New Years Eve Family style

Today was a very chilled out and quiet day for us. We played at the house this morning. Ellie was particularly keen to have Daddy play with her in her new castle and be the wicked queen to chase her (a game Mommy's not too keen on playing.) I ran some errands during naptime. Then for the evening we did our little trip into Baker Park with a dinner at the Pretzel Time place, a family favorite. It was an early dinner and downtown was rather quiet. On the way home Ellie asked if we could please go see the Christmas Lights display at the local place, so we did the drive through. I think we all enjoyed that actually - a bit more then I remembered/or thought we would. When we got home we had a family desert (where Max was the cookie monster and Ellie enjoyed a nice ice cream sundae). The kids were in bed around normal time and David and I have really been chilling out. It feels a bit quiet. I enjoy my little family very much, but it does feel just like any other Friday night here. I've definitely experienced more exciting New Years, but never had so many little beings I loved so much! I think the kids have really enjoyed my time off work, as I have. This makes me happy. My goal for 2012 is stress less and try to share a bit more happiness with the family. This is going to require me learning to ignore things that are not perfect, so this will surely be a challenge. I hope to at least improve. Happy New Years!

Blueberries

Max loves Blueberries. We hadn't had them for a while, but the store recently have had some that looked decent. When I put them in front of him for the first time recently he was so excited. It was nearly like I had dumped a bowl of M&Ms onto his tray. He says, "Buuuu barreeees!" Then he pops them into his mouth as quick as he can. Sometimes he even leans towards his try to get close to them and make it quicker. He finishes what he's given and scans the table for more. He will take them from anyone who's willing and even those unwilling with his persistant request and sometimes screams. It's quite funny. I'd definitely have to label these Max's favorite healthy food! <br/><br/> Although this isn't a picture of him enjoying Blueberries, this is a favorite photo I snapped over the past few days of him enjoying some fresh banana bread just after waking from an afternoon nap. <br/>

And, she did not...

sleep the night in the castle. When I went up to check her at 11:15 she was wide awake in the tent. So, I helped her to the bathroom and settled her into her bed, much to her dismay. She needed some sleep though. I imagine she's going to be exhausted by 10am.

Princess' Castle

One of Ellie's many Christmas gifts was a Disney Princess Castle. It's pretty big; large enough for me to be in there with the two kids and they can move around me. They can even stand up. They both had a lot of fun playing with it today. As bedtime approached we knew what was coming, "Can I sleep in my castle tonight?"

After a bit of debate, we decided to let her try it. She's currently nestled on top of a quilt, with several pillows, her pink soft blanket on top of her, her moon nightlite inside the tent, and her tissue. We have warned her she needs to get to sleep, or she's back to bed. WE'll see what happens.

First family outting for a big purchase

This evening we trapsed the kids with us to Sears to look at dishwashers. We must have been there for 90 minutes or more. The kids tried to be patient. They were in pleasant moods. But after 90 minutes of questions and 30 minutes of purchase stuff, they were spent. David spent some time running around after them while I investigated things a bit. Overall, I was frustrated while standing there, but there were no screaming fits, no squels and Ellie even had a smile on her face, so I'd say they did pretty well.

Simple and fabulous morning

Today was the first day I stayed home with the kids alone, without any work responsibilities, and was able to just play with them. It was such a great Mom morning. Even though Ellie's sick and coughing and Max is also under the weather, the three of us really had fun relaxing and enjoying each other's company. I even managed to get a few cleaning items in here and there in between activities. After breakfast we colored at the table. Max tried out his new toddler stacking crayons which proved loads of fun for stacking but didn't see much coloring. We transitioned to a little cleaning where the kids actually helped me pick up toys and vacuum. After a while we headed to the basement to play with the new big Christmas toys - the trampoline, the blocks, the seesaw and such. I even got a little bit of back exerising in while they played. I can see visions of the room working like we planned it here in the near future (kids play while I work out for 20 minutes.) The three of us enjoyed a nice and healthy lunch together and a couple Christmas cookies after. We played a bit more with the new toy cars and trains. I even started reading Ellie a special book about Heaven (A topic she's forever curious about these days). The kids are in bed for their naps, though Ellie is coughing non-stop (poor little thing) and I'm going to embark on some banana bread now that the laundry is folded. If I'm lucky, I may even get to try out my new sewing machine. I'm playing at stay - at - home - mom today and I'm enjoying it tremendously. My kids make me laugh. They give me lots of cuddles and wonderful smiles. I love when they try new things and succeed. I love to watch them learn and play together nicely. What a great morning! I'm a lucky women!

Max and Music

Max has an inclination for music. He danced standing at the shelf before he walked. He loves the piano. He always asks me to sing things over and over again. He tries to turn on the radios himself now. He just loves music. The other night I put him down on the drumset at Laura and Vince's house. I showed him how to hold the sticks once and then helped him do about 4 measures of beats (5 seconds or so). Then I let him go. He was such a natural. I was suprised to see him successfully alternating taps with the alternating sticks. He was even nearly in beat. To top it off, after a measure of beats on the drum he would end with a tap on the symble! I'm not sure I want to encourage the drums, but I can't help but be amazed! I was so thrilled we videoed it!

Stockings from Santa

Christmas was so overwhelming with so many presents and two days packed full of visits and busyiness, that we didn't get to our stockings until this evening. I think it was a good plan becuase Ellie really enjoyed the little things she found in her stocking. I believe her two favorites were, "My very own pink nail polish." and "My first Tick - A - Tacks!" Max was less then impressed with anything except the small bottles of hand sanitizer that Grampa found in his. It's nice to draw Christmas out. We did this as a kid and I'm glad to share that tradition with my kids too. It's been a really great Christmas and I'm happy to have more time coming to just enjoy being home with the kids. I'm with them for nearly two weeks and I'm so greatful for this time!

Ellie art

Ellie explained this picture to Grampa as follows, "The big one is me. The little one is Mommy." Grampa found this very funny and it shows who's the center of the world in Ellie's world - herself, with Mommy right beside her. I wonder if I will get smaller as the years go on :-)

We gave this painting to Grampa to take back to Glasgow with him becuase he finds it so amusing.

Christmas Day 2011

The morning started as any other. The kids weren't overly excited; I don't think Max really expected much different. After getting over the focus on clothes, we were able to get down the stairs and let them admire the huge amount of stuff that had appeared under the tree. Ellie was excited when we got downstairs and did want to start ripping open presents. Max was more interested to just play with the toys that he has, opened, on the shelf already, instead.

The morning was long. They kids enjoyed their presents slowly and we did stop to play with a few things along the way. This was good for both of them. I'd say Max's favorite was probably the gear thingy Santa brought and Ellie I believe is torn between many things. She really likes her Princess doll and matching dress from Santa and Rudolph. She also talks a lot about her camera from Grannie and talks to her "talking Benjamin bear" from Grampa often.

We had a small lunch and then the kids had naps while I prepared for the evening visit from my siblings, their familes and my dad. It was really relaxing. Things went smoothly and all things were prepared in time. I realized there is a rhythm to this Turkey Dinner stuff, much of which was helped by my preparations during naptime on Christmas Eve. David was a big help and so was Bob - he was on Potatoes - 2 kinds as a matter of fact.

Everyone started to arrive around 4:30, starting with Jerred and Vicki. They were all in a great mode. We all sat down around the same table around 6pm for dinner. I think everyone enjoyed it. The kids did a great job of waiting patiently for gifts. Then they proceeded to get a little wild, but Aunt Katie was able to keep them calm and run the show. Ellie wasn't feeling well becuase she was starting with another one of her ear, sinus, cough things. But she did well hanging with her cousins and also sharing. The kids were all over the house - playing some upstairs in Ellie's room and also some in the basement. It was a nice use of the house this year as well. Most of the kids, except Max, were able to go downstairs and play by themselves. Later in the evening David even had some takers on the Kinect. He had fun challenging Danny to it. Followed by Erika and Ellie also having a go.

I ended up putting Max to sleep around 8:30 or so. He was really exhuasted. He enjoyed a little quiet Mommy time for a quick bath, a couple stories and a cuddle before falling quickly off to sleep. I love when I get to rock him before bed and he snuggles in. This is one of the best mommy moments of everyday, but even more special on my baby boy's first active Christmas. He did enjoy having the family at the house. He tried to snatch some cuddles from them all and was great about sharing his toys.

Ellie lasted until the last person left, but was a mess and quickly ushered to be without a bath. She was tired but had a nice Christmas. She had some questions about how her cousins did things differently then we do. I tried to explain best I could and just have to laugh at these things. How should I tell Ellie my rules are sometimes a bit different and on the tougher side of things around germs. Her big one was not understanding why everyone didn't know the rule about not blowing on her flute (not sharing germs). HOpefully no one else is sick with the same thing. We shall see.

Clean up wasn't too bad really and I ended up getting to bed around midnight. It was a great family Christmas. I'd be nice to have these days more frequently, perhaps without the presents, but with the decorations, family and good food. I'd definitely have to admit that the kids were overwhelmed with too many new toys and presents. I think they only needed a few things, but we all have to make our mark and buy them things, so the tree was really full. I ended up putting some things away for rainy days months down the road. I think they will be more appreciated when they are enjoyed alone, as opposed to mixed in with the other 50 things they got in a single day. Oh to be a kid today :-). Merry Christmas Ellie and Max! We love you very much and look forward to many many years of Christmas to come.

Christmas morning

Before heading down to see what Santa brought, what was Ellie concerned about - nope, not her gifts, not her brother, not her father, not the cat, just the everyday most important question in the world, "What beautiful dress can I get away with wearing today and will all it's specifications meet her satisfactions!" Yes, that's what we started to get into before heading down for gifts. Could she be satisfied staying in her Christmas Jammies until later, eventually, but it took some convincing. I do believe I'm in serious trouble becuase I already can not handle this focus on her clothing demands.

Christmas Eve 2011

Today was a pretty good Christmas Eve with the Childen (other then Great Grandpa having 2 strokes). We started the morning with Grandma's Christmas bread and followed closely with giving them there Christmas Even gift - a big climber. At first, they were not interested at all in the new toy, but the ones that had been on the deck for the summer. Finally after about 10 minutes they indulged in the new climbing toy and had a little fun with it.

We then headed down to visit Great Grandma and Grandpa and deliver some cookies and their gifts. Great Grandma looked cute in her festive shirt and was sitting near the tree with friends. Everything seemed calm except Grandpa wasn't there. I knew something was up and was right. But we stayed with Grandma for about 15 minutes and helped her enjoy opening her present and watching the kids dance.

After a long visit with Great Grandpa where Gramma took over, we headed home for lunch and a little Gingerbread house decorating. (Daddy took on the project of making it structurally sound this time and it went very well.) Ellie was quite excited when she saw how good it looked. She let out a cheer that went something like, "Isn't Daddy so good at putting the Ginger houses together." (as she put her arms up in the air and smiled greatly). They did do a fabulous house. Ellie even let me do a little decorating as well. Meanwhile, Grampa and Max played in the kitchen.

After naps we rushed off for a drive thru dinner and church. We ended up going to the old church since we couldn't get everyone fed in time for the children's service where we've been going. They kids did okay in church, all things considered.

After church we had some cookies and Ellie made a plate for Santa. We enjoy our CHristmas cookies very much. Next was cleaning: I had successfully convinced Ellie that Santa won't come into the house if it's messy. So when we arrived home Ellie decided to clean the house with vigor. She was so determined to get everything put away that when Max decided to play now and again, she nearly had a fit. I wish I could pull that trick once a week at least. But the play room / living room does look clean. We had a little play in the living room and some photos.

The kids were having fun and a little riled up, but they settled in nicely. They had a story with Grampa, one with Daddy and some songs with Mommy. They are clearly asleep and I'm about to head there. It was a great day becuase I had all the wrapping done and much of tomorrow's cooking done in advance. I'm thankful for that. I hope to enjoy a great day with the kids (and that Grandpa is home.) Merry Christmas!

Hello, Hello, Hello

Max has a really cute way of saying Hello very clearly. It's his best, most articulate word right now. Recently a few people have picked up on this. Especially since Grampa has been here. Grampa started saying to Max, "Hello. Hello. Hello." Then, Daddy started saying it to Max a lot too over the past couple days. This morning, I woke up to the sound of Max saying to himself over and over again, " Hello. Hello. Hello." This mixed with him doing something funny that made himself laugh and hearing him actually telling himself to do it "Gin." Too cute.

Chocolate

I made some homemade fudge the other night. Max hasn't really had too many rich sweets becuase they seem to cause his stomach some problems. However, I could not resist giving him a nibble of the homemade stuff. Once he had a taste, I think I created a monster. He scarfs this stuff down like it's a potato chip. He chews it up so fast, chocolate drool coming out of his mouth, and then immediately asks for more. It's funny. He's really gotten the hang of eating it over the week and has grown accostumed to his little after dinner treat. Tonight I gave him three of his own little pieces. I think it might have been too much becuase he laid in his crib jibber jabbering to himself for a good 40 minutes before falling asleep. This was a first time!

Gift giving Ellie style

This morning Ellie announced she wanted to make Cailyn a Christmas present when we got home. So we selected paper and she set out to work. I am so impressed with the picture she has drawn. So is David. I think this is the most detailed drawing she has done ever. She used her new art kit with mixed format - oil pastels and drawing pencils. SHe has described it as a Christmas tree. I think there's also an Angle here. She wants to wrap it up and take it to Gramma's for the next time she see's Cailyn. She's very sweet.

Learning to print

Today when I picked Ellie up she was excited to show me this paper where she had written the complete alphabet for the first time. I am so proud of her! She's really trying hard to learn her letters. She's a cutie and a smart one too.

Max sat still - a Christmas Miracle

Tonight after dinner Max "asked" to have the Russian dolls to play with. I indulged becuase I wanted to sit still and play with him for 2 seconds. Turns out, those little dolls kept him sitting still on the couch for nearly 30 minutes. He concentrated so hard on taking them apart and putting them back together. It was amazing.

Big Clothes

I have a nice big baggy VT sweatsuit I like to wear to be comfortable. Ellie doesn't approve of it so much. When I recently put it on for the first time of the season she eyed me up and then asked something like, "mommy, why is that shirt so big?" I told her it was my comfy sweatshirt. She just sort of looked at me. Then the following week I put it on again and Ellie says, "You are wearing your Big clothes today mommy."

Four is a good year for Christmas

I've decided that four is a good year for Christmas and the tree. Ellie is really into it this year. She really truly enjoyed helping me decorate it and place the ornaments in just the right place. She has commented many times how pretty it is. She's also remembering some things from years past, like where we hang the stockings the night before Christmas. She's also been really enjoying the Advent candle too. Max is a bit of a different story, as everything new requires new rules, which he is against right down to his core. Oh well, I'll try to focus on the positive this year. If I can keep him and Lady Grey from pulling down the tree and breaking any meanighful ornaments, than I will call it a success!

I tried to take a picture of the kids in their new Christmas PJs. I couldn't get them to sit still for anything.

Getting the Christmas Tree

We headed across the street to select a tree tonight. I thought Max would be pretty into it. He didn't like the feel of the pine needles at all. Each time it got near him, he reached back to me and held on so tight. It was funny sort of. I doubt he'll keep that fear up long enough to help me keep him away from the tree though. We selected a tree pretty quickly. Ellie wasn't that into selecting, she was cold and wanted to get home. However, when we got the tree home and in the house, she was more interested. She put her stethascope on and said she needed to check it's heart to see if it was good and we could keep it. So I let her. She listened and then said it was good. (Luckily, becuase it wasn't leaving.) It's nearly 10 foot tall. And to think I entertained the idea of a small tree.... ha ha ha

Ellie's first Ballet

David and I decided to take Ellie to see the Nutcracker as part of her birthday gift. We wanted her to get a taste of how far this dancing thing can go if she's interested. Today was the day. Ellie and Mommy were off for a 2pm show in Frederick. SHe was very excited and I was too. The walk from the car to the theater was about the top point for her I think. She was nearly pulling me along the streets. She couldn't wait to see what this was all going to be about. We got our tickets and went inside. SHe stayed close becuase it was really packed. We had good seats. When we sat down she wanted to know where the Nutcracker was. (We had read the story to prepare.) I told her it was appear after the show starts, taht it hasn't started yet. So she waited patiently.

I find Ballet quite strange really. I don't get much without words. I know, that makes me boring, but I'm so literally that ballet can nearly put me to sleep. However, I enjoyed snuggling Ellie and watching her look around and take in the experience. She sat at attention for the first half and really enjoyed it. I am not sure she was all that impressed with the dancing, but she enjoyed the scene and the environment for sure. We had a snack of some M&Ms at the half and I think that may have been the highlight for her. The second half was more entertaining for me. I really enjoyed the snow queen dancing. She got a little antsy at the end. I think it was hard for her becuase it was during naptime. I underestimated how hard that would be for her. But she said she really enjoyed it. I asked her if she wanted to dance like the lead does. Her first response was,"No." Then she watched another 15 seconds and turns back to me and says, "Maybe when I grow up I want to."

It was a great Mommy and Ellie afternoon and I hope to always remember the excitement of taking her on this new experience. Ellie was so tired, that she was asleep in the car before we made it home (which is very unlike her.)

First emergency daycare call

I was a mother for just over four years before receiving that dreadful call from daycare, "Come now, Max banged his head and needs to go to the doctors." (Or something like that). Apparenly he ran full speed into the corner of the wall. It was about 10 am and I had just put my car in to be serviced and was going to work from the car shop for the morning. I quickly rushed to tell the guy I needed my car back and had to go. I was desperate to get to see him and figure out what to do. I ended up calling the doctors in Urbana and they told me to bring him there as soon as I could and we'd go from there. When I got to Sara's to pick him up, I was greated by a little boy with some red left on his face, but happily eating his snack at the table with the other kids. I scooped him up and gave him a kiss. Sara had him bandaged up well and I didn't want to see. I just took him to the car and we headed to the doctors. Luckily my favorite doctor was there. Max acted a bit like a caged animal while we waited - trying to climb on everything, slam doors, etc. It's no wonder we were there after 18 months with something like this. I'm only suprised it hasn't happened sooner based on the amount of falling this boy does. After about a 15 minute wait, she looked at him and decided he didn't need stitches, but could use glue instead. I was a little skeptical, but I trust her and really didn't want to go to the ER for stiches. Max didn't like the procedure, although it was quick (and honestly Max doesn't like getting his nails cut when he has something else on his mind). He was a trooper and the tears stopped as soon as he was freed to return to doing what HE wanted to do. We left with my instructions - to keep him from touching it for at least one hour, and keep it completely dry for at least 48 hours. Otherwise, he's good to go. All in all, this wasn't too bad. I hope it doesn't get any worse though.

Max and I came home to play for a little bit while I watched that he didn't touch it. He did great. He and I then had a little lunch date at McDonalds before picking Ellie up to head home for afternoon naps and Mommy to get back to work. What a morning. He's doing fine and I'm very thankful for how this ended up.

This is how I found him at Ms. Sara's:

This is how he looked when we got home. He was exhausted.

And this was him after his nap, patiently building blocks. This is a new skill he's showed off today.

Max loves to dance

We were playing tonight when David decided to turn on the Kinect to see how Ellie liked it a year later. When he turned it on, immediately the room was filled with some loud hip-hop like music with a beat. Max stopped what he was doing and immediately started dancing. He assumes this cute little position with his arms out to his side somewhat in the air, his legs a little bit apart, his bottom sticking out behind him a bit and begins bouncing up and down and smiling. It was clearly his dance position. He thought it was so great. He wanted us all to dance with him. We mostly humored him. He kept it up the whole time the loading song was on and really enjoyed it. When the song stopped and the game David put on started - soccer - he then proceeded to try to figure out what kind of dancing daddy was doing to the cheering crowd that involved strange leg movements and fast jumps back and forth across the room. He really thought this was hallrious and was laughing so much. That boy is something else!

Santa Claus 2011

Sunday evening we were invited to a family gathering at the firehall where Santa comes to visit with all the children. We've done this a few years since Ellie was born. It's a great time for the kids to talk with Santa, a nice Santa, without all the commercial drama and waiting in line. It is really a nice evening.

Santa arrives on the fire truck and brings a few sacks of toys with him. Each child gets called up to sit with Santa, get a photo, ask him what they'd like for Christmas and receive a little early Christmas present. The children are full of energy but generally pretty good as they wait for their turn to see Santa.

Max was one of the early ones to be called, which didn't work out to his favor. I took him up and plopped him on Santa's lap. He started trying to get away and crying. As I encouraged him to stay, it only got worse. The only pictures we got were of him screaming. I finally took him back on my lap and tried to get him to speak with Santa. He starred at him a bit without screaming, but wasn't in the mood to make friends. He was really skeptical. He did get a nice little tool set with a real drill though. He had some fun with that. Amy was called shortly after, followed by Erika, Emily, Lauren and finally Ellie. Ellie did a great job smiling, talking with Santa and taking it all in. She was a pro and remembered to be thankful. She told Santa that she wanted a pincess babydoll. She was then the lucky recipient of a glow in the dark art kit which has been quite a hit.

Max managed not to cry for a family photo at the end of it all. He was tired and he had his Daddy, so that really helped. I'm really happy with this family photo considering the mad chios of it all.

A Daddy Day

This past Saturday I got up at 6am and left the house while everyone slept to go with Mom and Katie on a bus trip to New York City. I was hesistant to go becuase I didn't want to leave David alone with the kids for a whole day, mostly becuase I just miss spending the time with them since I don't feel I get enough time with them. However, I decided to go and enjoy the time with Mom and Katie, and visiting my favorite city in the country.

We had a great time in the city. We saw a lot and endured the Christmas crowds. Our packed day included Top of the Rock, the Tree, sight seeing on Fifth Avenue, then over to Lexington, down to Eataly, further down to SoHo for some shopping and street vendors, dinner at an old favorite pub - Puck Fair - and finally a return trip to Time Square where I fought with a vendor who tried to rip me off before loading the bus and heading back home.

I made it home just before midnight and found David happily holding down the fort. Apparently they had a great Daddy day without tears. Daddy took Ellie for dance class, ran some errands, shopped for himself, got treats at Starbucks, had healthy meals, did lots of playing and even topped the day off with a nice long bubble bath in the big tub. Daddy is a great Daddy and husband for letting me have my day!

Max and Daddy

Max is a happy little boy. He loves to giggle, play and horse around. He and Daddy are buddies. Max may be turning into a Daddy's boy. In the mornings when I go to get him up, he smiles and then immediately asks for Daddy. I tell him Daddy's at work, and he smiles and asks again. We do this many times in the morning. It's cute.

One of Max's favorite games to play is to have Daddy chase him around the house, crawling on his hands and knees. This game is really cute. For the longest time Max would start to run away and then turn around and sort of head butt Daddy and roll over laughing. The game is now progressing to where David will hide from Max and sneak up on Max in the game. Max things this is hallarious. They often play this while I'm preparing dinner. It's the number one thing that is gauranteed to put a smile on Max's face and stop any tantrum! Go Daddy!

My little fashionista

This morning I was wearing a pretty manly suit to work for a couple of presentations I had to give. I had mixed the suit with a soft feminine black top with ruffles on the top. After getting dressed I went it to wake Ellie, which is always a dance of a delicate nature to try to avoid tears. I sat on her bed and she smiled, but then went immediately to my outfit. First words were something like, "Mommy, what are you wearing?" She was eyeing me strangely. I respond, "A suit. Do you like it?" Ellie, "Not really, but I like the shirt. (rubbing her fingers all over it.) I like the shirt a lot, especially these things (rubbing the ruffles)." Me, "But not the suit part huh?" Ellie, "No, not really. But the shirt is really nice."

I am not quite sure how things will go down when Ellie's a teenager. I didn't know four year olds could be this fashion conscious, more less of what their mother was wearing.

Erika's birthday dinner

Tonight we went out to eat for Erika's birthday. After a bit of shuffling to get settled, we had a nice dinner. Erika and Ellie enjoyed coloring a lot while waiting on the food. Max sat beside his new friend Faith (almost 1) and they shared just about everything each other had, including some loving touches of each others heads, arms and hands. It was so cute to watch them explore each other, smile at each other and then just ignore each other and get on about their business. They were great at parallel play, which is all that's expected, but also very sweat and gentle (and I must admit, I wasn't sure Max would be that way if he sat beside a little girl for an hour at the dinner table.)

Third hiarcut - return of Sven

This morning we got Max his third haircut; it was only slightly less tramatic then the others. There were a couple minutes in the middle where is stopped screaming to listen to me do rounds of Ba Ba Blacksheep into his ears. He and I were both relieved when it was done and I was able to hold him and calm him down, which did happen very quickly this time.

They did all have a nice time on the Merry Go Round before we headed up the road. Max is definitely intrigued now every time, just like Ellie was. They learn so quickly!

Little miss thing's words to Mommy

This morning Ellie doesn't want to brush her teeth, so proceeds to fuss and tell me to brush her teeth. I informed her it was her job and best just to get it done. Her response, in between wines "Mommy, I am just going to keep fussing until you brush my teeth." My response, "Now you've sealed your fate Ellie. No help from me with threats. Come on Max, let's leave Ellie alone in the bathroom." About 10 minutes later, she came out having completed the task and ready to start the day. The things this girl will try amaze me. I think we need to improve our negotiating skills a bit. Perhaps a few less threats to her and a bit more around the idea of getting it done.

A round of applause from Max for the family

Tonight instead of me putting Max to sleep, David was going to do it (in hopes he would not cry). When I turned him horizontal for a snuggle, he responded the way he always does, "Baa ba. Baa ba." This is his way of asking me to sing Ba Ba Blacksheep. So, instead of just me singing it, all of us (David, Ellie and I) sang a rendition. Max was so excited he clapped when it concluded!

Then asked us to repeat it, in the normal fashion. So we did, and he clapped again. I guess the family rendition is more impressive then mine alone.

Ellie turns four

First we will have a breakdown of the day, highlights and lowlights. Then we will talk about the fact that my oldest baby is already four! which I can not believe.

The morning was a bit of a disaster with little mishaps here and there - mostly with Max and Lady Grey. So, although I had promised Old McDonalds pancakes, followed by a dropoff at Miss Sara's for Max, a visit to the doctors and then something special to follow (was thinking a movie). The day continued on the path of disaster instead. We didn't get any breakfast and instead barely made it to the doctor's office in time. Upon being examined, the Doctor commented that Ellie had in fact a "raging ear infection." To top that off, becuase she didn't have a fever, she could still get all her shots (Three of them!) Ellie was really worked up about the shots, but trying not to be. Once the doctor left the room, she lost it and started crying. She wanted me to "count them for me Mommy like this, One, Two, Three." (she said this very quickly with hopes that if I counted quick, they would be over quickly.) I did count them for her, but it was about 3 minutes before they were over and the tears were pouring out of her little eyes. She had a really bad cough at this point, so this made for quite a scene - poor thing. It was nearly 11:15 by the time we left the store with her Perscriptions. The 4 year check up went well - she's doing fine - healthy - growing - 75% for weight and height. She passes all the cognitive tests, stability tests and hearing and screening tests. Now we just need to get her over the hump with this ear infection.

Coming out of the store I decided we could go to IHOP for lunch so that she could still get her pancakes. At the time, this was exciting for her. She had her favorite "Chocolate Face Pancake" and I enjoyed a stack as well. Then, when we were about to leave, four waitresses brought her an ice cream sundae and began singing. This was a shock to us both, but especially Ellie. There were no smiles of delight here, they were more cowering into Mommy and hoping these nice ladies would quickly dissappear (I know where those genes come from :-).) After lunch it was home for a nap in her own bed, with hopes she would begin feeling better.

I'm not convinced she got much sleep, but she did lay still up there for about 3 hours - only 1 of which didn't have constant coughing. When she got up, she was very fragile and needed a lot of TLC. I had to leave her to Daddy and take Max tot he doctors. He too has an ear infection. So Mommy enjoyed frequent flier miles at both the doctors and the Pharmacy today.

Back home, Daddy prepared a glamorous meal of frozen pizzas for us all. (Exactly what we had planned) The rest of the evening went pretty smoothly with Ellie feeling a bit better thanks to the medicine coctail she's been enjoying today. We had our pizza, enjoyed some singing and cake, and followed it up with a mound of presents. I honestly think there were 12-15 total. The biggest thing was a box of dresses and dressy shirts from Grannie in Scotland, which was a big hit. Ellie enjoyed pulling one dress of the box after another and sharing her squeals of delight with us all. Grannie wins the prize I think!

At bedtime each night we try to talk about the best part of our day. Today Ellie told me that the best part of her day was that Shot #1 didn't hurt as bad as the other two shots. Poor thing. I tried to remind her of all the fun things today, but I do think the doctors experience was a bit much. Perhaps Mommy shouldn't have scheduled it on her actual birthday.

It's hard to believe that my baby girl is four. It has been a lot of work, but it also feels like nearly yesterday that I was in the hospital with her trying to learn to take care of her and me in this new world order. I wouldn't change it for the world. Ellie is my precious treasure that I've wanted all my life. I love her with my whole heart and look forward to celebrating as many more birthday's as God will give us together!

a few photos from the night show a happier Ellie.

3 am kiss

Max has been really having a hard go of sleeping recently; this may correlate with the lack of blog posts I've had time to do. Last night was a particularly long and rough patch. I got to sleep at 12:30 or 12:45, only to be woken at 1am to the sound of Max screaming. After trying once to put him back to bed and failing, I just put him beside me hopefully... either he'd sleep or David would take care of him. Neither happened.

After about an hour, David decided to put him in his bed sure he'd eventually fall asleep. I listened to him scream for nearly 45 mins. He's stop for a minute or two and wind back up. I was really exhuasted, but I hit a limit. At 2:45 I went in to rescue him, determined to sleep in the chair with him if I had to.

When I picked him up his face was a mess with tears and snot; he was gasping for air; he was mad at me for letting him go on like this for so long. I grabbed him and the blankets and snuggled him against me. He loves my soft robe, he laid his head on it and closed his eyes and just laid their, silent after an hours marathon of tears. After about 30 seconds, he looked up at me with sad, tired eyes and a little relief, then he leaned in and gave me a kiss! This was the first unsolicited kiss I have received from Max. Although it was a long night, it is so cute to have received my first unsolicited kiss from my little boy. Sad that it was after tourchering him for an hour or so. At least he still loves me!

The Millions

Last weekend Erika was waiting for us to show up at Emily's 5th birthday party, she said Katie, "Mom, when will the milions get here?" Katie's response, "Who?" Erika, "You know, the Millions. Ellie Million. Max a Million. The Millions!"

My cookie monster

After the main service today we tried a new service that has just started called "Wiggles and Worship." It's designed to teach very little kids about God's message and also allow them to move about at their own pace and speed, even during worship. Max decided this was a good idea. He was standing there in the center isle and pointing up towards Pastor Terri, so I encourage him that he could go forward. Little did I know, he thought I had given him permission to crawl under the seat of a little boy in the front row and remove his cookies from his plate he had tucked under his seat. It took me a minute to realize this and when I did, I quickly grabbed Max who only had one leg and a but remaining outside the chair, and returned towards our seat. Max let out a whale of a scream, the kind that says Mommy you are so mean and have really just hurt my feelings. He thought I was cruel saying he could try to get the cookies, but I'd yank them out of his hands right before he took a bit. Poor little guy. As he screamed and his hurt filled with sadness, I quickly husseled to the table where the post service treats sat and grabbed him a substitute cookie to stop the noise. Despite the fact that kids are supposed to be able to move about and make noise in this service, I was not comfortable with the sounds he was sharing with the room, and the fact I felt like a horrible mommy. So I gave him a chocolate chip cookie and he promptly stopped crying. He did however continue to look at me tearfully with a quivery lip for about a minute. I believe the chocolate finally hit his tongue and that's when he decided to forgive me!

This picture was taken before the cookie incident. He's a tired boy this morning becuase he was up until very late last night at Gramma's 60th birthday party!

Ellie's first stage appearance

Ellie has been practicing singing and signing "Jesus Loves me" with the kids from SUnday school for about a month now. Today was the big day to perform in front of the church. I wasn't really sure she would even go up there without a fuss. I had been preparing her for it by talking about it every few days and having her tell people that she was going to be doing it. We also had practiced singing it quite a bit. So, when the big moment came, I ushered her (and her security Whale) up to the front and then crouched down on the ground about 5 or 6 feet away. She stood there skeptically with another little girl from class who was equally skeptical. The music began and the kids started sining. Ellie stood there, without tears! I call this success for her first time around!

As the second verse started, I even managed to get a half smile and a bit of small singing. I was proud of my little girl! Hopefully next time it's a little easier to also sing. For now, she managed to stair down quite a full church of adults and hold out on crying! Good job Ellie Bean!

Trick Or Treating with the cousins

Halloween 2011 was fully of energy in New Market. All the cousins came over to go trick or treating with us. Even Granddaddy showed up for a bit. Ellie was Belle from Sleeping Beauty in her winter suit, and Max ended up being my little Lion. The idea was Beauty and the Beast. However, I never got a single photo of them together. I think that they had fun though. Ellie probably visited about 20 house in an hour. Max tottered up to about 10 of them. He started to get the hang of fishing out a treat. I'm not sure if his favorite part was eating the treats or seeing the dogs at people's houses. It was clear that if he could choose, he'd prefer to be visiting homes and meeting people and dogs. We headed home a few minutes before the others becuase both kids were pretty chilly. But I think Max enjoyed being outside even though he was a bit cold. I love the fall air!

After a crazy couple hours with the cousins, I always hope that the kids had fun. Sometimes I feel the time flies by and all we are doing is yelling at kids to keep them safe, in line, and out of trouble. I hope that's not what they remember.

Halloween Treat

All day Ellie has been looking forward to choosing her treat when we returned from trick-or-treating. When we finally got home, she came inside, looked at her take, and asked, "Mommy, for my treat can I have some more of the Gingerbread house please?" Gotta love my Ellie Bean!

The transition to winter clothes for Ellie

As the days have gotten cooler, Ellie has had a hard time giving up her summer wardrobe which was full of squorts and dressy shirts and cut sun dresses. Her winter wardrobe is much less girlie and thus, less appealing to her. During this transition we had a lot of crying in the morning about what she could wear. After a couple weeks I finally came up with a positive solution (compared to all the yelling we had been dealing with each morning). I set up a chore chart where she could get smiley faces for good behaviour. We agreed that after she got 50 smilies, she could go shopping for a new dress (since this was part of the problem). Key chores were to get dressed in the morning and brush teeth in the morning without any fussing. We focused a lot on theses. There were some others on there (totally 7) that we didn't focus so much on - pleases and thank yous, sharing, helping around the house, no whining in general, and cleaning up her toys.

After two weeks she finally collected 50 smilies, so this weekend we took her shopping for her dress. She was funny becuase the first dress she saw, she wanted it. It took me a few minutes to explain to her that the idea is to look at everything that have and then select the best one. (I'm not sure Daddy wanted me teaching her this fine art of shopping, but I did it anyway). After looking at the whole selectiong in Penny's in Columbia mall, she decided on two that we both liked. So, we ended up buying them both saying one for this time and another for the next 50.

Ellie could hardly wait for morning to come today so she could wear her new dress. When I went in to her and asked if she wanted to get herself dressed, she bolted out of bed while saying yes. (Usually I have to beg for about 5 minutes and then peel her out of her bed). It's amazing how happier this little princess is when she's getting dressed in dresses and "Dressy shirts." I will admit this little outfit is so cute and she does suit these dresses and dressy shirts very much!

Max's first day at church nursery

This weekend Max has stopped taking his morning nap. Turns out, he's totally great with this and sleeps without fussing in the afternoon. I guess it's been time for a while. Anyway, this made it time for Max to start going to church with Ellie and I. Even though he won't sit in church and won't go to sunday school, I still want to get into the routine and have him meeting some kids his age at church. David said he'd come with me to help becuase usually taking Max to church is a chore. When we arrived at church, we decided to let Max give the nursery a try. This was not necessarily the plan. He seemed amicable to it. I put him down, took off his jacket and let him start looking around. There was one other boy there, a three year old named Colin. There was a nice teenage girl who was working there who started playing with Max and showing him around right away. This was great for him. I let him play and watched for a few moments. As I stepped towards the door, he ran over to ask to be held, so I did. Then I took him back to the toys. He dove in and started playing without any fussing. So, I decided to leave him and see what happened. I told the lady in charge to please call me if he cried, that I'd rather come out of church to help him get used to it, as opposed to having him hate it. She agreed that was her approach too. So David and I set off to church.

I watched my phone with anticipation through the whole service and there was no call. Halfway through the last song, we bolted as I couldn't wait any longer to see how he was doing. As we approached the room I listened and heard nothing (specifically, no crying). When we went around the corner, he was happily playing with w truck on a table. He smiled when he saw us and ran to give me a hug and Daddy his car! The ladies told me he did great. He only had one moment of partial sadness, apparnetly when he couldn't get a toy to do what he wanted. I'm so proud of him!

Snow in October

Today was the first snow of the season; yes, in October. I didn't believe it was goign to happen, but Ellie told me that Daddy said it was going to snow. Sure enough, we woke to snow on the ground. Ellie was delighted! We ended up having dance, and when we returned, Ellie was sure she had to play in the snow. We didn't even have any boots, but that didn't matter, she just had to get out there. She ran around and made tracks on the ground. She fluffed the snow in the ground! She even watched me try to empty the snow from the tree. I had her pose for a picture by the pumpkins to note the time of the year.

Kisses

For a few months now if I'm leaving the house and going to say bye to David and Max, Max will kiss me after I kiss David. And, by kissing, that means he would lean in to my face. This week Max has started puckering up and actually kissing when I ask for a Kiss. It's so adorable. The first time he did it was in the mall. I was so smitten, I had him do it twice! My little boy is growing!!! and learning to love :-)

Again

Max is really trying to start talking. His words are not clear, but he is trying. One word he's learning to use to his advantage is "Again." If someone does something funny - like sneeze or bang something - Max will laught and say, "Gnn." Tonight when I was reading the story Snuggle Puppy, after I finished the song, I heard this magic word, "Gnn." He looked at me with a smile and asked adamently, "Gnn." I ended up reading the whole story twice becuase I love that he is starting to cmmunicated with me so well! A few other words that Max is starting to master are Mike, More, Ellie, Mommy, and Kiss!

Simple pleasures

This evening we decided to finally bring down the carpets for the living room and family room. We put them up for summer.

Ellie was so excited, she was giddy. I had no idea she missed the carpets that much. She did make a comment when we put them up indicated she hoped they were only going up for a night or two, but we didn't hear about them again. When David rolled the first one out, she was extactic! She was helpful and laughing. It was funny. She immediately asked for the second one. David got that one too. When it was finally set up, and she was allowed to get on it. She laid down and rolled across it for a few minutes, laughing, sticking her legs in the air, just rolling around. It was cute. Then, to top it off, Max copied her energy, rolling and laughing exactly. It was really really funny!

Who would've ever thought something so simple would give so much happiness to them!

The most fought over toy of the week is....

The swiffer mop....
Yes, that's right. My kids think this is the coolest thing ever. Really, it's Max who thinks it's the coolest thing ever. But, becuase I let him try it out and Ellie never has, then she thinks it's also the greatest thing ever. Bob says I need to learn how to take advantage of this, but becuase Max gets so frustrated when he gets it caught somewhere, I don't think that's really possible. But, I will try in a few years. Already, Ellie refuses to use the real vacuum, despite continually asking me to replace her toy one. I said no new toy vacuums. If you want to vacuum, you must learn to use the real deal. I'm betting that will never happen.

Another great family day

Today we decided our destination would be to try out the Maryland Zoo. The day started a bit slow when I realized Max could not skip his morning nap. So, we put him down and let him sleep nearly 2 hours. During this time, we sat around for the family premier of Annie, the movie fro 1981. I didn't remember the racy parts of the movie and thought it was something Ellie would enjoy seeing becuase of all the singing and dancing. She watched intently through about 90% of it. I did have to explain a few things - why Pepper was mean, why they were chasing Annie, etc. But all in all, it was a success of a showing I'd say. Daddy and Grampa also enjoyed it.

I woke Max at 11:30 and we were out the door. The kids ate a light lunch in the car and we just sort of let the day flow. I'm not always good at this, but I'd say everyone genionly enjoyed this opportunity. We only made it through half the zoo exhibits, but that was the right pace for the kids. I thought it was a nice zoo and would go again. One thing about when you pay for something, it's usually full of people are who there to enjoy what they are seeing, and not too often causing trouble.

We saw all the necessary animals. This giraffe came quite close to say hello to us, and lick the side of the building for some reason.

Many of them were still and sleeping at mid day, but we did get some great action out of the gorillas. They were being fed and the keepers were there talking about them. They had this huge outdoor play area. There must have been about 10 of them there. They would get excited and then run and pound their fists on the glass and scream. This is the glass where all us plebs are standing around starring at them. Man, did we all jump the first time it happened. Then, we got a bit used to it. No one was ever able to stand still without jumping. I think it was pretty scarey for Ellie. It's not natural to see these beast jump at you like this. Apparently, they know they will get a rise out of the spectators and therefore repeat it many times. It's really funny. Who's really viewing who in this case?
Daddy and Max were watching for them to come back and pound on the window again.

The kids got to play at the park in the zoo for a bit before we left and then we got on the road around 4. We decided to stop near Ellicot City for an early dinner and head home. Max was good as gold at dinner. I can't believe how well he's doing sitting still while we eat out. This isn't like him. Obviously, he requires some entertaining. See Max the Walrus below.

We had a great weekend with Grampa. It was really nice of him to come visit for the weekend. It worked well to have an excuse to just hang out and enjoy the kids this weekend. We should make this a more regular habit. I think we try to squeeze too much work in on the weekends. The kids are growing up so fast. I'm so thankful for these times with them.