New Toy

So.... SOMEONE is impatient and can't wait to see Destructo-Girl walk and tear this house apart. Mostly, I can't wait to see pants that don't have to have the knees spray-and-washed 4 times for each time they're worn. Anyway, it's been obvious since she was like 11 months old that Ellie COULD stand on her own, she just doesn't want to because it freaks her out. She still won't do it. And, it's become obvious she can actually stand on her own as well as she doesn't "pull up" on things anymore, but squats her body up into a standing position. On top of it, she can walk barely holding my fingers at a jogging pace, but won't try it without something large to hold on to. Soo..... enter impatient mom.

We bought her this. (I wanted a walking toy she could still play with down the road after she can walk.)Notice anything? Like the fact that her feet can be flat on the ground riding this already and it's meant for much older kids? Yeah, she's a beast. A skinny, tall, beast. I have to admit though, it is nice that I barely have to bend over to hold her hands while she "walks".

Anyway, this toy came in the mail yesterday during nap time, and by the time Ellie was up it was all assembled and ready for play. And doing it's job I might add.
Ok, so secretly I have a ton more pictures of Ellie turning this thing on its side to spin the wheels and crawl over it, but she did this a lot too! She did get mad at it though, because she pushes it full force and isn't ready to move her feet quite so fast yet.
Oh, and I just happened to catch the one time she let go and plopped down on her own. (She does this too, she just won't let go of things and actually stand....)And here is our girl in action. See what I mean about not really needing anything? She can go twice this fast too, and does when we walk out to check the mail while barely holding my hands for balance. It's all about confidence, and hopefully this will give her some.

Yes, I am aware that I will probably hate myself in a few weeks for encouraging this, but I'm so excited to watch our girl accomplish something so big!

Our HAPPY Girl!

Ellie suddenly popped out a new word today, and I had no idea where it came from till I realized that we always call Ellie our happy girl. Today, we've heard the word happy constantly, except when she was upset briefly. So, I like to think that she keeps saying it because she's so content. This was from earlier in the day.


Normally I don't blog something the day it happens, but I got this on video about 10 minutes ago and COULD NOT HELP MYSELF. You'll see why!!!

This girl brings us so much joy every stinkin day.

The Newest Member of the Family

Bet you all didn't know we were expecting did you? Well, we were. A new car that is!

Meet: Bagheera. (Like the panther in The Jungle Book)

Ok, this new addition to our family is such a big deal that it requires two perspectives, mine and Nicolle's.

Many say that its hard to pinpoint the exact moment when the boy becomes a man. For me the moment I became a man is as obvious as the exact moment an atomic bomb goes off. Simply put I became a man September 3rd 2011 at 3:02 pm MST when we picked up this bad boy. FINALLY, after many years and much pain and doubt, I have a 4 wheel drive vehicle.

Now does the name make sense? This is our 2005 Durango. It is beautiful, and we love it. The cat reference makes sense not only because of the color, but Steve says she looks like she's crouching, and the taillights are round and look kind of like cats eyes in the dark at night. We decided it was time for a new family car and figured we would make the investment in a larger vehicle so that as our family grows in the next 5+ years, we won't have to look for a vehicle that can hold more carseats. Let's be honest, the Prizm barely holds Ellie's seat now, and can't hold an infant seat without the front seats moved way up. And, the way car seat safety laws are going, our kids will probably be allowed out of their booster seats about the time they learn to drive. Honestly, most cars won't hold more than two car seats at best, and three means a truck or larger, newer vehicle for the most part. Or.... a third row passenger vehicle. Enter the Durango. (Eh-hem... MY durango. That I let Steve drive and pay for...)

Hey I love my wife, like alot; but let's be real for a moment. Nicolle has never even driven a vehicle with 4 wheel drive engaged. Saying its HER Durango is kind of like Ghandi saying that this is MY machinegun........

Nicolle also left out the most important reason why we got an SUV. This summer was one of the cooler summers in Tri-City history. We never broke 90 degrees until August, and we only broke 100 degrees for 3 days in late August. Meteorologists claim that the cooler summer in Tri-Cities is the result of carbon emissions and climate change. If this is the result of carbon emissions and climate change, then damn it we need to do our part to INCREASE our carbon footprint. I have a dream of an August in Tri-Cities that doesn't break 80 degrees. YES WE CAN! YES WE CAN! Oh my.....

Last Saturday we went and picked it up from a family in Nampa, ID. They were more willing to come down into what we wanted to pay than a dealership, and this beauty only had 51,000 miles and change when we picked it up! Awesome!

Steve just cares that it has 4 wheel drive and a V8 hemi engine, which will be nice when we travel during Christmas breaks to see family, but more importantly, Steve says makes him a man. Steve's criteria for being a man are as follows. You have to own and shoot a gun, be able to roast meat, have... um, a wife, and own a 4 wheel drive vehicle. Steve can now call himself a man. Yay. Steve.

Now for the bonus round. I must kill a wild beast with my gun, bring it home in our new 4 wheel drive vehicle, and roast it on our grill.

There will most definitely NOT be any dead animals in that car.

This picture may not seem like much, but this picture may be the very first time that the elusive quality of BADASS has been caught on film. See that shining glow coming from Bagheera's hood, I haven't completely confirmed this yet but I am 99.5% sure that is the site of badass emanating from Bagheera.

Oh, and just to show we haven't lost perspective. As much as we may be enjoying our new baby, here this is still our number one girl.


We've started coloring with crayons occasionally and last week I took her out with chalk on our little walkway. She loved scribbling with and crawling through the chalk. She was so dirty after, but it was a lot of fun.


Yup thats my girl, who I love alot. Now when boys look at her wrong, I have TWO options at my disposal to "correct the situation." Beretta and Bagheera, not a bad combo.