Tag: Ellie

Ellie is 21 Months Old!

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Ellie turns 21 months old and I think time has officially accelerated. OK, I know that isn’t possible but it feels like that. We only have three more months until Ellie turns two, until I no longer count her age in months and she officially stops being a toddler and starts heading into preschool years. Boy its all happening so fast.  Until then I will savor all that I can about her. In the last few weeks she has really started to talk… a lot. I would tell you all of her new words but there are so many that I cant keep up!

Ellie loves being just like her sister and despite fighting, they are joined at the hip. Ellie has grown into such a happy go lucky little girl. She loves to snuggle and cuddle with mommy and daddy but she also has a very independent and stubborn side.  She likes to do everything on her own just like her big sister and she isn’t afraid to show you when she is unhappy. I have a feeling age two will be a bit challenging but I look forward to all of it.

 

Pet Store

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This morning while laying in bed, enjoying some morning cartoons Abby very casually asked me this:

“Mommy, which pet store did Ellie come from?”

Hmmmm… it took a lot of restraint to not laugh uncontrollably at this one. Interesting observations and thoughts Abby!

Lazy Saturday

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Today was a lazy Saturday at home. It was the first weekend that wasnt rainy or super windy which allowed the girls to go outside and play with both Shaun and myself. It was a wonderful to be out in the warmth of the sun with a perfectly cool breeze. The girls played in the dirt, created masterpieces with sidewalk chalk and rode their “bikes”. Perfect family time on a perfect Saturday.









Ellie is 20 Months Old! The Countdown to Two Begins!

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Yup, that cute little bathtub Gnome is now 20 months old! Seriously? Now we count down the last four months until she turns… two. Yikes. I promise, however, not to count too fast. Ellie is talking up a storm these days. I swear her vocabulary has tripled in the last week or so. It almost makes me sad to hear her becoming so verbal. I loved all of her baby coos and noises. Being able to talk just means she is getting bigger and older.



Ellie follows her sister a lot and is learning fast. She is even showing some interest in the potty too! The prospect of cutting down to just night time pull ups excites me. The thought that it wont be long until we are diaper and pull up free excites me even more! Ill be interested to see what the next month brings.

Ellie Loves to Dance Too!

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This video actually took place at the beginning of February, but I didn’t want it to get lost in the rest of my posts. Ellie loves watching Abby dance and most of the time its a complete meltdown when I have to remove Ellie from the room when I change Abby from her ballet shoes to her tap shoes. On this day, Bobbie gave Ellie the chance to dance with the girls for a bit and she jumped right in. Looks like me might be starting Ellie in lessons next year too!

Bright Child with Harrison and New Friends

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Today we met up with The Guerrero Family at Bright Child to get the girls out of the house for a bit. The last week and a half has been super windy and nearly impossible for the girls to go outside without suffering. So we headed out to Oak Park for some play time. This time around we made a few new friends as well! Some of Harrison’s friends from Pinecrest came to play as well! The girls had a great time and even got a special treat at the end. Harrison and Abby certainly enjoyed theirs and Shaun and I didn’t regret the decision to give them Icees for too long. On the way home, before passing out in the car Abby let us know she had a wonderful time “with HER BOYFRIEND HARRISON” Oh boy… Shaun is in for it now!




Happy Valentines Day!

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Happy Valentines Days from the Whartons!

Shaun was very nice to his girls today. They wouldn’t hold still for a good picture but as you can see, he gave them each a Valentines Day balloon and a single pink rose. So sweet! He was also very nice to me and gave me a big beautiful bouquet of peach roses. I cant complain at all. Happy Valentines Day to all of you and to the loves of my life!



18 Months and A Check Up

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Its a little belated, but I wanted to give Ellie an official Happy 18 months! Ellie was lucky and got to spend the mid year mark celebrating the new year in Montana with the family. We went to the doctor today for her check up and Ellie looks wonderful! Her stats are as follows:

Ellie’s 18 Month Stats:
Weight: 27 Pounds 4 ounces
Length: 33 Inches

Ellie received a few vaccines today and boy is this kid smart. The minute we sat her up and the nurse cleaned her arm off with the rubbing alcohol, she knew what was about to happen and was not thrilled with me. Poor kiddo. She cried but was still a good little trooper. Abby was with us and when Ellie was all dressed, Abby came up and gave her a big hug. She told Ellie that everything was ok and that she was a very brave little girl. Talk about tugging on my heartstrings! If only they were this nice to each other all of the time!

Ellie is growing and changing everyday. With every week that passes, Ellie is talking more and more. Her vocabualry has grown considerably and we can actually understand more of what she says. She is starting to form three to four words sentences but also seems to understand more of what we say to her. Ellie is still working on getting her teeth those first molars and her little canines just seem to be taking their time to grow in. Ellie is also starting to show some interest in the potty! Good Lord I cannot wait to start potty training her. Thanks to her sister, I have a feeling this time around will be quick. Ellie looks up to Abby and wants to do everything she does. Lets hope this applies to using the potty as well!

Christmas Vacation In Montana… Our Final Day and Heading Home

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As the saying goes, “All good things must come to an end” and that includes wonderful vacations with family and friends. Our final day in Bozeman was pretty relaxed and unplanned. My mom, my sister and myself headed over to the mall to do a bit of shopping together while my dad watched the girls. Shaun went to the condo to start organizing our things so we could get the car packed later that night. Shaun wanted to go for a skate around the large pond in town that has been turned into a skating track, but unfortunately the gel in he skates froze up to the point that he couldn’t get his feet in.


That night we went to dinner and shared one last night of fun and family. Afterwards, Abby and Ellie stayed with my parents while Shaun and I headed back to the condo to pack up our bags and then pack the car. I know I did all of this with a heavy heart. I was having such a wonderful time, I really didn’t want to go.

The following morning we headed over to pick up the girls. We said our goodbyes and I tried really hard not to cry, but its me and I did. We took a different way home, which is the route I take during the summer when I come up to visit. Most of it was dry and easy going, until we hit the cut off into Island Park, Idaho. We barely made the turn from the stop sign because it was so icy but we made it. It was slow going until we hit Ashton, Idaho.


From there we were snow free and making good time. We stopped in Beaver, Utah that night for a much needed rest and did the final stretch home the following morning. The girls were excellent travelers and I think we were all happy to get home and sleep in our own beds. Now its time to unpack, settle back into our normal routine and wait to take a vacation from our vacation. Until next time Montana!

Christmas Vacation in Montana… Snow Fun and Travel Through Yellowstone

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After an amazing dinner and a great nights sleep, Shaun and I woke up and headed back in to Yellowstone for the day. What a difference there was between this winter and last. For starters it was a balmy 28 degrees out as opposed to -10 degrees last year. The snow pack on the road was very thin to non existent. In most spots through the park, we could still see pavement.

The unseasonably warm weather did keep many of the animals away though. So no wolves for me this year. We had been told about several animal carcasses that the wolves had been frequenting for food but to no avail. We did see the usual bison throughout the park and even a long trail of them heading out to Hayden Valley. We also had the chance to catch two coyotes trying to catch mice in the shallow snow and grass.




The only road open in the park to vehicles is the road from the North Entrance at Mammoth to the Northeast Entrance in Cooke City. Shaun and I decided to drive the entire road and it was beautiful! On the way back we stopped to eat the sandwiches we bought before coming into the park. We hadn’t been stopped more then twenty minutes, so when we tried to start the car and it didn’t we were completely baffled. It was our battery and we were stuck in Yellowstone, with cell phones that did not work, and only a few people near by. Luckily one of the few people sitting at the lookout waiting to a glimpse of a wolf had a portable jumper kit.

Once the car was running, we got back on the road and decided to head back to my parents house just to be safe. The drive through Paradise Valley was beautiful at sunset, despite having to keep our eyes on the sides of the road in anticipation of deer, which were everywhere. We had such a wonderful time but it was nice to get back and see the girls. They were somewhat excited to see us, but you could tell they had a great time with Grandma, Grandpa and Auntie Jillian.




During the day Abby and Ellie watched movies and played. When Ellie took a nap, Grandpa took Abby outside to play in the snow. She had a great time, rolling up snow balls, making snow angels and enjoying what was left of the snowfall from a few days ago. She even sat and what was left from their snowman for a picture. I good day was had by all, that’s for sure!

Christmas Vacation In Montana… Cookies and Mommy/Daddy Time

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Our first day away, Shaun and I took advantage of being child free. What did we do? Slept in of course! Its not something we get to do often, if ever so it was really nice have some extra sleep. Our day was pretty simple. Once we were up and out of the house we drove around town and then headed out to a little place called The Coffee Pot. Its a small little cafe and pottery studio. The pottery they make on site is beautiful, so much so that I wanted to take everything home. Unfortunately their pieces were a bit on the expensive side, so I had to leave most of what they made there.



On the plus side I did get to enjoy one thing they are famous for besides pottery, their biscuits and gravy. Before I say anything else, I want to state for the record that I have never been a huge fan of biscuits and gravy. It never really appealed to me and the few times I had tried them I wasn’t impressed. I now realized its because I have never had anything that was good enough or worthy of eating. Until today. Shaun, who is very hard to impress when it comes to good food told me they were the best he had ever had after he took his first bite. I knew I had to at least try them and I am so glad I did. WOW… I cant describe them, but it was amazing. So bad for me but worth it.


After our yummy little excursion we headed to the one place I had a feeling we would end up going to… Yellowstone! Shaun was able to get a last minute reservation at our favorite hotel in Gardiner so we headed out. After we arrived and settled into our room, we drove up to Mammoth Hot Springs for dinner and it was amazing. Perfect weather, perfect food and all of it inside one of the places on earth that makes me very very happy.

While we were away that day the girls had a blast. Abby and Auntie Jillian made cookies and luckily Grandpa Jerry caught a few great pictures for us! Jillian says Abby was an excellent helper, especially when it came time to clean up the beater!





Our first day away was a huge success! The girls had a great time and Shaun and I had the chance to relax and enjoy each other, a wonderful city and head out to one of my happy places.

Christmas Vacation in Montana…. Happy New Year and Happy 18 Months to Ellie!

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Happy New Year! Goodbye 2011 and Hello 2012! The girls both made it to midnight and rang in the New Year with all of us. I cant believe it, but then again these girls would stay up all night if they could. They are experts at the “do anything you can to stay awake” tactic. Also, not only is it the start to a new year but a milestone for Ellie. Once we hit midnight Ellie turns 18 months! She is now only six months away from turning two! Like I have said before, where does all the time go? Happy 18 months to you Ellie!

After we celebrated the passing of the old and bringing in the new, we packed up the girls into the car and headed back to the condo. We ended up taking a drive around town in order to get them to fall asleep and that was quite the adventure. Main Street and the Downtown area of Bozeman was crawling with party-goers and plenty of guys and girls who needed a few extra hands to help them home. Oh how I do not miss those days…then again, I don’t think I ever celebrated like that on New Year’s Eve.





In the morning we gathered together with Great Aunt Diane, Uncle Barry and Great Grandma Prueter for our traditional Eggs Benedict Brunch. We were missing two other important people from this lovely tradition, one we have done since I was old enough to remember it, but I ate some Eggs Benedict in their honor. Missed you David and Mike!




The remainder of the day we visited with family, watched some hockey and football and relaxed (something that vacation is all about). The girls have grown a lot since our last visit, so we decided to take another picture with the four generations of Prueter family girls. Its amazing to have these photos. I feel blessed that my girls have had the chance to meet and get to know their Great Grandmas.

Shaun and I left that evening and the girls stayed behind with Grandma, Grandpa and Auntie Jillian. We had decided that during our time in Montana we would take a few days for the two us and give the girls some one on one time with their Aunt and Grandparents. We didnt know exactly what we wanted to do but we were excited to have some time alone.