Preschool Fun

Ellie's first school project.
Her quote: "It's a tatoe-head! It's kind of scary..."
(giggle, giggle, giggle)

Major Daddy Love

Brian and Ellie have developed a love affair so strong that I can no longer compete. Many mothers wiser than me have mentioned that this is the perfect time for that to happen--in preparation for the baby coming in December. Of course she is still affectionate to me and always happy to see me when I am gone for a bit; but Daddy is her heartbeat. Every morning we review, "Daddy working today?" Yep, Daddy had to go to work today. "Daddy will be home at dinnertime?" Yes, he will. This same conversation is often repeated 2-3 times a day. She also likes to remind me of their love... (sigh) "Mommy, Daddy really misses me." I know sweetie and I bet you miss him too. For a while Daddy was the fun parent while I was, what Brian and I called, her security blanket. When she got hurt or when she woke in the middle of the night it was "Mommy!" that she called for. Nope, this too is slowly changing. The other night she flipped off the couch without catching her fall and hit her head terribly hard. I was ok for the first minute or two but through her tears she said, "I want Daddy." About 80% of the time I am comforted by this powerful bond they are developing. For three years now she has been connected to me in a way that is hardly describable in words. Brian is such a loving, gentle, sweet father that he deserves to know what it feels like in the pit of your stomach when your baby girl cries out for you and only you. Also, the strengthening bond is totally logical. I was so sick for the first four months of this pregnancy that even I was bored by my own miserable self. Then just as I was feeling better new rules began--no more carrying her up the stairs, no more climbing through all the tubes at the playground, lots of time when Mommy has to sit and rest. Ellie just drinks-in Brian's physical love (and energy) all weekend long. The other 20% of the time I am a little lonesome for this esteemed spot in her heart. But, I know that this new baby will need me the way Ellie has needed me for the next three years, and there isn't another person in the world I'd rather have her feel pulled to than her amazing Daddy.

Cotton Candy

Brian was excited to share Ellie's first-ever cotton candy
at a recent trip to a carnival.
Here's how it went.

Uh-huh, yeah, this eating sweet flavored insulation on a stick might just be your thing Dad.

Summer Sweetness

Ok, it's 4 minutes, a little long, but totally worth it!
You may have to let it buffer/load for a minute before it works...

My Eleanor

Sometimes I feel like the worst person in the world for my serious lack of—Eleanor Kathleen record keeping. Not the worst mother, but the worst person. I mean, what mother doesn’t melt at her child’s record-breaking sweetness and her obvious genius that will certainly get her a full scholarship to Havard or any other university of her choice? Melting mothers happen all over the world. What mother doesn’t tear up when she catches a glimpse of her gorgeous daughter who is standing in silent awe watching the waves of her ocean (Lake Michigan) with one holding her little yellow sand pail and the other on her round little girl tummy, sweet little swimsuit giving her tiny bottom a perfect hug? Along with motherhood comes a bias that sways any evidence of perfection. No, I’m not the worst mother there ever was, instead I am the worst person because any person, mother or not, could be arrested on charges of insanity for keeping this burst of sunshine from the majority of humanity.

If you can be quiet long enough, if you can clear your mind from your grocery list, your plans for the night, your worries about work, school papers that are never completed, the weight you don’t want to put on, that phone call you meant to make yesterday, the plumber that needs to be called, the fact that you haven’t seen a dentist in over a year, the on-again/off-again nausea that was supposed to be done in the first trimester, the disaster you call your bedroom, the piles of clean laundry that are taking on a mount Everest shape and screaming at you, ‘fold me now or iron for the rest of your life!’. If you can just give all that up, just for a while, and be still, and be with Eleanor, you will be awarded with pure Grace.

Even when she is trying to keep up with society’s expectations regarding the “terrible two’s,” (or is it three’s?), even then the sunshine wins out: at a department store, Ellie is piling just about everything she can get her hands on into the cart saying, “I want to take this home. I want to take this home. PLEEEEASE Mommy?” Frustrated Mommy answers with, “Honey, not today. We can get a toy another day.” “PLEASE PLEASE Mommy? I want it. I want it really, really bad!” Mommy: “Ellie, no. We are not buying any extra stuff today.” There develops an uncomfortable silence… and then, “Ok Mommy, it’s ok” and only a few minutes later we are laughing as she tries on gigantic mommy-sized shoes with me. Who I am to be so lucky to call her daughter?

In an effort to shorten my likely impending purgatory punishment, here are a few bursts of sunshine, a few glimpses of Grace:

**Ellie has started taking showers; most of her gets mostly clean in these attempts. In the shower I tell her she needs to get into the water enough to rinse off her “bottom.” So she bends over and does her “downward dog” yoga pose as the water falls over her. (downward dog: bending at the waste so your hands and feet are firmly on the ground but your knees are not bent at all).

**Going through a drive-thru to get Ellie an ice cream cone I say to the intercom guy, “but please make it small, it’s for a child.” Ellie yells out the back window, “BIG!” Intercom guy: “Big or small mam?” Mommy: “Small.” Ellie: “BIG!!!”

**Running up to a child at a park, any child, any park, taking their hand saying, “You wanna be my friend? You wanna play with me? Come on!”

**I had to take Ellie to a doctor appointment with me and I also had to get blood taken. The nurse asked me to have Ellie sit off to the side while she took my blood for safety reasons. Ellie obliged at first but when the needle went in to my arm she couldn’t take it. My sweet Ellie jumped off that chair and came over to me, took my free hand and gently rubbing it she said, “It’s ok Mommy, I’m here, it’s ok.” Then when we were leaving the lab area she yelled out, “Ok, thanks doctor!”


I could share hundreds of these, every day. But, with a tired pregnant body, a house I can’t keep up with and schoolwork forever weighing on my mind, I just can’t. Maybe living with this sunshine is one of the gifts granted to those who are brave enough to risk or endure the tragic pitfalls of parenthood (Things I know no more: good music, bars or parties, sleep, free time, journaling, long adult conversations, sleep. Things I didn’t know I never wanted to know: theme song to Dora the Explorer, chicken nuggets shaped like dinosaurs, reward stickers, diapers, potty training/poopy training, important life-altering decisions like which car seat, what kind of bedding, disposable or cloth, to go to preschool or not, which preschool, how many days a week, how many hours a day, counting to ten five thousand times a day, singing the ABC’s five thousand times a day, etc, etc, etc). With all of that also comes the Grace and sunshine of my Eleanor—her sweet hugs, wet kisses, unconditional loyalty, quiet snuggles, spectacular creativity, contagious giggles and “I love you sooo much Mommy.”

Still Makin' Me Laugh!

Mommy to Ellie: "See ya later alligator."
Ellie to Mommy: pause, pause, "See ya later Monkey Mommy!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mommy to Ellie: "Honey, Mommy needs to lay down for a few minutes because her tummy hurts."
Ellie to Mommy: "I gotta take you to the doctor."
Mommy: "Me? Why?"
Ellie: "We gotta get that baby out."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Daddy just home from work: "Ellie, can I get a hug?"
Ellie to Daddy: "Nope yet Daddy, I busy. In one minute, ok?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mommy to Ellie: "How about I get us some cereal for breakfast?"
Ellie: "No thank you Mommy, I want pizza."

Feliz Navidad

This girl needs something...

Bella is cute but she just won't due.

This only lasts so long before boredom sets in.

C'mon Mom, enough with your hair, I want to play!

Something along these lines would help. Snuggly, sweet as can be, drools a lot.

Mommy: "Ellie, do you think Mommy should have a baby?"
Ellie: "Nope yet Mom."
Mommy: "It would be a little brother or sister to play with!"
Ellie: "Umm, maybe."
Mommy: "Well, I guess we can get more comfortable with this together."
Ellie: "Ok Mommy. My baby named Ellie."
Mommy: "The baby will be named Ellie?"
Ellie: "Yes."
Mommy: "Umm, maybe."

Affectionately known as "Noel," or "Nicholas," or "Christmas Baby,"
Arriving mid-December,
to play with Ellie.

Makin' Me Smile

"Ellie, are you ready to go?"
"Nope yet Mom!"

"Ellie, one more minute till bedtime."
"No, five minutes Mom."
"We already had five minutes."
"Five more minutes Mommy!"

"Makin' you laugh Mommy?"

"Ooooo-kaaaay Mommy. It's ok, Mommy."

"Daddy, come quickly!"

(Taking shower with Ellie in order to be quick:)
"Mommy, I like your breasts."
"Thank you Ellie."
"Welcome Mommy."

Daddy's Big Head

2.5 Year "Well Baby" Check-up:

98% for height
80% for weight
"off the chart" for head circumference

Mommy to Nurse: Has she ever been on the chart for head circumference?
Nurse: Umm... (flip file, flip pages)... no.
Ellie to nurse: Ellie head big!

Fairytale Ballet

Ellie is in a 2-3 year old, Mom and Tot, ballet class. As you'll see she is one of the tallest girls, although she is the second youngest in the class. The girl with pigtails is 4 years old and her younger sister is just under two (she has a red bow). This first clip is full of the sweet moments. The second clip is, well, sweetly funny (and a peek into "Ellie's World"). This was "watch week" so Daddy came, and of course so did the video camera. Don't forget to turn your volume up!




And, the bloopers...

Oops!

Bathtub cinematography goes awry.

1, 2, 3, Break!

Ellie's induction into TEAM JOHNSON...

So Many Words.

I've been wanting to keep track of Ellie's new phrases, words, words that aren't really words but she thinks they are, expressions, etc. But, I have been doing a terrible job of it. Here is just a quick start:

• Out of the blue, in the middle of whatever and wherever, "Love you too Mommy."
• One of our latest favorites b/c she is so serious about it and says it with such emphasis, "SHOOT." Or, "Awww, man!"
• Recently I've had to wake her up more often and earlier than usual so I can get to school, "Five minutes Mommy? Peez? Five more minutes?" (yes, she is only 2.5 years old)

You may also enjoy..

• "Daddy, cooooooome here!"
• "I love it!" (usually a piece of clothing, my jewelry or anything she receives as gift or snail mail)
• "One minute..." (while running off to get something or do something)
• Or, "One sec"
• Or, "Just few minutes Mommy."
• "I busy."
• Or, "I very busy Mommy!"
• "Very tired. Very tired Mommy." (also within first hour of being awake)
• "Miss you Mommy, miss you much." (also out of the blue and for no particular reason)

This week's top picks:

• "Daddy I busy, I texting." (while playing on her pretend cell phone)
• "Grammy, best friend." (while hugging my Mom this morning. too sweet.)

Scooting Princess!

"I pinchess!"
(on a scooter)

A Cure for the Winter Blahs...

My pretty girl.

Upon waking from naps.
No worries, little Mia did not eat any popcorn,
she just wanted to be near Ellie,
and I wanted to be near both of them.




Sweet... but gross.
They are in love, so they share everything, including germs.

What to do when it's negative 5,000 degrees outside?
Get "maked" and paint in the bathroom,
with a space-heater running.

Notice the gigantic globs of paint...
Ellie wanted to sqeeeeeeeeze the bottles,
much more than she wanted to paint.

Imagination

Much like her vocabulary did two months ago, Eleanor's imagination seems to have exploded overnight... and I LOVE it. Here are a few examples:

Two for lunch? Can I get you a Coke? Piece of cake?

"Mommy, I ceeening!"

This is, obviously, an Elmo puzzle toy; but, on this particular day, Elmo was all gussied up.

Do you see that tiny little dog? Yes, and that is a baby doll diaper that the 

dog apparently needs to...

ride on a little scooter with a little baby doll. 

Flash Back

My Mom got Ellie a sweet little ballerina outfit for Christmas this year. As soon as I saw her in it I had one of those moments-- the, WOW! I am a Mom, moment. And, in sync with her ever-blossoming personality, she stood up and did a little dance for the whole room!

Ho Ho Ho!

I took Ellie to CTU (where I go to school) because they have a huge and beautiful Christmas tree. I figured we could do a mini photo shoot-- it didn't go as well as planned. But, here are a few Chrismas-y shots of my beauty.