BYE BYE MR. BINK!!

Well, we did it! Or I should say Ellis did it. We are 7 days bink free. I know that this is an old picture but I could not resist. It is one of my favorites. It just shows off his personality.
I was surprised how well Ellis did with this transition. I was anticipating some major break down. The first night that I decided to take it away, we went through our nightly routine and then he asked for his bink. I almost gave it to him. Because for those of you who have met and know him....know that this bright blue eyes can convince you to do anything. But I stuck to it and told him that Bink went "bye bye". He looked at me all perplexed by this concept. He then looked at me and said "Bye-Bye????" And I told him yes Bink went on an wild adventure and had to leave. He then said "OK"! And that was it! He just somehow got it and was ok with Bink being on a wild adventure. The funny thing is I think that Pete and I are the one that struggles with it the most. First, it is only a reminder of how he is getting bigger. Secondly, he took a pretty big fall at Nanna's and Gramps and I for one split second thought that it would soothe him. But amazingly enough as all kids he recovered and then was on his way.

Terrible Twos

Yes...the time has finally arrived. It as if it happened overnight. I think that one night he was laying in his crib plotting on how to get back at us for something that we did. I was hoping that we would skate by, but no chance of that happening. Some of his favorite words are:

gimme it!
no way!

Oh and the facial expressions he gives are priceless.

He still will say please and thank you without being prompted....most of the time. It actually has not been that bad. I have seen and heard worse. However, if he keeps it up I am planning to enroll him in the Scared Straight Program at Juvie for 2 year olds.
Although, I am sure he would charm his way through the book in process and his "Uncle Koby" would release him on his own personal recognizance's.
It is hard to believe how fast he is growing up. I know that Mothers say that all the time. But it is so true. We got his allergy tests back and he is still highly allergic to eggs and dairy. Poor guy!! His diet has to be so limited and we are always having to be careful. It is amazing how many people including strangers want to feed your kids. I know that people try to do it out of some odd sense of a peace offering but it won't be so peaceful if we have to rush him off to the hospital.
He still loves to play ball. It is all consuming but I will say he has a pretty good arm at the age of 2. I think that he takes after his Unlce Luke in that sense, well that and the big head they both had at this age. Well, we are off to go play ball!!!

Happy New Year

Well, Pete and I were able to spend New Years with some friends while Ellis spent the night with Grammie and Grumpie. Ellis LOVES to Spend the night with Grammie and Grumpie. In fact when we walk in after being seperated from him, it as if we never even left because he just keeps going about his business. The first time he did that it made me a little sad but I think that is normal for a Mom to feel. It is also a wake up call that the phase has started where I am no longer the center of his existence. I was hoping that would have started when he was about 26 years old not 2 years old. However, it has been special to see him gravitate towards Pete. Right now he wants Dad all the time. In fact just yesterday Pete was gone all day long and arrived home around 8pm and Ellis was so excited to be with him Pete could not get him to fall asleep until 11:15. Ellis' other favorite things to do are; throwing all the pillows off the couch and then jumping onto them; puddle jumping; throwing balls; playing with Uncle Koby; and last but not least playing with his trains.
We had a follow up allergist appointment for Ellis. They did blood work this time so they could get an exact number. His allergies to dairy and eggs have been somewhat difficult as you have to be careful in what you feed him all the time. So his diet is very limited. The Doctor said that we would most likely have to learn how to use an epi-pen for him. Yikes! That is not something I am looking forward too.
Want to say a special Hello to Grumpie. Grumpie is on one of his wild adventures to Arizona. He will be gone for 2 months, so we will miss him lots.
And Hello to Grandma and Grandpa in Texas! They had a safe drive home from Bellingham but Grandpa did get food poisoning which was hard. But they are home and we are hoping that they will move to Washington this year!
Gramps and Nanna came up for Christmas also. We had a wonderful time with them. We are hoping to see them soon in Tenino. They are currently remodeling the Guest House and that has been a huge project for them.

Christmas Day - Various Photos

Baby Chase hangs out on the couch!

Ellis and Miles plays with trains

Listening to Grammie play Christmas songs

Ellis received this present from Santa!!

Grammie and Grumpie play with Ellis!!

Christmas Morning

Christmas morning brought in big waves and big winds. At times the sun was trying to peak through but mostly was shadowed by clouds. Along with strong winds came no power. We spent Christams day and night by candlelight. We cooked in the Grumpies small travel trailer. Grammie played her new piano to the propane Coleman lattern. And we read stories to the boys by a flashlight. Below is a picture of Grumpie showing Ellis the big waves. Emma went along to make sure no one fell in.

Christmas Train

We have started a new tradition this year. Thanks to Auntie Kristen and Uncle Craig they came up with this great plan to stay in Vancouver with the entire family and go on the Christmas Train in Stanley Park. It was so great to watch Ellis and cousin Miles together. The Park was filled with thousands of lights and you could hear Christmas music everywhere. We stayed at a wonderful hotel which was right across from the beach. It made for great walks and wonderful conversations. Miles and Ellis played in the leaves, watched boats go by with Grammie and Grumpie and of course threw rocks into the water. The third day that we were there, we took a water taxi to Granville Island. We were not able to stay very long as Ellis was in desperate need for a nap and so was Mom. But we were able to go to Story time with Santa and sang Christmas songs. It was a great time and we are already looking forward to next year.

November Snow

One of my favorite photos. Pete took this photo at night during our first snowfall of the year. (November) This picture was taken off our front porch.

Ellis Winston

Two Years Old!!

Ellis is growing like a weed. He is starting to talk in sentences, which for me is way to fast. When other Moms would tell me, it goes by so fast...they were not kidding!!! Where did the 2 years go? His favorite characters are Elmo and Pooh. He loves to dance and play drums with his Dad. We are working on his manners and he seems to be doing quite well with it. He says "Thank You" without any reminders. I am enjoying while it lasts. He also will say the occasional swear word; as he is in the stage of copying everything that anyone says. Ellis has been a true blessing to us. He reminds me of what is important. It is hard to remain at a high level of stress when He points out that the Moon is the coolest thing in the world or when he does a happy dance for a cup of juice. He is a daily reminder of what true love is.