Happy Halloween

Mom used some old linoleum carving tools and whipped out this sucker. Other than this guy, no one was harmed.

Ellie the Vampire:  Mom freaked out and had E pick out a spare costume Monday since she was showing signs of not wanting to wear Yoda. She wore this to school. There may or may not have been chocolate involved in putting the costume on. And, bonus, she'll be able to wear it for another 4 years :)

Dad was able to sweet-talk her into Yoda for actual Trick-or-Treating. She doesn't look thrilled here, but she was actually VERY excited to go trick-or-treat with Cousin S. All afternoon, she kept busting out with "Happy Halloween!"

I can't believe it's already November. Ellie has had a chronic cold for almost 2 months. Then, a couple weeks ago, P started complaining of a sore throat. A few days later, I had it too. I'm blaming Thing 2, but the mucus has been crazy thick this time. And, where I would normally treat with Sudafed or something, I've been pretty helpless to take anything since most over the counter drugs are not baby friendly. So, after suffering horrible flemmy mornings, conversations punctuated by violent coughing, and trouble getting comfortable enough to sleep, the mucus moved from my throat to my nose and I sought help from a professional. I have one day left of my Z-pak and am feeling much improved, although I think the coughing and slime will linger for a while. So long as I don't hack up a lung every morning, I think I can handle some residuals. Ellie is on milder antibiotics (that she loves since it's bubblegum flavored) and her runny nose and coughing are almost gone.

November is the start of the busy season. We have a golden anniversary next weekend, lots of appointments over the next couple weeks, Thanksgiving, Ellie's birthday, then we go to Texas for "Christmas-giving". December kicks off with the company Christmas party, the Kappa Christmas party, and our other two Christmases. Sometime in there I need to make/buy gifts, decorate for the holidays, wrap up Ellie's big-girl room and switch her so I can start refurbing the nursery.

Our ultrasound is in a couple weeks. This one will be a surprise as well. We're still debating girl names, although we do have a better list this time around. 

Yoda and Vader

Believe it or not, they are actually both smiling....

E at 22 Months

I just realized I haven't updated on Ellie in a while. I may need to reference this when Thing 2 is her age, so it would be nice to have on record. She is currently a super busy little bee. She sleeps well (11-12 hours). She is taking dry naps (no diaper). She now WANTS to use the big toilet instead of the potty chair. She peed and pooped (in the toilet) today at Target after telling me she needed to in the middle of the baby clothes. I'm seriously considering taking the potty chair out of my car, but I'll probably leave it there for emergencies.

At her last weigh-in, she was 23 pounds 6 ounces. She's still petite, but has started to gain a little weight/muscle. Grandma just delivered a new batch of big girl undies in the next size up. I think she'll be able to wear commercial underpants from now on. I just saw Hanna Anderson makes a conservative underpant for 20-30 pound shrimp boats. At that rate, she'll be able to wear the same underpants for another year or two.

She currently is in love with The Train Song and actually requested to stop watching Mystery Box to watch it the last time we did her nails. Another favorite is the Elmo Song. She hasn't requested the Bus Song in the car lately, but she does spend a lot of time babbling and even engaging me in conversation sometimes. She is speaking in caveman sentences. "Mommy blue jeans." (trans. Mommy is wearing blue jeans.) "Mommy car, no Daddy car." (We're in Mommy's car, not Daddy's car.)

She has become quite the whiz with puzzles and sorting. One of her favorite toys right now is the Melissa and Doug block farm puzzle. It has 6 different puzzle pictures you can choose. She prefers Mommy to complete the puzzle, but she can now identify all the correct pieces for whichever picture she chooses to "make". Currently, they are abstract Cubist pictures. But, some of the pieces are tricky to categorize, so she is on the right track. So far, she is not real great on color identification.  Her standard guess is that something is blue. Then, pink. She does know some colors, but most of the time, I think she is messing with us. Sometimes, she can count to ten. Other times, she gets tripped up around "six".

Ellie recently decided she was ready to graduate from her high chair to a booster. So far, she has been pretty well-behaved. However, when we use a booster at a restaurant, she usually climbs out at least once or twice to sit in my lap. Still working on that one. She also has decided she is too big for a bib (since they don't use them at school). However, I have put my foot down and require one when we eat red sauce or yogurt. This morning, she circumvented the bib and rubbed yogurt all down her black pant-leg. I may be outclassed.

She likes to draw. Mommy is pretty tight with the crayons for now, but she draws at school most days, at every restaurant, and every time she goes to the library. Hopefully, I'm not stifling her artistic spirit.... She has started being able to identify the ripe raspberries on our bush (as opposed to eating the unripe ones). Right now, raspberries and strawberries are somewhat interchangeable since both are grown right outside our house and she can eat them fresh.

She is getting braver about going down slides. She can be very sweet and understands the concept of sharing. Today, she got to the bucket and scoop at the playground a split second before an older girl. The girl tried to take them away and her father scolded her to give them back since Ellie had them first. The girl started crying, so I encouraged Ellie to take them over to her and share since she had already played with them quite a bit. After thinking it over, she did and they were able to play together a bit. We'll see if that good will lasts after she has a sibling to compete with.

In books, she is still interested in Thomas, but now also likes one from the library called "By Myself" about doing things independently. I'd like her to get to the point where she can at least lower and raise her pants herself. She got a pair of velcro Chucks today. Maybe she'll start putting on and taking off her shoes soon. She likes to walk up and down the stairs now. She still prefers a helping hand, but she is learning to hold on to the wall or rail, so by the time I'll need to carry Thing 2, she should be okay. She also likes anything Curious George and an old 50's book called "Saucy", about a dog who has puppies. I'm not sure why, but she also likes anything about rabbits.

I could go on, but that's probably enough minutia for now. I'll try to get pics for next time. If anyone knows of any good kid/family portrait photographers in our area, please share. We're looking to get this year's holiday pics and documentation of Ellie at 2.

Surprise!

That's right folks, we're expecting again. Soon there will be four.... Tentative due date is 3/30/13.

Mommy's Days Out

I'm feeling nice and relaxed after my recent long awaited "weaning" trip. Ellie weaned a couple months ago when I took a brief 36 hour sojourn to Wisconsin. I went with another mommy friend to the Sundance Resort in Utah. I have had my eye on this place for a few years since it came to my attention while I was searching for possible family vacation locations. It was very secluded up on a mountain with a beautiful babbling creek running all throughout and down the mountain. The resort was relatively rustic, but had fabulous dining onsite and wonderful staff. There was also a spa onsite and a gallery with art classes. We indulged in several of the offerings, including a bit of the shopping. We also made a couple day trips into Park City and Salt Lake City.

P on the other hand, did not have a relaxing 5 days. He chose to go above and beyond with super ambitious plans. He took Ellie to the Shedd Aquarium on Sunday and the Museum of Science and Industry on Monday. Reportedly, Ellie enjoyed the "fishies" and the baby chick exhibit. P thought she would love the trains at the MoS&I, but they were a little small. I guess she is a little spoiled by the Railway Garden at Taltree. She had several accidents and a couple of meltdowns over the course of the week. And, as I found out when I returned home, a nice little upper respiratory infection. Now, it's mostly over with, just a little residual runny nose. Needless to say, P was very glad to see me.

I have been promised a similar trip for consequent children. Luckily, I have it in writing, because I'm not entirely sure he is still wants to do that.

The beautiful flowers waiting for me in my room.

A couple dozen strawberries. I shared.

Hard to see, but a family of wild turkeys walked past the cabins daily looking for grub(s).

Alicia and I at Cucina Toscana. If you are ever in SLC, you MUST try it. Best Italian evah!

Helping out the economy at Gardner Village. (Cute, mostly reasonable boutiques.)

August, Bodily Fluids, and Other Adventures

Once again, where did the time go? Ellie is now climbing furniture. She has also been battling a bout of Stomach Flu. I had a sore throat last week, so all in all, it's been super fun lately. As a first time mom who doesn't remember getting sick much, I was kind of hoping my kid wouldn't either, but just a few weeks into school, she got her first real cold with fever. Last weekend, we visited friends who it turns out had stomach flu the week before. And, Ellie slept in the youngest girl's crib. That may or may not be where we picked it up, but, as I found out with a little research online, this is a pain to quarantine as you are contagious for 2 weeks after you have symptoms. Joy. I don't know anyone who can keep to the house for 2 weeks plus.

Some of the highlights of Ellie's past week include throwing up three times in bed, waking up at ungodly early hours, diarrhea on the floor (which the dog ate), and explosive diapers at night. Needless to say, I've been making good use of the washer and had a minor freakout this morning when I had a pile of poopy sheets and a washer that would not unlock. (As a side note, the dog has also been suffering some loose stool, but I doubt he'll learn his lesson. He now trolls the potty chair looking for fecal matter we forgot to dispose of.)

P got back from his summer trip to Yosemite a couple weeks ago. There, he climbed Half Dome with some friends. He had a fabulous time and took a ton of photos that I'm sure don't begin to do justice to the real experience. We are slated to take a family vacation there sometime in the next 10 years or so. I get a Mommy vacation (a weaning gift) over Labor Day. I'm really looking forward to a long weekend of being able to go potty on my own, eating Cheetos in peace, and not lugging my 22 pound accessory up and down stairs. I'll also be enjoying some lovely views in the mountains of Utah and a meal of fabulous Italian food that hopefully lives up to the hype.

We went to a gorgeous wedding at an unlikely garden spot in Wheatfield, Indiana last night. Of course, we did not take pictures, so you'll just have to take my word for it. Hopefully, I did not give the bride stomach flu....

A friend from Texas came to visit while P was in California. Initially, the idea was that I would have some help taking care of Ellie. However, it quickly became clear I'd need to farm that out to Grandma and our beloved babysitter so that I could take our houseguest to see the sites. We saw a local play, saw the Cubs lose, cursed Chicago traffic, went to Michigan for the day, saw a clown driving on the Dan Ryan, had brinner, and did a little shopping. I had fun. I think she had fun. Ellie didn't seem any worse for wear. But, I think I'll just man up next time P travels and stay home alone.

Me with Tri Kappa book club in Madison

My garden looks like a garden this year. This is before the melons went rogue...

A nice creative arbor at FLW's Taliesin

Ellie taking advantage of having the splash pad ALL to herself. She only plays in the baby jets...

My zinnias are so happy. Will be doing these every year from here on out.

M with the Cubbster himself.

Mom and Ellie.

 

 

Ellie at her favorite destination - Taltree's Railway Garden

Our Incredibly Fast Summer

I knew I'd been forgetting something and about a week ago, it occurred to me that perhaps, I hadn't updated the blog in a while. Talking to my sister this morning, she mentioned it had been more than a month.... So sorry, you guys!

Ellie has been in school for a full month now. She will be going for a full days 5 days a week for the next couple weeks. I am hoping I'll get a bit done this week. I'd like to organize outgrown baby items, clean the spare room, and organize the craft room (which has become the repository of all things). It's a good thing I've caught up on Gossip Girl ;). Next week, we have a Texas visitor coming to keep me company since P will be climbing Yosemite's Half Dome.

I just took my first mini-trip away from Ellie. I had the opportunity to travel to Taliesin (in Wisconsin) with a wonderful group of ladies Friday and Saturday, so I jumped at it since P is traveling throughout most of the summer and this was probably my last chance until possibly September. We also took the opportunity to finally break the nursing streak. At 19 months,  I think she's finally done. Unfortunately, Dad had to bear the brunt of her bad attitude at being denied the boob, but this morning, she took my refusal remarkably well. Let's hope she continues to be satisfied with hugs and yogurt instead.

She has been much more linguistically inclined since starting Montessori. Most of it is unintelligible, but we've picked up on a few new words. She also is anxious to use utensils at meals and drink from a real cup, although we have to supervise that pretty closely. Recently, she began running. She often runs "like a girl" with one arm frozen and the other swinging. It would be hilarious, if her mother didn't run the same way.... Let's just hope she handles games with balls better than either of her parents. Poor kid.

I can't believe the summer is already more than halfway through. Ellie has gone through two rounds of swim classes. For the rest of the summer, we're going to try to go on our own. She actually started to get the hang of swimming and moves kind of like a frog in the water. She also has mostly learned to keep her mouth from hanging open so she doesn't inhale the pool water.

In large part because of all the songs we sang in swim class (and the ones she sings in school), Ellie has become quite the fan of the in-car sing-along. Honestly, I thought she'd tire of NPR a little later. Favorites include:  Row, Row, Row Your Boat; If You're Happy and You Know it; The Wheels on the Bus; and The Itsy Bitsy Spider. (Basically, anything with movement.) I have decided I need a crash course in singing and that my repertoire is too limited. Song suggestions are appreciated.

Rocking the Ewok at Roger's Lakewood Park

Zeus suffering after getting an insect bite. I thought he was just being a poop, but it quickly became apparent he was actually really ill. A night at the vet, and he was good as new.

At the splash pad with unknown children.

Exhausted and cuddling with Darwin after a day filled with trains and sun.

Stormy's big game.

How my garden grows. Right now, zinnias, zuchinnis, tomatoes, raspberries, and herbs are in full swing.

For comparison, the garden at Taliesin....

School and Potty

So, I know all of you that read this blog and don't get a semi-regular phone call are wondering how school and potty training are going. The short answer is, "okay." The long answers....

School - We just finished Day 4. She seems to like it. I ask if she wants to go, if she likes the kids and her teachers, if she's excited, etc. All get a yes. She has brought home a craft/activity every day except today. However, her teacher seemed a little distracted today, so she may have forgotten to grab whatever today's was. Didn't really get an update today except the standard, "she did pretty good today and only started crying when we started getting ready to go home." For the fourth day, Ellie has worn a pull-up to school and come home dry only to pee like the proverbial racehorse the second (and I DO mean second) she sits on the potty. Girl has got some staying power. However, they want her to keep wearing the pull-ups until she successfully pees in the toilet at school. Friday, she sat on it, so hopefully she'll graduate out of her safety net soon. Mostly, school has been an exercise for me to see how much (or little) I can accomplish in 3 hours. And, a practice run for the rest of her life when there are many many areas of her life over which I have no control or knowledge of her activities. Oh, she has "learned" the Hokie Pokey. I will keep trying to get the dance recorded. She gets a little camera shy, which is not a shock seeing as who her mother is.

Potty - Today was Day 17 of "no diapers". We still use them for sleep, and until the school says otherwise, for school, but otherwise, she goes commando. Grandma has her prototype undies ready for trying on tomorrow, but she's not supposed to wear them until the end of the month. We had a really good run at first. She even napped two days diaper-less and dry. Then, two days diaper-less and wet, and then two days diapered and poopy. I'm really glad those last two were diapered. Most days, she does really well. However, things are starting to get "normal", so the initial novelty has worn off some and she has been choosing to pee her pants lately rather than stop her activity. We're also encountering some resistance to sitting on the potty and have to dangle a carrot such as going somewhere or doing something really enticing (going for a walk or playing in the pool). I'm beginning to wonder if the method the school uses is causing this or if it's us. Now that there is a period I don't know about, I can at least attempt to blame them....

One of our caterpillars enjoying the late season pansies.

Chickens and a performing rooster at Sunset Hill Farm.

She wore an itsy bitsy teeny weeny yellow polka dot bikini....