Fun at the Town Green

Ella, Abby and Max

Yesterday we spent some play time with my friend, Gerin, her two kids, Abby and Max and her mom, Nancy. We met at the Duluth Town Green (our hometown) where they have a play-friendly water fountain and on Thursdays they have live music for the kids. It's a very beautiful place. You may have seen it, it's also where all the fancy news agencies sat up their live vans during coverage of that stupid runaway bride incident. The funny thing is, I remember when it was nothing but a city dump and runaway kudzu.

Ella and Max were not as interested in the water as Abby but they did manage to get a little wet. They both loved the music and did their best to dance. Ella stood in one place and stomped her left foot, girl's got some mountain blood in her.

The picture of the day: Max giving Ella a kiss. I believe that's her first from a boy who's not family. I mean, she did accost some little boy at church and lay one on him, but this time she was receiving the love.

We then sat in a shady spot on the lawn and had lunch. When Gerin and her crew had to pack up and head for the lake ahead of the 4th of July traffic crunch we stayed and played a little while longer. Then we went to the soda shop and enjoyed some vanilla ice cream. Ella loved it because there's a toy train that circles the store up high below the rafters. She watched it, giggling and saying, "choo, choo!!" It was a fun summer afternoon.

Ella and Emma want bubbles

Emma and her parents (AKA Aunt Steph and Uncle Rob) came over the other night for dinner. The girls, as usual, had a great time playing together. They both really wanted bubbles -- too bad I bought the cheap dollar store package, you may as well be blowing water. But they had fun anyway.

Nana and Papa visit

Nana and Papa drove up from McDonough last night for a visit. Aunt Durene, Alex and Zach joined us briefly before they whisked off to swim lessons.

Daddy grilled up dinner and we all enjoyed some summer favorites. Then we all tore into Nana's amaretto cake. Yum!! As Matt always says, twice the fat, twice as good. And it was.

They also brought Ella the coolest thing, an aquadoodle. It's the greatest thing since sidewalk chalk in my opinion. It helps her learn how to hold a pen and start "doodling" without the worry of stains on furniture, carpet or walls.

And a soft, sweetest puppy was a big hit and a wonderful addition to her stuffed animal collection.

Summer Corn

We'll make a Georgia Peach out of this California Baby yet. She had her first taste of big, juicy summer corn this week and seemed to really enjoy it.

I love this picture, Daddy's girl learning to eat corn on the cob. Okay so she doesn't quite have it yet but she's getting it.

18 Months Old

Ella turned 18 months on the 20th. I am saddened I didn't get to blog on her special day, but as usual we were out and about running like chickens with their heads cut off. But Grams is moved in to her new place, although not completely un-boxed.

At any rate, she went to the doctor on her half year birthday and passed the autism screening with nearly flying colors. I answered yes for one of the indicators, staring off at nothing. The doctor said it was not one of the big markers and she's probably just a day dreamer. Maybe she'll have a great imagination as a result. She also had blood drawn, which didn't fase her in the least. But the three shots sent her into outer orbit. She still got a special "birthday" cupcake after lunch.

So here's a little mommy assessment of how and what Ella's doing at 18 months:

At 18 months Ella....

says I love you

identifies her cousins; Emma, Ax, Ack, Tay

Emma, Alex, Zach and Trey

still loves Elmo but she's also grown attached to Cookie Monster and Barney

likes to hide and when she's found she closes her eyes, probably thinking since she can't see me, I can't see her

can climb the stairs and get back down them pretty well, but we still supervise

is clumbsy -- she's forever falling and bumping something and she bruises easily, like me

LOVES choo choos, saying "shoo shoo" whenever she sees one. Naturally she adores Thomas and Friends.

Says Babci and Granddad, although it comes out bah-shee and ga-duh.

still refuses to call my mom Grams

loves ice, i.e. ice cubes, icicles, ice cream, etc.

is still a picky little eater

has to have a squirt of chocolate in her milk, otherwise she won't drink it

loves the swimming pool and the bathtub

seems to be sharing pretty well so far

is kind

loves exploring

says "I know!" a lot. So for instance you might say, "Ella, you're sweet." To which she'll respond, "I know!!"

wants to be outside on even the hottest day

is non-stop -- a lot of work -- and a great joy

Daddy's Girl

All is right with Ella's World, once more

We didn't get to spend much time together, just us three, this Father's Day weekend. Matt got home late Friday after having been in D.C. since Saturday morning. He phoned ahead and pleaded with me to keep Ella up past her bedtime to greet him. Easier said than done. After her bath, lotion rub-down, Desitine, saline spray, diaper, jammies, tooth-brushing and hair drying we usually have a book and then bedtime. Friday after hair drying I put her down and she ran to the big rocker yelling, "book, book!" I had to say no, not now, and she immediately began whaling.

I distracted her by taking her downstairs to play.

Finally as 8:3o rolled around, an hour past bedtime, I heard the 1966 Bronco pull into the garage. All week long when I heard something like an airplane, a dog bark, a train, I'd ask Ella, "what's that?" To which she would answer, "Daddy!" So when I heard the truck I asked this same questions and she responded "Airplane!"

She was so happy to see him. And, as if it had been planned, he scooped her up kissed her and then she said, "Un-go ah-side?" (wanna go outside?) That's where Daddy found his new grill!! It played out beautifully. More beautiful than the giant blue/purple bruise on my ankle from getting the darned thing out of the Escape and onto the deck, alone.

Anyway, that was it for our together time this weekend. So we managed to squeeze as much time together as possible on Monday. Ella and Matt took a morning stroll together. And then after work, we played in her little kiddy pool on the back deck. Mostly because our neighborhood pool was closed due to a maintenance issue. I think someone must have pulled the old Baby Ruth trick!

I snapped some sweet moments. Enjoy the slide show!!

Father's Day

We celebrated Father's Day a day early with Matt's family. Uncle Rob and Aunt Stephanie had the whole gang over for a cookout Saturday night. The kids played in the little inflatable pool. Ella and Emma looked so cute in their matching swimsuits (purchased separately -- a complete coincidence). Everything was great until cousin Zach took El and Em on a wagon ride through the backyard -- straight through an ant pile. The girls were okay in the wagon but he had lots of bites on his little feet and I got a couple of mean ones trying to rescue everyone. All the other adults were sampling appetizers and sipping down cold ones. Lucky me.

After everyone had a bath and the two littlest ones went to bed we had dinner. All was well. We decided to spend the night because Ella was sleeping so soundly and because they live closer to the interstate we'd be taking Sunday morning to get to my dad's grave. But about 2:30 Ella woke up screaming. Desperate not to wake up everyone else, we put her in bed with us. This is generally a no, no in our book. She thought it was play time. Between the hours of 2:30 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. we might have gotten an hour's sleep. At one point she had her crotch on my head and her foot in my ear. Again, we're going to blame this one on those darned teeth she's cutting.

We were basically zombies on Sunday. Ella was in pretty good spirits for having pulled an all nighter.

The Father's Day moment for me was when she nearly broke my heart in two. Without any prompting, she picked some flowers and walked over to her Grandpa's grave, knelt down and gently patted the stone. She just sat there for a moment. I became a puddle.

Later that day, after everyone had met at the family cemetery we met back at our house for a cookout (too much red meat this weekend) and some family time. It was as nice as it could be with a nearly 18 month old and a 2 1/2 year old running around.

Happy Father's Day!!

A quick blog as I am short on time. We're off to celebrate Father's Day with Daddy's family tonight and we'll be headed to Grandpa's grave tomorrow and then back home for a cookout (on Daddy's new grill) at our house with Mommy's family.

Will post lots of pictures early next week.

Have a fantastic Father's Day everyone!!

Oh yeah -- just in time for Father's Day, during a meltdown after a serious scolding, Ella sobbed the words I've been dreading....

"I want my Daddy!"

Joy

Finally -- Playtime

As you may recall from a previous blog entry, Ella and I have been quite busy helping her Grams with a yard sale and impending move. But today we only left the house to go buy some necessities at the grocery store and a few father's day cards. Most importantly we rested and played.

We finally had a chance to play in her brand new sand box. Well, Nana and Papa gave it to her for her birthday but it's new to us. Daddy got sand for it last weekend but we haven't had time to really play in it. Today we took the bucket and shovel and a few other toys along with some Elmo bubbles out to our little play area outside the basement door. She played in the sand until she realized that dumping sand on her head was not such a good idea. Then we swang for a while and chatted about airplanes and birds passing overhead. After playtime we went to the store where Ella sat in one of those race car buggies. I bought her some rod pretzels and she went to town on them (cutting canines or eye teeth) while I shopped.

Once we were home and the groceries were put away we went out on the deck so Ella could eat some "ice", that's what she calls homemade ice pops (cranberry juice and water). She enjoyed sharing her "ice" with me and the geraniums.

During bathtime I gave her some crayons made of soap so she could write on the walls of the tub. She enjoyed this at Babci and Granddad's Sunday night. It was a bowl of fun until the soap started to disintegrate in her hands, making a pink and green mushy mess. She squished her hands together, made an awful face, looked up at me and said, "Yuck!"

After bathtime she had a meltdown like I haven't seen in months. I'm going to attribute it to teething and being over tired.

A Strange New Game

After a serious scolding for throwing something off the second floor banister into the foyer down below, Ella and I were talking (okay I was talking) about why throwing is not acceptable. She sat in my lap as I explained why she had gotten in trouble. Then she began bringing me throw pillows from my bedroom. She placed them in my lap and then sat down. I thought maybe she just wanted to be more comfortable. Then once all the pillows had been stacked on top of me she moved on to stuffed animals. By the time it was all over Elmo's hand was up my nose and part of the train track was stabbing my throat. She then seemed pleased and walked away to play elsewhere. I slowly pushed the pile away and removed myself from beneath the rubble of toys and broken tracks. Sometimes you wonder what inspires them. I think perhaps she reasoned with herself that if mommy's unable to move, she can throw things until the cows come home.

Busy, busy bee

Just wanted to leave a quick post letting all blog readers know I haven't abondoned ship. I have however, been extremely busy. My mother is moving out of her house (built in 1910) which she has lived in for 33 years. Yep, that's 33 years without any garage sales and rare trips to Salvation Army to drop off old crap. I of course, drew the short straw and have been helping her prepare for a yard sale and impending move. Needless to say, it's a daunting task.

Granddad with sparkler candles on brownies and traditional candles on key lime pie

But here's a few quick pictures of Ella enjoying Granddad's 65th birthday, which came complete with fireworks. Ella didn't even flinch at all the pops and sparks. I'm not sure that's a good thing.

Ella watching fireworks with Aunt Durene as cousin Alex looks on