January Happenings...

When I think of January, I usually think of a boring, slow, dreary month. This year, however, I am wondering where January went. We stayed so busy and with the weather being so mild it seemed to fly by. Here is what we've been up to...

Eloise is becoming more and more independent by the second. She insists upon doing EVERYTHING herself, from feeding herself to getting dressed to drinking from a cup. It has made for some fun temper tantrums. 

Bath time with dad is always an adventure. He is the fun one; mom is all business. Get in, soap up, rinse, get out. But Paul always teaches Ellie something new when he bathes her. They blow bubbles with straws, splash until all the water comes out, put their face in the water until fully submerged. Sometimes they apparently don't feel the need to get undressed.

Ellie and I went to see the new Otter exhibit at the aquarium. She loved it! She would have followed them back and forth on the glass all afternoon. As a promotional measure, they were giving out free otter pops on the way out. Crazy mom here thought my 'oh so independent' daughter could handle an otter pop by herself....Guess I was wrong.

Ellie also took her first major spill this month. We were on our way out to the car and she turfed it on the concrete. I took her to the doctor, but luckily, no stitches needed. They just glued her up and sent us on our way.

Paul finished the bookshelf! Isn't it GLORIOUS?!? He did a fantastic job and I am loving having it in our home. Ellie is also loving pulling out all the books!

Who flipped the TV loving switch on in my girl? Ellie is nuts about Barney and Tangled. Here she is with her cousins watching Tangled.

And last but not least the Annual German Hofest. I have been going to this every year for as long as I can remember. My sweet grandpa loves polka music. He and my grandma discovered the Hofest years ago and started attending annually and its stuck. One of the staple dances of the Hofest is the chicken dance. Years ago my mom made chicken hats for all of us kiddos to wear during the dance. You better believe we still have the wonderful opportunity to sport those hats. One thing that Ellie got from her mama is she loves to dance like a goofball. She was in her element at the Hofest...such a ham! She boogied on the dance floor all afternoon.