even re-organize your measuring spoons if you don't make me go." (Ellison lately likes to line up objects in a row).

It's unfortunate, because Ellison really has liked her new pediatrician's office since we switched. She never minded being there, she was SO good during her exams every time, etc. But we had a bad experience a couple weeks ago -- it's a long story I won't go into, but Ellison had to have a catheter done there, and it took a few attempts by a couple of nurses (while nurse Mama was trying to keep her cool & trying not to drip sweat on her little Mookie's face), and needless to say, it was not a pleasant experience for Ellison. So when I took her back to the pediatrician again on this day, Ellison is now not as complacent during her exams. :( Anyway, Ellison's throat was red, but everything else was fine, so only palliative care needed. Much to our surprise, after being 104 degrees during the night, Ellison's temp never went above 99.8 after that. By Friday afternoon, she was playful, and her sleep had improved drastically. [August 22, 2008]

Rewind

OK, let me back up a tiny bit. Early last week, as I mentioned, Ellison was sleeping terrible. I was rethinking ever wanting to have a newborn again (just a tiny bit half-heartedly), even though Ellison as a newborn slept WAY better than she did last week. Seriously, it was a tough parenting week as far as fatigue goes. The day these pics were taken, she hadn't yet showed any other symptoms of being sick yet. In fact, we had a fun day...
2 reasons for this photo: 1) I love that she HAD to have on these 2 mismatched socks ALL afternoon. She did not want them removed despite the fact that they're about 2 sizes too small, and it's late August in the south. 2) La-La has so many uses for Ellison. She is found often laying it down & smoothing it out to use as a placemat on the table, she lays it out to sit on, it serves as a blanket for her babies & animals, and it serves as a "bed" for her little children as well.


Elmo was crying and fussing quite a bit here. Elli was trying to shoosh him back to sleep.




How do you preoccupy a toddler while you're trying to make dinner? Rice! Ellison loves to help me cook & bake, and I found that uncooked rice is about as much fun as a sandbox. And just about as messy.

We want to remember this sweet little face forever. Just like this...

... And her soft, squishy skin. (I sound high, don't I?)

So what's Mookie concentrating so hard on?...

Decorating herself with address labels. :)

So it wasn't until she was going to bed this night that Daddy found a nice fever. In the middle of the night when the medicine wore off, it got up to 104. [August 21, 2008]

Sick Little Wee One

Oh, poor little Ellison has come down with something. She slept REALLY bad this week, but other than that she was absolutely fine and playful - no signs of anything. Though we were thrown for a loop with the sleep thing, it started to improve and seemed to be going back to normal last night, and we thought it must've just been a fluke. Well, tonight our little munchkin started running a fever of 102. :( Just in time for our big surprise for her this coming Saturday. We got 12th row tickets to the Wiggles show at the Coliseum (SO many of you are gagging right now), and we've been SO excited to see Ellison's reaction. As you know, she LOVES the Wiggles. Needless to say, we'll be running to the pediatrician's office tomorrow!

A little cute thing our baby did today:
Ellison said she was hungry after waking up from her nap, so I said she could have some fruit. Her response: "Otay. Fruit loops!". I know, you had to be there. I just love those unexpected little things throughout the day that make you smile...

Finger Painting - Take 2

This was done Mommy's way...
Oh, Daddy, you would've FAINTED!!! :) Ellison has always been like her dad, in that she doesn't like to have her hands dirty, and she's the neatest toddler ever when she eats. I never thought she'd enjoy finger painting with more than just her actual, well, fingertips (see older post). But I was determined she was at least going to see what fun being messy can sometimes be. After slopping my own hands in the stuff, I helped Ellison follow suit, and she ran with it. (Not literally, people, thank God.) I put a dot on her nose & showed her how to make dots with it on paper, and she did the same to me. The next time I looked up, she had moved on to decorating her lower extremities. [August 19, 2008]

Admiring her work

There's something about this photo that I just love. The scraped up legs - signature of toddlerhood, along with the creative evidence of a fun moment.

Gotta love "washable" fingerpaint (and that sweet little face).

Oh my...

Was I brave or what, to do this indoors?

Clean up was fun, too!

Watching the sink water turn green from her tootsies.

Car Wash

Mookie was more than willing to help her dad wash the Famster on this lovely Saturday morn. She kept insisting she use the giant car wash mitt, even though the weight of it about tipped her over.

It was the start to a great weekend. We headed to the pool at Bur-Mil for a little while after this, trying to suck up what summer we have left there; then, after Ellison's nap, we went to a fun party at Mollie's parents' house. Ellison really enjoyed herself, and could've cared less where her dad & I were. On Sunday, we did our usual church thing - Ellison in the nursery during the service. I was SO proud - she didn't cry when we walked into the room to drop her off (the hand-off showed some little tears), and when we returned for her, she smiled and waved to us. I tell ya, it feels so much better to pick up a happy child, rather than having your heart break when you pick up a child that cries at the sight of your return because she was so sad you left. We were told she's getting better and better with the separation each week (praise Jesus!!!). Sunday afternoon we all attended a big ice cream social with a bunch of our fellow FOG (Families on the Grow) classmates & their kiddos. Ellison had a blast, and couldn't get enough of all the activities, toys, big swingset, etc. Good times.

Football

Ellison recently has this thing for sports balls. Almost everything is a "backetball" (basketball), but now she likes pointing out any "fooballs" (footballs) and "golf balls" in sight. She kept begging to go outside in our yard to play with the footballs last week. She even held the football properly, as if she was going to run with it, at one point. You'll be a hit with the guys, someday, Ellison. [August 14, 2008]

Mookie & the 'Rents

After battling with a little barrette all day, I finally had to put Mookie's bangs in a little top-o'-the-head ponytail. You can't see it well here, but Daddy thought it was cute enough to warrant a photo. (See, he's just like me!)

Lady & the Tramp (sorry, Jonathan) action going on. Ellison thought this to be pretty silly.

[August 14, 2008]

Playdate

Last week Ellison & I hosted a playdate with some of our girlfriends. It was fun! Unfortunately, Ellison wouldn't stand far enough away from me to allow me to take any photos of her (we've been going through some tough separation anxiety and "hold you" phase for quite some time during some playdates and at the church nursery). We still had fun, though! [August 14, 2008]

Miss Ella James Schwanke

Miss Baity Barksdale

Miss Caroline Perez

And the 4 little hooligans together

Baity cracks me up in this one! She is such a happy girl!

We attempted to have the girls sit down for some lunch (Baity had to go home to bed).

Missing Our Colorado Friends

This one's for you, Doug & Donna Mitchell (sniff, sniff). :) Wanted to let you know you're thought of every single day -- Ellison loves using her Louisville Stoneware set from you guys. She likes that they say her name & have bunnies on them. Miss you guys!

Here she is repeating, "Two hands" - my explicit instruction to her when she drinks out of her special cup. :)

Happy Birthday, Baity!!!

Ellison's little friend, Baity Barksdale, turned 1 on August 9. Ellison was happy to get to celebrate this big milestone at her party. Mommy missed out since she was working, but Daddy and Ellison had a great time!

Baity's little "house" and bubble-making grill were a HUGE hit!

Finger Painting

Daddy got to give Ellison her first experience with finger painting (literally, she only used her finger). In true Ellison style, she painted ever so delicately, with minimal mess, very deliberate strokes, and never went further than putting a little index finger in the paint. I guess you could say it was Ellison's version of getting messy. She's lucky Mommy wasn't there, because I probably would've stuck her whole hand in the paint. She was so relieved when she saw that her can't-stand-to-be-messy counterpart was with her that day. [August 9, 2008]