"Kunkle"

"Kunkle" is how Ellena pronounces "Uncle". Here she is with her favorite Uncle, my brother Stu.

El & Her Kitties

Ellena continues to adore her kitties. Here she is getting in the middle of dinner time.

And of course, since the camera is out, she puts on her mean muggin' face. What a clown!

19 Months

Today Ellena turned 19 months old! She is slowly getting over her stranger-danger and is starting to say "Hi!" to random people that we pass in the grocery store. But once they give her their full attention and try to engage her with a question or two, she turns all serious and tries to hide her face with my arm.

It's hard to believe that she is no longer a baby. And as a big girl, we're seeing some BIG tantrums! When she doesn't get her way, she wails, the crocodile tears start flowing, and the feet start stomping. Oh my!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Today we had the pleasure of having one of Evan's buddies, Emily, hang out with us in the morning. We made lemon cake together and Pops worked on Valentine iron-on tshirts for the kids. Can you decipher the messages? :)

He Lays It All Out For Me

As I was sweeping up the lunch crumbs from under the table, I heard footsteps approaching. I assumed it was Ellena, since Evan was playing in his room. I ask, "Who's there? Oh, it's Evan. Hi Evan. Where's Ellena?"

He replies in a very matter-of-fact voice, "I don't know. You are in charge of knowing where she is." Ah yes, that I am. Thanks for the reminder, son.

The Popsicle Treat

We are trying out a new treat system for Evan - if he wakes up to pee in the potty at night, he gets a popsicle treat. Here he is enjoying his pop and Ellena is trying to mooch off him.

Boo from Monsters, Inc.

Today, Ellena's cartoon doppelganger is Boo from Monsters, Inc. Gotta love the pigtails.

Ni Hao, Kai-Lan

Today I did Ellena's hair up like Kai-Lan from Nick Jr. Gotta love her Chinese roots. Ni hao, Ellena!

Potty Time... Already?!

Ellena has surprised us all by initiating her potty training. In the past couple weeks, she has asked to sit on the potty and quickly asked to come right off - I guess it's such a different feeling for her.

Today she grabbed the potty seat and placed it on the toilet. I asked if she wanted to go on the potty and she said Yes. So I sat her on the seat and we sang songs and just hung out for a bit. It's the longest she's ever sat on there. I kept asking if she wanted to come off, but she refused. Then, she asked to have a magazine, like Evan gets when he sits on the potty. So she was looking at the magazine on the potty (what a site!) and she started to pee! She was so proud of herself and got a kick out of flushing the toilet by herself and waving bye bye to the pee.

After lunch, she went straight to the potty, but nothing came out. But still, very good practice! I can't believe how quickly this is all moving! We started talking about the potty with Evan at 18 months, but it was quite some time before he had any "production".

Oh goodness, Evan just announced that he had to pee, which made Ellena run to the bathroom and fight over the toilet. We have created a potty monster.