Monday Mommy Must Have: Toddler Activities

People are always commenting on how busy Ellen is. Believe me, I know! I think any parent of a toddler can relate to watching their little one zip from one thing to another and wondering about where their tiny body gets all that energy.

I am always looking for ways to channel that energy and "cooking" usually does the trick for Ellen. She has "cooked" with plain uncooked noodles, soapy water and now rice.

I just gave her a big bowl of uncooked rice and some things to stir and pour with. I set this up on her bench outside and she loved playing with it there but also tried it out in other spots like her playhouse.

She even gathered up other toys she could use from her sandbox.

Here is a sweet shot of her "cooking" in her kitchen. This activity will keep Ellen's attention for as long as I need it to. I am talking hours! Love, The Little Bee and her Momma

So Thankful!

I am grateful that eight years ago today I started dating a man that would one day lead to this:

That was our wedding rehearsal and the beginning of what has been such an incredible marriage. I look forward to so many more years of growth as a couple and am thankful for such a great husband. I am also thankful that this marriage eventually lead to this:

Our healthy and perfect, baby girl. I can not express my gratitude to God enough for giving us this blessing. She truly is the perfect baby for us and we are so lucky to have been chosen to be her parents. We are so grateful that we made it to this:

At Ellen's first birthday we not only celebrated the fact that she turned one year old and that we made it as parents for a full year but also for all the people who helped us to get there! I am especially grateful for my mother's help. I would not be the person I am or the mother I am without her help every day. I am so grateful that Ellen has her as a grandmother and that she will shape her as a person as well. I hope you are all having a great Thanksgiving weekend! Love, The Little Bee and her Momma

1st Hair Cut!

We finally did it! Mommy broke down and let those precious baby curls get snipped away.

Ellen was so well behaved at the salon. She loved that Miss Bertha spoke Spanish to her and gave her animal crackers to eat. We made a big deal about getting her hair cut on the way over and she seemed to think this was such a big girl thing to do.

Mommy and Ellen even watched some cartoons while Miss Bertha gave Ellen the perfect big girl bob!

Ellen especially liked the big girl styling mousse that Miss Bertha used and choose where we would keep it at the house. I felt like the bathroom would be a good decision but she wanted it in her room where she could see it. I have to admit as a major product junkie this made my heart swell with pride! I can only imagine what it will be like when I take her to buy her first makeup!

We think the Little Bee looks so sweet with her new bob! Love, The Little Bee and her Momma

PS - I totally recommend Miss Bertha at Snip Its in Rice Village. She was great and fast - my two requirements in a hair dresser.

Monday Mommy Must Have:Zout

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The Little Bee loves a good mess every now and then. I have learned to let her express herself and not to worry about the stains. I have a few good products in my arsenal but a pretty tricky stain had me searching for something new recently. I found Zout and it worked. The trick to most stain fighters is to boil water. First treat the stain with whatever product you are going to use and then pour boiling water over it and let it soak until the water is cool. If a stain is particularly stubborn then you may have to repeat this process. Happy stain fighting! Love, The Little Bee's Momma

Wabash Feed Store

Our house continues to be on the market and we have had 40 showings! When we have showings on the weekends we go looking for ways to entertain Ellen. This weekend we decided, after a suggestion from Caroline's mom, that it was a great day to check out Wabash Feed Store.

Our Little Bee is not afraid of anything and thought the chicks were very interesting. She even got nose to beak with one of them!
Ellen loved all the different animals and even got gobbled at by the giant Tom Turkey!

They also had puppies and this one was trying extra hard to come home with us. Nothankyouverymuch! We are currently over-dogged as it is!

We took home 20 fresh eggs from their laying hens which I turned into quiches to freeze for days when I don't feel like cooking. I hope to make it back to Wabash on a day when they have their Farmer's Market! Love, The Little Bee and her Momma

New Wheels

Check out Ellen's new Hot Pink Wheels! She loves her new car.

It has a working horn, cup holder, and trunk. She loves to put her lovie in the trunk, sippy cup in the holder, and honk and steer the wheel.

She can also get in and out by herself which is always a big hit with our independent Bee. Ellen can literally ride on this thing for hours. Mommy and Daddy love it because she will stay in it and it is easy to push.

Love, The Little Bee and her Momma

Monday Mommy Must Have: The Happiest Baby On the Block

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I didn't spend a ton of time reading parenting books when I was pregnant, I was too busy with "morning sickness". Later, we should discuss that term because it is incredibly inaccurate. It should be called all 24/7 for 10 months sickness. Anyway, back to the point. I didn't read when I was pregnant. Then Ellen came around and I didn't read parenting books because I couldn't see straight from lack of sleep. Somehow this book was the exception. I don't remember where it came from or how I stayed awake long enough to read it but somehow in the first month of her life I did. Good thing! It is so full of great, practical parenting advice for the sleepless new parent. I made Lloyd read it too and we then referred to it as "the book". "The book said that we should do x" was a frequent phrase in our house. If the book said that we should do it then it was done. "The book" was usually right so we kept doing what it said. The most useful information in "the book" was about getting your newborn to sleep longer through the night. Ellen was a super easy baby but she was and still is an early riser. This book helped us change the definition of early from 4 AM to 7 AM. Thank you, book! Love, The Little Bee's Momma

One more night of Trick or Treating

For the second night of Trick or Treating, which was actually on Halloween, we headed over to Caroline's house. By this time the mommies were worn out of Trick or Treating! Ellen had the drill down, though, and remembered how to get candy from the stranger's doors.

At the end of the night, which only last one block, we tried to get a group shot of all our sweet babies. I had already changed Ellen into her PJ's. It seems that we can always get Ellen and Caroline corralled for a picture before the boys. Must be a girl thing.

Look at our tired angels! Love, The Little Bee and her Momma

The First Night of Halloween

Ellen celebrated Halloween four nights in a row! On Friday she went to her school Fall Festival, Saturday she went to a neighborhood party and Sunday and Monday she Trick or Treated. Our friend, Garrett, lives in a neighborhood where they Trick or Treat the night before Halloween so that it is just people from the neighborhood who show up. Our little crew of traveling toddlers headed over to have some fun.

The night of Fall Festival Ellen pitched the biggest fit you have ever seen about her original Halloween costume. She was going to dress as a Toddler in a Tiara but hated her dress. "No dress, no dress" she told me over and over. So this ballerina costume was a last minute change.

I think she looked pretty cute! Garrett and Caroline, being the older kiddos in our group, taught Ellen how to Trick or Treat. They were much better about "Thank yous" than Ellen. Ellen would toddle up to the door, stick her hand out, then run back to Mommy to open her candy. If she was already working on a different piece of candy she would stick it in her bag.

Yum, yum! Ellen loved her first bite of candy!

Here is our motley crew of daddies. As hard as it is to get a picture of toddlers, it is just as difficult to get a shot of all the daddies looking the same way.

See that sucker in Little Bee's hand? I found it later stuck in her hair. She was one worn out and sticky girl by the end of the night! Love, The Little Bee and her Momma

Vote for Annie and Tyler!

Hello friends! My friend, Annie Blaylock and her fiancé, Tyler McQueen are 1 of 11 couples who are finalists in the national contest on Facebook called Entwined 2012, the Ultimate Wedding Giveaway! They could win the wedding of their dreams………..and it is all based on the number of votes! Voting is opened through next Tuesday, November 15th at midnight! Only one vote per person! Please help this darling Houston hometown couple with your vote! Once you have voted (if you have already done so ,THANK YOU!), please pass this email around to all your friends! Even if you don’t have a Facebook account, I would bet you have many friends who do! We need to network as much as possible! They have pledged $3000 to The Houston Humane Society if they win! (and that number continues to grow as friends and family pledge to donate too if they win!) Thanks for your support! Click here to vote:

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.getmefriends.com%2Fuploads%2FentwinedLoginFacebookVoting.html&h=JAQEwgWAlAQHmNi-MKiWUbucY8b8mKg9EkKaKKoF4dNi-BA

Link to Tyler and Annie's story: story

Jumpy House

Let me just say that it is really difficult to get photos of toddlers anyway but add a jumpy house and forget about it. During the Halloween season Ellen got to experienced her first jumpy house and she loved it!

She could crawl in and out by herself and loved running around inside with Charlie.

I definitely see one of these in our future for our next party! Love, The Little Bee and her Momma

St. Luke's Pumpkin Patch

After church on the Sunday before Halloween, we stopped for some photos of our Little Bee in the Pumpkin Patch. Ellen loved playing in the field of giant "pumpys".

She even thought some of them made pretty good chairs!

We are having a great Fall so far and look forward to the rest of the holidays. Ellen is really getting into holidays now and that makes it so much more fun for Mommy and Daddy. Love, The Little Bee and her Momma

Monday Mommy Must Have: Orin Swift Wines

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Judge me if you want but I totally consider wine a Mommy Must Have. I love wine and love finding new wines. My friend, Katie, from Is There Any Wine Left? first turned me on to an Orin Swift wine called "The Prisoner" which is a deep, oaky, red blend with Zin, Cab, Syrah being the bulk but with a good measure of some other reds. She and her husband brought this to a restaurant one night and I was sold. New favorite red. Then I checked out their "Papillion" which is a fruitier blend that is primarily Cab. Yum! Orin Swift's most recent wine is "D66". Double Yum! This is a subtle but dark blend that is 80% Grenache. It was released in May and a bit harder to find but worth the hunt! Wine is great when Mommy needs a time out because when she says things like "I might scream if I make another PBnJ", "keep your clothes on in the house", "don't eat the dog food out of the pantry", "we don't try to pet the fish", and "don't climb up the bookshelf". If you have never said any of these things you don't have a toddler and I need another glass of wine. Love, The Little Bee's Momma