Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Tiny Dancer

Ella has learned how to shake her booty. So, I borrowed a CD from her school and brought it home. Here are my best attempts at getting her to shake it on camera, ha. So ignore me asking her over and over to shake her booty, I swear the kid does it ALL the time except when there is a camera out. I have a question for you all after you view my lovely daughter...




Do you think she is pretending to sing? Or is this just some very cool dance move that I have yet to learn?

Also did you hear her when Hunter took her baby away? This girl doesn't take any crap!!

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Another new addition....

My sister, Courtney, and her husband had their baby boy yesterday. Here is Brice Anthony, he weighted in at 7lbs 8ozs, isn't he a cutie?







Thursday, February 12, 2009

Flat Stanley visits Ella's school

Our nephew Brendan's (lives in Illinois) class is reading the Flat Stanley series of books. Their assignment was to send Stanley on a vacation, so Brendan thought Stanley would have fun here in Spokane going to work with Chris (turned out to be quite hilarious, see pics below) and to visit the kids' schools. I can't tell you how funny it is to carry a piece of paper around with you and photograph it : ) So, here are the pictures of Stanley's visit to Ella's school today, it is way easier to post them here and be able to describe what is going on than to email! (Tami, right click on the pictures and then you can print them.)


Stanley watching Ella put a penny in for the Penny Drive!



























Stanley sitting next to Ella for speech therapy
Ella is signing "orange."



























Ella is wondering why Stanley is sitting next to her!
She's not so sure about him....












Practicing drinking out of an open cup, Meaghan (Ella's speech therapist)
even gave Stanley his own cup and juice!












Stanley and Ella switched cups












Then Ella used Stanley to help practice pointing to body parts
here is her pointing to his hand












Ella trying to give Stanley a drink? or possibly just dumping it on his head
Sorry Brendan, Stanley will need a bath when he gets home : )












Awww, now Ella likes Stanley, here she is hugging him












Stanley even made new friends, here he is with Mr Potato Head
and one of the Little People! Nice hat Stanley!












Chris decided to play dress up with Stanley















Miss Meaghan even fed Stanley a cracker, she practices chewing with Ella.












A drink to wash down the cracker












Here he is watching the bubbles.












A kiss for Stanley, he really is there, he is one skinny kid












Ella and Stanley posing on the swing. Ella uses this in Physical Therapy to
strengthen her tummy muscles












Wee!
















Okay now here are a few of the pictures from Stanley's ride-along with Chris two nights ago!

Ready for shift












Out hunting for bad guys!











Stanley played with the lights and sirens












Stanley at the scene of a rolled over car.
(Don't worry no one was hurt, the driver was drunk and as
Chris says " the drunks never get hurt.")












In other news, we had a presentation at an Elementary School today. Chris, Ella and I went with a lady from Ella's school to promote the Penny Drive. It is really an awesome program, they call it the Kids for Kids Penny Drive and kids at several local schools raise money to help kids like Ella. So, Ella's school likes one of the kids like Ella to go to the elementary schools so those kids can see who they are raising money for! Anyhow, Ella was a big hit!! Several of the teachers came up and talked to us and said that Ella better be coming to their school (she's not). Ella was in her element, she had a crowd and she performed! When I put the microphone in front of her and asked her to say hi she put her entire mouth ON the microphone and made some crazy noise, of course the kids laughed and Ella clapped. At the end I actually let go of her and she ran to the front and stood by the interpreter for the deaf children and tried to copy her it was hilarious!! Anyhow, we have 3 more presentations tomorrow and 2 more schools. I think it is so great for kids to see that someone like Ella is just a "normal" kid but that she needs extra help to learn things. A little girl ran up to me in the hall on our way out of the school and said, "I think you daughter is really cute." It was so sweet!!!

Sunday, February 8, 2009

A First....

I think I had my first real (though short) conversation with my daughter yesterday, it went like this....
We were sitting at the kitchen table having lunch, Ella, Chris and I and Ella says "Bubba go?" while holding her hands out shrugging
Me : "what?"
Ella: "Bubba go?" a bit louder and with a bit of sass
Me: "Chris did you hear that?"
Chris: "yeah, Ella what did you say?"
Ella: " BUBBA GO???"
Me: " Where did Bubba go?"
Ella: shakes her head yes
Me: "Bubba went bye-bye with nana."
Ella: "K"

I wanted to cry!!! Her first 2 spoken words together!!! Well, she has been saying "mere" this past week or so meaning come here, and points where she wants you, but this is two seperate actual words. HOORAY for Ella!!! That kid just makes me so proud!!!

Now here are some pics of the goofball I am so proud of....

Here she is wearing her brother's underwear on her head (clean ones THANK GOD!!) she put them on by herself.









Now here they are playing in Nana's cabniet one night after dinner.

Sunday, February 1, 2009

I know, I know

I have been a blogging slacker. I'm sorry. I've been busy this week, I have been shopping for our new house. Well, not really shopping, more like wishing I could buy things while at the store, trying to imagine my new house..... I did manage to pick up a few things, new shower curtains and towels for both bathrooms (gotta love 50% off at Kohls) and new canisters for the kitchen (gotta love cheap stuff at Walmart : ) Oh yeah and add in three days at Ella's school and Chris having a little surgery on Wednesday and I guess I have been busy!! (Chris had another kidney stone attack while at work, not a good thing while driving a police car and carrying a gun! So, off to the urologist he went and come to find out it is the same stone, it never passed. So as the doctor put it they had to "go in there, lasso it and pull it back out." You can use your imagination from there, but the good news is the next day he was back at work and we are hopefully done with it for good!)
I did manage to snap some pics though, a couple of videos too, though I am to impatient to download the videos right now. So, here are some pics. Oh and before I forget to write it down Ella now says "boofull" which translates to BEAUTIFUL, she may hear it a hundred times or so a day!
Ella and her baby watching Backyardigans. I've been trying to catch her when she isn't paying attention to the camera, I'm a bit sick of the cheesy grin, or more like the evil grin she does, as seen a couple pics down....