Dinosaur Dance

For those of you who don't know, "Pickle" is my sister's son, Nicholas (we call him Nickle Pickle and Ellie just calls him Pickle). It is safe to say that Ellie pretty much adores "Pickle" and loves to imitate him every chance she gets. Three things you need to know before watching the following video clip: 1)Nicholas LOVES dinosaurs. 2) He frequently performs his version of music accompanying a sexy woman walking into a room (no correlation to the dinosaurs). 3)Ellie imitates both of the aforementioned points but frequently shifts between them with little or no notice.

Memorial Day

Today is Memorial Day and I feel weird saying, "Happy Memorial Day" like it is the same as St. Patrick's Day or the Fourth of July or something. I hope everyone took a moment to say a prayer for those lost in service for our country and especially for the ones who still wait to return home. Moreover, Dan had to respond to a fatality collision today. A young man was intoxicated and crossed the center line, striking an older man on a motorcycle, killing him instantly. What scared me most was that my brother and his family traveled that same route and were stuck in the back up caused by the collision. A slight change in travel speed, departure time, etc. and it could have been his car instead of the motorcycle. Thank God it wasn't, but I feel awful for the poor family who had to receive such horrible news this afternoon. Please pray for the family if you think of it. SO...it's a Memorial Day with a lot of sadness but a lot of joy too. Tara spent the whole day with Ellie and me and we had the best time. I have started the long process of making my vision for Ellie's toddler room a reality (hopefully in time for her second birthday) and THANK GOODNESS FOR AUNTIE TARA! I had to spend a considerable amount of time at the fabric store today (yes, I am being creative and crafty...I know, miracles do happen) and if Tara wasn't there to entertain Ellie and offer her great advice, I don't know how I would have done it. In any case, we were very successful there and followed it up with lunch, a trip to the bookstore, playtime outside and a very yummy summer meal (garlic prawns, sauteed zucchini, and cantaloupe if you were wondering). Ellie was in a great mood and put on quite a show. I took video of her newest moment but it really doesn't do it justice. Ellie decided that she was going to go "bye bye" and packed herself up accordingly. Please note, she dressed herself and all of the accessories were her idea. There was no prompting here...this is her version of the "essentials." Could this perhaps be her interpretation of Mommy??????? :)

Little Cutie

Love this shirt!

At the Bouncy Place

Too cute Ellie

Finding money to put in bank

I love this picture

Who does she look like?

I found a rock! Wahoo!

Looking for more rocks

Mommy's little helper

Taking a break

Today is the 24th of May...Happy Anniversary to Andre and Mary and Happy Birthday to Elizabeth! I'm sure by the end of Memorial Day Weekend I will have new pictures to share but I wanted to add a few new ones from this last week that I didn't post earlier. Not many new stories to tell...Dan's parents had a great time on their trip to Europe. They brought Ellie back the Italia jersey and the red purse from Paris that you see in the pictures.

I feel like I am in the calm before the storm as my sister, my friend Erin, and Dan's cousin Tracy all are due to deliver babies soon. I can't wait!

As for Ellie, I'd like to say she is "growing like a weed" but alas, she is not. She is very petite and just pushing 23 pounds but her big personality makes up for it! She is SO bright! She speaks in clear sentences and observes EVERYTHING! It is such a joy to watch her; Dan and I just crack up at her antics. She loves to do somersaults, wiggle and dance while eating food she really likes (she gets this from Dan), tilt her chin up when she gives a big grin (she gets this from me), and chase Jaxie up and down the hallway. She says "Play-loh" for Play Dough, "Right Dare" for Right There, and "K-Patch" (this is my favorite one) for Ketchup. She assumes that every airplane is flying to Mexico and expects to see Pickle (Nicholas), Oh-Way-Uh (Olivia) and friend Gaby everyday. She has just started singing whole songs (Ring around the Rosie and Itsy Bitsy Spider) and dances the Dinosaur Dance ( we aren't sure if she learned this from Nick or the Wiggles but it is hysterical). My mom bought her a t-shirt that reads "Miss Independent." I couldn't have said it better. Everything is "Ellie do it" or "I do it"...and I mean EVERYTHING! Dan and I think this is God's sense of humor playing out because he and I gave our parents a run for their money with our own independent natures. I'm exhausted but happy that she is strong-spirited and confident. Overall, she is busy and bright and beautiful and we can't wait to see what each day brings. Love to all!

What a Day

I LOVED today! It was one of those days that just played like a nice song. Ellie and I slept in and watched cartoons. We then went to the zoo and met up with all our friends. Ellie saw a tiger, elephants, and peacocks. We ate a picnic lunch (by now it was noon and mid 70's). Then she napped and I started a new book (and a couple loads of laundry). She woke up and we spent the afternoon at our good friends' house (Steve and Jodi and daughter Sawyer...live two houses down from us). Ellie and Sawyer played with our dogs in the yard and splashed in the kiddie pool. Then we came home and played with our kiddie pool, watercolors, bubbles, and cooled off with lemonades at Ellie's new kids table (I should have taken a picture!). Macaroni and cheese, watermelon and corn for dinner (Ellie's choice today) and then Ellie went to bed. The evening ended with a BEAUTIFUL skyline and me watching Dan mow the lawn. I LOVE the smell and sound of a lawn mower cutting grass. And now I am here, typing to you. What a fulfilling and perfectly "summer-ish" day. :) The weekend promises a bar-b-que or two, a massage for me at Massage Envy, more yard/patio work as we begin to focus our attention on the back yard, and a few walks on the nearby interurban trail. Hope your weekend will be sunny and relaxing too! Love to all!

A Happy and Humble Mother's Day

Thank you for the cards!

Ellie makes Mommy a latte this morning

Mmmm...yum!

A beautiful but cold day



A clean sink (notice my new faucet!)

Even better...a clean kitchen...Hallelujah!

Our new tub and shower! Way to go Dan!

Ellie takes a long nap

Jaxie relaxing on the sofa

Mommy gets lots of snuggles

My poor baby!

Mommy clips coupons and Ellie steals a kiss

No fireworks here, but a great day nonetheless. I spent Mother's Day doing what else? Being a mommy, of course! Ellie has pneumonia and could barely get out of bed today. All she wanted was Mommy so we stayed home, cuddled, and read a lot of books. Hope you enjoy these pictures of our day!

Superman

Daddy's new car

A very proud sister

I wanna be like Daddy

Look at my beautiful daughter and handsome husband!

Ellie is in the driver's seat...isn't that fitting

The guys check out the car

Buckle up little lady!

Ellie steals the show playing peek-a-boo

Here are some pictures from Dan's award ceremony. It was so spectacular. They had an honor guard and all the brass was there. The speech was incredible and as soon as I figure out how to get the whole file uploaded, I will share the video with you. Tara and Ellie and I sat front and center and when they called Dan's name, he walked down the main aisle. Ellie got so excited and called out, "DADA! MY DADA!" It was so perfect. Everyone started oohing and ahhing at her and then she ran up on stage with him (this was not planned). She TOTALLY stole the show, playing with his badge and giving him love. The chief called me up to join them and the professional photographer got some great pictures so I will share those as soon as we receive them.

It was so humbling standing next to my husband. I know how great he is but when you see all those people there to honor him and hear the amazing words the captain said about him, it was very moving. He deserved every minute of the celebration.

He also brought his car in and it was on display for everyone to see. Seriously, if you want to see grown men cry, just show them a new car. I thought the car was pretty great but these men were literally salivating. Everyone wanted to shake his hand (especially the new troopers, it was so cute) and check out his car. The captain spoke with me personally and expressed his admiration for Dan and his hard work, family values, and positive attitude. He said it was really a remarkable thing to work with someone so devoted to both his family and his service who was at the same time ALWAYS positive. He told me that his fellow officers refer to him as "Superman." Again, I was SO proud (oh yeah, and after we schmoozed a bit, I helped convince the captain to add more lights to the back of Dan's car so he would be safer. He couldn't really argue with me...I was holding Ellie and she was making her cute little flirt face. :) )

Congratulations Dan! We love you and are SO proud of the father, husband, son, brother, and police officer that you are. Ellie will grow up to learn from you the values of hard work and community service. She will understand that she owes her community something rather than assuming entitlement to its privileges and will grow up to be a person of character, just like you. What an important lesson. Thank you.

Spokane Visit

Hi! We are home again. We had a great time in Spokane with the Ciabattari family. Ellie and Nick (or "Pickle" as Ellie likes to call him) are officially the best of friends. The two of them had a ridiculous amount of fun every day. Ellie would wake up and say, "Pickle!" and then run downstairs to wait for him to be dropped off at my parents house. They went to Cat Tails (twice) which is a big lion/tiger/panther/cougar refuge. THEY LOVED IT! The rest of the time they played at the Children's Museum, the mall play area, the Bouncy House, in Mema and Papa's huge play room, and at Sissy's house (Lisa). What a fun time.

Needless to say, Ellie has grown a lot. She is speaking in full sentences regularly now and even sings songs. She has outgrown all her shoes and pants from last month and her hair is getting so long! She loves to speak about location: "Elmo is on the table" and "Mommy in bed" and "Ellie cup in back room" and especially loves to answer "where is..." questions (she says "right there!" with a tone that suggests she is so frustrated with your incompetence). We just love her.

Oh yeah, and she draws circles now. She can identify the basic shapes but circle is the first she can create all by herself. Nana and Papa will be so proud since they have been practicing shapes with her for quite some time.

As for us, we have finished our bathroom...YIPPEE! We have a beautiful new tub/shower and new sink fixture. Dan repainted and I purchased new rugs. IT IS AWESOME! We just ran our first load of dishes in our new dishwasher tonight and I must say, it was magical. I think Dan almost cried he was so happy. :) Tomorrow we start on our back and side yards and I get my annual Mother's Day flowers for my pots on my patio. I will take pics of the final product when I can.

Dan was honored yesterday for being State Trooper of the year. I will say more about that in the next blog when I get the video and pics posted. It was quite the ceremony.

Love to all,

Ang