Indecent Exposure!

Ellis has turned over a new leaf. We are not to sure why but he has become rather comfortable pulling his pants down in public. The first case was a few weeks ago when Uncle Koby took him on a little trip to Fred Meyers. Apparently Ellis was a few steps behind Koby. Koby turned around to only find Ellis peeing in the flower pots. Of course Koby had a discussion with him about it but I don't think that it settled in.
On Thursday, I took Ellis to the Doctor. He received 2 shots. One on each leg. The nurse gave him yellow band aids. We went to the store afterwards, as Ellis wanted to buy a Christmas ornament for his tree. He did so well at the Doctor, so what the heck - off we went. While we were in line at the store, I turned my back on Ellis to grab something from the shelf. In a matter of seconds I hear some women laughing. So I turn back around and to my dismay I was looking at my son's bare butt!! He had pulled his pants down to his ankles and was bending over. I calmly asked him what he was doing. He had found a yellow tag from a box on the floor. He was convinced that that the yellow tag was his one of his band aids. He was checking each leg to make sure. I showed him it was just another tag and everyone was happy.....Ellis pulled his pants back up, the ladies had a little chuckle..and well, me - what can you say. A band aid apparently is important at the age of 4! Who can blame him???

Getting back to reality!!!

Well, we are back in B'ham. It is cold, wet and dark. Winters are so hard here. Every year we try to brainstorm on activities we could be doing to get us through. However, it still is a struggle. I think that Pete and I were made to be in warm weather. We were so active, up early every morning and most of all our moods were great. The highlight was coming back to our little guy. Although, he had quite the adventure at Gramps and Nanna's he was thrilled to be back home with us and "his Allie and Emma". He asked if we could put up the christmas tree. So we did. It is early as we have not even approached Thanksgiving yet but I must admit it is a nice addition to our home. Ellis is doing great with his alphabet and numbers. We are now working on a little bit of spelling. So far he knows how to spell "go and dog". He seems to always be looking for a challenge.

Hawaii

Well, Pete and I are in Hi with Luke and Elissa. We are on day 5 and so far so good. Although, last night we were hit with a major storm. The lightning was so bright and the thunder was so loud that it shook the house at times. We have been up every morning watching the sun rise over the water drinking our coffee. Our little beach house is great. We are on the windy side of the island, but it does not seem to bother anyone. We just pack up and explore the other parts of the island. Elissa and I have spent our time reading and talking, while Luke and Pete are snorkeling.

We have had a few challenges along the way. One, finding the nearest Starbucks. Two, I lost my credit card and license. Elissa and I finally found it in the garabage can. Yikes!! That could have been a really bad situation. The other is missing Ellis. We spoke to him the other day and brought tears to both Pete and I. He didn't say much except that he wanted us to come home and that he missed us. It was really hard to hear his sweet little voice. I know that he is having a great time with Gramps and Nanna. He went trick or treating, which I understand he LOVED!! Nanna dressed him up as a train conductor. I know that he is in good hands but it is a long time to be away from him.

4 Years and Counting!!

It's true that Ellis is 4 years old. What happened?? Where did the time go? I have been spending a lot of time looking at pictures of him when he was a baby. I get teary every time I look at them. I suspect that one day, this emotion will go away. So I hold onto it as long as I can. I clearly remember when he was just a little baby, thinking I wonder what it will be like when he is a "boy"! And although, we are far off from him being a big boy, I still think that time is going by way to fast. At 4 years old, Ellis has done more then I did by the time I was 10.

I know that I am of course biased because that is what mothers do.....we think or convince ourselves that OUR child is the best child. Know, don't get me wrong he has his faults....he occasionally awears, (not in the past 3 months), he talks way to much sometimes (got kicked out of storytime at Pre-school), kind of demanding, (in a polite sort of way), when he is tired he can be emotionlly unstable (picks that up from his mom), he is a back seat driver (no...go that way) BUT with all of that being said...here is what makes my heart full of gratitude. He wakes me up every morning with a huge smile, at night he comes to me and gives me a kiss, a hug, and tells me he loves me (this all without being prompted), he tells me I am beautiful (like the KOHL's sign at the mall) he thinks that Dad is a good helper, he tell us he loves his Allie and Emma, and when we are gone for a few days that he misses them, he loves school, his friends (Koby and Miles), and all of his grandparents. These are a few reasons, why I think that he is the best kid! So he is entering his 4th year of life and I have not messed him up yet. In his own words " mommy and daddy...you are good helpers"!!

Celebrating 4 years!!

Tomorrow we are celebrating Ellis' 4th b'day. We will be out of town on the 28th, so we are having a b'day party a week early. I was watching Ellis today and I can't belive that he will be 4!! We have had him for 4 years!! I can't imagine what my life would be without him. Heck, one has to wonder what I was doing with my time before him!?! Life has changed but for the better. There is so much more to live for. I went shopping for presents tonight. I had no idea what to get him. It is funny because for the first 2 years we pretty much did not buy him anything, well except for clothes. Now I think that he has everything a 4 year old needs. I was looking at older pics and can not belive the difference in his face. But yet there are so much similarities. He still is the cutest kid I now!!

Summer is over

It is hard to believe that we have now entered into Fall. Ellis was able to get many activities in this summer. He played Soccer, T-Ball, joined his cousins at the waterpark, camping with Grammy,Grumpy and Miles, went to the Seattle Zoo and the Driving range with Koby and Megan.

Train Ride

Whew...what a day we had! Today we celebrated cousin Miles' 4th birthday! This year Auntie Kristen and Uncle Craig put together a train ride for everyone. What a great way to have a b'day party for kids. We ended up having our own car both ways. We got up early and boarded at 0830. The train dropped us off in Mount Vernon. There was a short amount of time for everyone to have a quick cup of milk and a muffin. We then headed northbound! Of course, my favorite part was seeing Ellis' eyes light up. He was so thrilled to go on the train. You would have thought the day was for him.... although I think in his mind it proabably was. I had mentioned to Kris how great it is that when it is one of the boy's b'day....everyone gets to celebrate. Grammie is great in providing a little gift for each of the boys...so no one feels left out. It was truly a special day and one to remember for a long time.

Texas

Well, Ellis and I have returned from our trip to Texas. We stayed with Grandma Alana and Grandpa Don. It was great to see Ellis connect with them as we are not able to see them as much as we would like. While we were there we went to the zoo and Grandma taught Ellis to hit balls with a bat! Ellis seems to have a real knack with throwing balls and hitting them. He seems to have many talents. It has been so great to see him grow and watch him turn into a little boy. Although, it is bittersweet we are enjoying every moment. He loves saying his prayers. He makes sure that we include the very long list of Thomas and friends.

Dancing Boy!

Gramps and Nanna's House

Pete and Ellis took a trip to Gramps and Nanna's house while I went on a work Conference. Pete calls it the "Nanna Express" because Nanna is so full of energy and fun. Ellis is so blessed because I don't ever remember Grandparents interacting with us as kids. Ellis is one lucky kid to have such awesome grandparents who are so full of love. It sounds like they had an awesome time and Ellis did not want to come home. Who can blame him? Ellis can't wait to go back already.

First Spring Outing

Well, we finally had our first sunny day!! The rain has just been non stop so it has been very hard to get out and do anything. We had breakfast this morning with the family in Fairhaven. Then we went to Marine Park and did one of Ellis' favorite things to do...throw rocks in the water!!

Ellis Sings A Favorite!

Ellis reads Mommy a story

March

We started March off with some unexpected snow. It was the best snow day yet, as Ellis got to play with Miles that day. Miles enjoyed throwing himself in the snow while Ellis tried to mow the snow. I was so glad that Ellis got a second chance with the snow because the last snow fall we had he was quite sick and could not go out and play. It seems like so many things have happened this month. Ellis has a new babysitter whom we just love. Her name is Clara. We are also very blessed because she watches Chase, Miles and Ellis on Mondays and Wednesday afternoons. Those of course are Ellis' favorite days. Ellis continues to grow and say funny things. Just recently he sneezed and I was not on top of my game...an he promptyly said "Mommy...I need to be blessed" He is also wanting to get his way. He attempts this through, complaining and whining. He has gotten very good at this and is persistent. When he say No to something, he enjoys to use phrases like "But...but...I waaaannnttttttt toooooooo". We kind of know when it is coming especially when our names take an entire minute to get through..."Mooooooommmmmmmmmiiiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeee......." of course a high pitched tone of voice is right along with that. Oh goodie for us!! Even though it can get on our nerves, he still finds to be comical about it! This is what I call the Luke Syndrome! My brother did the very same thing. He basically laughed his way through his childhood. Little does Ellis know I have already had practice with his kind of personality, I am so onto him!!

Memory Lane

Oh my where has the time gone? Thought I would post these old photos as they put a smile on my face and spread the cheer!

Christams Highlights

Christmas Train

Our 2nd annual Christmas Train adventure was a hit! Although, the weather was dark and rainy we enjoyed ourselves just the same. However, we were lucky that it did not rain when it was time to ride the train. Ellis just loves this trip. Of course anytime that he is surround by family other then Pete and I he is in heaven. I guess we can get "old" sometimes. You know like yesterdays news.

We had a great time. The gals chose not to go shopping this year in Vancouver. The weather kind of put a damper on it and we were all too tired. We spent a lot of time in Grumpie and Grammies room, reading books, playing hide and seek and feeding a certain Seagull cookies from their window.