Mommy's away, Ellie is out to play!

So my mommy is up in Traverses City and my daddy is in the other room eating his guacamole and yelling at the TV because he can't watch the tiger's game. So I figured this would be the perfect time to sneak on here and just talk about my fun day with daddy! I helped him write a lot of captions on the photos of our afternoon together that is posted on FB! That took a while! You should check them out since there will be a all the photos seen here and many more! Anyways, back to today! It started early at 7am! He usually make mommy get up with me on the weekends, so I figured I better not let him sleep in much when it is his turn to get up! He made me a breakfast that was super yummy and then we got to play! He helped me stack blocks and knock them over, made animal sound for my squeezey toys and helped me pet Odie "gentle"! My favorite was daddy jungle gym! He would lift me up high, turn me upside down and let me crawl all over him! After my 2nd breakfast, or snack as some would say, he let me play daddy jungle gym again! I pushed my stroller around some too, but it wasn't as fun! Then a big lunch! I made a huge mess! Daddy gave me lots of food including some tasty veggies in a pasta sauce that mommy put together! It was so good! Daddy should have taken my white long sleeved shirt off first, or at least rolled up my sleeves! It just doesn't taste as good off a spoon so I had to pick it up from my tray! It is the only way to eat it! Oh, bread dipped in the sauce was good too! So 1/2 of the part of sleeve that cover my forearms turn a LOT orange...no biggie! I just dropped another present off for him so it was a good time to change me anyways! Daddy jungle gym really wore me out, so I took a great 2 hour nap!! It was wonderful! When I woke up daddy took Odie and me on a fun walk. He finally decided it was a good idea to take some pictures!! It didn't take long for us to spot a deer! It was cute and made me laugh!

It didn't want to stick around too long though. It was so much fun walking with Odie. He just kept walking next to me and stopping every 10 feet to lift his back leg. He must have had a cramp or something. He was a good boy though when we ran across another doggie! Usually he likes to whine so loud it hurts my ears and daddy has to keep pulling him back and attempt to calm him down. But this time he was able to walk up to the other doggie (who wasn't as cute as Odie) and say hello! The other doggie must not have liked him as much because he jumped at Odie and then its mommy and my daddy pulled them away from each other. So we just continued our journey to finish walking down the trail. Daddy didn't tell me we had to come back up it though! I was sad, even though I saw another deer! Then Odie and I took turns looking at the camera while daddy tried to take our picture, ha ha sucker!We ran into the same doggie again on the way back. Its mommy pulled him offto the side of the path when she saw us coming. Odie turned back into the bad doggie I know and kind of dislike! Why does he always have to sniff the other doggies and whine when he can't? Anyways, we got back up and then it was dinner time followed by my favorite thing! Play time agian! We did all kinds of things! I tried to get him to make the monkey sound some more! He tried to take our picture together as I tried to steal the camera! I rocked out with my keyboard that grandma and grandpa found that mommy and daddy left there! Then he started to make fun of my hair so I took off with my stroller! I don't need any of that! It made me hope my mommy was just hiding down stairs. :( But alas, she wasn't so back to pushing the stroller! :)

Eventually I got tired of that and figured I better pitch in an help! Well, actually Odie gave me the ideas since he was so kind to clean my hands up after dinner! So I took to cleaning the table, bakers rake, the floors and even Odie! Although he didn't like that much. :( So back to the stroller where I made my 3rd surprise of the day for daddy and he made me a bath! Ha ha!

I got the better deal there! I did have to get my ear plugs in for that...I don't like my ear plugs. :( I'm not sure what daddy did this time, but they weren't so bad! These things might not be so bad after all! :) The plugs didn't help my hair any though! I'm glad daddy eventually combed it! I started to get really sleepy after that though and rolling around on the ground messed my hair up again!

I didn't care much though because I saw daddy make me a bottle! MMMMMMM!!! Bottle!!! He made me run for it though! It so worth it in the end! They are so tasty! I was surprised he actually let me have it when I caught up to him. He usually just picks me up and then I have to set on his lap in the chair as he give me the bottle. I was so confuse though when I just got the bottle and he didn't pick me up! I didn't know what to do! I just walked over to the chair and waited to see what he would do!

I like that he rocks it as I drink my bottle and towers the end he'll hold it so I can get more sleepy! He eventually put the camera down and picked me! He could have been a little fast! Anyways, that brings me to were I am now! I just finished the bottle and he laid me down to sleep. I just waited a few minutes and hope out of my crib and I'm here on the computer now! I hope you guys enjoyed reading about my day! I know it is different from what my mommy writes most of the time, but I'm only 14 almost 15 months old so cut me some slack! :) Good night!

Way Back Wednesday

This video was wayyy back from a few whole weeks ago! Ellie was crawling all around, and still pretty much is. A few days ago she started walking, but now she's back to crawling where she can really move it move it...which she likes to.

First steps and other cuteness

Eating goldfish off the floor

Happy 14 months big girl! In the last month...

• Mom ate a lot of cake and her pants don't fit... ooops, this isn't about me
• Ellie says momma, dada, ut-oh, odie, baby, bye-bye, wow, boo, and rough-rough (dog barking)
• Ellie is down to one bottle, right before bed
• Play date with friends
• She LOVES seeing her mom more often - just ask her, she'll tell you
• Throws an occasional temper tantrum complete with trashing and pelvic tilts
• Still cautious about walking - needs to hold someones hand at all times
• Went on vacation with the Baileys - It was so much fun! We had a camp fire, went kayaking, relaxed, ate lots of yummy food, "broke all the rules," visited the beach, rode bikes, went out for ice cream, and called poison control when she ate a pill from under the bed
• Finally got her ear tubes after months of infection
• Loves shopping and touching all the hanging clothes. Sometimes will go through a rack all by herself
• Started sleeping in later - sometimes past 9!
• Points to her nose and mouth when asked
• Jumps on the bed
• Jumps on momma's bed
• Threw a birthday party for her grandma - Ellie picked the menu - lasagna, herb bread, Cesar salad, and yellow cake/chocolate frosting
• Likes playing upside down and other rough house adventures with daddio
• Plays peekabo around objects and enjoys being chased
• Likes pickles - but still pretty fussy with most food
• Loves the sponge bob theme song, but will only tolerate about 10 minutes of tv, no matter what it is.
• Likes to stack things - usually just two high
• Dance parties - loves the ABCs and I'm a little tea-pot
• Screams DADA quite often - her favorite go-to word. It is nice for those occasional middle of the night scream sessions
• Play with grampa's watch - gets sad when our watches don't perform the same way
• Stacking her food
• Feeding Odie
• Brushes her own hair, then brushes everything else (my hair, odie, her stuffed dog, the rug...)
• Laughing at... er... with her mom!

Here are a few pictures of the fun!Oh, found a goldfish on the floor - looks yummyHanging with my buds Playing with my hair brush First time in the big lake - I loved it, can't ya tell?With the family, and I'm looking at the camera!Top Model - Season 40

No more photos please

Way back Wednesday remix

In honor of midweek, hump-a-licious day, Wednesday... I shall title this way back Wednesday and try to catch up on some recent events. A lot has been going on with us lately, except in the blogging department. I've asked Scott to fill in here and there, but he keeps politely declining. In the meantime, I would like to rewind and recap our NC trip and and Ellie's birthday par-tay!

NC Trip: Happy trails with a 11-month old

The adventure begins on a lovely balmy Friday near the end of June. Both Scott and I were supposed to work a short day so we could pack up gobs of crap before picking Ellie up from daycare. I was delayed at work, but Scott got home at a decent hour. When he got home, he discovered water in our basement. Thankfully, we recently bought a shop vac, so cleanup wasn't as bad as it has been in the past. Last time this happened, we used our green machine, which has about a half gallon suction in addition to every towel in our house. Like last time, the water was coming from the air conditioner. Easy fix - maybe an hour of wasted time.

Traveling with a 11 month old goober is never easy and light, so we had a ton of stuff to pack up and I was trying to be methodical. I also wanted to make sure the stuff we needed for our overnight stay was easily accessible. This took a bit of time. I stayed at home and Scott went out to drop Odie off at the kennel and pick up a book on CD at the library and to run a few last minute errands. A little while later, I get a call from him saying that our car won't start at the library. Of course it won't. We haven't had any recent issues with the car and it would pick today to act up just to spite us! I pick him up from the library with our other car and we pick up Ellie from daycare.

We're still barely packed. Scott takes car #2 back to the library and messes around with the car. He's able to start it and drive it home. 5 minutes later, it dies in the driveway and we're unable to start it again. We resign to the thought that leaving that evening. We call the tow truck, order Jets for delivery, and spend the evening leisurely packing and catching up on some TV.

We call the the repair shop around noon and they still can't figure out what is wrong with the car. We're somewhat packed, but the bags are in the bedrooms and on top of the counter and table so that the curious little one can't get into everything. Later in the evening, everything is fixed and we're on the road by 6:30! Ellie does ok for for the first hour or so, but then expresses her displeasure for being in the car for so long. She cries for awhile and then falls asleep. She stays alseep for awhile, but wakes up everytime we stop for gas or a break. We continue the crying/waking pattern for awhile. Sometime between midnight and 1:00, we decide enough is enough and look for a hotel. We were in southern Ohio and I had no idea how long of a state ohio is. After a couple of stops, we found one with vacancy. Ellie did not want to go to bed and Scott held her for TWO HOURS while she cried cried cried and tried to fall asleep. Where was mom during this? Passed out in bed, I barely heard anything. Sorry daddy!

A few short hours later, we woked up to a screaming Ellie and hit the road as fast as we could. She settled down for the rest of the trip and it seemed to go by pretty fast. Maybe because I fell asleep again!

The rest of the trip was way better! Scott's side put us up in a really nice hotel suite and we spent lots of time relaxing, eating, drinking, and catching up.


We traveled with Scott's brother, sister in law, and two nephews. Quite a crew!

When the kids got too rowdy, Linda and I ran as fast as possible to the nearest mall while the boys watched the kids.


We had both wonderful home cooked meals and also went out to eat a few times. I've never been in the area and LOVED bojangles and chick-fil-a. We seriously need both in Michigan! We also went to Hopps, which was good, but maybe not quite as good as I thought it would be after years and years of Scott talking up the "greatest steak he's ever sunk his pearly whites into." The one thing I could have done without was the heat and humidity. It was unseasonably warm, but come on. Day after day over over 100 degrees. My sweetness was just a meltin away! I also loved their doggies Boopy and Rocky and seriously wanted to take Boopy home with me. I'm still plotting away to bring that sweet girl home where she belongs!



On the last full day, we ventured out to some nature place for the kids. Not sure what it was called. I could tell Ellie wasn't feeling well at all. I took her temp that evening and it was over 102. We gave her some drugs, and the next morning wasn't any better. Infact, it looked she had pink eye too. We packed up to go home and decided we'd better stop at an urgent care. Not knowing the area, we just happened to run across one on the main road. Nothing like a strip mall urgent care to provide excellent care. Anyway, she had another ear infection and they gave her an antibiotic and told us not to worry about the pink eye because it was probably from the ear infection and not real pink eye. (side note: Scott woke up with the same pink eye the next day so it really was pink eye. And our pediatrician said they prescribed her something that doesn't work for children. Awesome!). So after filling her prescription and getting me a much needed chick-fil-a, we hit the road.

Here she is giving her uncle Dan pink eye:


The ride home was far less traumatic that the way there. The first few hours were Baaaaaaad, but they were all mountain driving so that really hurt Ellie's ears. After we got through the mountains, she fell asleep. We were heading toward the never ending state of Ohio and decided to play it by ear (haaaaa! punny!) on whether we stopped for the evening. We ended up driving straight through. We had one of our biggest fights ever around Ann Arbor. Scott wouldn't let me drive, but I saw him falling asleep at the wheel. He denied it.... Anyway, we made it home by 3 am safe and sound because of my constant nagging and then slept VERY good. I never wanted to take another road trip again, but since then, we've made a full recovery!

Way Back Wednesday Part 2

Ellie's Birthday from way back. The lazy blogging catchup continues below.

We celebrated Ellie's first birthday with family and friends on July 18. It was fun, but I think I went a little overboard. I set the stage to my own destruction by ordering custom invitations. They were absolutely adorable (just like our peanut) though!
They looked like this and maybe I'll get around to scanning Ellies actual invite someday:
We had lots of pink! Pink cups, plates, tablecloths, napkins, forks, spoons, knives, balloons, banners, yard signs! We placed the silverware in cute little green buckets. I was impressed with my skilz!

We also ordered way too many balloons. It took 45 minutes to untangle them once we got home.
I think they were worth it and they jazzed the place up a bit.



We had about 35 guests (including lots of adorable baybies) over to our small home for a full lunch.

We grilled hotdogs (beef, no nitrate yum yums) and burgers. I also made veggie pizza, chips (does one make chips?), potato salad, and watermelon. My mom made the cream cheese jello to help me out - thanks Mom!

We ordered cake from Noel's bakery in Jamestown which is where we got our wedding cake from.
It was massive and I regretted making additional cupcakes incase we ran out of the other cake. She enjoyed her banana cupcake and approached it with a hands-free attack.



Ellie scored lots of loot. Toys for now, clothes, toys for later, clothes for when she's 16... Well maybe not that, but lots and lots of clothes.

We were so grateful that everyone could come celebrate with us!

Already August

Time is going by so fast! I owe two posts catch-up posts (NC trip and family birthday party) but for now we'll stick to the present.

Ooooh, wait. One other quick catch up. At Ellie's 12 month appointment, she was 29 3/4" and 21.6 lbs. This put her in the 56% for height and 60% for weight. They MUST have been off on the height. No child of mine is that short!!!

Ellie took two steps today! It was pretty exciting. She still isn't showing a whole lot of interest in walking, but she is standing for longer and longer increments and cruising at a very fast pace.

Other cute Ellie moments include, but are not limited to:

• Ramming her shopping cart into Odie - and laughing hysterically
• Answering her play phone "hewwwooo gaaaama" (maybe hello grandma?)
• Lots of blowing kisses and waving at people
• Dancing all over the place
• Fake laughing
• Riding forward facing in the car seat - lots of laughing and dancing going on, better concentrate while driving moma!
• So much animated pointing and gasping - I can't get enough of it

We also had a little separation anxiety issue for a few weeks, but it seems to be getting better. Not sure if it related to how she's been feeling...

Ellie has an appointment this week with the ENT specialist. She's basically had an infection since May that won't go away, so this is the next step. With all the pain and antibiotics, she's been a pretty good trooper. She has her moments, but overall, she's been very happy. She's even had a round of stomach flu a few weeks ago. I proudly blocked her first pukie round with my lap and legs. Didn't get a drop on the floor! Oh yea!!! I was able to get her to the sink for the rest of the sessions. I felt soooo bad for her, that was a really rough day. Thankfully Scott and myself didn't get it, but we've had our fair share of colds compliments of the daycare germ incubator.

With all the hardship, there is one thing that really cheers her up. She's had quite a few well deserved rounds!