Birthday photos!

We started off Ella's birthday by making chocolate chip waffles, which were declared "YUMMY!" We didn't really have a party for her, but we did invite some friends over to celebrate. We had some of Ella's favorite foods for dinner (spaghetti, peas, and bread) and then had cake and "issss ceam" (ice cream). Ella wasn't quite sure what to do with the candles, but Rand was happy to help her blow them out.

Ella was completely spoiled by our friends. They got her a huge stuffed dog, a baby stroller, and some blinged-out shoes and jewelry. She loved them!

I painted her little toes for the first time. She chose purple, which ended up matching her new shoes beautifully.

We also kept up the tradition of decorating the birthday child's door. Rand picked out tootsie rolls, which were a little tricky to stick to the door -- hence the painter's tape. There were also a lot more candies on there until five little children each grabbed one!

Now you are two

Oh, Miss Ella, how did you get to be two so fast?

Your favorite phrases are:
"Let me do it."

"My turn!"

"Let me show you."

"I'm coming!"

"Look at me!"

You are almost potty-trained. You are very good about limiting your binkie to naptime and bedtime. You love books. You know the names of all the dogs that stay here. You love to play hide-and-seek. You want to do everything that Rand does.

You enunciate every single syllable: "croc-o-die-llllll." I love how you speak in complete sentences. Whenever you say "yes" or "no" you nod or shake your head accordingly. You know exactly what you want when you want it. You love to give hugs and cuddle. You search for the moon every night, saying, "Where's the moon?" and "There it is!" when you find it.

Your favorite foods are ice cream and spaghetti. You love swimming and jumping and running. You have opinions about what clothes you want to wear. You love shoes and accessories. Yesterday you insisted on going out and picking grapes wearing a baseball cap, sweater, and mittens (they stayed on about 30 seconds).

Happy birthday, sweetheart!

Comfy.

July 4th Photos

Happy 4th of July!

We had a house full of dogs and Werner was out of town, so I wanted to stay close to home. We had a quiet day of church, and naps, and playing Chutes and Ladders, and then headed to the Tolleson celebration.

It was in a much more Hispanic part of town, so there was no ice cream for sale (but there was fry bread! and burritos!) so we got shaved ice that turned the kids' mouths a charming shade of blue. They were giving away watermelon and Rand proudly grabbed the biggest piece he could see. Ella declined hers in favor of more shaved ice.

We met up with some friends, and the kids played on the playground. Ella was given a glowstick, which she thought was unbelievably fantastic. The weather was great -- for Phoenix in July -- only 100 degrees! They both loved the fireworks. Rand asked a million questions (would a firework pop a balloon? are the firework guys only awake at night? what is all that smoke? what is faster, a firework or a racecar?).

Ella clung to me at first, but then she relaxed and just wanted me to hold her. When they were over, she was positively pouty and kept saying, "Fireworks! Back on!" We walked back to our car and patiently made it through the traffic back home. Ella fell asleep in the car, but when I picked up her to move her to her bed, she sat up and said, "Fireworks....." and then put her head back on my shoulder.