Fun with Mommy

Here are some pics of Ellie and I having fun.

Here is mommy teaching Ellie how to dip. We found out Ellie loves tahini (ground sesame seed), so here she is dipping stuff into tahini. FYI, tahini turns into a very thick paste once it dries on the skin. But a little warm water, and it comes right off!

Watermelon

Great Date 4: A World of Difference

So, we've been participating in Buckhead Church's Great Date Experiment.
We are currently on Great Date #4 and are loving all the dates so far. This Great Date will be focusing on celebrating the differences in each other.
After all, it's the differences in Steve that attracted me to him in the first place, right?

So, in honor of all the wonderful ways that makes Steve different from me, I decided to make a top ten list of what makes Steve a great dad.

TOP TEN REASONS WHY STEVE'S A GREAT DAD:

10. He exposes Ellie to new things... like rain.



9. He encourages Ellie to get dirty... like with real dirt and stuff.

8. He encourages flexibility in Ellie’s schedule for fun’s sake!

7. He teaches Ellie new things... like how to ring the wind chimes.



6. He encourages Ellie to be independent, even if it means falling a little.



5. He loves and accepts Ellie just the way she is...

messy...

or so relaxed that she's almost falling off his lap...
(No, he didn't sit her back up.
He just left her there, just as she wanted to be...)

4. He is generous with his time and attention to Ellie...







... sharing corn with her...

... just cuddling with her...

... playing magnets with her...
















... or taking the time to briefly say hi to Ellie on ichat while at work.










3. He disciplines Ellie so she will grow up to be a blessing to others.

2. He sacrifices for Ellie by getting up at 5 a.m. in order to be home by 4 p.m. to spend time with Ellie because she goes to bed at 6:30 pm.





1. He prays for Ellie every day...







... sometimes it's hard to imagine God loving Ellie more than we could ever possibly imagine. But He does. And I'm so grateful for that.



















... after her first haircut at 16.5 months

Thank you Steve, for four wonderful years of marriage.
You are a terrific father.
I love your differences, because they make you who you are.
And I love you.

This is Steve and I at Stone Mountain, where we celebrated our four year anniversary on June 11.

Lessons from Daddy

Hmm, Daddy what's this?

Do I put my arm in it?

What's inside?

I have my mouth on it, why can't I taste it?

Oh, look at Daddy tilting it up to drink! Interesting.

Daddy's so sweet to help me drink too!

I love my daddy... He always shows me new things.

15.5 months and 30" tall

At 15.5 months old (6/1/09), Eliana was 30 inches tall.
At 32 years old, Sabina is 61 inches tall...
So Ellie is almost half as tall as her mother.
Is that normal?

How cute is she?! Don't you just want to gobble her up?

Gro-a, Gro-a - Avocado Heaven

Ellie's FAVORITE food is avocado. She asks for it EVERY time she eats.
"GRO-A, GRO-A!!" (which OBVIOUSLY means avocado)
Here she is in avocado heaven...

Who says you need to buy expensive toys?

Nicaraguan Style

We're back! Here are pictures of Ellie in an adorable dress from Nicaragua that her Tia Lubela gave her. Thanks Tia! Too cute!!

Ellie now knows what a cow says and LOVES saying moooooo ALL the time.

The Bunker

So, a couple of weeks ago the air siren sounded in the middle of the night. Sabina and her mom turned on the TV for more info and it turned out there had been a tornado spotted in the area so the siren was for a tornado warning.

This prompted us to prepare a tornado bunker for the next time. Here's Ellie testing it out. We left her in there for 48 hours and she didn't seem to mind at all.

Bigger Challenges

Since Ellie is learning things so quickly, we thought we'd give her something a little harder....like driving.



She picked that up in just an hour and a half so then we had her practice backing the car into the garage.


Look at her using those mirrors like a champ!

2009 Mother's Day

It was such a great Mother's Day.

Here are the Ellie highlights from the day for Grandma & Grandpa in North Carolina.
We are still waiting for you to move to Georgia... ;-)

Apparently avocado is a good hair gel.

Ellie enjoyed her lunch and got so dirty that we decided to have some fun by giving her a bath in the sink like when she was a baby.

Pay no attention to Ellie's hair band in my hair. I just got a fabulous haircut, but I needed my hair out of the way to avoid it getting wet and curly again.

Charlie Chaplan

Guess the brown stuff under Ellie's nose. Hint: it's not any type of body fluid or boogers. :-)

It's almond butter.

Guess the fruit

The other day Steve realized that 90% of the pictures we have of Ellie are in her high chair... ha.
I can't help it. She's so cute when she's messy!
Guess the fruit she's eating below!

A Choo!

Imagine a soft white thing that you you pull on, and then another one pops up for you to pull on it. Imagine that happening OVER AND OVER again. So fun! Wouldn't you be happy too?