Sarah Lynds Bunny Pictures

As Ellen would say, "Onh mai goondness!" We got our bunny pictures from Sarah Lynds Photography and they are amazing. Seriously. Every. single. shot. is frame-worthy. Promise me that you will consider using them for engagement, family or kid photos. We just met with them again for some casual family shots and I am beside myself trying to be patient for the proofs.
Has your heart melted yet? (Sweet baby face but check out the death grip she has on the bunny...)

See that bunny squished up against Ellen's side? The one who looks like she is thinking about how to jump off of that rock and into the water? That's Reese. Love at first squish!

The profile shot here is incredible! Sarah and Lyndsay let me know that they have some fun sessions coming up. They are doing a Lemon-Aid Stand, Fishing with Daddy, and Beach sittings soon. Please remind me that I don't need to do these because I want to do them all.

I have no idea how to pick a photo from this bunch so expect to see my house covered in bunny pictures!

Love, The Little Bee and her Momma

P.S. Sarah Lynds didn't ask me to write this post or compensate me in any way. I'm just a fan.

Cowgirl!

We're just coming out of rodeo season and I never shared Ellen's pink boots with you. Ellen is really into shoes and loves boots. When I pulled these out for our trip to the rodeo she was thrilled. We put them on and she started saying, "Yee haw, I'm a cowboy." Not sure where she came up with that. My guess is school as they just celebrated Rodeo Day and Go Western Day.

Muffy loves when people get excited and had to run over to see if some of that energy could be expended on her. Of course, Ellen obliged.

We love our little cowgirl!

Love, The Little Bee and her Momma

POTW: Krylon Chalkboard Spray Paint

source

Have y'all tried this stuff yet? I love it! I originally bought this Krylon Chalkboard paint to spray a table top for Ellen to color on in her playroom. Since then I keep coming up with more ideas! I blame Pinterest...
I started with this canvas I painted at Pinot and Picasso. It was a fun experience but this painting is not my taste and has been hanging in my garage for two years. This weekend I sprayed it down with about four coats of chalkboard paint...

...and hung it in my kitchen. First I started using it for a grocery list. The added benefit was that I could take a picture of it on my phone and there was my list when I hit the store. (Yes I need a list for only four items. I have a two year-old who has robbed me of all intelligence.)

Later in the weekend I used it to wish a friend a happy birthday when she came over. After that it morphed into a fun place to rejoice in the wonderful weekend weather. Tell me this, why does God make Sundays so beautiful? It was so so hard to not play hooky from church this Sunday. If we hadn't played hooky last weekend we definitely would have this weekend.

What would you spray if you had your own can of chalkboard paint?

Love, The Little Bee's Momma

Wordless Wednesday - Ice cream

Love, The Little Bee and her Momma

Potty Training Update

This weekend we hunkered down at home and got busy with potty training. We planned to do this last weekend but Ellen and I were both feeling under the weather due to the massive amounts of pollen floating around. I broke out the Minnie Mouse big girl pants as a celebratory start to our training. She danced around the house and was very pleased with herself. She even made up a song, "I got big girl panties. I big girl."
We spent most of the weekend in the back yard since the weather was perfect. Ellen would live in the backyard if I let her. I don't have pictures to share of her on her potty but I'll share what we did to amuse ourselves in between potty breaks. I made Ellen a clover flower necklace. I am quite good at these as this is what I occupied myself with whenever organized sports came up in school. We make crowns, necklaces and bracelets from flowers.

For a good portion of the weekend she decided that clothes were optional and enjoyed running in the sprinkler or splashing on our fancy new splash pad. Every now and then she would stop what she was doing and run over to her potty. She really did a great job of catching herself and we didn't have many accidents. She seems to do a lot better with it when she is in charge of the process versus me taking over. I believe this will be a lesson I will have to learn over and over again...

We even had Charlie over for a picnic dinner outside. These two got mistaken for twins this weekend! How cute is that?

I was worried about how this potty training experience would translate to school and Monday didn't go so hot. Monday morning she woke up exhausted from all of her running around saying, "I so tired." Fingers crossed that today goes better. Good luck, my Angel. I know you are eager to be a big girl. We'll get you there when we can. Love, The Little Bee and her Momma

Welcome, Reese!

This weekend we had a little family photo shoot with the Sarah Lynds Photographers and their rabbits. While my resolve proved strong when we first met the bunnies, I could not resist this time and we brought Reese's Pieces home with us. We are calling her Reese and hoping that she is a girl. Apparently it is difficult to identify the gender of bunnies.
Ellen is through the roof excited with this early birthday present. She helped to pick our her cage and get it all set up. However, she was a bit disappointed that I would not let her crawl inside the cage. Reese is the same bunny that Ellen held upside down by the neck in the Easter portraits. She is very calm and sweet. Reese has even fallen asleep in my lap several times already.

Welcome to your new home, sweet Reese! Love, The Little Bee and her Momma

Wordless Wednesday

Love, The Little Bee and her Momma

Still My Baby

In some ways it seems that I don't remember life without Ellen and that she has always been in my life. In other ways it seems like she was born yesterday. She is such a big girl these days and is losing that baby look. Every now and then, though, I can still see my little baby in that big girl! This reminds me of a something that I read somewhere about remembering to parent your child according to their age. As in, take a deep breath, yes your child is whining about not being able to eat only ketchup for dinner with her hands but remember - she is only 21 months old. When she is in one of these moments, I take a breath and pray, "Help me to remember that she is just a baby and give me patience". This doesn't mean she gets out of things. I don't believe in that. It is just a reminder for me to center myself and to put myself in her shoes before I react. To a 21 month old, ketchup for dinner seems like a great plan. It tastes great, is red and doubles as a great finger paint. So it is up to me to take that into consideration when I respond. Thus, I might say something like, "I know you like ketchup and want more. Mommy likes ketchup too but that is all the ketchup you can have for dinner. Would you like to finish what is on your plate or take a bath?" rather than "Don't be ridiculous. Do you know how much high fructose corn syrup there is in that stuff. I'm surprised the Mommy police haven't hunted me down for allowing you to have ketchup at all. Besides, you now have ketchup all over your new dress and I am going to be up late fighting that stain you just made..."

All that crazy chatter is still going on in my head but this little prayer helps it to stay there instead of coming out and hurting Ellen's feelings and later her self-esteem. When you are approaching the terrible twos as quickly as we are, any little thing helps!

Love, The Little Bee and her Momma

Dining Al Fresco

The minute we get home from work/school Ellen wants to head outside. I love that I can watch her play from my kitchen window while I get our dinner together. Her play area is in direct view of my window allowing me to monitor her play but while giving her the independence she insists on. Lately, we have enjoyed eating dinner together outside. On this particular day Daddy was volunteering at the Rodeo so it was just us girls. Ellen elected to eat in her play house while I sat in the grass close by.
She decided her dinner was too hot and that it needed to go into her play fridge to cool off for a bit.

This is a move she learned from watching me in the kitchen and it is incorporated into her play anytime she is feeding someone or something. Once dinner was "cooled off", she pulled it back out and finished her dinner.

After dinner she entertained me by shaking her leg and saying "shake leg, Mommy". This is something she picked up when Daddy was running late for church. I sent her in to her father with this message so that we wouldn't be late. She thought it was hilarious.

Love, The Little Bee and her Momma

Big Girl Bed Update

We are continuing to adjust to life without a crib. For the most part this transition seems to be going well. Our sweet Little Bee starts out the night all sweet and pink tucked into her fancy bed...
Somehow she ends up like this for the rest of the night...

or worse like this with her toys at the head of her bed and her sippy cup and blanket just thrown where ever they land... Don't get me wrong, no complaints here. I love when she sleeps in a sweet little ball, it reminds me that she is still such a baby! Love, The Little Bee and her Momma

Potty Training...

I figured that I would have to face the wrath of 16 year-old Ellen one day if I posted pictures of her on her little pink potty. I don't want that so you will have to settle for this jar of jelly beans. These are her reward for using the potty. Ellen has been giving us some signs for a while that she is ready for the potty but I have not been ready so we delayed and delayed until she took matters into her own hands. She has decided that she is ready for potty training and that Mommy needs to catch up a bit. We will be dedicating this weekend, to potty training. Here goes nothing... (Or should I say, here "goes" Ellen? Get it? Oh nevermind...)

Love, The Little Bee and her Momma

Backyard Sandbox

We have really been enjoying the cool weather before the oppressive Houston summer heat moves in. Ellen's current favorite spot in our backyard is her sandbox. You have to watch her though- she likes to climb up high! I have also caught her rubbing the sand on her legs and arms - please explain this to me! And yes I have also seen her sneak a quick bite of sand.
She can play forever in the sandbox and enjoys when we play with her. I do not care for sand rubbed on my legs (though I'm sure there is a spa somewhere charging big bucks for this "treatment"). I do enjoy teaching her how to make sandcastles or how to use her sand molds.

Sometimes when Ellen plays she sings to herself. I wish you could hear this, it is hearbreakingly sweet. Top on her set list is: Jesus Loves Me, You Are My Sunshine, Bringing Home a Baby Bumble Bee, and Hokey Pokey. She also recites a Spanish poem about the moon that I don't know. This one has hand motions and is prompted by her spotting the moon.

Ellen loves dumping things out and the sand is no exception. I expect that we will have to refill the sandbox shortly.

We do stop our play for Muffy hugs when she comes near. I can't really tell how she feels about this but she doesn't stay away from us. This begs the question of whether or not she is smart enough to know to stay away though.... Ellen has also taken to calling Muffy "Honey" while stroking her head. It is pretty sweet! We hope you are enjoying this weather as much as we are! Love, The Little Bee and her Momma

POTW: Love and Logic Parenting Solutions

Love and Logic Parenting Solutions

My product of the week is a lifesaver for any parent out there. I work as a psychotherapist and have worked with some of the worst behavioral problems and sick family systems you could imagine. I am desperate to do my best not to screw up my child and thoroughly believe that therapists can rear some pretty messed up kiddos! All that Freudian theory starts to mess with your head after a while...

When Ellen took to biting a little boy in her class room, I went in search of some ways to help her father and I deal with this. Love and Logic was my first and only stop. They have a 1800 number you can call for quick advice and a great kit for parents of children ages birth to six years old. Their theories are the ones that I try to instill in the family's I work with and were a natural fit for us. They believe in empowering the child to make decisions, giving the tools and structure they need to make good decisions, and treating children with respect while they struggle through these decisions and their outcomes. We ordered the book on CD version of the kit and quickly devoured every word. I am even helping our church to bring in a Love and Logic speaker. This is a favored parenting style for most churches and you can usually find Love and Logic classes being held at churches and schools.

Please check out their website for more information.

Love, The Little Bee's Momma

After School Zoo Date

After school and work, this little group of mommies and kiddos decided that the zoo ducks were in need of some feeding. These are two of Ellen's favorite "big kids". When we haven't seen her friends for a while she starts going down the list and asking about them. "Where's Carline? Where's Garrett?" and the questioning goes on until she has named all of her friends.
After the ducks, and one nutria -yuck, were all well fed we made a brief stop at some of our favorite zoo highlights and then headed for a train ride. Garrett, when you turn 7 I am totally getting you the "train conductor package"! Have y'all heard of this? Your little one can take a turn at helping to run the train - so cool! What a great gift!

The ever expressive Caroline kept me entertained with her sweet mug as we waited for all of the passengers to board.

Because this was an evening excursion, we saw several wild rabbits hopping around. Ellen was actually the first to spot them. Can you spy the little brown bunny in this picture?

What about in this picture? She wanted to pet the bunny so badly but he had heard about her upside down special and was not going for it!

Garrett also led our crew in several runs up and down the ramp. I highly recommend this for wearing out a toddler. Ellen definitely slept through the night due to Garrett's rigorous exercise program.

Over and over again I am so thankful for our wonderful zoo and the opportunity to have a membership. We love being able to pop in and out and our whole family loves animals. We also love being able to share it with such great friends! Love, The Little Bee and her Momma