Hello Summer and Happy 2 1/2 Birthday, Elena!

OMG...I can't believe it's been 2 months since I last sat down to write in our family blog.  I had all of these intentions while we were on Spring Break at the end of March to provide an update on how Elena's potty training went, and here we are at the end of May, school is out, and we are enjoying our first day off...well, I am at least...poor Juan still has school through next week...ugh.
To begin, potty training was a complete success!!!  We are proud to say that Elena is potty trained during the day and only needs to wear pull ups when she sleeps.  When we began this whole journey two months ago, I remember being so nervous how it would all pan out and here we are two months later and it seems like Elena has just taken to using the bathroom without any hiccups whatsoever.  Sure, we have an accident here and there, but as soon as it happens, she is usually the one who admits it, heads straight to the bathroom, and we get it all fixed up.  Our girl is growing up too fast for us.
Besides the whole potty training thing, life has just been busy for all of us!  I helped sponsor a 5K race back in April which took up a lot of time preparing for that, but it was a HUGE success for my elementary school.  And, ever since then, I feel like the end of the school year just snuck up on us and here we are ready for another summer again.  Lots of end of the year gatherings, busy weekends, and everyday life just kept us all going each and everyday!
Another milestone that we met head-on last weekend was changing Elena's crib into a toddler bed.  For weeks now, she had been climbing out of her crib, so Juan and I knew it was time to take the front of the crib off and let Elena sleep in her "big girl" bed.  She has done great with it this week.  She still finds ways to "stall" and get up to do something, but for the most part, she has embraced her new bed and is loving it.  It sure does make getting into bed easier!!  :)
Elena continues to amaze Juan and I each day with the things she knows and the things she can do.  She knows all of her letters and can count to 15 easily...after 15 it gets a little dicey!!  She loves for us to draw shapes on her easel so she can say the names...right now we are working on pentagon and hexagon...she thinks that's so much fun to count the sides...it's been tricky, but she loves me to draw them so she can count.  Elena has been getting outside kicking her bouncy ball around and riding her bikes.  She LOVES her bikes.  Flying down the driveway so Juan or I can catch her is one of her favorite things to do.  Climbing into the car and getting herself buckled in her seat is another MUST for our girl..."I do it" is a phrase you hear SEVERAL times a day when she believes she can handle a task...opening doors, giving the dog water, reading books...it's all things she has decided she can do on her own.  You can also tell her to do some yoga and she will show you her favorite yoga move.  Priceless, I tell ya!
Well, off we go to enjoy another summer together...as usual, summer school for the month of June for Juan and I and then the month of July is all ours.  Can't wait for another fun-filled busy summer ahead!

Here are a few pictures from the last two months:

 Just doing some homework.

 After a terrible storm we had

 Sleeping with her new giraffe

 Playing at Mama and Papa's house was just too much fun!

 At the park!

 Easter Sunday

 She HAD to wear her new Nike sandals.

 Lounging with daddy

 Looking at her photo albums...she did her headband herself ;)

 E loves "Baby Bwake"

 Good helper.

 Aunt Shell's 30th birthday...mmmm...cupcakes

 Cookin'

 We painted finernails for the first time.

 Mmmmm...Imo's pizza!!

 Mittens found a good place to sleep!!

 Walking home from the park

 Fishing!

 Fishing is tiring.

Her new bed.

Grandpa...Great Grandpa...our Rockstar!

I had to put a picture of the article in the newsletter of my grandpa's nursing home.  He is the resident of the month!  My grandpa is one of the most amazing men one could ever know.  I'm so glad he was noticed for being the wonderful person he is!  We love you, Pa!!

Being 2...Continued!!

HELLO SPRING BREAK!!!

Juan and I have been longing for this time for awhile now.  Just knowing there are no alarm clocks, no school bells, no having to be somewhere at a specific time every morning...ahhhh, a dream come true.  Today feels so wonderful to just be at home knowing we don't have to be planned for another week ahead.  We can enjoy ourselves, take some naps, and maybe catch up on an email or two.  We do have one milestone with Elena that we are going to work on this week and that's POTTY TRAINING!!!  Yikes...it makes me, for one, nervous to embark on this adventure for the first time.  Juan and I just don't know what to expect.  She may catch onto this in a day or two or it might be another 6 months of working through this.  It's the not knowing that kind of stresses me out a bit.  But, I've read lots of blogs, books, etc. that tell us to just always be positive and when she's ready, she'll be ready.  Elena has shown readiness signs for a few months now.  But, last night, we went and bought new "underwears" and a princess seat to put on the "big toilet".  Thanks to her cousin Peyton, Elena has been practicing how to be a big girl on her Dora potty.  Tomorrow will be the big day that we make conscious efforts to use it or the big potty.  We figured we'd leave our options open. We'll be sure to post how things are going later this week.  But, for now, we are just anticipating a fun day tomorrow of lots of questions, stickers, gummy bears for a job well done, hugs, tears, and of course, jumps for joy when we go for the first time!  Happy Spring Break to us!!  :)

Our Sesame Street potty chart...ready to start tomorrow!

 Our beautiful angel

 Sunday afternoon silliness

 I've been ready for the park for like 2 minutes...LET'S GO!!!

 Strolling around at the park

Having fun at "Stepnie's" house

Elena reading some of her book "The Very Hungry Caterpillar"

This was the first time we watched Elena get out of her bed...I couldn't believe she did it! Now she gets in and out often without our help...she still needs reminders to stay in bed!!

Elena loves to watch NBC Nightly News when we come home each night. She says goodbye to Brian Williams when it's over...it's priceless.

Just being 2!!

It's President's Day!  That means we got a free day off school!!  Not that we really needed it or anything with all the snow days we've had this month, but nonetheless, it's been a great, relaxing day at home.  These past two weeks since our snow days have been very busy...I don't feel like I've been home much at all!  Last Monday, I turned 33 years old...YIKES.  I SO don't feel 33.  I also had parent-teacher conferences that evening, so it was a very long and tiring day...I suppose I DID feel 33 by the time I got home that night.  Twelve hour days just aren't for me, that's for sure!!  Knowing I had to do another twelve hour day on Thursday, too, was kind of torture!  The light at the end of the tunnel was a day off on Friday for the two nights of work.  So, now that we are at President's Day, I'm feeling refreshed and ready for the week ahead. 

Elena's had a great couple of weeks as well.  Juan and I bought her a fish and she named him "Fish."  She absolutely loves it and just likes to sit and stare at it.  We have to keep the fish up high most days just to be sure our cat, Mittens, doesn't get to him!!  Elena got lots of little gifts for Valentine's Day and enjoyed all the goodies like cotton candy, fruit snacks, and chocolates.  Of course, Elena likes to eat these treats, but try to get her to eat normal food is still a challenge.  We were so proud of her yesterday for eating a peanut butter sandwich, some chips, a squeeze fruit (basically applesauce that she squeezes out of a pouch), and water at lunch.  It was a good food day ;)

Being silly with "Fish"

 Making a pizza with "Aunt Shell" for PawPaw's 60th birthday

 Valentine's Day crown from Daddy

 Valentine's Day cheese pizza...mmmmm

February Snow Days!

Good morning hair...

 That's better :)

 Love this girl.

 Dinner is so good when you can watch the ipad and eat!

 Happy Snow Day!!

 Ready to go out...this was MY snowsuit when I was 2 years old!  It fits Elena!!

 Ooops...the zipper is broken on one leg!!  And...she just HAD to wear her tennis shoes outside :)

 Our little eskimo :)

We tried to get a good picture, but the snow was too much fun for posing!

Videos:

 

  Being a good mom...

 The bear is so happy now.

Seeing what sticks to contact paper on the window...she had SO much fun with this!!

We had SO much fun on our snow days this week!  It's hard to believe we went to school on Monday and haven't been back since!  Seven to eight inches of snow plus some ice will do that to a town!!  Back to a normal day tomorrow and then the weekend!!  How much fun is that?!  Elena LOVED the snow this year, which is so great.  We threw snow, laid in it, tasted it, and just ran around in it!  Daddy shoveled, of course ;)  I know I am DEFINITELY over the snow and will be happy without another storm this year.  Bring on the warmer weather!!  We had a fun week on our snow days, but we are ready to get outside in the warm sunshine!

Happy

My sister sent me this video earlier today and I just figured I needed to add it to the blog as another one of Elena's favorites.  She likes to dance to this...Juan and I do too :)

Elena-isms

It's been a busy month getting back into the swing of things after a long Christmas break!  We had an extended break due to the snow that came at the beginning of the month.  It was really nice to have an extra couple of days at home!  We all cuddled on the couch, made snow ice cream, and just played, played, played!!  Since then, the weather has been fine, just really COLD!!  Now that we are getting towards the end of January, I, for one, am ready to say good-bye to the cold weather.  It's time to get outside without a coat on!!  (I hate wearing coats...my hair is always full of static and sticking to my face when I wear a coat).
Elena has been wonderful, as usual.  Her personality is blossoming and we are learning so much about her everyday.  She is starting to read some words, compliments of mama and papa getting her an easel for Christmas so we can practice letters and words.  Her new Leap Pad, compliments of abuelo and abuela, has really helped her be an independent learner and work on tracing her letters.  It's quite remarkable to watch her concentrate!
Elena is also enjoying just playing with her friends too.  She LOVES her buddies at daycare and talks about them all the time.  We got to spend an evening with cousins a few weeks ago and Elena got to play on the trampoline and slide down the playhouse slide at Peyton and Harper's house.  It was a blast to watch them all play.

We decided it was time to put our list of "Elena-isms" online so we don't forget them over the years...here is our list so far...

• Binkie-snuggle (this means I want a binkie and a quick snuggle because it's time for bed)
• Hol-chu (this means she wants someone to hold her)
• Char-Drown (Charlie Brown...her new FAVORITE Christmas movie)
• Reesy-Nora (Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer...her other FAVORITE movie)  She loves it when her Aunt "Shell" sings the songs to her.
• Tup (Cup)
• Aredoe Worms (she wants to play Play-dough and make worms)
• Shhhhtttt (the sound she makes when she is pouring coffee into a cup for us to enjoy)
• Georges (these are fruit snacks...the first ones we ever let Elena try were Curious George themed and calling all fruit snacks Georges has just stuck...Juan and I even find ourselves calling them Georges :)
• Pwease (Please)
• Oh, Oh Yeah! (says this when she remembers to do something)
• Wa-Wa, Wa-Wo (abuela, abuelo)
• Tendo (Nintendo)
• Maweeo (Mario)

We are sure there are others, but for now, this is the start of our list   :)

 Snuggles...

 Adding some pink "pretties" to her snow ice cream

 LOTS of them...

Reading some names...