Beck & Ellery: January 2014

Our Texas and Colorado relatives came out for Thanksgiving and as if that weren't enough excitement, we spent a couple days at Disneyland with all 10 of us. It was Mollie, Annabelle and Beck's first time and such a treat for all of us to go together. Thank you Dave and Kathy for such a memorable trip. First up, playing hide and seek with Goofy while we checked in...

Ellery was immediately attached to her Aunt Haley. It was so sweet to see her warm up to her so quickly. There were moments when Elle needed to be reminded that Haley would probably like to go on a few rides with her own kids...

Looking out on Downtown Disney at sunrise...

We had a few of these...

But A LOT of these...

Ellery's pouting because she doesn't have a bow on her mouse ears. A tragedy...

It was crowded...

And we were all pooped...

So back to San Diego and back to the beach!...

And now a little update on the littles:

Ellery is going through a "mommy don't leave me" phase. It started during drop off at school, which I thought was strange because she's always loved school. Her teacher and I have discussed this repeatedly and we thought we had found the culprit - the garden grannies! These retired women volunteer their time to garden with the preschoolers and use the produce to make food in the classroom. Ellery would completely shut down when they walked in the room. We didn't understand why until one of them approached us at the Fall Festival. Ellery saw her coming and buried her head in my chest and the woman said, "oh Ellery, I'm going to get you to talk to me one of these days! I'm going to get you to come to Pumpkin Hill with me! I'm not going to quit until you come with me!" Bingo. Ellery shies away from strangers (thank goodness) but especially avoids pushy people. The pressure is too much for her. Ms Judy had a talk with the garden grannies to just give her space and things have gotten better. Her wonderful teacher ended up taking Ellery to Pumpkin Hill so she wouldn't miss out. Problem solved, so we thought. Then she started crying during drop off at the Y and now she asks where I am, where I'm going, how long am I going to be ALL DAY EVERY DAY. We have talks with her about it and it seems she realizes how ridiculous it is to even think that mommy wouldn't come back for her. Hoping this phase ends sooner rather than later.

She and Beck are having so much fun together lately. I think it's because he can talk so well now, they can play house (or doctor, mailman, cashier, school etc.) for hours. She enjoys doing homework, feeding the dogs and making her bed. (wha?) She is loyal, considerate, a rule follower, a great snuggler, compassionate, smart and funny. She's into princesses, arts and crafts, running fast, skipping and splashing around on the beach and performing. When she's annoyed you'll see her rolling her eyes at you... something I didn't think would start this young. She adores her dog, Dottie and likes/loves Nola depending on her slobber level. Unfortunately, she's into potty humor. I watched her go up to Beck and say "I have a special surprise for you!" Then she pulled up her nightgown, turned around, bent over and spread her butt cheeks. While going commando. Lovely.

And on to the recipient of that special treat, Beck.
He is wonderful, naughty, sweet, stubborn and hilarious. For example, he needed to wash his hands before we ate at Legoland but he refused to use hand sanitizer. After throwing himself on the ground, crying, I offered to take him to the restroom to wash his hands. He agreed, until we got there. I won't even go into the details but my blood was boiling and I was saying some nasty things between my clenched teeth. After the nightmare trip to the bathroom and a long time out outside the building, he leans over, and quietly says "what the fox say? ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding!" I couldn't help but laugh and he apologized and we went on with our day. (If you have no idea what he was talking about, YouTube: what does the fox say. Or maybe don't, it's pretty dumb)

He loves school, will talk to anyone, greets most people with a hug and blows them a kiss at his departure. He's starting to get pretty opinionated about what he wears and insists that I tug twice at the toes of his socks before getting shoes on. He will turn anything into a weapon. The latest was a puzzle piece he declared his sword and it went "p-chew p-chew p-chew". He is incredibly talented when it comes to throwing, catching, kicking or hitting a ball. Cartwheel's are his newest trick and it pisses Elle off that her younger brother can do it and she can't. He loves to perform too... You'll either get to see "The Matman Show" where he'll do a series of jump kicks and ninja moves or "The Mar-hing Band Show" where he'll pick up anything (today it was Nola's ball thrower) and march around to the beat of his own drum. He is talking so well he barely pauses anymore to think of the correct word he's looking for. Beck surprised me the other day when we couldn't find his toy motorcycle he put his finger in the air and said "I have a diagnosis! Cars!" I think he meant "I have an idea! I'll use cars!" He is also into potty humor (surprise!) and as our sweet neighbor was walking by he yelled "Hi Poo Poo Pee Pee!" Nice huh?

Arrrrrg matey...

Last day at SeaWorld...

Lite Brite hand me down! I loved this as a kid...

Beck's new bunk bed finally arrived and now he's got a big boy room! Ellery slept on top for the first month but I think the novelty wore off and she's back in her digs...

My Aunt Lori came down and we spent a day in Solana Beach...

Took Ellery to see Aladdin...

Such a cute production...

We heard a thud and knew what it was. Seems like twice a year a bird crashes into our windows but this time we were able to save him. The kids were so concerned, Ellery even ran to get a blanket to keep him warm. Must've worked because he flew off an hour later!...

Checking out the RV we're going to rent next May...

USS Midway...

My mom wanted photos of all her grandkids...

And one for my Grandma...

Are we done yet?...

My mom was able to score a beachfront condo in Laguna Beach so we took the kids up for a few days. First stop, Bluebird Park. Maybe the coolest park - ever. A 4 story space shuttle? Beck's paradise...

View from our room...

I guess he liked it too...

The tide pools were amazing! The best I'd ever seen...

Don't mind his pink pants. After an accident in the car and another one on the beach, Elle had to donate her extra pants...

Sun setting behind Catalina Island...

We visited a marine mammal rescue center...

Funbelievable with Bennett...

And gearing up for the holidays with La Mesa's Christmas in the Village...

The kids loved seeing our neighbor, Susanna in the parade. So much so, now Beck drives the Lightening McQueen car while Ellery sits on the back waving at Zach and I, the parade spectators...

Ellery knew that Santa would be there and she told me before we left, "I don't want to see him. I don't want to talk to him. I want to sit at the furthest seat away from him." Tell me how you really feel! But she did like this statue guy who played music if you tipped him...