Ellie's new trick

Yesterday, Tom discovered that Ellie can climb into her highchair all by herself. Now, whenever we accidentally leave the kitchen doors open, she zooms into the kitchen and climbs up into her highchair in no time flat. Highly dangerous. I, of course, videotaped it.





Edit: I realize posting this video is tantamount to Michael Jackson holding baby Blanket over the balcony for the screaming masses to see, but I would like to make it clear that at no time during the making of this video was Ellie in danger (Tom was RIGHT there to catch her if she slipped)!

Tom and the zoo

While I was at work yesterday, Tom decided to take Ellie to the zoo. I had no idea he was planning on going and I was torn between being upset that I missed out and extremely impressed that he took on the challenge of taking Ellie to the zoo all by himself. He even remembered to pack the video camera AND the digital camera! Seriously impressive. He really has this stay-at-home dad thing down. Too bad he has to return to work in two weeks.

Signing Time, Part II

A new Signing Time was on this Sunday. It taught the signs for "book" and "reading." You can just imagine how proud my librarian heart was to see Ellie repeating the sign for reading. Tom thinks she is going to be a track star, but I know that she is also going to be a bookworm like her Mama! Um, there is also a slight chance that she might be a TV junkie like me, too.
Ellie's adorable little outfit? A gift from Tom's Aunt Patti. Thanks, Patti!

Daycare blues

Ellie is at her new daycare today. Tom had to go to a conference so we thought we would give the daycare a trial run. I have been really nervous about sending Ellie back to daycare since she has grown accustomed to being home all summer. A few weeks ago, Tom tried to put her in the childcare at 24 Hour Fitness while he worked out and they came and got him after 15 minutes because she wouldn't stop crying. So last night, like the neurotic that I am, I couldn't stop worrying about dropping her off today. Ellie was acting a little crazy as well. Normally, she goes to sleep very easily, but last night she was fighting it. Plus, she kept waking up during the night. It was as if she knew she was going to be abandoned at a strange place with unfamiliar, runny-nosed kids. Anyway, Tom dropped her off this morning and as soon as he put her down, she clung to his leg tighter than ever before and started rapidly stomping her little feet and screaming. They had to pry her off his leg so he could leave. 15 minutes later, they called to say she was calm and happily eating pancakes. We never had this problem last year because she was either with family or at the little daycare place that she has been attending since she was 4 months old. Ellie officially starts daycare on August 13th. I am going to be the one dropping her off each day. It breaks my heart to think of prying her off my leg and listening to her cry as I walk away from her.

Daddy

Ellie has finally started saying my name more frequently! Of course, she only does it in anger. She used to scream "Daddeeeeee" when she was upset or frustrated, but now it has been replaced with "Mama." Like this morning when I was changing her diaper? "Mama, no, mama, mama, NOOOO!" When Tom walks in the door, he gets "Hi, Daddy" in this very sweet voice. Me? I get the Mama No's. Eh, I'll take what I can get.

I just realized that I referred to my name as "Mama" in the first sentence. The old me just died a little bit more. Soon I will be wearing high waisted jeans and scrunchies. Also, I swore before I had kids that I would never refer to my husband as Daddy. I hated when people did that and thought it a little creepy. Guess what I now call Tom? And even sometimes when Ellie is not even around! So, my fellow mommybloggers, have you fallen down that slippery slope of calling your hot piece of man love "Daddy"? Fess up!

Moving on

I put in my notice at work this week. I have such a great job. I love being a Young Adult Librarian. I get to come up with fun programs every week. Like last week? Had a Harry Potter Movie Marathon. Today? We are watching Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and decorating our own jeans. Every other Friday, we play games like DDR and Guitar Hero II. Seriously, the library is such a fun place. Not to mention that I am surrounded by fabulous books! What more could a girl like me want? But it has been really hard for me as well. Everyday, I see a parade of moms entering the library with their children and my heart literally aches. I see cute little toddlers and all I can think about is Ellie and how much I miss her while I am at work. I want to be the one taking my kid to the library. So, this past year I went back to school again and got my teaching certificate. I will be teaching Reading and English at a high school close to home this fall. I am so excited to not have to work on Saturdays or not get home til 10pm on my late nights. I love that my new job is only a 10 minute drive instead of a 40 minute one. I can't wait til next summer when Tom, Ellie, and I will all be home together. So, while I am really sad to be leaving all my library friends, I am really, really looking forward to this next adventure.

15 months, a week ago

So, Ellie turned 15 months a week ago and we took her in for her shots. Her stats were as follows:

Weight: 23 lbs. 4 oz. - 50%
Height: 31 in. - 50-70%
FOC: 45 cm. - 25%

Those of you who know about my obsession with Ellie's head can appreciate how I freaked out about the 25% for the head measurement because oh my gosh my daughter's head is no longer growing and she is going to be one of those people with shrunken heads on normal sized bodies! Whatever, I'm over it now.

At 15 months, here are some of her likes: brushing her teeth, eating fresh fruit, making monkey noises, watching Signing Time, going down slides, petting the dogs, and playing with her shoes.

Her vocabulary is expanding every day. Of course, to understand most of her words, you would have to speak her language. What, didn't you know that "doll" = "ball" and "docks" = "socks"? Actually, just take any simple word and replace the first letter with a "d" sound and you can speak Ellie.

I am so loving this stage Ellie is in. Her personality is exploding and she is so much fun. I just wish that I could slow it all down, though, because she is growing too fast and I just need more time.

Harry Pottering

Oh, hello! Really not much to say about Ellie as I have been neglecting her terribly due to the whole Harry Potter book release. It all started Friday with an all day Harry Potter movie marathon that I put on for my teens at the library. Then, when I got home from work, Tom and I went to see the new HP movie. And as if that wasn't enough Harry Pottering for one day, I then went to the grocery store at midnight to pick up the book. And it has been all downhill ever since. Poor Ellie, she had to hang out on the ugly, linoleum floor with the dogs all weekend, clad only in a diaper.

I kid, I kid. I brought people over to entertain her as well (as if the devil-dogs aren't entertainment enough). My lil sis and her fam came over for dinner Saturday night. I dragged Ellie's little table into the kitchen so she and Kinleigh could dine like little big people.

Then on Sunday we had Tom's family over to celebrate his birthday which he is managing to stretch out for days on end. I declare Tom's birthday officially over.

29 reasons

In honor of his 29th birthday, 29 reasons why I love Tom:

1. He makes me laugh.

2. Sometimes, when I am mad at him, he will hop around like a gorilla pretending to pick bugs off me and eat them. I can never stay mad when he does that.

3. He is an amazing father.

4. And husband.

5. His butt.

6. He does the yard work.

7. I have the best conversations with him.

8. He actually likes to cuddle.

9. He eats my meals and pretends not to notice when the chicken is overcooked or the broccoli is too mushy.

10. His moral compass is better than mine.

11. He is fun to hang out with.

12. His impish grin.

13. What, I haven't reached 29 yet?

14. He doesn't complain too much when I nag.

15. He is spending his summer off watching Ellie (and doing an awesome job).

16. He always tells me he loves me.

17. He smells nice.

18. He is smart.

19. Did I mention his butt?

20. He has a twisted sense of humor.

21. He is very strong.

22. He knows me better than anyone.

23. And he still married me.

24. Sometimes, late at night when we are in bed, he will talk in this high pitched gremlin voice and scare the crap out of me.

25. When he dresses Ellie in the mornings he puts her in cute clothes that actually match.

26. He likes to talk about Ellie just as much as I do.

27. He still finds me sexy.

28. He puts the toilet seat down.

29. He is my best friend.

Toddler pool party

Ellie had a little pool party with her cousins (Kolby & Kinleigh) yesterday. They enjoyed stimulating conversation: And then they worked on their tans (some needed to work harder than others):
And, finally, enjoyed a delightful meal al fresco:

Want more pics? Here is adorable Kinleigh. Now look in the background. What's that baby doing up on the table? Where is that child's mother?
And, again, that neglected child standing on an unstable surface.:
And, finally, throwing herself down the slide headfirst:
Seriously, though? Ellie has no fear. At the park, she climbed up the narrow stairs to the top of a 7 foot slide and slid all the way down by herself. The kid is insane.

Twins

So, my little sis? The one I just visited in North Carolina? Yeah, well, they are in Texas now and we decided it would be sickeningly cute to dress them alike for church on Sunday. We attempted to do a photo session of them in their matching dresses, but the girls were not cooperating. First, Ellie insisted on taking out her bow. Then she insisted on taking out Kinleigh's bow. Something Kinleigh really didn't like because, unlike Ellie, Kinleigh actually likes to wear bows. So, Kinleigh was mad about the Ellie attacking her head thing and didn't want to smile. And Ellie was just interested in sticking her finger in her ear. I have a sneaking suspicion that Ellie might have ear infection #1,324.

Catching up on her Zzzzzz's

Ever since we got back from vacation, Ellie has been a super napper. I am talking minimum 3 hour naps every day! And then this morning? Ellie was asking to go down for a nap at 9:30! She slept for two hours and now at 2:30 is down for nap #2! She isn't acting sick, so I am thinking she is just recovering from the vacation? She looks taller to me all of a sudden, so maybe a growth spurt? Tom says not to question it, just enjoy the peace and quiet. Easy for him to say...I am at work and enjoying nothing.

We're back...and exhausted

Well, we made it back yesterday afternoon after driving 20 hours straight from North Carolina. It is really only a 16-18 hour drive, but when you are stopping at every single rest area to let your toddler run loose...it tends to take longer. But it was so worth it. We had such a great time. Just a few highlights from each place we stayed:

Raleigh, North Carolina

We stayed one night each way at my sister's house in North Carolina. Her little girl is only 8 months older than Ellie and the two of them played so well together. It was a lot of fun watching them. Plus, it is always fun hanging out with my little sis and her husband. North Carolina is so beautiful and my sister lives in this awesome house that is like something out of a storybook. On our return trip back, my BIL (Daniel) drove us around downtown Raleigh and we got to look at all the really cool historic mansions. I love old houses. Especially big ones.


Washington, D.C.

We shared a hotel room in D.C. with my sis, BIL, and niece. I loved walking around D.C. and checking out all the historical sites. Also, Washington D.C. has the friendliest squirrels! They were eating Ellie's Cheerios right out of our hands. Even Dianna fed them which I though was very brave of her considering she was once bit by a squirrel (that I had caught and made her carry). When we first drove into Washington, D.C., I got a little too excited and exclaimed to Tom, "Look, Tom! Famous buildings! Like in the movies!" It was a little crazy that night trying to get our girls down. We had them in pack-n-plays on opposite sides of the room and we adults went and sat in the hallway while waiting for them to fall asleep. We kept waiting and waiting. One would cry, then the other, then both, then silence, and then the crying again. People kept giving us strange looks for sitting on the floor in the hallway, but we were having a great time visiting. We kept cracking up over the smallest things. The girls never did fall asleep until we went back in there to cuddle with them on the beds.


Toms River, New Jersey

Our first night in New Jersey, we stayed at Tom's sister's beach house. The day was gray and chilly, but Ellie still LOVED the beach. That is until I lifted her by the hand and hurt her wrist. I felt so bad about it. We went to the board walk that afternoon and Tom won Ellie a stuffed lizard on his second try. Ellie loved it, but kept trying to run over it with her stroller. The rest of our time in New Jersey was spent at Tom's Aunt Patty's house. We got to stay in the in-laws quarters and make use of their pool. Aunt Maureen and Mike took us out on their boat. Ellie loved walking around on the boat and mooching drinks off everyone. All of Tom's New Jersey fam is so awesome. His aunts crack me up and they are so easy to talk to. We really got spoiled during our stay there. Tom's Aunt Patty actually kept Ellie overnight so Tom and I could go to NYC all by ourselves for the night.














New York, New York
Tom and I stayed in The New Yorker Hotel which is like this historical landmark, but let me just tell you...the place is a dive. It is under renovations right now, but our room hadn't been renovated yet and it was so tiny and cramped and antiquated. We couldn't help commenting on how the money we spent for that room would have gotten something much nicer anywhere other than NYC. But we still had a lot of fun and we were all tourist-y and did the double decker bus tours. I highly recommend those bus tours. You hear the most interesting stories on them. Plus, it was on those tours that I witnessed the guy getting hit by a cab and another guy being brutalized by undercover cops. We also did A LOT of walking. As in more walking than I have ever done in my entire life. I credit NYC for the fact that I only gained 5 pounds on this vacation even though I ate like a pig the entire time. I think my favorite New York experience was getting my very own library card at the New York Public Library (pictured on the left). I am just that dorky.



















*For more vacation pics, check out my Flickr photos in the banner above*

New York City

This entry is coming to you from the New York Public Library! What kind of librarian would I be if I didn't stop by to pay a visit to the stone lions? Also? I totally got a library card here. I will have lots of great pics and stories for when I get back, but here are just a few highlights:

-I saw someone get hit by a taxi cab yesterday! Seriously, not just a little bump either. It is insane how pedestrians just walk out in front of cars here.
-I also saw some undercover cops take down a guy. They were stomping on his head before they handcuffed him. New York's finest.
-I rode in my first taxicab and they really do drive insane! Tom and I just crossed our fingers and hoped for the best (and that we wouldn't hit any pedestrians because I doubt he would stop the meter for that and I would hate to have to pay even more).

Well, I have to go try some Gray's Papaya hot dogs!