Ellison at 18 Months

What a difference 3 months can make. I suppose that is why you have to go to the pediatrician every three months up to this point!

We have enjoyed just about every minute of her first 18 months of life. She brings such joy ad peace to our family.

Honestly, If it was not for the fact that Dave is adamant against any more children, I would have a dozen more if I knew they would be like her.

But then the reality of time, money and focus sets in and I thank God everyday for the blessings he has shared with us.

Still though......

I digress.

Here are her stats:

Height: 2 Feet 8 inches (59th percentile)

Weight: 21 lbs 5.1 oz (9th percentile)

Head Circumference: 46 cm ( 33rd percentile)

She is still a petite thing but with a huge personality. So here is what she is up to:

She has a Gym class on Tuesdays where she loves to do forward rolls and jump on the trampoline.

She has a music class on Wednesday where she loves to dance and sing. This has spilled over to all car rides and any commercial with music. She must dance! Her favorite Michael Jackson!

She still loves her Nelda but her new favorite is cow baby or just "BABY"

Her favorite movie is Bambi.

She loves all shoes, purses and jewelry.

She loves to gather things up in her purses and carry them from room to room and then place them all out again and gather them up. Hours of Entertainment!

She is still a Mommy's girl but is wanting her Daddy more and more each day!

She knows her colors and shapes and attempts to say them.

She absolutely loves pumpkins and dogs.... they both sound like "puppies" when she says them! We only know the difference because with a dog she will stick her tongue out and start breathing heavy. She must have learned that from Gretta or Dave! Just Kidding!

She does not want to miss out on anything. So I have learned that even though she is smaller than all the big kids she can hold her own!

Dave and I have already said, she is going to be the one we have to keep our eye on. Emma will tell you anything and everything but Ellison has perfected the keep quiet when I have done something wrong and smile because I look really cute!

Halloween 2011

Finally....I can report that we Trick-or-treated for the very first time, For REAL!

Up to this year Emma has made it to about 8 houses total in 4 years. She just never really got into the whole House to House trick-or treating. She more enjoyed giving the candy and hanging out. Not this year though!

We were lucky enough to have the Garden's join us for some Halloween fun! Which any event with Danny is better in Emma's book!

The kids had some mummy hot dogs and spider punch and then we hit the hood. I was super excited because the neighborhood we are renting a house in is perfect for trick-or-treating. The houses are close together, there are sidewalks throughout and a million kiddos.

So we set off ....

Just a note. Emma chose her Medusa costume last year in the costume catalog and did not change her mind. Ellison got to be the Peacock!

So my expectations were high for this Halloween in regards to Emma, but with Ellison I was planning on hitting just our close neighbors and then heading back to the house where she and I could give out candy.

Boy was I wrong.

We made it to the first house, second house, third house ..... and then I had to run home and get the wagon. That girl did not miss a beat!

She went to every house her sister and Danny went to. When she saw them go up to the front door, she would begin to stand up in her wagon and say "Twick Tweat!"

Dave or I would put on her head piece and she would say "Thank you" and away she would go. I might add that she was super polite. She would only take one piece of candy and said thank you each time. Thata girl!

I did make the mistake of trying to hold her candy ghost bag. She was having none of that.

I bravely left our candy basket on the front porch and we came home to about 10 pieces out of 300 left. More than I thought would be there!

The front walkway decorations are compliments of Emma's Designs. She insisted on Purple lights and a ghost!

It was a great night and I can not wait for next year! Emma has already called it, she wants to be a Unicorn!

Catch Up

Catch Up!

To say I am a little behind on the blog is an understatement. I fell off the wagon!

That is not because the Losins have not had any adventures lately, quite the opposite, I just have been a little crazy with work.

Enough of the excuses…. Let’s get to the good stuff.

Working backwards.

Halloween Starter!

The girls got to put on their Halloween costumes this past Monday and went to a Halloween party.

Before that Emma and I participated in her School’s Family Fund Run!

A big Thank you to Mimi, Gramps, Nana and Pop Pop who helped us raise some money!

Emma completed 11 laps ( 3 on my back)

Prior to that we had a weekend in San Fran. I was working a conference and Dave and the girls joined me for one night.

We managed to make it over to the Exploratorium. A must on the list of to dos when traveling with kiddos in San Fran.

It is unlike any science center I had visited. Every where we turned the girls, especially Emma had thier hands on something new or learning about some scientific theory.

Emma and I also went on her school field trip to Apple Hill! It was our second visit, our first one was with Mimi and Gramps ( more on their visit in another post), and we got see the entire apple orchard. From picking to selling we saw it all.

So a side note… Apple Hill is an area about 25 miles north of us on Highway 50 that is full of apple and pear orchards. This time of year everyone heads up there for the pumpkin patches, apple pie, Carmel apples and lots and lots of fun. We are told to get there right after Thanksgiving so you can cut down your own Christmas tree as well.

Somewhere in the middle of all of this Ellison turned 18 moths. Our appointment is on Monday, so stay tuned for some stats!

Labor Day Weekend 2011!

Labor Day weekend has come and gone but nothing is going to leave a more permanent mark on the weekend than those absolutely obnoxious GA Bulldog uniforms and their loss to Boise State! I am still in shock over the PS3 game day ghetto gear, in my opinion!

Never the less, California now has Bulldawg presence in El Dorado County! We had Camilo and Linda over for the game and we still had a great time watching our favorite team.

On another note... it is nice to watch the night games on the east coast at a decent time out here and also from my couch! Still there is nothing like Sanford Stadium!

The girls kept busy with their "snow day"! Yes, Emma turned our kitchen into a

Styrofoam snow day. My parents sent her a snow globe from Oregon and she used the Styrofoam it came in as her fake snow from her "Emma Snowblower!"

They ran in the snow....

They tried to eat the snow....

And they even made snow angels!

After a good sweep and a quick vacuum, snow day had passed and we were back to the game.

We were able to get a lot of time at the pool and Dave a game of golf, this weekend as well. We are slowly starting to get a group of friends and it is great for the girls! Emma hung with her bud, Erica!

Monday we even hit the bike trail. Emma got a new helmet.... that she had to wear in the car on the way to the bike ride. She said later that she had a headache from wearing the helmet too long. Go Figure! My head would hurt too if I wore a bike helmet for 2 hours.

The picture looks good, but about 30 minutes in. I was carrying Ellison and Emma legs were"too tired to pedal". Thankfully, there is a Mexican restaurant on the trail and it was not to early for a Margarita.

One last thing to note. Ellison hates having her hair in pigtails. I mean H.A.T.E.S I.T! This may be the only picture of her with pigtails for quite some time. So I will relish it!

I am not sure why God gave me two girls that hate to have their hair fixed. Maybe he knew I was terrible at doing hair and thought he would help me out. But, I am thankful that they will wear a bow!

Happy 5th Birthday, Emma!

I can not believe Emma is 5 years old today. Where has the time gone? My baby is turning into a little girl who acts likes she is going on 15...sometimes!

Emma had, in her own words, "the best birthday ever!"

Before school she got to open Miss Loni's special present, A book from Rio and Fransceco

It was a school day, which in my world would be a bummer to have to spend my birthday going to school, but not for Emma. The kid loves going to school. I just hope the thought continues for many more years.

But after walking in to her room, I now know why. All the kids were waiting for her and as she turned the corner they began singing "Happy Birthday". The tears came again, for me.

Her chair had a special sign that said Classroom Queen and she got to wear a special sticker. Also, I was able to bring in a special snack for the class, Cupcakes! Now, anyone who knows me would think that I stayed up all night and made homemade cupcakes, but I am

learning the my limitations and ordered purple cupcakes from the Nugget!

After school, as a Birthday surprise ( I am kidding) , Emma had her first CCD class. Again, she was thrilled to go because she was going to be in class with her buddies, Regular Alex and Danny. Lourdes( Danny's Mom) and I have named them the 3 Musketeers!

From there, Party #2 began! This time it was just us 4 with Mimi, Gramps and Aunt Erica via Skype!

Blowing out her unlit candle

Her birthday request list grew daily but here are a few items that she got to open:

Cars Monopoly from The Canovas

My little Pony movie from Gracie, Bonnie, Aunt Erica and Uncle Corey

Shake it Up clothes from Mom and Dad

"Spydeey" the spy plane from Cars 2 compliments of her sister

And a Barbie bath castle.Thanks Nana and Pop Pop!

Quite the eclectic mix but as we found out she now loves the Disney show Shake it Up, and playing with Barbies. So in other words, as she grows so does her tastes and I think that is one thing that I love about her. She will try and has interest in such a mix of things, I think it helps to keep her growing more well rounded.

I think this past year, from 4 to 5 has been one of my favorite years, because Emma has grown so much. She proves to be an independent, loving and free spirited child. She still has to wear only her purple polka-dot bow with everything and gets on her kicks about food and will have the same meal request daily for a while and then change it up slightly. She still sleeps with her snakes, princess blanket and polka-dot blanket. She is starting to ask for things by Brand Name ( thank you commercials on Disney) and also continues to impress us all with her knowledge. She is just like her father, wants to know everything about everything. But like me she has become the social butterfly at school.

Happy Birthday, Emma! We love you and wish you all the joy you deserve for this next year of your life.

Vroom, Vroom...

Losin Raceway had a lot of winners this past Saturday, but none as special as the Birthday Girl herself!

Emma's Cars 2 themed party was a blast and it was my favorite one to plan to date. I am absolutely exhausted, but it was worth it! Everyone had a good time and most of all Emma!

All of Emma's classmates from last year were there as well as some new friends. Dan-the-man, Sofia, Regular Alex, Colin, Ava, Finley, Erica, Melodie, Nica, Kiya and of course Ellison.

Danny and Sofia

Finley

Ava

Regular Alex

Each racer picked up their pit pass and headed straight for the bounce house when they arrived.

After a little bit it was time to strap on the helmets and hit the track. This could be the only time I was thankful for a mulch pit of a back yard ( the house we are renting has no landscaped yard. It is literally a mulch pit, but it was perfect for the party). The kids divided into teams and did a relay of passing the balloon. We had a couple of redoes but they all crossed the finish line and only one clothesline accident from Kiya to Danny.

Next we played charades, or a version there of. They did great and we got to see how creative they can be at making Buzz Lightyear.

Colin jumping like a frog! Check out the height he got!

Then they got to color a race car for themselves to take home.

I thought all of those activities would keep 12 kids happy for a good period of time, but when I looked down and saw we still had another hour, I thought how do teachers do it all day! Thank goodness the pizza girl showed up.

So it was pizza and fruit for the kids, plus a little extra m&m's from the table arrangements, and my mom being in town helped me feed the "Pit Crew". We had pork tenderloin sandwiches, meatballs stuffed with mozarella, toast points with goat cheese and olive tapenade and a green salad.

From there it was time for cake. Emma wanted a race track cake with Holly Shiftwell and Lightning McQueen on top. Voila!

It was a perfect party for our very special Girl! As crazy as it gets for me to plan these parties, I would not have it any other way. It was a memorable day for all and nothing brings me more happiness than to see my girls smile!

Thankfully, I have several more months before planning Ellison's next party!