Happy 2nd Birthday Ellery!

We thought (for about 2 minutes) about taking Ellery to Disneyland or Legoland for her birthday but since we've got a 1 month old in tow we opted for the Zoo instead. We rode the bus, the Skyfari, let her pick out something from the kids store, rode the carousel and the miniature train ride. We had a blast and completely wore her out. After her nap we had the Salewsky's over for cupcakes and presents. I videotaped a lot of the day and she really enjoys watching it on my computer. A great day with our TWO year old!!...









Zach has most of her birthday pictures on his phone. I'll add them another time.

At her 2 year checkup
Height: 34" 50%
Weight: 27lbs 50%
Head: 48 3/4cm 75%

We conquered the park, SeaWorld and the Zoo last week... I'm back in business! I think part of what got my butt out the door was Elle's behavior. This last week signs of jealousy over her baby brother have popped up. She hit her beloved RiRi when Rian came over and wanted to hold Beck. (Sorry RiRi!) And a couple of days later she hit me while I was nursing. This behavior is just not the Elle we know but I'm trying to keep in mind she's going through a big adjustment and it's age appropriate. However, not cool. I'm hoping that getting out and doing some activities that we enjoyed pre-Beck will assure her that life as she knew it can still exist. Sort of. I'm looking at the bright side... having a baby around is giving her a lot of opportunities to practice her patience.

Now Beck on the other hand is adjusting to life outside the womb quite nicely. He's a little harder to please than Ellery was as an infant but that's not saying much because Ellery was a splendid little baby. Our big news last week: Beck smiled for me! I'm crazy about this boy!! He loves being held by me and he loves getting a bath so when I'm holding him in the bath - heaven! I forgot how much they sleep at this age but it's a shame it's so chopped up. He gave me 4 straight hours of sleep the other night and I felt like new woman!

Auntie Marla got Elle a Magna Doodle and she asked that I draw everyone in our family. I did, then she stamped out Beck's face. Subtle...




In the sky tower at SeaWorld!...




At the Zoo with MiMi (Amy)...




I guess having his diaper changed really wore him out...










I was in the kitchen when I heard Elle saying "El-rey" in a really sweet voice and I peeked in to see what she was doing. I think she was introducing herself to Beck. It was so darn cute I ran for my camera...




We went to a friends place for a bbq and 2 people thought that Beck was a 4 month old! What?? I should have known considering he's wearing 3-6 month old clothing but it wasn't until he was next to a 7 week old that I really saw what they saw. Yep, we got a chubbers and I LOVE IT! But he looks like a little peanut here...






Here's some pictures of the big kids at the bbq. Ellery, Talon and Sienna...







One of the hummingbird's eggs has hatched! It's almost a week earlier than it should be (according to what I read) so I'm not sure if he'll make it. I don't know what they're supposed to look like but I thought it was poop with a little fluff on top until it moved. See what I mean?...




Spring is definitely in the air at our place! Zach found another nest near our front lawn. The nest is in a hole in our California Pepper Tree. Nice little hidden spot. Here's the chicks waiting for mama to return...




We had some professional pictures taken of the kids. Before we went, the photographer said he really prefers for the newborn to be sleeping for the shoot. I told him that wouldn't be a problem because he sleeps all day. Of course the only full hour he was awake that day was during the shoot. We bought the session through Groupon and Zach and I were less than thrilled with the photographer. He was a weird guy who didn't have the patience to be working with kids so when Beck was naked and shot poo all over his set we were laughing inside. Then just Zach was laughing when I saw it dripping down the entire length of my left side. Here's some of the pictures pre-poo...