Happy Mother's Day

Hope everone had a wonderful Mother's Day! We had a nice weekend full of good food and family fun!!

A Week at the Beach!!

Daddy and I have not had a week-long vacation (coming home for holidays does NOT count) since our honeymoon. So for our 7th anniversary we packed up the Ford and headed for Destin, Ella joined us.At first she was intrigued but intimidated by the ocean. By day two or three she was running into the waves at a pace that made my heart skip a beat. She loved playing in little holes in the sand Daddy would dig and fill with water. She also had a big time feeding bread to the sea gulls and flying her Thomas kite, which she flew all by herself!!

Each day our little fearless and friendly pumpkin made new friends at the beach. It was amazing to watch since I was such a shy child but it also kept us on our toes. You can never be too trusting of people. Plus her friendly nature meant I had to converse with the other moms instead of just lounging, but that's life with a two year old!!

Babci and Granddad joined us for a few days which allowed us to go out to dinner and sleep in a little. All in all it was a wonderful trip. We came back rested and not ready to work!!

My Little Pony, LIVE!!

Ella with her new pony, "sweetberry"

Okay, so Ella love horsies, ponies, donkeys, etc. She seems to love most animals but I'm sensing a special draw to horses. I have no idea why, neither Daddy nor I have an affinity for anything equestrian. Although, her Godfather does...hmmm....


Anyway, on a whim I picked up a DVD of "My Little Pony." The "ponies" with their catchy theme song, didn't come out until 1983, I kind of missed the bandwagon on that one, already becoming interested in other things. But I thought it would be a nice change for my Thomas/Wiggles loving little girl. We've had to ban all Disney movies because I think they were giving her nightmares. And to think, I'm pretty sure I saw Jaws in the theater when I wasn't much older than her. Maybe that's why I can't sleep!!


Ella smiled and laughed as the ponies took the stage...

Anyway, she loved the ponies. And while it is a bit saccharine for me, it teaches good lessons about kindness and having a loving, adventurous nature.

So, when I found out "My Little Pony, Live, The World's Biggest Tea Party" was coming to a a theater in town, I snagged up three tickets, taking Grams along for the adventure as Daddy was out of town.



It was a girly girls event but Ella had a great time. She watched nearly all of the 90 minute show, melting down a bit only at the end because she didn't understand why she couldn't go up and pet and ride the ponies.

But the production was done very, very well and I think Grams had a as much fun as Ella. A nice girls evening out.

Froggie in the Flowers

We found a nice toad resting on the edge of our planter on the back deck the other day. Ella was fascinated...and at the same time a little bit afraid to touch him.

We talked about all the animals coming out of their long winter rest and warming up in the sun. We told her the frog probably lived in Mommy's pansies and we could not take him inside, he preferred to be outdoors.

With a little encouragement, and after Mommy went first, she touched frog and observed, "he's sticky!"

Springtime Walk

Ella and I enjoyed the recent warm springtime weather by striking out for a walk on a nearby nature trail.

Here's a bit of what we found...

Ducks in the pond

Big old logs for resting on

A nice long bridge

Cotton to be picked

Easter Poo...

You read that right, Easter Poo, not Easter POOH. This is not a story about a honey loving bear.

I know we're several weeks away from Easter now but I keep forgetting to blog about this memorable, albeit gross, happening.

On the Saturday before Easter we enjoyed a nice Easter egg hunt complete with snacks, jumpy houses, pony rides and a petting zoo. (see previous blog entry).

After that we went back to Babci and Granddad's house for dinner and yet another egg hunt.
When we arrived I changed Ella's diaper, it was soaked from all the juice she drank out in the warm sun. I, forgetful mommy, did not bring a change of clothes for her so she had to hike the pinestraw hills of her grandparents' back yard in her lovely easter frock.

A couple of hours pass and it's time for Matt's sister and her crew to head out as cousin Zach has a t-ball game.

Granddad scoops up Ella and we head out to the front steps to wave our goodbyes. Granddad...trying to be tactful...waits until the car pulls away and then turns to me, "is she not wearing a diaper?" "Yes, I changed her right when we got home." Gengerly he moved his hand a bit as she was in his arms, "No, I'm pretty sure there's no diaper on here." I yanked up her skirt to see her....Merry Christmas!!

Ella's dress did not come with those pretty little diaper covers so once I changed her and turned away, she must have ripped that sucker off, preferring the nice spring breeze beneath her billowing dress.

I immediately searched the house for a little pee spot. After all, she's been leaving them all over our house, before going to the potty, after going to the potty, before and after bath time, any time she has an opportunity to run like the wind.

NO PEE anywhere....

So a few more hours pass and it's time for us to leave. I start collecting the bubbles, candy, stuffed bunnies and other thing she got from Granddad and Babci...

That's when I noticed a little ball she had gotten resting under the patio table. I walked over to pick it up and stopped in my tracks. I must have looked funny because everyone stopped and gathered around....

"Is that a turd?" I exclaimed.

"Yes," said Granddad as he reached under the table with bare hands, scooped up Ella's present and threw it off in to the hundred acre woods...Easter Poo...

Stork Sticks...

It now seems everyone is getting pregnant but me...and I'm trying not to get discouraged by that. A dear friend who had ovarian cancer is now pregnant with twins (a miracle, no fertility help) for that I am ecstatic but it does increase my longing. A neighbor who seemed "done" with two tween girls is now also expecting.

After several months of trying and counting calendar days, following my late summer "issues" (see previous blog) we've resorted to some over the counter help. So each morning I pee on a stick to check my ovulation. I tried a basal thermometer which became more annoying than helpful mostly because I don't think I was using it correctly.

At any rate, Ella got the first glimpse at my attempt to completely rock her little world today. She walked in as I was unwrapping the little stick. I had to convince her it was not a lollipop so I explained as best I could what Mommy was doing.

"What's that?"

"It's a baby tester. It tells mommy when she can make a baby. Do you want a baby, Ella?"

A smile crosses her face as she sees the picture of the baby on the tester kit box.

"Yeah, Ella wants a baby."

"Well, Mommy has to pee pee on this stick and find out when the stork can come visit. Do you want a boy baby or girl baby?"

"Guhl!"

Well...first the two little lines have to be the same color.

Floatin' on your back...

Teacher's pet?

Showing the class how to use the kick board and the noodle

Ella's taking part two of her swim lessons at the local YMCA. She's in the "Two Much Fun" class, during which she must master floating on her back. I think we may be repeating this class a few times. But she loves the water and that's supposed to be the biggest lesson learned.

Ella's First Pigtails...

She pulled them out three times over a several hour period. The nice check-out lady at Target said it would just take some time for her to get used to the sensation. All-in-all I think she did pretty well. She declared that she had pretty hair, "puddy hair". I was pleased that her hair stayed out of her eyes.

Hippity Hoppity...

Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter! We were busy with lots of family activities and festivities. Saturday we joined Babci, Granddad and the rest of Daddy's family for a big Easter Egg hunt, complete with a petting zoo, jumpy thing and pony rides. Then we went back to Babci and Grandad's house for another egg hunt and then dinner.

Sunday morning B & G joined us for Mass and then came back to our house for brunch. Then after Ella's nap we went up to Grams's house for more egg hunting and food. Now that we're all festively plump...here are a few of my favorite moments from the beautiful weekend...

Coloring Easter Eggs

We made the trip to visit Grams and cousin Trey ahead of the Easter Bunny's visit. We colored Easter eggs and decorated sugar cookies. Two colors fell victim to the clumsy actions of Grams and Ella, but Grams combined what little was left in each cup and ended up with a beautiful fuchsia!!

The kids had a big time and the eggs and cookies turned out beautifully.

Doh! Outsmarted!!

Each week Ella brings home a vocabulary word/flashcard from school. Most of the time it's simple things she already knows like ball, flower, etc. Which is why we were stumped one week when she seemed to struggle with the word caterpillar. She has pointed them out in nature and in all of her books that feature caterpillars, butterflies, dragonflies, and everything else that flies or will someday fly.

We would say, "Ella, what is this?" She would answer, "snake!" O.K. I can see how a worm could be confused with a snake, especially in picture form presented to a two year old. Over and over all week long we had this same exchange. Then by week's end, she enlightened us. Daddy asked again, "Ella, what is this?" She replied, "snake!" "No..." he started, then she interrupted, "It's a caterpillar, his name is snake!"

Ridin' Bare Back

I don't think this entry really needs commentary. It stands alone. I should note, the faint ring around her fanny in the second picture is not from Rocky the Horse, but from sitting on the potty for too long. A true Daddy's girl.

This blog is slowly becoming the fodder for Ella's future autobiography, "Why I Need Therapy!"

26 Months! Ella's FIRST Haircut

Before -- back

Before -- front

Our peanut was not blessed with a head full of hair at birth, and in fact it didn't really start coming in until around her first birthday. That's part of the reason she hasn't, until recently, needed a haircut.

My goal has always been to let her hair grow out all one length. For one, I've heard bangs are constant upkeep, and two, when I was a little girl, with bangs, I was always envious of those other little girls with long beautiful braids -- and no crooked, chopped in the kitchen while mom was busy with dinner and two siblings, zig-zaggy bangs. Just a personal thing for me.

After -- side view

But, Ella's hair is thin and fine and the back grew faster than the front, yes some said she had a mullet. But since she still has baby hairs just starting to grow at the top of her forehead I knew it would soon look like a really bad layer cut. So, with a coupon in hand, we headed out to the nearby Halfpint Haircuts.

This place was awesome. We went on a weekday so we were only one of two clients. Ella's hair was cut by a sweet lady named Jacci (Jackie) who played an Elmo video for her while she snipped away. Ella was very good. I say this because I was fully expecting a back-arching, full-on meltdown. But for Ms. Jackie she sat very still and seemed to enjoy the pampering. When the cut was finished the nice lady dried and styled her hair and gave her "princess" earrings, the kind that fix to the ear with some sort of sticky stuff.

It's not a drastic cut but now it's more even and healthy looking. Don't you think?

I'm A Lucky Girl!

Ella's been going to the potty pretty frequently now. I have to say she's primarily doing it on her own. We started offering the potty after each diaper change and now she's starting to ask to go potty before she actually wets her diaper. She also had her first poop in the potty Friday night. I have to say that was our highlight. Furthermore, the celebration was cut short by the mere noxious smell of it all. Thank God for the individual in human history who decided we should "go" into a bowl of water. As a friend once told me, potty training is NOT for the faint of heart. True that...nor for the weak of stomach.

Sorry if that got too graphic for you.

On a happy, cute, odorless note...after a recent positive potty experience, after the good jobs, high fives, and a rather loud send off we gave the pee pee as it swirled away down the big potty, Ella ran naked and excited back to her room and jumped up into her bed. Standing naked as a jay bird on her bed she exclaimed, "I'm a lucky girl!" The kid cracks me up.

Piggy, Go Potty!

I heard those words and wasn't sure what to expect might be happening in the next room. Then I sneaked around the corner to find Ella teaching her "piggy" Zoot to go to the potty. I got the camera in time to catch Blue Bunny giving it a try.

Happy Valens Day!!

Nearing a candy coma...

"Happy Valens Day!" Translation...Happy Valentine's Day. Ella was very cute about the holiday for sweethearts and she was equally excited about her party at school. She was not overly happy about writing her name (with Mommy's assistance) on eight little cards for her classmates. But we spread it out over a few days and eventually she signed all of them in big fat sloppy red marker; the sweetest notes I ever saw.

I made "healthy cupcakes". I can't believe as the mother of one who is only two, I'm already making food for her "classroom". At any rate, my dear childless (at least at this point) friend, Rosemary gave me that Deceptively Delicious cookbook, penned by none other than the well nannied Mrs. Seinfeld, and so I thought I'd give it a try since I have lots of time to steam veggies and such. Really I was a little guilted into it after a note came home during the holidays encouraging parents to bring "healthy" snacks for classroom parties. What has happened to all the fun in the world?

At any rate, you really couldn't taste the pureed yellow squash secretly added to the cake batter and the cupcakes themselvers were quite tasty, the carrot pureed icing left a lot to be desired. Next go round I'll just dust them with powdered sugar, breaking all the rules of course. Or maybe I'll just buy a bag of pretzels, low sodium ones.

A Pee Pee For Your Thoughts

Okay, I'm not going to post any more pictures of the potty full of yellow urine but I am going to share good news, and you can use your imagination for the rest. Ella pee peed three times in the Potty on Saturday and again today (Monday). After diaper changes and before bath time she's been asking to go potty and every time she's asked she has actually tinkled in her little potty. She's very proud of herself and gets very excited about putting the pee inside the big potty, flushing it and saying, "bye, bye pee pee!!" She also likes to remind me, "Ella's go potty like a big girl!"

Once today when she was sitting on her little pot and I was sitting on the edge of the tub (as I was instructed to do) I caught her studying her safari shower curtain. She turned the tables and asked, "Mommy, where's the turtle?" I pointed to the turtle, after pretending to struggle a bit, and she said, "Good job, Mommy, you're very smart!" And when I started to argue by saying, "no you're very smart," she said, "no Mommy, you're very smart!"

Who knew a two year old could be such a benefit to one's self esteem?

Friends in Fort Collins

After a couple of snowy, fun-filled days in Steamboat, we packed up the SUV rental and headed east towards Fort Collins. Our friends Christian and Briana live there with their three kids, Annabel (5), Henry (3 – our Godson) and Claire (5 months).

A very windy, snowy drive through the mountains, bound for Ft. Collins

It’s amazing how time flies. You realize it when you see children growing. We saw them last at Henry’s baptism when he was only three months old. They were living in Bend, OR at the time and we were in LA.

The kids get along really well and we all enjoyed relaxing and catching up. Little Claire is a sweet, sweet baby.

Annabel is the typical big sister, helpful and kind and motherly.

And Henry, well Henry is a pistol. This is the child who recently refused to take off a football helmet for an entire day and he even napped in it. And just a few weeks ago he swallowed a nail, failing to tell his parents until they were 45 minutes away from home on a trip to Denver. Let’s just say, we’re praying extra hard for this kid. He’s not bad, just energetic times ten, very bright, and ultra athletic. His first words to Matt when we entered their home, “Hey, Matt wanna see my shot?” as he dunked a small basketball into an “over-the chair” hoop.

Henry, showing us his moves on his "court" in the basement

According to Briana he’s almost never without some sort of ball. He’s also always wearing a jersey of some sort or team colors; CU, CSU or Wyoming. We’ll have to send him some Auburn gear.

Annabel, Henry and Ella walking along a wall in old town Ft. Collins

Henry, being eaten by a fish

At any rate, we had a great time. It was so nice seeing friends and being back in the Rocky Mountains!!

Now we’re back home and busy catching up on laundry, even though I did plenty on our trip. And Ella apparently had a little too much fun with other kids’ germs…she’s sick AGAIN!!

Waiting to sample Briana's chocolate cake!!