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!

JEB: 19 Months Old!

We checked off another monthly milestone for our littlest lady and life with June could not be more fun. This girl is an absolute riot. She's talking so much and her sweet personality has really been shining through in recent weeks. I wish I could bottle this stage forever! Here's what little Goonie has been up to:

• Like I said, talking a lot. Our new favorites: "baby," "Elmo Woh" ("Elmo's World"), and "OK" and "yeah," which are June's response to pretty much any question you ask her. And, we are no longer "Mama" and "Dada;" we now are always "Mommy" and "Daddy." And, June calls Ellen "Elle-Belle," which is super sweet.
• Spelling her name: "J ... Ooh ... N ... E ... Joo!"
• Praying. June clasps her tiny hands when we say our dinner-time prayer and participates in the "amen" part. :)
• Lots of singing. June's old standby songs are becoming more developed and she's added some lullabies to her repertoire. 
• Loving hummus. It's especially cute to hear her say the word "hummus" considering she has a bit of a lisp.
• Working on manners (remembering to say "please" and "thank you")
• Mimicking using the bathroom like a big girl by pretending the bathroom stool is a a toilet
• Still giving lots of hugs and kisses
• Imitating a frog hopping across the house, complete with "ribbit" sound effects.
• Insisting on reading books with Mom or Dad immediately upon waking up ... This needs to happen even before a diaper change!
• Jumping on the couch (and giggling when you tell her to stop or sit down)

Also, June (and Mom) survived Mom's (long-overdue) first night away during a recent trip to Vegas! Success all around!

EVB: 3 Years + 11 Months Old!

Less than a month to go until EVB's 4th birthday ... Yikes! Lots to do (most importantly, getting Ellen to make up her mind about the theme of her party!) as we savor the final weeks and days of our little lady being 3. It's been a busy and exciting month for Miss Ellen. Without further ado, here are the highlights, which include a few "big girl" milestones:

• Finally finding the courage to jump off the diving board at Omma & Boppa's pool. (After she did it for the first time, of course she couldn't get enough ... too bad Ellen acquired this new skill at the very END of summer!)
• Graduating to a bigger bike, complete with training wheels. All it took was seeing the older neighbor kids zipping around on their two-wheelers for Ellen to eagerly move on from her giant trike.
• Ditching her junior dining chair for a regular, adult-size chair at the dinner table
• Doing great at preschool. Ellen has been having lots of fun making beautiful artwork, learning important things like taking turns and standing in line, and making new friends. (EVB's favorite buddy is a little boy named Carson. They're apparently so tight that they even take trips to the bathroom together.) Oh, and Ellen got in trouble for the first time at school. There was a pushing incident ... EVB hasn't been too eager to talk about it, but I think she definitely understands that she did something unkind and, more than anything, I think she was mortified that she disappointed her teachers and Mom and Dad. :)
• Showing an interest in spelling/reading. Ellen is constantly asking how to spell various words and likes to try to identify words on the pages when we read books at bedtime.
• Lying. To date, EVB's fibs have been pretty harmless, but I'm worried about what the future might bring because this girl has one amazing poker face.
• Still taking great care of June (when she's not tormenting June by invading her personal-space bubble). Ellen's new favorite thing is having June sit in her lap to look at books and I've even caught her trying to lift June up a few times. :/

All-in-all, Ellen is ... well, she's Ellen. And we love her just the way she is. :)