Just a post about Parker...

Parker is a ball of energy!!  He keeps us moving!!  He is also at that age (15 months) where he wants to do so much and say so much, but he just can't.  I think he sees Ella doing so much and he wants to be just like her.  He loves standing on her stool in the bathroom just like she does.  I think it's time to get him his own stool because sometimes I catch the 2 of them on the stool together and there really isn't room, but it's cute.  Sometimes Ella doesn't want him on her stool and that gets interesting.

He is such a love bug.  His big neck hugs are just the best.  He wraps those little arms around your neck and gives you the sweetest hug.  He does it intentionally, too!  I didn't quite capture the "true neck hug," but this is close.  Usually, he wraps his arms all the way around your neck.  We love it!

Parker is walking everywhere now.  He started walking about 2 months ago, 4-8 steps here or there.  He slowly increased his steps and his confidence grew.  He still likes to walk on his knees...he may always like to do that!?

Parker is all boy.  He loves trucks, cars, balls, climbing, wrestling, etc.  He doesn't mind playing with girly toys either. 

Parker is an awesome eater.  He will eat ANYTHING we put in front of him.  We don't know where he puts it all!  The other day, he had thrown up, and guess what we found!?  A piece of dog food!  I can't tell you how many times I have pulled a piece out of his mouth.  He is into everything!!

He says some words and a lot of babble.  He is sure telling us something, though!  He points to something and tells us all about it.  His favorite word, of course, is "Da da."  His "uh-ooohh" is just too cute.  Sometimes he will say "hi" when he sees someone or "hello" when he puts a phone to his ear.  He says some others like, "ball, mama, more, Ella."

Parker is definitely more of a handful when it comes to discipline.  Ella responds very well to one time of saying "no."  She gets her feelings hurt easily, but she responds really well to discipline.  Parker, on the other hand, is an onry as onry gets!  Discipline doesn't seem to phase him sometimes.  We keep chugging along, though, because we know the outcome if we don't. 

He loves to climb and wrestle.  I just wonder how long it will take until his first broken bone!? 

Just a post about Ella...

Just thought I would write about how the kids are doing these days.  Here is an update on our girl.

Ella's imagination is just soaring.  She still absolutely loves her books, but now she likes to read them like her teachers do at preschool, holding the pictures out for us to see.  She also likes to "read" them herself, with her stories always starting with "Once upon a time..." 

Ella loves preschool.  She definitely loves her "stay home days," but she also really likes her teachers and the fun things they do at preschool.  She is learning a lot.  She loves to write.  She can write some of her letters!  She can also draw a pretty awesome, "Mat Man."

Her teacher sent home a list of ideas for how to help her practice writing.  I find it hard to spend time on school stuff, though.  She is only 3 1/2 and we like to spend time having dance parties, wrestling with Daddy and Parker, and snuggling while watching a movie.  Ella adores her movies.  We have to limit how much she can watch them.  Her favorites are: Trucks (Cars), Snow White, Tangled, Bambi, Princess and the Frog, etc.  I never thought my child would have a tv in their bedroom, but guess what?  Ella now has a tv in her room.  My parents had a tv that they weren't using so we decided to go for it.

Ella loves to play pretend.  She likes to serve us food and drinks from her kitchen.  She reminds me of when I was a little girl.  Soon she will be following in my footsteps and playing waitress when we have company over, taking everyone's order on her notepad.  One night, our Parents as Teachers program had a "Pretend & Play" event.  Ella loved it.  They had a post office, library, pizza shop, campout, fire station, grocery store, hospital, and some others.  Ella enjoyed the hospital station...here she is giving her baby a shot.

She loved the grocery store.  She went shopping and got to scan her items.

Ella has always been an emotional little girl, very in touch with her feelings and the feelings of others.  She loves to talk about whether she is happy or not.  She will say, "That makes me very happy" or "That does not make me happy."  Everyone and everything is at some point her best friend, but then quickly not her best friend also.  Ella is still so loving...running up to give us a hug or wrap her arms around our legs telling us she loves us or she is glad we are home.  Out of the blue, she will say, "I love you."  Love her.  She asked her teacher today, "Do you love me?" :)

She is getting so big!  We are buying 4T now and finding that many of her 3T shirts no longer fit.  She still loves gymnastics and likes dance.  I think gymnastics is still her favorite.  We are not trying to spoil her; I'm just curious to see which one she will want to continue with.  Plus, with Parker and Baby Riley getting older, they will have their own activities and she will have to limit her activities then. 

The constant chatter and questioning has started.  The "why" question has definitely found its place in her language.  She loves to talk while we are driving.  This morning, she was explaining to me that we could fly up to the sun and hang out on it if the sun would let us.  She is fascinated that the sun, stars, and moon just seem to follow us as we drive.

Parker and Ella are true siblings.  They love each other, but they do not always like each other.  Ella definitely likes her space and Parker definitely likes to be in it!  Sometimes the love between them is just so awesome to watch.  Sometimes, though, they can get each other going like crazy.