My daughter knows me well...

Ask Chris when I am grumpy, and he will tell you, "When she's tired or hungry."

Thursday morning was a hectic morning! I was trying to get Ellie to playschool at her friend's house by 9:00, and I was running behind because I woke up late for my jog. Anyway, whenever I'm in a hurry, she senses it and just tries to annoy me, I think!!

By the time we got out the door and loaded into the car, it was 9:20. I took a deep breath and started the car. Our conversation followed...

Ellie - "Mommy, are you tired?"

Me - "No, I'm not tired, Ellie." (Still sounding a little exasperated)

Ellie - "Oh, then Mommy are you hungry?"

Me - "No, I'm not hungry, Ellie." (At this point, I knew where she was going with this line of questioning!)

Ellie - "Then, Mommy why are you talking mad?"

Me - "I'm still upset about your behavior this morning."

Ellie - "But I said, 'I'm sorry.' Can't you forgive me?" (A little whiny)

Me - "You're right, Ellie. I do forgive you." (Sounding apologetic)

Ellie - "Now, you can be happy. You better be happy, or I'll put you into a POT!"

Attack of the Lions

Granny and Grandpa Visit!

Granny and Grandpa came for a very quick visit! We made cookies for Grandpa and a birthday cake for Granny! Lots of baking. We went to Children's Fairyland with Aunt Jenny and Mason. The kids had a great time. Kevin was either eating or sleeping most of the time.

Chris didn't make the trip. He had an all too exciting day visiting an oil well, which he only got to see from the side of the highway where he ate his brown bag lunch. Then, he went to look at rocks and smell them for oil. They are embarking on some really high tech expeditions here at Stanford! He seems to be fitting right into his Petroleum Engineering class! Oh, well except for the fact that it's the hardest class he has taken here by far!

Video - Kevin in Playgym

Video - Ellie and Kevin

Kevin and Daddy

It's BROKEN!!!

Utterly unacceptable! How could I have believed it would be ok to serve Cinderalla broken cheese! I should have known better!

As much as I tried to shelter her from princess things, it only takes one trip to Disneyland, and the cat's out of the bag! For the last month or two, we are often only allowed to call Ellie "Cinderalla". They both have "yellow hair", you see!

Kevin in the Bumbo!

Cousin Mason let us borrow his old Bumbo seat, but Kevin's not so sure about it! He is still a little young for it as he doesn't have great head control.

Kevin Grows...

I noticed in Ellie's baby book that I documented when she started holding toys on her own initiative. It seems like a silly thing to note, but Kevin just started pulling on toys from his floor gym and trying to eat them! I have a picture of Ellie doing the same thing with the same toy.

I have also heard him say ah-goo a few times. The things that moms notice....

Ewww - You Have to at Least Try It, Right??

This one speaks for itself!

Ellie Plays Football

As Stanford pulls off one of the biggest upsets in college football history (beating #2 USC), Ellie is perfecting her football skills.

Whirlwind Weekend!

From Friday to Monday, we hosted (or prepared food for) 4 events! So, today I've been pretty lazy, and it feels nice! Now that I think about it, maybe I haven't been lazy as I've gone for a jog, walked to the library with Ellie and Kevin, and started the laundry. But I feel lazy as the kitchen sink still has dishes, and I'm just looking at them!! But I dont really feel like being in the kitchen now as I've cooked in it and cleaned it so many times in the last few days!

Yesterday was Chris's birthday, and Ellie made him a nice birthday hat. He was a good sport and actually wore it!

Ellie Puts Kevin to Bed

We went on a family trip with 9 other families last weekend. We had a great time. We stayed in a cabin, and Ellie got to sleep on a sofa bed. She loved it. She thought it was our new house! I guess I can't blame her with all the moves we've had this summer. But we explained to her that it was only for a few nights. She was disappointed to leave her new bed!

Clowning Around...

We made a clown puppet, and Ellie named him Nosey. Then, we made Ellie a clown.

Ellie puts bird seed in her bird house!

Kevin - Happy Baby!

Kevin Continues to be a very content baby. For the past 4 days, I have laid him down awake in his bed, and he just drifted off to sleep peacefuly, on his own. He's a great smiler, and loves the Bjorn (baby carrier) and the swing! I rarely let him lay down under the floor gym because Ellie is always right there when I put him down. She loves to hug and kiss and nearly smother or fall on top of him!

Ellie Adjusts...

So, Ellie is still adjusting to her new brother. She is usually very loving to him and doesn't really ever get aggressive with him. But, she started scratching me a few weeks ago. She has even said, "No, mommy. You don't say that. I'm going to scratch you!" Needless to say, I wasn't very happy about this!! This past Monday, she scratched me all the way home from the playground, and it hurt (and bled a little, too).

Time-out and taking away priviledges didn't work at all. I think she enjoyed the negative attention Now, I have started "alone time" in her room. It seems to be working very well. I just act like it doesn't bother me at all that she just made me bleed, and I put her in her room for alone time after saying, "Scratching is never accceptable. I'll come get you when you are ready to behave." She must be like her dad because she HATES alone time! I'm trying not to give her bad behavior any attention.

The scratching seems to have lessened since I started this new approach... Two days with no scratching at all. Until today - I wouldn't let her listen to another song from her "Jesus music" in the car. So, what would Jesus do? Scratch Mommy, of course!