Dancing Queen

Hooray for Spring Break!

Looking forward to this next week!

Here are some pictures of Ellie.  The first one is of her playing on my iPhone at a restaurant a couple of weeks ago.  After we went out to eat with Dave's family and friends, we went to the BYU Ballroom Dance performance at our local high school theater.  Ellie loved the show, and wanted to twirl in the aisles went it was over.

She's my little Dancing Queen!

When we got her home, she was still dancing!

BYU Ballroom Dance Team, save a spot for Ellie!

January and February pics

Okay, so I'm a horrible blogger.  But I do like posting pictures so that my family can see how Ellie is growing up, and as a way to have an online scrapbook for myself.  Ellie just got a haircut this last week, and I'm still getting used to the shorter hairdo.

On Mommy's birthday (Ellie still has long hair here, just in a pony tail)

Being silly at Grandma Bennett's

This little monkey likes jumping on the bed.

Can't pedal yet, but I like my Dora Tricycle!

Pushing the doll, but I'd rather try sitting in the teeny stroller myself.

At Bryan Head on Daddy's birthday.

Inside the Lodge at Bryan Head.

I love playing with hats, and trying to wear both at the same time.  Can you tell my hair is shorter?

Dancy, dancy!

Like my tongue?

Sledding on President's Day in Cedar City.

Hi!

You mean it's time to leave?

Signing and saying "More, More!"

Ellie has hit a growth spurt.  She is still only 24 pounds, but she is 35 inches tall.  Her shoes size has gone from a 4 to a 6 since her birthday in December.  A lot of her clothes are getting too short for her, but many of them are still too big around the waist.

Ellie is also surprisingly smart.  She can recognize about 75 words already.  She is reading some really basic Kindergarten level books.  At 26 months!  Go figure!

She is talking in sentences more and more, but uses her signs right along with her words.  Her pronunciation is still not great, but I can usually make out what she is saying, and the signs help.  It is funny to hear her repeat what we say word for word.

She loves to sing songs.  Her favorites:  If You're Happy & You Know It, 5 Little Monkeys, On A Log, Mr. Frog, 6 Little Ducks, Deep & Wide, Ring Around the Rosie, Jump Jim Joe, ABC song, Colors of the Rainbow, The Itsy Bitsy Spider, Old MacDonald, Happy Birthday, etc.

Dave and I are doing well.  I'm busy getting ready for our Celebrating Dr. Seuss concert for Reading Week at our school.  Dave has two UNLV classes that he is taking, and they have been a lot of work so far.  The girls are doing well in school.  Brittany still comes down every weekend to lifeguard at the Rec Center here in Mesquite.  Brooke is doing well with her viola, and Brianna just finished a basketball league, and really improved her skills a lot.

Brooke and Brianna had fun skiing with their dad for his birthday.  Ellie and I ventured out in the snow just long enough to get over to the lodge's swimming pool.  Dave and I enjoyed our couples massage the night before.  It was a nice getaway.

I have a two-year old daughter! How did that happen?

I swear she was just born a couple of months ago.  How is it possible that 2 years have gone by already?  Here are some recent pictures of Ellie.

Below is a video of Ellie helping me sing Happy Birthday.

Trip to Mexico

Here are some pictures from our trip to Cozumel, celebrating our 5th anniversary. (Love you, Dave!)

We had a great time!  Yummy food, a nice place to stay, and lots of cool things to see.  Our Thanksgiving Dinner was empanadas at an Argentinian restaurant in Cozumel.  We went horseback riding, explored ruins, went snorkeling (ok just Dave did), took a nap in a hammock (ok just I did), got massages, and enjoyed the beautiful island of Cozumel and the Mayan Riviera.  It was a nice break from reality, but we missed Ellie, and it was good to get home to our own home, bed, cars, etc.

October is over already?

Time flies when you're having fun!

Here are some Halloween pictures, and some from visiting Staheli Farm on the 29th.

Arrrgh!

Dave and I went to an early Halloween Party dressed as pirates.  We rented the costumes, and had a great time!  Ellie liked our hats!

For any further Halloween celebrations this year, we are going to dress up like a doctor and nurse.  Oh, and Ellie will be an owl.  I don't have a single decoration up at my house, but we are having a great time doing Halloween music at school.  I like this time of year--it is fun to be silly.  :)

Signing Time Foundation Concert

Okay, so I might be kind of obsessed with Signing Time.  I do have the complete collection, which I enjoy watching with Ellie, as well as with the Kindergarten students at my elementary school.  I think sign language is fun, and I am so amazed at how quickly children pick it up!  Ellie easily remembers signs after just seeing them a couple of times.  It takes me longer to pick them up.  So she sometimes signs things that I don't understand--until I watch one of our newer videos and recognize it.  It has been so nice to be able to communicate with Ellie while she is still developing her speech.  It is fun to hear her try to say new words, but they are almost always words she already can sign.  

Anyway, we bought tickets to this Rachel Coleman Concert a month ago, and I've been looking forward to it!  Yesterday, as soon as school was out, I rushed over to pick up Ellie, and headed down to Las Vegas.  The concert was at a Baptist church in Henderson, and was quite full.  Ellie loved being around all of the other kids.  When Rachel and Leah came out and started performing, Ellie stood on my lap, and stared the whole time.  It wasn't until towards the end of the show that she finally started to sign along, and after each song, asked for "more, more!"  We waited in a long line to get our picture taken with Rachel, Leah, and Lucy, and have Ellie's Signing Time T-shirt autographed by both Rachel and Leah.  It was so cool to meet them in person!  I couldn't believe how grown-up Leah was!  (She grows up on the dvds--from age 4 to about age 11?).  But now she is 14 and just about as tall as her mom!  Well, I won't go on anymore, because you guys probably haven't watched the show, but I highly recommend it to parents of young children!  

By the way, they announced that "Potty Time" will be released in November, and we got to watch a preview of it.  I have been dreading potty training, but maybe if Rachel tells her to use the potty, she'll do it!  :)