Ellen's favorite part of our recent Crockett trip was definitely the sweet barn kitten!
This sweet kitten let her love on her, chased a stick Ellen wagged in front of her and even ate out of Ellen's hand!
She thought the yellow labs were sweet too but kept moving back to play with the kitten.
I'm thinking that when she is old enough for some chores we might just have to get her a kitten of her own!
On our recent trip to Crockett we had such a great time with Ellen's great-grandfather, CP. CP only had sons and seems to be enjoying seeing life through the eyes of our sweet little girl. Ellen loved seeing the hay that the moos eat and climbing up it with Daddy. 
We had a great time visiting all of Daddy's favorite spots on his grandfather's land and learning about some new spots. This green water is a natural spring that provided much needed water to families and their animals during the drought called the "Dust Bowl" that happened in the 1930's. It's pretty amazing that it is still flowing all of these years later! I can imagine that this little spot saved many families from having to leave Texas as many farmers were forced to do. 
Here is Ellen outside of "the cabin". Mommy is a bit scared of the cabin due to a past encounter with a mouse so we mainly stayed outside while Daddy and CP checked on it. 
For Daddy's birthday weekend we headed to Crockett, Texas to visit Ellen's great-grandpa. We joined him in his daily routine which starts with a dark early breakfast at McDonald's. Well, maybe only Daddy got up dark early.... Ellen and I joined for the second stop of the day, the Moosehead cafe. Ellen entertained us all with sweet giggles and her farm animals. 
Ellen and Daddy having a nice breakfast chat. 
Next we headed over to check on the cows who were getting their breakfast. Ellen thought this seemed like a great idea at first and was happily mooing out the window.
She loved pointing out the babies and the mommies and still tells us "baby moo tee tee outside". Potty talk reigns supreme in our house right now. We have extensive conversations about who goes to the potty. 
So, it was all fun and games until that black momma cow let out the loudest warning moo I have ever heard. Ellen jumped back in the car and clung on to me for life saying, "scared baby"! 
Here are some precious pictures of my Sweet Bee to cheer you up while it is storming outside! Lately Ellen has not been the biggest fan of rain and I can just imagine that she is at school right now saying, "rain, go way" in a very bossy voice. 
These first two pictures are of Ellen eating "happy cake" aka birthday cake. 
Hope you are all staying dry and warm while this storm passes over us! 
Love, The Little Bee and her Momma
I got so much accomplished over the two weeks we had for Christmas break. It's exciting to think about what I can do with two months this summer! I did a few redecorating projects around the house which left me with two extra end tables. These are last bits of Daddy's bachelor furniture that I allowed in the house after some repainting... I sanded off the tops, sealed them and then sprayed them with chalk board paint. I have been thinking about doing this for a while but hadn't because I was concerned that this would teach Ellen that it is ok to write on furniture. I'm still worried about that but am ok with giving this table away if that happens. Ellen was pretty impressed with watching me work my electric sander and kept saying, "wow, Mommy" as I worked on the table. Nothing boosts your ego like looking cool to your child. I'm going to take it where I can get it as she is already starting to be embarrassed by my singing. "No sing, Mommy!" 
Ellen and her buddies had a great time on a recent visit to the Moody Gardens Rain Forest. We snapped a picture of them on this golf cart hoping that the Daddies would see that they could totally go golfing with them some time...
I think Ellen looks like a little ballerina here. She was watching an otter swim around. 
In the rain forest we saw butterflies, fish, monkeys, bats, birds, and all kinds of other fun animals. One monkey even got really close to us - scary close...
Ellen looks like such a peanut next to Garrett. These two had a great time, once we got past those dreaded butterflies...
Ellen loves routines! She is great at keeping us on task with her morning and evening routine. She knows that after she eats she will get a bath, put on her PJs, and brush her teeth. If I forget the teeth part she reminds me, "Brush teeth, Mommy". Sometimes she just wants to brush her teeth at random times of the day and I just go with it. Ellen loves the whole ritual of teeth brushing. She wets her tooth brush, adds tooth paste, brushes and spits. The spitting part is Daddy's favorite and he tries to get her to do it over and over again. It is pretty cute...
Ellen doesn't like to brush alone and always asks me to brush with her. 
I usually do because it is not so easy to say no to such a Sweet Little Bee! Love, The Little Bee and her Momma
Today I'm linking up with my good friend Tiffanie for her Product of the Week Link Up. Click the green button below to read reviews of some life changing products! My favorite review came from Jess at Stilettos and a Fishing Pole. I love watching infomercials and am totally going to try the Wen hair products after reading her review! On to my review...
When the bug to redecorate Ellen's playroom hit me I couldn't shake it and ended up working a bit on our den as well. This involved many consultations with my mother where I would send various pictures of our furniture to her for her opinion. Since Ellen is in most of my pictures she must have found it odd that I was not including her in these. She took matters into her own hands by photo bombing my pictures while saying, "cheese". What a cutie! Love, The Little Bee and her Momma
During the holidays I had two weeks off and took full advantage of this time! The first day I was off I redecorated the front room of our house as a playroom for Ellen. I was a bit nervous about all of the toys that Santa was about to bring and where we would store them all... I have to confess that I tend to be an Ikea snob and usually don't care for the store. Their kid's department may change my opinion a bit. Here is Ellen helping her Daddy to assemble some of the shelves.
She really got into this and placed all of the little screws in their holes. Before Daddy got home I put together the chairs and tables while she said, "Wow, Mommy" over and over again. It is such a great feeling to look cool to your child (even if they are under 2)!
These pictures are one of my favorite parts of her new room. They are just Ikea frames with her artwork - so simple but so cute. I can easily change them out and she is so proud of her art. Later I will post another thing I concocted to display even more art.
These storage bins cost under $200 and hold so much. I have all of Ellen's toys sorted and she seems to get how they are grouped. I am toying with the idea of posting a picture on the outside of each bin to help her sort. I have hesitated because I don't want this to look messy and I want the option of changing things up. Aren't those heart rugs cute! I had to go to Ikea three different times for this project (long story...) and each time I got another rug. Three is perfect!
We had such a great, relaxed New Year's Eve with this motley crew at the Tiki house. The Daddies got to golf in the fog and the Mommies got to sweat in the rain forest Pyramid at Moody Gardens with the kiddos. Don't they spoil us?
Everyone had a NYE kiss, even these two...
I brought lots of projects to keep Little Miss Priss busy. She loved dipping this cardboard tube into paint and stamping with it. 
As always, the kids enjoyed the Tiki park and the Mommies enjoyed that they got worn out. Ellen cracked herself up by playing peek a boo on the swing...
Here I am!
And gave us all a fright as she fearlessly crawls to the top of the tower over and over again. 
What a great start to 2012! Love, The Little Bee and her Momma