Imagine my gasp when I realized I missed putting in one of my fave pics of Ell a couple of posts ago... Her frosting face from her pumpkin doughnut at Krispy Kreme on Halloween. It was even funnier to watch that little mouth talk.
[Oct 31, 2008]
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Moose Cafe
Ellison loves going to the Moose Cafe at the Farmer's Market. It's convenient for us to do since it's right by Daddy's work. Ellison always has to go greet the big moose, and name off all of the letters in the sign. It's like tradition now.
Sporting her new fave "purse" that we got at the bag warehouse sale. I had big plans to put her little jewelry in it, since that's what I think it's for, but she had other plans.
Visit to the Dentist
Ellison started asking to go to the dentist the week before her appointment, after hearing that I had a dentist appointment. I kept telling her her turn was coming. She's only been to the dentist once before, 6 months ago, and though she cooperated, she cried during the cleaning and exam. This time? OMG, total turnaround. She was SO excited! When it came to be her turn, she followed the hygienist back, hopped right up into the chair while the hygienist's back was turned, and layed right down. She got to push the buttons on the chair that make it go up, she got to hold the polishing tool, and smell the polish. She was eating it right up! (Not the polish, the experience). She opened her little mouth up like a bird when it came time to polish her teeth, and even loved it when they squirted the water in her mouth and then had her close her lips around the suction. They said what a big girl she was - they said they totally expected to have her in my lap at this age yet. I was seriously dumbfounded that she had such a great experience. FYI, if any of Ellison's little friends out there are looking for a pediatric dentist, Lake Jeanette Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics is THE place to go! The office is SO cute and fun, and the staff and dentist/orthodontist are SO great - an awesome atmosphere with lots of fun things.
How did we celebrate our great dentist visit? With Krispy Kreme, of course! Job security for the dentist, I suppose.
[May 7, 2009]Cinco de Mayo 2009
Little princess is officially 2 1/2! I was thankful to get one cute little pic of her with the maracas to mark the occasion, but Ellison decided she had her own agenda during our little shoot. It was like pulling teeth to get her to cooperate for some pics.
She wanted to help me make the little sign this time. :-) Wow, how far we've come from her "1 month old" sign! I love it.
Here's where she starts doing what SHE wants, despite my pleas and begging.
That day, coincidentally, Daddy was bringing home a surprise, and I told her as much. Around the time he was due home, I came into the foyer to find Ellison had pushed this box in front of the front door all by herself, and was sitting on it while watching for her Daddy to pull in the driveway. So sweet!
Ellison with her "new" (via Craigslist) kitchen/laundry unit. She's happily ironing her La-La. Next week we're going to work on how to iron collars.OK, here goes a rundown of some of Ellison's 2 1/2 year tidbits...
--She's got a fixation with smells. Several times a day, I see her put her little hand over her mouth & nose, and she says "My smell someting". And often it's, "My smell someting stinky", whether it be food, rain, wood, breath, etc.
--I'm starting to become quickly panicked in public. See above. It also takes on the form of, "Mommy, she have a baby in her tummy?" (Even when they don't). There's no way to know this is coming. (gasp!).
--She loves "Flossie", as in dental floss. Crazy, I know. Sometimes it's the only thing that gets us through the toothbrushing - if we tell her she gets to pick out a flossie (those little floss bar thingies).
--She's a milk-fiend. And lately has to drink it out of her old sippies, with a sippie lid.
--Loves tents. Just about every morning, I have to make a tent in my bed with my legs using the sheet, and she gets inside. We make tents over the ottoman/sofa, her slide, her little table, all over the place.
--She is in a streak where she refuses to talk on the phone. I chase her around with the phone on speaker-phone, and she'll crawl behind the sofa. Or just sit there defiantly with her little lips pressed shut.
--She never wants to wear her pants after naptime. She just wants to be free to wear her shirt and panties. Don't be surprised if you see her in our yard with the little undergarment free for all to see.
--We each have to kiss both of her hands after we tuck her into bed at night. She has a very specific request list every night for bed as far as what she needs in her bed with her, and how she needs it. Just when we think we've successfully snuck away a stuffed animal or two to, um, make enough room for our child, she quickly reminds us how much she needs that suddenly-noticed animal. Nothing gets past her.
--She's discovered that she can play her Daddy at bedtime. Before, we would take her potty before bed, and that was it - the rest of the rituals would continue until we walked out of her room for the night. Now, after laying her in bed, and appeasing her various kiss-requests, she starts whining that she has to go potty again. I've talked her out of it in the past, knowing she's just stalling, but now Daddy gives in. He sits her on the potty, and she'll start making cutesy faces at him. He asks her, "Ell, do you really have to go potty?". She always answers coyly, "No..." while giving him these sweet little looks. Little stinker.
--She now notices a subtle difference in her two Teddies, and only "Other Teddy" will do. So much for having a replacement all this time.
--We're considering buying stock in Band-Aids, considering how much she's constantly getting into them and putting them on owies that have long-since healed. This also means we have to buy stock in "Goo Gone" because we know from experience how tough it is to get Band-Aids off Teddy and her other animals.
--She's started calling us "Mom" and "Dad" lately. This still makes me weak in the knees. Where did our baby go? I couldn't believe I heard, "Hey, Ma..." out of her mouth the other day either.
--She's into sorting and matching things.
--We hear "My so hungry" (imagine it with a pathetic little whine) about 563 times a day. And she's so used to turning down our ideas for snack items, that she automatically says, "My hungry for someting else" before we've even given her an option as to what it can be.
--She's all about books. Being read to, reading to her animals, looking at them, making a mess with them, etc.
--Still an accessory queen - her shoes, my shoes, her purses, my purses, her jewelry, my jewelry...
--I'm shocked to say that the requests for watching "The Wiggles" has waned some (though not completely). Never thought it would happen. Still likes to watch "Curious George" and "Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Friends"; now she's liking "Veggie Tales", too. Still likes any show about real babies.
--We've been talking to her about getting her big girl bed very soon. She gets so excited. But lately, we've noticed we may have a few issues. The other night when I was putting her down for a nap, she said, "Mom, will Chrisilla (a stuffed animal she named that sleeps next to her) get to sleep in my big girl bed, too?". When I reassured her, she then asked, "And all of my animals, too?". I had to tell her we'd make a new bed for them since they won't all fit. You could see her mind mulling this over. Not too long ago, she started asking where her crib would go when her big girl bed came. When I told her she wouldn't need it anymore, that we would move it to a different room, she became sad and worrisome. So she may have 2 beds for a while. :-)
--She's so into playing doctor with my real stethoscope. She'll say, "Mommy, lay down, close your eyes, and take a deeeeep breath... That sounds just great. Perfect.". If I happen to mention that she has a sniffle or something, she'll suddenly get this twinkle in her eyes and say, "Yeah, my probly need to go to the doctor!".
--She's always asking, "Mommy (or Daddy), are you happy?".
--She now asks me to paint her toenails and fingernails. "Mom, will you paint my nails pink, please?". And she loves tattoos. The temporary ones, of course.
--When we go on walks around the neighborhood now, she wants to get out and get her own exercise. She even jogs, coaxing me along the whole way. Ha! She likes to bring her Teddy or baby in her little stroller and push them, too.
--We constantly hear, in a very drawn out and light voice, "All-by-my-self".
--She loves making up songs and switching around the words to established songs to be silly.
--Jonathan and I gasp on an almost-daily basis at the things that come out of her mouth. Where does she get some of that stuff??? Like, "My look like such a genius!" (we do not use that word, seriously), and "Not exactly...".
--Every morning when we're lying in our bed, she says she's so hungry and wants me to bring her milk and marshmallows. Every morning. I thought I was being clever when I would bring her like, 3 little marshmallows, on top of Crispix (she's into dry cereal and separate milk lately for breakfast). Today after her request, I started to get out of the bed to fetch the items, and she said, "And I don't want any Crispix, Mom."
OK, there's a run-down
Myrtle Beach
Noteworthy because this was my first time ever spending a night without Ellison EVER! I got to go on a great retreat weekend in Myrtle Beach with a group of women that I love. There were a couple of our ladies missing from the weekend, but all of us have been in a couple of Bible studies over this past year together. We've learned so much, not only spiritually, but about each other. Though the weekend wasn't quite what some of us thought it would be, I absolutely loved my time with them! I missed my sweet baby girl (and sweet hubby, too) to pieces, but it was great to feel "refreshed". The days leading up to this weekend had me feeling very weary and worn-out as a parent. Though parenting is such a joy, there are times when you just feel like you need to be "refilled" so you can keep going. I felt like I was running on empty the week before. Perhaps because Ellison seemed to be particularly challenging with tantrums and naughtiness, or perhaps because I had been going on 2 1/2 yrs without a real "break". At any rate, it was just what I needed, and I was so excited to get back to being Mommy. I thought Ellison would come running up to me when I arrived home. Didn't quite happen that way. She saw me, shouted, "Mommy!" and without even catching her breath said, "What surprise did you bring me?". Yeah, um, I'm pretty sure she missed me...
For some reason, I only took 2 pics the whole weekend. The weather was so perfect!
Eating lunch at "Cheeseburger in Paradise" before heading back home to reality:Karen, Nancy, me, Jill, Lauren, and Caralynn.
[April 24-26]
Cell Phone Pics
I finally downloaded all of my cell phone pics from the last couple of years. We about died when we saw how much Ellison has changed. You know they are changing, and you see it sometimes, but it really takes your breath away as a parent when you look back. There were so many little memories packed into my little hand-held accessory...
Ellison trying on a cowgirl hat at a Gymboree store
[Jun 24, 2007]
In our High Point corporate housing apt - our first NC home
[Jul 25, 2007]
Practicing some steps in the front yard
[Sep 16, 2007]
[Oct 13, 2007]
At the Perez's - we were cracking up because Caroline plopped onto the car, and Ellison started to push her
[Oct 14, 2007]
Love that wittle face - this was one year from my original due date
[Nov 22, 2007]
This girl has always had a thing for cell phones and gadgets - just like her Daddy
[Nov 25, 2007]
For many months, Ellison and I spent our Tuesday mornings at the Benjamin Branch library for story time and songs. We really got to know the other little regulars, and they were always sharing Cheerios amongst each other.
[Nov 28, 2007]
[Dec 4, 2007]
After story time at the library, Ellison loved tooling around the tiny kid section while I picked out books for us.
[Dec 5, 2007]
[Dec 16, 2007]
Brushing her teeth
[Dec 30, 2007]
Just a few days after learning to walk all over the place.
[Jan 1, 2008]
And, ah, one of the mistakes I've made as a parent - this was the first time I let her loose from the shopping cart in Target. She had SO much fun, and I had so much fun watching her explore. It was great for several months, but now I see the harm - now that she's 2 1/2 and I can't seem to manage with her in a store since she doesn't want to stay in the cart!
[Jan 9, 2008]
Spending her gift certificate from her birthday at the Build-A-Bear Workshop. She wanted to haul around the big shopping basket even though it was bigger than her.
[Jan 20, 2008]
Playing with the train table at Barnes & Noble
[Jan 24, 2008]
[Feb 4, 2008]
Exploring the backyard
[Feb 18, 2008]
[Feb 14, 2008]
Trying on Mama's big shoes
[Feb 15, 2008]
Ellison's first time perusing Home Depot's aisles.
She played with the caulk for a good 20 minutes (when we had to pull her away), taking them in & out of the box.
[Feb 16, 2008]
She wanted up on the tractor, and still does to this day every time we're there.
Checking out the first spring flower in our yard.
[Mar 3, 2008]
She loved/loves trying on accessories by herself - she got into her hats.
[Mar 3, 2008]
Playing in the van - another fave.
[Jun 1, 2008]
Oh, her beloved green sunglasses that have since gotten lost one day on a walk at Battleground Military Park. She was upset and talking about it all day long.
[Jun 8, 2008]
Hats and high heels
[Jul 5, 2008]
Daddy let Ellison get her own little shopping cart for the first time at Harris Teeter. That girl was throwin' stuff in her cart faster than we could put it back. She's only allowed to do this when she grocery shops with 2 parents, which is pretty much never.
[Jul 26, 2008]
Talking on the phone - probably to Grandma. As of late, she refuses to talk on the phone, and hides on me so I can't chase her with it.
[Aug 30, 2008]
Love her
[Sep 23, 2008]
Sweet baby girl at the hospital to have her renal ultrasound and VCUG scan. She was SUCH a trooper!!! They (and we) were very impressed with how great she was through it all.
[Oct 16, 2008]
Laying amongst all the giant stuffed animals at Costco in Buffalo. Titi Ana ended up buying one for her for Christmas
[Nov 2008]
Wrestling on our bed - a daily pasttime.
[Feb 27, 2009]
I had to run into the grocery store for a quick item, and Mookie wanted to walk "all by myself"; she also insisted on having her little purse on her arm just like Mama. She walked around like she owned the place!
[Mar 11, 2009]
We had no idea she was playing in the sour cream when we turned our backs.
[Mar 13, 2009]
Daddy was out of town on business, and Elli and I had such a great evening one of the, um, evenings. After playing at the park, we went for ice cream at Baskin Robbins and watched the sunset.
[Mar 7, 2009]
And ending with a "smile". :-)
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