12 weeks!

Because I adore the way she says 'hello'...

...and a 1:30 of silliness.

Goats.

(You can practically FEEL daddy get so nervous he has to pick her up - hahahaha!)

Pumpkin Patch!

Why do I always take approx. 1000 photos of E at the pumpkin patch!? It's so darn adorable, I can hardly stand it! It was so fun this year watching her run around - the petting zoo is her jam - she ADORES being right in the mix. We may have a future vet on our hands! :)
It was hot, but we survived and had a ball. Enjoy my billion photos below.

8th Anniversary

Brad and I celebrated our 8th anniversary on the 18th. It's so crazy to think that this life we're creating is already 8 years in the making! So much has happened and changed in those 8 years, but I know for sure that there is no one I'd rather be going through this crazy roller coaster of life with. He is my partner in every sense of the word, my love, and my best friend. He's an amazing dad and husband, and we are lucky, lucky girls!
He surprised me with a date night the Saturday before to paint pottery (the official 8th anniversary gift is pottery - he's beyond thoughtful)! It was such a fun change of pace, and we enjoyed a lovely low key dinner after.
We spent our actual anniversary with the best thing to come from our marriage with a long family walk, some park time, carryout and an early bedtime.
Love this life we're leading.

CHOP!

Mama needed a refresh, so I chopped 7 inches and feel like a new woman!

Vacuuming with Daddy

Ellie has a push toy that awhile back she determined was a vacuum. So whenever B or I use the swiffer, she follows right behind using her vacuum. It's adorable and I had to catch it on video. My favorite part is how she even moves chairs around just like we do! She's an amazing little mimic - I love it!

10 weeks!

One of those days...

The day started out great but took a major downward spiral after Ellie got up from her. Al. Brad had a work event so still isn't home (and won't be until after bedtime), the cable person was scheduled to come but never called to let me know he was coming sonPenny freaked out so Ellie freaked out and wanted only to be held. He of course found all kinds of things hat need to be fixed so had to reschedule for Wednesday. The whole time he was here penny was a disaster,  fully prepared to take is leg off so I was juggling moving penny from room to room with my feet while holding Ellie. My back hurts and I'm frustrated.

Then Ellie decided she didn't need to eat her dinner. Like, any of it. Which she NEVER does. No spaghetti, no string cheese, no grapes. I have her a yogurt which she ate 80% of and then proceeded to smear all over the table and the rest of her dinner. I was DONE.
So Ellie got down and I sat and ate and she played by herself for awhile.

Then while I was deep breathing and shoveling food in my face, I heard her say to her bear, "I'll keep you safe, Bear, because I love you soooooo much".
And suddenly my heart melted and I realized maybe this day isn't going so badly after all.

All you need to know about Ellie in one picture

There was a post awhile back that talked about being all you'd need to know to understand who Ellie is. Here's the next in that series, this time in photo form. Last night when setting up her tea party for us, she set a tea cup and saucer next to Penny while she was eating her dinner so she could enjoy tea, too. It was complete with a "here you go, sister! please enjoy some tea!". That's my Ellie.

Sunset chats with daddy

her new fave snack

Raisins. Ick.
I figured they're good for her and easy to transport, so when I saw them at the store the other day, I said 'why not?'. She loves them, which makes me want to barf, but no reason for her to know that :)

Donut Date with Mom

We had some random things to do the other morning, and since our normal routine was already shot, we decided a donut date was the perfect way to start our day.
Ellie chose the "orange one!", made friends with fellow donut lovers, and even met a 6 pound yorkie named Zeus who she got to feed a donut treat to (yes, his owners buy him his own plain cake donut - he's 14!).
I love these impromptu moments with her.

Our preferred mode of grocery store transportation

Heaven help us when it's taken...there's only one!

22 months!

22 whole months old - 2 months from TWO! I've heard more than one mom say it - we're in the golden phase. She is aware of everything, so much fun, and is still removed from the true tantrum terrors (although we have experienced a few and boy we are in for a treat when they become more frequent. Yikes).
The two most common comments we get based on looks alone are "her skin is so beautiful!" and "those eyes and that hair!", and after meeting her is "how old is she?! wow, her talking is amazing!". There's no more explaining how she communicates or which words she knows, she's a full on chatterbox, telling stories, singing every song she knows, using words that blow me away like "instead" and "also" in perfect context.
She is friendly but stays pretty close to mama in a new situation, loves to "make friends" by asking kids what their name is, and wants to hold hands with all her favorite people. She is thoughtful and kind, and polite beyond belief which melts my mama heart every single time she utters a "please" or a "thank you, mama" without prompting (which is now probably 75% of the time). She has a personality to die for and makes me laugh and smile all day long.
Our days aren't without their trials - with growth comes needed independence and sometimes it's a struggle. But watching her figure out her pants, or her shoes is amazing. We've had a couple of tantrums that were INTENSE, and just leave me shaking my head, but more often than not, she's just...happy.
She's simply the best, and I could never in a million years have imagined having a daughter as incredible as she is.

Ellie and Poppi strike again

A visit from the Greats

We had a special weekend last weekend when Great Gram and Great Grandpa flew in to PHX to visit us! There were lots of snuggles, stories read, tea parties attended, and bedtime songs sung, and it was pretty special. Particularly moving was Ellie wanting to climb up and sit next to Great Grandpa every time he went out on the patio - she would climb up, cover them both up with a towel, and then just sit and chat - and Great Gram singing the bedtime song "I See the Moon" to Ellie, which is the song I grew up hearing her sing to me. I am so bummed I didn't think to catch it on video, so next time it's a must!

And the zoo carousel

These pics are too good, I had to give them their own post. Ellie is obsessed with carousels at the moment, and there's no stopping her from riding when we see one. At the end of the ride, she noticed her reflection in the mirror in the center of the carousel and was absolutely TICKLED. I am obsessed with the photo I snapped of her in all her tickled glory. I mean, just LOOK at that face!

Zoo fun!

Last week, we hit up the zoo with Colleen and Olivia to attend a toddler "class" on horses! They got to play in the "barn" for awhile with all kinds of horse related activities - coloring, playing vet, raking leaves, reading books, molding a horseshoe - and then got to meet, brush and pet a real horse named Strawberry. Ellie is very fond of horses these days, so this was a perfect outing. We also enjoyed meeting the resident donkey, Pedro, who according to the zoo staff is the friendliest of all the barn animals. He sure showed it! A fun change of pace for a Friday morning.