The Apple Doesn't Fall Far From the Tree

Ella has quite a bossy side, and MANY times, she uses words she hears from me to get her point across!

The other day, we were walking to preschool because we were 10 minutes ahead of schedule. I was pushing a double stroller and trying to control the dog who kept switching sides. I kept getting frustrated saying "Leo! Stop it! Over here!" Finally, Ella chimed in:

"LEO! MOM ASKED YOU TO DO ONE THING AND YOU CAN'T EVEN DO IT!!!!!!"

House

Ella: "Erin, do you want to play house?"
Erin: "No!"
Ella: "I'll be the mom and you be the kid."
Erin: "No!"

.............................sounds about right.

Recap Part 2

Other highlights from April:

• Ella and Erin enjoyed a nice 5 day visit with Gma and Gpa G during our vacation! Their favorite things included: Easter egg hunts, a trip to the park, visiting Gma Betty, and getting to eat at a restaurant. They were very busy during their time away. So busy, that Ella told me she forgot what Leo looked like!
• Leo stayed with his friend Hank (pug) and my sister Mandy. He enjoyed human food, walks, and sleeping in Mandy's bed.
• Holly enjoyed peace. And quiet. And peace. And quiet. She stayed home and watched the house while Gma Lorrie kept her fed and happy!
• Erin has been taking an active interest in potty training. We typically try this just before her baths, just to keep her interest!
• Ella has been learning about growing plants in school. She is ready to have her own garden again this year.
• Derek installed a metal fence around the garden, which will keep our hopes alive of a great garden without rabbits!
• We celebrated my nephew, Jordon's 13th birthday party. He was so sweet that night and I can't believe how grown up he is getting!
• It is officially garage sale season, which is my favorite time of the  year! 
• Derek experienced a severe, very unusual reaction to Lidocaine (in aloe vera) the night we came home. We spent the night in the ER trying to resolve that!
• The Easter Bunny bought the movie "Frozen," for the girls. We've watched it about a dozen times already. 
• Below is a picture of our pre-Easter celebration with the Cozies, which is Ella, Erin, and their cousins Jordon and Jada. 

Texas Recap!

I hope I didn't cause any worries by taking some time off from the blog. :) We survived the strep throat. I will hit the highlights from the last couple weeks!

I had a conference in Texas, which allowed Derek and I to spend a nice long weekend down in warm, sunny Texas! We were thrilled to see Great Uncle Bill and Great Aunt Mary. We enjoyed the sites of San Antonio, Galveston, Houston, and Humble. My favorite part was a safari drive-thru and Derek's favorite part was hitting the beach and a stop at a famous barbecue restaurant!

Strep, Strep, Strep

Not surprisingly, this week has been rough. Ella was treated for strep throat on Monday, Erin was treated for Strep on Tuesday, and I was treated for strep on Wednesday! Today (Thursday) is the first day this week that we've all left the house. Good grief! I am hoping we are all feeling well enough this weekend for some fresh air!

Doesn't this look lovely...

Strep Throat

The last few days have been rough for Ella, as she battled what we thought was a cold and sore throat. This morning (Monday), she acquired pimples all around her mouth and inside of her mouth. After a visit to the doctor's office, they diagnosed it as strep throat. Hopefully she'll be back to herself in a day or two! The good news is that she did a fantastic job with the doctor and earned a balloon at the pharmacy!

"Yeah"

Erin's vocabulary is growing every day. She does a great job repeating sentences after Ella! We can ask her almost anything, and if she agrees to it, she'll respond with "yeah" which is great because we can now divert most meltdowns.

She also has a really strange obsession with putting her hands in pockets right now. She has plenty of sweatshirts and coats, but she not requires a robe after her bath so that she has her pockets again!

Preschool Update

Ella just finished up her Dr. Seuss lessons at school! Ironically, Ella won two Dr. Seuss books and a stuffed cat in the hat from Family Fun Night (school carnival) so we are excited about those. Here are some  pictures from her classroom (the 2nd one was Wacky Wednesday where they all dressed up silly).

They're So Contagious!

I love my girls. They are my whole world. However, they are the most contagious little stinkers I've ever met. After two sleepless nights with Erin, we started coming down with colds and still aren't feeling well. We hope this weekend will be restful!

Other updates:

•  In one particular night, Derek and I woke up approximately 20 times. 18 times, it was Erin who felt ill, 1 time was Leo (who broke through the gate)making funny noises on the couch, and 1 time it was Ella who fell out of bed.
• We have officially signed Ella up for t-ball this summer.
• Ella had "wacky wednesday" at school today where the kids dressed silly/wore clothes backwards/crazy hair/etc. They loved it!
• Er-Bear got new tennis shoes that ACTUALLY fit her little paws!! She loves them!
• The ice cream shop opened up in Denver and it is right on our walking route!
• Ella is now working on guided reading in preschool, since she has her letters and sounds all mastered!
• Our deck is finally unthawed, which means its grilling season!  Derek grilled chicken/peppers/pineapple. Yum!
• My "no sweets" rule is still holding true for Lent season!

Building Good Sleep Habits

 Q: What is the worst thing to wake up to?

A: A toddler touching your eyelid.

Q: What do you do with a toddler who is terrible at co-sleeping?

A: Let her sleep with you more often!

We've taken a subtle approach by letting her sleep with us that last hour or two of the morning when she is fussing a little. It's taken a few months, but Erin is getting much better at settling down with someone else by her.   I swear, I sleep better with her there, too. :) Good sleeping habits are so important, and I am anxious to get her use to sleeping in a bed (with Ella), on a couch, on the floor, etc.  Here she is rolled up like a cinnamon roll this week!

Smart Little Girl

Ella is learning at such a whirlwind pace right now. It is Dr. Seuss week so they are doing many activities based on that! She is beginning to put together small words (hat, cup, top, etc) which is a perfect time to introduce one of Santa's flash card games. It is a large set of cards that you group in three's to form a word and corresponding picture. She did great!!

Another favorite game is Pictionary (seen below, Ella is drawing an octopus with an "O" next to it). Note to self: teach her that an octopus has 8 legs. :)

Lastly is her most recent assessment, she is a very smart little girl!

At 7:15, We Ride!

You know life is good when you get horsey rides to bed every night!

Lake Rathbun

A sudden turn of events prevented us from seeing our extended family this weekend.  Our bags were already packed, the kids were broken hearted, and we had a dog sitter lined up (thanks Jada!). So we improvised.  We made a spontaneous trip to Lake Rathbun to visit the indoor water park! The weather was great and there was hardly any snow down there. The weekend was a long series of successes...

The water park was great. It was geared towards little kids and the water was super warm. It also included a small lazy river and a hot tub. We all had a blast! 

Erin had her first successful night sleeping in a "big girl bed" with Ella.  We've been trying to transition her to this and finally she cooperated (after several minutes of giggles and whispers). 

We had a block of time to kill when we arrived so we scoped out the lake and went looking for eagles while the girls napped in the back seat! We saw about 15 of them! (I admit, Derek pointed out all of them.)

On our way home, we detoured over to Williamsburg where I endulged in some excellent clearance sales (during naps, again).

And last but not least, we saw a flock of literally HUNDREDS of robins on our way home. A sure sign of spring!

 

To Make Matters Worse

There has been a long drawn out saga on Erin's healthcare. She was sick a lot over the summer and fall and we weren't happy with the care we were getting at the family doctor so we switched to a new Pediatrician. It's not that I think Erin's health is much different than a normal toddler, but I can only pay so many copays for them to tell us "it's viral and there's nothing they can do."  Erin was on nebulizer treatments alot and it never seemed to go away completely. The last straw was when I went there feeling completely miserable. I was in tears when I left because the doctor had no concern and wrote on a piece of paper "sucrets" to help with my relief. (As if I couldn't remember cough drops at the drug store without the note).  I had some words for the doctor that day and left very angry. Two days later, my strep test came back positive and I was furious. Fast forward two months, and we've all been happy with our new Pediatrician for Erin.

On TUESDAY, Erin caught our cold and just wasn't quite herself so we took her in. She was diagnosed with an ear infection and was back to herself within a day. The good news was that we've really started to love the care she received at her pediatrician's office and always seem to get results there. She was always on call and willing to write us a prescription when necessary.

The bad news is that on FRIDAY, we received a letter in the mail that the office is closing. Effective February 14 (Friday). ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I can understand sending the letter, but Derek was in there on Tuesday and never once was it mentioned that they were closing. So now I'm back to square one.

Elkader

We had a mid-winter getaway spending the day in Elkader in honor of their great Grandpa Everett. I  can't believe how nice the weather was up there. We met Gma Betty for church along with the rest of our Gustafson family. We spent the day playing at Gma's house and sharing a huge breakfast.  The girls have been spoiled on these last two trips to Elkader having Gma Betty almost all to themself!