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.

Ellie's First Swim

Thursday morning Kelly dropped Maya off at our house while heading to Reading for Clark's two year appointment. Before I knew it Mimi was peaking her head in the door and she stayed on baby duty while Ellie and I kept her company. Kelly texted and asked if we wanted Chick-Fil-A for lunch and we could not refuse. Maya was a good girl and ate an ounce of formula and spent some time in our swing.
We all ate lunch together and I think Clark ate more ketchup than the rest of us combined. He'll forego the fries, too. More for me. Nap time was on the horizon and Mimi had to go grocery shopping so we said goodbye to them.
Ellie napped then we went to East Earl to go to Goodville Fabrics and Shady Maple. I wanted to pick up some supplies for my sewing duties for Corinne's upcoming events (bridesmaid duty) and had heard that Shady Maple was having a sale on chicken drumsticks - $1 a pound. Ellie behaved and did her best to make friends by smiling and flirting with everyone we passed.
We came home and I tried desperately to put Ellie to sleep. I must have missed her window, though, because an hour later I gave up. Jon came home from work and hung out with Ellie while I heated up some leftovers for dinner. Jon has been having a long week at work so we hung out together watching TV after Ellie was in bed. It was nice and relaxing.

Today Ellie and I went to the gym for my class at 9:15. At 10:30 we were at Mimi's putting on our swimsuits to enjoy the ninety degree weather: it felt wonderful! Kelly, Clark, and Maya were also at Mimi's and kept us entertained. Clark and Ellie splashed around in the baby pool for almost an hour before I decided to try to put Ellie down for a nap. Recently she has fought sleep at Mimi's but I put her down in the pack'n'play in the basement and she fell asleep right away and slept for close to two hours. Pools tire a baby out!

Clark rode on the riding toys and splashed around until he found half of a cracker Ellie had been chewing on and he ate it. I decided he must be hungry so we went in for lunch. After lunch the Fentons went home and I waited for Ellie to wake up.
When Ellie woke up Pops was home eating so we said hi then went out to the pool again to go for a swim with Mimi. They sat on the steps for quite a while and then they took a few laps with Ellie in the floating toy.

Ellie and I headed home around 3:00 and I fed her some lunch. After eating she was obviously tired again so I put her down for a nap and she slept almost two hours. While she slept I prepared the drumsticks, made baked mac and cheese, and made a pinterest recipe of brownies. I definitely deleted the recipe because it was terrible.

My friend Rachel sent me this adorable outfit
that we got in the mail today!

Mimi, Pops, and the Fentons came over for dinner. Everyone hung out by the grill while Jon made the drumsticks and then we ate at the picnic table. The weather was great! Nice and toasty. Clark tried out all of Ellie's riding toys and Ellie loved watching him go.

Hanging with Pops
Yes, she has a bow in on her hair

Ellie loved watching Clark being busy

Heading to market

The chef!

Giving Clark's big wheel a spin

Riding in the grocery cart

Clark trying to figure it out...

 Everyone left by 8:00 and I bathed Ellie and put her down for bed. Omar came over and hung out with Jon while I started cutting squares out for napkins. Two down...Eighteen to go (at least for this section of fabric)

Ellieisms:
Ellie definitely "worms" around a bit on the floor. Today I put her down in the living room and I came back and she was two feet away from her starting point.

Pictures from a year ago:

I love this picture. I think it's hilarious.

Memorial Day & Summer Arrives

Memorial Day started off with a family date to Lowes. First, though, we stopped by Twin Valley Coffee (aka the Burkholder's front yard) for an iced totty and apple pastry. So tasty! Jon once again decided to cut coffee out of his life so I enjoyed 85% of the drink.
Our goal for Lowes was for Jon to pick up some things for the laundry room (flooring stuff, plumbing, and electrical - he hit all categories) while I had a coupon for a free paint sample from their "spring collection" so I stood for twenty minutes trying to decide which one to take. Since this is the summer of orange I settled on a firey orange. It's really pretty but now I'm not sure what I should use it for - maybe Corinne will want something painted for the wedding. I really just wanted to take advantage of my free sample since it is a decent amount and usually cost $3.50. Oh the lengths I'll go for something free.

She bites her tongue a lot nowadays

We headed home since Ellie was due for a nap soon but she fought sleep while Jon worked on the basement and I toiled over her new dress. The dress idea came to me when Jon and Omar were hanging out Sunday evening and I really wanted to try to make one for her. I used a dress that is a little big on her for a guide and researched techniques online. I think it turned out.
At 10:15 Ellie was really tired so Jon left without us to go to the Memorial service in Elverson. I fed Ellie some food then put her down and she woke up shortly after Jon came home. We hung out while Jon continued working on the basement until it was time to leave for Nana and Poppop's house at 4:15. I finished Ellie's dress just in time!

Dressed in blue!

We were invited over for dinner at Nana and Poppop's along with Peter and Brittany. Grandma and Omar were also there and the eight of us had burgers and ribs. Delicious! Following dinner we played Ticket to Ride: Europe. Well, Jon played the first game while I tried to put Ellie to bed and won. After failing I played the second game while Jon hung out with Ellie and I won. It was a very successful evening for our family. Ellie did not want to sleep but remained content hanging out with Jon until we pulled out at 10:15.

Our entertainment

Trying to fly

Tuesday was a rainy, gross day. It made for a long day. Ellie was all out of sorts and so was I, quite frankly. We did a load of laundry, made dinner, wrote up the grocery list before I had piano lessons in Elverson. Quite an unproductive day! Ellie hung out with Aunt Carol Hoke during Abby's lesson then with Grandpa and Grandma during Carson's lesson. Ellie loves Grandma's house - she is always having a ball when I arrive. Grandma not only watched Ellie (with Grandpa) but she also sent home soup and a streusel cake. Ellie ate some soup but was so tired due to her short naps so she went to bed right after dinner. Jon was a wonderful husband and went grocery shopping for me. It was so nice not to have to go out in the wet, dreary night! He also brought back some treats for me as well as a few things for our basement bathroom (toilet bowl cleaner, stuff like that). He knows how to make a dreary day better!

Wednesday Ellie woke up at 6:30. She had only woken up one time in the night and I didn't even hear her. Jon reported that she cried for a few minutes but went back to sleep. Oops. I slept great! She was tired by 8:30 so I put her down for a nap and got ready for the gym. Class begins at 9:15 so I woke Ellie up, put on her outfit, and was at the gym by 9:25. Fortunately class started a bit slowly so I only missed the warm-up song. Following the class Jen Wilson and I went for a walk around Summerfield.
Feeling like a negligent sister I decided to text Kelly and see how her day was going. Her day was sounding like my day yesterday so I offered to bring lunch by to help occupy Clark. I picked up a Turkey Twist and a peach tea from the Deli and Kelly provided chips and crackers (for Ellie). We hung up a pennant banner in Maya's bedroom. Clark was very attentive to everything going on and liked to stand on the stool with me. At one point he went up to Ellie, who was playing with Maya's toys, and starting talking in a high pitched voice and trying to get her attention. It was so sweet!
Ellie went down for a nap when we arrived home and I thought she would sleep for a few hours. Only an hour later she was up and ready for the afternoon. She played nicely on the floor during my afternoon piano lesson then we went outside for some pictures.

Photo shoot in the new dress.

It was a balmy 88 degrees today - hot and humid but I loved it! It finally felt like summertime. After hanging out in the shade for a while I knew it was time to feed Ellie and begin dinner. She was becoming bored of her toys inside so I pulled out the Johnny Jumpup and she started to figure it out. I realized that she would jump more when I walked close to her, but probably because she was excited that I was coming to pick her up (which I wasn't). She generally jumps or flaps her arms when she's excited.
Jon arrived home at 5:30 and we ate spaghetti for dinner. Dr. Kane came for his piano lesson at 6:00, left at 6:35, and I fed Ellie and put her to bed. During the piano lesson Jon and Ellie went outside and watched cars drive by. Apparently Ellie was entertained.
Ellie was very tired and went right to sleep after eating. Jon stayed home with her while I went to Bible Study. It was beautiful outside so we met out on Brittany's patio and enjoyed the fresh air. When I came home Jon had done the dishes, finished installing the basement laundry room sink, made more ant traps, opened the air conditioning vents, and taken out the trash. I should leave him alone with Ellie more often!

 Ellieisms:
Ellie has begun to army crawl! Aunt Kelly witnessed her weak attempts but she does gain ground if she works long enough.

I took buttons off of Jon's old pants that were headed to Goodwill

lace detailing to make the gray more feminine 

Sitting in her new chair we picked up at the yardsale last week 

Room to grow!

Our Weekend

Friday morning Ellie and I went to the gym. I decided to stop by Mimi and Pop's to nurse before running errands. I thought they would be out with the Iyas but they were all sitting around the kitchen table. I fed Ellie then we chatted with everyone until they had to leave. Ellie let Mrs. Iya hold her for a bit, so that was a plus!
Ellie and I picked up my dry cleaning and I thought about grocery shopping but Ellie was tired so we went home instead. I had thought I had all the ingredients for dinner but Jon had taken the leftover turkey for lunch so my plans for enchiladas for dinner was thwarted. It was a rainy day and a bit late so I called Jon and he said we should just order a stromboli for dinner. Usually I would scrap together something in such a situation but Tyler and Brittney Estes were coming for dinner.
So we had stromboli, salad, and strawberry-rhubarb crisp for dinner. The boys played a couple of rounds of FIFA before the four of us played Sequence. Somehow the boys also won every round of Sequence.

Saturday morning Jon woke up earlier than Ellie and me and worked on the basement. We went to Elverson to say goodbye to the Iya's before noon. Jon continued working on the basement (he's installing laminate flooring in the laundry room) while Ellie and I went to a yardsale up the road. I picked up a coffee table for Corinne and Daniel (hope you like it!!) for $2. I couldn't fit it on the front seat or in the trunk and I didn't have time to go back for Jon so I put the front seats as far back as possible (which is pretty far since I do drive a Buick) and laid it across both front seats. Then I squeezed in between the table and the steering wheel and carefully maneuvered on home. I thought ahead and knew I could turn right and most of the way was down hill so it was uneventful. Jon was less then impressed with the setup.
At 2:00 Jon, Ellie and I headed to Parkesburg to Ben and Jess Mountz's house. They had invited us and peter and Brittany and Tyler and Brittney over to watch a big soccer game. The boys watched the game in the basement while the women and Ellie stayed upstairs and talked. Jess made a nice spread and we hung around all afternoon into the evening. Following the game we remained until Ellie was starting to fuss. She has decided not to sleep in other places so my attempt earlier in the day were unprofitable.
Ellie was asleep by the time we pulled out of their development. Apparently her car seat is more desirable than Ben's guest room. Oh well.
We arrived home and laid low for the evening. Jon probably worked on the basement (I do not recall.

Sunday morning we drove separately to church. Jon was going to pick up Omar from the train station immediately following the second service and Ellie and I wanted to go home. Although I had tried to put Ellie to sleep between services it was unsuccessful. Instead she took a nice, long nap in the afternoon. Due to the holiday weekend we did not have prayer meeting so Mimi and Pops invited us over for dinner...then they cancelled. Apparently they had a more desirable option come up! (ha :)
Instead Mimi and Pops dropped off some dinner for us on their way to the Frey's house. We ate dinner then Jon and I played two rounds of Ticket to Ride: Europe. I won both. Omar came over and the boys played a few games of FIFA and I started making a dress for Ellie. Then the three of us played two more rounds of Ticket to Ride. I won once more then Omar won. I really like that game - it's less complicated than the expansion versions of Settlers and goes more quickly because bartering is not involved.

Sorry about the lack of pictures.

Ellieisms:
Ben and Jess' dogs made Ellie nervous. They were in their kennel so I walked her over to them and she seemed okay until they started jerking around. She doesn't like sudden movements or loud noises.

The Iyas Visit Elverson

Wednesday morning Ellie woke up at 7:30. I skipped the gym in favor of her nap then met up with Mom at 10:30 to look at furniture at a lady in Summerfield's house who is moving. I didn't make any purchases but the lady gave me some serving utensils and a set of baby spoons. Worth the trip right there.
We went home for lunch then I taught piano lessons. I'm sure we did some other fun things (maybe a run to BBs?) but obviously it was not memorable. I had Bible Study in the evening and Jon had prayer group and it was my turn to take care of Ellie so I brought her along to Brittany's. We met outside since the weather was so beautiful and Ellie was very enjoyable. She sat on Katie's lap for a while and just hung out. When 8:30 hit, though, she had been awake for six hours and was ready to go home. Fortunately we were finished the study so I scrambled to pack the car and head home.
Thursday morning I knew the Iyas were in town (they arrived Wednesday afternoon) and Mom said we should come any time after 9:30. Ellie was supposed to take her first nap but after struggling for forty-five minutes I decided it wasn't worth it so we went over to Mimi's around 10:15. The Iyas are baby people and I felt terrible when Ellie cried when they tried to hold her. I blamed it on her being tired, which was mostly true. A nap was out of the question at Mimi's because she still refuses to sleep in other places besides her bed unless it is completely dark. It fails every time.
Kelly, Clark, and Maya joined the party and we all hung around until 12:30 since Mimi, Pops, and the Iyas had plans. Mrs. Iya held Maya and Dr. Iya got down on the floor to talk to Clark and he scramble away from him. We tried to explain that Clark treats anyone besides family and his Sunday school teachers that way because he's a bit reserved.

Playing at Mimi's

In the afternoon I spent time making some baby food for Ellie, doing laundry, and hanging out with Ellie. Jon and I had small group at 6:30 so we ate dinner when he came home and headed out the door. Ellie came with us and behaved beautifully, sitting on the floor and playing with her toys while we listened to thirty minutes out of a sermon. We left small group a bit early so Jon could meet the Iyas.
I put Ellie to bed at Mimi's since it was dark and she was tired. Jon and I spent time with Mimi, Pops, and the Iyas, leaving shortly after 10:00. They had gone to Shady Maple (they thought the name "shady" was a bit....shady) and Sight and Sound. Jon and Dr. Iya bonded over their love of Premier League soccer. Dr. Iya roots for Liverpool and Mrs. Iya likes Arsenal while Jon is all for Barcelona (I root for them because he does).

Ellieisms:
Ellie has started biting the tip of her tongue while it's sticking out. Not hard, but she does it and grins. I'll have to try to get a picture.

Sun tanning on Tuesday