Texas in April

Wow! There's a lot of Texas in April that never made it onto the blog, either. I've been a bad blogger! And since we'll be going back to Texas in a month, I guess I should take a few moments now to share our last trip there. =D More ketchup, I suppose!

While we were in Texas, my mother demonstrated that her excellent mom skills are still as sharp as ever when she kept Ellie out of our way in the kitchen (while making Ellie thinking that the activity was all about her. =D). Here's what she did to keep Ellie busy:

My dad demonstrated his Ellie-occupying skills with a little help from the RC plane and an extra controller. Ellie thought she was flying the plane and LOVED it!

Ellie got her first moments in a real pool (I think) while we were in Texas, too. The water was chilly, so she just wanted to sit on my lap, but this is where Mommom and Ellie are going to spend 4 days straight while I am at a convention in Dallas next month! And by then it will feel like bath water...

The other place my parents are going to spend time with Eliana while I'm in Dallas is Kidsview, the community playground there in Longview. We went a couple times in April and Ellie loved it. I think it's even better than ours in Livingston... I tried to get a picture of Ellie and Mommom on the play equipment, but Ellie thought it was more fun to try to squish Mommom, and this is what I got:

Outside the park, though, there are beautiful azalea bushes, so these pictures were a little better:

Ellie also decided to be Poppy's little helper while we were there, watering the lawn and helping with the garden. I thought her choice of attire was particularly funny... no pants (where did they go, anyway?), Mommom's high heeled shoes, and Mommom's hat. Funny little helper!

There is more to the trip, but I think this is a picture-heavy enough post already. Still to come... a trip to Caldwell Zoo and our day with the Allen girls. =D

Not the mama!

I just had this hilarious little conversation with Eliana:

Me:  You're my baby!

Ellie: You're my baby, too!

Me: I'm not a baby, I'm your momma.

Ellie: Well, I'm the best momma in the world!

Me: Yeah, but I birthed you.

Ellie: Well, I burped on you, too. 

Ha ha! Apparently giving birth is similar to burping on someone. 

Ketchup

That's pretty much what we need on this blog. I have some serious catching up to do! I'm not sure I'll get things in order, but I suppose we'll start with Mother's Day since that's what's at the top of my Flickr photostream. =D

Mother's Day

We went to Billings and had lunch with Leif's family. There was lunch, there was dessert, there were gifts for Ellie (thus the things she's wearing and playing with in the pictures). And to save you 1,000+ words, here are the pictures:

I am hoping Ellie will go to sleep on the ride home from Costco so I can get some cleaning done this afternoon. Think it'll happen?

I love our local news!

The Gallatin County Sheriff's Office reports for Monday included the following:

* A man reported that his wife was spending his money around town.

* A bale of hay was blocking traffic in a passing lane on Interstate 90.

* A caller had questions about holding a sign while standing by a road.

* A teen with a white kerchief over his face was seen on private property on Good Medicine Way around 4:30 p.m. The boy and another boy rang the caller's doorbell then ran away.

* A crop duster flew over ranch employees and cattle on Moss Pass around 5 p.m. and sprayed them.

Where did my baby go?

The other night Ellie wanted to spend some time with me so I pulled out two games that I'd been saving for her. They were technically supposed to birthday gifts, but I figured she was ready for them and excited about them now, so I'd better not waste that enthusiasm!

We started with Candy Land, which was fun, but a little difficult for her to  figure out, with the two-square cards. Still, she did very well and stayed focused on the game until the end - when she won! (As a side note, this morning she wanted to play Candy Land again and she had no trouble with it, even the two-square cards, so I think it just took one round for her to get.) Then we played Chutes and Ladders. She liked the spinner, and caught on right away how the game was played, going up the ladders and down the slides. She thought the slides were the most fun, until she noticed that the pictures at the bottom of the chutes were of sad people. It didn't take her long to figure out that the ladders were good and the slides were bad! Of course, she somehow managed to win  that game against her mother, too, and didn't have any problems with the rules or playing until the end. She rather seemed to enjoy the games!

When it was time for her to go to bed, I asked her to pick a book for me to read to her. We've been on a long Dr. Seuss streak, so I expected more of the same that night. Instead, she handed me The Velveteen Rabbit, a book with a few chapters and very few pictures. I figured she'd lose interest early on, but I thought I'd give it a shot anyway, since that was the book she'd chosen. Instead of losing interest by the second page like I'd expected, she suprised me by sitting quietly by my side, snuggling, and listening to the story. She listened to the entire first chapter before I was done reading to her, 20 pages in all. That's where I decided to stop reading. We'll see if she wants to hear the rest of the story at a later time.

But where did my baby go? Who is this child that wants to play board games and read pictureless books with me? I'm not sure I'm ready for her to grow up yet...

The Latest Development: Progress

I keep getting the feeling that a beautiful three-year-old is trying to escape from inside my terrible two-year-old.

I have an idea!

We're sitting here eating lunch and Ellie just told me this:

*holding up her index finger*
"Wait just a minute... I have an IDEA!" *shifty eyes* "... and it's not even night yet!"

As if she usually doesn't have ideas until night. Ha ha! She does crack me up.

We are looking at Canada from a lookout tower at the top of a mountain on an island. Happy Memorial Day!

Could it be? Is Spring really here?

Well, it might just be true that Spring is here! I hope so, at least! This has been one of Ellie's favorite passtimes this week:

You'll notice there is very little sand left in the sandbox after a summer of playing in it and a winter of it sitting more or less vacant! But she has fun anyway. I would love to build a sandbox under her swingset (well, not under the swings!) for her to play in instead of this inflatable baby pool. Anyone want to take on that project for me???

Snow Cones

When your yard looks like this on April 24:

I am pretty sure this is the best response:

Snowcones! Made with real snow... It's a pretty good way to make a little girl happy!

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. But when Spring gives you snow, make snowcones!

Picture of the Day

Happy Mother's Day!!

To celebrate, I give you a picture of the ones who made me a mom... the one who gave birth to me in the first place, and the one I gave birth to when I became a mom! I love you both! Happy Mother's Day!

MOR with Gramme and Grandad

One of the last times Leif's parents were here, they all went with Ellie to the Museum of the Rockies. I think I was attending some training for Mary Kay, so I missed the adventure. For those of you who missed the adventure, too, here are some pictures...

Big Mike, Ellie's favorite dinosaur...

Ellie and Grammee by the sign next to Big Mike

Ellie exploring the exhibits at the museum. Their current exhibits are on how toys work and different kinds of treehouses, which is perfect for little kids to enjoy! We have seen the exhibits several times and Ellie hasn't tired of it yet! In fact, she asks pretty much every day if we can go to the dinosaur museum because she loves it so much.

Picture of the Day

Ellie about to be pelted by rose petals.

Today's quote: How do they go from hip hop to sleighbells? And why does the icecream truck play 'O Come All Ye Faithful'?

It's my lucky day! I just got 2 fortunes in my cookie!