Old Mommy

Mommy turned 33 yesterday. Right? Wait, I have to stop and calculate it in my head. Yes. That's right. When I was younger, I never could understand how older people could never quickly say what their ages were - they had to stop and think about it. I GET IT NOW. Well, I've considered 3 my lucky number ever since I met Jonathan on 03-30-03. Let's hope it rings true and this turns out to be a great year!

Ellison was so anxious for me to open my presents, that I didn't even get to dry my hair first. She had helped Daddy wrap my presents - they looked so cute. I have to mention, that Ellison still isn't at an age where she can keep secrets. Not only is she always telling on herself to the unknowing parent (e.g. "Daddy, my went in time out because my was sassing Mommy"), but she also revealed some of my presents to me prior to the actual big day. Out of the blue the day before my birthday, she said, "Mommy, you have beautiful shirts in your presents!". It made me laugh.

Ellison, um, "assisting" me with the present opening.

After opening presents, the three of us headed to our passport appointment. My sweet husband took the day off to hang with us on my birthday. No, we're not going anywhere exotic (bummer), we just need it for driving through Canada for visiting family. Mine needed updating to my married name, and Ellison needed her first passport, which both parents have to be present for. So anyway, we then headed to Target to pick up some things, and I got carried away putting things in my cart to try on, until suddenly Jonathan reminded me that I had a staff meeting I needed to be at very soon. In my newfound old age, I completely spaced it. I blame Target. I can forget that all other life exists when I'm in that place. So we had to ditch our lunch plans, and rushed home, so that I could upset my child by leaving very abruptly as soon as we got in the driveway. Off to the staff meeting, then to get my birthday TB test (Moses Cone's idea of an employee birthday gift).

My dear friend, Mollie, was SOOO sweet to pop in for a surprise visit on my birthday, toting beautiful balloons!!! The bummer? I happened to be in a store trying on clothes! I had taken advantage of Jonathan having the day off - I never get to shop by myself, so I jumped at the chance to spend some birthday dough after doing my thing at the hospital. So Jonathan got to have a nice little visit with my sweet friend, and finally got to meet little Miss Maggie. When I was about 3 minutes from home, she couldn't stay any longer 'cause she had an appointment. :-( We did a drive-by blow of kisses in passing. Thank you, Mollie, for making the effort to do such a special thing for my birthday! You are such a wonderful friend, and I love you!!!

For dinner, I had a craving for Lettuce Wraps, so the three of us went to PF Chang's for dinner. Jonathan was being a sweet husband and had asked me to arrange for a babysitter a couple of weeks prior, but I really just wanted to spend my birthday with my hubby and my baby girl, so that's what we did, and that was perfect.

Thank you to all who passed along birthday wishes for me! You helped make my day a great one!

XOXOXOXO

[July 30, 2009]

Ice Cream Evening

When an evening family pool playdate fell through due to the weather, we all decided to meet up after dinner at our fave little ice cream shop that we Sotos have been frequenting in Summerfield. We met up with our friends Carlton and Kelly Tooley, and their 3 gorgeous girls: Olivia, Hanna, and Isabella. The older girls are SUCH great big sisters, and are SO sweet with Ellison - they're two little mothers. Isabella just turned 3 yesterday - the two of us share a birthday. :)

On the side of the ice cream shop (I think it's "Center Grove Grille and Soda Shoppe"), there's an open grassy area that Ellison (and any child present) loves to run free in. The girls played around there while we adults chatted away.

Playing Ring-Around-the-Rosie

They are such girls, arent' they? :)

[July 29, 2009]

Farmers Market and Pies

We had such a great day with our dear friend, Nancy - aka "Miss Nancy" to Ellison. Background: I did my first-ever Bible study class this past year through our church, and was randomly put with a bunch of women of various ages whom I didn't know (see post from Women's Retreat in April). We've all grown to be a very close bunch, and I am so thankful that all of them have become such a special part of my life. We've especially grown close to Nancy, who is so full of Godly wisdom, love, and joy. She adores little people, so Ellison and I get to hang out with her and do fun things, like explore the Bicentennial Gardens, visit her in the church library during storytime or after church, go for a walk in the park, have lunch, etc. I was feeling ambitious, wanting to bake a homemade peaches-and-cream pie with the awesome peach season we've had here in the Piedmont, so we asked Miss Nancy to come along with us to the Farmers Market to walk around (Ellison loves to peruse the aisles there). In talking, she told me she'd help me make a pie from scratch (I usually cheat and buy the Pillsbury pie crusts). I thought it'd be a fun day for us. SO, off we went to the Farmers Market to buy our peaches and other goodies...

(That's E's little noggin between the onions and eggplant)

Not sure where she got it, but Ellison wanted to pick up every form of produce possible, then she would knock on it and hold it up to her ear to listen. ??? The only thing I can think is that she saw me do it once to a watermelon??? It was so cute. She just went from one basket to another, sampling the sounds, and sharing it with Miss Nancy.

Then the three of us headed back to our house from some bakin'! Ellison was in her glory, as any opportunity to play with flour and dough is golden. Miss Nancy helped her make her very own little pie. Ellison didn't want any peaches in it, so she made a cinnamon and sugar pie crust, if you will. She said she was making it for Daddy. :-)

After a nap and clothing change, Ellison helped me shuck the corn (if anyone in the area gets to the market, you HAVE to get the Super Sweet Corn from the elderly couple!!! SOOO yummy!) and wanted to scrub it all by herself. Such a good little helper.

Presenting Daddy with his "pie". He seriously said it was his favorite (even after E was in bed - he was dead serious) after sampling the peaches-and-cream pie, and the traditional peach pie (which were outstanding, if I do say so myself!). Watch out Aunt Betty, Ell may give you a run for your money.

We had such a fun day, a nice change of pace. It made me feel like a good housewife for once - a great homecooked meal made with fresh produce, and a homemade pie. Now I'm off the hook for a few more years. Ha!

[July 22, 2009]

Elli-isms

Ellison is a total water girl. As mentioned before, she loved the beach, and this summer she's still lovin' her some pool. We've been fortunate this year to have had a pool date with Megan, Baity, Cameron, and Ella at the Elks; we've tested out the fun pool and awesome slide (or so I'm told by Ell & Daddy) at Tato & Nilda's neighborhood pool recently; we've gone over to the Lake Jeanette pool with our neighbors, the Fennels, a couple of evenings; and we've gone to Bur-Mil a few times. I'm still in shock over the fact that we didn't take pics of any of these pool days - we either forgot the camera and the cell phones in the car, or we just wanted to be in the moment. Ellison especially LOVES when we're at a pool where she can wear her little Dora floaty ring thingy. She's not a big fan of the arm floaties since they were introduced after Dora. We've been working on her kicking her legs and moving her arms, and she is so happy to now be able to spin herself around in her ring, or be able to kick herself some short distances. She loves playing on pool stairs (descending them until it's deep and we grab her and whisk her away in fun), and loves counting to 3 (or 5) and jumping in for us to catch her.

One of the funniest things we've heard lately... Daddy was getting out of the shower when Elli was hanging out in the bathroom. She was staring you-know-where, and said, "Daddy, you have a big peanuts!". Yeah, Jonathan was walking a little taller that day, but I quickly reminded him that she has nothing to compare it to. Hee, hee. He's going to kill me for posting this entry...

Ellison asks me to go fishing on occasion. And she's the fish. She'll stand across the room, and I have to pretend I'm throwing in my reel (is that even the right lingo???), then she "catches" it with her mouth. I start reeling her in all the while she pretends she's being pulled in by the hook in her mouth. She's such a little nut.

She still tries to whip out some Spanish, which of course, is incomprehensible to us. The other day she said, "Ay, Dios mio!". I'm guessing I have been using that phrase a lot.

Every night after we read her story in her big girl bed (which she still won't sleep in), she then has to make her bed all by herself. No, we didn't enforce this, SHE'S dictating it. But we have to wait there patiently until she goes back and forth to each side straightening her covers to her liking.

She's been planning her 3rd birthday for a while now. She's light-years ahead of us. We hear repeatedly how she wants the "princess cake" (the Barbie one at the grocery stores where the cake is Barbie's big dress) and "I want to eat it BIG". She kept insisting for my impending birthday that I was going to be getting a princess cake.

She wears panties to bed now. A few weeks ago we noticed she kept waking up dry, so we gave it a shot and she's done great. We still occasionally have an accident at night, but for the most part that wasn't too bad a transition. One hint to any of you who have this in your future: double up their bedding. Always have on a mattress cover and sheet on top of another mattress cover and sheet. You'll be very thankful you did it at 3am, when you can just peel off a layer instead of wrestling with those stupid tight mattresses!

I love our little quiet conversations when I'm rocking her before her nap. It's so fun to hear what her little brain is thinking, and she's always looking right into my face. The other day she starting petting my hair while looking into my eyes, and said so quietly, "My rubbing your hair because my love you". Seriously, let's just bring out the whole box of tissues, people.

She's been having a little bit of a hard time with our crazy family schedule lately. It seems either me or Jonathan is always running off to work, and the 3 of us don't get a ton of family time together. It's been hard on her, which is hard on us. It rips your heart out to hear, "Mommy, you don't want to go to work tonight" with a little pout on the face. There are many mornings she cries for Daddy. Yet another way it's hard to be living without family nearby. We're all she knows for her home comfort.

I've been little by little talking to her about going to school soon. I know this will be a hard transition for her, but I excitedly talk to her about it and tell her all the fun things she's going to get to do. She keeps telling me, "My don't want to go to school". This will be interesting...

Crazy Coloring

Ellison went on a little coloring hiatus for a while, but she seems to be back into it. After I was at work a couple weeks ago, I came home to about 5 pictures that she colored, and my jaw about hit the floor. Though we've seen glimpses of it in the past, this child has some crazy spot-on coloring skills! Jonathan said she was busy coloring away when he was cooking dinner, and about died when he, too, saw how great of a job she does.

[July 11, 2009]

Dinner Date

We enjoyed a lovely dinner made by Rebecca one evening, as the guys took in a Grasshoppers game. We all had a great evening. Well, Ellison was a little bit shy at times, but had moments of fun until the end. She turned around to get her little placemat that she colored, and fell, causing a very hard scrape against her chest from the little stool. It looked awful, she sobbed, and you could tell it hurt. After getting her calmed down for the ride home, she'd intermittently say in a pathetic little voice, "Mommy, my chest really hurts. It really, really hurts." It seriously looked terrible. :-(

Rebecca and Allie had the little girls' table set-up so cute!

Ella, Ellison, Caroline, and Allie chowing on Mac 'N Cheese.

And finally a pic of baby Maggie!

And Baby Matthew! It only took me 2 months to get a pic of the two newest additions into the gang. Little Matthew chilled and slept the whole time in his carrier, so we didn't want to interrupt that for his Mama's sake. The two are just precious as can be!

Ellison perked right up when it came time for a "tent" in the living room.

Thanks for being such great hostesses, Rebecca & Allie!

[July 9, 2009]

Resident Photographer

Ellison was really wanting to take a picture with the real camera all by herself. Her muse was her red dinosaur drink thingy. She was so pleased, and would have continued to take a ton more had I not told her the batteries were low. Guess she takes after her Mom. Funny thing is, she almost takes better pics than me.

[July 9, 2009]

Our Marshmallow

That's it. She actually turned into a marshmallow. This comes as no suprise, since she's had to have 2 big marshmallows every morning before her "real" breakfast and vitamin. I could hear the angels singing the day we actually ran out, and I had to break the news to her. The unfortunate part, is that she realizes she can still get her marshmallow fix via the box of Lucky Charms. As much as I tell her she needs to eat the crunchy things, too, I usually get the leftovers minus the crunchy little blobs of colorful sugar.

So we know that Ellison loves to be enclosed and snuggled up in things. The latest is a pillowcase. She requests that I hold it open for her long enough to get her little bod in it, then I have to "close it". If one little hair from her head escapes the small confines and makes it into the opening, she becomes desperate, begging for mercy, "Close it tight, Mom!".

[July 9, 2009]

Chillin' Like a Villian

Not a bad set-up for lunch, eh? Who knew her ironing board would be so useful while eating lunch and watching the tube?

[July 9, 2009]

Does This Make Me a Grandma Already?

So I'm driving down the road the other day, and Ellison starts telling me from the back seat, "My baby is due to be born" (where on earth did my 2 1/2 yr old pick up the lingo? A SPONGE I tell you!). Then I hear several grunts (think a woman in labor), and look in the rearview mirror attachment to see her gritting her little teeth with her lips open (again, think a woman in labor), repeating, "Push! Push!". I think I was still speechless, 'cause she repeated again that her baby was due to be born. The poor thing was having a tough labor it seems; she then plainly told me "My baby won't come". Oh my. Can you tell she likes to watch medical shows and "A Baby Story"?! I seriously have tried changing the channel when it comes to the medical stuff, but she throws a fit. Maybe we have a future OB-GYN on our hands. She's very in tune to pregnancy at this stage - the very same day she lifted up her shirt with a perplexed look on her face saying, "God didn't put a baby in my tummy." I'm working on some subliminal tapes to play while she's napping - "Not until you're married, not until you're married..."

4th of July

On the 4th of July, Daddy and Ellison didn't want to spend the holiday alone while I worked, so they tagged along down to Concord back to Tato & Nilda's house to hang out for the day. They had popsicles, played, and ran through the new beach ball sprinkler that Daddy brought along.

Nati

Ellison and Bianca (she's attached to Bianca, even though sweet Nati is so good to her! It makes poor Nati so sad, and we can't seem to remedy it despite having talks with Ell)

Ellison kept saying, "That's cold!"

Unfortunately, Daddy didn't get Ellison back home and asleep before fireworks started. (See recent post from baseball game). I actually got out of work at a decent time, and was home by 10pm, and Ellison was still being rocked in her bedroom, with Daddy having to keep her little ears covered. We transferred bodies, and I continued to rock her for almost an hour. The second I'd try to slowly release my hand from her sweaty little hopefully-sleeping head, another loud firework would go off in the street and she'd cling to me like a monkey, repeating, "Cover my ears! Cover my ears!" in a panic. I finally got her to the point where she was willing to lay down with me in her big girl bed, as long as I'd scratch her back and keep her ears covered. After the panic would rip through her little body a few more times, she finally fell asleep, and I was able to creep away at 11pm. We felt so bad for her, but the upside was the fact that she actually was asleep in her big girl bed. That lasted until 5am when she called for me to come rock her, and then said she wanted back in her crib. :-)

[July 4, 2009]

Day at the Zoo

Our holiday weekend was lots of fun (minus me working all day on the 4th). On Friday, we took advantage of Daddy being off work, and headed to the NC Zoo in Asheboro. It was a beautiful day for it - unusually non-humid, though quite warm. We met Tato, Nilda, Bianca, & Natalia there to spend the day. Ellison had a blast playing with her cousins, and we adults were exhausted by the time we closed out the zoo. Then the entire gang came up to our house to spend the night.

Playing in the Kid Zone while waiting for the others to arrive.

Her first taste of cotton candy. Needless to say, she loves it!

"Painting" with water on the chalk wall

The 3 girls played musical strollers all day long...

Ell loved the carousel - she was grinning and squealing with happiness. Mommy, meanwhile, was trying to hold her lunch in.

I think Nilda's had enough...

The female lion just kept pacing back and forth while the male lion just layed there looking around. Males are always so good at reading body language, aren't they?

[July 3, 2009]