Well ... It has been awhile!

Wow, has it really been over a year? How is that even possible? Something interesting happened to me last night. A friend of mine knew of someone in need of some baby clothes. I eagerly jumped on the opportunity to help. So, I pulled out some of Ella's baby clothes, the really cute 0-3 & 3-6 month stuff. What I wasn't expecting is the attachment I felt to those clothes. Each outfit had a specific memory ... the trip home from the hospital ... a sunny day in Hawaii ... first pictures with Alyse ... the list went on and on. All the sudden the thought of getting rid of them created a large aching pit in my stomach. How could I part with all these clothes ... and why would I keep them when someone else could use them in the moment. Through some good conversation with my cousin and a close friend I realized it wasn't the clothes I was attached to it was the memories ... and the realization that my baby girl isn't a baby anymore. Those precious little outfits that once filled her drawers are not going to leave a void in my heart, because my heart is filled everyday with the love of someone who now wears 3T's! This morning I eagerly filled a tub full of stuff for someone who can use it. It felt wonderful. I have been keeping that stuff all along to pass it on to some other little girl.

After my 'mommy' moment last night, I realized that I have majorly been lacking in the memory creating area of my daughters life. I have slacked off on the blog, slacked off on pictures, and most importantly ... don't take the time to write down the most precious innocent words that come out of Ella's mouth daily. So I am challenging myself to charge the camera again ... open the blog more recently and document more of our 'moments' together. Unlike the clothes ... pictures and written memories will be something I can keep forever!

So here it goes ... Ella's current world in a nutshell.

-She is one precious, stubborn, independent, smart two and a half year old. She is currently about 30 lbs and measuring in at 37in tall. She seems to outgrow her clothes about as fast as I buy them.

-She continues to go next door for daycare 4 days a week. We are so blessed to have a family that loves her during the day while we work like she was their own. She loves them back equally ... in all honesty, some days when I am home with her I think she would prefer to go next door!

-She is 100% potty trained during the day and about 95% dry during the nights now. She is so proud of herself. A little history on the potty training story ... for about six + months I have been talking to her about going on the potty, putting her on the potty if she wanted, letting her come into the bathroom with me etc, bought cute underwear ... never really pushing, but a lot of talking about it. Then for Christmas 'santa' brought her some 'days of the week' panties. They were a big hit. My parents also mentioned that they wanted to take her to Disneyland but she needed to be potty trained first. Well about a week or so after Christmas, she woke up one morning and decided she wanted to wear her new panties from santa ... and that was pretty much it. I know some mothers out there will hate me, but we really haven't had an accident or issue since. She is a bit afraid of public potties, but we are working on that. The priceless thing is ... after her first day of wearing panties, I picked her up from next door and the first thing she said was, 'I went potty in the potty, I am ready to go to Disneyland'! Grandpa and Grandma can't resist that ... we are going this May!

-She is now sleeping in a big girl bed. I took her rail off of her crib awhile ago. She was excited about that. Then last weekend we decided to put a double bed in her room and take the crib out all together. She was soooo excited. She had papa and grandma come over to check it out. Our first night started with a spilled glass of water and new sheets and Pj's ... but since then, she has been sleeping great. She even stopped her 1:30am call out for her dad to come 'cover her up'.

-She loves to fly! A couple weekends ago Ella and I flew to Spokane to visit. She was excited to see her papa and grandma price (aunts, uncles and cousins too) ... but I think she was even more excited to fly. It was the first time she had her own seat. She loved that. She walked on the plane, climbed in her seat, buckled her safety belt, grabbed my hand and waited patiently for her snack. It was a special moment for me ... it was the first time I felt like I had a little travel buddy to go and do stuff with. She seemed so grown up. I loved sitting with her, holding her hand and talking.

-Speaking of talking ... she talks A LOT ... and for weeks now ... the infamous WHY has found itself at the end of everything I say. And even when I take the response ten layers deep, she wants more! It is fun and challenging all at the same time.

-Some of her favorite things to do: puzzles, read books, bake cookies, watch 'shows', play dough, stickers.

-If you ask her, her best friend is Alyse, and her buddies are Morgan and Livie. We are working hard on learning how to share and have fun play dates. We have some work in this area ... I wont lie, she loves to do things her way ... not sure where she gets that one from! :-)

-She is fascinated with garbage trucks. She absolutely loves going out to my work and waiting for the garbage truck to show up in the morning on garbage day. Pretty funny really.

Well it is getting late and I could realistically go on and on ... but overall, she is pretty much your typical two and a half year old. We have the normal meltdowns, control struggles, picky eating, etc .. but what is the most important is that God has blessed us with a little girl that adds so much to our life.

Stay tuned ...

Love Brenda, Andy and Ella