In trying to catch up, I noticed I missed a few things. Kevin was at work, and we were out enjoying a nice day. As I was watching Jameson on the trampoline, I noticed he started doing flips. Not somersaults, actual flips. I text Kevin to tell him, and he requested a video. So, I sent this to him…

Oh my! At this rate, we might make some trips to the ER this summer. This little stunt devil is not afraid of anything. Uncle Paul was watching with me, and told me, “Now we need to teach him back flips.” Ummm no. We do not need to encourage his lack of fear.

Little Miss Ella turns 2! Kevin had to leave town for a business trip, so we decided to celebrate her birthday on Sunday. We had a few friends over that are our “family” here for some dinner and dessert. We had dinner, and then busted out the cupcakes. I have to say, the frosting was delicious made from here. Ella’s favorite song is “Appy irday to you!” So she was so excited for the song and cupcake. (I was a slacker and missed a picture before the candle went out.)

Not sure she ate much of the cupcakes, but every kid loved the frosting. I was trying to get a picture of her eating her cupcake, but every time she saw the camera she’d turn and say, “Cheese!”

I was lame this year and bought a cake. But, it was an ice cream cake and it was delicious! We had some presents to open along with a package from Grammy. Our sweet friends spoiled her just like family would. All the kids were so helpful in opening presents. Jameson insisted she needed help with everything, including playing with her new toys.

We had a great night with friends and love their company.

Ella has lost all of her baby-ness. Except maybe her nice chubby cheeks that I still love to kiss and chomp on. She says small sentences and phrases. She loves to jump and climb, run and wrestle. Basically she tries to copy anything her big brother does. She eats almost anything, and usually more than Jameson will. She no longer has her bottle, any by doing so, she drinks much less milk. She loves her binki, and I am in no hurry to push that issue. We’ll get there, hopefully before next baby comes. Ella is such a girl. She loves high heels, bracelets, necklaces, crowns, headbands. Any time we go to friends houses, she finds all their dress up stuff and comes out completely decked out. Since we had boy first, the thought of dress up has been far from my mind. So, for her birthday, I got her some princess dress-up shoes, that she now wears all over the house. She loves the itouch and whispers it in her sleep. Sometimes, I just don’t know what I am going to do with her.

I took both kids in for check-ups,. Ella is 30.2 lbs which puts her in the 75-90%, and is 34.5 in tall which puts her in the 75%. The doctor didn’t hear her murmur, which, is a good sign. It could have been because she has a cold, and the rumble in her chest from the cold might have covered it???? or that her hole is closing up. I still need to do the follow-up with the cardiologist, so we’ll see. She did really well at her appointment though. It’s a good thing we ask her about body parts, because it made checking her mouth super easy. We just asked her where here tongue was and she opened her mouth. We didn’t have to worry about shots, because our previous doctors take FOREVER to send records. So, until the new office gets the records, we can’t do any shots. Irritating.

Jameson finally got his 4 year check-up. He told the doctor tons of stories. The kid never stops talking now. Especially about rules. He was 48.4 lbs which puts him in the upper 95%. He is 44.25 in tall which again puts him in the upper 95%. Actually, on the chart he was around 115%. The doctor said there is a theory that at the age of 2, you double their height and that is how tall they will end up. That means Jamo would be around 6’1″. Makes sense. But, according to this theory, that would mean I should be about 5’8″, so I’m not too sure how dependable this theory is.

So, for now, every one is doing good. Ella is a big girl, and Jameson loves to tell her the rules.

I found a great deal on some bunk beds, so I persuaded Kevin to go pick them up. He wasn’t too excited at first, but we’re going to need them soon anyway. While Kevin was putting them together, Ella gave her bed a trial run (with no mattress).

It has been the best new toy ever. They play on those beds all day long. Bad news, Ella takes forever to go to bed at night. She slept fine in her crib, but now, it’s a trial every night. The next day, I found a mattress, for the same price I sold Jameson’s bed for. So after two days of having the bunk beds, Ella got to sleep in her new bed.

Story behind the beds: I’ve been scouting out the good old Craigslist for beds. I found these beds, including the dressers for $300. Didn’t even think to ask what brand they were. After a little debate, he drove 45 minutes for me to go get the beds. I measured, and the dressers should fit perfectly in the back of the car. I talked to him after he picked the furniture up. He actually admitted they were really nice. The family was moving at the end of the week. The next day, as he was starting to put them together, we had to look up the brand online for instructions. Turns out, the set would have cost us retail about $2000. How awesome was that find? I was pretty proud of myself, and Kevin has admitted a few times how nice they are. So, I am one happy girl. Now if I could just get the rug rats to sleep at night.

P.S.  Ella started to cry when I took her crib apart. She had just woken up from a nap, so I’ll credit it to that. It was pretty funny. Once I got their room arranged with some of their toys in there, she could have cared less about the crib.

Can you believe this girl is almost 2? I haven’t done an update on Ella in a while. This is her today at church in her new dress Grandma got for her. Everyone thinks she is adorable. I can’t blame them. During Sacrament meeting (the first hour of church), she sits on Kevin’s lap the entire time. Today, she was sitting by me at first, and got down to go sit with her dad. That’s their time. She eats, or plays, or does games on his phone the entire time. Hardly makes a sound. People comment to me all the time about how good she. Then I take her to nursery, and that a complete different story… until snack time. Then she is good.

Ella definitely has her own personality. She is complete drama sometimes. Full on, hands over her mouth in tears. Kind of funny sometimes. She is also a hitter. Jameson takes it, and never hits back, but she does wail on him sometimes. Not saying he doesn’t deserve it sometimes, but watch out around her.

Ella loves her daddy, but still needs her mom. She loves to sit on the counter while I cook. it makes things complicated, because I really do not have counter space, especially away from the stove. But, she knows it’s hot, and doesn’t try to touch anything. She loves to sing and dance. You can hear “appy irday” lots of times during the day. She loves it. She’s becoming a fan of the “tb” and likes to watch the monkey (Curious George.) She also knows how to get into netflix on any hand held device. She is way too smart for her age.

She will out eat Jameson at any meal, and loves steak. She will eat as much steak as me at dinner. Ella is starting to talk, and say more words, but never on command. She knows animals and sounds, but would never let you know it. If you ask her, “Ella, say …” She will say, “No.” or laugh, or just run off. Hardly ever will she repeat something. You have to catch her in the act. So many times Kevin will ask, “Did you know she can say..” I know it, because I’m around her all day and hear it, but he doesn’t . She is so determined. I am in so much trouble in another 10 years.

She climbs all over everything. Pulls poses with one leg up while holding onto the couch. Not sure what that is about. She can jump with 2 feet, I attribute this to the trampoline. She keeps up with Jameson, and loves shoes. She always needs, “sox, shoes.” Even though, we usually aren’t going anywhere. Ella loves to watch the fish in our fish tank, and especially loves dogs. She will get right up to them, but hardly tries to pet them. She still loves her binki, and asks for her bottle when going to bed. One day I might get up the nerve to take them away, but not today. Her blanket is her favorite, which is a problem, because it is falling apart. Of all our blankets, she chose one my mom make in college. That makes it about 30 years old, and it is disintegrating. If anyone has ideas what I can do to preserve it, let me know. Right know it’s not looking so hot.

We love this little girl and don’t know what our lives would be like with out her, but she sure does keep us on our toes. She has her dad’s curls and her mom’s attitude. Can’t wait to see how she grows.

Ella had her 18 month check-up this morning. After almost getting her appointment cancelled, because we were late, we made it with 1 minute to spare. Ella had no idea she would have to get shots, or what those are for that matter, so she was all smiles to begin with.

Her stats were:
Weight- 26 lbs 10.5 oz (79.16%)
height- 2′ 8.68″ (75.67%)
head circumference – 47cm (61.76%)

She is pretty much right on track. Then, I held her down while two nurses tag teamed and gave her 4 shots. Jameson was yelling in the back, “Don’t hurt my baby!” we made it, though, and we’re all happy again.

We can now enjoy the last 2 hours of church. Which means, Ella is 18 months! She had her first official week in nursery today, where I dropped her off and left as soon as she was distracted. This is unlike the last 2 weeks, where I sat in nursery with her. Jameson is a sunbeam, and Ella is now an official nursery attendee, which leaves my arms free free for the last 2 hours of church.

She does not like to be interrupted while eating. She and Jameson are starting to become good friends.

She has big blue eyes, which allow her to get whatever she wants. She can hold her own in a fight. It’s not surprising that she is constantly fighting with Jameson over toys. What is surprising, is that she wins. She doesn’t have a lot of words, but is as loud as Jameson. Her few words are:

Shoes (pretty clear)

Socks

Ma (always yelled)

hi (includes waves)

Bye (includes waves)

Hi Da (these two must be said together. Otherwise, Da is not said.)

She can shake her head “no” all the time, but when she shakes her head “yes” it is very deliberately done.

She will put her hand out and summon you to come to her.

She can count 1,2,3 except that she doesn’t say the numbers but has the connotation and influx in her voice. So really, only I know that she is counting. She also has a word for fish, but I don’t know what it is. I can tell when she says it, but it is not really a word. She sings and dances in the car and at church. She is also starting to pay attention to the tv. I know it sounds bad, but hallelujah! Ella loves her blanket that my mom made in college. Only problem is that the material is starting to disintegrate. She still loves a bottle for bedtime, and guards her binkis. I guess we need to start working on those.

This girl is full of life and demands her own attention. She will not take orders, but will do things in her own time. Oh, how I am getting paid back. We love her with all our hearts, though, and could not imagine life without her.

Every month I get a Pampers email informing me about my child. This month, it started telling my about my “45 month old.” Really? Isn’t it kind of unspoken that once you hit 2 years old you quit counting months? But, I haven’t really done an update about Jameson in a while, so I thought I would do one.

If you haven’t noticed, this kid is crazy. He is one of the most athletic 3 year olds I’ve ever met. He can bear crawl  just as fast as he can run on 2 feet. He is starting to write letters, and knows numbers. He sings songs and is so excited when he gets the “Number 1 Singer” wand in primary. I heard on Sunday he announced to his teachers, “I sing, I sing!’ so he could get the wand. He has found the fun in dressing up, and is now frequently a dragon. Proof? See below…

Some of the funny conversations lately have been…

One morning, Jameson climbed in our bed to get warm. He looked at his dad and said,

J-“Daddy, those your whiskers?”

Kevin- “Yes.”

J- “I don’t have whiskers, see?”

K- “Nope.”

J- “They went to lunch.”

He frequently gets in fights with his baby sister, and she usually wins them. She is a determined little booger. But, the minute anyone else is in the picture, he is a protector. She loves to follow him, and be one of the bigger kids. He still calls her “Baby” or “baby sister,” and keeps her on her toes.

He has also formed a really funny relationship with his best friend, Abby. When they play, I hear a lot of “Sweetheart, you ok?” or “Honey, we need to pack.” On the opposite end from Abby, I hear, “Babes, you have to be patient.” Cracks me up.

Almost every day I am told, “Mom, you know I love you?” Most of the time this is because he’s gotten into trouble, but it’s still awesome. His ritual anytime one of his friends leaves the house, he has to give them a hug, then blow a kiss, and finally a high five. He has to have the ritual anytime anyone leaves the house. Then, Ella has to have a high five, also.

Kevin played Jameson this version of “Little Pig” by Green Jello. Now, from the back seat, I constantly hear in a deep voice, “Little pig, little pig let me in.” Then in a shrill voice, “Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin.” Thank you, honey, for that.

What would we do without this little man. He’s crazy, but we love him. It’s so fun to watch him pick up new skills, and watch him get excited over things.