The Powers Family Blog: February 2012

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Our Baby Can Read!

Okay, maybe not quite, but she can certainly find books upon request! :)
(I know there are a lot of videos and some are a little long-ish, but she just amazes me, so I had to share them all)

24 hours before the end of the contest, things aren't looking good. I actually suspect a little foul play too, but I won't go into that. One thing is for sure though. No matter the outcome, I'm already a winner. :)

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Obsession or Hobby?

Hobby? Obsession? Hard to say for sure, but there are certainly a few things that I can think of off the top of my head that are, well, always in my head (although I'm sure there are more).

~So, I've already copped up to being a wee bit preoccupied with germ control since we had Ellie (n.b., I'm not totally anti-germ, just cautious ;) ). I'm gonna call it a "hobby".

~I've also mentioned my love affair with dark chocolate (perhaps not in so many words, but you may have noticed it gets mentioned a lot). More "obsession" than "hobby", I guess.

~I've taken a few pictures of Ellie since she was born. By a few I mean over 10,000. Yes. I know. I don't apologize for that though. So we'll call that one a draw between "hobby" and "obsession". Even though probably 500 or so are of her hair. :oP

These are my main hobby/obsessions right now. Perfectly normal, right? Well, there are a few other things that I may have a more, um, "unnormal"(?) interest in. For one thing, it is imperative to me that we are always well stocked with TP and paper towels, so we get them from Costco.

I think I get this from my mother, though. Definitely things you don't want to run out of! We'll say "obsession" on this one because collecting TP as a hobby is just weird.

(uh oh, looks like it may be genetic)

[Ellie has her own share of "hobbies" as well. Today alone they included dumping her socks,

visiting the potty (sometimes just to visit), playing with the dog food,

(thanks to a few water mishaps this was outfit #4 of the day)

and trying to carry things that are much too heavy or bulky for her.]

Since becoming a stay-at-home-mom I have added contests and sweepstakes to my "hobbies" ("obsession" according to my husband). During the long lost days of Ellie falling asleep on my chest on the couch for hours at a time I started entering random contests and sweepstakes to pass the time. It sort of became my "job". I figured if I happened to win something like a $25,000 cash prize or a family vacation that would be my contribution to our family's bottom line. Well, it has since snowballed and I have quite a few bookmarked that I enter after Ellie is down for the night. I've won a few small prizes along the way like candy bars, free ice cream, and (wait for it) a "Robitussin" umbrella, but this week has brought the most interesting development yet. I was selected as daily winner and then a finalist in the Cold-EEZE Winter Wellness Getaway Giveaway. Unfortunately, I didn't really pay attention to the official rules and didn't realize that the Grand Prize winner is decided on by the Facebook community. I, for one, hate begging for votes and yet that has become my obsession over the past 4 days (Hey you! Vote here daily: http://www.facebook.com/ColdEEZE?sk=app_232801673461079 ). I am totally exhausted, slightly embarrassed, and really sorry for dragging my husband through this too. However, this is what I've been building up to for the past year and a half, right? I might actually win one of these things! I can't give up now, especially with so many amazing people supporting me (thank you to those of you reading this)! Three more days to go! Stay tuned!

Thursday, February 23, 2012

19 Months Old!

Our little girl is 19 months old today.

My goodness, this is a wonderful, yet complicated age.

At 1 year and 7 months:

Ellie likes to climb up onto things, even though she can't quite do it on her own, she is still very proud when she gets there.

Ellie also likes to be chased and does a "wild lady run" as I like to call it.

She has made great strides in the dental department (2 on top and 3 on the bottom).

(that shiny bit to the right of the teeth is tooth #5 that just cut)

She also is finally letting us brush them without a huge battle thanks to Mommy's ingenious teeth brushing song. (If you ask nicely I may sing it for you one day).

We're still waiting on the hair to be more apparent to the general public, but I see great strides there too.

She still loves books

and has really taken to biting on them as well.

Of course, she chews on just about everything these days (I'm pretty sure more teeth are coming) and unfortunately today that included the diaper creme they sent us home from the NICU with.

That led to mommy's first (and hopefully last) call to Poison Control when I found her with it all over her hands and mouth. I really don't know where she even found that tube. Ugh, long story short; she's fine.

One thing that she is thankfully not chewing on: me. We are still nursing and she latches on about 700 times a day, usually for about 1.2 seconds. I really am happy to still be nursing, it's just a little exhausting to be a sippy cup. Speaking of exhausting, she still isn't sleeping through the night and has lately been going through a sleep regression and waking up 3-4 times a night. Plus, not taking a very long nap. Double ugh.

At 19 months, she most certainly knows how to push Mommy's buttons.

Mealtime is our biggest battle as she is constantly "daaaaa"-ing at seemingly invisible things that she wants and I can't find. She then gets frustrated and throws food or rips off her bib and I get frustrated too. I'm working very hard on just cleaning her up and putting her down when she acts out like this and not acting out back, but it's hard... very hard. I fail at it often, cry about it frequently, and need reassurance from my poor hubby almost daily.

While mild meltdowns are routine now

(don't feel too bad; she can turn this face on and off like a switch)

they certainly don't make up the majority of our day.

Bubbles can instantly turn around the most sour mood for both of us.

Ellie has recently fallen in love with spinning

and spending time outside.

She is very polite and will say "excuse" and sign "thank you" without any prompting (most of the time). She is also a very good helper.

She seems to be getting smarter

(she will squeeze her little arm in and pull things out of latched cabinets)

and taller by the day.

Case in point, she learned to do this today.

Ah, she was so proud and I was so terrified.. haha.

We have also accidentally started potty training.

She just loves to sit on the potty and asks to go frequently during the day even though she rarely actually goes in it. She then throws a fit when it's time to put her diaper back on, however. On the bright side, we still haven't had a dirty diaper since the first potty poo! I still have no real expectations or timelines for how this will turn out.

Like I said, it's a complicated, but wonderful age. I know it will get even more so as time goes by.

I am just so in love and so grateful for this little girl, even on the most trying days and even more grateful that she loves her mommy unconditionally.

Happy 19 month birthday Ellie Bean!

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Let the Good Times Roll

.. or swing as the case may be.

Yes, I believe we may have a swinging convert!

She's even warming (a little) to the slide

and getting braver and more comfortable each visit we visit the playground.

Yes, that finger IS making contact... I think Mommy may be getting braver too... yes, her hands were still wiped off as soon as we got back in the car though.

I'm brave, but not that brave. ;)

The playground was nice and all, but her favorite part? Running around on the path by the playground.