Yes, good progress here. The problem; we worked so hard on "baaaa", that now that is the answer for all barnyard animal noise inquiries.
"Ellena, what sound does a cow make?" ---baaaa
"Ellena, what sound does a horse make?" ---baaaa
"Ellena, what sound does a duck make?" ---baaaa
This last Sunday marked not only Father's Day, but indeed another special day for us. It is our 1-year anniversary since the inception of this blog! It seems as though that was so far away (or so close, depending on the day), but one thing is for sure; a lot has changed since in the last year!
First of all, there's Ellena. She has been taken. Yes, I said it. I am still convinced that she was snatched up in the middle of the night while we were sleeping, and replaced with a more-toddler-like-version of her. I mean for weeks this has been my boilerplate response to "How's the baby?"; "The baby is gone!". The new Ellena is a complete transformation of the "baby" we knew so well.
She has caught on to so many of the sayings we've been using to/for her relentlessly since at least New Year's. She has also started to communicate with us non-verbally by using sign language (finally!). We had almost given up on signing because we felt as though she had no interest. She will now tell us if she is "all done" at the highchair - a blessing if you are a parent and want to know if your child is full, or simply tired of what he/she is eating. The "all done" waiving of both hands has transpired into everything else it seems to. If she wants to get out of the bath, or pool, or doesn't want to drink any more milk, it's "all done". This has proven to be very useful in other areas as well, like trying to communicate to her that there is "no more snack left" or "we're done doing such-and-such".
She is associating so much more too. For example, every time we put our shoes on, she starts waving goodbye! Even if we are putting HER shoes on, she starts waving. It's really cute. She is also at this stage of repeating what you ask her to say. "Can. You. Say. ___blank___" is a commonly-spoken sentence right now. Overnight, she just started saying and repeating so many things.
We have a little bedtime routine that makes things pretty simple at night. We bathe her, dress her in pajamas, give her a cup full of milk (oh yea, she has been off formula since right before her birthday. All the sources we references made us a bit leery to make the switch, claiming that it could "take a few months and we should start slow". Well, if you know my wife, you know we never take anything slow; in one three-day weekend, she was on the milk, and off the bottle, as they say) while we read a few books (or rather a few pages out of a few books) and go brush her teeth (which she loves and will mimic anytime she hears the phrase "brush your teeth") and then go to bed. I moved her entire personal library to the lowest two shelves on her book shelf and out of nowhere, she knows that after pajamas, upon hearing the inquiry "book?", she gets to walk over to the collection and choose a few. Unbelievable. Yes, for those of you who haven't seen her in a bit, she has by far gone through some dramatic changes lately!
The most surprising action she started to do for us however was made when we were asking if she knew where her hair was. She reached up over her head and began "washing" her hair. It sort of came out of the blue.
~~~~~
Now, secondly, since my last post here, my employer, or perhaps I should describe "former employer" has decided to break up with me. Notice I didn't use the term "unfortunately". Honestly, we don't feel as though my job loss was unfortunate. On the contrary, the almost-two weeks I have spent home have been a joy and I consider my very fortunate. Perhaps it is because the summer season is upon us, or perhaps because it is too much fun to play and be with Ellena all day, or perhaps it is because being a stay-at-home-dad is still too new, but I am really digging it right now. The long-term plans are of course unknown, but isn't this true of ALL plans? I am (and we are all) right where God wants us to be. And right now, I have no desire to jump back into the race!
Father's Day was great, as was the last one, although the biggest difference between this year and last is my daughter handed me a card and said with a smile "da-dee". I scored one of those little rickshaws that allow kids to scam a free bicycle ride while having all the comforts of a camping tent (including a breeze!). After our inaugural make-sure-it-stays-attached-to-the-bike run around our sub, we headed to the nearest Metropark. We took a break and the three of us ate a snack on a blanket under a tree. I chose the following video clip to serve as both proof of the gift (in bright colors to the left of the screen) and E's appetite to talk. Here she is saying "A ride!"
Even though Mother's Day has passed by, I just had to post these pictures as this keepsake was such a nice surprise from Ellena's "school". They sent her home with this treat for S the Friday before Mother's day. It was so simple and yet so effective. It now hangs over S's workspace where she can gaze upon it all day long...well, not all day. She has to get her work done, right?
We took some time off to spend with you on your 1st Birthday ever, Ellena. We assembled and filled your new sandbox (a splendid Craigslist find) with new beach-like sand. You loved it and wanted to wiggle your toes in it all day long! Mom turned to me and said "Sand between the toes must feel good at any age!"
The weather was beautiful all weekend long and we all enjoyed being outside on the deck.
We took you to the local mall. The initial plan to was to take you to a store called "Build A Bear" where, surprisingly, we would help you build your own bear. The store allows you to choose the type of animal (Teddy's aren't just bears anymore!), color, hos much stuffing, dress it in an occupational outfit, name it, register it and ultimately take it home in a box that looks like a house. We were a little bit skeptical about the idea, mainly because you don't really play with any of your stuffed animals now, but we thought we could make a good memory out of it. The funny part was each animal we placed within your reach, you threw it aside, pushed it away, or began to become angry, so we ended up leaving "Build A Bear" with only a few laughs. We did however make it down to Nordstom's where we knew you could score a birthday balloon attached to a rubber chewable "Nordie" (their children's mascot) and we found the perfect birthday shoes for you. They were about a half size too large, but at least we'll get a little more use out of them that way. You loved walking around in them - yes I said walking! You are pretty much unstoppable now.
Next stop, on almost a whim was "Chuck E. Cheese's" (where a kid can be a kid!) where we thought you would enjoy the lights, games, giant animatronic "entertainers" and, of course, other children gallivanting about. It has always been a joy for us to take you somewhere you have never been before and this time was no different. You LOVED it! I literally have a hundred pictures from this meal and game time, but these were some of my favorite. You took to skee ball right away...you must get that from your dad! 
In fact, you took to it so much, you actually climbed up on the ramp and took off!
You enjoyed the coin games, but we think mostly because you got to hold the coins beforehand and place them in the machines. You were surprisingly good at this!
There were many things to play in, on and around as well and here is a shot of you inside one of the "structures".
Here you are on the morning after your birthday. We gave you this play kitchen. When looking for one for you, we were immediately attracted to the height and general size of this setup, as well as the utensils and food that came with it. It has many areas for you to explore and even includes your own phone so you can call into American Idol and vote for your favorite singer!
Here is the cake Mom made you for your first ever sugar treat. She bought a special molded pan to bake it in this shape and she even made the frosting from scratch! It was a huge hit, especially with you!
These are the rest of the cupcakes she made for your friends who visited. You would have been surprised at how many times I heard someone ask if they were "special ordered". I recommended she take that as a compliment!
You surprised us all when you actually took a few bites with your own little fork! My but you are always keeping us alert and watching you! You didn't know what to think of this treat at first, but you caught on quick!
Here you are with some of your friends as you opened and played with your gifts.
Hey a car made just for you and it's even the right size! Look at that smile!
Happy Birthday Pun'kin!
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