Asleep in a box

Levi had so much fun playing in this box that he wanted to take his nap in there.

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Scroll down to Aug 13, 15, 19 for new photos

In training...

Tonight we took another family walk around the neighborhood with Levi on his tricycle this time (instead of the Big Wheel). He is pretty excited about the upcoming Kid's Tractor Pull and he is in training. Ellie rode in the stroller.

He came outside and he had on Matt's motorcycle helmet, so Matt suggested he wear the gold helmet instead. Levi was very excited about that and he wore it on the whole ride.

There are a couple of hills on our street and it was good training for Levi to learn to really push down on the pedals to make the trike go, even when it was difficult.

At one point he turned too sharp and the trike tipped over and Levi fell down. I said "and he goes down!" Levi stood up, brushed himself off and asked me "Why did you call me Andy?" Matt and I had a good laugh about that.

Kid stuff

This evening Ellie was laying on the floor in the hallway and she pointed at her rear and said "ooo!" I asked her if she went poo. She again pointed at her rear and said "oooo!" So I checked and sure enough, she was right. I took her into the changing table in the kids' room and Levi was in bed. I had to turn on the light. Levi said to me "Momma, you're disturbing me!" Usually he welcomes any interruption or excuse to get out of bed but tonight he seemed genuinely tired.

Ellie has also been trying to talk more. When she gets upset she usually says "Da da da da!" in an angry voice. Ha ha.

She enjoys putting her head on the ground with her butt in the air, and almost tumbling. I think she will enjoy gymnastics class when she is old enough to go.

I saw the events for the Walla Walla Fair coming up and one of them is the Kid's Tractor Pull for kids age 4+. I found a video online and Levi thinks he would like to do that so we'll take him down and see how he does. Looks like it could be tough.

Wild Evening

I don't know what got into my kids tonight. Matt left about 3:30 to meet with his Tangent Media friends so I had the little monkeys all to myself.

First they got into the camera bag. Ellie discovered some q-tips and immediately put them in her ears.

The balloon from earlier today has sadly lost its helium power and was trailing along behind Ellie as she drug it around the house. This got BeBe really excited and she started chasing it, trying to grab it with her front legs and bite it. Levi decided to protect the poor balloon and grabbed it away from Ellie and then ran shrieking around the house as BeBe chased him.

I was working on the blog when Levi came out to the living room saying "take my picture momma" - he had removed the interior of the trash can and was wearing it around his midsection!

My dad called for a chat and the kids took the opportunity to run as fast as they could go around the house with the wooden roller toy (very loud) once again shrieking and laughing at the top of their lungs. I was moving from room to room trying to find a quiet place - no luck. This house is too small!

We had tiajuana (sp?) tacos for dinner, on the kids picnic table outside, we had lovely weather this evening. Ellie tried to scamper off a couple times to pick raspberries. We had ice cream sandwiches for dessert.

Pretty Baby

Yesterday I saw a post on facebook about the Pretty Baby contest at the Muddy Frogwater Festival in Milton-Freewater. I looked up the rules and found an entry form. Not much information online about what to expect, but the entry fee was only $5 and there were "prizes" so we decided to take the whole family down and enjoy the nice weather. I took the morning off work and made breakfast. The kids downed some scrambled eggs, crispy crowns and oranges while Matt and I enjoyed fried egg english muffins. Yum!

After breakfast I dressed Ellie in her sailor girl dress and silver sandals from grandma Susan.

We left the house about 9 am and drove down to Milton-Freewater. During the walk from the truck to the festival, Levi said "Can you carry me momma? I'm exhausted!" We found the entry table and got Ellie entered. She was #16. Wow, I couldn't believe how many kids were already entered. By the time entries closed there were 20 kids in the 6-15 month division, and 10 kids in the 16-24 month division. The announcer said kids were not only judged on cuteness but they had to have personality too! There was a panel of three out-of-town judges sitting in the front row (of straw bales) armed with their clipboards.

Because there were so many kids it was decided to have five kids come out together on the portable dance floor. They played loud country music and let the kids boogie. A lot of the kids in Ellie's division were younger and couldn't walk yet so their parent helped them to stand and bounce around.

Waiting our turn...

Entrants #15-20

I wasn't sure what Ellie would do as sometimes she can get shy in front of people (can't blame her!) I held her for a minute as she stared wide-eyed at all the people staring back at her, and then the music started and I set her down. What would she do?

She danced!



She waved her arms and started twirling around and clapping and really had a good time.

I love my kids and I think they are beautiful, but I don't expect anyone else to feel that way. I saw a couple of kids really having a great time with huge smiles and I simply hoped for a placing. Matt thought it was no contest all along :) The announcer said that there was a tie and they wanted to call some semi-finalist back up onto the stage. We were in that group so up we went again.

Ellie had been trying to jump on her own, so I helped her jump around a little bit to get her smiling big. She ran all around and pointed at the other kids and they fed off each other like only kids can do.

After that we had to wait some more, for the older kids to have their shot on the stage. They did not announce the results until everyone had been judged. While we were waiting for the bigger kids Levi took Ellie by the hand and led her off, away through the park with me closely behind. It was so cute, I wish I had a photo of that.

Finally time for results. They started with third. The announcer wasn't sure if it was a boy or a girl and wasn't sure he could pronounce the name. It was a boy. Time for 2nd place. Another question of gender and pronunciation. Then a joke about difficult names. Finally "1st place goes to.... uh... Ellie Bobbitt, #16" YEAH!! I jumped up and ran Ellie over to the announcer.

A reporter from the newspaper met me and asked me to go over to the Pretty Baby banner for a photo. Gladly! :) How cool!

We posed for a shot alone...

...and then a shot with the other babies who placed 2nd and 3rd.

Then they directed us to the awards table and I chatted with the 2nd placer a little bit while we waited for our prizes. I don't know about the other placements but we were awarded a $50 savings bond from Baker Boyer Bank, 2 ice cream cones from McDonald's and a colorful afghan made by someone involved with the festival. Thank you!!

Levi had been really good so Matt got him a pink lemonade and then we went to have some fun.

First we went to the playground

And then Levi got to spend some time in a bounce castle!

Izzy the camel was there and Ellie snuck in to pet his head. She loved it.

Levi picked out some new sunglasses and got a matching red balloon from a pro-life booth.

My mom didn't get there in time to see the contest but she walked around the festival with us. When Ellie saw her she wanted to go to her right away and be held. She loves her Oma.

That was our morning. Afterwards I had to get to work!

Hard work?

Levi and Ellie have a modeling gig today. When Matt told Levi that he would earn 200 quarters Levi responded "No, I can't work that hard! That's a lot of quarters!" He normally does a load of laundry for 1 quarter, so you can see why he was overwhelmed at the prospect of earning 200 of them.

Spaghetti!

We had spaghetti one day for lunch. I was in a hurry to get back to work so I was done eating before the kids. Matt said when he got Ellie down from her high chair she went right over to Levi and climbed up on his chair and helped him eat his spaghetti. What an appetite!

Kids

Ellie clapping after she correctly identified Levi's nose.

Levi wearing our motorcycle helmet.

In the tub

15 months

Ellie is growing up so fast! Today Matt told me she could point out her body parts. I didn't believe him.
"Ellie, where's your nose?" he asked
She pointed to, or should I say stuck her fingers up, her nose.
Unbelievable.
"Ellie, where's your mouth?"
She opened her mouth and said "ahh" while waggling her tongue at us.
Obvously proud of herself.
"Ellie, where is your hair?"
She patted her head with her hand.
Wow!

The other night while I was giving her a bath I asked her to stand up so I could scrub her and with no hesitation she stood right up. She also sits, and lays down on command. For now she is obeying better than her brother or the dogs! I love this age! It is really incredible how much she understands. Her vocabulary is still limited to "doggie!" "hi!" "hey!" and the occasional "mama" and "daddy" and engine sound effects but there is no doubt she is communicating in her own way.

Ellie turned 15 months yesterday. I am hoping to get a new portrait taken of her soon.

Left Toe

Tonight we were in need of some groceries. As we were waiting in line at the checker I saw Gene and Barbara Brown, the owners of Bordertown Feed in Milton-Freewater. Barbara came around to talk to the kids, whom I had pushed there in their stroller. They were having a nice little conversation and Barbara got a hold of Ellie's big toe and asked Levi "which toe is this?" Levi said "Um....(pause)... her left toe." Barbara chuckled and then realized that she was indeed holding up Ellie's left foot. "He knows his left and rights already? How old is he?" I told her he was four and that it was probably a fluke, even though I have been working with him on left and right I really wasn't sure he knew them that well yet. I guess we'll see if he is consistent from now on.

Levi's 4-year check up

Today Levi had his 4-year doctor's appointment with Dr. Tom. He was anxious about it and said "but I do not want to go to the Doctor" and "I want Dr. Tom to go away!" Matt and I talked with him about what to expect and his biggest concern seemed to be if they would put eye drops in his eyes. I could assure him that would not happen (but was not sure where that came from).

The office had moved our appointment to 9 so we had time for a blueberry pancake breakfast and then made it in to the office just in time. There was a line at the front desk to check in so as soon as I got our form the nurse was calling Levi's name. He willingly followed her back to the room and then she had him come back out in the hall for his eye exam. That was a riot! She changed the chart to show the little plain sketches (although I think he could have done fine with the letters). When she pointed to the circle Levi said "lowercase o", and when she pointed to the plus sign Levi said "lowercase t." Then Levi said "I want you to point at the sailboat" so she obliged before moving onto the "teacup" and "star." It was really fun to listen to him describe the sketches.

Next he stood on the scale. He is 33.6 lbs. Then he was measured, and I think she said he was 39" tall. While this was happening we also got a weight check for Ellie and she was 22 lbs even. Her weight is coming back up again and that is good to see.

Levi fell evenly into the 26th percentile for both height and weight for his age.

The nurse then came in and told Levi that she was going to use the blood pressure cuff to give his arm a hug. He was ok with that. She also listened to his heart and Levi told her that he also has a "tethoscope" at home because he has a Doctor's bag.

After that Dr. Tom came in. Levi wanted to see the "ear light" and his eyes and ears were checked. He wanted to be sure that Dr Tom showed him the green light on the odoscope. Dr Tom checked him out and asked us what our plans were for school. Since we are not sending him to PreSchool this year he asked about socialization. He pointed out that kids learn a lot of skills by playing with their peers (and not just dominating younger siblings). This is something I have thought about and I am sure he could use more weekly play time with other kids his age. Dr. Tom also asked if we were using a booster seat or a 5-point harness. Levi replied "I sit on a phone book!" LOL Dr. Tom asked him "In the car?" I said "No, he is still in his 5-point in the car, we recently put him on a phone book to sit at the table." Then Dr Tom checked his weight on the computer and saw where he was and said he still has some growing to do before using a booster in the car.

Everything went really well and Levi was relaxing. Up to that point we could not remember if Levi was getting vaccines today. Dr. Tom said that yes he would need four and the nurse would be in to give them. Yikes. I thought one would be hard enough for a kid his age.

After Dr. Tom left I felt it was only fair to let Levi know what to expect. So we told him that he would need to have some shots today, and that they would hurt a little bit but they would be over very quickly and that we would be there to hold him and when we were all done we would give him a treat. That did not console him. All he heard was shots and his eyes got really big and he started using his scolding voice to point at me and say "No! I do not need a shot! They will not give me a shot today!"

Needless to say he was in a panic when the nurse came back in. I could see his eyes searching for the tray of weapons. Nurse Kathy asked Matt to hold him securely with Levi's back to the nurse, and she gave the first two shots in his left arm. Then Matt turned him around and Kathy gave a shot in his right arm. Matt lost his grip slightly and Levi turned his head to see the second shot coming towards him and he mustered all his strength to swing at the needle. Kathy was quick enough at evading his hand but Matt needed a minute to get him confined again. It was traumatic for all of us I think. Matt gave Levi a big hug when it was all over and told him he was so proud of him for being so brave, it was all over now and we could get him something special. Levi sobbed.

The nurse brought in a lizard toy and a sticker for him. Levi looked at the sticker and said "But I do not want that one, I want a McQueen sticker." Kathy said she didn't think they had any like that but she would go look. She came back in with a Space Ranger (Buzz Lightyear). Well Levi is also a fan of Toy Story so this was acceptable. After the nurse left the room Levi wanted to put the sticker on his arm where he got his shots.

To this point I still hadn't had time to fill out the form that I was given when we arrived. They had given us the growth and development chart for 2-4 years. So Levi was able to do pretty much everything on there, including drawing a straight line. The only thing he couldn't really do was to jump lengthwise over the paper. Ellie saw him jumping and joined in, although she doesn't quite get her feet off the floor, she tries very hard and is getting close.

On the way out of our exam room, Levi managed to talk the nurse out of a second Toy Story sticker.

Levi is now up to date and won't need a vaccine again until he is 10 or 11 years old. Thank goodness!!

We stopped at Safeway on the way home and I ran in and got him a McQueen balloon as a surprise. He was soooo delighted to see it when I came back to the truck. He said "Oh thank you momma! Thank you! I love this!"

Home Improvements continue...

Just when you think you are getting caught up on house chores, the realtors tell you there is more than can still be done to help the house show better. One major thing was the wallpaper in our dining room. I have always liked it's 3D raised surface, but recently Levi had peeled a large chunk off the end. It was unsightly so it all had to come down.

The kids both wanted to help remove it.

Thankfully it all came down pretty easily with just a little water.

After the wallpaper was removed there was some spackling and taping to do before repainting the wall.

Spackling and sanding in progress, Matt surveys his work.

The lamps helped speed drying time (most of the painting was done during the kids' nap time) and the smell was not very noticeable, thankfully!

Levi holding the trim piece while Matt nails it back on.

Matt taping for trim painting.

Ellie put on one of Levi's boots and carried the other one around with her as she supervised the workers.

Cuddle time with BeBe on the couch. Ellie has been learning how to drink out of cups and loves dumping water out of sippy cups, thus the change of clothes.

Now that we have the dining room and hallway mostly done, our next project will be the living room, then the kids' room. Eventually we will probably need to repaint the bathroom since Matt's choice of orange is not really appreciated by anyone else. :)

Today after lunch I got out a Klondike bar. Ellie saw it and started saying "umm! umm!" She loves the hard shell and can sure make a big mess of it.

She has also started throwing things away. I remember Levi went through this phase once upon a time. Ellie's current favorite item are the potatoes. She loves to throw them in the kitchen garbage and then shows me what she has done. It is hard to be mad when she is so proud of her new skill.

Wild Hair

Levi, just up from his nap, shows off his new hair style.

Tough Day

We have been doing a lot more packing and cleaning around our house to prepare for meeting with a couple of realtors. Having had our house FSBO since December, we think perhaps it is time to get serious about selling it and list with someone who will do more advertising. We have taken multiple trips to storage(s) and still have more to move. Slow but steady. Ellie has been fascinated by the whole process. Tonight I watched her as she decided on a pile of stuff to move, and set to work making trip after trip back and forth from desk to bin. Here she is pushing the half-full bin around the house. Work ethic is inherited I guess!

We also spent the last daylight hours outside pulling weeds and shoveling yard debris into our Ugly truck for a dump run. Levi kept Ellie occupied by blowing bubbles.

After working all day and doing more physical labor at home, you just have to wind down with some television. Thanks to Hulu, we can watch the Bachelorette almost commercial-free. Ellie is zoning, just about to fall asleep.

Big Wheel!

Levi got a new toy from Oma. A Big Wheel!


He is really loving it. I am excited for him too because I remember having one as a kid and I wore it out I rode it so much.

Ellie is waiting for her ride. That pedal is a bit dysfunctional, something else to fix.