Happy Birthday, Daddy!

LOVING the warm weather

Knoxville Zoo
Ava, Andrew, Paige, and Ellie


Ellie is smitten with Andrew. Whenever she lost track of him she'd sound distressed and say, "Where Andu go?!"


We hardly saw any animals, which didn't matter much because they were having too much fun with each other.


Here's a little impromptu ring-around-the-rosie. Needless to say, we moved at a snails pace.






Bringing out the kid in Daddy Bill.

To Grandmother's House We Go!

Our little Stinker

Ellie is hitting the terrible twos in full stride. Lots of whining, battling, hitting, and defiance. Seth and I are carefully choosing the battles worth fighting and praying for patience otherwise. Nap time has been QUITE stressful recently. After weeks of little progress with the Super-Nanny technique (simply putting her back in bed without engaging her), I decided that keeping her in bed wasn't one of the battles worth fighting. Last night we installed child locks on her bedroom door. Nap time was much better today. She slowly realized I wasn't coming back in to put her in bed. I heard lots of playing, some destruction, and then the door knob rattling. She was none too happy that she couldn't get out. She threw a minor temper tantrum that ended with her trying her best to get me to come in, "Ellie has to go potty, mommy!" I peeked in to find her laying on the floor crying with her little bare bottom sticking up in the air. I went in and put a pull-up on her and left immediately. She cried for another five minutes or so and then went to sleep. Yesterday (using the super nanny technique) it took TWO AND A HALF HOURS of back and forth before she fell asleep. Today it only took an hour. Phew. And it was much less stressful. Here's to hoping that it's down hill from here!


Of course, she still has her rather sweet moments...
Spring showers



Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!


Cindy Lou Who








Getting her face painted for the first time!





Defiance

Fears

Ellie has started to have nightmares. Twice this week she woke up in tears and yelling, "Bugs!" When I tuck her in for nap time she inspects her room. Dirt on the stairs, the odd shape of a sock in dim light, or a little feather on the floor cause a panic. This week in play group (the morning after her first nightmare) I heard Ellie crying. I asked her buddy, Max, why she was crying. He retrieved a HUGE plastic grasshopper and showed how he ran it up Ellie's back and through her hair! This was a minor set back, but she was playing with the grasshopper in no time at all and the experience probably ended up being more helpful than harmful. We've been talking a lot about bugs and how they are harmless, but Ellie isn't sold.


Her first mud puddle jumping excursion. We heard lots of frogs but didn't get to see any. They were "hidin'."




"Ellie...make a funny face."


"I'm swinging!"