Ma's Birthday

Turning 34 doesn't particularly feel fun, but I did have a very nice day, thanks to friends and family. The day before my birthday, me and Ell met up spur-of-the-moment with Mollie and her girls, and Rebecca & Allie at Feeney's for some frozen yogurt, where I got some beautiful flowers and some beautiful company. The girls had a great time. I'm always so thrilled to see how much fun Ellison has with them. She and Caroline act like long-lost sisters with each other. Allie, Ellison, and Caroline ditched us after a while, grabbed their frozen yummies and sat at their own little cafe table like big girls. When we were leaving, Caroline and Ellison were holding hands - cutest thing!

On the morning of my birthday, Cameron, Ella, and Matthew stopped over and brought me some awesome goodies. Ellison was happy to have a playmate, and happy to see the beautiful cupcakes from Delicious that I got surprised with.

We waited until Daddy got home, which wasn't too far off since my birthday fell on one of his short summer Fridays. Since Ellison had been dying to dig into those cupcakes, they quickly sang to me, then we all partook in a little piece of heaven.

Here's Ellison repeatedly dipping the candle into the cupcake to sample while waiting for Daddy.

The oldie and the youngin

After opening my cards and gifts, we all gathered 'round for Ellison to receive part of her goal prizes - she had earned her fish tank. I think she was pretending to eat some of the fish food here...

So excited watching Daddy assemble the filter

Then we finally headed off to Furnitureland South to look for a rocker to order for the nursery. I had never been. Oh. My. Gosh. That place is huge. Can you see me and Ell at the entrance?

All I got to say, is that I was EXHAUSTED by the time we left. Not only is it ALWAYS difficult for me to make decisions on things, but Ellison was a complete maniac. Seriously, you would've thought the child was locked up in her closet 24-7. Stressed the heck out of me. She's usually pretty darn good in public, but the problem was that she apparently thinks furniture stores are playgrounds. She wasn't listening, wasn't obeying, was running all over the place full throttle, fell and skinned her knee which sent her into screams, etc. I'm amazed Jonathan and I were able to come up with a mutual decision on a rocker since we had to keep trading off chasing after Ellison. She fell in love with this little bedroom set, which we had to keep playing house in - it had a doorway at the bottom with a big cubby space inside.

We fully intended to go to dinner afterward, but I was no longer energetic or in the mood, so we opted to postpone dinner for the next night. It was still a good day, though. At least I have a little maniac to love in my life. :-)

Thanks to everyone for the birthday calls, cards, and gifts!

[July 30, 2010]

A Big Decision

Notice anything different???

Our little biscuit decided completely on her own that she was ready for pierced ears. I swear I never even brought it up. Lately she loves putting my earrings in for me on occasion. While she was digging through my earrings one morning, she mentioned that she was "ready to have earrings now". I talked to her about it, told her it would hurt, and that they would have to be cleaned a lot, and she couldn't take them out, etc... basically, the drawbacks of getting them pierced. She was asking me all about it, and then asked if there are daddies at the store to watch the girls get their ears pierced. :-) I told her "sure", and she said "I would like my Daddy there to watch me get my ears pierced." I asked if she'd like to talk to Daddy about getting it done, so we called him up. I honestly didn't know what he'd say. I was Ellison's age when I had mine pierced alongside my Grandma Vrable, so I didn't have a problem with it, I just never was going to push her to do it until she wanted it. Ellison told him, "Daddy, I'm ready to get my ears pierced. Can you meet us after work at the store so you can watch?". I was surprised he was open to it, but just kept asking her if she was sure. After leaving it that we would talk later in the day, Ellison wavered some then, and said she'd wait for another day. I told her that was absolutely fine, there was no rush, she could wait until she's bigger, and I would take her to a store so she could see how it works. While out running around, we stopped by Claire's at Friendly and I showed her the chair, how it happens, etc. OK, let me just say that this girl is a complete accessory hound. I cannot TELL you how long it took to get her out of this store!!! Anyways, she said very emphatically, "I wanna get my ears pierced NOW." When I asked her about waiting for Daddy, she said she would rather surprise him - I don't think she wanted to wait. There was no changing her mind. So we went to have lunch so we could wait for two employees to be there to do both ears at the same time. She was so excited, and we couldn't get back there quick enough.

Cursing myself for not having my camera on me, I at least whipped out the cell phone. After two pics, she wanted to sit on my lap, and I happily obliged. I thought she might change her mind, but she was still adamant. She picked out "Barbie princess earrings" (aka pink cubic zirconia studs).

She held nice and still, and after the punctures came, I could see the side of her little face turn beat red as she did a quick little body tremor from the pain. But she never let out one peep or said a word. After about 10 seconds, she hopped off my lap with a grin after looking in the mirror, then continued happily perusing all of the fun accessories. Such a big girl!

Daddy noticed as soon as he walked in the door from work that day. He couldn't believe we did it and surprised him. :-)

[July 26, 2010]

Friday Matinee

We love Daddy's summertime hours on Fridays (he works long hours Mon-Thurs, then works 8-12 on Fridays), even though he usually ends up working right through them! We lucked out and had a family date to go see Toy Story 3 at the theater.

Mookie went to town on popcorn, and we all enjoyed the movie. Elli didn't like the incinerator part in the movie, but other than that we all enjoyed it. Sappy Mama cried at the end with the whole thing about the kid leaving to go off to college, and the little girl looking on with her toys. Holy cats, my little girl will turn into that kid leaving the nest someday (God willing). I'm already sad thinking of where the time has gone...

Ellison keeps asking to see a movie at the movie "feater" now. And of course wants the Barbie from the movie, too.

[July 23, 2010]

Mornings with Merliah

So lately I've been having mornings with Merliah. (See one of the previous posts about her current obsession with "Barbie in 'A Mermaid Tale' ", mermaids, Merliah, etc.). Now, I'm not a morning person, and usually Ellison takes a little while to get roused and "normal" in the mornings, too. However, I literally open my eyes when she crawls into bed and immediately hear, "I'm hungry", which is code for "I want you to surprise me with a type of cereal 'with milk in it', a cup of milk (to drink), and my vitamin". This is certainly not a new routine in our household during the week. Trust me, it's almost like the movie "Groundhog Day" - this happens verbatim every single morning. Bleary-eyed, I turn on cartoons and make my way down the stairs trying to loosen up my old, tight leg muscles that are attached to snapping, creaking bones. I do my motherly duty as quickly as possible, then head back upstairs where Ellison gets served breakfast on her "Ellison" tray in our bed. This is really pathetic to admit, but I can actually crawl back into bed and dose here and there while she's into her cartoon, and slowly enter the conversation world with her. Usually, we lay in bed for a little while chatting and watching TV together after she finishes eating, then get a start to our day. Well, since on the Merliah kick, it seems like she inhales her breakfast, then hops out of bed begging me to join her in the playroom for a tea party after changing into her Merliah mermaid dress-up outfit. Still not awake yet. But, guilty mom feelings set in, along with the fact that I do want to give time to my Bug and play with her. So off we go to Merliah's restaurant where she serves me, then joins me for a tea party.

Merliah whipping up some homemade blueberry muffins.

Daddy bought Ellison this mermaid outfit she'd been "needing" for the longest time during one of those parenting "sucker" moments at Target. We have lots of those. Too many of those. But she sure makes a cute mermaid, doesn't she?

[July 19, 2010]

Chores

I've always tried to make cleaning and household chores sound fun for Ellison, and for the most part she's been eager to pitch in. I figure I'm gonna see how long I can get it to last. For a while she'd been helping me make her bed - I did one side while she did the other. Lately I've begun inconsistently asking her to go in and make her own bed all by herself, and she's been happy to do it. I can't believe how well she does it! Right down to the roll back of her sheet and comforter, and the neatness of the pillows. So sweet. She gets extra stickers on her little aquarium goal chart when she helps with chores.

[July 16, 2010]

Playtime

We had a fun playdate at the Schwankes one morn. We were long overdue to hang with them. Ella James and Ellison played so well together while I got to get in some cuddle time with gorgeous little Miller.

Ellison still wants a pair of rollerskates.

I was shocked to see the girls had compromised all on their own that they would each get one rollerskate. Pretty impressive for 3 years old. No whines or protests were heard.

The Holy Grail for Ellison: Ella James' playhouse. And (gasp!), there was a mermaid dress-up outfit and a mermaid Barbie. Could the morning be any better?

The little hunk

[July 16, 2010]

A Baker, A Doctor, and a Mermaid

Ellison has many little passions. She loves to help bake, especially when she spots Disney Princess cake sprinkles at the grocery store. She spotted them and simply had to have them, which made things fairly easy on my indecisive mind since I had to find a dessert to make. So white cupcakes with pink frosting and Disney Princess sprinkles it was. She begged and begged to make and decorate them in the evening, and was a little perturbed with me since I kept telling her we would have to decorate them in the morning after they cooled off. First thing out of bed in the morning, and guess what we were doing?

She did such a good job patiently working the pink frosting onto those babies. And had the best time deciding which combination of sprinkles to decorate each one with. I kid you not, the sprinkles consisted of blue Cinderella glass slippers (aka "high heels"), red apples (ala Snow White), yellow tiaras, and white pearls. Her fave was of course the high heels.

After chowing down one of her creations, we then got down to playing doctor, with Merliah looking on. Merliah is the Barbie from the newest Barbie movie: Barbie in a Mermaid Tale. Ellison's obsessed with everything about it. Merliah goes to the pool and the bathtub (after being cleaned of course), I apparently gave birth to a child we named Merliah, she can't get enough of mermaids and dolphins, she has seen the DVD about 29 times, we have to read the book for our bedtime story almost every night - and now it's to the point where she reads it to us and can say some of the sentences of the story verbatim, and she's often heard singing the cutest little part of the theme song. The theme song isn't cute, but the way she sings it is simply the best. Anyway, Ellison and Merliah were treating me in their doctor's office that morning, and I thought it was so cute that Ellison actually knew how to place the stethoscope over her neck like a real medical professional. I always leave the house for work with it in my hands, not yet around my neck.

I'd be visiting the doctor on a daily basis if I had this face to look at!

[July 14, 2010]

Lunch Date

We took advantage of a cloudy day and headed over to the Farmer's Market. Mama is addicted to peach season!!! We got to also meet our favorite man for lunch at the Moose Cafe. The crepe myrtles (?sp) were so beautiful in front of the cafe - it was the perfect backdrop to capturing a couple of shots of our cute Little Button.

[July 13, 2010]

Update

On the health front, there really is no news to tell with Ellison. We're still just watching and waiting. Her blood sugars have been within range for the most part, but we are having days where they are elevated. Not crazy elevated to where we need to head over to Children's Hospital, but not within the range that the endocrinology office told us. Last night was the highest we've seen (since the "episode" last year) at 147. Again, we just don't know what to think. She now has started telling us, "I'm getting sick, I need to eat now," or "I'm shaky, I need a popsicle." The bad part is, I think she's figured out this will get her snacks and popsicles when she just so happens to want one. So, ridden with guilt, I try to put an end to it, totally second-guessing myself. She has also started complaining of epigastric pain and/or low chest pains intermittently over the past few weeks, with increasing frequency. Sometimes it's after she's eaten, often times it's after she wakes up in the morning, sometimes it's just completely random. I'm really thinking she might just have reflux, but of course my RN-worse-case-scenario mind starts whispering, "Could it be a pancreatic tumor?" Ridiculous, I know. I can be so dramatic. And I wonder where she gets it. ;-)

We don't wake her up every single night to check her anymore, we try to do every other night, or when she's complaining of something, and we still do every night before bed. We still have not caught one of her hypoglycemic moments, so we just continue to wait and see...

A Good Day

The Perez gals came to hang for a playdate one morn, and while little Maggie took a snooze, Ellison and Caroline had a good ole time playing dress-up and playing with Pollies. They played so well together, playing pretend for the longest time while Mollie and I just got to catch up.

Another cool thing to the day? Ellison was SO flippin' excited that we got to babysit the neighbor's fish for a week! She's taking after her Daddy in her love of the marine world. When it came time for the finned arrival, she was over the moon. She just sat and watched them for a good 45 minutes, and would sing "Do-Re-Mi" to them. Then she did some artwork next to them. Every evening of that week, we had to "eat dinner with the fishies" - we would feed them at our dinner time so we were all eating together. She immediately named them: Nemo, Aurora, Pink Bow (I think it had something to do with their house key that was attached to a sparkly pink bow), and Lori the snail. I told my mom that first day, five bucks says Jonathan's gonna come home with an aquarium this week. Thankfully, he held off long enough for us to decide that we would make a goal chart for her to earn her very own fish tank. Little did I know Daddy already had the aquarium in his trunk, and he already has the pink crystal gravel all picked out for the bottom, and he's already scoped out the mermaid decorations to add some ambience to the sucker. So, Ellison's earning the 4 lump purchases separately (the aquarium, the pink crystal gravel, the decorations, and the fish) by working on eating a good breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and staying in her bed at bedtime. With the way things are going, we'll have an aquarium in no time, we just may not have fish for quite some time. ;-)

Feeding her new little friends

[July 9, 2010]

Anguish

I'm not sure what to even title this post, since I feel the need to just ramble on and on and pour out my heart. Call it pregnancy hormones. Call it being a mother. Call it being tired. I don't know... It's part of the parenting journey right now, so here it will be documented. I need to include the disclaimer that it probably will sound more melodramatic than it is, or perhaps not, but it's my parenting state of mind right now. And I just need to write to feel like I'm sorting out my thoughts a little bit, because right now they feel so jumbled up.

Where to start? I guess, thank you, God, that my child doesn't have cancer. That I'm not facing that grim and heart-wrenching reality right now like some others. Because I KNOW things could be 10,000 times worse than they are right now. So thank you, Heavenly Father! I DO get that my daily life is still incredibly great and "normal". I, in no way, take that for granted.

I know I posted, just a smidgen over a year ago, about our diabetic scare with Ellison when her blood sugar was 362 and we were told to go immediately to Brenner's Children's Hospital to be admitted since our 2 year old Little Button had diabetes. What a roller coaster of a day that was, and I remember all too well feeling like we were walking on eggshells for the days and weeks that followed, keeping a close eye on her blood sugar. Since it seemed to be a flukey thing, we were told it was possibly a stress reaction, but still others told us it could be pre-diabetes. Apparently it occurs sometimes with those just entering diabetes since the pancreas is still functioning somewhat or even pretty decently yet. So after months of checking daily, then weekly, then just if she seemed to have any bizarre symptoms or illnesses out of the ordinary, we relaxed quite a bit. Everything was normal as could be.

So over the course of the past, I don't know, 6-9 months or so, in the parenting of our 3 year old, we decided to start cracking down on her picky eating, and I would no longer make her a separate dinner from ours simply because she wasn't willing to try what we were having. So we started to stick to the rule, "If you don't eat your dinner, or at least try it, you won't have anything else to eat before bed." If she cried that she was hungry before bed, well, then she was offered dinner again. Well, Little Miss has a very strong will. There have been a few times that she has gone to bed hungry. The first time it happened, she woke up puking saying her tummy was sick, and we pretty much figured it was because of an empty stomach since she snapped completely out of it within a few hours. This would happen every few months or so, whenever she would refuse to try dinner. People kept telling me it would only happen once or twice, then she'd get the picture. Ha! As it was happening the few times that it did over several months, I would check her blood sugar, and it would be quite low. Like, in the 50's or 40's. Didn't think TOO much of it. Well, it's been occurring more frequently lately. What was every few months, has turned into 1 month ago, then 2 weeks ago, then a few nights ago. Her blood sugars have gotten as low as 42 when I check it. She wakes up pale, shaky, complaining that her legs aren't working, she doesn't feel like talking, and she either has a sick stomach or she's puking and can't keep anything down. I give her things like juice or a popsicle, and sometimes she'll hold it down, and other times she just keeps puking. Every time this has happened, it lasts for 2-4 hours, then she completely snaps out of it, perks up, eats like a horse, and goes about her business as if she was never sick to begin with. The scary thing for us, is that when the last episode happened 5 days ago, she actually had eaten some dinner. She didn't go to bed hungry. So I thought, enough is enough, and called to get her in to the pediatrician. I was assuming she must have hypoglycemia, which I know many people have, but was thinking I'd just like to have peace of mind that they could make sure it wasn't a pancreatic tumor or something causing it since she's only 3. After all, our bodies are supposed to regulate our blood sugars within a certain range at all times. So I thought it was benign enough - we'd be told she's fine, it's no big deal, feed her small, frequent meals, and we'd just live with it as many people do. I was surprised a little when Dr. Lentz said yes, she could just have hypoglycemia without any known cause, but "the picture that's more concerning to me is the history of the prior high glucose level". Thinking I was going in for reassurance, I came out of the appointment with him being concerned about her truly becoming a diabetic.

He explained how she's already had a documented well-elevated blood sugar and was being admitted for diabetes. New diabetics often go through what's called a "honeymoon phase" where their pancreas is still functioning pretty well, but it's starting to peter out some here and there before the full-blown diabetes kicks in. That period of time can be as long as a year or so, sometimes even a little longer. Also, he said it's typical for diabetics to spike elevated blood sugars in the middle of the night, the still-somewhat-functioning pancreas finally dumps some insulin into the body, then you're left with low blood sugars by morning. He said that's what he's concerned about with Ellison. He checked her urine, and it didn't show glucose, but it did show ketones, which of course can fit with that scenario. In our research, we know that can also happen with ketonic hypoglycemia, which often kids grow out of by age 8-9. So he said she definitely needs to see an endocrinologist, and the office would get her in as soon as possible to either Baptist or the one in Greensboro, whichever could get her in quicker. In the meantime, we are to check her blood sugar every night before bed, and every night in the middle of the night until we have another episode.

We cringed at the thought of all of this, and felt terrible for all the pokes Ellison would be enduring, but didn't freak out like we did last year. After all, not quite sure what's going on right now. The first few nights of checking her blood sugars, she was in an okay range. Nothing out of the ordinary really. Well, starting last night, her levels are slowly creeping up, and have gone a little out of the range were were told to watch for last year. We've both been scouring the internet, of course, which isn't always good or helpful, but from a nursing standpoint the endocrine system is so very complicated. So I don't feel like I understand enough when my own child is going through this. Jonathan and I are starting to feel fried slowly over time here. To complicate things, Ellison has not been sleeping well the last 1 1/2 weeks. She's up anywhere from one to several times a night, for no reason at all, is completely restless trying to get back to sleep. (This, too, can be related to a blood sugar problem). We're having to wake her up (not easy to keep someone asleep when you poke them) if she hasn't already gotten up on her own, and then we have a hard time going back to sleep worrying about the result we just got and if it's normal, or if it's a little too borderline, or oh my gosh, that's out of range, but it depends on which source or scale you're using, and the difference between fasting versus post-prandial versus random, and did I write down accurately when she really last ate?, and what time should I have checked it - at midnight, or 2 am, or 4am, or when?, what time would be the best time in a 12-hr period to catch something?... She's been increasingly cranky, sassy, and irritable over the last 3-4 weeks. Is it her age, or is it blood sugar issues?... Are my hormones a little too revved up? How am I going to manage stress over the wellbeing of TWO children? I'm worried about Ellison's health problems right now on top of trying to determine whether or not it will be the best decision to go ahead with 17-P injections with this pregnancy as the doctor suggested. I want what's best for my unborn baby, too - how do I make that decision? I just keep praying for clarity - for God to show me the way...

We are fried. We all need a good night's sleep. I know poor sleep is normal with newborns and such, but this feels different. It's always at the top of our brains, even when trying to sleep. We need answers. What's happening with our baby girl? What's going on in her sweet little body? Is it nothing? Is it simply hypoglycemia (not likely now)? Is it diabetes? Is it a pancreatic tumor? Is it some bizarre metabolic disorder? Am I just freaking the hell out?!

We see a pediatric endocrinologist at Baptist next month after we get back from Michigan. So are we just supposed to keep up this crappy glucose testing schedule until then? We know we are supposed to go to Brenner's ED for any high blood sugars, but what about this in-between limbo junk? Tonight as we layed with Ellison trying to get her to relax so she could fall asleep (she's so off), I was rubbing her back, and the tears just started running down the side of my face. God has given such grace to his little babe - can you believe with all of the numerous pokes we've done to this girl over the last 5 days, from waking her to it in the middle of a dead sleep sometimes, she has NEVER ONCE let out a peep about it? NEVER ONCE cried, NEVER ONCE spunked. She just hands over her little fingers. If I have to check her during the day when it's been a little off, she helps me do it. She turns the machine on, she picks out which test strip, she puts it in the machine herself... What a brave, big girl... I thank God so much for giving her that strength. I don't know of many 3 year olds that would have it. He seems to have given it to her abundantly right now.

Today I spoke with the diabetes nurse specialist that works with the endocrinology office we will be going to next month. Our heads were completely spinning with what her normal range should be right now, since we've heard about 50 different "normal" ranges. The nurse was so nice, and helpful, and wonderful to speak with. She said not to worry about fasting vs. non-fasting. She said simply do random ones, and that anything above 126 would be considered high. Well, we hit up to 138 today, and they seem to be climbing ever so slightly every day. Needless to say, it's crushing our spirits some. I asked her what time we should be checking her levels during the night. Because kids release growth hormone at night, the best time they usually tell parents to check is between 2-4am. She couldn't believe we have to do this every night on a little 3 year old, but understood why we were told that - how on earth would we potentially catch one of her morning hypoglycemic episodes to see if it's tied to a hyperglycemic episode during the night? She said, you know what, if you just happen to accidentally sleep through it one night, don't feel guilty about it. So tonight, as we layed there with our Little Squirrel, and the tears were flowing and I was praying over her little body, I just prayed that God would wrap her in His loving arms tonight and give her such a good restful sleep tonight. We're not going to wake her up tonight. If she happens to wake up, we'll check her, but we're just praying for a solid sleep for her for once. We all need to reset ourselves. Just one night. Just one night to not wake up and worry, and wake her up and worry, and fight to get her back to sleep, then fight to get ourselves back to sleep by shutting off our minds. The only variable is whether or not she will actually stay asleep on her own for the first time in a couple weeks.

So there. I vented. I journaled. I cried some more. Again, I know our lives could be SO much worse. In the midst of all of this, I am completely praising God that this is our problem, and not something far worse. And no matter what, we are meditating on the fact that Ellison belongs to God, He loves her more than we even do, and He has a plan for her beautiful life, and no matter what obstacles may come, He works ALL things to good for those who believe. We are trusting Him. But it doesn't mean my heart isn't in anguish. But we are trusting...

4th of July Weekend

We had such a nice family weekend for the 4th, which is rare for us. Not the nice part, but the family part. :-) After the mini-date Jonathan and I went on Friday afternoon, we just hung out the rest of the evening. Saturday evening we had the McSheas and the Grants over for a little cookout. The weather was so perfect that weekend - 80's and no humidity. We all had a good time, with the kids playing outside, eating good food, and playing Cornhole. And swatting at mosquitos.

The kiddos: Ellison, Molly, Mason, Layla, and Carson

On Sunday we went to church, went out to lunch, and then went to the Lake Jeanette Pool with our neighbors. It was such a perfect day. In the evening, we debated taking Ellison to see the fireworks, as she kept telling us she wasn't afraid of them anymore. Because we had a long day and it would be so late, we opted for making popcorn, getting our jammies on, and watching them on TV. Ellison was loving it. On occasion, a neighbor would shoot off a firework and we'd go outside to see it, and quickly discovered our call was a good one - Ellison covered up her ears and kept saying she wanted to stay in the house. :-)

Monday had the 3 of us going to the pool for a while before Mama had to head in to work for the evening. Not a great way to end the weekend, but we had a nice one for sure.

Miss Lindsay

Lindsay has been Ellison's babysitter since she was only 7 months old! She started watching our little monkey when she was in the full throws of separation anxiety after we moved to our apartment in High Point upon our arrival in Greensboro. Lindsay was a junior in high school then, and now she's going to be going into her junior year at UNCG! We love Lindsay to death, and Ellison has grown to love her, too. Last Friday Jonathan contacted Lindsay to see if she happened to be available so he could take me to see "Eclipse" - something I was anxiously anticipating since seeing "New Moon". Prior to Lindsay's arrival, Ellison informed me that she would answer the door while I would wait in the living room, then she would bring Lindsay in for me to say "hi" to her. My! Ellison was lit up like a Christmas tree when Lindsay came, and I almost felt like she couldn't shove me out the door quick enough. After years of having her beg me to stay when I/we would leave her with either Lindsay or Lucy, I was so pleased to finally arrive at this stage! I even had to turn back home because I forgot something, and that girl could've cared less - she called me a silly mommy then went right back to dictating playtime with Lindsay.

Jonathan and I enjoyed our mini-date out - seriously don't remember the last time we had one! I, of course, loved the movie, and we came home to hang out with Lindsay and catch up some. I would've thought Ellison would've been all over me in her excitement that we were home, but no! She was totally mushing up on Lindsay. She literally could not get close enough to her. It was so funny!

[July 2, 2010]

Speaking of dictating playtime, Ellison's making me a little bonkers lately (in a cute way). She has to direct EVERY single quotation out of my mouth when we play pretend. CONSTANTLY. There's no improvising with her, I have to follow her script. After she talks in the voice of one of her dolls (or animals or whatever), she'll then say, "Mommy pretend you say, '[Blah, blah, blah]' ". After I oblige, then she tells me what to say next, "Mommy, then say, '[blah, blah]' ". Like, I don't think you need me for playtime - you can apparently have your own imaginary friend since you know what you want said. And seriously, I'm not trying to toot my own horn, but I'm a pretty darn good make-believer when I play dolls and such. I guess she just has her own idea of how she wants it to go. I keep telling her she must be going to be a director someday. Watch out, wee little one in my tummy... ;-)