Friday, December 27, 2013

EVB: 4 Years + 2 Months Old!

Ellen looks like a giant lately. OK, maybe not an actual giant, but giant compared to the little person I think of her as in my mind's eye. She looks like a school-aged kid ... so tall and grown-up looking. You almost have to strain to see any remnants of the squishy little baby/toddler that once inhabited our house. I feel simultaneously sad and proud to see her growing before our eyes. At times I wish I could keep her little forever, while at other times I all I want to do is encourage her to learn and grow more because she'd turning into a pretty great big kid (of course, she still has her moments ...).  Here are a few highlights of the past month with EVB:
  • Ellen is developing into the best big sister. She is (for the most part) so kind to and patient with June.
  • EVB is showing more responsibility in terms of listening, helping around the house, etc. Heck, she even attempted to clean up her own barf (or "bark" as she calls it) in the middle of the night during a recent bout with a stomach bug. (We advised her that, in the future, it's best to let Mom or Dad manage the cleanup!)
  • Ellen has shown a lot of maturity lately in terms of maintaining an even temperament in spite of odd/new schedules. We were blown away by how well Ellen handled all of our social engagements during the holidays ... She was always in a good mood and did a great job cooperating with all the coming and going, socializing with new/different people, being in unfamiliar places, etc.
Hooray for another great month with our Elle-Belle!


Heading out to play in the snow on what of the few warmer days

Ellen & Dad's snowman

Thursday, December 26, 2013

Christmas 2013

Christmas 2013 is going to be a tough one to beat. We had a great time gearing up for the holidays in recent weeks (with the exception of a little stomach bug for Ellen) and the big day itself was so much fun. Ellen & June are at awesome ages for holiday fun. Everything is magical to them and we couldn't help but feed off of their excitement. Here's a review of our Christmas festivities, in pictures:
Ellen's preschool Christmas program

She didn't sing a single word of any of the songs, but she did a great job standing there!

Benscoter/Johnson Christmas party

Scarlett & Ellen at our Christmas celebration with Grandpa Bob/Gpa

Christmas Eve day celebration with Omma & Boppa and the Laughlins

Christmas Eve

June & Omma reading Christmas books

Sisters in their Christmas dresses

Sisters in their matching Christmas jammies

Coming down the stairs on Christmas morning

The loot from Santa

Sheer joy

New toys!

June investigating her stocking stash

Ellen LOVED opening presents

June working the new grill

Cinnamon rolls for breakfast

Yum!

Adam enjoying his Christmas morning breakfast & coffee

Christmas Day afternoon with Grammy & Grandpa and the Lukes

Madelyn & Ellen

June unwrapping a new toy (with a little help from Daddy)

June & Grammy

Scarlett & June

What's Christmas without a little dress-up fun at Grammy & Grandpa's?!

Sunday, December 15, 2013

JEB: 21 Months Old!

Life with June Bug just keeps getting sweeter and sweeter. She has a ginormous heart and is turning into quite the little comedienne. Junie brings us so much joy everyday ... We love this little girl to pieces! Here's what Sweet June has been up to as of late:

  • Talking more & more (e.g., "reading" books and, my favorite, imitating Santa by saying, "Ho, Ho, Ho, Merry Christmas!")
  • Requesting to "snuggle Mommy"
  • Promptly informing us when she's pooped and then requesting a change. (June sometimes will go as far as to bring us a clean diaper and wipes.)
  • Trying out the potty chair. She's had a few successful visits to the bathroom, but she's still a ways away from any serious toilet learning.
  • Playing (and wrestling) with Ellen. These two have become great buddies in recent weeks and, for the most part, play very nicely together. (I often feel like a third wheel.)
  • Working on her incisors. This poor girl has had a heck of a time with teething, basically since birth. We're hoping her four canines finally pop through so we can have some reprieve until her 2-year-old molars come in.
  • Enjoying naps/bedtime. June loves her crib and getting "cozy, cozy" with her buddies: a stuffed mouse named Squeakers, a stuffed monkey named Bananas, a stuffed rabbit named Hops and a little stuffed doll named Teeny, Tiny Baby. June also must sleep with two small "owl blankies," a stripped blanket and a polk-a-dot blanket. And, of course, her paci, which we're hoping to get rid of in the next month or two.
  • Eating well. June still loves eating anything with red sauce and waffles.

Size-wise, June is still wearing size 3 diapers, size 5 shoes (though she's probably ready to start wearing some size 6 shoes) and size 18-24 months clothes (though a few size 12-18 months items still fit her).






Wednesday, November 27, 2013

EVB: 4 Years + 1 Month Old!

Ellen is proving to be a rockstar 4-year-old! We're just one month in, but I have a feeling that 4 is going to be a great year for EVB. She has been doing a wonderful job being a better listener and managing her frustrations when things don't go her way. It's so nice to see Ellen exhibit a sense of maturity I wouldn't have thought she was capable of just a few months ago. We are so proud of our little lady! Here's what else EVB has been up to:
  • Perfecting buttons ... still working on snaps
  • Asking lots of questions about death and heaven, which we do our best to answer
  • Being a big helper to Mom & Dad (setting the table, picking up after herself, getting dressed without too much dawdling, etc.)
  • Talking a lot about her next birthdays, going to kindergarten ... and high school ... and college. (She couldn't believe it when I told her that most people who attend college choose to LIVE at school!)
  • Working on her flossing skills (Ellen loves the awesome pick flosses she got during her recent visit to the dentist.)
  • Requesting to take more soccer lessons. (Ellen just finished her first session of pee-wee soccer, which she loved!)
  • Excelling at swimming lessons (Ellen received a glowing mid-session report card!)
  • Getting excited for CHRISTMAS!

Friday, November 15, 2013

JEB: 20 Months Old!

Miss Junie B. is 20 months old! (It's crazy to think that June is the age Ellen was when I got pregnant with June ...) JEB is just the best. She is the sweetest, most lovable little person and she only gets sweeter and more lovable by the day. I know there will be many times in the future when she's not so lovable, so I hope this current phase lasts for a really long time! Here's what Junie's been up to lately:

  • Talking more and more, of course. She's using longer sentences more often (e.g., "Here you go, Mommy," "Oh, there it is ...," "I love you, Daddy," and "Are you OK, Ellen?")
  • Counting. June can count to 13 or 14, but for some reason poor Number 2 is often omitted.
  • Showing greater understanding for where people are, where we are going/what we will do when we get there (e.g., if I tell June that we are taking Ellen to school, she'll start talking about seeing teachers, or if Ellen is at soccer with Adam and I ask June where Ellen is, she'll say "soccer ball.")
  • More singing. June has mastered the Mickey's part of "Mickey's Countdown," which we listen to (way too often for sane adult ears) on CD in the car. It's hilarious to hear the perfectly timed "hot dogs," "oh boys" and "swells" from the backseat. It makes Ellen giggle uncontrollably, too. :)
  • Loving waffles. June typically houses one waffle during breakfast then says, "Mo 'awful' peez?"
  • Complimenting the chef. June loves to take a bite of food, then say "Mmm ... 'licious.'" (June recently tried M&Ms for the first time, which she though were especially "icious.")
  • Reading. June has started to "read" her books out loud to herself.
  • Having an opinion about what she wears. June has many winter hats but she will only wear her beloved mouse hat.
  • Walking on tip toes ... our little ballerina
  • Learning her colors. June does best identifying pink and when she's unsure of a color, she defaults to guessing blue.
  • Standing on furniture. June has yet to meet a couch or chair she can resist standing on. Despite numerous tumbles and scaring Mom & Dad half to death, she has escaped mostly unscathed and, unfortunately, undeterred. 
  • Loving everyone. June has been sharing more and more unsolicited "love yous" and hugs and kisses with all of us. (My favorite is when she specifically requests to "snuggle" ... it's impossible to resist!)
  • Mimicking conversation. June has taken to saying, "Soooo ..." during lulls in the conversation at the dinner table, something I often do.
  • Requesting diaper changes. Lately when June poops, she'll come find me and say "change." We brought out the little potty chair for practice/fun, but I know we still have a long way to go before serious toilet learning.
  • Being awesome. Seriously. I'll say it again, June is at a wonderful stage that I wish would last forever!


Thursday, November 7, 2013

Halloween 2013

Ellen and June had an awesome Halloween! In fact, we all had a ton of fun. Ellen kicked off the festivities on Wednesday with a Halloween party at school. She was so proud to wear her sea turtle costume and had a blast seeing what all of her classmates were dressed as. We (mostly Adam and I) carved pumpkins Wednesday night ... Ellen and June refused to touch the pumpkin cuts and they're still too young to wield sharp objects, but Ellen did advise me on the shapes she wanted me to carve for her jack-o-lantern's face.

On Thursday, we rushed through dinner and got changed into costumes as quickly as possible so we could get plenty of trick-or-treating in before bedtime. June wasn't too crazy about wearing her seahorse costume at first, but eventually she gave in and complied as long as we left the hat piece un-velcroed.

Ellen couldn't get to the neighbors' houses fast enough! Unlike previous Halloweens, she was not at all apprehensive about marching up to people's doors, ringing the bell and saying, "trick-or-treat" and then, "Thank you; Happy Halloween!" just like we had practiced. As she'd leave one house, she'd yell "Their lights are on; I think they're home!" as she bounded up the next driveway.

To our surprise, June was also very into trick-or-treating. She proudly sauntered up to the doors with her treat bag (or "purse" as she called it) on her arm and managed to say her own version of "trick-or-treat" and "thank you." She would then yell, "bye" at the top of her lungs and wave enthusiastically all while flashing her trademark cheesy grin. She melted a lot of hearts with her adorableness, but she was all business going from house to house.

We called it quits after hitting most of the houses on our side of the street since it was getting cold and we needed to get back to hand out candy at our house. This was almost as much fun as trick-or-treating. Ellen loved watching out the window for kids and giving them candy when they came to our door. June, on the other hand, loved helping herself to our candy bowl and shuttling pieces of candy into the playroom to "feed" her dolls/animals a treat. She then would find a new home for the candy in her trick-or-treat "purse." (I had to sneak them back into our bowl to ensure our supply didn't run out!)

Ellen and Adam headed out for Round Two of trick-or-treating and then I took both girls over to see our friends who live close by. After that, it was back home and off to bed. Such a fun night! We can't wait until next year!













Sunday, October 27, 2013

EVB: 4 Years Old!

Where does the time go? I can't believe Ellen is already 4 years old! Ellen kicked off the birthday festivities last week when she passed out treat bags to her friends at school. Then, Sunday (her actual birthday) was the big day with her Toy Story-themed party. EVB had a great time celebrating with her grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. (I'm guessing we have only another year or so that we can get by with just a family-only party ...). It was a super-fun day and Ellen felt so special because of all of the attention (and awesome presents) from those who love her most.

Here's what our big 4-year-old has been up to as of late:

  • Taking an even greater interest in June. Ellen is figuring out how to get June to do what she tells her to do play with her and go along with all of her grand ideas for pretend play. Several times a day I hear Ellen say, "Hey, Junie, can I tell ya somethin'?" (Ellen gets very frustrated when June doesn't "listen," but she tries her hardest to be patient.)
  • Baby talk. I hope this is a short-lived phase.
  • Still loving preschool. We had EVB's first conference recently and it was fun to hear that's she's doing well. :)
  • Excelling at her early childhood screening, which is a prerequisite for kindergarten
  • Starting soccer! Ellen will be learning all about the sport with Dad on Tuesday nights as part of Woodbury's Pee Wee Sports program.
  • Resuming swimming lessons. Ellen is about to start her Pike class at the Y.
  • Being scared of movie/story villains ... EVB shrieks in fear at the mention of just about any movie and she nearly went into convulsions during a recent trip to Home Depot when we had to walk past the animated Abominable Snow Monster holiday lawn ornament on our way to the checkout.

Ellen is such a fun, special girl. We're confident that 4 will be a great year for our little lady and we cannot wait for all the fun that is sure to come our way!

Up until this picture, Ellen did a good job of sitting like a lady for most of the day in her party dress. :)

Birthday donut!

 
June was more than happy to help Ellen celebrate with a donut of her own.

First of many birthday presents (a toaster set from Mom, Dad & June).

The Kid Table

Special Birthday Girl!

Let's do this.

Ellen did a pretty good job with all the cards/presents.

Goofball

The Disney Princess computer Ellen has been coveting for many months!

Birthday bounces!

EVB's fun cake!

Ellen, apparently, has FOUR boyfriends.

The weather was so nice that after the party was over, we were able to enjoy some birthday bubbles outside!