Easter Pictures

I know it is a month late, but here are our Easter pics. Saturday night we colored eggs and Sunday after church we had some family over for an Easter Egg Hunt for Elliot. She had a blast!

Play Park!!!!

Elliot's favorite thing to do is play outside and now that it is getting warmer, we find ourselves outside quite a bit. We live about a block away from a park and she loves to go and play on the toys and the swings. She calls it "play park" and she is always asking us if we can go to "play park". I was able to get it on video, so here is my interview with Elliot about what she likes to do at the park...

Quick aside, whenever she wants us to do something (or to get her something), she grabs our hand and pulls us and says "Tum on Daddy" (Come on Daddy) and walks us to where she wants us to go. It is so cute and I'm trying to get her to say it at the end of this video. But she doesn't really cooperate...

Elliot's 20 and 1/2 Months Update

Sorry for the long delay in between postings. I wish I could say that there was a reason, but there isn't. So, without further ado, here is Elliot's 20 1/2 months update!

Allow me a few paragraphs to brag...

Elliot is really smart. She picks up on the smallest things that she hears just once and we are always looking at each other saying "Did you teach her that?". A few days ago she started saying "Tunnel!" every time we would drive under an underpass or pull in to get gas. After many phone calls trying to figure out where she learned it, we found out that Nonni had mentioned it to her once. Want another cute story? I thought so... Jennie went to San Antonio for a sister's weekend. She left Thursday night and was coming back on Sunday night. On Sunday morning, we were backing out of the garage to go to church and Elliot was being really fussy and here is how our conversation went...

Daddy: "What's wrong Ellie?"

Elliot: "Sad."

Daddy: "Why are you sad?"

Elliot: "Mommy."

Daddy: "Do you miss Mommy?"

Elliot (in a sad voice): "Yes."

I couldn't believe the processing level that had just taken place. I know what you are thinking and yes, she is a genius! I'm kidding, it is just fun to watch her absorb all of this information and then spit it back out.

She is always talking. The last time we went to the dr., they asked if she had a 25 word vocabulary. 25?? Try 200, and I'm not kidding (if someone would like to challenge me on this, I am sure I could produce at least 200 words that she is able to use in conversation). She is putting together sentences. Lately it is "I see _____" and "Come on Daddy" (when she wants me to go somewhere or get her a snack). My least favorite is "Get up Daddy!", but Elliot, it is still dark outside!

When she is not talking, she is singing (and it might be the other way around!). She knows many songs from beginning to end, like Jesus Loves Me, ABC's, Twinkle Twinkle, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Wheels on the Bus, Baby Bumble Bee, Theme songs to her favorite shows (Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Dora, Elmo's World), Old MacDonald and there are more that I am forgetting. She loves to sing!

She LOVES going outside and if you plan on taking her outside, you better block off at least an hour. This summer is going to be very fun! Elliot is very tall and has gotten to the point where she can reach door handles. Right now she likes to make sure that all doors are closed, more to show off that she can do it than anything else. She loves to run and jump and climb! And she has such a funny little sense of humor. She is a lot of fun!

One of the things that she might be a little behind in is playing with kids her own age. I think she thinks that she is 3 or 4 because that is how old the kids are at Pammy's house (where she goes a couple of times a week). She doesn't know what to do with kid's her own age so she is very reserved. We probably need to schedule some play dates!

She is so much fun and growing up so fast. Here are a few pictures and I will try to be better about updating...

This is either a silly face or her trying to make a fish face, I'm not sure...

Getting ready to go to the park! Notice B and Blank Blank (her paci and blanket). They go everywhere with us and she can't have one without the other.

Maybe the cutest picture ever?

Going to church (Aunt Ash made the bows she is wearing"...

Bath fun!

Finally, here is a video of Elliot at the park. I had gone to DFW for the weekend, so Mommy and Ellie went to the park to play!

The Shell Game

I think that it is every parent's responsibility to prepare their children for many different situations that they may face in life. In the event that Elliot is in New York City and has run out of money, we are teaching her a survival skill that will hopefully help her get by. That's right, we are teaching her the Shell Game... Here is more Christmas family fun, as Uncle RyRy hides her little toy Pluto under different cups. I love her excited dance that she does. I can't tell if she likes being the center of attention. What do you think?

ABC's & 123's

Elliot loves to sing. She has a couple of favorite songs, but her favorite by far is the alphabet song. She can sing it all the way through and she sings it all the time! Here she is singing it during the holidays. She also counts to 20 in this video. It isn't her best effort (she was a little distratcted), we are so proud! The next couple of days I will post more videos. So stay tuned...

The Last Two Months

Well, we are settled in Amarillo. We have moved into our house and unpacked all of the boxes. The last two months have been a little crazy. Jennie started working nights, which we are still adjusting to, and Jordan got a part time job at the Amarillo Civic Center. It isn't much, but it cures "cabin fever"! Jordan has a couple of full time job leads and we should know more after the first of the year. Elliot is getting really big. She loves snowmen and she is excited for Christmas. She has such a sweet spirit, but she also has an attitude as well. I will try to post a video of her in the next couple of days. The trick is getting her to not act cheesy when she sees the camera. We aren't sending Christmas cards out this year b/c it has been a little hectic, so we would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas! Here are some pictures to catch you up on what we have been doing...

Pretty girl

On Halloween we went out to the corn maze. Elliot liked seeing the animals they had out there.

Elliot on Halloween, she was a little Cowboy's cheerleader. Note the Elmo bucket

Playing a little football on Thanksgiving. A Jackson tradition.

Uncle RyRy on the other side of the camera for once...

I snowed the Sunday after Thanksgiving, so we got Elliot bundled up to go out and play. She wasn't a big fan of the snow though.

Out of order pictures... Here is the face she makes when she sees the camera. It is hard to get a good picture of her.

Silly face again... Her teeth are finally coming in.

Family picture in the snow

The front of our house

I love this picture...

Big girl eats breakfast at her table now.

Elliot helping Daddy decorate the tree. Every morning she makes us plug in the tree so she can say, "Ohhh pretty!"

This will have to do for our Christmas card this year!

Merry Christmas!

The Rumor's Are True...

We are headed back to Amarillo...

Which is why there hasn't been a lot of updates on the blog. The last month has been busy. Mommy and Elliot moved up to Amarillo in the middle of October so that she could start her new job at Northwest Hospital. Daddy visited on the weekends and today was his last day with the Rangers. Plan A is for him to get certified to teach. The house is sold and now we just have to move all our belongings. We are really excited for this new phase of our life.

Elliot is able to put sentences together and tell us when she has to "poo poo" and has successfully gone in her little potty! The success rate is 10% at best, but it is still really early and this is driven by her not us, so we are taking it really slow. She has more teeth coming in, so she shouldn't be Dracula for much longer. She loves Mickey Mouse ClubHouse and Baby Praise. She is such a sweet mommy to her little babies. She has been such a trooper during this transition. She is an amazing little girl and we are so blessed to have her. It has been really hard on Dad to just have weekend visits, but that is about to end really soon!

Anytime she sees a camera, she says "cheese" instead of closing her eyes or looking away, so we are getting some good pictures! She is so full of personality...