Cuteness

Enough said!

Making Memories

I think Ellie may have loved her hot dog more than anyone else. She kept eating and eating and eating!

Last week, David got the idea to go and eat hotdogs outside. As we did it, I thought it would be one of those things that was a nicer idea in theory than in practice. It was a bit colder than we thought, and it was extremely windy, and, well, Ellie is 14 months old TODAY, so she is not all that proficient at eating a hotdog while sitting on a bench! However, we have the pictures and Joshua's enormous smiles in those pictures that prove that a little... or a lot of wind and awkwardness are worth it from time to time!

Christmas trees and the Christmas season

Why am I posting about Christmas in March? Well, that is kind of the point of this post. Joshua was really impacted by Christmas this year on many levels. I shared about how fun it was to tell him the story and watch his interest. Well, there were a few other things that really struck him during Christmas... I mean, the Christmas season. For example, Joshua asked about seeing Christmas lights for weeks after most people had taken them down. If you are familiar with our area, you might know that can find a green porch light here and there, and Joshua refers to those as Christmas lights. He continues to talk about the museum Christmas tree almost every time we enter the building. It was a large and impressive show, and it actually did remain in tact well into 2011. I wondered if it would ever come down, and I wonder if Joshua will continue to picture it until it reappears next winter.

It's funny how we work out our theology as we try to explain things. The reason I stressed the Christmas season is because we didn't want to imply that Christmas ever ends. We are always celebrating the birth and life of Jesus. So Joshua and I have the same conversation each time we go to the museum, only now he explains to me that the Christmas tree is not there any more because the Christmas season is over for this year.

Still another example of Joshua's intense interest in the more secular/cultural side of Christmas is the fact that he ALWAYS builds Christmas trees with his blocks. I really don't think he has ever told me that he is building a house or even a tower... just a Christmas tree. Today, he built a Christmas tree for Ellie. He gave it to her, and she promptly broke it into pieces.

Nostalgia

The obligatory family photo on the balcony of our Lebanon apartment. At least David looks nice!

Photo shoot of our new walker

Pink lil' bundle of joy!

Last night, the last day of February just around the corner, I was swarmed with memories of what was happening in our lives at this time last year. It is incredible how much can change in such a seemingly short amount of time!

• Joshua had barely started walking... now he runs everywhere, including up and down hills and steps without hesitation.
  
• Joshua had barely started talking! I remember the doctor's concern when she asked how many words he knew, and we kind of looked at each other, thinking... ummm... two?! Now our little chatterbox is trying to learn that he has to take breaks between sentences from time to time so Mommy and Daddy can have a conversation!
• Ellie weighed less than 10 pounds. We are currently waiting for her to hit the 20-pound mark so we can use her new carseat!
• Ellie hardly ever showed her eyes. She is still an AWESOME sleeper, but she is also quite the socialite. She loves to chatter as well, and she scoots around exploring every nook and cranny she can find.
• I was two weeks out of surgery, 6 weeks out from having a baby, and we were two weeks away from making our big move back. We were living in an empty apartment. Phew!
  
• David was preparing to put us all on a plane while he stayed behind to finish things in Lebanon. He still can't remember much about his last busy days there!
  
• David was about to begin the job search

It has been quite a year for us. I am so thankful for all of the support we have had from friends and family. We certainly miss our friends and life in Lebanon, but God has truly blessed our transition back to Waco.

Pushing Miss Ellie

Joshua loves pushing Ellie around in the car, and Ellie loves "driving," so it works out nicely. Ellie can drive herself backwards, and she also sits happily and tries to eat the horn from time to time. Yesterday, she got her shoulder stuck under the steering wheel somehow, and it made her very sad!

Tummy trauma

Ellie has had an upset stomach for over two weeks now. It finally got to the point where we called the doctor. The nurse said we should continue with the BRAT diet as we have been, but she also said to hold off on the milk for 24-36 hours. Umm, excuse me, but as David told her, that is kind of what she drinks! That's it! Maybe it is something about us and the way we do things, but both of our kids of stuck with milk for a very long time. We started giving them each water early on so they could have it and get used to it, but I guess water isn't all that exciting! So it has been just over 24 hours of straight Pedialyte for Elle Belle, and I must say she is doing well. Well, I mean, her tummy doesn't seem any better, but she is coping with the lack of milk well. She asks for milk constantly; wouldn't you know that we have to do this milk "fast" about 3 days after she learned to ask for milk?! The good thing is that she doesn't seem to bothered by the fact that I keep telling her she can't have milk until tomorrow. Pray that she is better soon!

Super signs!

Baby sign language seems to be all the rage. We didn't think too much of it until I got tired of hearing Joshua whine for things in his high chair. I probably posted something about it. I then learned that proponents of baby sign language say to start way earlier than you think the baby can understand because they comprehend more than we realize. Apparently you might see your baby's first signs as early as 6 months of age! Well, we still aren't major signers in our household, but if you have read any of my posts about Ellie and her preferred decibel level, you might guess that we have started to working on signing again. And, while some say to start early, I will argue that it is much more fun to wait until you feel desperate and then be amazed at how quickly they learn! It has only taken one or two tries to teach Ellie her most important and valuable words: eat, milk, more, cracker. "All done" is important to those of us who clean up after her, but she prefers to toss the food to the side or smear it around on her tray. Hey, I guess her methods yield fast results!