Week in review

I am loving our day to day life as a family...we are so blessed. Ellery is getting bigger every day and transforming into a little toddler right before our eyes. Her little mind is working overtime, adding new words to her vocabulary seemingly by the minute. It is amazing!

So let's see this week...we have officially transitioned to one nap a day instead of two. I am actually really enjoying the new schedule although Ellery is still adjusting and often falls asleep in the car before I can get her home for her after-lunch nap. I can get her out of the car, upstairs, change her diaper, take off her shoes and she doesn't wake up! Tired girl!

Wednesday night Nathan and I officially graduated from our parenting class at church. It is based on the Love and Logic method of discipline and we have gained so much insight. I find myself listening to parents around me whether at the grocery store or at Target and thinking about what they could have done or said different. Don't be fooled though - I am completely stumped at times at home with Ellery and all my "learned" skills go out the window!

We had a fun play date with Roanna and Jake Friday morning. Roanna and I went to school together for our masters degree and she just moved back to Houston having been in Ohio while her husband completed medical school. Baby Jake is almost 7 months old and Ellery acted like a sweet big sister (most of the time). It was fun having a little boy around for a change!

Friday night Lulu and Poppy offered to keep Ellery overnight. Nathan and I had a date night and were able to catch a movie. We saw Dan in Real Life with Steve Carell, and while I know it got bad reviews, I actually really liked it. But I may not be the best judge of movies. I am only a fan of movies with happy endings and non-dark story lines! I think Ellery had a great time hanging out with her grandparents too...going to dinner, for ice cream, walks on the boulevard, and endless play time!

We have spent quite a bit of time outdoors this week because of our beautiful weather. Here are some pictures we took on our play date and then just playing in the backyard with Colby:

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...well not really

Wow...it has been so beautiful outside these past couple of days. We are taking full advantage of it this weekend. Ellery was in her "mommy" mode Friday afternoon, pushing Colby around in her car. She would push him a little ways, then go around to the front of the car and give Colby a little pat on the head. This lasted at least 30 minutes until she decided it was her turn to sit and be pushed. We also went winter shoe shopping for Ellery! I had noticed that it was getting difficult to put her shoes on and thought perhaps we needed to move up a half a size. Well we went to Stride Rite and had her feet measured....they had grown an entire size since the beginning of September. This is a good thing because while Ellery is in the 90th percentile for height, I think the size of her feet may have been in the 10th percentile! We ended up purchasing three new pairs of shoes which is way too many, but my daughter (who may have inherited a shoe shopping gene) was picking out just as many for her to try on as I was. A girl DOES need play shoes, boots, and a dressy pair!

This afternoon we are taking a short road trip to Galveston to take some Christmas pictures at the beach. I know it is way too early to think about Christmas but I am READY! I love putting up the tree, looking at all the beautiful lights, feeling the cool air outside, eating yummy treats, and of course rejoicing in the true meaning and celebration of the season. Hopefully Ellery will enjoy being at the beach (although it will definitely not be Jamaica) and we can get a few good pics in as well!

Some random pictures from the week

Eating donuts for the first time...she licked the glaze off and fed Colby the rest.

Little bookworm


Where's your tummy? Showing off her gymbo stamp


Thanks daddy for this new fun game

And then there was 1...

It seems our house has been hit with the awful stomach bug. Ellery had it on Friday and then I came down with it on Sunday night. While Ellery is already back to her usual, energetic self, it is taking me a little longer to feel 100%. I can recall once in my entire childhood that I was sick with a stomach bug, and now as an adult I have been hit with it twice in 4 months!!
Nathan was so great to stay home yesterday with Ellery and "play mom". They went to Freebirds for lunch, the car wash, played with the fax machine (something I never let her do and for good reason, because now it doesn't work), and did other fun stuff that I am not aware of because I barely got out of bed all day. They did bring me home a get well gift - a huge balloon that says "For a Great Boss". It seems yesterday was Boss's Day and they found it fitting. Today as Nathan was leaving for work, Ellery was clinging to his leg saying "didi, didi". Why are dads so much more fun??

Pumpkins!

Not much has been going on this week that is very blog-worthy. I did take Ellery to see the pumpkin patch which was so very exciting, until I realized my camera battery was dead after photograph number four. Bummer. Out of all the pumpkins of every shape and size, her favorites were the squash and corn. Of course, I didn't get a picture so we might just have to go back. Until then, this is the best couple out of the bunch:






Nathan took Ellery to school on Thursday and I just had to get a shot of her holding her lunch box. She is in love with her lunchbox. It is hilarious watching her prance (yes, she now prances on her tip toes) through the school doors with her lunchbox in hand. She seriously acts like she is five sometimes!




Oh and Ellery's latest fascination? The wrinkles on her knuckles! She will just sit and stare at them for minutes. Isn't life through the eyes of an almost 16 month-old so intriguing? All sorts of new discoveries everyday!

A visit to Bebe and Pops

This past weekend we loaded up in the car and drove to Arlington to visit Bebe and Pops. It was great seeing their new home and Ellery just loved being there. She especially enjoyed being outdoors where she played in the dirt, waved to dogs, threw rocks, and tried to fit EVERY leaf through the cracks in the bridge near by. Why do we even buy toys??
Nathan and his dad went to the Texas vs. OU game on Saturday and painfully watched the Longhorns get beat by the Sooners. I have been to this game before and know just how painful it is for the losing team. Poor winners is all I have to say...I have never heard such mean language and hatred shown between two teams. So I was really hoping Colt would pull off a win for his team. Needless to say, everyone is in a much better mood at my household when Texas is victorious.
Our plan was to wake up on Sunday and take Ellery to the State Fair. However, about 10 minutes into our car ride she had passed out in her car seat and we saw rain clouds looming overhead. We decided that we would just go ahead and drive home and make her State Fair debut next year. I have to say I was a little bummed. I had decided that I would put my vegetarian ways aside for one day and buy a Fletcher's corny dog. I don't even really like corn dogs, but these things are incredible. Oh well, maybe next year!

Our Little Artist

This is kind of funny - here are two of Ellery's latest works of art that she created at school. I was informed that this month is all about fall. They will be learning about the color of leaves, spiders, and pumpkins! Her chapel program begins this month too!