Lately...

Ellie is doing so many fun/funny things lately that I wanted to record them so I won't forget.

1. She is fascinated with our cars and wanting to "drive" them. This usually consists of turning on the windshield wipers or "washers" as she says and making the windows go up and down a few times.

2. She absolutely loves lawn mowers, especially when they are off. If there is anyone nearby mowing the grass she immediately hears it and says "mow mow." She has always loved to watch Brad mow the grass and is now helping daddy push it (while off, of course). Today I'm pretty sure she asked for Brad to mow the grass by saying "mow mow...gass...da da."

3. The girl loves all things Mr. Potato Head! Yesterday at the consignment sale I bought her this whole container of body parts (until now she only had the original parts) and that is all she has wanted to play with all day.

4. If you ask Ellie what her name is she says "Eyyie Su" we have to prompt her for the "Emey." She also says "yeg" instead of leg! I took a video of this that I'll try to post this week.


5. She is giving the best little hugs ever, squeezing your neck with a few pats on the shoulder.

6. The poor girl has had so many mosquito bites this summer that after bath time she always asks for her "Ceme" (anti-itch cream).

7. She loves the "sa sa" (salamanders) that live around our house. Every time we go outside she wants to look for them. Brad has taught her to be quiet while looking so she follows up "sa sa" with a "shh." Then when we can't find them she says "all gone."

Little Grocery Shopper

The other night we went to Harris Teeter to pick up a few things. Ellie loves Harris Teeter for may reasons, the free samples (that her daddy has taught her all about) riding Harry the dragon, the free sugar cookies, & now the little shopping carts! She was in heaven pushing this little cart all over the store. It was the funniest thing ever watching her whip that thing around. Brad and I are convinced she would have stayed in the store all night if we would have let her. I have a feeling our trips to Harris Teeter will never be the same after this!

Spotting the balloons


Cutest thing ever!

Labor Day Weekend

This past weekend we went up to Brevard to visit family. For the first time since Ellie has been around we actually made the trip in less than 5 hours. We spent Saturday at Granny & Paw's house and Ellie loved exploring everything inside and out. She even got to "drive" Paw's tractor, which made her day! In fact, she is still talking about it 4 days later. Sunday we got to help Aunt Leah celebrate her birthday with some yummy cake and mexican food for dinner.

When playing outside at Nan & Pop Pop's one of Ellie's favorite things to do is swing.

Just the right size...

for a sweet little girl!

Isle of Palms 2010

Well, we've been back from the beach for 2 weeks now and I am just getting around to posting about our fun week. Every few years we head down to SC with Brad's Dads side of the family for a week of fun in the sun. Two years ago we told everyone I was pregnant at the beach and it was fun to have Ellie there with us this year...and let me tell you that she loved every minute of it! From playing in the sand to splashing in the waves Ellie is definitely a beach girl through and through. We had great weather all week except for the last night when we were supposed to take family pictures out on the beach. Here are the few pictures that I was able to take in between chasing Ellie around on the beach...

My favorite picture of the week

Can you tell how much she loves her goggles?

Another favorite activity...burying her feet in the sand.

Ellie loved the waves in the "ocea" as she called it.

Another favorite thing to do at the beach... eat snacks, of course!

We stayed in a great house with a pool and it was so nice to have. We spent our mornings at the beach and afternoons enjoying the pool. Here is Ellie blowing bubbles...

and "floating" on her back.

My favorite squat she does

One of the benefits of going to Charleston is all of the yummy food you get to eat! I am a seafood lover so I was in shrimp (instead of hog) heaven. Thanks to Nan, Brad and I were even able to go on a little date to my favorite restaurant, Uno Mas, for some delicious shrimp tacos. I love those things so much that I literally could eat some right now! Even though we ran 3 times during the week I'm pretty sure I still came home with a few extra pounds but it was worth every calorie.

18 Months Old

We took Ellie to the doctor for her 18 month check up today and she did a great job! When Dr. R examined her she just watched him with this inquisitive look on her face. The only time she cried was during the shots. She is a growing girl now weighing in at 21 pds 15 oz (25%) and 31 1/2 inches (50%). Ellie is talking all the time now and saying a TON of words...my new favorites are "earrings" & "get it" which comes out "gig git." She loves going down the slide at the playground and walking down to the creek to throw rocks and acorns in the water. In fact anytime she picks up a rock now she immediately says "creek" and points toards it. We are still enjoying watching her funny personality bloom...what a joy she is!

Ellie & the Purple Crayon

Last week we opened up some bath crayons for Ellie and she had a blast with them. I think she would have stayed in the bath tub all night if we would have let her.

Here Ellie is playing with Play Dough for the first time. She sat there at the table for over 30 minutes playing with it. I think she's a big fan...

"Look at this snake my mom made"