Vacation Week 1

We went to visit family on vacation. The flight there went pretty well. We had a whole three seat row to ourselves and Ella did pretty well on the plane. We did have a one member of our party go MIA in security. We will miss you Monkey.

Daniel was busy doing recruiting the first weekend, so Ella and I went up to Idaho! I got a haircut because there was no one to stop me :P (Actually my mom set up an appointment for me.) I must have been combing my hair more than usual because Ella decided to brush her hair too.

We saw cousins, and Great Grandma Call while we were up visiting as well as Grandma and Grandpa

These faces are what sitting in the car too much feels like, according to Ella. (After the plane ride, was three hours to Idaho, and at least an hour in the car every other day in Idaho and four hours back to Utah). But, we had lots of fun seeing everyone and having fun adventures.

Ella's Spot

Ella has decided that she has a spot in the play room. I find her here all the time! She loves to color here, or just stand and giggle with her toys. It is kind of like a standing desk. Even though it is just a file cabinet and a safe box for standing, she loves to play here.

We need to make her a real Ella sized desk up there or something. Hopefully she'll adjust to a new spot when we get around to it.

Ella's Adventures

Ella has had some fun adventures the last couple of months:

Water fight with myself:
Your toddler finds a spray bottle...

Using a fork
If it is too hard, just put the food on the end of the fork with your fingers.

Eating an orange
Somethings are too good to wait!

Honking my nose
If Mom and Dad's noses make noises so should mine!

Pushing laundry basket
Beep Beep! Coming through!

Shoe sandwich
Anything can be a sandwich if you try hard enough

"Cooking"
Mmm. Banana Soup!

New Backsplash

When we bought our house, we didn't make many major design changes. We kept the paint colors etc. The previous owners had put up antique style ads as stickers for a backsplash in kitchen. Instead of falling more in love with them, we got more and more annoyed.

Daniel didn't want to put up tiles because someday we'll probably replace the laminate, and you don't want a weird gap back there when you're done!

After lots of asking he agreed to try a beadboard backsplash. We decided to use my parents' expertise to figure out how to install it. We used a big sheet of beadboard panel from Home Depot, and painted it with high gloss paint.  Ella even helped a little.

We think it turned out looking good. It turned out to be a good solution.

Grandpa and Grandma Visit

Grandma and Grandpa Call came for a visit. We had lots of fun playing around the house. We read books, played with toys, and helped Grandpa work on his computer.

We went to the thinkery (children's museum) one morning, we and had lots of fun there.

Nightstands

For those of you who don't know, I love browsing pinterest for ideas for cool projects. I'd been itching to try gel stain on something for a long time, and Daniel, wisely, didn't want to ruin something that was perfectly good.

Fortunately, I got a great deal on a pair of IKEA nightstands, and we desperately needed to nightstands. At $5 a piece, Daniel agreed that it was worth the risk to jazz them up!

We gel stained the top, (several coats),painted,

 and added some molding and pulls.

They turned out pretty great!

Ella and Daddy

Ella has not always been the most friendly to her Daddy. After she was born, she would just scream at him if Mom left. Not much has changed in that department, so I always love catching the moments showing that she is connecting with Daddy more and more! Here are a few from the last few months and how I imagine Ella would tell you about them.

Wearing his shoe:
I love wearing parent shoes. I can put my foot, shoe and all, inside Daddy's shoes!

Snuggling daddy:
Sometimes I will snuggle up on Daddy's lap to read a story or some scriptures from his phone. Just sometimes so it is still a special treat.

Bed Time:
Daddy may be the best bedtime story teller. I'm always handing him more books at bedtime

Animal Train:
Daddy's always have the most fun games like putting all of the animal friends on the stacking train for a ride.

Day letter:
Mom loves Daddy too. We wrote him a note telling him how awesome we think he is!

"Tummy Time"
I never liked tummy time as a newborn. I would just scream and cry. I do love sitting on Daddy's tummy and doing the "people on the bus go up
and down." I also like playing his tummy like a drum. Tummy time has grown on me.

Pillow Talk:
Sometimes I'll lay my head on a pillow and insist that Daddy lay his head on the other pillow. It is lots of fun for a few minutes, anyway.