What's New

My little monster

Ellie loves to play house.

Yes mom, I know. I will cut the tag off the doll. I didn't even notice it until now. I'm getting the scissors.

Chocolate! Yummy!

What's new?

Ellie is now saying four word sentences with regularity. "Jaxie, I found it (ball)" and "Lovey, where are you?"and "Uh oh Mama, Ellie mess." Ok, so that last one is missing a word or two but still...I'm impressed. :)

I have officially started "Full Swing Spring"... in other words, cleaning, organizing, selling, planning, working, gutting, etc. I have several projects on my ever-growing list and have decided that I am going to complete all of them. :) We will see. Currently, I am making small changes to make our living a bit more "green" and earth friendly. Soon, I hope to overhaul our laundry room and make some significant changes to the outside/landscape of our home.

Here are some recent pics of her playing in her room, eating chocolate pudding in her new booster seat, morning breakfast (check out the hair) and wearing her new bath towel (I was still using her infant ones that barely covered half of her). As you can see, her hair is growing a lot and when not in pig tails, it is very comical. The table in her room is temporary. We are shopping for a PB one with chairs but she won't get it until her second birthday. We are going to give her a new toddler room then so things are sort of in transition now. Anyway, enjoy!

What a Guy!

Way to go Dan! We just found out today that not only did Dan win Trooper of the Year for his district, he is THE TROOPER OF THE YEAR FOR THE ENTIRE STATE OF WASHINGTON!!!!!! This is the highest honor a trooper can earn and I am so proud of him. This is extra special since he is one of only a few King County troopers to ever get the award (this has something to do with the busyness of the area and time constraints on self initiated contacts or something) and because his tenure worked against him (only 6 years with the patrol versus someone with 10 or 20). He told me not to make a big deal about it or send an email to family so I won't. I will just mention it here on this tiny little blog that may or may not be viewed by our friends/family. :) Congratulations Dan! I am so proud of you!

Oh yeah, and Ellie wanted me to mention that she loves her daddy too. She is so proud of him and she wants to be just like him. She wears his hat...

...she tries to match him in push-ups...

and she is always very upset when he has to leave for work (Please note: I do dress my child and do her hair neatly. However, by this point in the evening, I take no responsibility for her appearance).

Ellie's First Concert

For those of you who wish to know,

Ellie went to The Wiggles show!

She had lots of fun singing along;

even her Daddy sang a song.

But poor little darling,

she has more teeth coming in,

so she sucked on her fingers

until she drooled down her chin.

The pain in her gums

kept her smiles at bay,
but soon in the car

she had so much to say!

She remembered the "weegles"

and Wags the Dog too,
and giggled and wiggled

the whole car ride through.

The cost of the tickets
I could lament,
but for the memories and smiles
it was worth every cent.

Family Pictures

My sister sent me her pictures from Mexico so I have included my favorites, but there is a slide show of all her pictures to the right. Love to all!

This weekend we spent lots of time with the McDonald family at Dan's cousin's baby shower. Ellie had a great time dancing with a feather boa, I got to drink my favorite red wine and Dan did some golfing (no questions about his score...he won't tell). We were able to get some great pictures of the day and actually got a decent picture of just Dan and me!

Spending Time at Home

Waiting for Daddy

Favorite big girl cup

Jaxie is always in on the fun.

Ellie makes faces in the mirror
(while wearing a fairy costume and playing with wooden eggs, of course!)

Ellie falls asleep while Mommy makes a phone call.

Bubbles. The panacea for all toddler troubles.

Ooh! I LOVE that little face!

Ok Sandy. Here are more pics of Ellie. I know you've been waiting. :)

Mexico Memories

Lisa, me, Mom, and Ellie

Ellie sits with her daddy on the plane

This photo is taken from our breakfast table...poolside of course.

The McD 3

Nick (2 1/2 years); Ellie (18 months); Olivia (3 years)

Mommy stops to get a kiss from Ellie

Sunset. Amazing.

Here are a few pics from our recent vacation in Mexico. Most of you read my email about our trip so you know we had a great time. The weather was beautiful, Ellie adapted to each new experience very well, and I bought lots of fun jewelry. :) Overall, it was a needed and welcome break and we are definitely planning another vacation soon.

Back at the home front, we are back to our routines. Dan started night shift this week, Ellie is into everything, and I have kept busy getting ready for a baby shower and managing the day to day stuff. We just bought tickets to the Wiggles concert (God help us) because Ellie LOVES to dance to their songs and I just registered her for an Easter egg hunt here in Milton next weekend. This will be her first egg hunt so we are all a bit excited. I'll be sure to take pictures of her in her cute little Easter dress!

A Letter From Ellie

Dear Family and Friends, This is a video clip of me typing a letter to my very best friend: my dog Jaxie. Thanks for watching. Love, Ellie