Life with the Grieffs: May 2014

All about Ella in May.

If Ella is ever quiet, it's because she's in her room putting on as many clothes as possible. She loves to play dress up in her own clothes, or in pull up swim diapers. She'll walk out into the living room with 4 swim diapers around her legs. Not a day goes by without every item of (clean) clothing in her dresser getting strewn about her room as she tries on different pants. Fortunately all of her shirts hang up, otherwise I'd have a lot more to fold and put away every single day (or I just let the pile simmer for the next day if I don't feel like putting them away). She and Eva have lately been putting socks on their hands and feet and skating around the hallway. Ella is being predicted by all of my friends to be the class clown. She will do anything for a laugh and she is always silly. I don't think she is capable of walking in public, holding my hand, without dramatically leaning so I have to use two hands to prevent her from falling over, or dragging her feet so she gets dragged along, or running super fast to pull me. She laughs hysterically the entire time, she thinks she is just hilarious! Ella loves: eating ice cubes, rice, popsicles, coloring with Eva, Minnie Mouse (perfect timing for our upcoming Disneyland trip!), swimming, sunglasses, dumping out water, sitting on the potty (after she's gone in her diaper), smiling at everything, and making faces at herself in the mirror.

Eva has grown an inch in the past month! I just can't believe it. She is doing so well in swimming and she has become a great helper, when she wants to. She is really great with scissors, building castles with her blocks, and using her imagination all the time, and all of the Disney princesses (did I mention perfect timing??!!). Eva is super outgoing, she will always make friends anywhere she goes, talk to anyone, and always initiate conversations with anyone and everyone (in case there was any doubt, she is definitely a Grieff). Eva can be a major sassy pants, and there are definitely times when I have to remind Eli that she is 3, and no her behavior does not mean she will be like this forever or that she is a train wreck. She also is learning the importance of telling the truth, and there will be times when she comes up with me with huge doe eyes and says quietly, "mom I have to tell you something, because I need to tell you the truth". She can be very funny, and she loves to make up stories about her brother, or what she learned from her adventures with her grandma. I tripped over her the other day when she walked in front of me, and she fell too, and I hugged her and said I was so sorry and she replied, "No mom, it's ok, it's not your fault. It was my fault." Eva also loves to take selfies with my phone and dress up in my clothes. She loves when I fold laundry because she tries on all of my and Eli's clothes. I now have to fold laundry at 6am or 9pm because otherwise it's 8 times as much work.

Eva has her most favorite pillow that she will not sleep without. And believe it or not, it is not a princess one. It is the one pictured here. She calls it her 'cold pillow' because the fabric is the kind that is smooth and somewhat cool I guess. And for some reason she has become attached to this specific color even though we have the same sheets in a darker brown too. So now, her favorite pillow is the tan one. Ella apparently thinks it's cool to demand her special pillow too, so I had to bring hers in too one morning when we were cuddling in bed.

I do a fantastic remake of the Princess and the Frog.

We were saying goodbye to our friends outside, and Eli came out of the house asking if Ella was with me. I replied no, and we started panicking because she wasn't responding to us. Then I found her in Eva's room, quietly 'occupying' herself with Vaseline. It took a few days for her hair to get back to normal. (PS as I'm posting this picture, I asked Eli if he remembered how and when Ella got Vaseline in her hair. Before he could reply Eva chimed in to remind us that it was when we were saying goodby to our friends. That girl has such a memory!)

Despite a bath and a night of sleep, Ella's hair still did this in the morning!

Our bougainvillea is gorgeous this year!

We had our popcorn ceilings removed and our entryway redone, so we spent three days at Phil and Sarah's house (before they moved :( ). And we 'babysat' Tatum too :)

Eva still has her thing with rubbing ears. Jinxy's turn!

We get a few strawberries every week. Ella looooves to go check for them (so does Eva), and they are so yummy.

and we have another crop of oranges right now.

every morning, I feel like a true pioneer woman. I go out and pick about 6 oranges and juice them for the girls' morning orange juice! No more Tropicana in this house (for a few weeks).

The girls' first movie theater experience (together). We are participating in summer movie fun. Every Friday at 9:45am, the theater plays a movie for the next 10 weeks, just $7 for all ten weeks! We are doing this with several friends, we have 2 '3' year olds and 5 '1' year olds....we are the noisy section but really the theater is all kids so it's not that big of a deal.

We all have our battles with Mr. B over the sink.

Yes she still wants to wear her Belle dress everyday. And no, it is not really yellow anymore.

Grandpa Forsyth, do you recognize these?? I can't believe the bulb bloomed again!

Eva can honestly, many days, look fairly put together without even having her hair brushed. Ella on the other hand...

Eva and her buddy Eli have been friends since before they could walk :) They will also be in the same preschool class next year!

You can't tell, but we're on the train here. Ella sits on the edge and she will not let me put my hand next to her. I of course still keep it up because there aren't any sides to prevent her from jumping or falling off the train, but I am not allowed to touch her.

This was also at the train park, and actually it was probably a couple weeks before the picture above. I just love this park! They have a huge play area, sprinkler things built into the sand so it's perfect muddy yucky sand castle sand that the kids love to dig in, plus a carousel and a train to ride. And they have ice cream.

What do you do when your child dumps a full bowl of soup in her stroller tray? Frantically start cleaning up? No way, just hand them a spoon. Ella got most of it herself!

Ella woke up in a bit of a pickle. She must have tried to take off her shirt. Notice her shiner? She hit her face on the hard part of our couch when the girls were being corazy.

On Memorial Day we went to the lake, about an hour away. The girls loved the lake and the 'beach'.

Some of these pictures are deceiving. All of the sand at this beach is pretty much captured in this picture. It becomes rocks and rough grass patches just after the purple shovel.