***WARNING***This post contains bathroom humor-

Elly actually pooped in the potty chair today! She is really on a roll...uh, I mean, doing really well...

Ok, sorry I had to do it.

Speaking of bathroom humor, Eden is never at a loss for words when it comes to bodily functions. We try to keep it pretty matter-of-fact since making things off-limits just seems to increase its intrigue with our curious girl. Yesterday she came out of the bathroom and said, "I pooped. It was HUGE. It was a long one and it looked like a moose head!" Gross.

Elly's Big Girl Room

I had yet to post any pictures of Elly's big girl bed. This will be the nursery again (probably in about 6 months or so--before the babe gets here) but for now, Elly gets her own big girl room with her Cozy Bed!

Elly is saying the most hilarious things recently. She says, "You're my best Momma, and I your best Elly." and "We're married, right Momma?" So cute. Yesterday after we took our family picture, Elly said, "Now we're married!"

la chiquita

Tub Time

Even though we don't watch Marcus every day anymore, I still get to pick him up from Daycare once or twice a week and we get to hang out with him. Last week we had fun in the tub!

This pretty much sums it up...

Family Picture

We had to snap some photos of our home and family for our dossier (adoption documents), so I thought I would post a few cute ones...kind of wish we had replaced that door already...Spring project! :)

She did it!

Elly is not waiting for her slow poke parents to potty train her! She's driving this train all on her own!

We have been thinking about potty-training her for a month or so (she is going to be 2 1/2 in March) so I have been letting her sit on the potty (the big one) and try to go when she wants to. Usually she doesn't go but we're getting the hang of flushing and pulling our pants up and down. Today I was downstairs and I heard her say, "I gotta go potty!" I heard her footsteps in the bathroom and then I sprinted up after her. She was in the bathroom, naked from waist down--dry. So she got up on the potty and after a long wait, she went! This isn't her first time, but it was her first time holding it and recognizing she needed to go before she went! Way to go Elly Belly!

Elly's New Sveater

We bought Elly a sweater on clearance at Target for $2. Then we realized she looked just like Sven on the AT&T commercial!

A Day at the Museum with Aunt Tiel

Today Tiel, Claude, Nia, Jackson (the boy Tiel watches), the girls, and I went to the Children's Museum to celebrate Nia's third birthday! We had a grand old time...Tiel is the most hilarious person to take somewhere. She is 100% into the moment, especially when kids are involved.
Tiel Moments:

"If Nia said, 'Let's put bubbles and pink paint on the walls,' I'd have a hard time saying 'No.'"

She started a Conga line from one end of the mall to the other in order to keep the girls from running astray...most of the Food Court was amused.

When the kids were playing in the make-believe shopping area, Tiel made such realistic sound effects as the Cashier, she not only had our kids shopping-til-they-dropped, but drew a crowd of kids who lined up to shop too!

Eden Lily & Elly Lyn

This is Wacky

Since I have been on a web forum for Ethiopian adoption, I have met some really awesome ladies who are just as psychotically doing paperwork as we are in the hopes of bringing their sweet baby or babies home as soon as possible. I have really enjoyed this community a lot.

Today I found out that I have a long lost sister in Michigan...my blogger pal, Holly, and I found out that we have all of the following things in common:

1. Artists
2. Cert. K-12 Art
3. Would like to teach HS art if we go back to teaching
4. Stay at home moms
5. Both have daughters name Elly/Ellie
6. Have the same girl's name picked out for the next one
7. Have the same boy's name picked out for the next one
8. Both adopting from Ethiopia currently

I was totally floored at all the similarities. Crazy world!

Edenisms, Part 15

Out of nowhere in the van, Eden yells out, "That kid's got class!" We laughed, and Dan said, "Eden, you have class!" And she said, "Yeah I know. Preschool."

One More Time!

We went ONE MONTH without an illness! Woo-hoo! Our streak was almost broken last week with a minor poison ivy scare (who gets poison ivy in -2 degree wheather? Eden...but we got it with Cortaid) but it was officially broken this afternoon with Elly's third-in-three months diagnosis of an ear infection. Luckily we are getting better at recognizing this, and we got her in on a Saturday after having a rough Friday/Friday night.

Elly's sick symptoms are so different from Eden's -- Eden would get tired and want to lay around or be really irritable. Elly, on the other hand, gets WILD. Seriously wild...she will run around knocking things down and hitting and kicking things, but not with a bad attitude, almost like she is so giddy she can't help herself. And this is her without medication! The doc today said, "You have a live wire here!" We went to the ICFP clinic because ours is closed on Saturdays, and the doctor we saw was great. She talked to Elly like we weren't in the room. She told her all about what she was doing (and not in a sing-song voice, just like she would you or me) and then she sat down and said, "Well, Elly, you have an ear infection." Elly said, "Kay." Doctor said, "So now I have to talk to your parents about what we're going to prescribe you for it." Elly said, "Kay." It was precious.

Vocabuelly

Here are some of Elly's cute new phrases and words:

futon/fruton = crouton, or an actual futon

mosh pillows = marshmallows

check-ups = chex mix

take a big beth = take a big breath (when she's playing doctor)

I have a list of things I am working on called "30 Before 30" -- 30 things I am trying to do before I turn 30. I have accomplished a few, such as beginning this adoption process (yay). Another one is to start making more art, to finish some of my paintings and drawings and maybe even sell a few to fund the adoption. I also have a half a dozen photos that I would like to print and frame. The above abstract photo is one I took recently.

Apparently this blog is morphing into a catch-all of kids' stuff, my stuff, kids' art, my art, funny stories, and adoption updates...