Introductions

As we were checking out at the doctor's office yesterday, Ella decided it was time to introduce herself to the appointment scheduler. She said, "Hi. What is your name?"

The woman answered, "Phyllis. What is your name?"

"My name is Ella, and my mommy's name is Jana. My daddy's name is Scott."

Phyllis said something about how she really knew what everyone's names were really well.

Ella paused for a few seconds and said, "Thank you for meeting us." The entire back office staff as well as Scott and I died laughing. I'm sure the fact that she got a laugh will mean that she is introducing herself to people all the time now.

Too Smart (mouthed, that is) for Her Own Good

Ella is proving to be quite a challenge already. I am scared to see what the teenage years have in store for me. Here are two examples of her recent shenanigans.

Ella wanted me to play catch with her the other day. My back was hurting so I wanted to sit on the floor, but Ella wanted me to stand. She kept asking me to stand, and I kept explaining to her that I wanted to sit. Finally I said to her, "Ella, listen to my voice. My back is hurting, and I am going to sit down." She looked me straight in the face, stomped her foot and said, "NO! YOU listen to MY voice. I want you to stand up now!" We ended up having a nice chat about how Mommies give instructions and little girls do not before she went to sit in time out.

The second thing she has said to me when she doesn't like that she is getting into trouble is "Don't say that. Use your big girl voice!"

Everyone keeps telling me that if I persist through this it will pay off in the end, but there are days when I feel like I am losing the marathon. The energy level of a hot-headed two year old is just astounding.

We have kicks!

Scott felt Brenna kick for the first time last night! It feels so much more official now that Daddy can be in on the fun. I can't wait to see what Ella's reaction is the first time she feels Brenna.

We have been saying that Brenna was kicking me, but that turned out to be BAD terminology. It took a little while to figure out why Ella has been kicking a lot lately. I guess she thought if it was cute for Brenna it was cute for Ella. Yikes! We now say that Brenna is giving Mommy love pats. I sincerely hope that cuts down on Ella's kicking habit.

Fall Leaves

Notice the Brenna belly?

Sisterly empathy?

Earlier today Ella got a spanking for jumping on the bed. She cried and cried! I pulled her onto my lap to cuddle with her while she was crying and to talk to her about why she was punished. The entire time Ella was crying, Brenna was going BERSERK! She kicked me repeatedly until Ella stopped crying. As soon as Ella quieted down, so did Brenna. Sisterly empathy or coincidence? I'm not really sure, but it was a weird experience.

Halloween Fun

We had a wonderful Halloween with Ella this year. Our morning started out at the YMCA. Ella and I go there three times a week for my water aerobics class. Yesterday they had a Halloween party for all the kids in Kids Watch. The kids got to decorate brown paper candy bags, they got their faces painted, and then they went trick or treating around the Y. They could also wear their costumes, but Ella and I didn't know that since we were out of town last week. Here's a picture of Ella's cute face painting and another of her sweet, smiling face that I just can't resist adding.





Then last night we went trick or treating with our friends the Mazon's. Johnny is one of the pastors at our church, and they were some of the first friends we made when moved to Knoxville last year.

Last year Ella was very frightened by all the activity around her. This year, she thought trick or treating was great fun! She was very polite. She'd say "Trick or treat" at every house and said, "Thank you" with no reminder about 80% of the time. She also mentioned that she could now teach Brenna to trick or treat. She's starting to relish the idea of teaching her little sister new tricks when she arrives.

Here's pictures of all the kiddos!

Ella's smile should show you how THRILLED she was to dress up as Wags the Dog from The Wiggles. She thought it was the best costume ever, and she would "ruff, ruff" on command. She was so cute!!! When she would run, the tail on her costume would wag back and forth just like the tail of a real dog. It was precious!


This next picture is Ella, Maddie Grace (as Cinderella), and a very tired Annie Beth (as Tinkerbell). Ella and Annie Beth are only 2 months apart in age, but all three girls are wonderful friends. I swear, we could drop Ella off at the Mazon house and never come back, and she would assume that she was just meant to be a part of their family. In the second picture, we added the Mazon's little boy Trace.




And finally, a Griffin family picture.