elle these days

At 3 1/2 she seems so much more like a little kid. There aren't the drastic changes like with Todd from month to month, but these little changes that sneak up on you. It's bittersweet to think about what she was like just a year ago. Probably the biggest change I see happening is her gaining more independence from her blanket. She leaves the house without it a lot lately and even told me this past week she didn't need it for school. She's done this all on her own and it's really nice that she's getting her confidence, but knowing that the blanket days may soon be over is hard. 

Elle started back at Sonshine school this month and loves to tell people she's in preschool. She's loving her new class and teachers, Ms. Amanda and Ms. Jane. She can write her name, but we're still working on how many lines go in the E. She also has started drawing faces, which is her first recognizable drawing. She's in to what she likes to call collections. Groups of the same objects. She'll stick with one for a few days and then move on. We've been teaching her about money. For a couple of months we've been giving her $3 a week. One to save, spend, and give. We went with dollars because we wanted her to actually be able to buy something someday. She decided early on she wanted a Tiana doll. So we scoped them out at the store and knew how much she needed to save. She finally had enough after about two months. I'm not sure how much she's really learned, but she did like paying for her new toy.

She's also been at gymnastics on Mondays. She's doing a little better in the big group and does fantastic in her small group.

She's having to learn that Todd wants to do everything she does so she needs to be a good example. I know this is a hard lesson for her right now, but I already see how much influence she'll have on him in their lifetimes. She is a good rule follower and has great manners. She makes us very proud and we love her so much!

facing my fears

You may recall that I'm a megalophobic. I've been petrified to go into a museum without knowing what's in there. Recently, I decided to attempt to conquer my fears. Chris needed to go to OU for work and so we decided to turn it into a family field trip to Sam Noble. I've checked this place out online and could barely sit through the video. But, I knew Elle would really like to go and I wanted to be able to do this stuff with her. Dinosaurs are in the top 5 big things that give me nightmares. It took A LOT of pep talks to walk into the building, then into each room, and people probably think I'm a freak! But, I eventually saw each dinosaur and it wasn't so bad after I had been next to them. It worked out that the first room we went to had just part of a dinosaur head and neck, then the next room had smaller dinosaurs, and finally we worked our way up to the big ones. This really helped me ease into it.

The upstairs had a fun nondinosaur display of animals and caves for the kids to play in.

The discovery room is cool too. Lots of toys, books, animals to touch, and a dino dig!

Overall, it was a fun place to go. I don't think I can just walk right back in, but it would be easier the next time.

why buy toys?

when you can give them a big box

last summer 2012 getaway

Before Elle started school again we decided to join the Mayfair ladies on their trip to the Braum's Dairy in Tuttle, OK. It was interesting to see how they made everything and hear all the statistics (sorry no pics allowed inside), but 3 year olds don't care as much about that as they do about seeing a cow. Where's the beef?! We didn't get even one token cow to look at. At least Elle had fun with her girlfriends and Todd got to spend time with Po'okela. We did get ice cream at the end of the tour and then stopped at the Newcastle Braum's on the way home for lunch. This was especially fun since we got to have one last visit with the Kochers before they headed back to Nebraska! I recommend the tour at least once in your life. You can guess which brand of milk is our fridge now!

labor day farm visit

We finally got to take a trip to the Waugh farm with Todd. Chris' grandma and Beth hadn't met Todd so we loaded up the car on extended weekend and went west! Elle had a blast rounding up cows and looking at all the animals. It was pretty hot so we didn't spend a lot of time outdoors, but we still had a good trip.

Todd and Great-Grandma

Todd loved the broom!

Elle's tractor ride with Uncle Ken

Inspecting all of Aunt Beth's dogs, chickens, and ducks.

A quiet moment for Chris and Elle to visit Great-Grandpa

They both loved playing in Mops' crate! I don't think Mops shares their enthusiasm.

Only one new puppy this time. Elle would actually hold it this time. She's changing so much lately!

We got to visit with Chris' cousin Amy too, who was visiting her parents. This isn't the greatest pic of us, but we thought it was funny that we all wore the same shirt!

Probably my favorite part this trip was seeing the peafowl chicks and watching family movies from when Chris and his cousins were little.

todd @ 9 months

What a difference a month makes! Todd has learned to crawl everywhere and fast! He's proving to be all boy with bumps, bruises, and tumbles. He loves playing with Elle and gets into everything. Anything she has, he wants! He's eating mostly table food now instead of baby food, and likes pretty much anything you put in front of him. His most recent foods to try are black olives and cottage cheese. He's so sweet and doesn't like it if others are upset. He's pretty happy most of the time. He's been teething lately so he hasn't been sleeping as well. His favorite things to play with are things with wheels, sticks, or water. He babbles a lot and recognizes Elle's name. She's most definitely his favorite person. He moved up to a big boy car seat and even though most of the time he looks like he's getting big, in the car seat he looks small again. We love this sweet boy!