Winter in Review and Ellie's Birthday

I think we are all laughing at the title of that one for sure. Has this not been the most mild winter ever? Seriously, I was just looking at our collection of cute knit hats we have for the girls at the back door and thought I could probably count on one hand how many times we have actually worn these this season. Anywho this post might as well sum up our "winter" since February is almost gone and I missed January with a post. I think I left off somewhere around New years and mentioning a return to work...

January
Our little happy baby turned 2 months on the fifth of January

She is just the BEST baby ever. Loves to be held, loves to watch people, she smiles a lot and is very content in general. Much different story than the very beginning.

We did manage a little snow storm and had lots of fun playing that Saturday before Momma had to go to work Sunday! Go figure the day I return we have several inches of snow + ice on the ground. But of course it was fine. John was my knight in shining armor and took me there. It was a good day too in general.

Hey hey hey,  you might have heard Clemson won the Natty? The National Championship of course. For those of you who don't know John's whole family basically is Clemson alum including John soooo I married into this. We were all pretty stoked though.

Let's go to Clemson to celebrate the big WIN! I convinced John we needed to join the masses and go to the parade there and see the team. There was of course lots of fans there but hey we got there early and stood in one spot for an hour but we were able to see it all! We were at the end of the route right by Memorial Stadium.

                                             

Oh just Evie being lovely again...those big grins started here.

Mild days equal some park time for Ellie. This girl loves a park these days. She is really becoming more sure of herself out in public. Not so shy anymore.

 

February

 

We went to see THE B&B and Ringing Bros circus. It was a great final farewell. We just took Ellie and let Evie stay with grandparents for a couple of hours. It was a great show (its been a very long time since I've been) and kinda sad to think its all over. Oh well, at least we got to see it!

 

The happy baby turned 3 months on the 5th! Big smiles and joy to all she meets! I need to update her baby book since each month brings such change. I write down little things on my phone and then write it in her book. Its so sweet to look back at.

Matchy matchy in Target and at the library. Ellie also has finally agreed to let us give her piggy tails and pony tails! You couldn't even try before that...so yay!

 

 I worked on Valentines but we gave Ellie some troll dolls when I got home. John gave me one of his classic homemade, honestly very amusing homemade cards! A patient and his family gave me and other nurses chocolates :) BTW Trolls was such a cute movie!

 

We went to Atlanta to the aquarium to kick off celebrations for Ellie's 3rd birthday. I really couldn't decide on what exactly to do for her party. Big family get together? Just us? Shes not in school yet so theres no little friends really (sounds kinda pitiful) but hey she well entertained. She said she wanted a "Dory" party and "Frozen" themed party. That being said I broke her celebrations up into 2 events in Ga and NC. Obviously we went to GA for "Dory" part and John's parents were able to join us. We opened presents at a restaurant before hand and had some "dory" cupcakes momma made. The restaurant even gave us a little candle to use :) Afterwards we walked over to the aquarium. Did you know they have dolphins now?? Kinda crazy and we got to see them in a show. I've never seen them like that before. Only in Edisto Beach and waaaay from a distance there. Ellie liked it and the rest of the fish/animals too of course. They really have everything at this place: Belugas, whale sharks, otters, penguins, etc. We even had a sea turtle swim right in front of us. Of course Dory and Nemo fish were there too... The only downside was the amount of people there! It was crazy! I'm pretty sure the legal limit was reached. 

 

The next weekend we drove to NC for a "frozen" themed birthday with my parents. Saturday night we had appetizers, dinner, cake and presents! Little Ellie turned into a big Ellie with a new bike! Like a legit bike with training wheels and all! The whole weekend was filled with good food, fellowship and family time. It was hard to leave as usual. Ellie just loves the attention from her aunts/uncles and my parents. She's a fortunate little girl and so are we.  

Btw 3 yrs old is looking like a slightly more um, "determined" version of 2 ys old. (Johns mom always said he was "determined" aka hard headed as a small child) Ellie is so smart and just says the sweetest things sometimes but boy if you want to do something and she doesn't agree? Be prepared for battle. I personally still struggle here because I don't have patience for days when it comes to putting up a fight over say...getting dressed. This is where "determined" meets controlling (me). thankfully John and I are a pretty good tag team and when the other is about to lose it we can switch out. LOL. The days are long and the years short though. I can't believe how much little Ellie has changed in 3 years. It's almost like was she ever a baby? I just see her as a big girl now. A big girl who is about to start ballet lessons! She thrives more or less in structure/school environment so I hope she will like it. She also loves dancing but more of the party kind of dancing so we shall see.
 

 

Oh and Evie is still a dreamboat. The. best. baby. ever.