Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat

{Insert obvious joke about pregnant Mommy here}



We're getting very excited for the big day. Elena got to see Santa (again) on Tuesday - he tromped into our neighborhood and collected some Toys for Tots with the local fire department. It seems standard by now that Elena was afraid of him and much more excited about the cookies and hot chocolate.

Here are a couple shots - one from the latest Santa night and one from tonight with Elena and Olivia hanging and watching How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Livi was protecting Elena from the menacing Grinch.

The spirit of Christmas. Part Deux.

Warning. Ice Skating may cause three-year olds to laugh uncontrollably.

What's the big deal? I've got this handled.

And the laughter begins

Land!

Turning pro

Or not. Turns out it's almost as much fun to fall though.

Next year, a non-pregnant Mommy gets to go too.

The spirit of Christmas. Part Un.

Oh yeah... It's Christmas time. And it's just the beginning.

Chopping down the tree

Decorating

Getting decked out

Meeting Santa (and showing extreme bravery)

Leaf-raking... A time honored tradition

Laugh Often. Love Much. Live Well.

We're very busy preparing for Thanksgiving, Christmas and the new baby. For those of you who know me well, that shouldn't come as a surprise. I'm not big on procrastination. I AM big on holidays though. Especially this year, as Elena is VERY excited, aware and full of the holiday spirit. She is especially concerned with being 'naughty or nice' for Santa, though several reminders do help.

We're very excited to be in the second trimester of this pregnancy and according to all the information we read and ultrasounds we see, the baby is about the size of a lime now. Elena loves to listen to the baby on a little tummy monitor we have and is eager to meet little Cinderella. We are truly grateful this year... Daddy got a new job he loves, we are surrounded by family and are eagerly awaiting a new addition. I'd say there's plenty to be thankful for and we and plan to laugh our way through this holiday.

Taco, Tahoe... Whatever.

Elena DID master the word Tahoe by the time we got in the car and on our way to share a weekend of relaxation with the Greens. We enjoyed good food, some very lazy days and Lala enjoyed "Baby" Wyatt. Had the kids let any of us sleep, it would've been perfect. :)

Wyatt and Elena have become fast friends and Elena enjoys 'teaching' him about everything. She is learning how to be a big sister and is very eager to carry the title. And incidentally, she is quite certain this baby will be a boy and she has named him Cinderella. Or Paul. We can't get it straight. :)

The cutest "Elena-ism" as of late? We were driving and Elena was singing "You are my Sunshine." I started on the second verse (When I awoke dear, I was mistaken...) and I looked back to see Elena's eyes FULL of tears and lip trembling. Startled, I asked her what was wrong and she said, "Mommy, that is the SADDEST song." She broke into tears. I had to pull over to hold her. It was the sweetest, saddest little moment. I think she's three going on 50.

Pearly whites

Who knew brushing your teeth could be such a comedy routine?

Oh and the hat? Mine when I was her age. It features Bert. Timeless...

New beginnings

Some big news today (and I'm not talking Decision 2008)... Elena started preschool and loved every minute of it! As her teacher, Ms. Debbie said, "She's SO ready." Elena liked the little potties the best. Go figure.

Following her day of school, we went to Mommy's doctor to see a 'picture' of the new baby. Shown here is Elena arriving at school and of our little "Grohshopper" who is due to arrive June 8. Elena guesses that it is a baby doggy in my tummy.

**Please excuse the quality of the ultrasound, but our scanner is down, so I took a photo of the photo.

Rrrrroar!

Lion Lala enjoyed Halloween as much as any kid ever has! Daddy got in the spirit as a 'cowboy lion tamer' and Mommy as a witch. What fun we had!

Pardon the intermittent and brief blogging lately, but for those of you who aren't aware yet, Mommy is pregnant... HOORAY... and as nauseated as can be at almost all times. The blogging may suffer for awhile. I wanted to get these Halloween photos posted for Grandmas and Grandpas though.

I hope to be back more soon. XO

POTTY TRAINED!

It's true, it's true! Elena is potty trained (except for some night time training pants) and we are thrilled! She said she would do it when she turned three and wouldn't you know, she was right. The first time she 'pooped' in the potty, I wasn't home, but when I cheered for her over the phone, she said, "Mommy, Mommy - it was AMAZING!" That's our girl.

We've been busy as of late and with Daddy gone for two weeks, it was a bit trying. We missed him so, but welcomed him back on Friday (Hooray!) He'll leave again this weekend, but for only five days this time.

Other than that? Soccer, birthday parties and good old-fashioned playing have kept us hopping and we're sure looking forward to Halloween next week. Elena is totally briefed on the process and is ready to go to each door saying, "Trick or Treater." Well, she's almost got it.

Elena is pictured here at soccer practice and on a train for a neighborhood birthday party.

Three!

That's right, our girl is three and she enjoyed a day of surprises, princesses and big girl panties. The day started at 5:30 with Elena in our bed (as a 'special treat' for her birthday and so we could get her big girl bed ready). Walking into her new room was as big a surprise as she's ever known and the day continued on with lots of present-unwrapping, birthday visits and

phone calls, cupcakes with the neighbors (in lieu of a party this year. We do those every other year), and on to a my cousin's wedding. I think Elena liked the wedding most of all with the 'princess' (bride) being her favorite part.

Oh and the biggest news of all? We left diapers behind that day and she's been doing pretty well with the potty since. Pee-pee is getting easier, but the poops aren't quite so yet. We'll get there.

We love you, baby. Happy Birthday.

And they sing, "Lalalalalalalalalalalaladedah..."

Elena had a nice visit to San Diego (aka San Ree-rego) to see Uncle Jeff and whoah, the times she had. She had some very nice bonding time over dolphins at Sea World, looking at sand crabs and dodging waves in the ocean, at the Hagopians in Laguna and during some plain old sitting time at Jeff's place on the beach. It was a nice visit for both of us and I think Jeff is smitten with his niece all over again. We laughed a lot at the "Elena-isms" that accompanied our trip. Though there were many, I'm pooped and can only remember this....

At the dolphin show in Sea World, the entertainer was singing "Brown-eyed girl." Elena listened to the lyrics and said, "Mommy, they're saying lala!"

My brown-eyed girl.

(p.s. Sorry for the photo quality this time - I took all of them with my Blackberry)

Goodness and light

I put Elena to bed the other night and she said, "You're my life, Mama."

Come on, kid. HOW did you come up with THAT? Are you TRYING to make Mommy cry? She is though, all goodness and light, I mean.

But she's also still very much her age. She's three next Saturday and very adament that today is HER birthday too (It is mine). She and Daddy woke me with songs, cards, egg(ies) and a beautiful ring. And I was spoiled by the Grandparents too, let me tell you. What a lovely way to start the day. And end it. Here's to 34 - let it be as happy as I am right now.

Happy Birthday to me (and Uncy J).

When I'm three

Elena will be three in a few weeks and her thought process is certainly maturing too. We constantly laugh at the things that come out of her mouth. And so I dedicate this entry to those ramblings. A few are highlighted below:

• We constantly ask Elena when she'll be ready to poop in the potty. Her standard response? "When I'm three."


• Elena asked for 'prubacy' because she was pooping and needed to be alone.


• I explained that we don't call people names (after one name-calling incident). She paused, looked at me and said, "But I like it when you call me Lala."


• Elena has gotten into a bad habit of coming into our bed for the last couple weeks and though we're ending that now, it's been so sweet having her there. And so she tells us... "Mama, this is so special." She puts her head on the pillow next to me and wakes me with a kiss on the forehead in the morning. Gee - I wonder why we were slow to end the sleeping arrangement?


• I tried to explain dying a bit the other day when she heard that something was dead (I don't remember what). I told her that dying was when someone went to heaven and we couldn't see them, but we could talk to them a lot and love them and that they were in a beautiful place. She thought about it and said, "Like Oregon?"

And because we have to have photos, here are a few from Gus and Isabel's beautiful new house. She LOVED the trampoline (and so did Mommy).

Pour some sugar on me

As I so often say, "FOR THE LOVE OF....(insert remainder of frustrated sentence)," Elena LOVES sugar. She doesn't just love it though, she LOVES it. The latest birthday party and of course, birthday cake, really proved it. She hovered over the birthday cakes (yes, I said cakes plural) for quite some time until it was time to dive in, which she of course, did. The picture that illustrates this is uber blurry as it is taken from my Blackberry, but I think it serves the purpose.

Elena's sweet tooth matches her demeanor. The kid is sweet. There's no doubt about it. She knows what to say and how to tug at heart strings. Some of it is orchestrated in her two-(almost three) year old brain, but most of it is from the heart. Case in point: Somehow I forgot to buckle her car seat yesterday and half way up the hill, she said, "Mama, you didn't buckle me." I shrieked a bit and Ryan jumped out to buckle her. I felt awful and thanked God for her brilliance, but almost immediately following, Elena said, "It's okay, Mama. You're still a good Mama." (melt, sigh, thank you Jesus for this child)

Memories in the making

A few things of late that I wanted to record:

• Did I ever blog about the time a few months ago when Mommy hacked her legs shaving? There was quite a bit of blood and when I put my legs on the chair, Elena gasped. She quickly disappeared to emerge with a dripping wet wash cloth. I was none too happy and hurried Elena to the table where she could deposit it. She did immediately, but started crying in the most pathetic and apologetic way.... "MOMMY, I just wanted to wipe your legs!!!!!!!" I ate so much crow in those few seconds and don't remember a time when I've felt so guilty, sorry and still proud. I hugged her quickly, apologized and she wiped my legs eventually. What a good heart that kid has and what a lesson Mommy learned that day.


• Two nights ago, Elena opened her door at about 11:00 p.m. and closed it again. I went in to check on her and she was out again, curled in a little ball. Missing though, were her blankets. I looked everywhere in the dark and no blankets could be found so puzzled, I grabbed another and covered her. By that time, Ryan had joined me and he found the blankets piled on her little kitchen, covering her new blue night light (recently purchased to keep away the 'big girl bed monsters'). Oh, that was just so sweet and again, a little pathetic. Mommy's heart ached for her little girl who was so brave to handle the annoying light on her own.


• Elena just got her second haircut to 'even' it out. I hated doing it, but it was crucial. She was very good and got a celebratory ice cream cone following this great accomplishment.

Elena is pictured here during said haircut, modeling a few new outfits and finally, making cake for Gramma's birthday.

City slickers

We return from camping a little dirtier and a little wiser. Fun? I think so. The kids loved it, the husbands loved it and the girls, well, we tried. We really wanted to be rugged. But what we lack in outdoor-si-ness, we make up for in sarcasm and laughter. We weren't short on the laughs.

It's weird. I camped a ton as a kid and camped in my Jackson Hole days, but I've since opted for very little tent sleeping. We'll go again I know, a little more prepared and in a place that has potties for Mommy and Lala. It's good for us to get out into nature, but for now I'm pretty happy to be home and free from sap-covered feet.

I guess I'm whatcha call, a bona fide city girl (SATC, circa 2004). Let's hope Elena can boast a little more of Daddy's ruggedness in this department.

(Here are a couple shots of Elena and Emily gettin their camp on.)