Birthdays, birthdays & more birthdays

Last night, the fam got together to celebrate Rosie's, Ale's, Aidyn's, and Andrea's birthdays. It was a lot of fun getting together for grilled hamburgers, hotdogs, and, of course, cake! Plus, my oldest brother Dave and his family recently moved to San Antonio from Hawaii so it was so great hanging out with them. One thing about having such a big family is that you are always celebrating somebody's birthday.

Tom, Ellie, and I are leaving tonight for the big road trip! I am so excited to be seeing my lil' sis in North Carolina and then Tom's fun family in New Jersey. I know that it is not wise to announce on the internet that you are going out of town and leaving your house unattended, but I doubt all five of my readers care. However, if there are any potential burglars out there, please feel free to help yourself to the dishwasher sitting in my garage. I swear it totally works, you just have to give the knob a nudge when it hits the drying cycle. Don't worry about my cop neighbor, he hates us anyway after our devil-dogs broke into his backyard and destroyed a bunch of his property. He might even help you load the dishwasher into your vehicle.

Happy 4th, y'all!

Dear Mommy

Remember how I was saying how Ellie likes to climb up on the computer chair and start typing? Well, I just received the following email from Tom:

Ellie typed you a letter on our computer. I've included the file.
Love you!

And this is what the attached Word document said:

Dear Mommy:

Lrrrrrrrrrrr vvrrrrm m mbmb mmmbm zv kkkk
d ch69rgvbvkbrkvkjfvkmgbl;fr’d;dkfbgykfky[]v
e-‘/

Love,
Ellie

Clearly, the kid is a genius.

Come and play

Ellie is into everything these days. She learned how to climb up on the computer chair and as soon as we make the mistake of leaving the door open, she is in there and pounding away on the keyboard. No big deal, except the chair is a rolling one and I just know she will hurt herself (kind of like those times where she went head first off the bed, the couch, and the Kohls' shopping cart).

She has also learned how to turn the computer and the TV on and off. She is really into Signing Time lately. We DVR it so we have like 15 episodes stored and she will go to the TV, turn the power on, and stand in front of it singing ("ahhhhhhhhh") and waving her little hands about (thinking she is signing) until we load the show for her. I find it ridiculously adorable when she does that. Not so adorable is the fact that I go around with the songs stuck in my head all freaking day. It's signing time with Alex and Leah, Come and play!

Urban cowgirl

My pal, Stephanie, invited Tom, Ellie, and I over for green tacos on Saturday night. Since she lives near Montrose, the plan was to walk over to the, um, parade after dinner. Of course, I had to dress Ellie in an outfit that I deemed parade-worthy. We never did actually go to the parade because it started too late for our little one. But I have a feeling that Ellie would not have been the only one wearing hot pink cowboy boots.

Pouting princess

I cannot get over how much like a "real kid" Ellie is turning into. Like the other day? She totally went and pouted in a corner. Kolby took a toy away from her and she did a mad yell and stormed over to the corner of the room and put her face against the wall. Then she would peek over her shoulder to make sure we were witnessing her distress. I was cracking up, but also wondering how she learned that? Because I myself am a big pouter, but I definitely don't go sticking my nose in the corner. Also, when we tell her no, she will often fold her arms and turn her head away from us (ok, that might have been picked up from me).

Of course, she isn't always pouting. Usually she is puttering around the house, jabbering away in whatever language she speaks, and bringing us random toys or books. She loves to climb up on the bed with us and push us over. Or scare us by saying "Boo!" and growling. I seriously have so much fun hanging out with her. Who knew that 14 month olds were such great playmates?

Oompa Loompa!

Aaaaahhhhh, devil-dogs!

dOur air conditioning is out because our dumb dogs chewed through a low-voltage wire that caused the transformer in the attic to go out. So, even though I pay $50 a month for a homeowners warranty (not to be confused with home insurance, which we also pay), they won't cover it because it was caused by the dogs. Seriously? A $300 bill is so not what we need right before our big trip. Especially since we also have to pay $500 to board the dogs for said trip because they are so crazy that no one can pet-sit them. [/rant]

So hot

Our air conditioning went out Sunday morning. No air conditioning in Texas is a very bad thing. First thing Monday morning, I was on the phone with the AC people. The soonest they could come out was Tuesday from 3-7. I tried using the baby thing to get them out sooner, but apparently they don't care if my baby's hair is sticking to her forehead in sweaty masses. So, last night we abandoned ship and went to stay at Daniel and Sabrina's house. Ellie was so happy to wake up in Kolby's playroom this morning. As much as I enjoyed hanging out with Dan and Sabs last night, I am really, really hoping that our air conditioning gets fixed today. And that it doesn't cost a million dollars.

adoro a papa

Ellie is so lucky to have Tom as a father. When we first got married, I was unsure of what type of father Tom would be. He hadn't had much experience with children and never seemed all that enamored of them. When my brothers would get down on the ground and roughhouse with my nieces, Tom would always sit back and watch from a safe distance. Since Ellie has come into our lives, I am constantly amazed by what a wonderful father Tom is to her. I went back to work when Ellie was 8 weeks old. Tom was off for the summer and thus spent the next three months being a full-time dad to a newborn. Ellie was not an easy baby, but Tom quickly learned how to meet her demands. I would come home after a long day at work to find Tom rocking her, or singing to her, or changing a nasty diaper. This summer, Tom has once again seamlessly slipped into the role of stay-at-home dad. And already, I can see Ellie blossoming from all the attention he lavishes on her. I know that Ellie will always have a special bond with her daddy and that makes me feel incredibly happy.

Nothin' but pics

First pigtails

Brushing her teeth
Show me your belly!
Still eating her shoes

Mucho Ellie time

I stayed home with Ellie the past two days because Tom had to go to Dallas for some coaching conference. I have LOVED being a SAHM. It rocks. Today, Ellie and I went over to Kolby's house to play. Sabrina is such an awesome mother. She juggles Kolby and baby Olivia like a pro (am now visualizing Sabrina literally juggling Kolby and Olivia - she is much too tiny to do that).

I forgot to pack a swimsuit for Ellie so she was all white-trash baby in a swim diaper. Her face was recently ravaged by mosquitoes. At one point, her left eye was partially swollen shut because of it. Stupid mosquitoes.

Thanks for all your suggestions about the long car ride. I like the idea about getting new (cheap!) toys for her for the trip. Also, I think DVDs and snacks are a must!

Animal lover

I really don't have much to say today. It sucks being at work all day while Tom gets to stay home with Ellie-belly. They have slipped into a nice routine of walks and trips to the park and naps and all sorts of good stuff.

Ellie has decided she loves cats. She got to pet the neighbor's cat on her walk yesterday and she could not stop saying "Cat!" over and over again. Then she would try to say "meow, meow" but it came out sounding like "bow bow." She is also obsessed with the devil-dogs. When I go get her out of her crib in the mornings, she always starts pointing to the kitchen and saying "Dog! Dog!" When I let them out of the kitchen, they knock her over with their tongue lickings and over-excitedness, but she does not seem to have any fear of our 90 pounds dogs.

In less than three weeks, we are taking a very, long roadtrip to New Jersey. If y'all have any tips on traveling long distances with a toddler, let me know!

Pool party!

Kolby invited Ellie over for a pool party. Ellie had only been swimming once before and she was too young to remember it. I was pretty excited to put Ellie in one of her three new swimsuits for the occasion. She also had her very first popsicle which she scarfed down in true Ellie fashion.

I am NOT pregnant!

In the past month, I have been asked 4 times if I was pregnant. I have taken to wearing those empire waist/baby doll type shirts that are so popular now because I liked how they hid the muffin top. Apparently, they don't hide so well. But, still, who asks someone if they are pregnant???

As an update to yesterday's random post...no, I did not use the ground turkey. I smelled it, but then I realized that I have never actually smelled fresh ground turkey so I wouldn't even know what bad ground meat smelled like. So then I tossed it in the garbage, but forgot to take the garbage out so I am sure my kitchen is smelling like daisies right about now.

Have a great weekend, y'all!

Question of the day

If I took ground turkey out of the freezer and put it into the fridge on Sunday night, how sick will we all get if I use it for tacos tonight?

Mardi Gras

I made the mistake of wearing a wraparound top to church on Sunday. Every time Ellie grabbed onto me, I ended up flashing the congregation. Yes, I flashed my breasts in church at least 7 times. I kept expecting the family in the pew behind me to start throwing beads in my direction.

Happy birthday, Grandpa Tom!

Yesterday we went to dinner at a Japanese sushi place to celebrate Tom's dad's birthday. As soon as I said the word "outside," Ellie was at the door and raring to go. She recently figured out the doorknobs open doors and she cannot wait until she is tall enough to work them (I myself am dreading the day. Did I ever tell you about the time I was babysitting and the child somehow escaped outdoors and locked himself in his father's truck? Naked?).

I am not a big fan of seafood/sushi, but the stuff I did try was actually good. Ellie was starving as always. While we were waiting for the food to arrive, she snagged my lemon from my water and started gnawing on it. I expected her to make a face and drop it, but she loved it! She got really mad at me when I took it from her because she was eating the peel. Anyway, she really is her father's child because she totally loved the sushi, too.

Things Ellie can do

This is going to be a 'things Ellie can do' post because this is my baby book and I need to do some documenting. Please excuse me.

• Now gives kisses on command. And they are no longer open mouthed, but begin close mouthed with the appropriate smacking noise
• Points to and says body parts (eyes, nose, toes)
• Points to on command, but does not say (mouth, ears, teeth, tongue)
• Imitates lots of things (like blowing air on face and "shhh"ing)
• Now is understanding us when we speak (freaked me out when I told her to get me a diaper and she actually did it)

Hmmm, she is doing lots more new things, but cannot think of them now. This new toddler-child of mine is constantly amazing me.

Off topic. Tom and I got new phones yesterday and today we downloaded ring tones. Without consulting each other, we both downloaded the exact same ring tone (guitar intro to Sweet Child O Mine). We have always maintained separate ring tones so we know whose phone is ringing. Now we are battling it out for who gets to keep the ring tone. I will win this one. Tom will just have to go back to Yellow Ledbetter.