A snowy Sunday.

As a child, I have such fond memories of playing outside in the snow.

I remember the excitement leading up to that first snow storm -- the hope that school would be canceled and the anticipation of getting outside to play in it...

Building that first snowman of the season -- and driving my mom crazy I'm sure, running in and out of the house with wet boots asking for an extra hat, scarf, and carrot for the nose.  Breaking branches off the birch tree in the front yard for the arms, and finding small pebbles for the eyes and mouth.

Going sledding on Kinnard's hill.  Sometimes Dad would pull us up the hill with the snowmobile, so we didn't have to climb it every time.

Making snow forts -- ohhh, the forts!  My favorite.  I'd spend hours crafting the perfect fort, complete with secret passages and tunnels.

Riding the orange Blizzard snowmobile around and around the yard for so long, that my thumb would cramp up from holding the throttle down.  The smell of "motor" and gas... I can literally smell it right now.

And then once my fingers and toes couldn't stand the cold any longer, I'd return to the house for hot chocolate.  My mom usually bought the big family-sized tub of mix because it was cheaper, but if we were real lucky, we got the individual packets with those little tiny marshmallows.

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A couple Sunday's ago, we gave Ellis his first memories of playing outside in the snow.

It was lightly snowing that afternoon, and the wind was calm -- a rare occurrence at our house.

We climbed snow drifts.
We dug tunnels.
We made a fort, fit for one toddler-sized Ellis.
We went sledding.
We tasted icicles.
And we explored the neighboring fence line, finding rabbit tracks... (and finding that the rabbits are destroying our apple trees, grrrr!)

I know Ellis enjoyed his time outside that afternoon, but I'm 100% positive that Zac and I enjoyed it even more.  Even though it's a royal pain to get your kid dressed up to play in the snow, the memories we made that afternoon were worth it.

My Grandma made Ellis that scarf; isn't it darling?!

 

Oh!  To be kid again <3

What was your favorite activity to do in the snow as a child?

Ellis: Two Years Old!

Today our baby is TWO!

We took the day off work to spend it with him, and celebrated with a Baby Shark Birthday Bash at the pool last weekend with family.

If you've been around awhile, you might remember the monthly updates I did for Ellis up until he turned one... You can check them all out here: One Month | Two Months | Three Months | Four Months | Five Months | Six Months | Seven Months | Eight Months | Nine Months | Ten Months | Eleven Months | One Year Old

After he turned one, I had a surprising number of people ask me if I was still going to do monthly updates because they loved reading the posts. To be honest, I was more doing those posts for myself, but I'm so glad others enjoyed them!  However, it was only ever my intention to go up until one year old, just because babies change soooo much month-to-month during that first year, and I wanted to remember it all.

But I've decided on Birthdays, we're throwing it back to those monthly posts.  So... Two year old Ellis:

- has 16 teeth (I think... they are hard to count without getting bit!)
- weighs (a whopping) 23 lbs
- is wearing 18-24 month clothing, size 6 shoes, and size 4 diapers

Speaking of diapers, he goes on the potty (pee only) every night before bath & bedtime, but I don't think we're anywhere near "serious" potty training.  He does however, announce to the world when he is pooping, and then when he's done, he will run up to you and say "I needa diapa change!"  So, he fully knows what's going on, he's just not ready to commit.  (And if I'm being honest, I'm not really ready either!)

Ellis isn't the world's greatest eater, but is any 2 year old?  One day, he eats like a horse, the next day, we're lucky if he takes three bites of dinner.  He loves all fruit, oatmeal, soup, and spaghetti.  One day he loves broccoli, the next day he doesn't.  Getting him to eat supper every night is not usually the highlight of my day, that's for sure.  He would however, drink an entire gallon of whole milk if you let him.

Ellis love love lovesssss to read.  On average, we read at least 20 books a day.  He knows this colors, can count to ten (with very little assistance), and is actually talking in pretty complete sentences (for his age).  He will string 3-5 words together, and it's the sweetest thing that we can actually like, have real conversation with him.  He totally amazes me on a daily basis with how intelligent he is, but also, how SASSY he can be...

He also loves:
 - A very specific play hammer at Grandma Char & Papa Randy's house. He doesn't put it down the whole time he's there.  And at Grandma Sue & Papa Poogie's house, he's obsessed with a baby toy sippy cup.  (so random)  At home, his favorite toy is the fake sugar packet from his Melissa & Doug coffee maker (again, so random) but he even asks to take it to bed with him.
 - Animals.  At the moment, his favorites are elephants. giraffes, hippos & horses.
 - Watching: Harry the Bunny, Curious George, Caillou, and Barney.  He also LOVES to watch videos of himself on my phone.
 - Singing: Baby Shark, Wheels on the Bus, and Old McDonald.
 - Being outside.
 - Mini m&ms.

He's still not a great sleeper.  He usually wakes 1-2 times per night, and can't sleep longer than 8-9 hours.   It always amazes me when people tell me they put their kid to bed at 7:30 pm and they sleep all the way through to 7:30 am.  Sadly, that ain't our kid.  He has serious FOMO and just doesn't love to sleep.  He takes one 2 hour nap/day.

Right now, he has the hardest time with saying words that start with the letter "F"... and it's about the cutest thing ever...
Fork comes out as pork
Funny comes out as punny
Frog comes out as prog
Fish comes out as b_tch (this one is hilarious)
But I love the way he says "munch", "crunch", "oatmeal", "hook it", and "Toot toot, all aboard!"  And sometimes, his brain is working faster than this month & he mixes us up.  He'll say something like, "thank you daddymommydaddy."  haha

He's also such a good "helper", and always wants to be involved -- whether it's shoveling snow, unloading the dishwasher, folding laundry, changing a light bulb, or fixing a leaky faucet, he wants to get right in there and "do it too, daddy/mommy!"

We are so SO blessed to have Ellis in our lives, and wish for him a healthy, happy-filled second year of life.

Happy 2nd Birthday Bubs!

An Ode to Grace.

Yesterday, we said our final goodbye to Gracie Lou.  Our beloved pup, of almost 15 years.

And I say puppy, because anyone who knew Grace knows that she never really grew out of "the puppy stage"... one of the many things about her that was so unique.

She's the only dog I knew who loved garden vegetables, became "fake pregnant" -- lactating and all -- not once but twice, and who had a LOVE for us the size of Texas.

If you're not a dog person (or pet person), I don't expect you to understand... but if you are, then you know that a dog is part of the family.  That's why saying "goodbye" is so hard... you are losing a part of your family.   And the funny thing is, Grace was never really intended to be "my" dog.  Zac and Lance bought her together...  a bird dog, to hunt with them and retrieve waterfowl.  But when Zac & I got married and bought a house, she needed to be rescued from her outdoor kennel life and given some love, and so she moved in with us.

I've combed through my computer and found over ONE THOUSAND photos that I've taken of Grace from the last 15 years.  And somehow, I don't have a single photo of her as a puppy... but I've got plenty of others to share...

If you've never had the pleasure, meet Grace:

a dog of many expressions.

a LOVER, always in your face and at your feet.

a helper, always by your side, for any and all projects.

playful; she would spend hours playing fetch with her duck.

an adventurer... she loved wood walks in the winter & water play in the summer.

my walking buddy.

a protector, especially of small children, and a FRIEND.

She was alwayyyys hungry.

And her most favorite thing to do in all the land, was to drink water straight from the facet.

Grace has been with us through the best of times, and through the worst of times.

We will miss this pup something fierce, but I am so thankful for all the joy she brought us, and all the precious memories that we've made with her.

Give your pup an extra squeeze today.