Free Ice Cream

Wednesday morning I went to Yoga class at the gym and had the opportunity to do downward facing dog two mats away from Mom-mom. That doesn't happen every day. Ellie sat on her quilt for the first part before she started crawling away towards the weight set. Later I put her on my mat and would do the stretches around her but she kept putting her fingers up my nose. It'll be interesting to see how many more sessions I can attend before she becomes too much to handle.
I attended the yoga class instead of the later BodyPump because Katie and Wyeth were going to Grandma and Grandpa's house for breakfast and we had been invited, too. Grandma pulled out the old waffle maker and Wyeth and Ellie chowed down on some oranges along with Grandma soft waffles. Tasty!

We had to leave when Ellie was getting cranky at 10:30, plus Katie had to head out as well. Kelly texted and asked if we wanted to go on a walk and I thought Ellie would fall asleep in the stroller for her nap. Apparently I am an optimist because she did not fall asleep and we ended up stopping at Grandma and Grandpa's house so I could nurse her since she was crying. We kept on our walk and she finally fell asleep as we were passing Elverson Supply on our way home. She was awake before the driveway and I put her down for a nap in Mimi's crib.
A lunch was being held about ELI (Equipping Leaders International) at the community center. Kelly stayed at Mimi's while Ellie napped and I went and had lunch while listening to the presentation. I left at 1:15 and Ellie woke up as I walked in the door. Kelly and her kids headed home for naps while Ellie and I swam before heading home. I taught a couple lessons in the afternoon and ate dinner. Jon had to work late so Ellie came with me to Bible Study and he came home shortly after we did at 8:45.

Enjoying the pool

Thursday was a rainy day. Ellie and I laid low and decided to stay inside. Forecasts were calling for heavy rain, wind, and intense storms. Although we didn't really see much of that we played it safe. Jon fortunately came home on time and we ate dinner together before I put Ellie down for the night. I ran to BBs to see what they had to offer (it's hit or miss) and then we watched some TV before heading to bed.

Happy to see Dad!

Helping me with my sewing

Friday morning I went to the gym then came home for Ellie's nap. She had slept in until 8:30 so she wasn't quite ready for a nap when we came home. She fell asleep then Jon came home at lunch time and we ate together. He didn't go back to work since he had worked overtime so much this week, which was a treat! Ellie woke up and the two of them hung out while I gathered my stuff to go to Shady Maple.
I had been reminded earlier this week of Vera, an amish lady who sells cut flowers for a good price, up near Shady Maple. I stopped by and she wasn't to be seen so I took some flowers and left the money - I hope that is acceptable. Then we went to Good's since I needed some craft supplies and a drain cover for our bathtub (I haven't used it for Ellie's bath yet because we haven't had a plug). To Ellie and my joy it was free ice cream day. I stood in line and Ellie and I split a scoop of oreo cookie - delicious.

Taking a bite

It's so good it hurts.

We grabbed our things then headed to Shady Maple where I bought produce and meat. I needed other things but Shady Maple is so confusing I decided it wasn't worth the stress of trying to maneuver through a new store. Plus it's more expensive than Walmart.
I was very glad I left because Ellie started crying in Churchtown and cried the rest of the way to Elverson. I went to Nana and Poppop's house and put her down for a nap, leaving the monitor for Jon (who was helping Poppop on the playhouse) to listen for Ellie. I went and taught Abby Hoke a piano lesson then came back. Ellie was up and sitting in the yard watching the men work. She obviously didn't sleep long enough because she cried when she saw me then cried in the car when I took her with me to pick up some things for dinner at home.
Sunday is Doug and Donna's 40th Anniversary. Earlier this week Jon and I contacted the siblings and we arranged for a dinner Friday evening. Dan and Amanda couldn't make it but Donna picked up her Dad, Grandpop, to join us. Ben and Jess grilled steaks and brought a salad, I made potato wedges and broccoli and brought rolls, and Brittany made cobbler and brought ice cream for dessert. It was an enjoyable time and I hope Nana and Poppop have a wonderful anniversary on Sunday.
We hung around until Ellie woke up at 10:00. I'm not sure if she's feeling well because of her crying while we were driving then she cried for a long time when we came home. I would pick her up and rock her and when I would sit still she would kick her legs until the rocking resumed. It took a long time to get her to sleep so I hope she's feeling okay! She didn't have a high temperature so perhaps she was just cranky from her long afternoon.

Ellieisms:
Ellie has finally noticed the piano pedals. During the piano lessons on Wednesday she would crawl under the seat and try to get around their feet for the pedals. I would grab her before she reached their legs, though.
We've been working on "So-big" and Ellie raised her arms in the air once while we were doing it. Jon and I aren't quite sure if it was intentional or accidental yet...jury's still out.

Fist-pump

Happy Birthday, Kelsey (belated tribute)

Monday I neglected to include Kelsey's birthday tribute! I am so thankful for Kelsey's sense of humor and her vast amount of love. I really enjoy spending time with her especially when it is one on one. She is a gem and we love her! Here are some pictures from the past year. Happy 4th Birthday, Kelsey!

Kelsey last year this time!

Celebrating her birthday at the beach

What a babe

Meeting Ellie in August

Matching shirts

Helping feed (check out Calla's yogurt hair)

PHOTOBOMB

She dropped Ellie right after this picture. 

Monday night I went to bed while Jon was still at work and he didn't come home until after midnight. Ellie woke up at 4:30 crying and I went in and nursed her then cuddled with her for a long while until she finally fell asleep. She has a stuffy nose and I think that was keeping her up. 

Tuesday morning I was scheduled to watch Clark at 9:00 while Kelly and Maya went to a doctor's appointment. Ellie woke up at 7:00 but I nursed her and she fell back to sleep. While I was laying down afterwards I thought I should set my alarm but then realized that Ellie hasn't slept in past 8:30 for months. Wouldn't you know, I wake up to Kelly saying "hello?" in my kitchen. Oops! It felt great to sleep in and Clark did not seem phased by my pajamas. 

Clark helped keep Ellie entertained during the morning hours. We spent the majority of our time upstairs in the kitchen and living room. I fed Ellie some breakfast and Clark "asked" to try some of her rice cereal and when I gave him a bite he started gagging, spitting, and scraping his tongue with his fingers. It was funny! I gave him a rag to wipe off his tongue then handed him his water. He recovered quickly. 

Hanging out

Kelly came home around 11:30 and Ellie was down for a nap already. Jon came home and we had grilled cheese and tomato soup for lunch. Ellie woke up at 1:15 and then we headed over to Exton to pick up Jon's Father's Day present. We had some time to kill so I stopped by T.J. Maxx's and grabbed Doug's gift along with a little purse thing for me.
We arrived in Elverson in time for me to drop Ellie off at Grandma and Grandpa's and teach Brooke then Carson. Ellie was tired but I didn't want to go home and put her to bed since it was only 5:15. I nursed her at Grandma's and she perked up so I decided to go to my class at the gym since they offered the same thing at 5:45.
Ellie went to childcare (I warned them that she was tired and could get grumpy and to get me if that happens) and I was surprised to see Coleen Garner and her sister in my class! It was fun to see familiar faces. She said they wanted to do the BodyPump class so they had looked it up and saw TVFF offered it and had come. This was my first time ever at the 5:45 class so it was pretty crazy to see them.
Ellie was dog tired when I picked her up but the childcare workers said she was very well-behaved. We went home and I fed her then put her to bed. Jon worked until 8:45 and when he came home I ran out and grabbed some pizzas for dinner. Long days at work are always made better with $5 pizzas. The first pizza box did have a tiny bug in it but at least it was alive so I could pretend it had crawled in there while I was driving home and not at the pizza joint. You get what you pay for...

Ellie loves to play with her glider. She hangs out and swings it back and forth.
It is by the front door because I was moving it towards the attic...where it currently is. 

Ellieisms:
Ellie can move pretty quickly with her army crawl. Clark doesn't really care for it since now she can get the toys he is playing with so nicely. He is very tolerant!

Rainy Monday

After Ellie's nearly nap-less weekend I decided to forego the gym when she slept past 8:00, which caused me to be too late for my class. Grandma usually watches Ellie while I workout so I called and asked if I could come later and run to the grocery store. Grandma said that they were open all day so I could come whenever.
Ellie ended up being tired by 9:45 and was sleeping by 10:00. Her nap lasted until close to noon and she probably woke up because our electricity went out and her fan stopped working. It took a few minutes longer to pack up since the lights were out and I had to figure how to get the car out of the garage and when we finally arrived at Grandpa and Grandma's house everyone was almost finished eating. Clark was still working on his chips and cookies right next to Grandpa. He liked to hold onto his thumb while they were eating: it was the sweetest thing.

Holding his thumb

Following lunch I ran to Walmart and the dollar store. I like to pick up cards at the Dollar Tree because they are two for $1. Hard to beat. I'm not much of a card person but their cards aren't very great. All of the "religious" birthday cards wished that God would give you all the blessing that you "deserve." Um, not Biblical. I'm not sure which religion they support.

Playing with Great-Grandpa!

Ellie behaved while I was gone and crawled (wormed?) over to me when I came in. I thanked Grandma for lunch and Grandpa for helping with Ellie and I took her home. On our way home I stopped by Lowe's since I had forgotten to grab a gift card for the graduation party this evening and I knew Lowe's had the card I wanted.
Ellie took a nap while I worked on a sewing project. First I browsed the internet for an idea for my next quilt but then I realized I had enough projects in the house that need completing. Corinne gave me a pair of white flare jeans a year or two ago and I've been wanting to make them into straight-leg pants for a while. Today I finally did the deed and altered them. The pants should probably be hemmed but I still wore them to the party this evening.

Left: before
Right: after

Nebin Estes graduated from nursing school a couple weeks ago and her mom hosted a party in honor of her accomplishments. I picked Jon up from work and we drove into Reading to her parents' church. It was supposed to be at her parent's house but it rained all day. They had a lovely catered dinner and we enjoyed sitting with the Rus', Clint and Britney, and Nebin's aunt and uncle. Wyeth Estes was there and Ellie and him shared toys for a bit. I'm hoping Ellie noticed his speedy crawl.
Jon has a big project due Wednesday so we left once Ellie started fussing and we dropped him back off at work. Ellie woke up with a snotty nose and sneezes every so often so I don't think she's feeling very well. The snot is clear so that's good - right? It seems as though green snot would be worse. She went to sleep after nursing and I hope she sleeps well tonight and feels better tomorrow. I cut out a pattern for a dress for Ellie and now I'm going to head to bed. Jon should be home shortly.

Elliesms:
Ellie loves her cup. She fills her mouth with water and usually decides to spit it right out.
Ellie throws things. When she's sitting on the floor she lifts whatever she's playing with above her head (as far as her short arms can) and throws it against the floor repeatedly. Kelly pointed out that they do that exercise on the Biggest Loser. Ellie will be nice and toned soon. 

Playing Catch-up

Thursday morning I am not quite sure what I did. We had Small Group in the evening and Jon was giving his testimony (we do one a month) and we brought Ellie along. Dave had a birthday the day before so Joie brought an ice cream cake. I was surprised when I sat down Ellie was looking at me and chomping her teeth. How did she know she wanted cake? We were out late but she lasted until our departure at 9:30.

Ellie's new favorite toy

Friday morning I went to the gym with Ellie. It was a rainy, dreary day. Since we were in Elverson I decided to stop by Mom's house to pick up some stuff I had left there and the Fentons were hanging out so we decided to stay a while. Ellie ended up going to sleep in Mimi's crib and slept for an hour. Mimi invited us all to stay for lunch so we did. Caleb worked on getting Ellie to warm up to him (she cried when he walked into the room....I should have been showing her pictures of him) and then Pops showed up. Clark ate a bunch of yogurt then Ellie sat in his chair and helped finish up what was left.

We headed home before Ellie's second nap and I spent some of the rainy day on Ellie's quilt and on the computer.
Friday evening Jon worked a bit late so we just heated up leftovers for dinner. Jon hung out with Ellie for a bit and then I put her down. Jon and I relaxed on the couch watching a TV show until we went to bed.
Saturday morning Jon was up early because he was reffing a soccer game in Elverson. Ellie and I went and ran errands while he was gone and were back home before him. He also went to see a house with Holly and Dennis in Elverson - they are just starting their search and wanted the perspective/advice of a handy-man homeowner. Good choice in Jon :)
Jon cleaned up the yard, mowed, and weed-wacked while I did some laundry, vacuumed, and washed the kitchen floor. At 4:00 we went to Wyeth Estes' 1st birthday party. It was a lot of fun and we even got a picture of all the "babies" that were at the party (except for Maya - she was a bit too young). We didn't sing and I even missed him eat his cupcake but Ellie was a trooper and stayed mostly content until we left shortly before 8:00. She had woken up from her nap at 1:00 so she fell asleep by the time we pulled out of the driveway. Parties are tiring! Jon wrote his prayer for Sunday morning while I quilted and pondered my next dress for Ellie.

Getting Trampled

Tasting the dirt

Today Jon wanted to be at church early and we made it with ten minutes to spare. He prayed during worship for the short term missions team and during second service I had hall-monitor duty. Sunday school is taking a break before we jump into the summer schedule so Jon went and looked at a project he was asked to help with at Culbert's then came back. The nursery was full, well there were six kids with only four adults in there, so Ellie hung out with me when she got cranky. I tried to put her down for a nap but the sleeping arrangements are right next to the toys and commotion so I failed.
After church was out Jon and I went to Mom's house to bake our dish for the church picnic. Ellie took a quick nap (45 minutes) before we had to wake her up to head over for lunch. We ate, hung out at the park, then had a brief program in the late afternoon with a profession of faith. The picnic was fun and Ellie once again was a trooper, lasting until we headed home at 6:45.

We sat with Mimi during the service:

Upon arriving home I changed Ellie and tried to feed her some food and crackers but she wouldn't have it. I put her down to bed and Omar, Peter, and Brittany came over. The boys played several rounds of FIFA while Brittany and I worked on our projects in the living room.
It was a busy weekend with hardly any naps (Ellie only took the 45 minute one today - that was it!) so it'll be interesting to see what tomorrow holds.

Ellieisms:
In the past three days Ellie has started trying to pull herself up onto coffee table and the couch.

Ellie's Early Wake-up

First of all, Happy Anniversary to Katelyn and David!

This morning Ellie decided to once again wake up with the sun. I'm actually not quite sure when the sun rises but I can't imagine it's much earlier than 6:15. She was up and ready for the day. Jon was out running so Ellie and I spent some time in the living room then we ate breakfast. I've had cinnamon buns in the fridge for a while so I popped those open and baked them for Jon's return. He came home later than I thought so Ellie and I had already polished two off by the time he came home. He joined us after cleaning up.
Due to her early rising Ellie was ready for her nap by 8:15. I thought I would get all ready for the gym then wake her up when it was time to leave but I changed my mind. I was dressed for the gym so that counts as working out, right? Instead I let the baby sleep and she slept for two hours.
After Ellie woke up we went to Mom-mom's house. When Mom-mom heard I was quilting and wanted to learn the art of quilting by hand she said she was up for the task. I, however, wasn't. I showed up with needles, thread, the quilt face, the backing, and the batting. The batting was a hard type to quilt by hand and I didn't have a thimble. Mom-mom fortunately had an extra as well as a hoop for holding the quilt flat. I watched her do a couple runs with ease and speed before trying my hand at it. I'm sure it was painful for Mom-mom to witness, but she patiently showed me another stretch after several minutes. Using a thimble is awkward at first. I think I finally got the hang of it.
Ellie must be growing or teething because she did not last long at Mom-mom's house. After an hour she started to grumble so I gave her a cracker and moved her around. Ethan and Bella Kurtz ran inside hollering about needing the key to the water tower because they were looking for Easter eggs. I told them to ask Uncle Merle but they decided to look for the key in the basement. Their efforts were unsuccessful.
At 11:45 I packed up the cranky baby and my stuff and headed home. We ate lunch then I put Ellie down for her nap. While she slept for two more hours I worked on perfecting my stitch. I am far from consistent in size or speed but I think I might be getting the hang of it.
My mid-afternoon lesson had cancelled so after Ellie woke up I quilted some more before going outside to weed the garden. Jon hasn't mulched yet because he wants to wait until he has trimmed the hedges but the hedges aren't ready to be trimmed yet. Oh boy. Well weeds love an un-mulched flower bed and I had to get a hoe to work them out. I did the gardens you can see from the front of our house before losing steam and heading back inside.

Supervising

Ellie played on the floor while I...you got it...quilted. Jon came home at 5:30 after I had started dinner and he helped me out by feeding Ellie. Grandma sent home some soup last week when she was watching Ellie and she loves the soup. It seems like a random medley - tomatoes, corn, noodles (small, skinny ones), brown colored beans, and carrots - but Ellie eats it up and begs for more. She ate a good portion before Dr. Kane came for his piano lesson.
Jon likes to hang out with Ellie outside while I teach. It was my turn to stay home with the baby while Jon went with his group to pray. He had to leave right after my lesson to make it to Parkerford in time. Ellie and I hung out and worked on her crawling, wrestled, and cuddled. She fell asleep around 7:15 and I did the dishes, cleaned up the room, and now am quilting until Jon comes home. Right now I'm doing the easy part (around the white triangles). When I'm finished the triangles I'll have to try to come up with a creative way to quilt the larger white portions.

Ellieisms:
Jon and I had Eclair ice cream bars after dinner. When I came to the table with mine Ellie started chomping her teeth. I gave her a bite and she loves it! I had to eat mine quickly because she kept begging for more each time she finished her bite.

Ellie Army Crawls

Monday morning Ellie woke up in time for me to (finally) make it to the 8:00 yoga class at the gym. Childcare doesn't begin until 9:00 but the instructor told me I could bring her along if she was a well-behaved child. Although I felt as though she was a bit higher-maintenance than usual (she took a boo halfway through class) she received rave reviews from the other attendees, most of them over the age of sixty-five. It was an easy class for the most part but I think I'll try it again. Maybe it'll help my posture.
I took Ellie to Grandpa and Grandma's house since they usually watch her during my 9:15 class. While they watched Ellie I ran to Good's and Shady Maple. I needed quilting thread and Mom-mom told me that Good's would have it, and they did. I picked up a few groceries for me and Grandma at Shady while I was in the area.
The trip kept me out until 11:00 but we still beat Kelly, Clark, and Maya to Grandma's. Caleb and Mom came shortly after the Fentons and Caleb gave us a brief slideshow (130 out of his 3,000 pictures) and dialogue about his time in Italy. He seemed to have had a great time!
Ellie was very ready for a nap after lunch so I took her home and she was out by the time we reached Ammon Road. I transfered her to the crib and prepared the house for my piano lessons. Ellie woke up twenty minutes into the first one and fussed for the next forty minutes until I could give her some attention. I fed her and put her back to sleep and she proceeded to sleep two and a half more hours. During that time I spoke with Lauren Shaffer over Skype (she's engaged, btw) then taught another piano lesson. Lauren asked me to be in her wedding next May - unless she was just pulling my leg. I told her that I'd save my pennies! I would love to be there along with Jon and Ellie since it'll be in the beautiful city of Vienna.
After dinner we had the congregational meeting at church. Ellie behaved in nursery and then lasted while we ate some snacks afterwards. Cream puffs, grapes, and chocolate cookies can all be added to Ellie's list of favorite foods. Jon had put a cookie on his plate and while he was talking to someone Ellie grabbed it right off and took a big bite out of it. You could probably see exactly where Ellie was while she ate, though, from the trail of crumbs.
I put Ellie to bed right when we came home but it took a while for her to settle after the late night (it was after 9:30). She slept right through the night and woke up at 7:30.

Tuesday morning Ellie waved goodbye to Jon when he left for work. We aren't sure if it was on purpose but we'll count it. She was ready for a nap by 9:00. She slept for two and a half hours. I wish I would have known so that I would have capitalized on the free time and cleaned the entire house. Next time I'll be wiser.
After Ellie woke up I did my grocery shopping then came home before her second nap. I fed her lunch and tried to put her down. Fail. She played in the living room for a while then I tried again. Strike two. We worked on crawling for a while and then I finally got her to sleep with a struggle. Goodness that baby. I sometimes think I miss her window but today I was home and ready but it still didn't go smoothly.
I had to wake her up forty-five minutes later to head to piano lessons. Grandpa and Grandma watched Ellie while I taught Carson and ran a couple errands including looking at things for Lauren's wedding at the Dollar Tree. Tonight was our planned "financial meeting" where Jon filed our receipts then we went over how we're doing on our budget. We decided to order Chinese to try to make it more fun. It didn't really work (finances just aren't fun). Ellie likes egg rolls and fried rice - as long as I feed it to her.  She jumped in the Johnny Jump-up while I vacuumed before putting her to bed (which took an hour - stinker). Then I cut a few more napkins from the African fabric. Jon will be happy when it's off the kitchen table.

Ellieisms:
The cart at Walmart didn't have a strap to hold Ellie in. Of course I thought she would be ok, which proved wrong when she banged her little eye somewhere and now has a red mark.
Ellie used to become quickly frustrated with crawling but now she moves around fairly well with her army crawl.

Ellie waving 

The Army Crawl:

Daddy's in Charge

Saturday morning Donna had set up an outing to the American Girl Place with Amanda, Layla, two Pegler sisters, in March or April so I was bummed when it conflicted with a few events but such is life! I had to leave the house at 7:00 but since I was leaving for the day I needed to nurse Ellie before I left. Unfortunately Ellie decided that she wanted to start the day then.
Since Ellie woke up after I fed her so Jon's day of taking care of Ellie started early. He started off by trying to figure out what to dress her and decided on the outfit from Rachel. They held a crawling practice and he said she progressed well. Soccer began at 8:45 so he arrived early enough to set up the stroller and hand her off to Omar. Omar watched her during the first half (thirty-five minutes) and during halftime Hannah Kurtz offered to watch her the second half. Jon's team won 4-2. Jon and Ellie hung around the park for the second game with Josh and Clark but left at halftime.

Ellie was pooped and feel asleep on the way home. Jon took joy when she woke up when they arrived home but then fell asleep again in his arms. Once he transfered her to the crib she slept took a half hour nap.
The duo went to Jon's Dad's for lunch. Ellie was obviously tired after a bit so they went back home and Jon fed her some rice cereal and applesauce. She went down for a nap and slept for two hours and Jon was able to work on the basement floor. When she woke up Ellie supervised his work and played with shims in the middle of the floor.
Once the shims lost their charm Jon sat Ellie in front of him and he would lean over her to lay the new piece of flooring. She loved it! Ellie was grunting and reaching and really "helping" Jon work.

Jon fed Ellie leftover baked mac and cheese for dinner while he also polished off some leftovers. They had a little bit of the floor to finish up and they were able to pull it off before I arrived home at 8:00. Ellie was crying so Jon took her outside and cleaned up his tools and I pulled up and Ellie was red-eyed and tired from her busy day!
While Jon and Ellie had some bonding time I was in charge of leading everyone through the city. We drove to Staten Island and took the Ferry over to the tip of Manhattan. Then we rode the subway up to three blocks from the American Girl Place. We ate lunch, looked around the shop, then walked to the park. We strolled through the zoo and up the mall to the Fountain of Bethseda. Then we went to the Castle Brevedere or something. Anyway, after that we went back to the subway and caught three subways back to the ferry and came home. Thirteen hours and I'm back home.

Lunch

The castle

Sunday morning Ellie woke up at 5:45. We hung out in the living room while Jon slept but he woke up and joined us around 6:30. It was a bummer that Ellie woke up so early but she got a nap in before we had to leave for church at 8:45. We saw Caleb for the first time since his trip to Italy at church. He held Maya then I went and grabbed Ellie from the nursery. She was hungry and perhaps tired so I fed her some cake while Caleb held her. She ate almost an entire piece (it was a breakfast cake).

Following church we had a picnic at church that was for all the nursery volunteers. Ellie was tired but didn't go to sleep in the nursery crib so I brought her to the picnic. She fell asleep in her daddy's arms after we had eaten so we hung around until it started raining. I transfered her to the crib when we arrived home and she slept almost three hours. I slept two of those hours and it was marvelous.

Omar came over and hung out with Jon and left before we headed to church. I had nursery with Aunt Verna and Ellie and Wyeth were the only two kids so we had it easy. We took them on a walk to pass the time (in strollers).
After church I fed Ellie then put her to bed. She was overtired so it took a while for her to settle. Jon is in bed now and I'll head that way next.

Elliesms:
Ellie has almost figured out the army crawl. She gets around slowly, though. I tried uploading a picture from my phone but it wasn't cooperating.