Celebrate! Ellie is TWO!

From September 2010

We are still celebrating around here and in awe that our sweet princess is the big TWO! And when Ben and I were on our cruise in late August, Grandma and Grandpa Weber helped Ellie master saying "two" and holding up two fingers. Granted they aren't two fingers like the peace sign, but holding both pointer fingers up at the same time totally counts! Ben and I celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary with a 7-day cruise to the Western Caribbean (Jamaica, Grand Cayman Islands, and Cozumel, Mexico). It was great to get away and swim in some beautiful blue/clear/teal water. Snorkeling was my favorite in Cozumel.

From Cruise 2010

Like I said before, Ellie got some quality time in with Grandma and Grandpa Weber on the farm in Iowa helping Grandpa pick and can tomatoes, make cookies, go to see cousins Wyatt and Garett. Better known as Wa-Wa and Rit. And of course, we can't forget Aunt Wendy (neh-nee). Apparently they became buds real quick. AND...we're still calling and pointing to every woman we see with dark hair "neh-nee." I just smile and say "Ellie, can you say hello." She actually has become quite the social butterfly lately...really depends on her mood though. She will wave at people until they wave back. She will say "ello." But then sometimes, like when we do our Welcome Visits for our CARES Team job, she will be super shy and duck down into her daddy's chest or immediately cling to a leg of a parent. So sometimes, I think she's like her mama - will talk to anyone pretty much....but then she has her dada moments where she's gotta observe and then we'll see. Ellie LOVES pictures. Now that she's recognizing people, we're working on family members, and wedding party members - yes, we're still sporting the wedding picture on the wall. Her best ones so far are (other than mentioned above): Bodee = Boo; Anna (she actually says that really well); Grandma (ba ma) Grandpa (ba pa) Gramkow (Cah-coe) and Weber (ba-ba); Caryn = Car; Wade = wee; Micah = bi-cah. Carrie = Tee; I really should get it on video. I'll put that on my to do list! I do feel kind of bad when she goes into our bedroom. It's pretty much a picture of Ben and I on each wall from our wedding. She'll turn and say Mama, Dada; turn a few degrees and again; and again. I guess I'm glad she still recognizes us from our wedding 5 years ago! Ellie has really stared saying more phrases lately. Some of her frequent (at least that I can understand) are as follows: "I want my da-da" "Open this" "I want wa-wa" "I want Elmo" "I want down" "I want up" Seriously with all this I want business...is this normal? And when she doesn't get what she "wants" she brings out the quick swipe. Naughty Ellie. We've been working on not hitting mama and becoming familiar with the word time-out. She's become quite the "opinionated" eater. She likes to tell me "no" when she doesn't want to eat something, and if that doesn't get a response, she moves right on to all done. On the contrary, her yes sounds like "yesh." That's pretty funny!

From September 2010

After our cruise, I actually flew home to pick up Ellie from the Northland. We decided to celebrate with some family and friends at my sister's in Minnesota. Since she's in love with Elmo, we decided Elmo themed party it is! I made the cake and Ellie said it was Elmo when she saw it finished, so that was all that mattered! HA! So thankful that we could celebrate with her there.

From September 2010

I have yet to still organize a birthday party here with her Fort Worth friends. Yikes! I'm running out of time! When we got back home, Daddy was super happy to see his girls. We three celebrated with Ellie by going out to eat and making cupcakes. We had an enjoyable beginning to Labor Day weekend. Ellie decided she was going to express interest in the pee pee and poo poo. And actually DID go in the big girl potty twice pee pee and once poo poo. SO we thought, maybe you're ready? Bad decision. Hind sight is always 20/20. First time parents: Be warned: Just because your child decides to go pee pee or poo poo randomly doesn't mean they are necessarily ready for the real deal. After 3 1/2 days of trying the potty training queen's 3-day method, we decided Ellie just wasn't ready. Gotta work on the motivation. She'll get it eventually. We're not going to try again anytime soon. This mama needs some space from that experience! Back to a routine! YES! Our Summer was wonderful, but turned out to be REALLY busy! I'm so glad we're back into a routine. Just last week was our first really routine week. I am starting to watch a little boy from our church, Jonathan, that is a miracle 18 month old, on Mondays. We have Women's Bible Study (We're going through a study called, Me, Myself, and Lies - a thought closet makeover...it's good stuff) on Tuesdays, MOPS on Wednesdays, and then Ellie is going to a Mother's Day Out on Thursdays with just 5 other little friends in her class. She did great. I think she really likes playing with little people her size! Appointments Week. Ellie had her second visit (after 6 months) to the pediatric dentist. She still has enamel missing from her teeth due to prematurity, but it hasn't gotten any worse (or any decay/cavities). Praise Jesus. We'll keep on brushing her teeth religiously, and still no juice. THEN, last Wednesday, Ellie had her 2 year pediatrician appointment with Dr.Mercer. Everything checked out GREAT! He even gave her the "You're all caught up from preemie-hood" speech. I could have screamed I was so filled with joy. Filled with joy, thankfulness, and relief that she's come this far. What wonderful words for this mama to hear. She did not like the shots so much. She got another dose of Pneumococcal along with the flu/H1N1 vaccine. Glad we have that out of the way! Dr. Mercer said she is long and lean! She weighed 24 lbs 4 oz. (although when Ben weighed her on the wii, she was more like 26), was 34 3/4 inches tall, and head circumference was 50.2 cm = 19.76 inches if google math is correct. So that's the long, overdue update from Team Gramkow. We're so proud of how far you've come little Ellie Jo Gramkow. I still can't believe you are TWO!

From September 2010

This was a picture from one of our CARES events at the Texas Rangers Game!