Ella Ann's Antics Part 2

I thought I would again share some of Ella Ann's funny statements over the past few weeks. The older she gets, the funnier she gets! When she responds to something we say to her, Ella Ann often repeats the statement back to us. I think this will help her out when she starts answering open-ended questions in school one day! An example of this is below...

She was sitting on the toilet going #2. As I passed the bathroom to go in her room I said, "Ella Ann! Shoooo wee! You stink!" Ella Ann's response was, "Yes. Yes I do stink."

Potty humor happens on a daily basis lately because Ella Ann is so open and honest about it. She was again sitting on the toilet going #2 and she started giving us a play-by-play while Spencer and I were in the kitchen. We told her we weren't going to sit in there with her because she stunk so she says, "Ohhhh yes, it does stink! Ohhhh here comes my poo! I'm going to have a big poo and a little poo! Ohhhh that was a BIG poo! My belly feels much better when the poo poo comes out of my bottom!"

Yesterday she was talking on her pretend phone to Aunt Mandy and this was her conversation: "Hi Aunt Mandy! What are you doin' this week? Are you playin' with Sefy? What is Sefy doin'?" I was replying to an email from Mandy that afternoon and she asked what I was doing so I told her. She then said to me, "Aunt Mandy loves me," and was pointing to herself!

I asked Ella Ann where God lived and her response was, "In Savannah."

"Mommy, Mara Kate, Miss Jana, Luke, and Miss Megan are my best friends!" I said to her, "I thought Miss Jana and Miss Megan were my friends." She responded, "No Mommy, they are MY FRIENDS!"

I use a washcloth at every meal to clean Ella Ann off after she eats. The other day I said to her, "Ella Ann, these washclothes are getting ragged, we need to get some new ones." She said to me, "Ohhh yes. Those washclofs are gross. We need to go to Wal-Mart and get some new ones."

I said to her as I was opening her car door, "Okay babydoll, hop up." She immediately replies, "My name is not babydoll! My name is Ella Ann!!! Don't call me babydoll!"

The two of us were at the library earlier this week for story time and to pick up some more books for her to read. While I pick out books Ella Ann always plays in the children's area. A man that worked at the library was putting back books near her and she comes running over to me and says in her normal voice, "Mommy, I'm scared of that man. I'm going to sit over here next to my Mommy!" I know he heard her and I felt so bad!

While I was getting ready this morning Ella Ann said she needed her sunglasses. I told her that I would have to get them when I was finished doing my makeup. She said, "I think they're gone." I asked here where she thought they were. She responded, "In the sky." I then asked her what they were doing in the sky. She said, "Floatin'."

Our Staycation

I heard the term "staycation" on the Today show late last week to describe the millions of people that will stay home this Memorial Day instead of paying the steep prices at the pump. Well we didn't stay home because of the gas prices, but instead enjoyed our staycation because Spencer had to work Saturday and Monday night. Ella Ann and I kicked off the holiday weekend early last week by going to our pool. I decided it was high time to take Ella Ann because I was practically having to hide her eyes from it every time we passed the entrance on our way to the mailbox! She kept asking, "Mommy, when's that man gonna fill up da poooo-ul?" I have no idea where she came up with "that man," so needless to say she was anxious to go! We went twice this week already and I think I'll be taking her much more for the rest of the summer because she completely entertained herself for hours! It was great! She also made a friend there, a three-year-old little boy, whom she had a lot of fun with.

On Friday, Craig and Kasey spent the night with us because they were headed to Hilton Head for vacation this week. They got to our house before Ella Ann went to bed so she was thrilled to see them! On Saturday we all got up bright and early and drove down to the aquarium to avoid the Saturday crowd. Craig and Kasey hadn't been before so we were excited for them to see it. After that we took them to Trader Joe's because we introduced them to their foods a while back so it was time for them to experience it themselves! ha! We ate pizza for lunch before they left and Ella Ann asked for them the rest of the afternoon! She was not happy to see them go!

On Sunday the three of us went to church and then to our church's annual family picnic at a nearby park. We hadn't been before because it was always during Ella Ann's nap, but this year we decided to live life on the edge and let Ella Ann go down for her nap late! Wahoo! The park was beautiful and had two playgrounds for all the kids, but unfortunately Ella Ann started feeling sick during the service and wasn't up to playing or eating the good food while we were there. Spencer and I scarfed down our lunch and came home. She kept saying her belly hurt but thankfully nothing happened. We were all so excited about the picnic, especially Ella Ann, so we hated that we had to eat and run.

Monday we went to the park in the morning to avoid the crowds and the heat later in the afternoon. We packed our lunch and had another picnic. We bought a frisbee last week so we would have some other entertainment at the park and Ella Ann kept getting frustrated that we wouldn't throw it to her! :) She would just stand there with her arms out and yell, "I want to catch it!" The poor girl has yet to catch a ball or anything of the sort....ever! The lack of athleticism is definitely one of my traits! She would chase after the frisbee with her 4 necklaces on and bracelet! The grass was wet this morning and Ella Ann hated having anything stuck to her feet so she would go over to our blanket, take of her flipflops, and wipe her feet clean! I think it's safe to say I can send her to preschool this fall in her Sunday best! hahahaa! Anyway back to today's events. We decided we wanted to come back in the afternoon because it was such a nice day and it beats sitting at home so after Ella Ann's nap we headed back down to the park. At that point in the day it was much more crowded with families and big groups of people grilling out. We got jealous of all the good grilled food we were smelling and families/friends having a good time together so we packed it up and headed home for dinner.

Well, that's about the extent of our Memorial Day. Here are some pictures from our weekend.

Testing the water.


She loved it and kept wanting to go all the way in the pool but I refused because the water was Arctic!

Enjoying her snack at the pool.

Ella Ann showing Uncle Craig and Aunt Kasey around the aquarium!

The jellyfish exhibit.

One gigantic grouper resting on the window! It was quite a sight!!

This would've been a great picture in front of the whale shark tank, but it turned out too dark.

At the picnic before it started. She did manage to swing a little while.

She's slowly fading.

The big picnic!

Spencer didn't get to eat much because Ella Ann made him hold her the entire time. What a pitiful little face!

Happy Birthday Spencer!

Today, and pretty much this weekend, we celebrated Spencer's birthday. He had the entire weekend off, so that was great for all of us! On Saturday morning I made him french toast with a honey banana syrup and after that we went to the mall to walk around and get some coffee. After Ella Ann's nap we packed up balls, books, food, drinks, and a blanket and hit the park to enjoy the amazing spring weather! We were there for quite a while and we were all in heaven relaxing on the blanket, people watching, and watching Ella Ann run around in the grass and chase balls. I walked down the street and picked up sandwiches for us to eat for dinner. Ella Ann thought it was the greatest thing ever that we were eating on a blanket at the park! She kept saying, "We're having a little picnic!!!" She enjoyed it so much I may have to throw out a blanket on our balcony and let her eat her lunch out there as a treat this week. When we got home Ella Ann and I baked Spencer's birthday cake. After putting Ella Ann to bed that evening (thankfully she went right to sleep which has not happened in weeks because she lays in bed and screams forever since she is afraid of being alone now...it's just lovely and I could go on and on about that forever) Spencer and I watched "Pirates of the Caribbean At World's End." If you have seen the first two, we highly recommend the third. It was really good!

Ella Ann woke Spencer up this morning and sang "Happy Birthday" to him. I made him monkey bread and then we were off to church. This afternoon we ran some errands and then went to a great Mediterranean restaurant for dinner. The waitress gave Spencer a huge piece of chocolate mouse cake for his birthday and even Ella Ann chipped in and ate the whip cream...she thought it was ice cream but loved it anyway!

I think Spencer had a very enjoyable weekend, mainly since he didn't have to work! Here are some pictures from the park and the birthday!

Playing in the park.

Ella Ann loves to lay on Spencer's back while he does push ups.....

she made him do one at the park!

"Our little picnic!"

Before dinner at Basil's.

Look at all those candles! I didn't even have enough for his age!! :)

Blowing out the candles.

Half Birthday Celebration

Today when I woke Ella Ann up I told her we would be celebrating her half birthday today. She was thrilled!! I hadn't made a big deal out of it the past 2 years, but I figured she would be excited about it this year and would kinda know what was going on. When I told her she busted out, "Happy Birthday," only she sang, "Happy Birthday to Mommy, Happy Birthday to Mommy..!" I bought her a puzzle yesterday so she had something new to play with today. We also went to our Music Class this morning and it was a little girl's 5th birthday today so her mom brought in cake for everyone, which Ella Ann refused to eat (she has yet to eat one single bite of any cake her entire life) so I ate her piece! After that we went to the bank and they always give her suckers but I never give them to her but today I let her have it. She had about 4 licks, said "This is soooo good!" and was done. We had to sit outside for about an hour before her nap because someone was coming to see our home. I found Ella Ann a roley poley and knocked it over so she could see it roll up. Well, she just thought that was SO fun! She couldn't say roley poley, so instead she would say, "Holy holy poley poley!!" We had to get up at one point and Ella Ann kept wanting to go back to the spot where we found the bug. Well it had obviously left the premises but Ella Ann insisted on calling the bug....."Holy holy poley poley!!!! Where are you? Did you go home? Mommy, the holy holy poley poley went home, k?" I laughed so hard at her! To say she is entertaining to us is an understatement!

After her nap we went for a quick walk and enjoyed some honeysuckle along the way. I taught her how to get the little drop of honeysuckle out a few weeks ago on one of our walks and now she asks for it all the time. She loves it! After that I took her to McDonald's for an ice cream cone (I had a free coupon that expired today). She really enjoyed that little treat! For dinner I made her favorite...spaghetti, brown rice with veggies, and kiwi! She topped off her fun day with her "nakey dance" after her very first big bubble bath tonight! She has never been able to take bubble baths because of her bad eczma but since she hasn't had an outbreak in a long time I thought we would test the bubbles. What a way to end the day!

At our music class with Jana and Mara Kate.

"Skinnamarinkadinkadink....at the part where you sing, "I love you."

Singing and dancing along with Mrs. Okie.

Don't worry, I was at a red light!

Boy was she excited about that cone!!!

She did a really good job keeping the drips from hitting her hand!

Her vanilla mustache didn't last too long because she kept wanting me to wipe her mouth!

The nakey dance! She came running up to me as I was downloading today's pictures and said, "Mommy!!! Take my picture!"

My Mother's Day...

was great! I had to post some pictures because it's proof that I was well taken care of, and very much loved, on this special day! Since we had just gotten back from a week of vacation on Saturday afternoon, I didn't really feel like doing much and I especially didn't want to go out to eat! I was very much looking forward to spending the day at home and eating there too! Spencer and Ella Ann made me breakfast (a fabulous omelet!) before we headed to church. I was told Happy Mother's Day many times at church and each mother got a red rose on the way out! It was so nice! After that, Spencer took me to get a cappuccino....yummm, where I was again told Happy Mother's Day several times. We love going to coffee shops, in case you still hadn't picked that up from previous posts, and it's always a treat for us to go since it doesn't happen too often. For some reason Ella Ann loves going too. She's always asking if we can go get some coffeeeeeeeeee! I frothed her milk the other day and she wasn't too thrilled about it, so I don't think she'll be a cappuccino lover any time soon! ha!

After Ella Ann's nap we went to Piedmont Park to enjoy the gorgeous afternoon. It was really windy so kites were flying everywhere and Ella Ann enjoyed that until they were all grounded because it got extremely windy. That evening Spencer made me dinner and I was itching to get into the kitchen and bake because I hadn't cooked in over a week. I scrounged up the ingredients to make a chocolate meringue pie for Spencer, which Ella Ann helped me make. All in all, it was a wonderful Mother's Day spent with my family.

Working on that yummy omelet!

I love Ella Ann's bedhead in the mornings!

Enjoying our breakfast together.

Off to church!

Sorry, no photo of the pie this time!

A Week of Traveling

This week was a whirlwind of travels! Whew, am I tired and glad to be home! It felt like we were gone forever, I guess because we went to so many places. The three of us left early Saturday morning and headed to Tennessee to stay with Zach and Mandy. Spencer's parents came down from Kentucky because Spencer and I flew to Vegas early Sunday morning and Ella Ann got to spend some quality time with her Nana and Papa until Wednesday. I know she had a blast and was very good for them but I don't have any pictures, obviously, from her visit but have plenty from the rest of the week!

Spencer and I had a great time in Vegas. We stayed at MGM Grand, which is pretty far down the strip so we did a TON of walking. We have both been there many times so it wasn't like we were rushing around to see everything, which was nice because it was very relaxing. We got up early each morning and walked down to Planet Hollywood Hotel and got coffee at The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf....ahhhh my favorite!! They only have the chains out west, so every time I'm out there I make sure I get that coffee each day! We would then walk some more to either gamble or shop at other hotels and then head back to our room for a break before we ate lunch. I would sit by the pool each afternoon while Spencer gambled. I can't stand to watch him loose money, thankfully he's pretty lucky most of the time! Either way, losing $5 is too much for me to watch! ha! In the evenings we would go to a different hotel and eat a nice dinner. It was SO nice to get away as a couple and enjoy some much-needed time together.

After Mandy picked us up at the airport Wednesday afternoon, we drove to Kentucky to visit my parents. Ella Ann was at their house by then but was too distracted with her new pink and purple tricycle to even notice us walking in the door, let alone come running to us for a hug! :) My Mom and Dad said that when she walked in the door and saw the tricycle she said, "Ohhhh, you got a tricycle just for me????" She learned quickly how to pedel and steer it around the house. Unfortunately our car was too packed to bring it home so we'll have to get it next time because I know she's going to ask for it often! Spencer finally got to eat at the great Italian restaurant we always eat at when I'm home. He hadn't eaten there since we had our rehearsal dinner there nearly 5 years ago! The owner always asks where the "Good Doctor" is! At least we were able to prove he still existed!

On Friday we left bright and early to drive 2 hours to central Kentucky where Spencer's two grandmother's live. Mandy drove up with Carter and Seth so that was even more fun for Ella Ann. It was good to see them both and I know they really enjoyed seeing Ella Ann, since they hadn't seen her since Christmas. That afternoon we drove to Mandy's house again to spend the night so that we wouldn't have to drive as far home on Saturday morning. Even though Spencer and I are glad to be home Ella Ann is not! Anytime we would get in the car to go somewhere while we were gone she would say, "I don't want to go home!" Needless to say, I don't think she was thrilled to be back...all that entertainment by loved ones sure does make one spoiled child!!! Just kidding, it was worth every minute! Thanks to those of you who kept Ella Ann, entertained her, and let us crash at your house!! We sure had a good time!!!!

Since I took so many pictures, click HERE to see them all.

A Post to Tide You Over

Since we are leaving for Vegas this weekend and then traveling throughout Kentucky to pay a visit to family members towards the end of the week, I thought I would post this hilarious video of Ella Ann to keep you company until we get back!!!