Bundle of Joy

It is great being home.

Ellen and I left TN at 6:45 Tuesday morning and made our way East to NC. A little over 2 hours into our trip Ellen threw up. We stopped at McDonald's in Kingston to clean up. She threw up again about 45 minutes from Winston-Salem. We stopped at a Wendy's this time. Other than her getting sick, and the nasty smell it left in the car, we had a good trip. I thought she would sleep a lot more than she did, but I guess getting carsick didn't help. And I think it was just a matter of her getting carsick. She isn't showing any signs of having a virus or any other ailment.

After clean up #2, we went to Andrea and Caleb's (after I got lost a few times in my hometown - I am ashamed) and got to see sweet little Cade. He is so cute. Andrea and I talked and cuddled with Cade while Ellen played. Dad picked up Ashling from Mrs. Anna's house and then they soon joined us. Mom stopped by K&W after work and brought us all dinner. Within a few hours of our arrival, we were all together.

Cade had a doctor's appointment today. He is doing great. We all met for lunch at TJ's Deli after the appointment. Cade slept the whole time. Ellen kept busy by loving on Granddaddy.

Everyone is sleeping right now. I am holding Cade as he snoozes. Once Ellen wakes up, she and I are going to meet Dad at the mall to play. We will go to church tonight.

Looking forward to seeing Phillip's parents tomorrow afternoon and Aunt Diane and Uncle David tomorrow evening.

Aunt Kendra is the Coolest

Cade Andrew

My sweet nephew Cade is finally here!

Born 9/27/2009, 3:13 am, 8 lbs 14 oz, 22 inches long

Andrea and baby are doing well... So is big sister Ashling.

Can't wait to meet the newest addition to our family.

Goodnight Sweet Girl

Kisses all around

Football Fix

This morning Phillip and Ellen went downstairs to get our lunches together while I finished getting ready. Out of the blue Ellen told Phillip she wanted to watch football. He turned on Sportscenter and they were showing clips of both football and basketball. She happily watched for a minute or two. I guess I know what they will be doing tomorrow while I am at work :)

Taking Care of Business

We have had a lot of rain lately. A few mushrooms popped up in our yard as a result. This was by far the biggest one. Phillip told Ellen to kick it. She hesitated at first but then gave it a couple of good kicks. After it fell over she proudly stomped on some of the pieces.

What a day

Since Phillip's truck is in the shop and today was my day off for having to work this Saturday, I ended up taking Phillip to work so I could have the car. This morning I did some much needed cleaning which included loading and then running the dishwasher. I just happened to go into the kitchen a little while after starting the dishwasher and much to my surprise, it was like a winter wonderland. I immediately turned off the dishwasher and sopped up the water and suds with kitchen towels and some paper towels. In hindsight, I should have ran upstairs and grabbed a few bath towels. I rinsed and rewashed all of the dishes from the dishwasher and then tried running it again to see what would happen. More suds. When we got home this afternoon Phillip removed the drain cover to see what was going on. It all looked okay to us, but what do we know? He ended up getting it to drain (the bottom was still filled with water). He ran it without detergent for a while and it seemed to be working properly. We will test it on a full wash cycle this weekend. I am so thankful that I went into the kitchen when I did and so thankful that we probably don't need a new dishwasher. Phillip's truck is costing over $800 to fix and there is no way we can also afford a dishwasher.

On our way to pick up Phillip this afternoon, Ellen and I stopped off at my office so I could "show her off like a little show dog" as Phillip so eloquently stated when I told him we were going to run by work. Since we don't live close to work she has only been there a few times. She was shy at first but gradually let her guard down. It was fun watching her interact with my co-workers. I could tell she liked the attention.

Now that Ellen is bathed and tucked snuggly in her bed, I am ready to crash. Long day.

Q & A

Short conversation with Ellen this morning:

What is mommy's name? Laina (Phillip calls me Lane or Lanie sometimes)

What is daddy's name? Papa (we call him daddy and papa- but I think it is funny she said Papa) followed by Philly (what I sometimes call him)

She must prefer nicknames... she calls Lucy Sissy, Sweet Sweet or Luce Luce just like we do.

Ellen...

helpful

runs everywhere she goes

shy

early riser

loving

observant

active

sweet tooth

copycat

persistent

inquisitive

backseat driver

animal lover

happy

stubborn

playful

independent

gentle

silly

talkative

bookworm

Pictures from today

Phillip and Ellen clowning around

We bought this baby feeding set at Target today. Possibly the best $5.00 I've ever spent. (Using Gorilla to prop up baby)

Reading a book and playing around with Phillip

Rise and Shine

Phillip has been sick the past few days. He stayed home from work Thursday but made it in on Friday. This morning he needed some extra sleep so Ellen and I played for a few hours while he rested. We did everything imaginable in a relatively short amount of time. Ate breakfast, read books, played with baby, built with wooden blocks, played with play-doh, played with easter eggs, colored, played with play food, had a snack...all by 10:00. I guess when you get up before sunrise you can get a lot accomplished. She tried to get up at 4:45 but we eventually got her to go back to sleep. What a morning! Phillip is thankfully feeling better and we are enjoying some quiet time while Ellen is taking a nap.

Dinner

Good TV is Finally Back

Biggest Loser, Survivor, The Office, Amazing Race (to name a few of my favorites)... I am so glad you are back! Phillip also watches Fringe and Dexter. They will be starting again soon as well. There are some new shows that look good too.

And is there any better time of year than this? Football (and fantasy football), basketball, chili, fall weather, pumpkins, the changing of the leaves, Thanksgiving - a lot to look forward to these next few months.

Andrea is due October 4th and we are so excited. I can't wait to meet my nephew and for Ellen to meet her "boy cousin", as we call him. We hope to head to NC once we get the call that she is in labor. But if that doesn't work out, we will go as soon as we can make the arrangements. Ashling says her brother's name is Pooky, but I have a feeling that might change. My dad may be to blame for this.

Ellen is doing great. I am really missing her right now! She is doing better with her colors, but counting is another story: 1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 14, 10. She cracks us up. She is still an avid reader. I love when she reads to us. It is the cutest thing. She loves to push her stroller around the house. Her first mode of transportation may end up being a Harley - she is really into motorcycles. This is a fun stage and I am sure it only gets better.

Shoes!

Mindy passed these flip flips down to Ellen and she loves them. She is definitely a shoe girl. The first thing she said when she woke up from her nap yesterday was "I want shoes on". She likes to pick out which shoes she is going to wear - usually chooses her crocs, but also likes her white church sandals that are way too small. She still manages to squeeze her feet into them though. The things we do for fashion!

My Gym

Budding gymnast? It's never too early to start.

We went to Sadie's birthday party last night at My Gym. Ellen was her only friend from school that was able to come. It was a little strange not knowing anyone there, besides Sadie and her parents, but we really just enjoyed watching Ellen and the other kids run around and play. She had a blast! She was constantly on the go, so taking pictures was a challenge. There was a green swing she loved and she liked the slide, zip line and ball pit a lot too.

Who wouldn't want to jump in here?

A huge "log"swing

Sadie is in the middle on the front row (pink bow)

Clean Bill of Health... Almost

Ellen had her 2 year check-up yesterday and all is well...except she has an ear infection! She had been touching her ears the past few days so I had the feeling she might have one. But since she had no other symptoms, I was keeping my fingers crossed that she was fine. So once again, doctor's office and then Publix to get the prescription filled. It is a very familiar routine. But she is right on track in all other areas: 80% in height, 85% in weight and 25% in head. She is 35 inches long and about 30 pounds. She got one shot, her finger pricked and flu mist in the nose (instead of the flu shot). She did great. No more shots until she is 5 years old.

Ellen Update

Ellen is into everything and everyone's business these days. And she is all about doing things by herself. Just a few days ago she was still asking for help a lot, but now she says "Ellen do it" and gets mad when we try to help. She hasn't been eating that great lately at meal time but is always up for a snack. This is a little frustrating but we just keep offering her a variety of healthy foods and let her eat some of what she likes as well (within reason). She's really into peanut butter crackers right now. Speaking of snacks, I have been munching on Fritos at work the past few days (leftover from a party we had) and I can't stop! I don't have a ton of food weaknesses, but I do like chips a little too much.

Ellen moved up to the 2 year old class at church this past Sunday. I think it went ok. She has been more clingy lately and us leaving her is starting to get a reaction. She cried 2 mornings last week when I dropped her off at school which is very unusual. It made me so sad! Thankfully no tears this week.

I need to video her singing the ABC's. Of course we think it is very cute. She is definitely a little singer and dancer. We especially love watching her dance!

We have really been working with Ellen on learning her colors. She isn't very consistent, but almost always knows orange and purple. It is funny because she guesses when she doesn't know and green is her usual guess. Sometimes white. Side note: when she colors with a white crayon on white paper she says "broken". Her favorite number is 14 :)

Play-doh, or play-dohs as Ellen says, is her new favorite thing. A lady at church recently asked me if Ellen liked play-doh and I was kind of at a loss for words. We had never played with it at home but only because I never wanted to deal with the mess! I didn't tell her that, but it did make me think about why we had never introduced her to this fun, cheap activity. So last weekend I bought her an activity bucket with 4 small containers of play-doh and a few animal shapes and it is all she wants to do now. One of her teachers also gave her some for her birthday. She doesn't try to eat it, it doesn't cause a lot of mess and she likes it... so it is all good.

The time has come to say goodbye to the pacifiers. Ellen doesn't know this yet, but soon she will be sleeping without her trusted companion. I am not sure how this is going to go, but I am hoping it will only take a few days or so for her to get used to the change. Do they make a patch for this?

Girls Weekend

This picture is dedicated to Phillip - I think he will really like this one

It was just me and my little girl from early Thursday morning until tonight. (Phillip should be home soon - he was in Salt Lake City for a friends wedding). And what do girls do? Play with streamers, create with play-doh and go to the park! We had a lot of fun and mostly spent time at home playing and acting silly.

She used to be intimidated but this tunnel but now climbs through like a champ!

Hi Daddy

Ellen saying hi to her Daddy. Phillip is in Utah and we sure do miss him!

Special Gift

Sign Mrs. Dyer made for Ellen - how thoughtful

Happy Birthday Ellen!

Clueless

Help! I need the combination to the Disney Vault pronto! I had no idea you couldn't just go out and buy whatever Disney movie you wanted. I know they release special/limited editions and I have heard about (and made fun of) the vault, but I didn't know all of the movies I would eventually want to buy for my children were locked away in it. I am deeply saddened by this discovery.