Project Life: Week 2

Sunday, January 8

Both girls were dressed in their new corduroy jumpers for church. Later, Elaina helped me enjoy a bowl of popcorn for a snack. She definitely has "the Beck shovel" down!

 

Monday, January 9

The annual fruit and oatmeal diet started today. I prepared by packing my favorite mug and some Quaker Oats for breakfast at work.

 

Tuesday, January 10

Today's high was something beautiful and ridiculous like 56 degrees, so we took the girls outside after work. Elaina enjoyed her swing--all these many months later, she hasn't forgotten how much she loved it this summer--and Elysia and I enjoyed watching.

Wednesday, January 11

Another beautiful day. Josh made hamburgers on the grill for supper. Who would have guessed we'd be enjoying this summertime treat in the middle of winter? 

 

Thursday, January 12

Winter decided to make an official, if not obligatory, appearance:

 

Friday, January 13

My parents once took a picture that I kept on my desk at work for bad days. It was supposed to be of my sister's cat playing inside an empty Pepsi box, but as they prepared to snap the picture, their cat, Kuya, came up to sniff the camera at the same moment. The picture wound up being an extreme closeup of a very curious face, and it was endlessly amusing to me. (Perhaps would be better to see it, but alas, I don't have a scanner.) At any rate, this picture I took Friday night at bathtime amuses me in the same way. It was supposed to be of Elysia and her bathtime partner-in-crime, Winston, who always visits us and begs for water (why the bowl of fresh water he has available next to his food is unacceptable, I will never understand). Instead, I caught him in the middle of a meow. The look on Ellie's face is equally amusing and, as always, adorable.

Saturday, January 14

We took the girls outside to enjoy the snow this morning. Elaina had fun exploring until she decided that swinging would be just as fun in snow pants as it is in shorts. Elysia kept a close eye on the action from the warmth of her carseat. I can't wait until they can play together in it next winter!

Project Life: Week 1

 

Last year I attempted Project Life: a picture a day to capture the little things that make life. I did really well til May, when 3rd trimester pregnancy got the better of me. I am determined to do my  best to complete this goal this year, and we're starting with week 1!

For more info on Project Life, check out Jessica Turner's blog @ The Mom Creative.

Sunday, January 1

Ever since we found out Elysia was a girl, I've wanted to dress our daughters in matching outfits. Mom and Dad got all three granddaughters matching dresses for Christmas, and I thought New Years' Sunday would be the perfect occasion. (Sidenote: no one ever told me how hard it would be to get a decent picture of them together at this age! Hence...four pictures to make up for lack of perfection.)

Ellie cooperating...Elaina not so much

Elaina cooperating...Ellie not so much

Sweet Elysia before church

Elaina on the move, getting ready to leave for church

Monday, January 2

This was our last day of holiday shutdown, and we finally got some "snow". While it didn't amount to much, I really enjoyed watching the flurries swirl around while enjoying some late afternoon coffee with Josh!

Tuesday, January 3
Going back to work was a little bit harder when we put Elaina in her new hat and gloves for the trip to Gramma's house. She was so proud of herself, and she looked so cute!

Wednesday, January 4
Enjoyed a beautiful sunset tonight.

Thursday, January 5
Ellie is officially one week into her foray with solids (rice cereal mixed with breast milk at this point). She will eat it from the spoon, but she seems to find it much tastier when mixed with her finger.

Friday, January 6th
My boss gave me this piece of paper today. I can't say why just yet, but it is such a blessing, and I am so very excited about it.

Saturday, January 7
Today seemed a perfect day for some beef and chile stew with cilantro dumplings!

Elaina-isms

 

Elaina didn't start speaking at an exceptionally early age, but lately it seems Josh and I are constantly surprised by what she can say and how she can articulate what's on her mind. She also has an adorable way of talking--a sweet sound when put to good, and much less so when the occasional tantrum is thrown. 

Here are a few Elaina-isms. As fast as she is changing, I don't want to forget them!

* She can't pronounce the "f" sound, so she replaces it with an "s" (ie Mommy's sone is ringing) or a "p" (ie We're having wapples for breakfast!). A few more examples: 

• Goldfish crackers are "goldsish" 
• The fireplace is the "sire"
• When she thinks she's being funny, she says, "I sunny!"
• Goofy from Micky Mouse is Goopy, and Wolfie from Special Agent Oso is Woopie

* She loves to give a running commentary on her day: "I eating. I coworing (coloring). I dwinking. I cwying" (usually said in her most pathetic voice when she doesn't get her way).

* She has taken, as of late, to shout "Help!" when she wants out of the grocery cart at the store. These are proud, proud parenting moments.

* We are teaching her about potty training. Each time Elysia's diaper is changed, she proudly pronounces, "Elwe pooped!" This is said regardless of whether or not it is actually true.

* On a similar note, if we suspect she is going to the bathroom herself, our suspicions are nearly always confirmed when, after we ask if she's gone, she shouts "Stay!"

* We are teaching her to say grace. Each night at supper she folds her hands and says, "Dear Jesus, Thank you, Wub you, Amen." (Josh was a little heartbroken when "Dear Jesus" stopped being "Dear Jebus").

* She is getting better at names, though she still puts her own spin on them. Grandma, for both Rita and my mom, is "Wanma." My dad, who is Grandpa, is "Pampa". Arcadia is "'Cayah".  

* We often find her repeating phrases from her favorite stories. An example: in one of the Skippyjon Jones books, Mama Junebug Jones tells Skippito to "stay out of your closet!" If she is doing something she ought not be and is being scolded for doing so, she will often tell us to "Stay out of your closet"--in other words, Leave me alone! 

* She is a persistent little girl, and will repeat herself as many times as necessary to be completely clear on what she wants. The requests are almost universally preceded by the letter "A". For example, if she wants to watch Looney Tunes, we hear "A Bugs? A Bugs? A Bugs? Dayee, a Bugs? Mommy, a Bugs? Pweese?

* Speaking of "pwease," we are working on manners. She is good at saying "pwease" and "thank you" or "thanks", and has even taken to saying "Sowwy" after she's been disciplined. My favorite, though, is when she wills us to agree with her by saying "Awwight" after a request. Example: "Mommy, a shoes opp!" "Do you want your shoes off?" "Awwight."

* She loves to read. Current favorites include "Chrysamum" (Chrysanthemum, by Kevin Henke), "A Jones" (Skippyjon Jones), and any Mercer Mayer book, including "So Mad" (I Was So Mad) and "A Bed" (Just Go to Bed).

* She is definitely sure of what she "yikes" and what she "wubs". "Yikes" include ske'iios (Spaghettios), oatmeal, coworing, and dancing. "Wubs" include pizza (definitely her father's daughter), Elwe, Dowa Explowa, and my personal favorite, Mommy and Daddy.

Elysia - 5 Months

Sweet Ellie,

Your 5-month birthday came in the crazy weeks that precede Christmas, and in all the hustle and bustle I didn't get this written earlier.

You are a growing, exploring, happy girl. In fact, your name means "sweet and blissful," and you are both of these things. Still quick to smile, and this month we have added laughter to the mix. It is a beautifully squeaky sound, and we work extra hard to hear it.  We think you are close to 15 lbs, and you wear size 3 diapers and mostly 3-6 month clothes. You have taken to rolling more regularly and I don't doubt before I know it you'll be crawling, too. 

You are the light of our lives, baby, along with your sister, and we love you, love you, love you.

Christmas 2011: A photo essay (of sorts)

A hard-won picture of my sweet little elves :)

Elysia's first Christmas

Elaina playing in one of our many Amazon order boxes

Ellie and Papa on Christmas Eve

Rita with her coffee sign, which we found on the Spoon River Drive

A gift from Rita--a new quilted wall hanging. It's beautiful!

Elaina examining a new gift in her sea of paper scraps

Playing with Arcadia's new rocketship

Rita and her granddaughters (Elaina was on the run!)

Christmas morning sharing :)

Ellie and her new Sophie the Giraffe

Brycelynn and Rylan entertained themselves while the adults opened gifts

My favorite gift to give this year: Dad's YUUUUUP hat

Elaina danced to the dog on the sofa all Christmas afternoon

The dancing continued at a visit to Gramma and Grampa Beck's on Wednesday

Elaina enjoying one of her Christmas gifts--a coloring pad

Elysia enjoying Daddy!

Elysia - 4 Months

Elysia Jane

 

(Our sweet Elysia is 4 1/2 months old now, so this post is a little late, but Thanksgiving was sandwiched by two flu outbreaks, and blogging just didn't seem as important when we were all trying our hardest not to get sick (again)).

Sweet Elysia, you have been with us for four months now, and every day that passes is another day God has blessed us  to spend with you.

You are growing so fast (14.7 lbs and 24.5 inches at your 4 1/2 month/4 month wellness check)--and are wearing a combination of 0-3 and 3-6 month clothes, though the number of the former that still fit is shrinking rapidly. I put the small outfits away with a sigh, not knowing if I'll ever get to use them again, and cherishing memories of when you wore them. You are very strong and liked to be carried on the shoulder, but you are not content to leave your head there--you must push off and take in this world around you. You have rolled for me a few times but don't show a lot of interest in making it a habit. I'm not worried--your sister taught me that you will come to things when you are ready, not when people say you *should*--and when that time comes you'll be just fine.

Speaking of your sister, she still adores you and has most recently taken to shouting "Ellie Belly!" when we come out with you first thing in the morning. (For the record, and for your sake, I hope it doesn't stick, though it is ridiculously cute.) You have taken quite a liking to Elaina yourself in the past couple of weeks. You love watching her run and, when she's close enough, you never hesitate to flash her a gummy smile. You do the same to your daddy almost every night at supper. You sit so still in your Bumbo but I see you eyeing him, just waiting for the chance to catch his eye so you can charm him again.

You still aren't a great sleeper, partially because you've decided there's no better spot than right next to Mommy. Part of me writhes at the thought of how we're going to break you of it, but the other part loves waking up to the smell of your sweet head every morning. That part, coincidentally, is also too tired to fight with you about sleeping in your bassinet at 1:00 in the morning, too.

You have discovered your hands and can bring toys to your mouth (though they aren't nearly as fun as fingers). You even try to reach for the bath water I dribble on your tummy. And we suspect you may be teething--the drooling is out of this world--just yesterday I thought I was going to be minus a thumb when you were through. You are also beginning to accumulate nicknames: Ellie, Elwe, Ellie Belly (those two courtesy of Elaina), E2, and, my personal favorite, Ellers.



You are a sweet, sweet girl, and you like to be on the go (part of the reason I haven't sat through but one or two sermons since you were born...), and your smiles and coos warm our hearts as they break them. We pray for your heart, for your health, and that you will always know how very much you are loved.

The Thanksgiving that Almost Wasn't

 Preparation for Thanksgiving officially began last Sunday night, when, after the girls were asleep, I spent a half hour or so cutting and tearing bread into the pieces that would become the dressing at our family's meal. Monday brought new thankfulness and celebration, first, for a day home with my husband and daughters, and second, for a diagnosis of remission for my grandmother-in-law, who has been fighting a recurrence of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Then Tuesday came--my Monday--and the hours dragged on but soon work was over and only one day remained between us and our holiday.

Then, around 11:30 Tuesday night, our plans stopped. I woke to the sound of soft cries coming from Elaina's room, and as I reached for Josh, I realized he was already on the way to her. The conversation was quiet, but the tears were real, and then I heard him say, "It's okay, sweetie. It's okay. You just got sick. It's okay." And so began another parenting first--our first bout of a child's stomach flu.

She was sick throughout the night, and scared, not understanding what was happening or how to make it better. Josh stayed with her through it all, and I retreated back to our bedroom to care for Ellie amidst worries and prayers. Elaina finally fell asleep around 3:00 in the morning, and when the sun was breaking over the horizon, we were calling family and work to let them know what was happening. Poor sweetie was carried to bed once Ellie was awake, where she continued to sleep.

The Lord is gracious--the Lord is gracious in illness and in health--and when Elaina awoke, she seemed to be feeling much better. She wanted cuddles and stories and was allowed many more cartoons than normal. We gave her crackers and bananas and Seven-Up ("special juice") and as the day went on we saw her full personality return bit by bit. And so it was decided that the Thanksgiving that Almost Wasn't would be the Thanksgiving that Was. And it Was.

It was time with family.

It was delicious food.

It was two relatively quiet car rides--an added blessing.

It was Elysia's first celebration of Thanksgiving--it was the second year we have been thankful for her, as I was a few weeks pregnant last Thanksgiving.

And Friday, it was another meal with loved ones and an annual viewing of Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.

It was...good.

 

So Big

Every day I am amazed with all my girls do without even trying.

Elysia went from a helpless newborn to a smiling, happy baby. She holds her head up and often tries to sit up, so she loves the Bumbo. She can roll from her tummy to her back and is making strides towards rolling from her back to her tummy. She smiles, coos, and laughs, and lately she has been experimenting with vocal volume. This is a particularly fun experiment when her hands are shoved as far as they can be into her mouth. She can grab at toys and can bring them to her mouth. She is getting big so, so fast, and I love her so much.

                            

Elaina seems so grown up, too. Yesterday she wanted me to read to her, so she brought me a book, plopped it in my lap, and said, "Here you go, Mommy" with such a look of expectation I couldn't say no. (Not that I turn down requests for reading often!) She will often sit and read to herself, and her ability to recollect the story amazes me--in her Skippyjon Jones book, she knows to snore when she gets to the page that reads "...and then they had a siesta". She loves to run and skip, especially when she is excited. And she already has a vivid imagination. Yesterday when she woke up from her nap, I gave her a piece of carrot to snack on. I looked over a few minutes later and she was trying to feed it to her bunny. She has such a wonderful heart, and I can't wait to see the plans God has for her as she grows. Like Ellie, she is getting big so, so fast, and I love her so much.

I was talking with Jim about this last week, and in his usual wisdom, he remarked that when we see sonogram pictures for the first time and when we look into the face of a newborn, it is easy to believe we are "fearfully and wonderfully made" (Ps. 139:14). He went on to say it is evident still as our children grow. I know it to be true, as I see it every day in the smiles of our baby and in the  hugs and words of my toddler, and I can't help but give thanks to the One who blesses me with them every single day.

Halloween 2011: A Celebration of Orange and Black

This year I had grand designs on making the girls' Halloween costumes cute, affordable, and, if possible, thematic. I was so prepared, I had Ellie's costume ready two years ago:

Or I got it as a baby shower gift for Elaina, who was all of two days old on her first Halloween and, as a result, still in the hospital. (I guess technically that means Elaina's costume her first Halloween was an OSF receiving blanket...)

Anyway, since we had planned so judiciously planned Ellie to be the perfect size for this onesie on her first Halloween, and since Rita had so kindly knitted the perfect pumpkin that that simultaneously looked adorable and covered her growing back-of-head-baldness, she was set.

And what would go more perfectly with a Halloween pumpkin than a Halloween cat? A classic costume, and plus, Elaina loves cats (one of the cutest things she does right now is call for them in her little pipsqueak voice: "Wiinston....ChapUUUUuu...where ARE you?"). What could be more perfect?

What I hadn't accounted for was a) I'd have next to no time to actually, you know, shop for a costume what with a newborn and a toddler who is on a beautiful though somewhat restricting schedule and returning to work full time and planning Elaina's birthday party, or b) that cat costumes are apparently not in vogue for the 18-to-24 month set. This would have been good information to have before I had counted on finding something I liked in her size.

After days of fruitless searches and with almost less than a week to go, I found a monarch butterfly costume that caught my eye. It was neither cat nor black, but it was cute and had wings (a favorite dress up item) and was orange and black and could therefore be explained as a thematic color palette, if nothing else. Oh, and it was on clearance. Last minute cuteness for less than $11? Yes, please!

I ordered the costume and it arrived on Elaina's birthday, early enough for Monday, but unfortunately too late to show my parents at her birthday party. We made up for it by Skyping with them on Sunday:

On Monday, we came home and had supper in a flurry in order to get the girls dressed and ready to go to Gramma and Papa's for trick or treating. Unfortunately, doing so meant waking Ellie up from her late afternoon nap. She was none to pleased and voiced her displeasure by crying (re: screaming) the entire drive to town. Elaina decided to join in by asking in her most desperate voice for her paci. And we had to stop to get gas. Fantastic.

Tears aside, Elaina had a blast once we were there. Arcadia was there with Aaron and Danielle (they went with an "Alice in Wonderland" theme), so they got in some good cousin time before Arcadia had to leave, parents in tow, for destinations unknown. Between playing and sampling her Halloween bag (filled with chocolates and twizzlers), Elaina greeted Trick-or-Treaters. Ellie ate, was happy for about 30 minutes, and let loose again, so our Halloween adventures ended rather abruptly.

All in all, our Halloween adventure was a success. I had a theme, I finally to use the onesie I'd been given for Elaina, both sets of grandparents got to see our girls in their costumes, both girls were adorable, there was no sugar overload, nor any permanent damage from a missed nap. Some days, that's the best anyone could ever hope for :)