Snow Day

I was having a crappy morning until I saw the snow falling from the sky. Of course, I don't have to commute downtown to work, so I always enjoy the cold and snow from my cozy little house...tee hee hee.

Yesterday and Today

Yesterday: Ellie and I took a nice stroll through the neighborhood collecting the fallen leaves on the ground. Our mission was to collect as many different types of leaves as possible. Ellie, in particular, was on the hunt for a "blue" leaf...interesting girl, she is. I, on the other hand, sought out purple leaves, but we could not find any. We did find a Ginko leaf which was odd because there were no Ginko trees in the area. We liked to think it made a wonderful journey on our path just for us. The leaves we collected are now being pressed between pages in heavy books, which were probably once their great great great grandfathers. How ironic. Once the leaves are flattened out, we will assemble them together with these pictures in a big photo frame to remember the day we went on a hunt for the mysterious blue leaf.






Today: Jae and I sort of have an inkling as to what to expect from Ellie once Kate arrives. We went to visit Jack and company this morning and as we spent time together. Ellie was so good with Jack...she stared at him for what seemed like hours, showed him how to play on his playmat, and made wonderful observations about him..."he looks tired, he's awake now, he's hungry, he's saying, 'I love you'."
But I can also see the conflict within Ellie...stirring madly. She loves loves loves babies and as you can see from the pictures below, she adores Jack. He truly is someone to be squeezed and treasured. At the same time, Ellie made it very clear as not to forget her as well by running around in hysterics and climbing into his playmat. As Koreans say, she has become cold rice...or at least that's how she feels and that makes me feel sad.
As much as we will fear for Kate's life when she's next to Ellie (I'm not sure Ellie knows what "gentle" means...tee hee hee) , we will also have to make doubly sure Ellie knows and feels she has not been forgotten, less loved, or replaced. Those thoughts alone are enough of a threat that she'd act out on her sister, which I've heard is very common. But we will get through it somehow and I know Ellie is going to be a big help and an awesome big sister...she is going to be so proud the day Kate arrives.



Look at that tummy!!!

The Grouchy Ladybug

Last month, Ellies favorite books were "The Hungry Caterpillar" and "Cinderella". Ellie's favorite book this month is "The Grouchy Ladybug". I don't know how many times I can read this book.

Eric Carle has a way about his books...repetition! It's fun for kids, but it's torture for those who have to read it to them. I remember doing a bio of our favorite children's author for one of my education courses. Of course, I picked none other than Eric himself...I love, love, love his books, but not so much anymore. In my love for his works, I collected a number of his books which now sit pretty in Ellie's bookshelf.

Maybe she identifies with the grouchy one...sometimes you just feel grouchy for no reason. If you are not familiar with the story, the basic premise of the book is that there is a grouchy ladybug who looks for a fight with other animals. With each page, an hour passes, and the animal gets bigger and bigger.

The grouchy ladybug says, "Hey you, want to fight?" and the other animal responds, "If you insist." The the grouchy ladybug says, "Oh, you're not big enough." and flies away. Imagine repeating those phrases 12 times!

I'm afraid I'll have nightmares about this ladybug crawling up my arm or flying around my face screaming, "Hey you! Want to fight?"

Sneak Peak

Call me auntie!

Jackson Maidy...8 pounds 10 ounces 22 inches long. Born this morning (on his due date)

ER

Am I the only nerd who still watches this show? I have to admit the storylines aren't that interesting anymore...I think it's the way the characters are not developing. I just have no interest in them. Anyways, their season premier is on tonight and I'm quite excited to see it despite the banter I just unleashed about it. This show should have been gone 2 years ago. Lord knows why they signed a contract for another year (this season). Like many of their patients, ER needs to be put to sleep to preserve some dignity.

Having said that, I watched a bit of Grey's Anatomy (season finale) last night. I don't understand what all the hype is about. I know a few good people who love love love this show. I guess it's like an "ER" for the younger generation. I just didn't find the dialogue to be "real". Too much talking/explaining, not enough acting. I guess you could say Lost is the complete opposite of that...too much acting, not enough explaining...after 2 seasons, the only thing we know for sure is why the plane crashed, but then if the producers explained every mystery, every clue, every background and its relevance in the first couple of years, no one would watch it. That's the whole premise of the show. But they could at least explain what the black smoke is all about. 2 more weeks.

tv for babies

Just recently, I saw a commercial introducing a channel just for babies. Are you kidding me? It's scary how early Ellie is already interested in computer games. Should we just go with the flow knowing how hard and fast technology is advancing or fight it all the way? I have to say sometimes dvd's are a mom's best friend. Stay at home moms are with their kids ALL DAY LONG, meaning ALL DAY LONG.

Sometimes I do feel bad for letting Ellie watch her movies for too long, but I guess as long as she can turn herself away from it when we ask, I know it's not going to develop into a bigger issue later.

Anyways, I'm all supportive about using tv or computers to entertain the kids every so often, it's unrealistic not to, but a baby channel is just going too far. Where should the line be drawn?

And to those parents who swear not to let their kids watch more than 1 or 2 hours of tv or play video games, I applaud you, for you have more strength than I.

Ellie, the Flower Girl

Here are a few pics of our beautiful flower girl. She was so focused about her duties, yet knew how to have a good time. I am so proud of her!

Rehearsal

So Ellie's been asked to serve as a flower girl at my cousin's wedding. Today is the big rehearsal and dinner. I've been prepping her up for this event all month long. She seems excited about wearing her dress and getting her hair done, but knowing her, I'm not sure she will make it down the aisle once she sees all those people watching her, but then again, there will be another flower girl so hopefully they will get to know each other tonight and Ellie will be willing to cooperate tomorrow. And it's really no big deal if she doesn't...I think it's more common for girls her age to become shy at the very last moment rather than prance down the aisle, but still, it would be cute...wait a minute...it will be cute either way.
Wish us luck!

Lost

Today is the Big Day! Lost Season 2 comes out on dvd! But sadly, I am poor.

Instead

I can't believe how fast Ellie's vocabulary is growing. Sometimes, it seems like conversing with a one year-old...she babbles and babbles. The next minute, she throws out words like, "instead". Jae asked her if she wanted to go to the zoo with him and Ellie looked at me and asked, "you want to go to the zoo with me instead?" I think Jae would have been more heartbroken had she not pulled out a new word. We were too amazed to feel bad.

Then around nap time, I told Ellie after she finishes her game on the computer, it will be nap time. I went to the bathroom, came back to find her playing another game. I guess she knew what I was thinking cuz as soon as I got near her chair, she said, "I'm almost done. After this game, okay?" She's a gem. Now if only she would use the darn toilet!