No matter what

"I love you no matter what. Nothing you can do will ever make me stop loving you." I have repeated that to Ellie almost daily since she was about 2. Now when I start to say it, she will finish it for me:

I love you..
No matter what!
Nothing you can do...
Will make you stop loving me!

The other day, Ellie was playing on the floor with Jack and I overheard her telling him that. It was too adorable. Just when I start to despair about her attitude and sass, she goes and does something like that and completely melts my heart.

Stages

Last night, I was driving home from Dianna’s house after enjoying a delicious dinner and being able to spend some time with my visiting grandpa and my oldest sister. I was in a bad mood because when it was time to leave, Ellie started arguing and crying. It progressed from there into a complete meltdown. So, I was trying to get her calmed down and into the car while also trying to chase down Jack who was running around yelling and beating his chest like a caveman. I turned to my oldest sister and sarcastically remarked, “Don’t you miss this stage?” Her three children are now teenagers – and not just your typical teenagers, she has like teenaged saints. Anyway, I wrangled all the kids into their carseats, all the while letting a sobbing Ellie know how disappointed I was in her behavior. After driving for about 10 minutes, I heard Jack whisper from the back seat, “Shhhh, Ellie sleeping.” I glance over my shoulder and there is Ellie, fast asleep, with her little hand clasped in Jack’s smaller one. And I thought to myself, “I love this stage.”

You've got the music in you

I've mentioned before how much Ellie loves music. We bought her a little MP3 player awhile ago and she loves to listen to it in the car. A couple weeks ago I glanced over my shoulder into the back seat and saw Ellie sharing an earbud with Jack. Both were bobbing their heads to the music, oblivious to everything around them. It was totally heartwarming. Now poor Ellie can't listen to her music without Jack demanding she give him an earbud so he can listen, too. This morning, Ellie told me that Jack's favorite song is Miley Cyrus's "The Climb." It seems like just yesterday he was obsessed with Elmo and now he is rocking out to Miley Cyrus?

Yee-haw!

It is rodeo season and once again all the schools are doing Western Day. Ellie's school kicked it up a notch this year by teaching the kids how to country dance and inviting the parents to come watch. Here is Ellie this morning before school:

Here is Ellie last year. Same skirt.

And here is Ellie the three years before that. We were really into denim back then.

Gotta love Texas!

Because he makes me laugh

Guess what was my favorite part of my Valentine's present from Tom? The card.

I started laughing as soon as I saw it and I laughed even harder when I read what he wrote.
It says, "I think this card sums up how much I love you while graphically depicting the passion we share for each other."