Growing up!

Some days I can't believe how much the girls are growing up. Shelby is starting to walk up the stairs and sometimes down. She helps clear the table and do toy clean up. Unbelievable! Today is day 2 of switching to one nap. I really missed the morning nap this morning becuase she was sleeping the whole time Ellie was at school. Now I put her down around noon. She had her 15 month appointment today (ok, so she is almost 17 months. Better late then never). SHe weighs 23 lbs. and is 32.5" tall. So, of course, Ellie wanted to do measurements too. Ellie is 31.5 lbs. and 39 or so inches. I was doing the measuring. Shelby grew 3.5 inches in 4-1/2 months and I think Ellie has grown about 6 inches since we moved in August! Crazy! Ellie seems to be more independant every day. Although, along with that we have talking back, yelling, using the word "no" way too much, and wanting to do everything on her own. She helps alot with her sister and is protective of her too. She sings to her when she is upset and it calms her down most of the time.
We are setteling in nicely here, but we miss our friends in Tecumseh and will be visiting soon!

Daddy/Daughter Dance

I'm not sure who was more excited, Ellie or Dad (or me, for a quiet evening...Shelby is asleep). Here are some pictures before the big dance that has been talked about all week. And the videos are what went on at home!

Happy Birthday Grandma Ann!

Grandma Ann turned 70 today! She has more energy then the rest of some days. We met her at the lake and Saturday night had a part at a restaurant with some of her friends. THe girls had so much fun being the center of attention for 3 days. The trip home was quick and sleepy! Shelby is down for the night and has been for a while, Ellie, on the other hand, keeps finding reasons to come find us. Monsters, too dark in her room (even with a night light a closet light on and a hall night light), I miss Grandma...etc. Shelby seems to be fully recovered from the flu and an ear infection! Yeah! Looking forward to a good week. No pictures from the weekend, I forgot my camera! UGH!

Back from our trip

A little late with my trip update, but Shelby has been really sick and requiring all of my attention. She's still feeling pretty crummy and it is day 5!
Our trip south was great! It was so nice to see family and friends. It was a short trip, but we managed to see everyone. Ellie has so much fun playing with her cousins. She also had her first Chuck E Cheese's expereince. She thought that was a blast. So, did SHelby. We weren't even at my sister's house for 10 minutes and Jake, who is 8, broke his arm. He was a trooper though. The funny thing was, they had just gotten back from 3 days of skiing with no injuries and then he was sitting on the swing talking to Ellie and he fell out. I guess it doesn't take much if you hit it just right (or, wrong). Here are a couple of my favorite pictures from our trip.

Going on a trip

I just realized how long it's been since I posted. I was doing so good. Jeff has been gone all week and the girls have wore me out. We, or I should say I, am trying to get ready for our trip down south. We leave tomorrow. Jeff is still gone, UGH! Packing is usually a team effort around here. I haul all of the stuff out that I want packed and Jeff some how makes it fit. This time he won't be able to help except for packing himself, so we michg just end up taking a bigger bag, and there is nothing that bugs a seasoned business traveller more! :) Today was ballet. I absolutley love watching Ellie and the other girls. They all have smiles the whole time and just love being there. She has her first recital in May and if Miss Debbie can get 15 3-4 year olds to perform, she must be the best! After ballet we had a Valentines Party with the Moms group that we are part of and tomorrow Ellie has one at school. SHe has also been making Valentines for everyone that we are going to visit this weekend. She has been writing a lot of the names all by herself. Most are legible too. I'm so proud of her! Have a great weekend...I'll post pictures from the trip when we get back.

A girl party

Yesterday Ellie went to a birthday party. It was such a great little place. The girls got to decorate a magic wand, have their hair and nails done, dress up, dance, eat cupcakes and open presents. I think Ellie may have the record for the number of different dresses she put on. At least 6, maybe 7. Needless to say, she had a blast.

Cabin fever no more

We feel like we have been home too much, so we decided to head downtown today. We went to the Shedd Aquarium. It cost more to park then it did to get in. But the hour train ride with Shelby just wasn't going to happen! She is way too "busy" to sit still on a train. THe girls had a great time. There were several animal demonstrations where they had an animal out and talked about it and then answered questions. Ellie was so cute, she always had a question and I thought theyy were good questions too. I really think she liked to raise her hand, but then ended up with a question too, to my surprise. "Do Iguanas hide from the sun?" "How fast is a tortise?" "How old is Nikel the turtle?" To my surprise (and Jeff's too) there is such thing as a blue frog. Here is a picture that Ellie took of it. Hers turned out better then mine. She loves to take pictures and is getting really good at it. When we got home today it was about 38 degrees and that actually felt warm. So, we went for a walk/bike ride. It was nice to get some fresh air. I am so ready for this winter to be over. Tomorrow Ellie is going to a birthday party at a place called It's a Girl Thing. Should be cute, I'll take pictures.

This is what happens...

And, I think this means I drink too much coffee. Shelby always wants my coffee!

So, this is what happens when I am on the phone and I know Shelby is too quiet and probably into something and ignore it anyway. Yummy...a cupcake! The part I didn't get a picture of was Puck...he was involved in this too! I actually laughed, it was pretty hysterical!

Ballet again! YEAH!

Ellie finally had ballet again today and oh, she loved it! And, I have to say, I love watching her! This is definately her thing! Big news for us...we found a sitter. We have used a neighbor girl who is 14 and I am ok with her for a couple of hours. This girl I found on Sitter City and she actually lives across the street from our subdivision. We h ad her over tonight to meet her and have her meet the girls before we just left them with her. She is great. And the girls loved her. Ellie wanted her to stay and put her to bed! Yeah! Mom and Dad are going on a date!!

Fashion show

Jeff had a business dinner tonight, so Ellie and I decided to have a fashion show. She has a ton of dress up clothes (mostly princess dresses, but some other stuff too) and some dresses in her closet. Well, the problem is she wanted to have a fashion show like the one she has seen on Max & Ruby. They get into their grandma's chest of dresses, silly hats, belts and big shoes and have so much fun. Well, I am completely lacking in that area. I still don't know how to put a slideshow on here, so here are a couple of pictures. I was in a dress too, but Ellie was behind the camera and well, need I say more?