Playing together

Tonight after dinner I saw the kids really playing together and having fun - both of them were doing what they wanted to do and laughing.

Max got on his little train and Ellie offered to push him. He accepted with pleasure and they both enjoyed it for about 2 minutes (until I pulled out the camera.) Still there were no tears and some smiles! It's great seeing them enjoy one another.

Holding Hands with Max

Ever since Max started walking, even attempting to stand, he was not at all interested in using my hand, or any other, to help him walk. He would push them away and insist on trying to accomplish his task alone.

Since going to Miss Sara's, he's learned to appreciate what a helping hand, and/or finger, can deliver in enabling him to explore and climb things. He particularly likes this support in coming down from things like steps, or the red bench here at the house tonight.

Although I'm not all that into his climbing, becuase it makes me nervous, I love when he reaches for my hand to help him. I really love when he's holding one of my fingers as he walks and moves. It's a good Mom feeling!

Soft as a verb

One of Ellie's early word creations was to make Soft a verb. When she touches something soft and cudly, such as Lady Grey, she would say she was softing her.

Ellie's speach is really great for her age. It always has been. But one thing that still remains in her vocabulary is the use of the word soft as a verb. I can't bring myself to correct her on this becuase I think it's so cute. David also gets a kick out of it.

Tonight when she was going to bed, I was holding Lady Grey. She says, "Awe, Mommy, she's so cute. Can I soft her please?" I smiled and said of course. Ellie "softed" her. She even conjugates her verb! :-)

Two Mommies

This morning Ellie announced she wishes miss sara was her mommy. I come to the table and ask why? I don't even remember her reason. Once I reminded her that I was her Mommy she said, that's okay, I want two mommies and daddies. I asked her which Mommy she would live with. She said, "You of course."

So, I decided not to worry too much. I guess I haven't fallen out of favor, but Miss Sara is loved too and that's fine by me.

Watching Time

When we get done our walks and/or bike rides at night, and I watch Ellie run with vigor down the hill of Old Log Ct, it brings back a few memories and also gives me what feels like a window into time. I can see her aging as she runs down the hill and can just imagine her as a teenager. It's a little scarey and it also makes me smile.

I'm so thankful for all we have in life!

Walkersville Southern

THis morning we had a little family outting on the train in Walkersville. The Holtzople's and Granddaddy joined us. All the kids were pretty excited and so was granddaddy.

The weather was perfect for it - the sun was hiding and there was a good breeze. The trip was about an hour long. The kids even got some special made balloons on the ride.

Max got to hang out with Granddaddy and Tyler for a bit. He had a lot of fun with them today.

Afterwards we all went to Panera for lunch and cookies (which I had thought were to be served on the train.)

It was nice hanging out with Jerred, Vicki, Lauren, Tyler and Emily. We don't see them often enough. Tyler enjoyed giving me a hard time about not liking going over the bridge of the Monocacy in the train!

It was a nice morning.

Shopping with my girl (and Monkey)

This evening Ellie and I went to collect some monthly essentials from Target. Since Irene is slowing things down, it was a fun and easy trip. Target was very empty.

Ellie was hanging off the inside of the cart and amazing me at how well she was holding on and she climbed all over (probably shouldn't have been letting her do this). But at one point I mentioned she was clinging on like a good monkey. This was the start of my trip with a monkey.

Every so often she would bust out with a very real monkey sound. This caught the attention of quite a few people. My instinct was to ask her to stop becuase it was embarrasing, but instead, I choose to laugh and let her enjoy playing like a child. It was really cute.

The role playing continued when we got home too. SHe was a Monkey for daddy and waiting to gage his reaction. It was cute.

Ellie is a great shopping companion! I hope this is something we can always enjoy doing together.

Ellie quote of the day

After spending a good 10 minutes in the bathroom after dinner, Ellie jumps off the potty, turns around, looks at it and says, "That's not a bad poopie."

A guilty pleasure

I believe I may have many of these, however, one of my favorites this week has been the way Max runs to me when he sees me screaming as if it's been years since I held him. Once he gets into my arms and puts his head on my shoulder, I really wish the moments could last for a few minutes instead of the few seconds before he's ready to go back to playing.

I also secretly love the way he prefers me to others and clings to me when I try to hand him off to his babysitter or anyone else. I don't try to encourage this behavior, becuase I know it's not a good idea. But I relish the fact that he prefers me to anyone else and wants to hang on for another hug!

Max loves his Pacifiers

Tonight after spending some time at the Park, we went for frozen yogurt. Max isn't really into the cold sensation, so usually is quite ancy. Tonight we put him in a high chair to keep him still, but that didn't mean calm. I was handing him just about anyting I could find in the diaper bag to amuse himself while we tried to enjoy the treats. Every items was examined and tossed onto the floor.

Eventually I gave him a container with two pacifiers in it sealed tight.

What did he do with this golden item? Instead of the normal look and toss, he starred at it intently, examining it, realizing it contained his favorite things. He starred some more.

I thought he would try to open it, but instead he pushed it back over towards the diaper bag and tried to tuck it back inside the bag. lol!

Every other thing I pulled out of it was banged onto the table and then tossed onto the floor within 15-30 seconds... everything that is, except the Pas! (aka Pacifiers in Max language)

Ellie's drawings

Ellie really enjoys drawing and painting. She does a lot of it at Miss Sarah's. There are so many of them I would like to keep, that I can not decide.

I have noticed recently that besides putting her name on her artwork, she is also starting to write Mom. I just love it! Not only does it make me proud, she makes me feel special too.

Here's one she brought home this week all crinkled up in her bag!

Riding the big girl Bike

As we went outside after dinner for our walk, Ellie asked if she could ride her big girl bike. Usually I have to say no when I'm alone, but since Daddy was with us, I said okay. SHe was very excited. ELlie's come a long way with peddling and bike riding this summer.

We took her big girl bike, the one she got for CHristmas last year, up to the top of the hill and let her take off on the flat sidewalk. After expressing the importance of staying in the middle, she was off. She did a really good job. She went down about 3 courts and even circled one of the courts before asking to head back.

She had to get off a few times for a 30 second break, but overall, she did really well. She's learning her peddling, steering and even breaking. I'm not ready for her to go on her own yet, but the improvement is very noticable.

She is anxious for the time when she can look around while driving her bike, but since she understands she's not there yet, on the way back home as we passed by the house with the gnomes, she dismounted her bike and walked up to their fence to say hello and admire them. She looked so cute standing there in her little blue mini skort, rainbow tang top and grey and pink bike helmet! My little girl is getting so big!

Playing the "Baby" game

Over the past few months the girls have decided they are quite fond of a game they call "Baby." In this game, one of them is elected the baby, and the other or others become the parents - aka - the bosses.

It seems an odd game to Katie and I, but we allow it - other then the diaper changing. We are still not sure exactly what it entails. Sometimes, when we were at the beach, they would choose to stop playing if we entered the room.

The players have usually been Erika and Ellie, but tonight at the park, they even got Emily and Lauren involved. I'm curious to see how long this goes on and if this becomes one of those jokes they remember from their childhood.

Below is a photo we took at the Loys Station Park with everyone this evening. Most of them had piled on this and we took advantage of the moment. We had a really nice evening -easy picnic and lots of running around. I hope we can do it again sometime. I wish we got to see Jerred, Vicki and kids and Granddaddy more often.

Final Dance Class of Little Feet 1

This weekend was Ellie's last dance class for the summer session. SHe took a total of 6 classes and generally enjoyed them very much. Her teacher, Ms. Megan, is really great. ELlie had her nearly to herself many classes. Sometimes there was one other girl Julia. Ellie enjoyed when Julia was there with her, but also really liked Ms. Megan too.

I'm not sure ELlie remembers a lot of dancing from the class, but she enjoyed the routines and especially playing Princess. I captured many photos from the class.

Ms Megan says she's ready to move up to the level 2 class if we want. In this class she would do some Tap as well. We have to decide what we will do. I like encouraging these things, but taking up every saturday morning becomes challenging. I think I need to look for a week night class for her instead. That may be better.

I think one of Ellie's favorite part of the whole thing is the post class stop at Starbucks for her Pink Donut. During every trip someone comments on how cute she is in her dress, usually many people. SHe is a cutie!

Project

Saturday morning we finally did a family project that was bought nearly 3 years ago. We made a stone for the garden with some of our treasures, or should I say Ellie's treasures, from the beach vacation.

Daddy did a lot of good prep work and was very patient helping Ellie build this. We even tried putting hand prints in it. Ellie's worked better. Max was a little upset at how hard I was trying to push his hand into this wierd cement stuff. It nearly faded upon drying, but ELlie's is there in full force!

Max is so big!

Max is getting so big. I took a few photos of him playing around on Saturday morning.

I love the smile on this one!

Confession

This will come to no surpise to anyone (including my kids when they grow up), but I hate dirt, bugs, mud, and the feeling of dirt and sweat. Yes, I like the outdoors, but in more of a manicured way. Well, Ellie has always played well with my need for being clean, but Max isn't going to prove as well kept (so to speak).

I'm not very good about just letting the kids go outside and play. I hover over and try to avoid dirt, mud, bugs, falls, puddles, and all those things that make mess. A few times a year, I give in and let them play. I did this for about an hour today. It was hard, but I know they enjoy it.

My solution - straight to the bath before lunch! Oh well, at least he got to play in the yard and crawl around and roll on the ground and fall in a puddle and even attempt to eat chalk (YUCK!)

Stopping Max's tantrum in it's track

Max was a bit tired when we were playing around after dinner tonight. Something didn't go his way and he bent down on the floor to have a little tantrum. Before his but went down I put my face there where he could see it upside down instead of the floor. It instantly turned a cry and frown into a laugh and a suprise. He jumped, flipped up and smiled as he looked at me. Apparently it was pleasantly suprising and funny. The look on his face and his reaction makes me smile now just thinking about it. I wish I could've caught that face on film!

Biting Daddy

This evening was a good evening, right up until Ellie's bath started. David was getting her ready for bath and I was putting Max to bed. She was being a bit silly, seeing how far she could push things. David asked her to stop messing about and stand up. Somewhere in this she bent in and bit his chest.

David sent her to timeout and stayed in the bathroom. I think I was more upset at Ellie then he was. After a few minutes I began talking to her. SHe admitted biting. She kept crying. I explained she was never to bite anyone. Then I told her she had to go into the bathroom and apologize to her Daddy. She asked me to come with her (through her sobs). I said No, she needed to apologize to Daddy herself. SHe lost it.

She was so upset about the biting and embarrased about what she did, she couldn't even face David. It was quite cute really. She wanted me to hold her. I explained that it's hard when we hurt someone we love, but that it happens and it's very important to apologize. We explained Daddy still loves her always. Then David peeled her off me to take her in and finish her bath. (SHe was sobbing and saying, "I want Mommy.")

Poor little thing, this is a hard lesson in life to realize how bad it feels when you hurt someone you love so much.

Dr. Clarence backs off Max

I love Dr. Clarence. She really is my favorite physician in the practice for the kids. She's taken a particular interest in Max and always been so great with him.

At the same time, my little Max has a temper that appears a bit like a bite at times.

Today when I took him to see her, as we laid him down on the table for the examine, he began to freak out. As she tried to examine him, he was kicking and pushing. She actually backed away from him a bit. I think she was suprised to see this fight in him. Boy has he grown and changed!

I was able to subdue him with a pacifier and holding his legs and one arm down myself. I was a little embarrased, but it's a little funny too!

Mommy is titled Princess.....

Fiona! Yup, that's right, Ellie has officially decided I look like Princess Fiona. She has mentioned this before, but after a few times, I guess I'm going to have to accept it. Here's the story:

This morning when we went into her room to get her up, she was still sleepy. This is normal for Ellie. Usually she wants more sleep and not to get up, especially if it's not a day she gets to stay home and play or go do something special. This morning, when she allowed herself to look at me, she saw my skirt and started rubbing it. She asks in a soft happy voice, "Mommy, why are you wearing a skirt today?"

Me, "Becuase I thought I'd wear something different to work today."

Ellie, still rubbing me, "But I wanted you to wear a dress."

Me, "Mommy doesn't wear dresses to work."

Ellie, still rubbing my arms, "You look like Princess Fiona Mommy" in the sweetest most soft and pleasant voice.

Me, "Is that when she was pretty or the monster?"

Ellie, "When she's pretty."

Me, "And which princess do you look like?"

Ellie, "I'm Sleeping Beauty!" (Of course I knew this!)

Last Day at the beach 2011

We had a nice week. We ended it with a typical beach day - Beach, naps and the boardwalk.

We had a bit of a photo shoot at the beach today thanks to Aunt Katie. We played in the ocean, sand and just frolicking. The kids were taught to act like models, which Erika ate up!

I hope to get some photos from Katie because there have to be some good ones.

We played on the beach for a couple hours and then headed back for a final washdown, lunch and naps. During naps, the adults packed up the house to head home late at night. This went relatively smoothly all things considered.

We headed up for dinner and some playing around Bethany as our final stop. We had a nice dinner at a local cafe, we did some shopping, we hit candy kitchen, some bought sweatshirts and I had to go visit the beach one last time. We parted with the others and took the kids down on the beach to play for about 10-15 minutes. Max didn't have shoes, so this was the best option. Ellie and daddy played tag and I followed Max around as he made his way through the sand. He has really gained some good balanace at the week thanks to learning to walk on sand. He even smiled at the ocean waves finally!

As we left I said Bye Bye Ocean and Max started waving. It was so cute. Everyone had a nice evening and was ready to pack for the journey home.

We got the kids into PJs, gave medicine, bottles, drinks and blankey bears, and hoped for the best. Max was asleep within 10 minutes, Ellie made it nearly to the bay bridge before finally going to sleep. Still, though she was awake, she was very good.

Going away on vacation with a baby is hard, but I am so glad we did it. It was a nice trip and there was some relaxing too!

Ocean City Boardwalk with Daddy

David wanted to see the Ocean City Boardwalk and I was happy to go down to the inlet as well. I wanted to check out the cheap food and goodies.

We went down for dinner and had some decent pizza and subs at the inlet. Then we wondered up a few blocks. We were able to admire the sand castle building of the expert who makes the huge sculptures. We also collected some big treats and the kids saw Sponge Bob and Hermit Crabs. Ellie was fascinated with touching Sponge Bobs hands. She kept rubbing them. It was really funny.

On the way back I had said they could do one ride with us. David and I took all the girls on the big Ferris Wheel while Mom, Max and Katie looked on. It was a nice long ride. We got to admire the beach, boats and all the stuff around. The girls somewhat enjoyed it, though Amy wanted her Mommy.

I took a few photos too. The first is looking up at the big wheel from the ground as we waited loading. It was very big!

A day on a boat in the Bay

Friday Danny and Katie treated us to a day on a friends boat in the Bay. It was the kids first time on a small boat. They did good and had a lot of fun, depsite only catching a few winks of sleep on the boat ride back to the dock.

Ellie was quite a natural on the boat and in the water. Max was pretty stable and very interested. He liked looking over the edge and really wanted to throw some things in the water. Both really enjoyed when we were cruising fast.

We docked the boat at the sandbar, also known as "Erika's Island" to some. APparently the kids like to get out and play here, but today, it was only Ellie who was interested. She spent nearly an hour walking around, splashing, playing and exploring the bay with Daddy, Uncle Danny and even on her own. She was so brave. I was a little nervous, but tried to trust. It all turned out great. She collected some treasures with Daddy and they even caught a few horse shoe crabs crawling around. They didn't even seem to freak her out, like they did me.

After all the exploring and lunch on the boat - where Max used his tummy as a highchair, we started the journey back to the dock and to get gas. Ellie slept most of this journey. Max finally fell asleep in Daddy's arms, after a lot of fussing and fighting.

It was a great day on the bay!

Ellie's first waterpark experience

Before we went on our beach vacation Ellie had requested many times to go to a water park. So Thursday morning everyone set out to see the local park for a couple hours.

Ellie, Erika, Amy and the adults all had a great time. Max also tolerated it, but definitely wasn't really at the right age for it. He couldn't do any of the slides himself. He was a trooper though and had a little fun on the lazy river with Mommy for a while.

Hopefully I can get a few photos of this day from Aunt Katie to share. She took many good ones.

The funny moment of the day was when we were drying off and getting into our clothes and Ellie said she had to go to the bathroom. I said okay, let's hurry. As soon as her bottoms were off, she started to squat on the concrete right in the middle of the park - thanks to the lessons in peeing anywhere from her Aunts - Vicki and Katie. Luckily, I caught her just in time, even Aunt Katie had to admit it wasn't the right place to spread and pee. I rushed her to the little girls room and she used the potty like a big girl.

In the end Ellie said she had a good time but her time was too short at the water park. I hope that she can learn to appreciate the fun times she does have and stop analyzing and wishing so much (like her Mamma does.)

Bethany Boardwalk with Daddy

Wednesday evening we had an easy Cummings family evening. We ate an early dinner at the condo and got everyone happy and full. We even had the big smores that we had bought over a month ago, anxiously awaiting to share with everyone at the beach. Ellie said this was the bestest treat she had ever had!

After dinner we walked down to the dock that is in our condo nieghborhood and checked out the bay. We saw some fish and many jelly fish. Then we headed to the car and drove up to show daddy Bethany.

We played some on the playground there and checked out the water. Bethany seems to be the ideal place for our family at this age!

Somewhere in all this, Max decided to ditch his right shoe. We never found it. For the rest of the week he was my shoeless Maximillian, becuase no one had any shoes for todlers around the immediate area. Oh well.

Daddy arrives!

Finally on Wednesday morning Daddy was able to join us - actually a day earlier then we planned. We waited at the house for him to go to the beach. When he arrived, Ellie and I greated him outside and we were all really happy to see him!

We got some stuff together and headed to the beach. Ellie was very happy to have Daddy along. It's a trek to get there. I took a few photos of Daddy pulling the kids across the road and up the path.

Once we arrived, Ellie insisted the sand castle building must begin immediately. David sat Max down beside him and they both began playing happily. It was as if Max thought it was also better if Daddy was there. We were all much more relaxed and had a good time playing in the sand before Mom and G arrived.

Gramma and G joined us and we also had some time playing in the ocean. We stayed for a couple hours and headed back for lunch and naps. I had such a better time with having David there. So did Ellie and Max! The ratio of 1 to 1 is much better and we were all able to relax and smile more - especially Max. I'm so glad my boy has stopped hating the beach. Now we have to work on liking it!

A walk with Ellie

After dinner tonight, Gramma put Max to bed and let us take Ellie up to the beach for a special nite time walk on the beach. David and I both love sunset on the beach. We learned years ago we are more sunset people, not sunrise people. We wanted to share it with Ellie.

The beach was quite across from our place, besides several fisherman groups. Ellie was enjoying finding treasures as we walked. The waves were pretty good and the tide was pretty high. The moon was also coming up over the ocean. It was very beautiful.

We walked a while, and came upon some guys wrestling with something that turned out to be a small shark. We watched with amazement as they wrestled it back into the sea. It was a bit wild to me.

Below are a couple photos we took. It was a nice bedtime walk.