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.)

Home on the range

Elena is enjoying the last couple of weeks with Daddy being at home, as he starts back to work on September 2. She gets to help him with his work and spend a lot more time with some of her neighborhood peeps, like Sophia and Haley. They enjoy the girl time and chat about life, popsicles, baby dolls and fashion (or lack thereof).

Bring on the big girl

Elena spent her first night in a "Big Girl" bed last night (aka crib with front rail off = daybed). We decided to move her into this one first and on her third birthday, we'll move her into the full sized bed (complete with the most beautiful bedding Mommy couldn't resist).

Though there were some moments of trepidation, where Elena wanted me to sleep next to her, she was mostly very excited about the experience and slept all night until 6:30 this morning. When I opened my eyes this morning, I saw Elena pull open and shut her door. I nudged Ryan and we both laughed because Elena came out again, grabbed us from bed and showed us that she, "Slept aaaalll night in her big girl bed, climbed out, opened her shutters and her door. AAAALL by herself."

It was so sweet, so sad and such a silly moment of pride. Our little girl.... also shown here gazing at the jewelery box from Isabel. She's a little fascinated by the ballerina these days and spends quite awhile just looking at her dance. :)