Lilly, Ellen and Savannah (July 5th)
For the two weeks in June when it was just us versus Lilly we got a taste of what it will be like when Ellen goes off to college. Except hopefully Lilly will be over the terrible two's by then. She's got a bad case of it right now :) She is a little monster sometimes.
I do it!
I not!
No!
It's her way or the highway. But one thing that has always impressed me about Lilly is her willingness to share with Ellen even though Ellen does not willingly share with her. If we give Lilly two of something she almost always offers one to Ellen.
Lilly is...
Lively (the life of the party)
Enthusiastic (up for anything, always ready to go)
Chatterbox
Helpful
Snuggly
Inquisitive/Observant (What you doing Mommy? What you do Daddy?)
Competitive (especially with Ellen)
Smart as a whip!
She likes...
Riding bikes
Attention (Look at me! Look at me!)
Peppa Pig, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Bubble Guppies and the movie The Aristocats ("Cats")
Stuffed animals (but not quite on big sister's level). She especially likes the raccoon Nana and Grandpa got her from SciWorks (they took Ellen there this summer). Honorable mention: Woodstock, Care Bears (we have two) and a little blue bunny Ms. LaNelle gave her about a month ago.
"Back-hair" (what Lilly calls a regular ponytail-all her hair pulled back)
Soft tacos from Blue Coast Burrito (rice, beans, chicken, cheese, black olives and sour cream)
Singing
Wearing high heels around the house ("princess shoes")
Talking on the phone
Miscellaneous...
Lilly likes for us to kiss her boo-boos but she is very particular... you have to kiss the exact spot and if you don't get it the first time she makes you do it again.
At 2.5 (today, officially) Lilly is still very attached to her pacifiers. If she only used a pacifier at night I don't think it would be an issue... for me, at least. Phillip would rather her not have one at all at this age. But because she has a pacifier a lot more than just at bedtime, and if she doesn't have it she wants it and is most likely crying about it, they have turned into a nuisance. We have not been consistent in this area and therefore only have ourselves to blame. That being said, this is week we are going to start cracking down. Pray for us!
Lilly wears 3T and 4T clothing (depending on the brand), size 6 diapers and size 8 shoes (this can also vary). She has always been very solid but she seems to be transforming from toddler to little lady.
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Ellen likes...
Swimming!
Skating!
Helping with yard work
Fashion
Playing outside/riding bikes
Drawing/writing in her "diary" (a small notebook she got at Target)
Taking showers (when did this happen?)
Some mainstays...
Gymnastics (still going strong)
Hannah and Evie are her two best friends from school
She is still very much a homebody
If Ellen had one of those "I'd rather be..." bumper stickers hers would say watching Netflix
She has an innocence about her that I hold dear. She found a quarter on the playground at school and was calling it her lucky day. She finds joy in the little things.
I like watching and listening in on Ellen when she's playing around the house. Last week she was talking on the phone (for pretend) and I overheard her say "You know me, I don't go for that." She is very entertaining.
Miscellaneous...
Ellen has a very wiggly front tooth. She's been holding steady at 5* for a while now but it won't be long until she loses another tooth. *I was thinking she had only lost 4 teeth but Ellen is confident this will be number 6.
Only 3 more weeks of Summer SACC!
Ellen started showing an interest in ping pong a few months ago so when we found this travel set (and for the bargain price of $4.99) we knew it would perfect for playing on our coffee table. The girls love it! George is our ball boy :)
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Lilly and Ellen are always happy to see the candy man at church, aka Dave Sweeney. And tonight Lilly happened to get two pieces, one when he came by the nursery and the other as we were leaving. I know to them it's really all about the Starburst, or whatever the treat may be, but it's small gestures like this that I hope stay with my girls as they get older.
Both Ellen and Lilly are a bit on the bossy side (stubborn, too).
We have two semi-picky/inconsistent eaters but they both love fruit. We load up on bananas, grapes and berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries) at the grocery store (these are easy to pack in their lunches). We also like apples, peaches, pears, plums, cherries, oranges and cantaloupe but for some reason we don't buy these as much. Habit?
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"It's too hot!" - My initial thought regarding anything related to the great outdoors. And this will likely continue until mid-October. I really don't like summer.
Two recently viewed movies that I enjoyed... About Time and All is Lost. And as far as TV goes, I have been watching a lot of Food Network lately. What does this mean? Restaurant Impossible being one of my favorites.
Somehow we ended up with two junk drawers in our kitchen (and we don't have a lot of drawers). I didn't realize this until a few weeks ago when we were cleaning out the one I considered to be the junk drawer, as in the one and only. It was one of those while were at it we might as well clean out this other drawer we've never really used type of moments. So we now have another much needed utensil drawer and one for kitchen towels and washcloths. It feels good to be organized.
We have been saving for a trip to Disney World for the past 6 months. Our larger than expected tax refund helped get us started. (Having savings for anything is new for us. It's exciting!) The earliest we would be able to go is fall of 2015 but it may be 2016 before we can work it out. Just knowing this is a possibility is enough for me.
New (to me) music: PHOX - I heard about PHOX on NPR, like all good things, and decided it was worth checking out and then a day or two later purchasing. I really like their sound.
I haven't been sleeping well lately (and I need my sleep!) Phillip has always been somewhat of a night owl but I am a little less consistent when it comes to calling it a night. I'll go to bed early for a while, between 9:00 and 10:00, and then shift to staying up later, between 10:30 and 11:30 (I am rarely up past midnight). It can go either way once we finally get Lilly settled. Some nights I stay up late so I feel like I have a life but then I regret it the next morning when the alarm clock goes off. It's a hard balance.
Laurie got us into Costco with her membership yesterday afternoon. I had been looking for a way in! Small victory :) I am in the process of tossing out our old (and stained) food storage containers and wanted to try the Pyrex (glass) Snapware Sara Jo highly recommended. I picked up a set of plastic Snapware as well. (If you know me, you know this made me very happy.) Birthday money well spent! Now I just need to find a place for all of these containers...
I have learned that wearing a Cubs hat out in public is like wearing a red shirt to Target... everyone has questions.
Lucy hurt one of her back legs about a week and a half ago. Phillip thinks it happened when she was jumping on our bed (something she does very regularly). She still walks with a limp but has shown great improvement over the last few days.
Phillip is really liking his new job. His day is longer due to the commute but we are making it work. He still does drop-off in the mornings and I pick the girls up in the afternoons. He is usually home by 6:15. Phillip has gotten a lot of freebies over the last month, a sure sign he's in the right place. In addition to the occasional complimentary Chick-fil-A chicken biscuit and several free lunches, he's acquired two naviHealth t-shirts, a black messenger bag (for his laptop), coffee mug, Tervis cup and even an umbrella. He also gets one free can of soda a day. He's hoping to score a naviHealth zip up fleece vest that he's heard talk of around the office. I'll keep you posted. Just don't be surprised if the next present you get from us has a naviHealth logo on it.
Target clearance = Christmas shopping in July :)
