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.

Christmas Play

Well Ellis was in his first Christmas Play. It had to be about the cutest thing I have ever seen. He was a Shepherd and had one line he had to memorize.... "lets go see the baby". He managed well. He was nervous at times as this was the first time he had a church full of people stare at him and his classmates. Sometimes he would not sing and just stare right back at us. We were joined by Grumpie, Auntie Kristen, Miles, Chase, Unlce Lucas and Auntie Elissa. Miles was cute watching Ellis. At one point during a quiet moment he yelled out " Hi Ellis"...it was great. Maybe Ellis will grow up and be in Drama...he certainly has the personality for it. He has tons of facial expressions. I am told that he gets that from me. He doesn't have to do very much to make us laugh. He seems to always have an angle on something.

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.