EVB: 3 Years + 10 Months Old!

The countdown to 4 years old has officially begun! Ellen is starting to get excited about her upcoming birthday and, more importantly, her birthday party. As of now, Ellen is planning to have a "Madagascar"-themed party since she recently watched (and loved!) that movie.

Aside from enjoying the final weeks of being 3, Ellen has been busy enjoying the warm weather while she still can. EVB recently moved from her tiny trike to a larger, "big girl" trike. She's been working really hard on her pedaling skills and her stamina increases with each ride. (Mom and Dad are thrilled about this after one too many family jaunts in the neighborhood that included Ellen complaining she was "too tired" to pedal and resulted in us having to push and/or carry her trike home, in addition to pushing June's stroller!).

Ellen still has a wonderful imagination and is starting to get the hang of role playing during her pretend play; it's fun to hear her come up with pseudo names and storylines for herself/her stuffed animals and baby dolls.

As always, Ellen is entertaining as can be and we're relishing (mostly) every moment with our "baby" as she gets closer to being a big 4-year-old. :)

JEB: 17 Months Old!

June is quickly approaching the year-and-a-half milestone and this was a big month for our little lady ... Junie B. is expanding her vocabulary at a rapid pace and she seems to be taking on a different look and adopting a change in personality, too.

We've commented multiple times over the past month that June's temperament has leveled out; she's much less intense and much more easy-going. It may be just part of her normal toddler development, but I think a lot of it also has to do with the fact that she's been eating better and (finally) drinking adequate amounts of milk. She's definitely filling out and, with the physical changes, she seems to be acting more confident and secure. June is doing much better with being on her own (aka not literally attached to me) and appears to be experimenting with her comedic skills. There's been lots of silly dances, facial expressions and playful teasing from June, which is very fun to watch (and a welcome change from her screaming fits). June still has her moments of intense frustration and bone-chilling cries (thanks, in part, to the molars she's working on).

June also continues to be very concerned about Ellen's emotional state. If Ellen is even the tiniest bit sad or upset, June will come running from wherever she is in the house to hug her big sister and pat her on the back. And, wouldn't you know, June's hugs are sometimes the only thing that can get Ellen out of one of her funks.

I mentioned June's ever-expanding vocabulary ... here's a list of just some of the new words she says  on a regular basis:

• Ma (Milk)
• Frog
• Slide
• Hot
• Hi, guys
• Uh-oh
• All done 
• Omma
• Hot Dog (in reference to the Hotdog Dance on "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse," not tubed meat)
• Socks
• Shirt
• Bath
• aah-vuh (Love you)

June has also added a killer elephant noise to her repertoire of animal sounds. :)

Breakthrough this month: June rediscovered her love of swings!

Ice cream-induced brain freeze.

A hug from June is all (a naked) Ellen needed to stop fussing and oblige to Mom's request to get dressed.