Easter!

We had a fun filled Easter! Ella learned to say "resurrection" though she totally doesn't understand what it means. Next year maybe :-) God really showed up at the Good Friday service we went to and it was really meaningful for me-good thing because the power went out and church was canceled on Sunday! Aunt Marissa came for the weekend and we had a blast-I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story.


Dyeing eggs

Mommy got a little creative :-)

The glitter was Ella's favorite part

Easter morning was SO much for for Ella! She searched for eggs on the front lawn and opened her Easter basket (and Daddy's basket)


She's "walking" the little dog that was in her Easter Basket-so cute!

Happy Family!

Hair Straightening #2

For the second time in her life, I decided to straighten Ella's SUPER curly hair just to see how it looks (and how long it is!). I did it last July and it was much shorter. She was very cooperative since I let her watch Dora while I was doing it (my parents bought her pull up diapers with Dora on them so as of this week, it's her new favorite thing). Enjoy the pics!

Cooking with Mommy

Ella is a really good helper with cooking! Today we made muffins, brownies, and two lasagnas (not all for us) and Ella did a lot of the assembling and pouring and stirring. I was very impressed. I couldn't find my camera so here are some cell phone pics :-)



We washed hands and switched spoons often-don't worry, it was a very sanitary process. And yes, she's licking a spoon with tomato sauce and spinach on it...maybe this is a way to get her to eat vegetables...

5 seconds ago...

I was walking out the door to go to the store and asked Chris if he needed anything...he said no and I jokingly asked Ella (I've never asked her before) and she said "Umm yeah-cracklin' oat bran and apple juice. That's all. Thanks!"

Ella is 28 months today!

Ella and I were at my parents house the other day and while I was chatting with my mom Ella kept pulling at my coat and seeming like she was trying to climb in it and saying "open it." I thought she was just playing around but finally she got frustrated and got my attention...

Ella:off please!!
Me:Oh! You want me to take my coat off?
Ella: Yeah Mom! Take it off and stay a while!

My mom and I looked at each other and burst out laughing. Where does she come up with these things!

She has been amazing me with how she connects words and events and how she hears everything we say. She is completely capable of original thoughts that make sense...I really feel like I'm talking to an adult sometimes. Today we were getting ready to go leave the house and she asked for her coat. I told her we didn't need it because it was warm outside. A couple minutes later she said "Mom, when it's warm outside i get to go to the pool!" It took a couple minutes but the wheels were turning and she remembered what else goes with "warm outside"...it's fascinating to me. One of her favorite topics lately is all of the new babies that are being born or growing in tummies. She told me yesterday "I so excited for Aunt Ping's baby to grow in tummy and come out and grow up and be my friend!!" When my mom and I were talking the other day about my friend Ana just having had a baby Ella piped up from playing to note that "that baby is name Daniel." I didn't even think she was listening let alone would remember the name of a baby she hasn't met! I love the excitement of hearing what she'll amaze or amuse me with next :-)

Psalm 23:1

A couple days ago Ella wanted to try to "pee pee on the potty" so we're sitting there and notices a little index card on the wall with "her verse" on it and starts saying it over and over. I decided to capture it on video...yes she's sitting on the potty but don't let that take away from the moment :-)

Night Out

Last night we met some friends for dinner and my parents (Abuela and Popeye to Ella) came over to watch Ella. When we got home I was putting Ella to bed and had this little conversation...

Me:Did you have fun with Abuela and Popeye?
Ella: Yes! SO much fun!
Me:Good!
Ella:Where Mommy and Daddy go?
Me:Mommy and Daddy love each other SO much so sometimes we go out, just us, on a date!
Ella:Oh. For dinner time?
Me: Yeah
Ella(with building excitement):To a restaurant?
Me:Yes! We went to a restaurant that had guacamole and chips! (Ella LOVES guacamole)
Ella (sounding almost disappointed:) Oh, I've been there.

On the way to the Aquarium...

While in the car Chris was telling Ella, in order, who all the presidents were. She'd been repeating their names and suprisingly into it (this all started because she has a presidents flip book from Chik-fil-A because I forgot to ask for the toddler toy). Anyway here's how it went...

Chris: The fourth president was James Madison, can you say that?
Ella: Jay Madison
Chris:Nice! Number 5 was James Monroe, can you say that?
Ella:Jay Muhroe
Chris:Good!, Ok number 6 was John Quincy Adams
Ella:Oooo! He's my favorite!

Chris and I then proceeded to crack up while she insisted that John Quincy Adams is her favorite president. Where do they come up with these things!!

Spiritual Development

Right now, Ella knows that God made everyone and everything (though she's hesitant to attribute "yucky" things to him which is interesting). She kinda knows that Jesus and God go together in some way, and she's heard lots of kid-friendly Bible stories. She knows that God loves us and we pray to Him and He's always with us. Her level of understanding is a bit sketchy but it's SO endearing to us to watch her learn more and understand more about the Lord.

The two latest spiritual developments happened in the last 24 hours. First, she learned her first Bible verse! It's Psalm 23:1-which sounds like "The Load is my shepahd, I shah na wa." We talked about what this means and though I'm sure it's just memorization at this point, the Word is living and active so I'm excited to get it in her as early and as often as possible!

The second thing is that she prayed for the first time! She's a pro at a loud "AMEN" whenever Chris or I pray but yesterday she absolutely MELTED my heart with her first, personal prayer. I was upset about something with school and she was asking why mommy was sad. I explained it to her as best I could and she gave me hugs and kisses and said she wanted me to please be happy. That went a long way but the best part was hours later when she was headed off to bed, I asked her if she wanted to pray for me. This is not something I ever ask and I didn't think she'd do it but she bowed her head right away and said "God, please help mommy to feel better because she's sad. Amen." It really might have been the sweetest moment of my life to date.

Aquarium!

We had such a fun trip to the aquarium! Chris taught Ella to say "Fridays after five, prices take a dive" which is exactly why we went when we did! Marissa met us there and we all LOVED seeing Ella have the time of her life!


Aunt "yissa" and El checking out the frog exhibit


This is Ella clapping for the dolphin show which she LOVED and has been talking about every day since. She seemed so into sitting in her own seat watching a show like a "big person"-it felt like some coming of age step to watch her try to sit and pay attention and clap appropriately like a big girl instead of a "baby" who is not very self-aware. Very fun to watch her learn new skills-like how to sit through a show!



My favorite frog :-)


Afterwards we took the risk of a meltdown and went out for dinner (we got to the restaurant at Ella's bedtime so I was a little nervous). This is Aunt Marissa showing her how to cross her legs and fold her hands like a "lady."

Funny faces

Finally a recent (decent) picture of Chris and me!

Cracking up with Aunt Boo-Boo (yes Marissa had a lot of nicknames)

PS-Ella did GREAT staying up late! I had no frame of reference because I don't remember the last time we took her out past her bedtime. Even the car ride home at 10pm (which, of course she was wide awake for) went well! I think it was God rewarding me for relaxing a little and taking a worthwhile, memory-making risk in staying out late :-)