Picky, picky

Since it has been HOT the past few days I decided it was a good time to break out the sprinkler and baby pool. Unfortunately, Ella is not a fan of the sprinkler. She wasn't last year, and she is not this year either. 

Ella loves water, but it has to be just the right temperature for her to really enjoy it. Today I got her a new pool that has a little slide, and a tube you throw balls in. Those are two of her favorite things. I was hoping they would take her mind off the cold water. 

It worked! She loved it, and she didn't even seem to mind the water. Now all I hear is "swimming" "slide" "balls". What have I done!? 

Her feet are touching cold water. It's a miracle! :) 

So cute!

Most little girls love to wear their mommy's shoes, but Ella loves to wear her daddy's!

Daddy's shoes

Aren't those the cutest legs you have ever seen!? 

Ella put on Adam's shoes in our closet the other day and walked over to the window to watch our neighbor cut grass. Luckily, she stood there long enough so I could get a picture!

Stormy Night

We were graced with some pretty crazy storms last night. I was a little bit worried so I put some pillows and blankets in the bathroom before the storm got here. I also put our lanterns and our radio in there just in case the electricity went off. 

Of course the storm was supposed to hit around 8:00, which is Ella's bedtime. I decided I better  keep her up just in case things got really bad.

I had the news on, but I wasn't really paying attention. I heard Jeff Lyons say that a rotating cloud was spotted on the north side, and if you live North of Boonville-New Harmony Road you need to go in your basement or bathroom. We live right off of Boonville-New Harmony!  Ella, Brody, and I headed for the bathroom. Adam had to get Elliott out from under the bed. 

We sat in the bathtub and waited for the storm to blow over. Our electricity went off just as soon as the storm started. Thank goodness for our lanterns and our iPad. Ella thought it was so fun hanging out in the bathtub with the boys. She had no clue what was going on. She didn't get to bed until 10:00. Our electricity came back on sometime during the night (thank goodness). Besides the fact our neighbors fence is hanging in our yard we didn't have any damage!

"Ride, Ride,Ride"

If you listen closely you can hear Bree ask Ella if she is having fun! So cute!

Holiday World

We had so much fun at Holiday World today. Ella was in seventh heaven! She absolutely loved  the rides. We met up with Adam's cousin, Erin, and her girls. I know Ella had a lot of fun riding together with Bree on the rides. Ella was so good this year. Last year she stomped her feet, and threw some pretty good fits when she had to get off the rides. This year we didn't have anything of that, and she didn't even have a meltdown when we left! I will let the pictures do the talking...

First time riding in the canoes. She wasn't big enough to ride this last year!

She is so serious! I promise she was having fun;) 

First ride with Bree!

I seriously can not believe she is big enough to ride this stuff!? 

Riding the train at Holidog's Funtown

She loved the train ride!

She had to have daddy go down the slide with her again! 

Bree LOVED the water! 

Ella thought about running through...

but decided to play it safe instead;) 

29 months

Ella is 29 months old today!

 I can't believe she is almost two and a half. She is growing up so fast and getting to be such a big girl. She weighs almost 30 pounds. She eats like a bird so she probably won't reach the 30 pound mark for another few months. She is finally wearing size six shoe. She is still in diapers, but I am pumping myself up to get her potty trained soon. I am pretty sure she is ready. She usually tells me when she poops, and sometimes she will go lay down in her room when she has peed in her diaper so I will change it.  Unfortunately, she won't sit on her little potty, because she says the seat is cold. I am going to get her little potty seat that fits in the toilet in hopes it isn't as cold. She is very particular! 

Ella has finally caught up (speech wise) with her age. HALLELUJAH! This coming Wednesday will be our last First Steps appointment. It's weird to think back to when we started, and she couldn't say more than ten words. Her vocabulary has grown immensely. She can repeat pretty much anything you say. I am so proud of her. Since first steps is ending she will be starting gymnastics on Wednesday mornings. I am anxious to see how she does. I hope she likes it! 

Ella is such a happy little girl. I love her personality. She is usually pretty easy going and agreeable.  I have noticed as she gets older I get a little less stressed. Don't get me wrong, she has her moments, but most of the time she is a good little girl.  My time with her is just a lot more enjoyable, because it is so much less work than it used to be! 

Ella is currently in a puzzle faze. She loves, loves, loves her puzzles. As soon as she wakes up she asks for them. Six months ago Ella hated puzzles and would not sit still long enough to do them. Her attention span is SO MUCH better than it used to be. I love that she will sit in her room and play for a good hour. She also loves to play with blocks, paint, chalk, and read books.  

Her favorite thing to do is play outside. She is definitely an outdoorsy little girl. She would be content to sit in her swing for hours on end! 

Ella you turned our whole upside down, but we have loved every minute of it! I hope you always stay as sweet as you are right now. We love you to the moon and back!