Riding in the Box

We all know that young kids usually like the wrapping paper and the box more than the gift at Christmas. That was definitely true with Ella and has remained true for a long time. Probably 3 -4 months ago Ella started crawling into her empty diaper boxes. Gracie and I would take turns pushing her around the room a little bit. As she grew to like it more and more, we added a strap to the box handle so that we could pull Ella around. We have to do it daily, and she loves it!

It won't be long until this game doesn't work anymore since she is filling the box up quite nicely these days. I couldn't get her to smile at me because she just wanted me to keep pulling the box!

Fun in Kahoka

We went to Kahoka this morning to visit some friends. At one stop, Ray and Mikie's house, we had to play hide and seek. This is Gracie finding her hiding spot.

Ray and Mikie were our neighbors when we lived in Kahoka, and we spent a lot of time visiting them if we were free in the evenings. This is Mikie hiding behind the manure spreader in their field. You don't hear that everyday! She was a very good sport.

"Mikie, I see you!!!"

Ella is a pretty social baby, so it didn't take her long to warm up to Ray and Mikie. She really enjoyed the big open field to explore.

Mikie pulled some of her weeds in one of her flower beds, so Gracie wanted to pretend to be a weed so that she could be pulled. Ella was trying to pull her up.

Mikie and Ray thought Ella was so cute. They reminisced back to when we first moved to Westwood Drive. Gracie was the same age as Ella is now.

Ella was very interested in Mikie's numerous flower beds. I had to get onto her a few times because she was wanting to get into the flowerbeds and decorative things Mikie had.

More weed pulling! Gracie was a stubborn weed, I guess.

Mikie was trying to get Ella to help her pull the big weed.

Today we traded in Brent's car, a Dodge Caliber, for a Kia Optima. Gracie was very excited to get a new car, but she got a little sad when she realized the Caliber wasn't her car anymore. I took her picture by it, and that seemed to help a little. Ella is standing on the driver's seat and holding onto the steering wheel.

Gracie's First Convertible Ride

Nice car, Gracie!

We went to Keokuk/Kahoka this weekend for a visit, and while we were there Gracie got to experience riding in a convertible. Our friends, Bruce and Melissa, just bought a Mercedes convertible and Gracie asked Bruce if she could ride in it on the way to his house. She felt pretty cool riding in a "car without a top."

Oh, she's so pleased with herself. We drove behind them on their ride home, and Bruce and Gracie raised their arms up in the air a few times. I guess it was a pretty fun ride!

Summer School

Today was Gracie's first day of summer school. She gets to go to Brent's school, Atlanta C-3, so she was very excited. The only bad part is that they have to leave the house around 7 a.m., so it's an early morning for Gracie.

Gracie reported that it was a really fun day. Her teacher is very nice and she got to see Daddy 3 times during the day. She has a lot to learn about structure and school rules, so that is one reason we sent her this summer. It helps the kids who are going into kindergarten in the fall learn the ropes early.

A proud Daddy with his big girl, heading off for their first day of summer school. They will probably both be smiling on June 29th when it is over.

Off they go. Gracie was waving goodbye as they drove off.

Swimming Fun on a Small Scale

Today was the first day I dug out the little pool that we own. We used it for a sand box last summer, but this summer we might just use it for a quick cool off. It's hard to call it a swimming pool when Gracie can't even lay down in it, but she still enjoys cooling off in it and playing with the water.

As I said, Gracie enjoys playing with the water. The shadow you see in the pool is Ella trying to decide if she should get in. She was very unsure about what was going on.

Ella looked at the pool for the longest time. She couldn't decide if it was safe, I guess.

A tentative Ella finally got in, but wouldn't sit down. She stood up and played as long as possible.

I finally just got Ella's lawn chair and set it in the pool so she could sit down. She stood up forever trying to play. She was very pleased with this addition to the pool.

If Ella gets to sit in her lawn chair in the pool, then it's only fair for Gracie as well. Our neighbors must think we are so strange!

No swimsuit is complete without a pacifier! I am about to try to wean her. No pacifier unless she is sleeping.

I love the little belly button sticking out. She may have an outie since she is constantly playing with her belly button!

Gracie got out and rode her bike for a while, but I thought she looked so sweet watching Ella in the pool.

Since she caught me taking her picture, Gracie had to strike a pose for a few more.

What a happy girl. She is so fun to be around!

Peek-a-boo, Mommy! Ella kept leaning over until she was in my viewfinder.

The water was finally warming up, and so was Ella. She had a great time playing in the water after she got used to it.

More laughs from Ella. Once she gets started, she gets pretty goofy!

Gracie is Officially a Reader

Gracie has been able to read a few sight words for quite a while now, but recently I have noticed that she really can read. Pre-K was great for her, because she learned how to sound out words. It may take her some time, but she can usually figure out how to pronounce a word. Tonight she was reading a library book called "The Old House" to Brent. We have read it 25 times at least in the last week, so she has started to unintentionally memorize it. "The Old House" has some very big words and she was reciting the book to Brent when she stopped and said, "I sure don't know how I'm reading all of these big words. I didn't know I could read these big words." She didn't realize she had it memorized, I suppose, so it was pretty cute.

What's Next???

Ella is a very unique child. She has a bit of an infatuation with Gracie's underpants and often carries Gracie's stash of clean underpants around the house. Tonight after Ella's bath she grabbed a pair and made the motion for me to put them on her. I did, and she was so pleased with herself. She didn't take the time to notice that her underpants were on over her pj's. Ella only cared about having Gracie's big girl pants on.

I was going to take them off of her, and this was Ella running away from me. Too cute! She has quickly gone from walking to running.