Major Milestones! (For Ella and Mommy & Daddy!)

I'm sure who hit the bigger milestone this weekend: Ella or Mommy & Daddy?

This past Saturday Ella spent her first (successful) night away from Mommy and Daddy. Kyle and I were in desperate need of a date night and it was Bishop Kelley's Tivia Night Saturday. We play every year and were going to have my dad and Lisa watch Ella for a few hours while we had a date.

Ella has recently weaned and is no longer breastfeeding at all, so we got to thinking about the fact that we were going to be getting out of our event pretty late. Maybe we should let her just stay with Papa and spend the night! We tried this once in June, when Ella was 11 months old, but it was a miserable failure since she was still nursing. My mom ended up calling me around 1am. So, needless to say, we had no idea how this weekend was going to go.

Kyle went and sropped Ella off at my dad's while I got all gussied up for a date with my man! We went to dinner at Cafe Ole and had to most amazing fajitas and margaritas! Then it was off to BK to play some trivia. We ended up coming in 5th place out of 126 teams...not too shabby!

We got home from trivia and like all exhausted parents, we went to bed! And then we slept all night! I don't think either one of us even moved all night! It was Heaven to have an entire night off and get some completely uninterrupted sleep. We met my dad for breakfast the next morning so that we could pick up Ella before church and learned the she did amazing. He had no problems getting her to go to bed. He said she woke up once, a little concerned about no knowing where she was, and then went back to sleep after he rocked her and scratched her back (she is SO my daughter!).

All in all, it was a very succeddful weekend. Ella got a little space and developed her independence. Mommy and Daddy got some quality and time and some quality and sleep. And we totally dominated on the trivia!

Tumble Town!

Back in August, Dean started going to a gymnastics class every Thursday afternoon. Ella so desperate to get into that gym where all the big kids were having so much. I decided that I would enroll her in a Mommy-n-Me class that was at the same time as Dean's. The problem was, they wouldn't let her until she was 18 months old! So, for the last 6 months, every week at Dean's class she would try to sneak into the gym every time someone opened the door or she would sit by the door and cry because she couldn't get in.

Since she turned 18 months on Saturday, we decided to go ahead and enroll her in a Friday morning class (Dean isn't doing it anymore, so there was no reason for us to be there on Thursday afternoons).

When we got there this morning, she assumed her usual position by the door, saying "please let me in!" When I actually took her in, the look on her face was priceless. "You mean, I really get to go in there?" She was SO excited! She had a blast! She wasn't all that into doing what her group was doing since there was just so much to explore. Coach Sam (I REALLY liked him. He was AWESOME with my girlie!)said that was absolutely fine while she got acclimated and figured things out. She REALLY liked the swing and cried when our turn on it was over. She also really liked jumping on the trampoline and into the foam pit, although she kept getting frustrated that she couldn't climb out on her own. I am so excited that I get to do this with her now. I am really eager to see how her interest in this develops and if she gets into the "class" aspect of it and rotating stations with her group rather than just exploring on her own. I think this is really going to be a lot of fun for us!

Time for Teeth!

Ella absolutely LOVES to brush her teeth. Sometimes, we brush up to 5 times a day! When she got her first tooth, I called the pediatric dentist and asked him when we needed to come in. He said that unless there was a problem, he didn't need to see her until she was 3. Well, in early December, I was helping Ella brush her teeth for what seemed like the 18th time that day and noticed some spots on her front teeth. I was absoltely appalled! I didn't understand how my 17-month-old could possibly have cavitites, especially when we are so diligent about brushing!

I called the dentist and made an appointment. In the mean time, I had to take Dean to his denstist appointment and since they go to the same guy, I just had him take a peek in Ella's mouth while we were there. He assured me that the spots were NOT cavities. He said that they were just the natural pits in her enamel and to bring her back for her appointment in January and we would talk about it.

Fast forward to today: We went back with the dentist and he did just a little lap exam of Ella's teeth. Ella was a little nervoud at first when the dentist came in with his tools. I think she thought she was getting a shot. But, he showed her what they were and talked to her about it and she just opened right up and let him look!
confirmed that she didn't have cavities but that those pits could very easily become cavities if we were lax in our brushing habits. Fortunately, Ella is anything but lax in her brushing habits! She will sometimes walk into the bathroom and point up to where her toothbrush and toothpaste are and yell "teeth" until we go help her brush. Aunt Laura would be proud!

After some discussion with the dentist, we decided that we would varnish her teeth that had the pits in the enamel to help prevent cavities. Basically, he went in and cleaned out the pits really well and then applied some sort of super-flouride treatment to help strengthen the weak spots in her enamel. This is where she got mad. She didn't like that thing spraying air and water in her mouth and the flouride wasn't particularly tasty. That being said though, she did great! She yelled at him a little but there were no tears and it was over before she really had a chance to get too upset.

She wasn't the happiest of campers, but all in all, it wasn't that bad taking an 18-month-old to the dentist. Dr. Moody gave a clean bill of health and we will go back in 6 months for her next check-up!

Happy Birthday & A Half, My Sweet Ella!

My Dearest Ella,

I can't believe that you are already a year and a half old today! It seems like just yesterday that I got to hold you in my arms for the first time. You amaze me every day! Your heart is so full of love and I absolutely adore your kind spirit. Every day of these last 18 months has been an absolute joy!

Here's a little bit about you today:

--You have so many words! Every day you learn to say something new. Here's what you can say today: mommy, daddy, Umi, Papa, Ma (Grandma), Pa (Grandpa), Blair, Lise (Annalise & Lisa), Dean, Jesus, blue, red, puppy, bark, woof, dog, ball, bath, duck, cup, car, up, bagel, pizza, toast, cheese, cookie, grape, apple, down, bites, pillow, bonk, toes, eat, teeth, nose, eye, ear, brush, trash, yuck, go, water, juice, cuddle, Gus, thank you (sort of), yes, no (of course!), tree, bird, swing, play, book, hot, cold, ice, pop (lollipop), donut, cake, baby, poop, potty, whoa, bubble, balloon, hi, bye, hat, shoes, walk....and lots of other words that we haven't quite been able to translate yet!

--You LOVE baths and water play. When we ask if you want to go take a bath, you run to the bathroom and start trying to climb in the tub before we can get your clothes off! There have even been times that you've come up to us and said "bath" and taken off for the bathroom indicating that you were ready for your bath.

--Your favorites toys and activities are baby dolls. You love "feeding" your babies, rocking them and pushing them around the house in their stroller. Maybe you are trying to tell us that you are ready for a little brother or sister?

--You are a social butterfly. You love playing with your friends. If we walk out side and you see Logan or Aubrey, you take off running for them. You sometimes wake up in the middle of the night asking to go see Dean.

--You are very musical. You love to sing in church. You walk around the house singing and dancing, sometimes to music that only you can hear!

--You are CRAZY about Elmo and Sesame Street! You have also recently discovered Blue's Clues and really like it too.

--Your favorite foods are pancakes, grapes, yogurt, cheese, turkey, bananas, apples, carrots, broccoli, pizza, grilled cheese, bagels & cream cheese, powdered sugar donuts and anything that you can dip into any kind of sauce. The only foods that you really don't care too much for are potatoes (in any form) and eggs.

--You like to throw things away. You are a great helper when mommy and daddy ask you to put something in the trash. Sometimes, you even just find something that goes in the trash and go throw it away...and you never throw anything that is not supposed to be thrown away!

--You like to tell Gus & Sophie "bye" when we put them in their crate before we leave.

--You are very interested in the potty. You like to squat down and watch mommy potty and say "bye" when we flush the toilet. You are even starting to tell mommy when you need to go potty and want to use the potty!

--You are starting to sleep in your own big-girl bed! You were so sad to see the crib (which you hated and wanted nothing to do with) go, but when we brought in your new bed, you thought it was so cool! You are learning to sleep in your room all by yourself and becoming so independent!

You have changed so much in the last 18 months! I cannot wait to see the young women become! I am so blessed that I get to be your mommy and see you discover all of the wonders this world has to offer! I love you so much, my sweet pie!

If you have a toddler, here is a word of advice...

When I am home alone with Ella, I generally take her and the dogs into the bathroom with me and shut the door so I can shower and they will stay out of trouble. This morning's lesson is to make sure you get the bathroom door COMPLETELY shut before you step into the shower.

I got out of the shower and realized that neither Ella nor the dogs were any longer in the bathroom with me and the door was wide open! I walked through the house until I found Ella sitting quietly on the kitchen floor by the dog dishes. She had been splashing in the water bowl of course! She had also taken all of the dog food and put it in the water bowl. When she started taking it back out of the water, it was mushy, and since she hates mushy things on her hands, she proceeded to paint the kitchen floor with the soggy dog food. Needless to say, Ella and the kitchen floor both got baths!

Next time, I think I'll wait until Kyle gets home...or at least lock the bathroom door!

A new year...a new post!

Now that it's been about 15 months since my last post, I've decided to give this thing one more try. I know, I've said it before, but this time I mean it. At least, I think I mean it. We shall see! There's just no telling how it's going to go given that I now have a VERY active (almost) 18-month-old...