More Helping.

She also enjoys folding laundry.

Top Three.

Favorite moments of my day:

1. Ellie's delight at the playground. From the minute she realizes where we're going, she is as happy as happy can be, and will talk about all the sliding and the swinging and the playing she did for the rest of the day. Today she figured out how to climb up one of the little slides, and was mightily pleased with her small self.

2. Having Ellie ask to hold my hand, and then clutch my finger in her little palm as she drags me off to show me something that excites her in this big, amazing world.

3. Rocking her and singing our goodnight lullaby with her curly haired head tucked on my shoulder... until she decided she needed to lean back and give me a big smooch on the mouth before going back to snuggling. I love that girl.

Little Helper.

Elizabeth knows the word "help" now, and will say it when she is in need of aid. It sounds a lot like "Howe," but hey, it's better than having her scream when she gets frustrated in life. She also loves it when I ask her for help. She'll look at me and say "help mama?" She loves to close the door when we come in from the garage, and she especially likes to help me put laundry in the washer or dryer. Today she particularly enjoyed holding up pairs of her own pants and saying "dada pants," as she threw them in the dryer. That's right Ellie, he's also a size 18 months.

Here you can see her helping carry her own diapers to her room. In this case, she's only helping us because we told her she couldn't have any pajamas until she got her diapers put away.

Throw out the First Pitch, Shout a Hip Hooray!

Hooray for the Minnesota Twins today! (super cute cheerleader dress courtesy of Tio Juan and Auntie Nay-Nay, as Ellie calls Renee.)

Nature Walk!

Lulu is obsessed with getting into the nursery - when we got everything set up lo those many years ago, she started sleeping on the changing table, staring out into the yard, guarding the house. We've kept the door closed since Ellie was born, not so much because I worry about the cats hurting her, but baby sleep is a precious thing- I don't need her woken up at night by the cats climbing onto her bed or meowing at her. So Lulu likes to scoot in every chance she gets - normally after naps and during diaper changes. She tries to return to her perch, and then Ellie demands to sit with Lulu. It's about the only time Lulu consents to having the baby touch her. 

Ellie has really been enjoying this Chick book lately - it's a pop up book about a baby chick hatching from his egg, eating, peeping, snuggling with his mommy. She calls it the "peep peep" book, and has been remarkably gentle with it (usually pop up books are destroyed within minutes.) Well, today on our walk we got to see some baby peep peeps, and she went nuts. They were so cute!

Saturday Night Social.

On Saturday we had another party with Ellie's baby friends. They are all getting to be such a fun age, running around, talking, interacting with one another. Funny to think that a year ago they were all just a bunch of lumps, sitting next to each other and only occasionally taking notice of the other babies.

However, they way they are now sometimes feels like 10 times more work. Breaking up fights over the good toys, trying to catch them when they start climbing on stuff like a bunch of angry monkeys, trying to keep them from spilling food and drink everywhere (I caught one of the boys trying to steal my cocktail!) They are busy, busy, busy. The only real way to entertain them seemed to be sitting with a plate of fruit, feeding pieces to the various little birds.

I thought since they were all walking, it would be fun to get a picture of all of them lined up, standing. It lasted about half a second before they scattered.

Ellie was upset - she was in a very "mommy" mode on Saturday.

She continued to be upset even after everyone else was happily settled with an animal cracker.

18 months is a hard age anyways. Fun, but hard. She is constantly testing her boundaries, my patience, and the laws of gravity. Ellie has learned how to climb on things, so she crawls up on chairs, says "big girl sits!" and then refuses to sit down. She understands she shouldn't be doing it, she'll even say "kaboom, ow!" but I feel like I'm constantly after her. She will get grouchy and hit. She can be especially mean to the cats (poor Petunia in particular) and even though every day she reminds me that we don't pull Lulu's tail or bother Lulu while she eats, she tells me about said rules while breaking them. She's smart, but she's disobedient. I am trying to be consistent and firm, and we are doing 30 second time outs - she HATES being taken out of the action, and usually has her act together when she returns to the fun.

Bearducken, THE REVENGE!

It's the biggest summer blockbuster of 2012!

A Year and a Half

Ellie is 18 months today! Unbelievable and wonderful.

At 18 months she is:

• 24.5 pounds (50th percentile)
• 90th percentile for head circumference (no surprise there)
• 33.25 inches tall, a jump of three entire inches in the three months since her last check up. In the 90th percentile for height, she is perhaps activating some of her father's beanpole genes.
• In love with babies and bunnies. From stuffed animals to dolls to photos of the aforementioned, she is constantly asking for babies or hop hops.
• She will eat as much yogurt as you give her - I try to cut her off after the third one for the day. She also loves soup (and telling you that it's hot) and having turkey parties with Rocky. She enjoys shoving fruit in her piehole, and at our favorite sushi restaurant, yells for beans (edamame.)
• Likes to dance and loves music - she was very enthused with our return to music class yesterday
• Wants nothing more than for all the cats and dogs in the world to love her - too bad she is usually less than gentle, and has been caught several times trying to pet Lulu while Lulu is doing her business (Lulu continues to be on the cat prozac for just such occasions.)
• Talks up a storm. It was actually sort of funny at the doctor's yesterday when the doc mentioned that Ellie should start putting two words together "soon." Like... baby hummingbird agua? Does that count?
• Is a fearless little adventurer at the park (as shown in her troll behavior.) She wants to climb all the stairs, go down all the slides and play with everything.
• Is being on having Tim and I go "nigh nigh" and lay down on the floor so that she can come, lay on us and smother us with hugs and kisses
• She also likes for us to eat a bite of what she's eating. She'll go "dada mmm?" and then of course, after we get a single bite, it's back to "baby mmm?"
  
• She is the best ever.

Troll.

Who's that clippy clopping on my bridge?

Oh, it's the sweetest little park-going girl.

She did refuse to call the bridge by its proper name though - she insisted it was actually a slide.

Friends and Family.

We had a lovely couple of days lately with our families. Yesterday Tim and I went out on a movie and dinner date, and Ellie hung out with Mimi and Pa, and had a blast - they went and fed the ducks, they rode around the lake, and they used her fancy stroller to take her to the park for lots of swinging and sliding. When we got back from dinner she was fresh out the bath and happy as a clam. We're so lucky to have such wonderful baby sitters so close by.

Today, after a 6am wake up time and a mere 45 minutes of napping in the afternoon, we went over to Gigi and Grizz's. Played in the yard, went to the park and got real dirty, took a mid-afternoon bath, and then Ellie asked for milk and 'nigh nigh' and who am I to deny a cranky baby a late afternoon nap? It was good that she freshened up, because Sara had her "Mock Rock" night with Lighthouse, and we wanted to join. Ellie was so cute - she stood in her Grizz's lap and hollered with joy for her Auntie Sara up on stage and then happily wandered between family members and friends around. We are such lucky girls.

Dip Dip Dip!

It must be hilarious to be a toddler, or at least, that's what I've learned from watching Ellie. Every now and then something will be so unbelievably funny that she just loses her mind, and tonight was one of those nights.

Mom and I were telling Tim about how we'd tried to convince Ellie to eat some chicken corn chowder, but she didn't want any. So then mom offered her a biscuit to dip in the soup. Ellie liked that idea, but only the dipping part. Not so much the eating of the soup or soggy biscuit. We said the phrase "dip dip dip," and a giggle fest ensued.

That giggle is the best part of my day. Even if it does partially happen because she's tired and gone off the rails.

Gigi's Dream Girl.

Finally, someone who is eager to discuss succulents!

A funny story: this morning Tim was in our bedroom getting ready for his day, and I was puttering around in the living room. Both of us assumed that the other parent was busy parenting, and then we heard some jazzy tunes coming from the office. We met in the hallway and realized that our clever little spitfire of a daughter had climbed up onto the bench, turned on the keyboard, pressed the button that plays some pre-recorded music, and was jamming out.

Which brings me back to our family motto: always, safety first.

She has also taken to getting herself out of bed in the mornings, half the time. She scoots down past her baby railing, lays on her belly and scoots down until her feet hit the pile of pillows (which we put there for just such a dismount.) Thankfully, she can't QUITE open the door yet. Getting bigger and naughtier by the day!

Night Night.

Getting Ellie down for a nap or bedtime is getting to be much less of a struggle these days, though she still doesn't go down awake and then "self-soothe," in the parlance of sleep training. We're okay with it, because for one, her naps are easier on me, and for two, snuggling with Tim at night is some of their best quality time together.

He reports that on the nights that she doesn't fall asleep while nursing, she likes to take some time to say goodnight to everyone in her life. Tim reports that the people and things she says goodnight to include the following: mama, dada, Lulu, Thor, Rocky, Petunia, Mimi, Paw, Gigi, Grizz, Jake, Sara and yogurt. And while yogurt is last on my list, it sometimes comes before her family members when she's saying her nigh-nighs, depending on how her day has gone. Fair enough, I guess (but easy for me to say, as I'm apparently always the first night night!)

Eggstravaganza (Part III)

Not pictured: the cute matching jacket (long sleeved, with a sweet embroidered collar) and matching hat. It was a warm day.

"No thanks, I don't want to wear the bunny ears hat either."

Hanging out in Mimi's new patio furniture. I am holding Thalia, one of Ellie's little twin cousins (Nina is on her Grandma's lap.) As soon as Elle saw me with another baby, she freaked out. I thought she was being jealous.

But really, she just wanted to be a lovebug.

An eye-kissing lovebug.

Eggstravaganza (Parts I & II)

Part I - Easter Egg hunt at Gigi and Grizz's, organized by Easter Bunny Sara

Setting off, delightedly

I know this is kind of washed out, but she's got four eggs clutched in her little mitts.

Her favorite part was the snack part

With the Easter Bunny

Part II - Easter Morning

This morning I was pretty sure she'd pass her basket by, as we're still nursing in the mornings and that's her primary focus when she wakes up. But I pointed out her basket to her and she went NUTS for her bubble gun, and we had to immediately put it together and go out on the patio.



Suffice to say, it was a hit. As was her bunny sip cup, which came along on our morning walk. And we caught her carrying around her chocolate bunny from the Sweet Shop. Tough nuggets kid - no chocolate bunny until I'm ready to "help" you eat it.

New Quilt.

Grandma Rosie knows how much Ellie loves her babies - letting them share her banana, pushing them in a stroller, putting them down for a nap, so she made Ellie's babies their very own special quilt. Today we opened it on Skype so Grandma Rosie could see it. Minor hilarity ensued.

Not on video: How absolutely out of her mind thrilled Ellie was with the paper bag.

Opening Day.

The Twins lost, but Ellie enjoyed her first taste of bratwurst, thus proving herself worthy of this family's love.

Better than Disneyland.

OMG A WHOLE CAROUSEL MADE OF HOP HOPS!

My Two Loves.

We didn't have music yesterday, so instead we met up with our friends Kristen and Lexi and went to the petting zoo. I'd gotten a great deal on Groupon (20 admissions for $36!) so we are all about going to pet hop hops when the opportunity presents itself. We got there right as it opened, which meant that the rabbits were actually half interested in seeing the kids (and their food) and so there was a lot of nice petting going on. And unlike her first trip, where Ellie shoved the rabbit out of her lap, this time she was asking to sit on the bench and hold one (side note: she actually LOVES to hold things now, and ask permission to hold yogurt, bananas, toys... except she says it like "hole-wit")

We also took our ladies to lunch, where they ate rice and beans and sat happily in their high chairs next to one another.

Then she was a fart the rest of the day, pretty much. When she goes off the rails with exhaustion she is just a mean, horrible little girl. Slapping me, biting me, hitting Petunia. And it's frustrating because at this age I can only redirect, continue to tell her that her behavior is unacceptable, remove her from the situation... when really I want to just send her to her room and let her be a jerk to her stuffed animals. UGH. Poor overtired little jerk/muffin.

Thankfully, as you can see, she was happy to snuggle with her daddy and read some books before bed. Everyone had a better night of sleep, so today can only be a better day!

Two Videos.

Both from today, as evidence of what it's like to hang out at Gigi and Grizz's house.

Lately there has been a lot of playing ball in the yard. Please be sure to catch Grizz's fast hands around the 40 second mark.

This absolutely slays me. I love how she says hummingbird. Also, it cracks me up that she can differentiate a hummingbird from a small bird (aka: tweet tweet) and a crow (caw-caw) but she calls flowers, rocks and shells all shells.