Happy Girl

Ella was out of control tonight. I have never seen anyone happier than she was. I'm not sure if she was sugared up, or goofy-tired, but she was SO darn playful and full of laughs tonight as we were trying to wind down for bed. I couldn't get her to take anything serious. We had a lot of laughs watching her literally falling over from giggling so hard.

A Sweet Little Tune

"Kinkle Kinkle Kinkle Kinkle" sung to the tune of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star"

Bye Bye!

I have always enjoyed reading articles on infant/toddler development since E was born. They help me stay up-to-date with what children Ella's age should be doing and ideas on how to further their learning. And ideas for games, songs, and recipes are nice too. :)

One of the more interesting articles recently told me to start saying "Bye Bye" to different things around the house when you leave. So I started that this week on our way out the door at 7am.

"Bye bye kitchen! Bye bye table! Bye bye kittie! Bye Bye House! Bye Bye Car!" I would say as we left. The list went on and on. Ellie would smile at me (like i was crazy) and frantically wave at everything.

This morning (Day 5), I barely started putting on her coat when she started her goodbyes without me. "Bye bye kitty! Bye bye tup! (cup) Bye bye people! Bye bye beetza! (pizza)*"

And she shouted it all the way to the babysitters. So cute.

*Note: We did not have pizza for breakfast. I'm not sure where she thought she was seeing pizza. :)

E-I-E-I-O

I am so proud of my little sweetie pie. Tonight she learned how to sing E-I-E-I-O. She sang it over and over, even in the bath. It is so stinkin cute (and in tune!).

Singing is one of my favorite things to do with her. She can do hand motions to "The Wheels on the Bus" and "The Itsy Bitsy Spider." I can also get her to sing "A,B,C,D"  but nothing beyond those letters. "E-I-E-I-O" is my favorite performance of Ella's so far!

Sidenote: Let it be known I won a little bet with Derek about who was going to win American Idol. Derek is on cat box duty!!! Victory is sweet.

What It Takes To Be Ella's Grandpa

1. You have to give her treats. The good stuff. And lots of them.
2. You have to listen to her intently, and do everything she says.

3. You have to play with her, and only on her terms....which might mean
watching "Melmo" in a chair with her, Mimi, and two babies.

Mommy in the Making

Ella got to play "Mommy" ALL weekend. First, we hit the jackpot when we found a cradle for her dollies at a garage sale. She spends several minutes rearranging the bed until it is perfect. She is very finicky about how she makes their bed! She then tucks her babies in..........over and over and over again. She also shouts "Ni-night! Baby Ni-night!" at them to tell them its bedtime. It is so stinkin cute. She just loves playing Mommy with her babies.

 We also had a four-legged guest this weekend......Hank! Hank is a puggle who needs a little TLC when his own mommy is away. He gets pretty home-sick without her. Luckily Ella was very willing to take care of him. She is the dictator of all when he is around. She followed him around shouting "Stop!" and trying to make him eat his bone.
Ella doesn't quite know his size yet. She still tries to pick him up (see below). When I handed her Hank's leash this morning, Hank began walking briskly. Ella was bobbing behind him at full pace trying to keep up and unable to stop.. She is not quite big enough to walk him yet!

Mother's Day Weekend

After an amazing (and busy!) weekend, this Mama couldn't be happier.  I was smothered in kisses, swarmed with hugs, and smitten with “Lub you’s” from my little love. ♥ We also enjoyed time with our own Moms! I am one lucky Mama (and daughter and granddaughter and wife). Happy Mother's Day!!!

Birthday in the Park

Tonight we celebrated Jordon's 10th birthday in Cedar Falls. We went to the park, which is a sure-fire way to keep the little ones entertained! I learned today that Jordon is the "sanitation engineer" at his school. How appropriate!

Grandma & Jordon

Ella has been a little under the weather, but she got her spunk back momentarily!

Jordon & Aunt Mandy

Kisses from Grandma

The merry-go-round was the favorite!

Easter in Elkader

We spent the majority of Easter in Elkader at Derek's grandma's farm. It was the nicest egg hunt weather we've had since I can remember. Here are some pics!

Grandma Betty & Sam driving around the pond!

 A caption cannot do this picture justice.

 Aunt Trista & Ellie

 Hunting for eggs

 Hunting for eggs

 This picure just melts my heart!

 Swingin away

 Eventually everyone found their eggs!

Aiden and the mower that stirred a lot of fights!

 Bubbles

 Bubbles

 Loyal gardeners

 Heathers and Toddlers



Happy Birthday, Jords!

Happy birthday to my nephew and forever Easter baby, Jordon, who turned 10 today! I stopped over there to wish him a Happy Birthday tonight and got to witness this performance:

Me: "Happy Birthday Jords!"
Jordon: "Hey, will you sing me the birthday song? The one they sang at school?"
Me: (Playing dumb and expecting the traditional song as his response) "What song did they sing??"
Jordon: (sung to the tune of 50 cent) "Go Jordon, its your birthday, we're gonna party like it's your birthday!"

LOL

Beetza Night!

One of Ella's favorite meals right now is pizza. As SOON as she hears we are having pizza for supper, we listen to her run around and shout "beetza! beetza! beetza!" throughout the house.

Trista's Bridal Shower

On Sunday,  Ella and I got the opportunity to help host Derek's sister's bridal shower in Jesup. We were thrilled to be there for her special day!! Everything turned out wonderful. I hear wedding bells!!

Piggy Tails

We have finally reached the piggy tails phase!