Ramblings of a 5 Year Old

On the flight back home:
Me:  Ella, you will need to sit next to this man but mommy will be right across the aisle from you.
Ella:  Can I talk to him all the way?
Man:  Sure, I'd love to talk with you.
Me to Man:  Be careful what you ask for.

Ella on the toilet (yes another poop comment);
Ella:  Momma, let me show you this poop I shot out all at one time!  It's humongous!

Ella:  Momma, you look nice today!  I like your dress and your hair.  You look like a different woman from the back!
Me:  Thank you???

Wedding Pics - Please add comments or captions :)

"Stop it!!! You are embarassing me!"

Back to Blogging

I can't believe it has been over 6 months since my last blog.  I guess I thought I was the only one reading it so I stopped posting.  After being back home for Joe's wedding, I realized that the family was reading it.  So, I'm going to try my best to keep it up again.  I'll be posting some pics from the wedding and of course, Ella's ramblings :)

Ramblings of a 4 year old

Kelly our usual sitter was busy so we had her roommate Sarah sit for us. Ella was so excited to meet Kelly's roommate. As they were settling in, Ella asks Sarah, "So, what's it like having Kelly for a roommate?"

Operation Pillow Pet

As I spoke of the "As Seen on TV" Bake Pops in my last blog being a huge waste of time, this "As Seen on TV" product is going to be a blessing. A few months ago Ella heard on K-LOVE (a christian radio station) that a family brought Pillow Pets to sick children in the hospital on Christmas Day. She told me she would like to do this someday. I thought it was a passing thought, but she continued to bring it up. When we decided we would be staying here for Christmas, Mike and I worked on trying to make this a reality. We contacted a local children's hospital but found out that actually bringing them to the children was not possible due to possible spreading of infection (both to and from the children). So we asked her about bringing them to children at a homeless shelter. She thought this was a good idea, so Mike looked into it. Now with it all arranged, we are going to bring Pillow Pets to 7 kiddos and "lovies" to 5 newborn babies on December 23. We are making blankets for all as well. Ella is so excited to do this and we are so amazed at her selflessness and caring about the needs of others. As mature as she is, I forget sometimes she is only going to be 5. To remind me of this, we were talking about the very small rooms they live in at the shelter and that they have no toys of their own to play with like she has. She then asked, "Well, do they have enough room in there to do the Hokey Pokey?"

Time Lost, Never To Be Found Again

Bake Pops. Have you heard of them? In the few precious minutes Ella has as a reward for taking a nap, she gets to watch Sprout (a PBS kids channel). Since they offer very little time for commercials, they play just a few over and over again, which leads to a subtle brainwashing. "Momma, can we get some bake pops, please, please, please???" And so it went for the past few months. Then she asked for them for her birthday. No problem I thought.. We can order a pan and give those for her birthday instead of cake or cupcakes. So I called the number on TV. Now, this is the very first time I have ever done this, so call me naive. It was a fully automated ordering system. Or should I say a hostage hotline. I was pitched anything from a jewelry club to winning a free cruise to the Bahamas. And they don't take no for an answer. Even after you press "2" for "no" , they think they haven't pitched it to in a convincing way, so they try the same pitch with a twist. After 25 minutes of this I had enough and hung up phone. I wasn't sure if my order had been completed and waited a few days to see if it had. I never received an email, so I figured it didn't go through. So I called the customer hotline (I was getting pressure from Ella about these thing so I decided to call one more time). On hold for 20 minutes then after talking to a real person, they said they had no record of my order. I talked to my mom and she said they had them at Bed Bath and Beyond. So made the trip there to get a pan (oh, how I wished I knew they had them all along). Then two days later I receive a very large box from Fed Ex. I open it up and there are SIX Bake Pop pans!!! And I was charged for them all. So I tried to sell them to my friends via massive text. Sold two so far.

Even though this was a huge waste of time, it was all worth it. Ella and I spent 4 hours making them (I decided not to total up how much time was put into this). While she was at my side with her little apron on, she was hugging my arm and kissing it, repeatedly. That made it all worth it! After they were finished I asked her if they were all she thought they would be. She said, "I didn't know we had to bake them. I just thought they came already made." Looks like we were both duped by the bake pops.

Hair Extensions

I'm sure you've all seen the latest look of feather extensions. In the preschool world, pig extensions are all the rave.

Halloween 2011

Wow, this Halloween was sooooo much better than last! Mike was not only home for this one, but he took the day off! We went out to an apple orchard/pumpkin patch in the Hill Country for most of the day. Hay rides, train rides, cider making, apple washing, puppet show, music show, petting zoo, orchard tour and the best apple ice cream I've ever had. We were wiped out. Ella even fell asleep on the way home (in the middle of the day, which those of you who know her is unheard of). Then we went trick or treating with our neighborhood friends, and ended the day with Ella handing out candy. By the time Ella and I finished our street, Mike had ran out of candy and she was so upset that she couldn't hand out candy, she gave up half of hers just so she could hand some out. What a sweetie! That thought never crossed my mind as a kid.

Oh and in case you can't tell what they are, Ella is a Boise State cheerleader (we've had that outfit for a long time, glad it finally fits) and Grant was "G" the Builder (if you look closely, it says "G" builders :) Ironically, our house in Boise just sold and we closed on Friday!

Praises

It has just occurred to me in the past few weeks that we are approaching some big milestones: Mike being home for Halloween, Mike being home for Thanksgiving, Mike being home for Christmas, and Mike being home for Ella's birthday. I have nothing but praises for all that we have gone through. We are stronger as a family, couple and especially in our faith. Having been ministered to all that time, we are finally stepping out and ministering to others. Wish we would have stepped out of the sidelines earlier.

As we went to the "Boo Zoo" tonight, I was excited to spend this time together as a family. However, when we got to the zoo, the line was at a minimum an hour long. So we made the best of it and went to get ice cream, with a family trip to the neighborhood park to follow. As we drove by a church on our way home, we saw Matthew West was playing there. (Now, if you're not familiar with Christian radio, he is a pretty big deal). So we thought we'd stop in. After the first song, Ella was whispering into my ear, "Momma, I LOVE that song!" Then the next one, "Momma, that is my favorite!" And on it went. So many of her favorites she hears on KLOVE. As we were walking, out she said, "I wanna do this EVERY night! Can we, can we?? I just know that God loves it when we praise Him!" And this serendipitous moment had been forever stamped into my memory. So glad the Boo Zoo didn't work out. This was so much better. And to end with an Ella quote, as we drove home in the car Ella asks, "Momma, were those guys rock stars?"

Flowers for Dinner

Earlier in the day, Ella had been picking up all the Crepe Myrtle blooms that fell on the ground. That evening, we went to a friend's house for dinner. As we walked into the house, Ella started digging into her tiny pocket on her skirt. She pulled out a handful of tiny, crushed flowers and reached out her hand. She said to our friend, "I brought you and your wife some flowers." It was soooooo cute! We never coached her to do so and I can't remember the last time I brought flowers to someone's house for dinner.

Our Future Little Lawyer

Mike and I discussing a news article:

Ella: Come here, we need to talk.

Mike: Do I need to sit down again? (he always has to sit down when Ella has a "talk with him")

Ella: Yes, sit. Now, Daddy, were you arguing with mommy?

Mike: No, we were just discussing something.

Ella: But I heard mommy say you were arguing, so you were arguing. Now, you don't argue with mommy.

Mike: (looking at Ella)

Ella: Don't look at me like that! Now, if mommy said you were arguing, you were. That means you are lying.

Mike: OK, are we finished? Can I get up?

Ella: Yes. You are free.

Mike: That was a better cross examination than some I've seen by lawyers in the courtroom.

Mike to Grant: It's going to be a long childhood for you!

Ramblings of a 4 year old

Another story told by Kelly our babysitter...

Kelly is eating popcorn at lunch and Ella asks for some. As Ella is about to put an unpopped kernel in her mouth, Kelly tells her that she can choke on them. Ella says, "It's a chokin' hazard?" (she is always telling Grant about "chokin' hazards"). Then Kelly tells her that even adults can choke on them. Ella asks, "Is it a chokin' hazard for God?" Kelly tries to suppress her laughter as this always provokes Ella when we giggle at her questions. She tells Ella that she doesn't know. Ella says, "Well, then I'll ask him."' She takes the kernels in her hands and with her palms facing upwards, she raises her hands high and asks, "God, are these a chokin' hazard for you?" Silence. Then Ella says, "God told me no, they aren't." During all of this Kelly is still trying not to laugh and has a huge smile on her face. Then Ella says, "Oh, God must have told you too because you are smiling!"

Ramblings of a 4 year old

Ella stepped outside this morning as we were getting into the car for preschool. She starts yelling, "Mommy, it's FREEZING out here!!! It's as cold as North Dakota!" It was 65 degrees. For her defense, it was the first 65 degrees we've seen since May :)

Grant and Goldfish

Ramblings of a 4-year old

Mike and I were discussing how some people say San Antonio has no culture, and that Austin has so much more culture than we do. Then I said we have a great Latino/Mexican culture that they don't have in Austin. Then Ella said: "Is latino german for taco?" I think teaching her spanish and german is becoming a bit confusing.

Smarty Pants

Our little Grant is becoming too smart which is making my days longer :) He is into everything. He loves to cook and is stirring up pots of soup all the time. He also has been getting on his tiptoes to open and close doors. And since we have no locks, that gives him free access to everything. He is even opening the pocket doors!

He loves his sister Ella and can't wait to greet her with a hug every morning. When we arrive at her preschool to pick her up, he starts yelling "Ay-ya, Ay-ya!" He actually frightened me today...Ella had made a book titled "Things That God Made" and in it she drew things like flowers, butterflies, etc. as well as a family. It had a man, women, girl and boy (representing us). Grant was looking at it and jokingly I said, "Where's daddy?" He looked at the picture and pointed to the man! Thinking perhaps it was a fluke I asked, "Where's mommy?" Then he looked at the picture again and pointed to the woman. This was starting to freak me out. It is not normal for a baby to recognize representational drawings (stick figures) of people. So then of course I asked, "Where's Ella?" He then looked at the picture and pointed to the girl with yellow hair. Incredulous, I had to ask him where Grant was, but he'd had enough of my badgering. He walked away then turned to give me a smile and a string of drool dribbled from his mouth. Yep, he's still a baby!

Trip to Dallas

We traveled to Dallas for Mike's Tennis Tournament (which is a big deal - they made it to sectionals). Outside our hotel they had a park with a fountain. It was such a blast to watch Ella and all the kiddos there. We had to drag her away both nights. Grant on the other hand had to be coaxed a bit, but he eventually went in. Once was enough for him.