Birthday Party #2

Ellen was lucky enough to have most of her grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins help her celebrate turning 2 at a Sesame Street-themed birthday bash. Ellen loved the attention, her Elmo balloon and yummy cake ... And, she received SO many lovely gifts! What a special day for such a special little lady!

Sesame Street cake: courtesy of SuperTarget ...

Cookie Monster cupcakes: courtesy of mom's questionable baking/decorating skills.

EVB got a super-cool Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Piggy Bank from Grammy & Papa. (They also gave her a grab bag filled with all sorts of goodies!)

The Laughlins gave Ellen an adorable baker's set, complete with a hat, apron and oven mitt!

Ellen got a Mickey Mouse Look & Find book (and a fun Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Sing-with-Me CD Player) from the Luke clan.

Great Uncle Jim gave Ellen an awesome cleaning set, so now Ellen has her very own broom! (She LOVES to "help" mom & dad sweep.)

And Omma & Boppa gave Ellen a Fisher-Price My First Dollhouse. (Ellen has been envying the one at their house for ages!)

EVB was a little unsure about everyone staring at her and singing "Happy Birthday" ...

But she soon got over it ...

and enjoyed a piece of cake, which she said was "so nummy-licious."

2 Years Old!

Ellen is 2! Yippee! Although it's sad for mommy and daddy to see our "baby" growing up so fast, we are extremely excited for her and all of the milestones she's reaching.

A few highlights:

• Ellen has been paci-free for more than two weeks! Wow - I never thought we'd see the day when Ellen went to sleep without her cute little paci in her mouth, but the transition was actually much easier than I imagined it would be. Aside from a whimper or two the first nap/night's sleep, Ellen hasn't looked back. And now when you ask her if she's a big girl, she proudly responds, "I don't need a paci now!"
• Ellen has been spending a lot of time practicing her bathroom skills and has had several successful visits to the loo. The pride on her face whenever she poops or potties in the toilet is priceless and within the past few days she's even requested to sit on the potty seat without us asking. EVB is still a ways from being trained, but we're making progress. :)

To mark the occasion of Ellen's 2nd birthday, we began the day with coffee and donuts at the SuperTarget Starbucks and then headed to the Children's Museum with Omma. We had a great time! In the evening, our family of 3.5 celebrated with a piece of cake and a few presents from mom and dad ... more fun will be had at Ellen's party on Saturday.

So happy to be 2!

Presents from Mom & Dad ...

Hmm ... what's this?

It's a Mexican Fiesta for my kitchen!

And, a potty chair for Baby Stella - just like Ellen's!

Weekend in Duluth

We recently took a mini vacation to Duluth and, while Adam and I definitely had a great time, no one had more fun than Ellen! For EVB, the highlights included:

• Greeting the mounted fish, stuffed geese and bearskin in the hotel lobby
• Riding the hotel elevator (or as Ellen calls it, "elligator")
• Checking out the pop machine down the hall from our hotel room (she didn't drink any, but was intrigued by the big buttons!)
• Sleeping in a big girl bed for the first time
• Watching "Fraggle Rock" ("Frito Rocket" in Ellen lingo) on loan from the hotel front desk
• Visiting the aquarium where she saw fish, ducks and snakes, played with little boats and went down a big slide in the play area
• Eating at multiple restaurants

It was a super fun getaway and the weather couldn't have been better. Can't wait for our next trip as a family!

EVB slept almost the entire way to Duluth!

Enjoying an evening stroll on the boardwalk.

Slide at the aquarium.

Checking out the ducks at the aquarium.

Having a snack in the big girl bed.

Riding in the "elligator!"

Collecting rocks from the "sandbox" (beach).

Watching boats.

Getting a better view thanks to a lift from Daddy.