3rd B'day!

I am quite behind with my blog....so I better get crackin'. These are some pictures of Silver Lake. We celebrated Ellis' b'day 2 different ways this year. It is so hard to get everyone together as there are so many sets of Grandparents. This year we clebrated with Grandpa Scott, Unle Lucas and Auntie Elissa at Silver Lake. My Dad and Mom used to take us there every year and I have such great memories and want to instill that into Ellis. We went on walks, played games, and fished. Ellis had a blast, although he didn't like the fact that there was no computer and no movies to watch. When he finally caught on he asked if he could go home. Oh Boy...that sure said a lot. We have much work to do. Sometimes I think that he can use the computer better then I can.

Some of my favorite things for Fall are...

walks with Ellis and Pete, Maple and Pumpkin Spice Lattes, warm sweaters, and Fall Leaves. We have been so blessed with an awesome October. We are trying to get as many walks in before the cold really hits us. These are a few pictures of the boy on one of our excursions. I hope that you enjoy them as much as I do. He continues to be the brightest part of our lives. It has been awesome to watch Ellis bond with Pete. They are the best of Pals.

Fall is here!

Fall has finally arrived! We are trying to get our last few days in outside before it turns cold and rainy. We have been very busy. In the last few weeks Pete, Ellis and I went to Chelan, then Ellis and I went to Oregon and then a few days after I was off to New Mexico. I am glad that there are no other trips planned in the near future. As I was in New Mexico Pete and Ellis went to Gramps and Nanna's. Nanna taught Ellis how to use a computer mouse and he has been playing non-stop on the computer. He will barely take a break to go to the bathroom. I must admit though, I am pretty impressed with his skills. Preschool is going very well. He loves it! And his teachers report that they just can't believe how old he is and how well behaved he is. It is such a great feeling when other people can validate your child and parenting skills. As a parent, I am constantly questioning myself. Am I doing the right thing, am I raising him the right way.....Pete and I are doing something right because he is such an awesome boy. He always has a smile, something silly to say or give us one of his looks. He goes straight to the heart.

PreSchool

I can't believe it! Today Ellis had his first day of preschool. It happened so quickly. I was crying on the way out while Pete was singing the song "Freedom" in his head. Of course it is natural for Pete to have that reaction as he is the one that has been taking care of him during this time in the day. Me....I am working and as to why I was so emotional over it was purely because I don't want him to get any bigger. Next thing you know he is going to ask the keys for the car! In any event, I am so excited for him. His class size is 10 which is awesome. More teacher time! There is a pet bunny named Olie. And of course many toys to play with. He came home with a magnet that he colored and a blue card. A blue card means he had a great day...a nice way of saying he was not a problem child. I can't think of a better set up for Ellis. There are only 2 girls in his class and Ellis happens to be the youngest. But we think that he can handle it. Oh and we just love his teacher, Kelly. Well, we have entered another chapter of his life and we are excited to watch him turn into such a loving, caring and fun little boy. First day of school.


Trinity Lutheran Preschool

YEE HAW!

We did it! Well, Ellis really did it since he truly was the one in control of this process. But I am proud to announce he is Potty Trained. This is a huge deal. We had one day that was frustrating for many reasons. One of those being standard potty training issues...the other was me. For those of you that know me I have a really small bladder as it is and one of the techniques we used was to have running water in the background. Well, this just seem to really back fire on me, as everytime that the water ran I had to go myself. So needless to say we BOTH spent the day in the bathroom. I am so proud of Ellis. I thought that it was going to be a lot harder but he never ceases to amaze us and his capability to step up to the plate. He now loves the idea of going "peeps" in particular. I would imagine there must be something freeing about being a boy and standing up to pee...rather then in a diaper. We are getting ready to send him to Preschool. This is such a bittersweet process. We think that he is ready and needs it. He loves to learn and interact with other kids. I took a tour of the preschool and I cried. It is so amazing to me that I can get emotional over the process of him growing up. On one hand it is exciting to watch him grow and then on the other I realize that this is just another stage in life....and in some ways it saddens me. But it is all worth it to see his excitement. He is a great kid and I have no doubt that he will touch many lives.

Lynden Fair

I Love the Lynden Fair! My parents took us every year and it brings such great memories. I hope that Pete and I can pass that on to Ellis. We met up with Cousin Miles, Auntie K, Uncle Craig, Baby Chase, Grammie and Grumpie. Ellis was a real trooper. We started him off in the car ride to ease him into everything else. Ellis seems to be on the cautious side of things or maybe that is me...still trying to figure that one out! Well, the car seemed to work out ok....so we moved onto bigger and better rides. He loves airplanes and helicopters. However, to be in one as a ride was a different story. He went with Auntie K and Miles...but as soon as it started to shift upward. He was saying "no...no..down..down...all done" well he soon realized that it did not work that way. Thank goodness he was with Miles. You can tell be the picture that he really liked the landing part. Pete took him on the Merry go Round. The first time they went around, he was sitting on the horse, the next time they came around he was in Daddy's arms. Something about colorful, plastic horses that just went around in a circle did not sit well with him. Oh well, maybe next year! The most important thing was he had fun at the fair with the whole family.

Identity Crisis and turning 34!

Did I mention I turned 34 in Vegas? I know it may not be a big deal to most people but I have to say I struggled. I don't have issues with getting "older"..I had issues with what I should be wearing and how I should be acting as an almost mid-30 range woman. I know that sounds really superficial and well...vain. And it is...I hope those of you that are reading this know my true deep and thoughtful side. Because if you don't know me this will come across as being quite shallow. Which I am not. Nonetheless, this was a crisis not only for myself but for Pete. Whew...I was so glad to have a partner in this superficial, vain and shallow journey. Somehow, it made it ok...at least for awhile.
But really I think it was more about how I define myself as a woman and what does that mean. Growing up my mother did not want me to cut my hair....it was virtuous to have long hair. Well, I haven't been virtuous for quite awhile now, so we can throw that charcteristic out the window. (just kidding mom) Seriously though, it is hard to figure this one out. I am a Mom and a Wife. I am a serious (albeit funny and sarcastic at the same time) Manager. I manage a 30 bed maximum security facility for juveniles. There crimes can range from theft to murder. I have 20 staff that I am responsible for. However, I am stuck at the mindset of a 25 year old. Some people would say "well that is all that matters". But I have to find a balance. Although, I have a demanding job and I guess somewhat important job. I am known around the courthouse by some people as "that girl" or "kiddo" (the Judges like to call me that), some see me as no-nonsense (little do they really know about my personality) but I figure somehow this fits and it works. This is what I do know about my identity...I love being a Mom, I love that my husband and I can laugh at serious issues, I love my girls (dogs) who bring some balance to my life, I love my job, and I love my best friends...Koby and Kamili...who love me unconditionally...and manage to always keep me in check and remind me to be humble, I love my whacky, crazy, dysfunctional family (because it makes me feel somewhat normal at times), I love that I am still learning about life...(ok maybe LOVE is too strong of a word for that one) lets put it this way...I love that life seems to get better as I get older. And who knows....maybe I will start growing my hair out so that I can find virtue again in my life.

Vegas!

Well, we took our first mini vacation without the boy! It was hard at times, there was so many things that we saw that reminded us of him. I know that people say it is healthy for parents to get away from their kids once in awhile. However, I am not on that page yet. Ellis is such a good boy that he is so missed when he is not around. I think that maybe a couple of days without him would be plenty. I now think that it may be healthy for him moreso then us. He stayed with Nanna and Gramps while we were in Sin City. They all had an awesome time. I wonder who enjoyed it more...Nanna, Gramps or Ellis. Nanna and Gramps made him a little sand box, bought him a little pool, took him on the Cat walks with Calvin and Hobo, played with his trains, and of course visited the toy store! I mean what more could a little boy ask for! I think that Nanna and Gramps were experiencing some withdrawls the first day without having him around. In any event Vegas was great. We went with Kamili, Dee, Koby and Megan. The weather was hot reaching to 105, but the pool and the lazy river came in handy for those moments. We stayed at THE hotel which is the new part of Mandalay Bay. Wow..was it something.

The Boardwalk

We have a new ritual that we do as a family. We walk the boardwalk on Friday nights. It has been heaven. If anyone has walked it, they know when I say it doesn't feel like you are in Bellingham. Bellingham has gotten so big. Along with this bittersweet movement, we also receive more community activites and involvement. We are starting to take advantage of it. Pete and I have been stuck in the home rut. There seems like there is something to always be done here at the home, so we don't take advantage of our home town. Now that we have Ellis, it has forced us to look at our lives a lot differently. It is a wonderful feeling. Pete is getting into Photography and does an awesome job with it as you can see with some of his photos.
Can You believe this is even Bellingham?
Me and one of my favorite Girls!

A cool picture taken by Pete

Grammies Birthday

These are a few pictures of the morning we spent celebrating Grammie's b'day. We started off at Avenue Bread and had a delightful breakfast. We then headed down to Marine Park. We could not have had asked for a better day for it. The boys spent time looking for crabs, dumping sand in and out of their trucks and watching all the boats go by. I think that this b'day will be one to cherish. There is nothing more wonderful then being surrounded by family. I think that Grammie would agree as her face is always lit up when she is around her grandchildren. It is purely an unspeakable joy!

The Sucker Con Artist

Ok...so we are not officially potty training Ellis yet. However, we bought him a little potty and he has been successful at it a couple of times. We decided that we were going to take the whole reward route. His reward was going to be a little sucker. Ellis does not eat much sugar as it is-due to all of his allergies....so we thought what the heck! So far this has resutled in a total of 4 suckers over the last 4 months. So we are averaging 1 "poopy in the potty" a month. Well, the other night Ellis decides that he wants a sucker. So he says "mommy...i wanna sucker"... and I tell him "first, poopy in the potty" and "second a sucker". He says "ok"! Ellis runs to the bathroom and starts pulling his pants off. I help him get his diaper off and he looks at me with his big blues and huge smile and says " ok...mommy....sucker time". Of course I reminded him again "Ellis....first you need to poopy in the potty and second you will get a sucker". This dialogue goes on for about a half hour. I leave the bathroom to do something in the living room and he comes out buck naked and says to me "mommy...first a sucker and second..poopy in the potty"! Well, needless to say he never had to go poopy in the potty and somehow he thought that I would miss that important piece. It is amazing even at 2 1/2 years old Ellis is trying to con his Mom out of a sucker.

Fathers Day

We had an awesome Fathers Day. We took Ellis to Clayton Beach off of Chuckanut Drive. Pete had not been there in years. It had been quite the hike down to the beach for Ellis. But he managed quite well and enjoyed the beach. Ellis was quite the climber. He was climbing all over the rocks. He certainly made us a little nervous at times. He is at the age where he thinks he can do anything.
He has been in a big boy bed now for a week. The tranistion was a lot easier then I expected. I thought for sure the moment he realized he could come and go, he would be out of there. But to my amazement, he doesn't get out. When he wakes up, he just sits in his bed waiting for us to show up and get him. Once again he surprises us!!

Away from Home

I was recently away on a trip to Indiana for work. At first I thought it would be a breeze as I was with Koby. I was not prepared for the emptiness I felt at night being away from Ellis. Last year I was gone a lot so I thought it would be no big deal. Sure... I knew I would miss the boy like I had done every time before but this time my heart was aching. I wondered was it because I love him more each day or is it because he is an extension of who I am. I don't have an answer really. But what is different this year is that I have a relationship wtih him. Not like he is a baby and he just needs me for necessity. The dynamics are changing. He is a little boy, with his own thoughts, ideas and oh my does he have a big personality. At first, I found myself even thinking...oh, being away will be a nice break from life". That thought lasted maybe 24 hours. I see myself as an independent person, so it took me by surprise when I was overwhelmed with sadness to not hug him, kiss him and talk with him. He is my life, my love and my joy. Ellis...you are truly one special little miracle. Thank you for being mine!
So while I was away going through so much turmoil missing my boy, he was having a great time with Daddy at Grammi and Grumpies house. Here are a few shots of what they did. Ellis had his first ice cream cone, threw rocks in the water for Buddah and took a boat trip to Langley. He loves to spend time on the beach. It is one of his favorite things to do. And right now, rocks are the coolest things ever.

My British Boy!

Just a few more pics of the boy and his Dad!