Birthday Girl

Elli will be two on April 25th. We had her party though on Saturday the 19th. She was a lot of fun. She flew through her presents very excited to see what it was and then to see what the next one was. (Here is a public "thank you" since they didn't get said during the unwrapping!) She wanted to eat her cake with a spoon then realized that to get the icing it was much easier to lick it. It was a fun day with friends and family. Thank you for sharing it with us and if you couldn't be there, here are a couple of pics to enjoy.

I wan wide it peeze!

In Elli's words it means, "I want to ride it please." She really only pushes herself on the ground and is really fast going backwards!(legs are too short for the pedals)

Hard Work

Elli had to work very hard to get herself up and out of the pool at swim lessons. She did learn to do it pretty efficiently though, only to jump back in to daddy!

Pokibots

Elli has on new jammies with "pokibots" or polka dots. She was very excited to wear them. She also wore a dress on Sunday with pokibots which she was happy to tell people about.

"MMMMM" Mell Good

This is Elli's expression for "Mmm smells good." She was excited to see two flowers in her yard so we spent some time smelling them. I am excited too since it means spring is coming.

Youngs

Last weekend Aunt Leah and I went to Youngs Jersey Dairy with Elli to see the baby animals. There were baby goats and cows. Elli seemed a little timid but she told her Papa they were soft. She didn't touch them but I guess she could just tell by looking at them!

Funny

My comedian daughter put these stickers on her face. She then called out to me and said, "Mommy! Funny." Her expression while making this comment was exactly what you see here. No smile, just the word funny! I of course laughed out loud which then cause her to laugh, but that's my girl!

Swimming Lessons

Elli has started "ABC Come Splash with ME" swim lessons. She is doing well and having fun at the same time. She is learning to blow bubbles in the water, (with her mouth:), scoop her arms, kick her legs, float on her back, splash, and slide! She has a lot of fun even if she is shivering by the end.

Poo Poo

Elli is now going poo poo on the potty. She told me last Monday the 31st that she needed to go poo poo. She was at the time standing in her bedroom, naked, having just gone pee pee on the potty. I turned around just in time to see her going poo poo on her floor. "Uh Oh" she said. I picked her up and ran her into the bathroom where she finished on the potty. Even though we had a rough start to the process, since then it has been much better! Way to go Elli.

"I a Mess"

We had to put on our Easter Sunday finest of course. I have a new dress purchased for the occasion after wearing the same dress since either High School or College Days. (It's so old I can't even remember when I got it!) Elli also has a new dress. Brent did not get new dress:) It didn't last long though. Elli wanted a drink from the water fountain at church. She was leaning up against the fountain and as you can see, she got most of the water on her! She held her little arms out, looked up at me and said, "I a mess." Her Aunt Heather helped her clean up in the bathroom.

Easter Crafts

I will not go into the story of how I wanted Elli's crafts to turn out and how they didn't. Just look at the adorable picture of Elli coloring her bunnies for her family! I just had to remind myself that these were from Elli, not me:)

Elli's first Easter Egg Hunt

Our Care Group from church had an Easter Egg hunt for the kids. It was very cute watching Elli and the other young ones find their eggs. Elli caught on rather quickly developing a winning phrase, "Open. I want snack!"

Open and Close

Elli can now turn the handles on doors to both open and close them. This door got her though. Brent and I heard her saying, "Uh Oh. Uck" from the other room. This is what we found:)

Happy Birthday Gea

I let Elli pick out Leah's birthday paper and she took it seriously. She looked through lots of wrapping paper and decided on Sesame street paper. She helped wrap Leah's presents as well. When we got over to mom's to celebrate, Elli threw the presents at Leah!

Her shirt says "Happy Birthday Gea" since Elli calls her Gea. She had fun playing in the tent (blanket over her head) with Leah as well. Then, once she knew there was going to be cake for dessert, she kept saying "I want cake." She finally got some cake. Heather was scooping ice cream and when Elli realized she didn't have any, she loudly repeated "Hebo, Hebo (Heather)" until Heather gave her a scoop. I tell you, the bocat, (chocolate) monster has arrived! It was a very fun night.

Ta-Da!

Elli and I watched some cheerleading competitions on TV not too long ago and she has come to like to show off her moves. Here she is doing the "spits", splits, and saying "ta-da!" She will also hold my hand and put her leg in the air, also saying ta-da as loud as she can. What a funny little girl. I guess this is another thing she cannot help but do. It truly is in her blood.

Little Talker

The joke at our house is that Elli cannot help but to be a talker, she is with me most days! She enjoys talking on the phone too as you can see. She can have a whole conversation of "uh-huhs", "ess", "giggle", and "bye-bye." Here she is talking with her Aunt Gea and really relaxing. Look at how cute her little legs are:)

Butt Prints

In our last big snow, or blizzard-like conditions, the snow ended up being very deep. Elli really enjoyed playing in it. When the snow was shoveled, she could sit on it. Therefore, the butt prints pictures!

Email Cookies

Elli and I made "Email", oatmeal, cookies together for her Awana group at church. This was our first mother-daughter baking session where Elli really helped. She put the ingredients into the mixer, she helped stir, and even licked the spoon when we were done! She did a good job but her favorite part was stealing them from the other kids that night at church. You have to eat fast when Elli is around!

Eggs and Becatch

Elli really likes eggs now for breakfast. When we were in Indianapolis, she wanted eggs for breakfast. We were eating at the hotel restaraunt, so there were nice table linens as you can imagine. I ended up having to apologize for the amount of ketchup on Elli, the table cloth, the napkins, the floor, and all the dinner ware! They were all good sports about it and were laughing with Elli as she was turing on the charm. Later when I asked what she had for breakfast, she said "becatch" (ketchup).

Indianapolis

Brent had a conference in Indianapolis so Elli and I decided to go as well. Since Brent was gone during the days, Elli and I shopped, played in the hotel room, rode the escalator and went on walks around the lobby. Then, when daddy got home, we went swimming! Elli hasn't gone swimming since the fall but she squealed and laughed and wanted "mo, mo" swimming.

Goguk and Email

Elli told me she wanted to eat "goguk and email" for "bekpast". You can understand my confusion again. What she actually wanted after a few trials and errors, was yogurt and oatmeal for breakfast. What a cutie!

Finger Painting!

Okay, so those of you who know a little about me know I don't like messes. So, this was a big deal for me. I of course had a box of wipes nearby, a plastic full body bib, and lots of distance between me and the budding artist. Elli enjoyed her painting experience, but soon into the project held her hands out to me and said, "ucky. Wipe!" I am afraid I am raising a "mini me:)" But, as you can see, she has created her first finger painting masterpiece! This will be on the refrigerator for days so please stop by to see it.

E'Ee sit, "Uh-Oh", "Bunny Runnin"

When Elli sees these pictures, the title is her remarks about them. The first picture is Elli sitting on the deck stairs, which is about as close as she got to playing in the snow. The second is Elli falling off the slide and landing in the snow. The last is Elli looking at the place where we saw a bunny run from. She was sad and cried for the bunny. She would say, "Bunny runnin. Bunny hidin. Bunny! Bunny!" We searched the woods, but of course the bunny was indeed hiding from us! Fun day in the snow.

Lookout. Future Runway Star

She is pretty cool isn't she? Decked out in new swimsuit with matching shoes and of course, the "papis"!

Like mommy, like baby!

This is a picture of me at Elli's age right now. Any similarities?

Amazing Grace

I was singing Amazing Grace to Elli this evening to the best of my ability:) She laid her head on my chest and patted me while I sang. When I would get to the end of a verse she would whisper, "mo, mo." (more) About halfway through the last verse she said, "E'ee heart." Meaning, she could hear her heart. I asked if she heard her heart and she said , "uh huh." Then I asked if she heard my heart. She said, "mommy heart." Then she patted my back as I continued to sing. Moments like these bring tears to my eyes as I realize what a sweet blessing Elli is. Pray that God will draw E'ee's heart to himself as she grows. God can hear your heart, so what is it singing right now?

Ginky Gunk

As you can see, Elli helps herself these days to a "gunk" otherwise known as a snack. Well, in the car the other day, we passed through a stinky skunk. I said, "Oh Elli, that is a stinky skunk." She then plugged her nose and said, "ginky gunk." Do you now see my confusion? She could mean a skunk or my food, the "gunk!" If Brent starts saying, ginky gunk, we'll know it's the snacks!

Cute little me

This outfit from Aunt Gea is so adorable on Elli. She didn't really like the hat this day, but she made some fun faces. She looks funny when she says, "cheese!" Oh well. How can you resist that face?

Pee-Pee in the potty again!

Okay, so this picture has nothing to do with pee-pee, but Aunt Gea (Leah) got her a new outfit with this adorable hat and she had to put it on!

And, yes, Elli went pee-pee in the potty again tonight. She told us she had to go "po-ee" even though she was mid-poop! Oh well, we took up to the potty and ran her bath water while she let loose! She was very proud as were we. I think our plans of not teaching her until we return from vacation in May are out the window. Hey, the more stops while driving to Myrtle Beach the better, right?

If only I could...

... fall asleep when mommy is making dinner.

...fall asleep on my tummy with my butt in the air.

...fall asleep in the car and let mommy and daddy carry me into the house and chnage me!

It's all fun 'n' games until...

you run into the wall with a big box on your head!

Mommy Sanunch

Elli really likes to take a bite of my sandwich at lunch time. This day she decided she needed to hold my sandwich. Then she said"Mommy no, E-ee sanunch." As you can see, she got two, I got none!