My Favorite Age

I remember when Ellie was four months old I said to Rob, "This is totally by far Ellie's best age yet. I love Ellie at this age!" And I was secretly a little worried that I wouldn't love any other age quite as much as I loved four months. But I said the same thing at 5 months, then 6 and so far, every month has been my favorite. Month 25 is no exception. Life just isn't boring for a second. The adventure starts first thing every morning. Join me, if you will.

Usually the first sound I hear over the monitor is not a happy one. It sounds something like this: "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! That's ELLIE'S!!!" I have no idea who it is, exactly, that's upsetting Ellie so, but from experience it's pretty safe to guess that one of her stuffed animals happened to touch her sock. Or her pinky finger. So I go to her door, take a deep breath, and in the cheerfullest voice I can muster (refusing to join Ellie in Grumpsville) I say, "Hiiii Ellie!" and she JUMPS up in her crib and yells, "Sweeeeeeeeeeet dreams, Mama!" And I say, "You had sweet dreams?" And she nods real big and says, "YEEEEEEEEEEEAH!" and for the time being whatever grieved her so is a distant shadow and it's time to have fun. The other morning when I went in it seemed as though Ellie had actually had a real dream. She was so excited she was stuttering: "Ah Ellie ah dream, Mama! Monkeys wash ah window! Monkeys swimming! Monkeys ebreebere! (everywhere)"

Well, later at lunchtime I prayed for our meal. I've read recently that the best way to teach your toddler about what prayer really is to make the prayer short and about something they really care about. So I prayed, "Jesus, thank you for our yummy salami and for fun playing with toys! Amen!". And then Ellie folded her hands and decided to pray too. "Jesus, iss monkeys EBREEBERE! Jesus, iss monkeys...iss worms. Amen!" HA! I wonder which monkeys and worms out there felt Ellie's prayers??

No. I really like 24 1/2 months.

You show a child this age their new pretty panties and they end up like this:

A child this age decides the beige carpet is 'sand' and suddenly

they're in a swimsuit for the morning:

A child this age decides it's raining and this becomes their attire for the day:

And this is just in the last week.

This is definitely my favorite month of Ellie's life so far.
I wonder what next month will be like?

Smiles 100% Guaranteed!

Joshua figures this is the best game ever!

Voila! A sitting boy! He always looks so proud when he gets to the top.

Get me outa here!

I know the outfit from Grandma turns me into an adorable photo opportunity, but would SOMEONE please get me out of this chowderheaded bumbo chair??

(My mom found the word 'chowderheaded' in the thesaurus. It's such a family-friendly word, no?)

A good deal = A good day.

Today when perusing one of our little city's only kids' (*cough* overpriced) clothing stores, I stumbled across this pretty little hoody for Ellie:

Regular price: $38.99.

My price? $5.99.

That is what we call a Sweet Deal, friends.

And Ellie likes it too.
And we're a hoody kind of family.

Sometimes it's those little pleasures that make the day seem all around GOOD.

(This is Ellie pretending that our blinds are a kite. I'm just thankful she's not saying "Where's Ewee?" and putting the cord around her neck like she usually tries to do.)

RIP Nursing Pads

Well, after three months of breastfeeding not going all that smoothly, I've thrown in the towel. Yup, that's right...Joshua is (as of today) a bottle-fed baby! I never ever in a million years considered myself a formula type of mom...mostly because of the cost, but also because breastfeeding was, for the most part, an enjoyable experience with Ellie. With Joshua if it hasn't been one thing (gas) it's been another (recurring thrush). It's been pretty stressful constantly trying to figure out what the problem is. The last three days were the worst...Joshua could hardly stay latched on for more than a swallow at a time. Whenever we gave him a bottle, he was fine. So instead of analyzing every bite I eat and every speck of thrush, we've decided formula is probably the best thing for this family. Joshua sure seems to enjoy it! Here is Joshua pondering the breastfeeding days of old...

...and feeling a bit sad that it just didn't work out. (Mama feels a bit sad, too.)

Here's Mama celebrating her newfound dietary freedom - with CHEESE! (yes, that's real cheddar, folks.)

Joshua enjoying a snuggle with Daddy, who can now participate in feedings. Even at NIGHT! (Didja hear THAT Daddy?!? :)

p.s. Anyone with bottle-feeding tips out there can gladly fill me in. This is definitely new territory and your wisdom would be appreciated!

I don't think we're in Kansas anymore...

Most of you are familiar with Elianna's fetish for dressing up. Well Auntie Dana certainly hit the nail on the head with the birthday present she gave Ellie: red and white polka-dot flats, a little girl's dream come true! They're kind of big and fall off when Ellie runs too fast, but no matter. Life is good when you 're wearing red shoes.

Oh, and here's another Ellie-original: a toque, a too-small fleece jacket, an unbuttoned onesie, and of course, red and brown striped socks. And a flashlight. Whammo. What a beaut.

Grandma and Grandpa Balfour

Just a little note to Grandma and Grandpa Balfour:

We had a wonderful time during your visit this last week - it was so good to spend some time together. Ellie woke up from her nap on Saturday crying something I couldn't understand. At first I thought she was saying, "Coming?". Then it sounded more like, "Mama"...but not quite. Finally I realized she was crying, "Grandma? Grandma?" She really loves you guys. Thanks for being such wonderful grandparents to our kids, and parents to us. We're very much looking forward to our visit in July!

Grandma bonding with Joshua.Birthday present!!

Grandma and Ellie watching a 'moomie'.

Thanks, Uncles!

Rob's mom and dad from Vernon, BC arrived today for a visit. I went in to get Ellie from her nap this afternoon and told her that Grandpa and Grandma would soon be at our house. "PREEESSSANTS?!?" Ellie said with a few bounces in her crib. HA! They sure figure that one out quickly. Sure enough, Grandpa and Grandma arrived an hour later, arms laden with gifts from afar! Ellie wanted to send out a big thank you to her uncles for their very special birthday presents:She loved the hat from Uncle James!! (and the pillow too...she'll love it even more when she realizes what it's for. But she's big on pillows ever since she started sleeping with one a few weeks ago.)

Very vogue, Ellie.

I'm going to have to go out and find her a bathing suit to match. Thanks Uncle James!

Ellie thought the dress from Uncle Tom and Uncle Farzad was beautiful. She right aways ran to get a hat to go with it. A future career in fashion design? Maybe!!

She couldn't stop bouncing up and down...
Thanks Tom and Farzad!!
We appreciate your thoughtfulness!

Could it be 2 Years Already?

So yesterday was Ellie's second birthday. In the morning Rob and I walked into her bedroom singing, "Happy Birthday" and she stood there and beamed and said, "It's my BIRTHDAY now!" The day she was born was one of the most vivid, breath-taking, awesome days of my life, and it transformed me forever. I had no clue on that day how fulfilling, how FUN, and how difficult it was going to be to be a mom. But mostly fun. I could write books of memories that have shaped who I am and who she is and who we are as a family. I know that every mom thinks their kid is the best. I guess I'm no exception to that rule. I thank the Lord for this gift, this little girl who makes me laugh out loud every day.

1 month old (sleeping wonder)

1 year old (eyes full of wonder)

And 2!! (I wonder what I can get into today...?)

The following are some of the way-too-many photos we took of Ellie's birthday celebrations...

Birthday Bash #2

This morning was Ellie's "real" birthday party. When Ellie came upstairs from her bedroom the kitchen was decked out in decorations. She was pumped! Three of her best girl friends and their moms came over for an early princess lunch. Man. Parties. A lot of work, a lot of fun, a lot of mess.

This photo was actually taken last night. Rob had become a bit delirious from being ordered around by his wife all weekend. He was learning how to multi task, blowing up two balloons at once. (This is a talented man, folks!)

Ellie and her fellow princesses.

Princess #1: Azelin.
Four months younger than Ellie, she often follows Ellie around watching the psychotic things that a two year old likes to do. They're great buds and play together often!

Princess #2: Chloe.
Ellie and Chloe enjoy waving flags around and running wild together at church.

Princess #3: Alexandra.
Two weeks older than Ellie and goes by the name "Ali" which gets awfully confusing. When they were babies Ellie would often make Ali cry just because her 'happy shouts' were so darn loud!
Princess #4: Elianna. She was trying very hard to balance the tiara on her head.

Presents time! Ellie already had a blast this evening with this brand new princess play dough. She likes to wear the pail on her head like a hat (are we surprised?) Thanks Chloe!
Although she's a girlie girl, she's not afraid of getting down and dirty. Ellie is going to have hours of fun outside with her very first DUMP TRUCK! (Thanks Ali!)
And Ellie was totally thrilled about getting the umbrella that she's had her eye on at Superstore! This evening she was standing in the living room for a looong time with the umbrella over her head, pretending it was raining. I went downstairs to get something and came back up and she was still just standing there... Thanks Azelin!!
Time for cupcakes! Ellie wasn't completely sure she was ready for more fire. But she did a fine job of blowing the candle out (must have picked up that skill from Jon last night).
She WAS completely sure, however, that cupcakes are a good thing.
Yes, cupcakes are a very good thing indeed!

This is a vast improvement over last year (see older posts for proof).
Happy Birthday, Girlie!

(Only one party left to go...when Grandma and Grandpa Balfour get here later in the week!)