2 and a half!

Ellison trying to not let me take a picture.
I think this is classic rock star... you would think I was the paparrazzi.



"No, you don't take a picture of me."
(Inside her new hiding space... the pantry)



Ellison is 2 1/2 today!  I thought it would be a good time to chat about what Ellison is up to these days...

• Princess Everything! If you were to knock on our door at anytime in the day or evening, you would find a little girl dressed up as a Princess and wearing Princess heels. (This occurs even while sleeping)
• About the Princess thing, she is very quick to point out that while she is dressed like a Princess, she still has Ellison's head... therefore she is not Belle or Cinderella.
• Vocab explosion... talks in full sentences, paragraphs, and tells stories.
• Imagination has gone crazy.
• Yesterday, we went to the beach. A large, square tile in our kitchen was the pool, a few small tiles were the sand, and we even waved at a dolphin. Oh yes, and crabs tickled her.
• The other day, I walked into her room and Ellison had set up a petting zoo... her dolls were enjoying a picnic and she fenced off her little animals to set up the zoo.
• Ellison's dolls all have names, get dressed up, and talk to each other.
• The dogs... Bella is now "Mommy and Ellison's dog" and Ali is "Daddy's dog".  In fact this morning, Ellison woke up earlier then normal, so we let Ali in the backyard and then I tried to bribe Ellison by letting her sleep in our bed.  She woke Graham up and said, "Daddy, your dog is pooping. Go get your dog, she is pooping." (FYI, she did not buy into the bribe, luckily Graham woke up with her)
• Toilet training has been semi-successful.  We had a whole week without accidents.  Then Ellison decided she no longer wanted to wear panties and would have 1 accident a day. We refused to give in, but then her teachers asked us to put her back in pull-ups.  Result: Total regression. Oh well, we will tackle after Dylan arrives.  
• Favorite Movies: Shark Tales (always has been), Tinkerbell (any of the 3), Cinderella, and Beauty and the Beast (cries real tears when beast turns into Prince, not happy tears)
• Everyday Ellison comes home with a new song.  She makes up songs. She stands in front of the kitchen oven and sings to her reflection.  She prances and twirls in the driveway while singing.
• In the evenings, she has two bedtime delay tactics... 1. "Mommy, I want to tell you about my day.  Lay down on my bed."  I lay down and ask her about her day.  2. "Mommy, I have a question for you." The questions are always about Dylan, which are a clever delay.
• Her new response to things that she has done in the past or would prefer not to do that moment... "I did that last year" and "Maybe next year".
• When you are just about to leave, Ellison is known to run out saying, "Wait a second, I need a hug and a kiss."
• Ellison wears a 3T/4T. Just purchased a size 10 Uggs, but still wears a 91/2 in most shoes. And weighs around 36 lbs.

Ellison is a very happy little girl.  She can be stubborn and independent at times, but always sweet and loving. We love her so very much. 

Trick or Treat

Ellison's custom creation.

Ellison did her own makeup... pretty good, huh?

A butterfly and a ladybug.

She stopped mid driveway to enjoy a snack.

Halloween is so much fun with a little one in the house!  Our creative little girl, Ellison, decided that she would not wear her original costume choice of a purple butterfly.  Instead, she created a custom Princess Butterfly costume and with the help of Aunt Ashley glitterized her face.  By help, I mean that Aunt Ashley supplied the makeup and Ellison applied it on her own.  Let's just say when the outfit was complete, Ellison had earned the nickname, "The Lady Gaga Butterfly", from Grandpa.  Oh yes, and you should have seen her 9 person and 3 dog entourage - crazy!

This is our first Halloween in our new house.  Wow, Halloween really is crazy in Dommerich.  We went through 8 jumbo sized bags of candy within 2 1/2 hours.  I didn't make it to the street that closes itself off and sets up a Halloween extravaganza, but Ellison and Daddy did.  Apparently, she told one couple that their haunted house was "creepy".  I did get to see the firetruck drive down the street and hand out candy. 

I definitely look forward to many more years of festive Halloweens.

Fall Festival

Marvelous Monkeys made a fun scarecrow.

Upset that she left her wand at home.

Always the ham.

Grandma Butterfly.

It's Fall Festival time!  Ellison chose to create her own custom costume, "the Princess Butterfly".  You don't get to see her princess heels in the photos, but trust me she is wearing them. She was not overly into the games or the costumes... quite scared actually.  However, she did love the pony and now wants her own pony.  (Daddy said "no" to that request)  Her favorite part was taking us to the Book Fair to show us all of the books she wants.  She left the festival with two barbie books, prizes (she picked all pink ones), a half eaten cookie, and some orange and blue jewelry (that's our Gator girl).  Can't wait to find out what she decides to wear on Halloween.  I have come to the conclusion that I have absolutely no say in the matter!

Not According to the Plan

 

The one thing my first pregnancy taught me... no matter how great the plan is, things may change! And well, in case I forgot that little life lesson (or big one), my second pregnancy is reminding me.

On Wednesday, Graham and I were all set to take Ellison to the pumpkin patch and spend the evening carving pumpkins and roasting seeds.  Unfortunately, plans changed when my Doctor sent me to Winnie Palmer for high blood pressure.  Luckily, I was released Thursday night and baby is healthy (and still inside my belly). 

In the meantime, I am extremely lucky and blessed to have a wonderful family, who helped with Ellison.  Grandma and Aunt Ashley took E to the pumpkin patch to pick out a pumpkin to decorate for her school's Fall Festival.  Apparently, she is scared of big pumpkins - go figure.  She did enjoy the little ones.


The Princess Pumpkin



Boo!

It is hard to believe that within 3 weeks, the Clark Family will officially be a family of 6 (including Ali and Bella). The pregnancy has flown by... until approximately one week ago when Dylan decided to drop.  I was seriously dancing at my cousin's wedding and relatives were coming up to me, "that baby is dropping."  They were right! And well, I have become one of those not joyful pregnant ladies that are ready for the baby to come out.  Not to complain or anything... but my cankles give me the right :)

On a happier and lighter note (literally), Halloween is next weekend.  As Ellison would say, "Woo Hoo, Rock Star!"  We managed to make a few super, fun ghosts to hang in the trees.  We failed to make it to the Pumpkin Patch.  Why?  Typical two year old stuff.  No worries, we will get there.  Ellison and I have a Princess Pumpkin to design :)

The Secret Hiding Place

Along time ago, I used to crawl into a secret hiding place in my parent's house with a book and flashlight.  The all time best book ever read in the secret hideout, "The Secret Garden."  Years later, my little sister, Ashley, and my youngest cousins would turn the space into a fort and decorate the walls with homemade artwork.  Today, Aunt Ashley and Aunt Kimberly introduced Ellison to the Secret Hiding Place.  Who knows the last time, one of us hung out in there.  The artwork was the same, my sleeping bag was still on the floor, and well, it was still one of the best places in the whole house.

A Lebanese - Indian Celebration

The Flower Girls . . . waiting their turn.
(Somewhat patiently)

The Groom making an entrance with Belly Dancers!

The bride. . .  Ellison could not stop staring at beautiful Priya throughout the day!

  

My little Flower Girl.



The Bridal Party.

 Wow, what an affair this weekend was.  Something about mixing Lebanese and Indian cultures is ultra fun! Plus add in a beautiful setting and amazing weather and you have an even more pefect weekend!

So the question is, did Ellison and Alissa walk down the aisle?  YES! The girls were super excited from the start.  They wanted flowers, to hold hands, and for me to let them loose. (For a while, I was really crowding their style)

Alissa's mommy was a bridesmaid, so the plan was for Ellison to walk Alissa down the aisle in search of her mommy.  Ellison was happy to follow along and play "big girl".  Although at the beginning of the walk, Ellison would stop and explain to Alissa what the plan was.  They eventually made it down the aisle in all of their cuteness.

The fun did not stop there.  The most fun was at the reception, where everyone found the dance floor (including me - 30 days to go)! Who was in the middle of it all?  Ellison.  Do I have video... YES! She partied until 11 pm.  You go girl!