A Little Bit of Ellie

For the last couple of months we have been trying to wean Ellie off of her pacifier during naps and at bedtime. It was going pretty well. But, I'm a weak willed Mommy and when my baby girl cries I just want to comfort her anyway I can. So, least to say she is still getting it at nap time. :-) Ellie is quite creative though and found this lternative to a pacifier. Do you remember the small Tupperware playsets with the pitcher, plates and cups. I had them growing up and now my kids are playing with it. Ellie has turned the lid of the pitcher into her personal pacifier. Smart girl!

An August Update

These pictures are all from July when my parents came for a visit. My mom captured all the photos, which is why she isn't in any. We had a great time together. The kids got to play in the pool, Riley enjoyed some Poppy time, we had our first taste of corn on the cob for the summer and got to have a couple fires with smores!

It Turned Out Great!

This day turned out great! Last night I went to bed early with a migraine. Yuck. I'm sick of them and the way they effect not only me but the whole family. This morning I woke up with the same migraine but some high powered incredibly expensive medicine eventually helped.
But, all things considered it was a wonderful day. I survived the morning, the kids took great naps, which gave me some much needed quiet time and then Griff got home before Riley even woke up! And then it got fun. :-)
On a whim (and thanks to a coupon) we decided to all go out to dinner. I thought I may be asking for another migraine taking two kids out to a restaurant but they were so well behaved and enjoyable it was incredible. They were full of giggles the whole meal, Riley said "please" and "thank you" without being prompted, the kids ate well, nothing was spilled, there was no screaming, no one asked us to leave the building, and some older women at another table told us how wonderful they thought our kids were. Now, all of that makes this Mommy really proud. I think the highlight of the meal for me was when Riley found out he was getting ice cream. He raised his hands in sheer delight and excitedly said, "ICE CREAM!" He as on cloud nine. And when the ice cream sundae arrived with whip cream and chocolate chips and smiled with delight. In true Riley fashion he picked the chocolate chips off first and then moved on to the whip cream but he also willing shared it with Griff. "You want some, Daddy?" It was the sweetest thing ever and just made my heart melt. He would take a few bites himself and then share with Griff. And the sweet boy cried when it was all gone.
After the incredibly successful dinner we decided to head to Lowes to look at a couple things. Riley was excited to ride on a "mow-mow" and Ellie just loves being in the cart and looking at everything. Once inside I had to go to the restroom, and as I was walking back out to find them I could hear Riley yelling, "Mommy, where are you?" It's nice to know I was missed. :-) We finished looking at stuff and were heading out the door and Riley was waving to everyone and Ellie was blowing kisses. Seriously, what has gotten into my kids? Whatever it is I love it!
We came back home, put diapers and jammies on, brushed teeth and then Ellie went to bed. Riley wanted to read to us so we got to hear his version of one of his Sesame Street books. We eventually told him, "Good night", turned off the light and shut the door.
Now, Griff lays on the couch with his Bible open but eyes closes, clearly sleeping, as he has been for the last thirty minutes or so. It's been a long day for all of us. It started a little harder than most days but I thank the Lord for His faithfulness and mercy, because this day turned out great!

Ellie is Walking and Talking and Riley is Surviving it All

Ellie just started walking a couple weeks ago. It started with balancing on her own for a few seconds, progressed to moving up and down the edge of the sofa and then came the daring first steps. Now, she won't stop moving and is having even more fun following Riley around. There have been lots of bumps and bruises along the way, her newest one is smack in the middle of her forehead but she is determined. She falls, she may wimper a little and then she is moving again. It just seems impossible that Ellie is at this stage already. Life is just moving too fast and I can't possibly take it all in. It is amazing and kind of sad all at the same time. The day is full of hundreds of sweet sweet memories that I know my mind will not remember ten years from now, let alone ten days from now. Hopefully this blog will help a little, memories saved in the cyber world. So, in an effort to document and remember things... Recently Riley had his first big boo-boo. I was snapping the double stroller into place and his left pinky finger got caught in the process. Riley is usually a very strong boy and gets over things pretty well but not this one. I picked him up quick to see it and he said, "I walk. I walk." So I put him down to walk but the pain just made th little guy crouch on the ground holding it once again unable to just walk this one off. He doesn't want anyone to touch his owies or even look at them so I held him as Griff pushed Ellie in the stroller. Griff tried to get glipses of the sore finger and make sure there wasn't blood and it wasn't broken, and it is neither. Riley has also discovered how to use the water hose outside and last week I found him in the backyard "watering" the flower. This would be a huge blessing but the windows were wide open and he was spraying a lot more than just the flowers. And Ellie, besides walking, can now say the words:"please", "no-no", "bye-bye", "hi", "doggy" and "shoe". Yes, I know that last one sounds crazy but she really can say it. She just started making the "sh" sound this week and the other morning when I told Riley to go put his shoes on she said it as sweet as could be, "shoes". This may be a foreshadow of a shoe obsession to come, we shall see. And this morning I went in to get Ellie out of bed and she handed me the speaker from inside one of her dolls. Apprently she figured out how to open the velcro and take our the noise maker inside...oh the things she gets into. :-) She has also started pretending to burp, cough and just yesterday learn to bark like a dog.

Learning

As I sit here with Riley on my left and Ellie on my right for snack time I realize there is a lot going on in our family and I am learning a lot, about myself, my kids and Griff.

I am learning that even if Riley didn't get much sleep during the night and the clock says 5:30am the sun is up and that means Riley is up and ready to play. I am learning that he can't read the clock I put in his room yet. And I am also learning that since Riley and Ellie share a room the excitement of being up can't be contained to just him sitting on his bed but MUST include Ellie as well. I am learning that I am not very loving, gracious, or awake at 5:30 in the morning and do not always respond the best to my early bird. I know that mornings are the best part of the day and I do love the morning but I really just love it when I can get up to my natural internal clock and spend it in peace and quiet while drinking an ice chai.

I am learning that even though Riley can pee on the potty it doesn't mean he is completely ready to potty train. I am learning there is no need to rush him and if he is 4 and still in diapers I will be concerned but right now at 2 1/2 I can enjoy him wearing diapers and the reality I don't have to ask him every 30 minutes to go to the bathroom or be concerned when we take trips or run errands. There is a blessing to diapers and I will enjoy it for a while longer.

I am learning that Ellie is going to be a bit dramatic. If she sees me leave the room she sticks out her lower lip and throws herself to the ground. It is cute now but could become a little extreme if it continues into adolescence. She favors me more than Griff, which I think is normal. She knows that if Griff picks her up and and turns and says night night to me that is bad news and also evokes tears and crying, sometimes even wailing. But, I'm learning I gotta let her cry it out and she will soon fall to sleep.

I'm learning that if I'm getting frustrated with the kids a drive in the van is a great break for the three of us. Riley loves riding on the highway and looking at all the semis, Ellie is content doing just about anything and it gives me enough peace to collect my thoughts and refocus. And a drive proves a little break in an otherwise semi quiet morning at home.

I'm learning how to stretch a dollar at the grocery store, buy generic, use coupons, and hunt for sales. But, I'm also learning with two kids under 28 months sometimes it is easier on me and worth the money to by the name brand regardless of price and give myself a little grace; saving $3.50 at Giant just isn't worth it some weeks.

I'm learning that I really struggle with discipline, not discipline of myself and life but disciplining Riley and beginning to train Ellie. It is an exhausting task. No one ever told me how tiring and trying it would be. If they did tell me I was too prideful to listen to their advice. I'm learning how consistency is extremely important but so is grace and patience. I can't expect Riley to behave like a perfect gentlemen. He is a two year old little boy and he is going to throw things I would prefer weren't thrown, and break things I wish didn't break.

I'm learning that all it make take for Ellie to go from sad to happy is sing the alphabet or playing peek-a-boo and it helps my attitude as well.

And I'm learning a smile at the door to greet Griff at the end of a hard day goes a long way in his heart.

Snack time is over, off to play.

So far in June...

Ellie can now climb to the top of this slide and sometimes get herself down safely. When she gets to the top she laughs, I think because she is so proud of herself and she knows her mommy is completely freaking out.
They LOVE books! I don't even bother picking them up till the end of the day because it is a guarantee Ellie will tear them all down again. I don't mind. I love that they love to look through books.
She just gets sweeter by the day. Some day little man you will fit in these shoes.

Birthday Cupcake

Last night after dinner we gave Ellie her first of many Birthday cupcakes! She love, love, loved it! We laughed so much and and we got to see the personality differences between her and Riley, maybe you will notice them too. :-)