Day__??? I don't know BUT it has been quite a few BUT who cares!

Truth be told, yes it has been almost a month but in toddler years it really translates into minutes (if not seconds)...although in dog years it could very well be decades (but lets not go there!) I just came to me - this bit of wisdom - so, yes I am asking for a little bit of latitude! lol ;-0

So WHAT in the world am I talking about?  Well if you read my previous post about the "transition" process from the "crib" to the "toddler bed" then you would somehow be linking my thought processes together.  (Yes, I know, I do realize as I type this that that is a lot to ask...sorry.)

Anyhow, I didn't want to go to bed without journaling the progress our daughter has made with feeling at ease in her big girl bed.  Her routine for the last month has been sleeping in the toddler bed for her nap and the crib for nighttime.  What used to be a simple nighttime routine turned into quite the process when the bed was introduced.  It used to take us ten minutes to put her to bed when the only option was her crib. 

We would read a book, say some prayers, then do butterfly and nose kisses, hugs and cheek kisses and then say the following: "Good night Ella, see you in the morning, God Bless you, Love you honey, night, night."  She would repeat every one of those little phrases after we said each one.   

Since the double option entered into the picture it has been more like 40 minutes to an hour and sometimes more than that to put her to bed.  She wasn't quite sure what to do with the new found freedom the bed offered her.

At first I thought, boy was this a bad idea, maybe we should take the bed out.  But that thought faded quickly, as God impressed it upon our hearts that this is an opportunity for us to parent.  An opportunity to show patience and love as she became better aquainted with a little more independance.

Having both the crib and her bed in her room at this time has really allowed Ella to sleep in whichever one she wants without feeling pressured to give up the one she has been so accustomed to for 3 years.  It really is such a big deal, more so then I could ever have imagined.

So yesterday was the first night where she didn't ask for us, not even once.  We kept waiting and waiting for the inevitable call..."Daddyyyy?" or "Mommyyyy?"..."I am having a hard time falling asleep."  None of the usual cries for comfort came forth from her bedroom door.

Some parents are sad when they see their little girl grow up but for Ethan and I it isn't a bittersweet moment.  I don't know why but when I look at our daughter, I just get so giddy when I see her "work it out." The "it" being figuring out daily life and overcoming obstacles and issues she has to the best of her ability...It is just so darn exciting that it brings me to tears.  I feel so blessed and I know Ethan does to to be chosen to be the parents of this precious little girl!

Watch out Ginger Rogers...we've got a new tapper in town!

First day of "Dance n Play" at In Motin Dance Center, Martinez, Ca.

It almost didn't happen...but I am sure glad it did!

I was not 100% on board with trying out another dance class for Ella.  Last year, we tried out one in Lafayette and for several reasons it wasn't a good fit for Ella and I.  A few weeks ago, I took Ella to get fitted for a new pair of shoes and while we were at the shoe store, Ella noticed this cute pair of tap shoes.  She asked me what they were for.  And I told her they were tap shoes which are meant to be worn in tap class.  I proceeded to clack them together to demonstrate the sound they make.  She was so intrigued and asked me if she could take a dance tap class.  That was the beginning of my search for a toddler tap dance class...

Thankfully, with the help of the mom's club I belong to, I found a great one!  Here are a few shots I captured of her class...

Here is Ms. Laura and the girls at the dance bar practicing the shuffle.  Ella is the third one from the right.

  

Ms. Laura is teaching the girls a routine that will be performed on stage this June.  Even though they have been practicing this routine for a month, Ella is catching on pretty quick!

   

The Transition...to the "Big Girl Bed"...What were we thinking???

From the CRIB to the TWIN...yippeeeee ;)

...or so we thought, right?

Ethan and I thought that it was time that Ella say bye-bye to her crib and move on to her "Big Girl Bed."  We proposed this idea of course to Ella first before actually moving the bed in and the crib out.  Ella was super excited at the prospect of the "idea" but when it came time to "do it" we noticed that it wasn't going to be as simple as we were hoping.  Note the word "hoping."  See how we didn't assume it was going to be easy...we were just hoping. 

It turns out that Ella was battling the idea of giving up the coziness of the four crib walls around her and found it difficult to give it up.  However, she loved the freedom the bed offered her.  We were perplexed at first as to how to deal with this without making it traumatic for her.  

Solution:  Leave both in her room for a bit so she can go back and forth between the both of them.  This proved to be the wisest decision. (insert: pat selves on back) 

Now we are on day four of the two sleeping options solution.  And it seems that it won't be much longer before she is willing to let go of her crib.

We shall see...

Nightime routine

Part of our nightime routine besides potty-time, brushing and reading a book is saying prayers. Tonight was an unusually late night for us and Ella was getting a bit delirious as we were trying to say our nightly prayer. When we were finished praying with her she wanted to keep going. Nothing wrong with that. I encouraged her to keep praying and despite being in a state of delirium she did so. Here was her prayer as I listened through the door...

"Dear Jesus, I pray for Kennedy, Ty, Gigi (long pause), Gianna (same person as Gigi), Keelan, Kennedy, Ty (long pause...I think she couldn't remember Kennedy & Ty's sister's name), aannnd....AMEN!!! amen?" Yep she was done.

I like how emphatic she was with the first AMEN but then questioned herself with a very soft "amen?" Almost to say, "is that all I wanted to say?"

How her mind works...

I am probably not the only mother of a toddler who sometimes thinks that our children are capable of understanding more than they really do.

Case in point: Today Ella and I took a trip to Costco for some much needed items. Two of which were gifts for a couple of birthday's coming up for Ella's playdate friends. I explain to Ella that these are gifts for her friends and she seems (at the time) to be o.k. with the idea that they are not for her. Of course our conversations for the rest of the time we were in Costco rarely was off the subject of these two toys. We talked about why we were giving gifts and why there was two of them and why she couldn't open them. When we arrived home and as I was getting Ella ready for her nap she and I had the following conversation:

Ella (anxiously excited): I can't wait to give Haily and Kayden (twins) their toys for their birthday.
Me: I know, do you think they will be suprised?
Ella: Yes
Ella: Mom, I want to have a baby like Hailey's.
Me: Well, you never know if mommy and daddy will get you one for your birthday.
Ella: Which one?
Me: Well, it will just have to be a suprise.
Ella: Can I have it now?
Me: No, it isn't your birthday.
Ella: hmmm, so I can have the baby for my birthday.
Me: Maybe, you will just have to see.
Ella: Can I see it now?
Me: Well, it won't be a suprise then if I show it to you now.
Ella: That's o.k. mom
Me(still pondering): _______________

Fun with friends at the local pumkin patch

I get so excited for this time of the year. Autumn leaves, warm apple cider, cozy scarfs, comfort food and of course PUMPKIN PATCHES. The local one in Clayton is so much fun to go to especially with a large group. They have massive bean pits as you will see in the pictures below, a hay maze, petting zoo, train rides, etc...

Mommy, Ella and Daddy ;)

First Car: Nick, Erin and Gigi; Second Car (front): Ethan, Tisa and Ella

Second Car (back): Ben, Leah, Hailey and Kayden

Why is it when one child sees another one doing something

potentially harmful to one's body...

...they get the bright idea of...

...of doing it themselves?

Answer: "Because, it's so darn fun!!!"

Pure joy

Is she meditating?

Friends...Hailey and Ella

See you next year...

October 2008 ~ Costume Pictures, Orchard Nursery