Salinas 2015

Ellie and I took a much needed vacation to Salinas. Now that Ellie is 3 she gets her own seat in the airplane, which was actually amazing. We bought her a pair of headphones, charged up the ipad and bbought a few new apps and she was set! She did so great and it was such a relief. It helped that we had a direct flight to San Jose....Alaska Airlines is the best. 

We had such a blast while we were there. Ellie never napped and woke up at 6:45 every morning but despite that we had a blast. The weather was beautiful. We saw the sea lions in Monterey, spent a day at the beach, hiked at Toro Park,  a few days of shopping, a trip to the nursery, and spent a day at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk. Ellie had so much fun and so did I. 

Now prepare yourself for a picture overload!

The boardwalk was so much fun! I have so many memories there and I'm so glad Ellie could experience it. Ellie loved all the rides, she would get off one and say, "lets do another one". She even rode the kids roller coaster, with me of course. She is such a dare devil. She got a dolphin painted on her face, ate a corn dog and fell asleep 10 minutes after I put her in the ergo carrier on my back. 

This picture is so funny, she is so serious! 

Bulgy the Whale!!!!

The famous Cave Train!

The carousal has a big clown face on the wall with a hole for the mouth and if you sit on the outside horses you can grab these rings and then throw them into the mouth and then all these bells go off. Well I got one in his mouth and I've never done that, I also stole another ring for our key chain. I had to. 

One tired baby on my back and one baby in my belly.

       

                                                                                                          

Mostly March and Parts of April

This spring has been abnormally warm. I'm not complaining though, we have been able to spend tons of time outside prepping the yard for our garden. Ellie is a great helper when it comes to pulling weeds, as long as you distinguish a plant from a weed. 

Jared built Ellie a sand box in an effort to get her to play independently outside. Have I mentioned how attached she is to me. The only thing that will get her to sit independently is the TV, when we are doing anything else she is trying to climb on my lap. Why do I buy toys again? I bought her a spray bottle and filled it with water and that has managed to keep her busy outside for a while. I know what mom's say "someday you will miss this" well its just hard for this pregnant mommy right now. 

Keeping myself busy and using up extra yarn making a granny square blanket.

Going to be early most nights. I am most comfortable when I'm laying in bed. 

Some of our March crafts. R is for rainbow and F is for flower. 

Jared built an awesome gate and now our backyard is even more private. 

I've been cutting out these 4" squares off and on for a year. I finally got around to sewing them together. This is my first quilt and I am really happy with the result. My mom helped me finish it in California and I have yet to take a photo of the finished product. 

Snuggles every morning. I have to say I love the sound of Ellie's feet on the hard wood floor, her door creaking open and her little bunky bed head peaking in out door. She greets up with a "good morning" and climbs into our bed and insist on watching cartoons on my phone. Im totally okay with it, I love the snuggle time. 

My best friend Lisa came to visit with her boyfriend Garrett. We loved having them in town, spent time exploring Ogden, hiking and dinner in Salt Lake. It was a great visit. 

Our backyard now has a full fence on the East side. We give out neighbors to the East two thumbs way down...solution....a beautiful cedar fence. We are happy campers. 

Ellie's Birthday Party | Octonauts

Ellie is obsessed with the show Octonauts, so it was no question that we would have an Octonauts birthday party. We really lucked out this year and we were able to have her birthday outside. We decorated the outside window with streamers looking like seaweed, balloons for bubbles and cut out fish. We at Blue Koolaid, pirates booty, doritos and BBQ hot dogs. I made her a good old box yellow cake and decorated it with swedish fish and gummy sharks. We had the cousins fish for bags of candy and pin the eye patch on the pirate. It was such a fun day. Ellie ate too many chips and fell asleep 20 minutes after everyone left. 

Ellie is 3

Mostly potty trained, pees but has only pooped a few times

Can swing a baseball bat like a pro. She has great hand eye coordination.

She gets out of bed on her own now, opens her door and comes into our room every morning. She is up when the sun comes up. Thanks heavens for the PBS app, she watches cartoons while I sleep for another 30 minutes.

She is obsessed with the show Octonauts. It teaches her all about marine biology, so I guess their could be worse shows to watch.

Insists on standing on a chair and helping me with most things I do at the kitchen counter.

Likes to draw circles and trace her hands.

Talks about relatives all the time: cousins, grandma's and grandpas

She remembers so much, she recalls past events like, going to Salt Lake, the Zoo, the beach, etc. 

Quotes:

"Oh, it's nice and crunchy"...in reference to crunchy foods

"it's belicious".....meaning delicious.

"Oh that's nice of you" "please" "thank you" "excuse me"....she is very polite

she sings most of "Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam" and "I'm Like a Star Shining Brightly"

She claims anyones farts as her own and says, "No, it's me"

"oh thats awesome Mom" or "this is so cute"...when shopping at most stores

counting "1,2,3,6,7,8,9,10,11" What happened to 4 & 5?

Ellie is a typical toddler. She throws fits over irrational things and definitely likes to push my buttons. She likes to climb on me and doesn't like to play independently often. However, she is getting older and more capable of doing certain things on her own. Somedays, when her mood is right, she will use the bathroom all by herself. Somedays she will wander around the back yard and swing and play in the dirt while I relax in the sun. She is still the greatest little sidekick. I love our time together. Our walks to the park, the conversations we have, having her help me make cookies or bread or popcorn. Snuggling on the couch, her letting me take cat naps in the afternoon, and dance parties almost every night after her bath. She exhausts me most days but it's worth it. I can't believe she is going to have a sibling, I know she is going to be a great big sister. She is already such a loving and friendly little girl (to complete strangers) I know she will love this little baby so much. 

Happy Birthday Ellie Bell. You are so smart, funny, energetic and passionate. Thank you for making parenthood such an enjoyable experience. We have some days that are better than others but you hold a special place in my heart little one. I have loved the time we have had just you and me the last few years. I know it might be hard to get use to a new baby but you are going to have so much fun having a constant friend to play with. You are constantly changing, and I cant wait to see what this next year will bring. Never loose your curiosity, passion, humor, and energy. We love you so very much little one. Happiest of Birthdays to you.