Thursday, June 14, 2012

Glamping

A week ago already (gosh!) we went "glamping" at Platte River State Park.  Not true glamorous camping by my definition, but glamping for sure for Wade.  Wade has really wanted to do some camping, since last year even.  Having little ones I have not been so eager.  I agreed to stay in a cabin.  I was going to get a camper cabin which is just a place with four walls, a bed or two, electricity and a little fridge and wall unit ac/heat.  I am sure glad I went for the full cabin.  We had a good sized fridge, sink, microwave, stove and a 3/4 bath.  And two bedrooms and central air.  I'm a glamper.  I could rough it pre kids, but with them being little and my ick factor on high alert as I get older, I need running water and toilet.  We also determined that we couldn't trust Ellie by the fire, and trying to use a charcoal grill was out of the question too for her curious little hands.  So, we ended up cooking hotdogs in the microwave.

We put Ellie to bed first and allowed Whitney to stay up by the fire a little while. 
we even had a tv!  (but the channels didn't come in)  We never used the indoor fireplace, but the park is open year round so that would be nice to get going if you ever stayed during the colder months.

the little lake there had free fishing for kids.  They used hot dogs and they caught some big blue gills and bass!






Whitney seriously caught like four fish and I got nothin!

shooting a pellet gun for the first time.  She surprisingly wasn't scared.  She couldn't get the trigger pulled but helped Daddy and sat with him until she got bored.



Friday we went to Mahoney State Park for Corps of Engineer picnic day.  They have a lot to do at the park, including an indoor play area.  We had the place to ourselves and the girls had so much fun.  We also went to an aquatic center but didn't take the camera in.  The place was pretty cool, but Whitney was so tired she wasn't much of a sport and we didn't stay as long as we would have liked.  Other activities at the park inlucde mini golf and a driving range, paddle boats, horseback rides, and more.  A pretty cool park about 25mins from home!




my goofy girl

and my serious girl

Sunday we went back to Fontenelle Forest, this time with Daddy and Papa, and the camera!


This weekend we are off to Myrtle Beach for a week!  Can't wait to get pictures of that vacation!

Saturday, June 2, 2012

Wade- 33

Friday was Wade's 33rd birthday!  We celebrated on thursday because Wade took off for the land on friday and we stayed behind.  Thursday we baked a cake.  I usually save those activites for just Whitney (less mess), but decided to do it before Ellie's nap this time.  I do box cake so it's pretty easy and minimal ingredients, which means minimal mess and less time preparing.




We went to the Omaha Children's museum.  We got a membership there, along with every where else in this town.  We now belong to the zoo, the museum, and the Fontenelle Forest- where I took the girls there myself this morning, wish I had taken the camera!



you need to click on this one to see Whitney's face!







We finished off the evening with cake

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Memorial Weekend Fun

My parents came for the weekend and we had lots of fun!  We went to the zoo, played in the sprinklers, Wade and my Dad went golfing twice (and the girls got to go out on the course and ride in the golf cart as they came around our house), took the girls to a splash pad, got Orange Leaf "ice cream" and did some furniture shopping for our formal living room.  Then Monday late afternoon we checked out the Platte River State Park.  They have cabins that I just may be able to camp in!



the gorillas there were awesome.  I had never seen a gorilla in person.  I could have stayed there for hours, I find them so fascinating.  I did feel bad for them, some of them (like this guy) seemed so sad.   They had quite a few of them, pretty cool.  We have been to the zoo twice now and still haven't seen everything. 



Ellie only likes to hold sister's hand now. 

85ft tower at the state park.  we got to the top and Ellie was running all over and trying to climb up the chain link wall.  She is an animal.  We didn't stay up there long.

always has to pick up sticks

Whitney thought it was so cool to ride in a paddle boat just like Caliou.   It will be nice when we can trust Ellie and take her out there too.

I think I'll have to print this picture and the next one!








Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Ellison- 15 Months


Ellie bear is 15 months today.  Time could stand still at this age (almost).  For both the girls, actually.   I love that at 15 months they have the budding intelligence of a toddler but the tiny cuteness of a baby.


She continues to be so silly.  She finds happiness and humor in everything she does.  Unless she is determined to have or do something her way, she is usually smiley and happy to explore on her own.  Her little toddler temper is starting to show on occasion, but for the most part she is mild mannered.  She is EXTREMELY busy and always into something.  She just does. not. stop.  I think that's why she actually sleeps so well is because she is so busy all the time while she is awake.  I cannot turn my back to her or she is up on the chairs on her way up to the kitchen table.  She is in every cabinet.  I have yet to fully put our bathroom away because every time I think something is "safe" Ellie has shown me that it is not.  She is slowly starting to learn/remember what things are "no".  For the most part she knows better but will still test me to see if I am watching or if I will tell her no again.  I finally got her to understand that it is not okay to pull all my shirts off their hangers.


she likes to walk holding hands.  She thinks she is big stuff.  Strollers are for babies (and well behaved 3 year olds like big sister finally is!)


washing dishes.  They like to put bubbles on their faces and say "ho, ho, ho!"


my paci monster.  She has named them "mimi" or "mee mee" however you want to spell it.  Don't know where she got that from, but that's what she calls them and can ask for them.  I give it to her way too often.  With Wade being gone it was easier to put a plug in her whining mouth and when we went out I let her have it because it kept her from putting disgusting toys in her mouth.  And of course she has to sleep with them.  About 3-4 of them so she can always find one.


Milestones-  basically just adding to her vocabulary.  I wrote down everything I could think of that she can say and she is up to 80+ words.  She can repeat almost anything, but 80+ words are in her usable vocabulary.  It is sooo helpful that she can say what she wants.  "bite, drink, milk, more, mimi, hold you, book, shoes, blanky," etc.  If she wants to do something that one of us is doing she will say "too!"  She has recently learned "please (peas to her)" and is even starting to use it when asking for something.  "bite! bite!  peas!"   She has started to string together small sentences.  When looking for something she asks "are you"  or "sissy, are you?"  She can tell us what she wants a bite of, "bite, cheese."  She can accurately answer yes, no or I do to a question.  You can tell she knows exactly what we say to her.  She adds eee to the ends of words as in water is wawee, chips are chipys, Whitney is Nee Nee.

She loves books.  Loves to look at them by herself or have them read to her.

She can point to all her body parts and can say most of them as well.

She is such a climber.  She can climb what I call ladder walls at the park.  Whitney didn't even attempt those until she was at least two.  She is pretty social and a little show off.  She will be shy at first but gets over it quickly.  She is such a mama's girl.  Not that she wants me to hold her, she just wants to know I am around. 

She is very observant and you can just tell she watches and listens to everything and is figuring out how things work.  She wants to do everything big sister does. (except watch cartoons, I wish she would sometimes!)

She is obsessed with animals.  Especially dogs.  She goes nuts when she sees a dog and just has to touch it and "woof" at it.

She likes songs.  She can sing "ashes, ashes, down!"  If we say McDonalds, as in the place to eat, she hears us and sings "e i, e i, ooo!"  She likes to row her boat and sings "row, row, row!"

Eating-  great eater.  I wish she would drink more liquids.  She loves Rolos (roro's) and can ask for them.  Now, who would give her Rolo's ?!?! 

Sleep-  She naps once a day around noon for 2-3 hrs.  I actually prefer 2-2.5 hr nap so she sleeps better at night.  Bedtime is about 8:30/8:45 and she wakes around 7.  However, the brighter it is earlier in the morning the earlier the mowers are out on the golf course, so that has been waking her up earlier than she normally would be up.  Today they were out at 5:45am, ugh!  She sleeps all night through and puts herself to sleep.  She won't even let me hold her even when I want to.  She dives for the crib and isn't happy until I put her down.

Stats- still about 21lbs, 12-18 month clothes.  Size 3 diaper.  Size 5 shoe.  12 teeth, just waiting on the four eye teeth. Blonde hair with a slight curl to the ends and blue eyes.  Sometimes I look at her and I can see my niece Alaina when she was a baby.

Friday, May 18, 2012

Pictures and Popcorn

Dancing with Daddy at a wedding.  She was so nervous to dance, which was funny because the last wedding we went to we couldn't get her off the dance floor!

my little minis reading with me on Mother's day

trouble maker- yes, she did that on her own





I was making a pasta salad yesterday and gave them two small bowls of popcorn to eat on the floor while I was busy.  I turn around and they had smashed popcorn all over.  I know that Ellie started it and Whitney went along with it.  Them "helping" me clean it up.