Hogle Zoo- July 8th

Hogle Zoo had one of it's "member's only" stay late a the zoo nights. We decided to use this opportunity to bring daddy to the zoo. The only downfall was that all of the animals were dead tired because of the heat all day. Most animals were sleeping or just laying around. It is definitely not the same as when Ellie and I went at 10 am. The animals were much more fun to watch and we even got to see a cheetah eat it's breakfast. Anyway, we were done pretty quickly. It only took us about a half hour to see everything we wanted to. That's one of the nice things about being a member because you don't have to worry about wasting your money by not staying long.

5th of July @ the Reynolds' House

Although I can't remember much about the night, I know Ellie had a fun time playing in the sprinkler with her uncle Marc, throwing the frisbee with Daddy, and probably had the most fun with her sparklers. She would not sit still on the blanket while Cam, Leila, Marc, and Weston lit the fireworks in the street; therefore, my attention (as well as Grandma's) was on making sure Ellie did not get into the street. The "big kids" had way too much fun lighting the fireworks and built up the remaining ones into a tower for the finale- helping each one to light off of the others. We had a lot of fun that night. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Reynolds!

Blogging Overload-I hope!

I thought I would start clear back in July and catch us up a bit. Ellie's Second Cousin, Logan, came over on the 8th to play and they had tons of fun! Neither one of them wanted their own bikes so they swapped. They drew with chalk on the sidewalk, enjoyed Popsicles, watched a movie, and other fun stuff. I can't tell you how much easier Ellie was when she had someone to play with!

My Big Girl

We neglected our blog yet again. Don't worry. We'll get caught up soon, but I really wanted to blog about my big girl.

As many of you probably know, Ellie hung on to her binky for much longer than we ever should have let her. I am happy to report that Ellie has been completely binky-free now for two weeks. My cousin's wife, Shannon, was a huge part of helping us get rid of it. She was watching Ellie while I went to work (school) until the daycare opened at the end of August. There were a few times they were unable to find a binky in her bag and others when I just plain forgot to bring one. She was able to convince Ellie that she didn't need it most of the time. She was also able to convince me of the same thing. We started hiding the plugs in the cupboards and only using it at nap time and bed time. When at home, Ellie would whine for her binky quite a bit. She would find other binkies hidden in her room. She only had a few fits, but Weston and I didn't give in. Eventually, I "accidentally" cut the tip off her "last" binky. She would put it in her mouth and take it out to examine it. She asked me what I did and I told her I accidentally cut it. When Weston saw she didn't want it anymore, he said "Then why don't you just throw it in the garbage Ellie?" So she did. Then every time she asked for it, we would remind her she threw it away. There were a couple of times she went to the garbage to look for it, but we told her it was already in the big garbage can. One of those times, she went to the garage entry and cried to go get it. Then another time, she said we should buy more at the store. It was a little tough, but not as bad as I thought. Thanks Shannon! I guess the hardest part is figuring out how to keep her quiet during Sacrament Meeting- the kid does not know how to whisper!

Another reason we have to be proud of Ellie is that she is potty-trained! She has been wearing "Big Girl Panties" for a week and a few days. She has had very few accidents with us. I still send her to daycare in a pull-up because they aren't really working with her on that. I will probably send her in underwear when we come back from being off-track in the middle of October. At first, we were frustrated because Ellie would only go when we sat her on the potty and we had to be on top of it every hour. After a few days, Ellie learned to tell us when she needed to go and she would run to the bathroom. The accidents are frustrating, but we are so relieved she can use the potty! Yay!

And finally, the last evidence that our baby girl is a big girl is that Ellie has transitioned from her crib to a day bed. It's still her crib, but we've taken the front rail off and put up a safety rail. She climbs up into her bed and loves to play in there. It took a few nights to learn she had to stay in her bed, but she's doing awesome!

As I think about how much she grew in a matter of three weeks, I really can't believe it! She is such a good helper and we love her very much. Hooray for my BIG GIRL!