November ~ 2014

Now that Ellie is over 18 months I'm going to start doing monthly posts with all her cute, random pictures and updates so I can keep up with them better. Soooo, here we go!

*Ellie is expanding her vocabulary every day it seems like! I was going to try to keep a list of words she's saying, but it would be also impossible! But I have to say my favorites are purple and turtle. 

*11/12/14: This morning we were laying on Grandma and Grandpa's bed. Ellie grabbed Grandpa's sweatshirt and put it on me like a blanket and told me night night. Then she got Grandma's teddy bear and called it baby and gave it to me! It was the most adorable thing! So I acted like I was asleep and made snoring noises and then she laid down next to me and started making snoring noises too!  So. Cute. It still amazes me how quickly they pick things up.

*This girl is a bit addicted to Daniel Tiger. I know it's my fault. Oops! She asks for it all the time. Blah. Sometimes I hold strong, others times I give in...

*Ellie loves to dance. My favorite is when she shakes/bobs/bangs her head...especially in the car seat!

*I'm pretty sure her favorite word is NO! So annoying!!! But we'll get through this... She is becoming quite stubborn about things and definitely has her own opinion. But I still love her :)

*Ellie loves stacking blocks, putting things in and taking things out of a box or something like it, she still loves looking at books (she is really good at identifying things I ask her to find on a page and also she can do a toddler look and find book and find the matches! It blows my mind!). She is growing way too fast!!!

*She LOVES her baby doll (the blue and green one). LOVES. It has to go with us everywhere. I read that it's normal at this age to become attached like that and it's actually a sign of independence because they don't solely rely on you for comfort. Oh, and it's cute! 

*She is starting to enjoy "coloring"...aka scribbling. She'll use crayons, but this last week she got ahold of a pen and that has been her favorite. Funny girl. 

*She has started labeling things (like shoes, clothes, cups, etc.) mommy and daddy and knows they are ours. It's adorable. 

*Oh my gosh. Ellie does the cutest thing ever! When Landen is sleeping she'll walk by the bedroom door and put her finger over her mouth and try to do "shh, shh, shh." I die. And she'll say, "ni-ni" (night-night). She loves her Daddy so much! I still love that anytime she hears the back door open she perks up and asks, "Daddy?!"

Our $58 trip to Indiana!

Yes, you heard that right, $58!!! You just can't not go for that cheap. I hit an amazing deal and took it. The only drawback it that the flight was into Chicago, but it was totally worth the 3 hour drive for a ticket that cheap. It's a good thing Ellie is so cute so Grandma and Grandpa were willing to make the drive ;) We got in late on Saturday the 1st and then drove to South Bend and stayed with Grandma Barrell. On Sunday we spent time with Grandma. I'm glad she got to see Ellie because she's growing so fast. Aunt Carol, Uncle Mike, Aunt Ellen and Uncle Dale came over too to celebrate Grandma's birthday (Nov. 3rd). It's always good to get together with family!

I love those Indiana sunsets! I always make sure to spend some time with Theresa, Kelly and Nikki playing cards...and we got some good playing in this time!!! I was also able to attend Mariah Jensen's baptism and see the family since Brittany and Kailee were in town. It was fun to catch up with Brittany!  We spent lots of time chatting.

So, funny story? On Sunday (11/9) Ellie and I headed home from church by ourselves since Mom and Dad had a meeting. I get home and start to get out of the car and realize I don't have a house key! Ah! And it was pretty chilly out so we couldn't just hang out outside. So we watched part of Frozen on my phone, then I let Ellie up front and let her touch all the buttons and knobs, then we took a little drive and I let Ellie "drive." Ha! Benefits of living in the middle of nowhere I guess ;) It was a nice relief when they drove up, and the picture of Ellie was hilarious. It's like she was saying, "Get me out of here!"  

After church Sunday (11/9), Mom and I headed to Ohio to visit the Bells and Stirlings. Ellie did well on the 4 1/2 hour drive there and back thanks to naps, Frozen, and Daniel Tiger! I always love spending time with the Bells. We just relaxed and visited which is what I needed. I wish I lived closer to them. They're just my kind of people :)  I'm glad I got to see Mike and Judi this trip, they always seem to be out of town when I go to visit. Oh! And it was so fun to see Robyn and her family since they just moved up to Ohio. Her girls loved playing with Ellie! And I loved it too! We got to see the incredible progress of the fish farm! It amazes me how Craig and Traci have been able to do that. They are an inspiration! One of my favorite things about being there was seeing Ellie and Heidi "play" together. Ellie loved being in there with Heidi. When the nurse was massaging and stretching Heidi, Ellie started rubbing Heidi's back. Melt my heart. Ellie also did matching flash cards with Heidi. It was so special to have these girls together. Oh, and Ellie loved Heidi's wheelchair! Once Heidi was out of it for the night Ellie sat in it and played with the seatbelt for a good 20-30 minutes! I love this family so much! 

On our way home we stopped to visit my friend Shauna, my trainer from my mission! When she told me they were moving to Ohio I was so excited to see that she was on the way to the Bells!!! I haven't seen her in so long.  It was great to visit and catch up and meet her cute little baby, Lucy. I loved cuddling her! (Especially since my child doesn't cuddle.) I'm so grateful we had time to make this trip to Ohio! I absolutely love being able to spend time with good friends. 

The rest of my time home I just visited as many people as possible. Damon, Parker and Bailey came out Wednesday night. We had fun talking and playing Scattergories! Thursday I visited Theresa during the day then drove to Brownsburg to visit Heather, Ryan, Austin and Sam. Bryan and Bradyn came over too. I'm so glad Ellie and I got to spend some time with them this trip. The rest of my time was spent with Mom and Dad. It was such a great trip! I always love going home. 

We had a long day of travel to get home since we had to drive to Chicago. Then our flight got delayed two hours. That did not make me happy at all. If it was just me it wouldn't have been that big of a deal, but with a 19 month old it was no fun. By the time we got on the plane she was tired and restless but wouldn't sleep. Thank goodness for technology!!! It got us through the traveling part of this trip. We were so happy to get home and see Daddy. Ellie saw him in the car when he parked to pick us up and started yelling, "Daddy! Daddy!" Adorable. Well, it's back to real life now :( So glad we got to have a fun trip!