I often get in a cooking rut, so I love when people post recipes they like. So...here's a recipe I made last week that was a hit with everyone in my house! Ella took a bite and said "Daddy try it. It's delicious!" That is high praise-she is hard to please!!
This is a variation of "hobo packets" with hamburger and potato. I just used sausage instead and it worked great!
1 potato per person
1 package sausage (I used the Eckridge skinless smoked sausage-fully cooked)
raw carrots
salt & pepper
Chop potatoes and carrots into chunks (I peeled the skin off Rusty's and Ella's potato first but left mine on). Cut sausage into slices.
Rip off one large sheet of foil. Place a few dabs of butter in bottom, top with potatoes, then salt and pepper. Put carrots on potatoes, then place sausage on top of carrots. Make 1 packet per person.
Wrap packet up tight, but try to leave a little room for air. Place packets on large baking sheet (mine leaked a little). Place in 375 degree oven for about 50-60 minutes.
I actually did mine in a 375 oven for about 40 minutes and then cranked it up to 400 degrees and cooked another 15 minutes or so and it was perfect. I also didn't have carrots so I just cooked veggies seperate in the microwave.
This is really yummy and clean up is easy! The sausage makes the potatoes really yummy and flavorful. I was pretty liberal with the butter too so that probably didn't hurt either :)
Friday, January 28, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
Its a....
...BOY!! Probably everyone who reads this blog already knows that, but thought I'd post it anyways!! Here are a few pics from our ultrasound
His cute little profile!
And...the money shot. He definitely wasn't shy!
We are so so excited! Even more than being excited about having a boy, we're just happy that everything looked great and he is looks healthy!
We came home to tell Ella and she seemed to not care at all :) Rachel came home from work and had bought me a little onsie that said "Little Brother". I was holding it later and Ella said "hey, that's for my little brother!" So, I guess she understand a little!
His cute little profile!
And...the money shot. He definitely wasn't shy!
We are so so excited! Even more than being excited about having a boy, we're just happy that everything looked great and he is looks healthy!We came home to tell Ella and she seemed to not care at all :) Rachel came home from work and had bought me a little onsie that said "Little Brother". I was holding it later and Ella said "hey, that's for my little brother!" So, I guess she understand a little!
Friday, January 14, 2011
Winner!
Last month I won something on a blog giveaway! I see blog giveaways all the time but rarely enter them. One blog I read pretty frequently is The Macs blog. They have an amazing (and sad) story and God has really used them. They are so humble. They had a giveaway in December for a $50 gift card to DaySpring-I entered and I won! So I wanted to give some recognition to The Macs blog since I won from them, and also to DaySpring! I had always thought DaySpring only did cards and stationary but they had a ton of stuff and great prices! Here is everything I got for $50:
A Calendar Set-it came with a full sized calendar, a smaller desk sized calendar and a purse dayplanner.
I got a mug for my mom for her birthday:
A child-sized apron for Ella:
A mug for Rusty for Christmas:
This Christmas serving platter that says "Jesus is the Gift":
I also got an advent calendar for next Christmas that I forgot to take a picture of.
A Calendar Set-it came with a full sized calendar, a smaller desk sized calendar and a purse dayplanner.
I got a mug for my mom for her birthday:
A child-sized apron for Ella:
A mug for Rusty for Christmas:
This Christmas serving platter that says "Jesus is the Gift":
I also got an advent calendar for next Christmas that I forgot to take a picture of. :)
Saturday, January 08, 2011
Thoughts and Ramblings
As I started thinking about 2011 and some goals I wanted to set for myself and my family, I was a little overwhelmed at how many things I came up with. Looking back over the list, they all boiled down to one thing-spending more time with God. By myself and as a family. I came across 2 blog entries recently that I thought I would share. I came across this blog over a year ago and follow up from time to time because I'm always inspired! I love how purposeful this girl is with her children.
One thing I've been recently convicted with is praying for Ella (and this new baby). I feel like I should be praying daily for Ella but there are times when I can't remember the last time I just sat down and prayed for her (I hate to admit). So when I came across this idea, I had to share it. Here's a link for an awesome idea-a prayer journal for your children. I really want to try this! I think it will help me better relate to Ella and be more patient with her. As her mother, I am called to pray for her and will be held accountable before God on how I raise her.
Another great idea this same girl had was creating a morning routine. We have a very loose morning routine, I don't like it. I feel like I'm constantly on Ella's schedule, especially lately. I feel like there has been a very definite change in Ella's behavior lately-she has become very defiante and is constantly testing boundaries. I think having a set schedule every morning would really help. Here's a link for this one. I find this a little overwhelming, but very inspiring. I'm not exactly sure how we would implement this since a lot of play dates, outings, etc. take place in the morning for us. Plus Ella wake up around 5:30 and I'm barley coherent at that time of day! But I'm sure I could do something more that what I'm doing now. I love that this incorporates bible time and chores-neither of which are things we do on a regular basis.
These are both BIG steps for me and are a big time commitment. But as I looked back on 2010, I was asking myself "what area of my life have I grown in?" I really couldn't come up with anything. I had not been in the word more, fallen more in love with Christ, or grown as a wife or mother. What did I do in 2010? I was not purposeful. So...these are just a few of the areas I would like to grow in for 2011. Being a mama is a priveledge and I want to honor God in how I am raising these children that He has blessed me with.
One thing Rusty and I have started doing as a family is family devotion time before Ella's bath time. We've only done it a few times but hope to do it every night except Wednesday and Thursday when we have Awana and Life Group. But even after just doing it the one time, Ella remembered it and was excited about doing it the next time. She knew where to get the bible (we just use her children's bible), and that she needed to go sit on the couch. We're still working on not letting her bring any toys (tonight she wanted to bring her farm animals with her), but it's a work in progress. We also have a short prayer time afterwards. She still hasn't said her first prayer by herself, but I will ask her who she wants to pray for and then I will pray. I try to get her to repeat prayers but so far she hasn't wanted to. Tonight when we asked who she wanted to pray for, she said "Aunt Lori"-one of Rusty's sisters. So, we prayed for Aunt Lori!
I'm excited to see how God will work this year in our family!
One thing I've been recently convicted with is praying for Ella (and this new baby). I feel like I should be praying daily for Ella but there are times when I can't remember the last time I just sat down and prayed for her (I hate to admit). So when I came across this idea, I had to share it. Here's a link for an awesome idea-a prayer journal for your children. I really want to try this! I think it will help me better relate to Ella and be more patient with her. As her mother, I am called to pray for her and will be held accountable before God on how I raise her.
Another great idea this same girl had was creating a morning routine. We have a very loose morning routine, I don't like it. I feel like I'm constantly on Ella's schedule, especially lately. I feel like there has been a very definite change in Ella's behavior lately-she has become very defiante and is constantly testing boundaries. I think having a set schedule every morning would really help. Here's a link for this one. I find this a little overwhelming, but very inspiring. I'm not exactly sure how we would implement this since a lot of play dates, outings, etc. take place in the morning for us. Plus Ella wake up around 5:30 and I'm barley coherent at that time of day! But I'm sure I could do something more that what I'm doing now. I love that this incorporates bible time and chores-neither of which are things we do on a regular basis.
These are both BIG steps for me and are a big time commitment. But as I looked back on 2010, I was asking myself "what area of my life have I grown in?" I really couldn't come up with anything. I had not been in the word more, fallen more in love with Christ, or grown as a wife or mother. What did I do in 2010? I was not purposeful. So...these are just a few of the areas I would like to grow in for 2011. Being a mama is a priveledge and I want to honor God in how I am raising these children that He has blessed me with.
One thing Rusty and I have started doing as a family is family devotion time before Ella's bath time. We've only done it a few times but hope to do it every night except Wednesday and Thursday when we have Awana and Life Group. But even after just doing it the one time, Ella remembered it and was excited about doing it the next time. She knew where to get the bible (we just use her children's bible), and that she needed to go sit on the couch. We're still working on not letting her bring any toys (tonight she wanted to bring her farm animals with her), but it's a work in progress. We also have a short prayer time afterwards. She still hasn't said her first prayer by herself, but I will ask her who she wants to pray for and then I will pray. I try to get her to repeat prayers but so far she hasn't wanted to. Tonight when we asked who she wanted to pray for, she said "Aunt Lori"-one of Rusty's sisters. So, we prayed for Aunt Lori!
I'm excited to see how God will work this year in our family!
Saturday, January 01, 2011
Happy New Year :)
Happy New Year! Hard to believe the holiday season is over-well not officially over for us since we haven't done Christmas with Rusty's side of the family yet-that will be next weekend. Thankfully it's not at my house so the de-Christmasing has begun! I was already clearing out the Christmas decor the day after Christmas. The only thing left is my Christmas tree which is hopefully coming down later today! It doesn't help that it's been warm here-it was almost 60 degrees yesterday! It put me in the spring cleaning mood so I was going nuts cleaning and organizing yesterday!
Our Christmas was great! Chris & Sarah came from TX and stayed Weds-Sun with us. It was hard to see them leave. Ella just LOVED them. We were worried about how she'd do since they left in August, but it was like no time had passed! When we saw them at the airport, she immediately went to Aunt "Sawah" and rode the escalators with her. She was just in her element the whole time they were here.
Christmas morning was fun. Ella loved all her presents-here she is with the easel that daddy bought her
...and her tickle monster hands. She likes to put these on and chase us around the house.
This pic is a little blurry, but this is Ella in her Christmas dress in front of the tree. She was pretty darn cute if I do say so myself!
Before the "heat wave" came in, we had a ton of snow. Remeber Ella last year in the snow?? Well this year was a different story. She loved it and didn't want to come in! She was so funny though-we had a sled for her but it had just been sitting in our garage so it had gotten a little dirty and there was a tiny little dead gnat in it. We wiped it out but she just couldn't get over the fact that there had been a dead bug in it. So the entire time we were pulling her on it, she wanted to get out because she didn't want to sit on a bug. Girly girl!
Our other big news (which probably everyone already knows) is that Ella is in her big girl bed! Her crib converts to a day bed/toddler bed thing, so it wasn't a huge transition. We started out by putting a safety rail up, but since it really wasn't supposed to go with this particular bed, it came up really high. We weren't sure she realized she could get out. We wanted to teach her to stay in bed even though she could get out herself. So yesterday we took off the rail. It makes me nervous because she could fall out, but I guess that's just something she needs to learn too. If she does fall out its a very short fall to the floor and we have it lined with a ton of pillows so it wouldn't hurt. So far so good though! She's stayed in her bed all night long and hasn't fallen out! I'm still not sure she's even thought of getting out. When she wakes up, she just calls for me and when I come to get her she's standing up in bed waiting for me. So we'll see if the realization of her freedom kicks in any time soon :)
Our Christmas was great! Chris & Sarah came from TX and stayed Weds-Sun with us. It was hard to see them leave. Ella just LOVED them. We were worried about how she'd do since they left in August, but it was like no time had passed! When we saw them at the airport, she immediately went to Aunt "Sawah" and rode the escalators with her. She was just in her element the whole time they were here.
Christmas morning was fun. Ella loved all her presents-here she is with the easel that daddy bought her
...and her tickle monster hands. She likes to put these on and chase us around the house.
This pic is a little blurry, but this is Ella in her Christmas dress in front of the tree. She was pretty darn cute if I do say so myself!
Before the "heat wave" came in, we had a ton of snow. Remeber Ella last year in the snow?? Well this year was a different story. She loved it and didn't want to come in! She was so funny though-we had a sled for her but it had just been sitting in our garage so it had gotten a little dirty and there was a tiny little dead gnat in it. We wiped it out but she just couldn't get over the fact that there had been a dead bug in it. So the entire time we were pulling her on it, she wanted to get out because she didn't want to sit on a bug. Girly girl!
Our other big news (which probably everyone already knows) is that Ella is in her big girl bed! Her crib converts to a day bed/toddler bed thing, so it wasn't a huge transition. We started out by putting a safety rail up, but since it really wasn't supposed to go with this particular bed, it came up really high. We weren't sure she realized she could get out. We wanted to teach her to stay in bed even though she could get out herself. So yesterday we took off the rail. It makes me nervous because she could fall out, but I guess that's just something she needs to learn too. If she does fall out its a very short fall to the floor and we have it lined with a ton of pillows so it wouldn't hurt. So far so good though! She's stayed in her bed all night long and hasn't fallen out! I'm still not sure she's even thought of getting out. When she wakes up, she just calls for me and when I come to get her she's standing up in bed waiting for me. So we'll see if the realization of her freedom kicks in any time soon :)Here's a video of her seeing her big girl bed for the first time...
I'm excited for 2011! This will be an exciting year for us, obviously with the addition to our family in June! My pregnancy is going pretty well so far. Over Christmas, I did have a little scare with some spotting. Since our miscarriage last year occured on Christmas Day, it made me more worried than I might have been otherwise. But thankfully when I went to the Dr. when they opened, they said everything was fine. I just overdid it a little over Christmas. We find out Jan 20th if Ella will have a little brother or little sister! Ella has said over and over that it is a girl, but I'm feeling more boy this time around so we'll see who's right! I admit I'm hoping a little more for a boy just to have 1 of each but of course I'll be so happy either way! Ella is starting to understand more and more about the baby. She'll kiss my tummy or sometimes if she's in not so nice of a mood she'll "crush" the baby, pressing her hands on my stomach. Hopefully that won't be something she does to the baby!!
Wishing you all a blessed New Year!
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Big News!
I thought I had pics to attach to this post but I'm not sure where they went! BUT, just wanted to finally announce our big news-Ella's going to be a big sister!! My due date is June 14th. We're very excited! We've had 1 ultrasound and today I heard the heartbeat again so I felt comfortable announcing it. It was hard to wait this long! We had a bit of a hard road getting here, again-not as hard as with Ella but it still wasn't easy. We lost a pregnancy about a year ago and then it just took a little while to conceive again-so we're just very happy and excited! I'll try to post some pics soon!
Thursday, November 04, 2010
Major Catch Up
Is anyone still reading my sad little blog? It has been so neglected! I have nothing to say for myself other than I have been really lacking motivation! I feel like we've been in survival mode a little bit for the past month or so. Ella's been battling another ear infection (JUST when we thought we were rid of those pesky things!), so sleep has been hard to come by. If I can manage to take a shower, get Ella dressed and get dinner on the table, I feel like my day has been a success!
But in the midst of lack of sleep and sickness, we've been doing great and have been enjoying Fall! Yay for Fall.
Doesn't Ella look so OLD in this picture? I have really no reason for posting it other than that. And because she's cute!
I'm going to try and recap our last month or so! We had the Fall birthday celebration at Rusty's grandma's house so Ella got to have another birthday party! Here are some shots with her great granny, who she calls "Baga"-you can tell she loves her a lot!
A few weeks ago we went to Zoo Boo for the first time. It was fun but I think Ella was a little too young to enjoy it as much as the older kids did. She did love the candy and especially the safari animals since her favorite movie is The Lion King right now! Here she is with her friend Ally! In case you can't tell, Ella was wonder woman and Ally was a strawberry :)
Super Ella!
Ella is very shy to strangers and is extremely clingy to me right now, so it always surprises me that she isn't scared of these giant animals! She likes the big dinosaur that walks around The Childrens Museum too.
I've been trying to be better about staying at home and finding things (other than watching TV) to do. So a few weeks ago I made my own play-dough for the first time. It was a hit! Its so much softer and easier to work with than store bought play-dough! I'll definitely make it again. Here's a link to the recipe I used in case anyone wants to try it: Play-dough recipe
I was so excited to take Ella trick or treating this year! Unfortunately, I took her to the dr. on the Friday before Halloween and she had a pretty yucky double ear infection. I decided to go ahead and do 1 round of antibiotics to see if we could just get rid of it that way since I'd already tried my natural approach a few weeks ago and it didn't seem to work. They put her on omnicef, which I know she had last winter. For some reason this time around, her system just did not handle it well and it resulted in some unpleasant side effects. They hit hard on Sunday after church and we decided to forgo trick or treating. I was so bummed! Her costume was just too hard to get off and on and we were having to do very frequent diaper changes at that point. So instead, she put on her tutu and fairy wings and helped Daddy hand out candy. Every time the door bell rang, she ran to the door and said "more friends are at our door!" At some point we'll have to tell her that not everyone who comes to our door is a friend, but at this point, it's the only thing that makes her not scared of people coming over! Here she is, looking pretty happy considering the rough day she had!
The other new thing we've been doing is the sensory tub. I'd seen it on a few blogs and had wanted to try it for awhile but just never got around to it. It is a HUGE hit! I would say she has spent at least 2 hours a day off and on since I put this out. The idea is to change it up every once in awhile with different textures and items. I know some girls do it seasonally. I also have seem them ranging in sizes to big ones that kids can sit in, to pretty small ones. I had originally wanted to use dry beans but couldn't find any cheap ones. Then I saw one girl who had used oatmeal so I decided to do that. I just used bowls and scoops from her kitchen and a few other things and tossed it all in. I can't tell you how much she loves it! If anyone tries this, I will warn you, using oatmeal is messy! It starts to break down pretty quickly and leaves a powdery dust. But it does clean up really quickly. I also made the mistake of turning my back for quite awhile the first time Ella used this. Here is how it went.
But in the midst of lack of sleep and sickness, we've been doing great and have been enjoying Fall! Yay for Fall.
Doesn't Ella look so OLD in this picture? I have really no reason for posting it other than that. And because she's cute!
I'm going to try and recap our last month or so! We had the Fall birthday celebration at Rusty's grandma's house so Ella got to have another birthday party! Here are some shots with her great granny, who she calls "Baga"-you can tell she loves her a lot!
A few weeks ago we went to Zoo Boo for the first time. It was fun but I think Ella was a little too young to enjoy it as much as the older kids did. She did love the candy and especially the safari animals since her favorite movie is The Lion King right now! Here she is with her friend Ally! In case you can't tell, Ella was wonder woman and Ally was a strawberry :)
Super Ella!
Ella is very shy to strangers and is extremely clingy to me right now, so it always surprises me that she isn't scared of these giant animals! She likes the big dinosaur that walks around The Childrens Museum too.
I've been trying to be better about staying at home and finding things (other than watching TV) to do. So a few weeks ago I made my own play-dough for the first time. It was a hit! Its so much softer and easier to work with than store bought play-dough! I'll definitely make it again. Here's a link to the recipe I used in case anyone wants to try it: Play-dough recipeElla doesn't look super excited about it in this picture, but she really does love it! I got out all my cookie cutters and she cut out lots of fun shapes. At the last garage sale I went to, I got a ton of play-dough equipment for $1! So she's been having lots of fun with that too.
I was so excited to take Ella trick or treating this year! Unfortunately, I took her to the dr. on the Friday before Halloween and she had a pretty yucky double ear infection. I decided to go ahead and do 1 round of antibiotics to see if we could just get rid of it that way since I'd already tried my natural approach a few weeks ago and it didn't seem to work. They put her on omnicef, which I know she had last winter. For some reason this time around, her system just did not handle it well and it resulted in some unpleasant side effects. They hit hard on Sunday after church and we decided to forgo trick or treating. I was so bummed! Her costume was just too hard to get off and on and we were having to do very frequent diaper changes at that point. So instead, she put on her tutu and fairy wings and helped Daddy hand out candy. Every time the door bell rang, she ran to the door and said "more friends are at our door!" At some point we'll have to tell her that not everyone who comes to our door is a friend, but at this point, it's the only thing that makes her not scared of people coming over! Here she is, looking pretty happy considering the rough day she had!
The other new thing we've been doing is the sensory tub. I'd seen it on a few blogs and had wanted to try it for awhile but just never got around to it. It is a HUGE hit! I would say she has spent at least 2 hours a day off and on since I put this out. The idea is to change it up every once in awhile with different textures and items. I know some girls do it seasonally. I also have seem them ranging in sizes to big ones that kids can sit in, to pretty small ones. I had originally wanted to use dry beans but couldn't find any cheap ones. Then I saw one girl who had used oatmeal so I decided to do that. I just used bowls and scoops from her kitchen and a few other things and tossed it all in. I can't tell you how much she loves it! If anyone tries this, I will warn you, using oatmeal is messy! It starts to break down pretty quickly and leaves a powdery dust. But it does clean up really quickly. I also made the mistake of turning my back for quite awhile the first time Ella used this. Here is how it went.Started off pretty great!
She figured out after about 20 minutes that she could fit inside it!
It kind of went down hill from there-notice the oatmeal, everywhere!
Oh well. It took all of 5 minutes to clean up. And she told me about 100 times "mommy, I having FUN!", so that made it worth it! Now its the first thing she asks for when she wakes up. And she's gotten much better about keeping the oatmeal in the tub and she hasn't gotten back in it since that first time. I think i will try beans next time just for something new and hopefully a little less messy.
Last Saturday we went to have some family pics taken! We've actually never gone anywhere to do family pics, and I haven't done any professional (well, Target) pics with Ella since her 1st bday! Its just always such a hassle to coordinate, plus Ella just has never done well with getting her pics taken by someone other than me. But my friend Erin just started her own photography business and she had this really pretty location that she used. So I figured with it being outside, Ella might do a little better. So we scheduled but, but unfortunately it was only 42 degrees out when we did these pictures! We were only outside for about 30 minutes and I was hugging and warming Ella up between pics. She wasn't a very happy girl. She really wanted to explore and play but it was just too cold. But despite her unhappy mood, I think Erin got some good shots and I was happy overall with how they turned out! One little smile from Ella would have been nice, but oh well. Maybe next time! Here are a few (for anyone who hasn't seen them on facebook).
She figured out after about 20 minutes that she could fit inside it!
It kind of went down hill from there-notice the oatmeal, everywhere!
Oh well. It took all of 5 minutes to clean up. And she told me about 100 times "mommy, I having FUN!", so that made it worth it! Now its the first thing she asks for when she wakes up. And she's gotten much better about keeping the oatmeal in the tub and she hasn't gotten back in it since that first time. I think i will try beans next time just for something new and hopefully a little less messy.Last Saturday we went to have some family pics taken! We've actually never gone anywhere to do family pics, and I haven't done any professional (well, Target) pics with Ella since her 1st bday! Its just always such a hassle to coordinate, plus Ella just has never done well with getting her pics taken by someone other than me. But my friend Erin just started her own photography business and she had this really pretty location that she used. So I figured with it being outside, Ella might do a little better. So we scheduled but, but unfortunately it was only 42 degrees out when we did these pictures! We were only outside for about 30 minutes and I was hugging and warming Ella up between pics. She wasn't a very happy girl. She really wanted to explore and play but it was just too cold. But despite her unhappy mood, I think Erin got some good shots and I was happy overall with how they turned out! One little smile from Ella would have been nice, but oh well. Maybe next time! Here are a few (for anyone who hasn't seen them on facebook).
Ok, I think I'm caught up! Whew! I'm going to try hard to have more regular posts from now on!
Sunday, September 26, 2010
2 years ago...
Two years ago today, I was in the hospital, getting ready to have a baby! Hard to believe it's been 2 years. Best 2 years of my life for sure!
Ella's bday party was yesterday. We just ended up doing a family party and that worked out great. Ella was a little overwhelmed by all the presents! She just wanted to stop and play with each thing. Overall she did great and got lots of fun new toys! Minnie Mouse was definitely the theme of the day-I certainly hope she loves Minnie for a LONG time!
Here was her Minnie cake...I did NOT leave myself enough time to make this! I'm not sure what I was thinking-I didn't start icing it until about 2 hours before the party. It was much harder to do than I thought it would be and I didn't even ice the edges. Oh well! It definitely wasn't perfect but I don't think Ella cared :) One mistake I made was showing her the cake at the beginning of the party instead of right before we were about to eat. All she wanted to do was eat that cake! I ended up putting her in time out at her own party because she was just out of control!
Looking at her gift pile, ready to dive in!
I was so excited to find this-its a Minnie Mouse oven mitt! She loves to "borrow" mine and pretend to bake. This also came with a little mini cupcake pan, spatula and decorating kit. Cute!
Aunt Rachel got her these dress up Minnie Shoes! They are so cute! Today all she wanted to do was twirl around in her Minnie Shoes :)
This was probably her favorite present of the day-a Minnie Mouse and Car from Uncle Chris and Aunt Sarah. We were able to skype them in during present time! (oh, if you are wondering about that bump on her head...she had a little run in with a brick fireplace-so sad)
Time for Cake!
This was about the best family picture we got-Ella was NOT in the mood all day!
Reading her new book with Aunt Rachel
Much happier after her nap!
Here are some things about Ella at 2 years old...
Ella's bday party was yesterday. We just ended up doing a family party and that worked out great. Ella was a little overwhelmed by all the presents! She just wanted to stop and play with each thing. Overall she did great and got lots of fun new toys! Minnie Mouse was definitely the theme of the day-I certainly hope she loves Minnie for a LONG time!
Here was her Minnie cake...I did NOT leave myself enough time to make this! I'm not sure what I was thinking-I didn't start icing it until about 2 hours before the party. It was much harder to do than I thought it would be and I didn't even ice the edges. Oh well! It definitely wasn't perfect but I don't think Ella cared :) One mistake I made was showing her the cake at the beginning of the party instead of right before we were about to eat. All she wanted to do was eat that cake! I ended up putting her in time out at her own party because she was just out of control!
Looking at her gift pile, ready to dive in!
I was so excited to find this-its a Minnie Mouse oven mitt! She loves to "borrow" mine and pretend to bake. This also came with a little mini cupcake pan, spatula and decorating kit. Cute!
Aunt Rachel got her these dress up Minnie Shoes! They are so cute! Today all she wanted to do was twirl around in her Minnie Shoes :)
This was probably her favorite present of the day-a Minnie Mouse and Car from Uncle Chris and Aunt Sarah. We were able to skype them in during present time! (oh, if you are wondering about that bump on her head...she had a little run in with a brick fireplace-so sad)
Time for Cake!
This was about the best family picture we got-Ella was NOT in the mood all day!
Reading her new book with Aunt Rachel
Much happier after her nap! 
Here are some things about Ella at 2 years old...*she's still mostly a mommy's girl, but has gotten MUCH more attached to daddy
*not a great eater lately-her favorite meal is cheese in a tortilla and grapes
*talks so well! her favorite phrase is "oh goodness!" and "I'm Ok Mommy!"
*sleeps from about 8pm-6:30am, 1 nap a day, usually around an hour
*loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Agent Oso, Pooh Movies, Finding Nemo and Cars
*Loves reading-her favorites are Pokey Little Puppy, Goodnight Moon, Guess How Much I love you, and her "Alice book"-a pop up Alice in Wonderland book
*talks on her play phone a lot-mostly to Aunt "Fra" (Sarah)
*Has gotten much better about recognizing people and going to them, much to the delight of the grandparents
*In mostly 2T clothes but some of her 18 and even 12 month clothes still fit!
*Giving kisses is probably her favorite thing to do-she probably kisses me at least 50 times a day-love it!
I'll probably go back and edit when I think of more things but my mind is going blank! She's just a fun loving and sweet little girl. She's so affectionate and sweet-most of the time! We can tell she's transitioning into the phase where she will really be testing her boundaries and seeing what she can get away with. So far she is very responsive to time outs and the occasional spanking. We have not had to spank her too many times but I can already tell she is staring to work the system with the time outs, so spankings may be happening more often in our house. I'm thankful for her sweet spirit and look forward to seeing her personality develop more and more!
Monday, August 09, 2010
I was catching up on some of my regular blogs today and realized what a post slacker I've been! So here is my attempt to catch up!
I realized I hadn't even posted 4th of July pics, oops! So here are a few. Here is Ella with her Uncle Chris, who (whom?) she loves dearly. She'll be so sad to see him and Aunt Sarah leave in just a few weeks-they are moving to Texas!
Ella's obsession with Mickey Mouse continues.
Jen-this one's for you! We had a play date a few weeks ago and one of the little boys, Tyler, had this cool Mickey Mouse sippy cup. Ella just fell in love with it! So a few days after they left, I found a 3 pack at Walmart. I intended to give them to her one at a time, every once in awhile. But she saw them before I could put them away and just got SO excited that I just let her have them all :) She is pretty much always with these things!
Since it's been so hot here, we've been going to the Children's Museum a lot. Ella loves these wooden bears in the PlayScape area. She loves to hug them.
A few weekends ago we went to my Aunt's to celebrate my cousin's 19th bday.
I think Ella is saying "why are you taking pictures when we could be eating cake?"
Practicing her moves
Visiting my aunt always makes me want to move to the country! They have lots of wide open space and just built this beautiful wrap around porch, which Ella loves to run on!
Next up-State Fair! Hopefully we can go a few times this week as long as we can handle the heat!
I realized I hadn't even posted 4th of July pics, oops! So here are a few. Here is Ella with her Uncle Chris, who (whom?) she loves dearly. She'll be so sad to see him and Aunt Sarah leave in just a few weeks-they are moving to Texas!
Ella's obsession with Mickey Mouse continues.
Jen-this one's for you! We had a play date a few weeks ago and one of the little boys, Tyler, had this cool Mickey Mouse sippy cup. Ella just fell in love with it! So a few days after they left, I found a 3 pack at Walmart. I intended to give them to her one at a time, every once in awhile. But she saw them before I could put them away and just got SO excited that I just let her have them all :) She is pretty much always with these things!
Since it's been so hot here, we've been going to the Children's Museum a lot. Ella loves these wooden bears in the PlayScape area. She loves to hug them.
A few weekends ago we went to my Aunt's to celebrate my cousin's 19th bday.
I think Ella is saying "why are you taking pictures when we could be eating cake?"
Practicing her moves
Visiting my aunt always makes me want to move to the country! They have lots of wide open space and just built this beautiful wrap around porch, which Ella loves to run on!
Next up-State Fair! Hopefully we can go a few times this week as long as we can handle the heat!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
