Repeat Request

Prayers for Papa, please... I'm afraid 'tis true. Ellison's poor, poor Papa is back in the hospital again. We'd greatly appreciate it, folks. He sure needs 'em.

Hold the Bus

Heh, heh... We're giving potty training a little break from the Soto household. :)

A Work In (Hopeful) Progress

Yesterday we officially started potty-training Ellison (for various reasons, so stop saying "You're crazy" to the computer screen). She was a willing participator, but it has been a very bumpy road. It is definitely more challenging than one would think. Last night after we put our "big girl" to bed, I started getting very teary-eyed that we're training our baby girl to be a big girl. Even though she's at the age where it's perfectly normal to do this, it comes with very mixed feelings. Just one of those things... I've never been a fan of hanging out in bathrooms, but we feel like we're on bathroom overload right now. This photo depicts Ellison's very first trip to the potty during our boot camp. Notice that beautiful little grin. I wish every potty trip was like this... ;)[December 26, 2008]

Christmas Day

We had a lovely Christmas Day. After opening a couple of presents from Santa, and some presents from each other & family, we layed low. After Ell's nap we went on a nice walk, then it was off to dinner at the Sbihli house. After Ellison went to bed for the night, Mama & Daddy drank wine & played the Wii. (Mommy's still a little sore).Our little Munchkin checking out the presents under the tree.

Wrestling around with the GARGANTUAN bear Titi Ana bought her.

A new bed for her babies

Mookie picked out matching PJs as a gift for Mommy. We're enjoying tea and crumpets with E's new tea set from Grandma & Papa.

Daddy's turn

I think I gave birth to another child. Ellison got a new baby doll from Santa that you actually feed baby food and a bottle (with real water). She then will seriously poop and pee on the potty, and tell you when she has to go. (We had no idea she was so complicated - there are actual instructions on how to potty train her! As if potty training one toddler isn't enough...). Anyway, Ellison loves her - we haven't done the "real" stuff with the doll yet (not a bad idea when she's a teenager), but Ellison's having a blast changing her diaper over and over, and listening to her talk and suck from the empty bottle.

Ellison enjoying one of Mommy's presents. My sweet in-laws know I love Florecitas, so they sent me a giant container of them for Christmas. It was Ellison's first time trying them, and needless to say, she's a girl after my own heart.

Our diaper-changing maestra

[December 25, 2008]

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve was an eventful day. Mommy lost her keys at Harris Teeter, and didn't realize it until we were in a crazy, snaking line at the checkout with about 3/4ths of Greensboro's population. Thankfully some nice person turned them in. That evening we went to church, and Ellison got to stay in the nursery room where our friends, Dawn & Eric Placke, happened to be volunteering (bonus!). After church, we took a drive to a sub-division that is well-known for it's Christmas light display. Then off to bed to await Jesus' birthday (Ellison was excited to sing her rendition of "Happy Birthday" again).All dressed up and ready to go

[December 24, 2008]

Evening Fun

Just had to throw in a couple of pics of Ell. She was all juiced up from getting her new horsey, "Echo". She named him (after her love of shouting "Echo!" in places that, well, echo). She fell in love with him at Walgreens when Daddy had to stop in for something. She absolutely sobbed when they had to leave, heartbroken that she couldn't be with the horsey anymore. A sweet lady actually started going around to people in the store trying to collect money so they could pitch in and buy her the horse, because the lady could see she loved it so much! How incredibly sweet of her, but that made Daddy feel terrible. So little Mookie cried the whole way out of the store (after Daddy purchased it with Christmas money sent to Ellison by family) since she couldn't ride him while strapped in her carseat. Amazingly, she forgot about Echo, as Daddy must have some mean distraction skills, and we got to suprise her by wipping him out of hiding the other night. She was SO excited!
She was still so pumped up from Echo that she grabbed her must-have accessories -- high heels, a purse, and a wand. I think she thought Echo was going to be her tranportation for a night out on the town.
[December 23, 2008]

Update on Papa

Thank you to those of you who have been praying for Ellison's Papa - we appreciate it so much!!! I am thrilled to report that today he is doing so much better! When I talked to him on the phone Sunday night, his speech was slurred because he was so weak - it was absolutely awful. Yesterday he started to show some improvement, and today he sounds really good. We are so thankful the worst-case scenario possibilities didn't pan out (I'll leave out the details of what's been going on or else I could type a book). He seems to finally be responding to the antibiotics, and he may even get to go home tomorrow. One of the unfortunate things with all of this, is the weather in Michigan. The hospital he had his surgery in is 2 hours away from their house, and the hospital he's in right now is 40 minutes away. They have been absolutely slammed with snow and horrible conditions, which has made life tough for my mom, who has been trying to go back-and-forth. For those of you who don't know, my parents live out in the country - roads get really bad. As they are bracing for another 8 inches over the next couple of days, certainly we're all worried about the drive home for my dad if they discharge him tomorrow. If they get stuck, or even in a fender-bender, that would be awful considering my dad has limited mobility now & has to use a walker. So please pray for safety with the travels for my parents (and aunts, uncles, and my siblings who have been helping). My poor mom - I have to tell you - what a trooper. When she brought my dad home from the hospital the first time (after being away from home for almost 7 days), they came home to a flooded basement. Over the last 2 days, the garbage disposal and the garage door both broke! I tell ya... like Mom says, "If you didn't laugh, you'd just cry...". Thanks again, for your care and concern!

Please Pray for Papa

Please, please, say a little prayer for Ellison's Papa. He had knee replacement surgery 8 days ago, and what was supposed to be a 3-day hospital stay turned into a 6-day stay - though his new knee is doing relatively well, Papa has been quite sick. He was starting to do a little better, and finally went home Thursday. Tonight he was rushed to the ER (per the surgeon's instructions) because he has a 103.8 fever and is apparently very, very sick. It could be several things, we're just praying that it's not a couple of bad scenarios that are possibilities at this point. And please pray from Ellison's Grandma - she has been through the ringer this past week, and she's still riding this roller coaster (as are my siblings, who have been much more of a physical support than I have been). We would so appreciate if you could lift him (and them) up in prayer for us...

It's Hard...

It's hard not to LAUGH at 3:45am when you are startled awake by this:

"Hoooooold you, Daddy... Hold you, Daddy... Daaaaddyyyy... Where aaaare you?... Daddy, where are you?... Daddy, come in the door... Daddy, rock you in the chair... C'mon, Daddy... Daddy, where aaaare you?..."

Who Is In Charge Of Whom Here?

Little Ell sure is getting demanding at times. I guess I should take that to mean she's very comfortable???

Most days anymore, as soon as I reach for a rubberband to pull my hair back (which happens several times a day), usually when I'm just around the house and want it out of my way, she immediately frowns, whines gently, and starts pleading, "No that! No that, Mommy! Take it out!". (No, I do not let her rule me or my hair - it stays in). I mean, I know my hair looks bad, but come on - is it really THAT hideous? (Please don't answer that).

Well, apparently I can't dress myself properly either. Today after I got her up from her nap, I had on a different shirt - just a long-sleeved red T-shirt. After she finally takes a good look at me, she frowns and points to my shirt: "No that." After my look of disbelief, she says quietly, still frowning, "Wear something else".

Oy... Perhaps I have a pint-sized Scrooge on my hands - not up for some festive color.

Our Soto Tradition

Our 2nd annual Soto family Christmas cookie bake. (There was no way this tradition was going to start with a 1-month-old baby, hence only the 2nd one). Ellison loves any opportunity to "help" in the kitchen, and this was no different. She was our official sugar and flour girl. And once we had dough, she had all kinds of fun. She probably just thought it was boring-colored Play-Doh. Needless to say, our fun made for quite the mess. And that meant Daddy spent more time trying to clean up things more than he did making anything, but we were all together and listening to Christmas music. :)

Frosting her very own Christmas cookie, which she followed up with some sprinkles, of course. :)

For whatever reason, Ellison wouldn't show off her little creation, so Mommy had to do so. She certainly had no trouble picking at him to get to the sprinkles and frosting after that, though.

Mommy & Daddy frosted and decorated the rest of the cookies after Mookie went down for bed. After Mommy ate about 10 of them (okay, maybe 9), she swore she never wanted to see another Christmas cookie ever again. Ask her how many she has had today...

[December 14, 2008]

Last night after dark we went on a great walk since the weather was so balmy. We delivered cookies to all of our neighbors, then went on a walk to see some Christmas lights. Ellison kept saying, "No go home!" as we would come close to our house. This child would've stayed out until 2am if she could've. I guess it's been too long since we've played outside. Well, Mama's gotta work off those cookies now, right?

Ethan's Visit

Ethan came over for a few hours Friday night so we could babysit. Of course, Ellison and Ethan had fun, but she was completely puzzled as to why he was going to bed at our house. And then in the morning, she was very concerned because Ethan wasn't in the pack-n-play anymore.
[December 12, 2008]

Decorating the Tree

We finally got to the point where we could hang the ornaments on the tree. Ellison gasped with excitement for each and every one that we pulled out of the box. It was so cute! She hung a couple herself, then decided it was funner and quicker to just keep getting them out of the box.

Oh the Christmas Tree...

Ellison stopped by the Christmas tree, the object that caused us to lose Daddy for a few days, to give him a little cookie break. You see, we bought this 1,000-light year-old pre-lit Christmas tree off Craig's list for a great deal. Well, over 600 of the 1,000 bulbs were burnt out! Daddy had to, literally, replace over 600 bulbs (no exaggerating) one-by-one. He no longer has any feeling left in the tips of his fingers, but hey, we have one heck of a tree. It was one of those moments where I thought, "If I was single, I would've cried not knowing where to begin, cursed a whole lot, and then bought a new tree". Daddy has been in such a good little Christmas spirit this year. I kept saying (I thought reduntantly) that we just would have to decorate outside next year - it was already mid-December, and what was the point this late in the game when we'd just have to take it down in a few weeks? But every evening last week, I would wonder what the heck he was doing - why he wasn't around in the house - and would find him putting lights on bushes outside or hanging wreaths in the windows. I have to say, he did a great job! The house looks so cute. He said "We don't have any family to spend the holidays with, so we are going to make it festive for us!". Thanks, Daddy. Thank God the holidays aren't in Mommy's hands this year.
[December 8, 2008]

Santa's Lap

We took Ellison to visit Santa at Bur-Mil Park's clubhouse. We talked Santa up like crazy, and explained to her how she would sit on his lap, etc. The second she saw we were actually following through and was placed on his lap, she kept saying "Get down... Hold you, Mama... Hold you, Daddy... Get down...". She never cried, but that poor girl was chomping her gum so fast that we never got a pic with a smile.

Love this look she's giving him...

And what body language. You can tell if Santa loosened his grip on her, she would've fallen right over trying to get away from him.
After the torture, we all had some cookies and hot cocoa while listening to some carolers.
[December 6, 2008]

Little Miss Growing Up

A make-believe conversation Mookie had on her fake cell phone this morning:

"Hi, Daddy!... How are you, Daddy?!... Good!... Come over your house?... Come home soon, Daddy..."

Awww, my heart just melted. She's said several times today, "Come home soon, Daddy".

She just started telling us she loves us on a regular basis, too, which is so cool! She'll just lean over and pat our arm, or she'll hug our leg and say, "Love you, Mommy (or Daddy)". So freakin' great... :)

Ellison discovered chewing gum this past month, and she LOVES it!!! I never would've guessed she would like mint-flavored anything, but this girl will chew a piece of gum for 2 hours. I'm knocking on wood here, but she has never swallowed it, and gives it to me when she's done with it. I say this, then watch my next blog post be how I find gum stuck in her (or my) hair.

She's really into her new panties the last few days. Either she (overtop of her pants) or one of her animals has to wear them around for a while each day. And not just one pair. It has to be 3 or 4 at a time. Can't imagine that's comfortable, but then again, what is comfortable when diapers are involved?

She's starting to really become quite a little jokester, too. Non-stop whit around here, folks. The other day I was walking out of Target with my arms full of bags and Ellison, when she kept flopping herself forward in my arms. I kept telling her, as I struggled, to sit up straight on my hip (she did not indulge me), until finally she flopped her head back where I could see her face, with her eyes closed and a little smirk, when she started making snoring noises, pretending she was asleep. This is a passive-aggressive form of "I can't hear you", isn't it?...

It's just so awesome every day to hear something new out of her mouth. Yesterday it was her touching my shirt saying, "That beautiful, Mommy". Or watching her say, "Hmm, let's see..." as she puts her finger to her mouth in deep thought, or "You're funny, Mommy" (as long as she doesn't follow that one up with "-looking".

When playing with animals or dolls or whatever, she now uses a squeaky little fake voice when conversing for them. So funny to hear.

Final Days in Buff

Our last couple days in Buffalo were nice and relaxing. Ellison was in her glory with the little Christmas villages and moving Christmas decorations, as I mentioned before. She would just lay in front of them and watch, or she'd play with the little figurines.

Ellison's cousin Nicholas. She kept calling him "Necklace" and grabbing her neck when she'd call him. :)

Titi Marie

Titi Ana

We miss you guys so much!

[November 30 & December 1, 2008]

Princess For A Day

Ellison's Aunt Marie, Aunt Ana, & her grandparents threw her a big princess-themed birthday party while we were there. They went all out spoiling little Mookie - she had 2 princess dresses to choose from to wear for the big shindig, a tiara, a necklace & earrings, sparkly shoes or princess slippers to choose from (she was ADDICTED to the pink sparkly shoes, but they were too big so she had a hard time clomping around in them; but anytime she spotted them when Mommy's hiding spots weren't that good, they were on her faster than you can say Christian Laboutin), in addition to the other birthday goodies. It was a great time! Thanks, everyone!The yummy cake (that remains on Mommy's hips to this day)

Princess preparations - lunch before the party

E loved her Titis' tupperware cupboard. You can tell by the look on her face that she thinks she's getting into something she shouldn't be.

Surveying her clip-ons

The first to arrive - Ellison's cousin Ruthie and her daughter Zaina. Ell & Zaina were coloring together.

Ellison with her cousin Sheree

Zoe (Sheree's daughter), cousin Ruthie, Ellison, Zaina, & Sheree

Hugs from Nati

Zaine, Natalia, & Ellison playing with hand puppets

The princess with her mommy (does that make me a queen? :) )

E had to be plopped right down in front of the bowl of chips

Daddy & Mookie

With the size of the partial ginormous Soto family that was at the party - you can imagine how great the "Happy Birthday" song sounded to Ell.

We had a hard time keeping E's fingers out of the cake long enough for a pic with her grandparents

Yummy ice cream!

Trying on her new engraved bracelet from Titi Ana

Taking a bath in Titi Ana & Marie's big sink with Abuela's help

[November 29, 2008]