Window Watcher

Today I stuck Ellie by the window for lack of anything better to do and she started hitting it and saying 'Da da!' thinking he must be out there somewhere (that's the reason we USUALLY look out the window.) But he was actually right beside us.

Then we really started to have fun...

I thought I'd give the child something to look at so I went outside to wave at her.She thought that was just the best thing since chocolate cake.

Who could resist a shmooshed up face like that one?

Disclaimer

So I've received several complaints lately (*cough* Nikki *cough*) that I'm too unifocused (is that a word?) on this page....namely, all I ever post about is Ellie.

This is true.

But if you look at the description of our blog up above, you will notice that ELLIE is precisely what I was aiming to post about when I started the darn page, especially because her grandparents (hi mom and dad!) live so far away in BC. Rob and I...well hey, we're still the same weight as when we moved away, we're not all that cute, and frankly we just don't learn a whole lot of new tricks these days, so why would we post about ourselves?

No, I hear the outcries of the people and to satisfy your outrageous curiosity I've decided to quickly update you all on the lives of Rob and myself these days:

A while back I posted about a job I had landed taking care of a girl with special needs. Well, it actually ended up falling through when the former caregiver decided to keep 2 of her shifts, leaving me with just 2 two-hour shifts a week - not enough! Well God, being ever faithful, provided a different job for me before I even KNEW that job had fallen through. When I was about 19 I had worked at a Hallmark gift store in the mall here in town. Since moving back to Steinbach I regularly went back there to visit my former manager. During one of these visits she and the new owners asked if I'd like to come back part-time! I turned them down of course, thinking I already had a job. So when the caregiver position didn't end up happening, Hallmark gladly accepted me without even an interview! So I've been working 2 evenings a week and every Saturday for 3 weeks now and let me tell you...
I LOVE IT!
At this point in my life I am MADE for customer service: 1. I get to talk to ADULTS! 2. They leave before they get annoying! (usually) 3. I miss Ellie and Rob so much that I'm completely energized for another week at home. What a God-send.

So that's the latest with me. Unless you want to get more personal. I've started getting up early before Ellie gets up in the morning for a bit of quiet time to read my bible and talk to God, and it's totally changing my life and my attitude and my outlook on things. I've been doing this before bed for a long time with very little to show for it because I fall asleep and forget everything I just read. For a long time now I've had this nagging thought at the back of my head that I need to discipline myself to get up before Ellie does to get the day off to the right start because 1. I'm a total morning person and can retain stuff way way better in the morning, 2. Is there really any better way to start the day than spending time with the God of the universe who's entirely huge and awesome but still concerned enough about me to talk with me? and 3. It's a conscious way of putting God before my daughter, something I struggle with, but something that needs to happen or else Ellie will think SHE's the center of the universe. Which she's not. Which is probably good. Because she'd do a horrible job of running it.

I'm reading a book that I picked up for $0.25 at the book fair called "Confident Children and How They Grow" that has this horrible, blah, old cover but is truly a gem inside. I'm relearning a lot about how Ellie is a reward from God and an inheritance...never ever a burden, like society would tell me she is. And when she's whining and cranky and demanding I look her in the eye and tell her she's a reward and a blessing and very seldom these days do I find myself frustrated or weary. And when she's whining I think about all the things that I whine about to Rob and suddenly find myself with a bunch more patience for her, and a new resolve to be thankful. Because MAN do I have a lot to be thankful for, like having the most wonderful family in the world. They ain't perfect, but they sure are perfect for me!

Woah, that sure was a rant. Is that what you were hoping for, Nikki? (*clearing throat* I mean, people? *clearing throat*)

Anyhow, how bout a little about my hubby Rob? Well, he's still working at the factory and is occasionally contemplating what it would be like to go back to school (again) to do something that might make a bit more, you know, MONEY. Not that him going to school for a masters in Greek and Hebrew was pointless in any way...no way...I know that I know that God will use that for something really important one day. But yeah, in the meantime, while we're waiting for that to happen, I think Rob's getting a bit of a hankering to put some more of his tremendously huge brain to good use. I agree. We'll see what comes of that.
He's acquired a new little responsibility at our church of putting new quotes on the church sign every week, which puts his gifting for puns to use. He's still preaching on a regular basis (about every 2 months) and loves that to bits (he was totally made to teach!).
He's also adapting really well to being Ellie's sole caregiver on Saturdays and several evenings a month. What a great dad. I love watching them bond. He's taken to calling Ellie 'little cub' and he's 'papa lion' and they practice their growling together which is very cute. I caught them doing that in Superstore today.
Overall, Rob is doing awesome and life is really really sweet right now. And SPRING is coming! There's nothing quite like spring in Manitoba...you sure appreciate it a lot more when you've been stuck in a deep freeze for 5 months.

Okee doke, my tendonitis is flaring up from over-typing (SEE? that's why i usually just post pictures) so I'm going to go catch a few winks. If anyone actually took the time to read this big long shmoz (what's a shmoz?) and wants me to do it again you're going to have to leave a comment or I'm going to assume nobody read it and you'll just have to settle for pictures of Ellie. :)
(by the way, if you're not a blogger and you want to leave a comment, you just click in the little circle that says 'anonymous' and that allows you to comment without 'signing in'.)

Adios! Have a wonderful day!

Hey Everybody! Here's some pictures of Ellie's first birthday party which we had on Sunday. I apologize for the sheer number of photos...hopefully by her 18th I'll show some restraint. Anyways, I started off with the cake photos because well, who doesn't want to see cake photos?

First Birthday Party

"Hmmm....should I try it, or shouldn't I?"

"Oooh...that's gooood...."

"I think I'll have some MORE!"

"Yup, I definitely think I'll do this whole birthday thing again!"

"I wonder what would happen if I put some in my nose?"

"Okay Mama, I'm done!"

"I said I'M DONE!!!"

The press.

"Never had a bath in the SINK before!"

Ribbon...the best thing about presents.

"Yahoo! My very own piano! Thanks Uncle Nyk!"

A 'My First Signs' movie from Nana and Grandpa. It'll be fun to expand our rather tiny sign vocabulary ("more" and "please").

Dada video recording the whole thing (eventually we'll get the cake video on here!)

Ellie all 'gifted' out.

Ellie with her "uncle" Nyk. She loves his hat. And that he teaches her piano.

My sister Dana and her fiance, Jon!! Ellie's getting a new uncle this summer!

Ellie and Regan reading together. Sorta.

Regan pushing Ellie around. Ellie gets a kick out of this, because with a little help from Regan, she can go even faster than she already does on her own.

A moment of tenderness. :) These are rare.

The CAKE. Mmmmm....

Some sweet 74 cent ducks from Liquidation World. I love bargains. Can you tell the party had a duck theme? Simple, cute, and Ellie can say duck, so hey, did I have any other choice?

One-handed walker! It's happening, folks! Ellie can take about 4 steps on her own now!

We forgot to wear hats during the cake eating, so we had to get a shot with them on later. Here's Ellie with Regan and her Grandpa and Nana.

"Pa" (Grandpa) being silly.

Happy Birthday Ellie!!

Ellie turns ONE today!! We don't have any birthday pictures (yet) because her party is on Sunday, so here's a photo of her doing the splits. And liking it. Strange, wonderful child.

Laughing Fit

Here's a video Rob made when Ellie and I were sharing a joke:

Thanks, Leap Frog.

Aside from locating her nostril and sticking her finger in it, Ellie's other new favorite activity is standing! By herself! Without parental support! In other words, I can go do something else! This is Ellie hanging on to her friend Ali's leapfrog table.

She enjoyed it so much that we borrowed one just like it from Ellie's friend Raya. Here she's showing off her big new top teeth.And this is Ellie's "I know I'm not supposed to touch Dada's books but I really really want to!" face. We see a lot of that face.

Nose Pickin' Fun

The other day we managed to catch a few shots of Ellie going at her latest and greatest pastime: nose picking. Don't worry...after the initial humor wears off, we'll teach her to do it in private. Enjoy!