Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Nice days.

We have enjoyed getting out recently with the nicer weather! Here are some photos of our trip to the zoo and park in the last week or so.
zoo and park

Anniversary.

Last Friday Brad and I celebrated our 5th anniversary. Where does the time go?? My dad offered to watch Ella for us so we took advantage of that and decided to spend a day/night at a Bed and Breakfast in Winona Lake. We had never stayed in one before and weren't quite sure what to expect, but it was a great experience! The home was gorgeous and perfect for a little getaway. We had our own private balcony where we spent a lot of the afternoon. It looked right over the lake and was very peaceful. That evening we went to dinner across the lake and they took us by boat. The couple running the b&b were great and very accommodating. We had breakfast on the patio the next morning with the two other couples staying there. It was a great experience to have such a personal setting. Much better than a hotel! We'd recommend it to anyone!

Friday, May 22, 2009

Trespassing.

That's right. Ella's a trespasser, and pretty proud of it! Our next door neighbors have a nice, big, custom-built sandbox in their yard that she just can't resist. She'll pull at the fence yelling "please, please" to anyone who will listen to try and get over there. Our neighbors are great, luckily, and usually let her come over and play. She'd sit over there for hours if I'd let her! THEN, we get to deal with the nice big mess when she's done. There's sand in places I didn't know you could get sand....she scoots herself around the box instead of getting up and moving around. Her diapers are always full of sand. We are planning on getting a sandbox ourselves now, I don't think there's any way out of it! I never thought I'd have one because of the mess, but it'll sure beat her whining at the fence all summer!! Here are a few pics of her in their sandbox a couple of days ago.Here she is blowing "sand" kisses to the camera. Ella and her sand buddy, Cola.
Enjoy the holiday weekend!!

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Corn, anyone??

Anyone that knows us knows how Ella likes to eat. From day one, she was constantly wanting more and really isn't too picky about it. I have to admit, most of the time it's nice, not having to push her to eat things. On the other hand, Brad and I sometimes have to "hide" to eat some things. ha If she hears someone in the kitchen, she's there in a few seconds. She has become quite fond of corn on the cob. I think she'd eat it every meal if she could. She eats it right off the cob, quickly and easily. It's just so funny to watch her. We've made her stop at 1 1/2 cobs, but I really wonder how many she'd eat before she'd willingly give in. :) I took a video of her the other night eating it at dinner. I have an "old" video camera that still uses tapes so I took a "video" of a video on my camera and uploaded it on here. I'm sure there's a better way to do this, but I like to do things the hard way. ha Anyway, the quality is not the greatest, but you get the idea!! Enjoy!

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

A Good Day

We spent part of the day running errands out north. I had to go to a uniform shop to try on some things for work. Then Brad and Ella had gotten me a gift certificate for Dick's for some new tennis shoes for Mother's Day, so we went there next. I found a pair I liked but the only pair they had in my size had been worn and returned, so I got them for half off! That was definitely a nice surprise.
We had a coupon for TGIFriday's, so we decided to go there for lunch. Ella was very good for us at the restaurant, so we took her to the play area for a little bit in the mall. Here is a pic of her in the mall just being goofy. I had the camera on a weird setting...
We came home and were outside most of the rest of the day since it was pretty nice out. It's so nice not to have to bundle up anymore to go out! Tomorrow I'm back to work for the rest of the week. I really enjoy my Mondays and Tuesdays off, but I don't mind (usually) getting back to work too. It's definitely a nice division of both, because by Friday, I'm ready to be home again! :)

Sunday, May 10, 2009

A bittersweet day

Well, today is Mother's Day. Of course, being a mom, I love the recognition. It reminds me how special it is to be a mom and all the joys and responsibilities that come with it. I love all the hugs and kisses that are never-ending. I love the silliness and laughter Ella brings out of me daily. I love the innocence and awe of things that seem so simple to me now as an adult. I love the responsibility of being able to comfort another human being better than anyone else. I love the "snuggle" at the end of the day with a blankie and book. It is all wonderful and I can't imagine life without it.


On the other hand, the part of Mother's Day that's difficult, is thinking of MY mom. Ever since she passed, this has been the hardest day of the year for me. I'm very proud of myself this year because it's been the first year I've made it through a church service without breaking down. :) It's so difficult hearing everyone talk about how much they appreciate their mothers and what great relationships they have, etc. I start feeling sorry for myself because I USED to have that, but no more. I think of how my mom loved me and all the things she did for me. She was the best cook I knew, and unfortunately Brad only got to experience that just a couple of times before she got sick. I think of what a great Grandma she would be for Ella and how much fun they'd have together. I think of all the advice I'm missing out on with my parenting skills. I have a million questions I'd love to ask her about how I was as a young child, to see if Ella has any of my quirky characteristics. When I look back at pictures of myself at her age, we are almost identical. I'd love to hear what she'd have to say when she looked at Ella and saw "me" as a young child again.


All these things I wish, and that's ok. I know she's watching from above, "nudging" me in the right direction when I need it. Ella will grow up never meeting her Grandma Sue, but that doesn't mean she won't know her. I have many memories to pass on. I love you, Mom.

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Sometimes you gotta stop......

And smell the flowers! We have been to a few nurseries this spring and Ella has quickly learned to smell, and not touch, the flowers. Tonight she noticed the lilac tree in our backyard and wanted to keep being lifted up to smell the flowers.
I was in the house getting dinner ready and she and Brad came in with a beautiful bouquet of lilacs for me! It was so sweet and she was so proud of herself. I hope I get many more hand-picked bouquets from her.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

My little "helper"

Today was a nice day to be outside, so I decided to get a few flowers in some of the boxes around our house. Of course, Ella was right there to help. I gave her her own pot and shovel, and she dug away!

Then, she got bored with that, and settled with a chair and toy "overseeing" my work.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Getting cultured in the Fort

With Brad being laid off so much this last year and me working only part-time, we have gotten a lot of "family time." It's not a bad thing, we have really enjoyed being together. We know this isn't going to last forever, so we're taking advantage of it while we can. We have a pass to the zoo, and we finally got to go for the first time this year last week. Ella liked it last year, but she is REALLY getting into it this year. It's so fun to see her get so excited about the little things. She has always been an animal lover, so this is the perfect place for her! She really liked the horses ("weesies"), and monkeys ("oo oo, aa aa's"), and the fish ("bloop bloops"). It was a perfect dayout and the animals were out in full force.




We also have went to the downtown library quite a bit this winter. That's a great place to go with children. There is a room in the children's area with everything from dress-up clothes, to puzzles and games, lots of books and toys, the list goes on. There's also an area with fish tanks as well as a few things to climb in and on. It's a lot of fun for Ella and gives her a place to run around when the weather's not cooperating.




Hopefully the weather's going to stay decent and we can give the library a little break for awhile! :)

Monday, May 4, 2009

20 Months and counting...



So I decided on a whim to start this blog. I thought it might be neat for our family to have a "savable story" of our lives to look back on now and then. I never had anything like this as a child, and I'm hoping someday Ella will appreciate this. If she's sentimental like her Momma, she will! :)


She is learning and changing so much right before our eyes! Definitely not a baby anymore! How does that seem to happen so quickly?? She is starting to become very stubborn and independent. Always learning it seems, she is saying quite a few words now. Some of her newest are horsie, please, thanks, out, NO, dog, ball, bye-bye, and quite a few animal sounds. It's fun to see what she's going to say (or do) next. So far, anyway. lol


Tonight Brad was talking on the phone and she was talking (gibberish) pretty loudly and Brad asked her to be quiet, so she covers her ears and talks louder....where do they get this stuff??


She's been battling ear infections off and on all winter, and we're just starting to get over another one. It's really getting old...one more and I'm going to talk to the pediatrician about possible tubes. I think it would definitely be worth it for her not to suffer with these. People who know her understand how she LOVES her food, and the only sign of infection for us is she won't eat. We know something's wrong then! She's pretty much back to her old self for now, let's pray it stays that way!