Just one of those days

Today has just been one of those days when you just want to look up and say "Really?". It started out just fine. Ellie woke up a little early but sat quietly on our bed and looked at books for about 30 minutes so I could be lazy. We headed downstairs for some "mi mou" (Mickey Mouse) before eating breakfast.  Ellie decided she wanted Corn Chex instead of Fruit Loops in her cereal bowl. After eating, I was sitting on the couch and must have dozed off because the next thing I know, Jake is telling Ellie to stop that and leave it alone. When I asked what, he said she had pulled like 5-6 wipes out of the container.  (She likes to wipe her face off then wipe anyone else's face before trying to wipe down the couches, chairs, tables, etc and then throwing them away.) Apparently since Jake caught her, she just went straight to the garbage with them. So I head over to check it out. There were close to 30 unused wipes sitting at the bottom of the new garbage bag.

Ellie has been trying to potty train herself for a while now. Every few days over the past couple of weeks, she would grab herself and talk like she was worried about messing her diaper but that has been about it. Within the last week or so, she will actually walk into the bathroom and pat the toilet seat like she wanted to sit down. Of course, by the time we are in the bathroom, she has already peed in the diaper. I decided to let her sit on the toilet to see if it helped her understand. The first time I sat her on the toilet, she screamed. The next time she was on and off in less than 2 seconds. Yesterday she sat on the toilet 3 times after peeing in her diaper but she would sit for 5-10 seconds.

This morning as we were jumping in the shower, I asked if she wanted to sit on the toilet and try to pee. So she sits down but I wasn't expecting much when I hear little splashes. Ellie starts to smile one of her biggest smiles at me. I couldn't believe it. She actually peed in the toilet at 19 months! I started to think maybe we should try to find a potty chair and buy some pull ups so she can work on it more. Then after the shower before a diaper is put on, she peed on the floor. Really?

Always and forever

I thought it was about time for some random thoughts I have had lately.  This first one came about because several of the shows I watch had weddings in them. The part that I found interesting was that in all 3 of the shows, one or both people in the relationship (whether talking before the marriage or during their vows) mentioned wanting to be with the other person forever.

It was then I realized that staying with someone forever is a fairy tale idea, one that a lot of people want but one more and more people aren't willing to work at. Then next thing I thought was how sad it was these people talked about wanting to be together forever but as part of marriage ceremonies, the officiator says the words "til death do you part." Once one of them dies, they will no longer be together.

It made me extremely grateful that I was married in a Temple of the Lord and sealed by Priesthood authority for time and all eternity, giving Jake and I the opportunity to be together forever if we strive to live the commandments. It also made me realize that this takes a lot of work by both parties involved because marriage is about bring 2 lives together, not giving one life for the other.

It also made me think why when people start relationships they can't/don't want to be apart and love the idea of forever but then as struggles and challenges come up they don't work to stay together. Many people now just give up and get divorced. I have found that challenges are easier when worked on in groups, even personal challenges seem lighter when the spouse is actively involved. There are plenty of days I think that being married for 5 years has been way too long, but there are other times when forever won't be long enough. I just need to do my part to make sure that when I feel like 5 years is too long, I act and treat Jake like forever isn't long enough.

Crazy baby

I don't know what has been up with Ellie lately but she has started doing the funniest things. I find myself laughing quite a bit. I am trying to write down a few of them but I have forgotten a bunch.

The other day while I was in the kitchen, I had just dried my hands on a towel. I think I was putting away dishes or cooking but out of the corner of my eye, one of the dish towels that hangs on the oven door disappears. Next thing I hear is "bbboooo, bbbboooo." I look down to see Ellie wearing the towel over her face.


Another time, I was fixing my hair in our bathroom. Ellie normally just runs around and plays with whatever she can find. I could see her in the mirror on the other side of the room. I go back to my hair when I hear her run up behind me. I then hear "tchoo, tchoo" (like when kids pretend to shot something) and feel this sharp point stab the back of my leg. I look down and Ellie somehow found a toothpick in our bedroom and had stabbed me with it. 

Right now she is really into the show Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on Disney. She tries to say Mickey Mouse but it sounds a lot like "mi ma". She always asks to watch the show and now has started putting on her Minnie or Mickey ears. Mickey and Minnie sound the same.

Ellie as mi ma.

 We bought the large buckets from home depot for food storage but before the food was placed in them Ellie thought they were her toys. Don't ask how she was able to do this unassisted because I don't know. I heard the bucket moving, it was quiet for a bit and then I look down to this.

We had just finished eating dinner. Ellie told us she was done and was let out of her chair. Jake's chair wasn't tucked in so she climbed up. And seriously, who can't resist biting pizza crust.


She took 3 bites out of the crust without using hands.

We received a recall notice for our 4Runner so we took it in to have them fix the floor mat and gas pedal, free of charge. They had this cute kids area and Ellie wanted to play with the blocks. If you listen carefully she says, "Oh no. It broke."

She has also started walking crazy like and shaking her head at the same time. This she has only really done while we are at a store shopping. Most people just laugh hysterically as we walk by.

I love this little girl. 

18 month check up

Ellie went in for her 18 month check up last week. That was a completely new experience for both of us. The doctor's office is in a medical center and because Ellie is a new patient, we had a whole bunch of forms to fill out and questionnaires to answer so they could assess her progress. She seemed to be just fine as we sat in the waiting area. There were crayons and papers to color on.  Just as we were called back, Ellie decided to clean up every single crayon she could find which I guess is a good thing.

The nurse's name is Bonnie, which happens to be the same as one of Ellie's great grandmas. She is very nice and Ellie waved to her. Then we entered the exam room and Ellie transformed into angry baby. She screamed any time the nurse came near her even if I was holding her. Who knows how accurate the measurements are? They reported that head size as 19" (89th percentile) and weight as 23.9lbs (40th percentile). We never were able to measure her height and the weight measurement was both of us minus my weight. Fun for me!

When the doctor came in, she really reminded me of a mix between our old pediatrician and her nurse. Still Ellie wanted nothing to do with her. She again screamed, cried, and buried herself into my shoulder, when I allowed it, rather than look at the doctor. She wouldn't even let the doc see the family pictures we carry around for Ellie.

Then came the fun part, shots. Ellie needed 3 immunizations so I had to lay her on the table, grab her hands to keep them from flailing, and lay on Ellie's upper body to hold her down. This so the nurse could hold her legs and give the shots. I have never felt like such a terrible person before but at the same time realizing it is hopefully for the best. Gratefully Ellie has forgiven me, especially since I stopped off at Chick-a-fila on the way home to buy her chicken nuggets for lunch. Although they were cold and had to be reheated for her to eat since she feel asleep 3 minutes into the car ride and slept for almost 4 hours. She was really tired.

I just hope the next appointment doesn't go the same way.

Watterson Dinner

As some of you may not know, Jake has family here in Colorado. Steve, Jake's dad, has a cousin who lives here along with most of his family. Jake has been talking with them lately and since they were having a family dinner, they invited us out. I was excited to go meet them. This is the same family that is in charge of this year's Watterson family reunion, which will take place in Granby, CO next month.

We went to Russ Watterson's house, north of Denver. It is an extremely nice house and vaguely reminded both Jake and I of my uncle Russ's summer home near St. George. Ellie had so much fun playing because there were kids, swings, a trampoline, and volleyball dirt.

We ate a delicious Mexican dinner with fresh guac, tacos, chips and salsa, etc. They wouldn't give us a food assignment so we decided to make rainbow jello, a recipe that my mom gave me and Jake's family loves. When we arrived with the jello, they all kind of laughed and said that it had been a while since they had eaten rainbow jello since their grandma used to make it. That was a little weird that one part of the Watterson family knew of rainbow jello but another didn't.

After dinner, Russ turned on the water for the "river" in the backyard. All the kids enjoyed this cold, refreshing playtime. Ellie was a little hesitant at first and only put her toes in. She played around the yard for a bit and then went back to the water. This time she didn't get out until her lips were purple and she was shaking.

This water is a little chilly when, especially with no clothes on.



Ellie and Jack (aka Jack, Jack) playing together.

It was great to meet and hang out with extended family. I can't wait for the reunion now. Thanks to Russ and his family for having us over.

P.S. Why is it that diapers seem to hold so much more water than pee? Ellie's diaper was overflowing from being in the river but it wasn't dripping and I have had less full diapers leak onto her clothes.

Children's Museum Free Day

Denver's Children's Museum and Target have partnered together and because of this partnership, the museum offers free days the first Tuesday of every month.  Since Jake wasn't able to come with us last time and it was his reading week (in prep for finals), we went for a bit.

Ellie was just as excited this time as she was when my mom was here.  She wanted to show daddy everything, especially the trains.

Train Conductor Ellie here to knock the train over and break the track.

 We spent some time playing in the animal area again. Ellie needed a little persuasion to go down the stairs the first time, but I think it's because there were probably 3x the people/kids there this time compared to last.

 Because there were so many kids, I wasn't able to dress her up in those cute costumes again.

We had a lot of fun in the bubble room.

Help. Daddy trapped me in a bubble.

I geeit. I geeit.

Pop!

 We tried to stand in the bubble enclosure but there was this rude little kid, around 8 or 9 years old, whose mother hadn't taught him to share hogging it.  He played and held the rope for close to 5 minutes while we were waiting and around 10 minutes before we started waiting. He had to stay inside the enclosure and wouldn't let the other kids touch the rope to pull the bubble up around them. His mother just sat nearby watching all the other people standing, waiting for their turns and she would just giggle like he was simply being cute.

We also went shopping. Ellie loves shopping.

Momma, money?

 They had done a little rearranging with the activity centers since our last visit. The market was between the invention center and the animal area. Where the market had been was now an animal care center. Kids to dress up and pretend to be vets, assistants, groomers, etc. There were checklists and supplies all over the place.

Ellie picking out her victim, I mean, her patient.

 She chose to be a groomer.

Aahh. Isn't that sweet?

Brush, brush, brush.

Watch out family in Utah with pets. She is fully ready to be your pets groomer. I just know Bella and Baxter (Calee and Devin's dogs), Sophie (G-ma Wendy's dog), Reagan (Stef's cat), Tippy Coconut (Maddie's cat), and all the animals at G-ma and G-pa Wattersons are going to love having a new groomer.

Seriously, who wouldn't want a cute pet groomer like this.

BWAHAHA!

We had lots of fun and were glad that daddy could come play too.

Summer Internship

Can I just say, YYYYEEEEAAAA!!!! Jake was got home from signing a contract for work at a summer internship. And even better, it's at the law firm that he considered his top choice. They deal in construction and real estate law so it should help him determine if it's really what he wants to do. Since it is an internship, there will be a small amount of compensation with part time hours. The only down side, which isn't a huge one, is that the office is about a 25-30 minute drive as long as there isn't a lot of traffic.

I am so excited for him and excited that after next week, we will have one full year of law school behind us.