Bye, Bye BB

Wednesday morning I pretty much flipped out at Ryan and told him either things needed to change with the dog (obedience school, regular walks, poop picked up in the backyard, etc) or I could no longer tolerate her presence in our house.  I know, I don't sound very nice.  The truth is, having BB around, I didn't feel very nice.  I think I'm a nice person, but BB drove me sooooo crazy that I would silently curse her in my head daily.  And I felt bad about it too, because BB actually does like me (who knows why?)  Anyway, Ryan decided it was best to get her out of the house for awhile if not permanently.  She's at his parents for now until we decide what to do (find her a new permanent home, probably.)  To be totally honest, I am SOOOO glad she's out of the house.  My stress level is down already.  I do feel bad that it didn't work out, for Ryan's sake and for Ella, who loves her : (  But the funny thing is, Ella would constantly say "no, no, BB" and "down, BB, down!" since she constantly heard us saying that to her....  As much as BB drove me crazy, I also think she deserves to be somewhere where she's wanted- when I say that, I can only speak for myself because I'm the only one who really wanted her gone, but being a stay-at-home-mom, my vote really matters- I'm home a lot!  Well, hopefully we'll find her a place where she's happy and someone is happy to have her around.

Ella is in preschool as I am typing, and although she cries when I drop her off, her teachers tell me she drops the act once I leave : )  I think she's adjusted pretty well, but she now has a constant runny nose which I'm sure is related to preschool!  Ryan and I are trying to decide if we should invest in Montessori school starting in the fall, or just keep her in the program she's in now - the difference is about $400 more a month, so we'll really have to weigh the benefits with the cost.  I think what I'm starting to grasp, is that we'll have two kiddos before you know it, which eventually means twice the bill for activities.  So once this next baby reaches preschool age, will we be willing & able to pay $800 more a month to do Montessori school versus a more affordable church-run preschool program?  I don't know....  If only money were no object! : )

Ella's language skills are emerging more every day.  For example, last night  Ella was playing with my damp hair and after I said "it's all wet," she kept saying "all wet, it's all wet."  Last week, we were playing on a playground and she would stick her face between some bars and say "I see you!" and then pick another spot to stick her face through and say "I see you!"  She's still signing- lately she's been signing cold a lot, since it's been cold lately.  Yesterday, she found a toy caterpillar while we were at the library's storytime hour; she brought it over to me and signed caterpillar - it's such a cute sign!  I'm realizing I need to review some of the signs on her Signing Time DVDs, since she occasionally does something and I'm like "is that a sign?"  I think she was signing backpack yesterday but I'm not sure, since I don't know the sign for backpack myself!  Whether or not she was signing it, I do know that's what she wanted - she loves her Hello Kitty backpack!

Thankfully, we've cut back on nursing - just 2 to 3 times a day.  Ella has adjusted pretty well to it.  It was funny though, just yesterday she bonked her head (on purpose I think) and when I opened my arms for her to come to me, she smiled and ran over and fell into my lap like I was about to give her some "medicine" to make her better.  That's how it used to be- nursing is a quick fix for an owie!  Anyway, I have to admit I come close to caving in sometimes to the extra nursing sessions, but I've managed to direct her to her sippy cup of milk instead.

I think come March, I'll start potty training - we'll see though.  If she's really resistant, I can wait.  I think she's ready though- I noticed her diaper was dry after her nap yesterday so I set her on the toilet, and she peed.  Normally though, she doesn't want to sit on the toilet for me.  But she also hates getting her diaper changed.

  

I've been a slacker with taking pictures lately, so there's not much to post.  But I thought this was a good one to show how Ella has discovered her climbing skills can get her quite far!  In no time at all, she's on the chairs, then the tables!  How do you baby-proof that?  I suppose I just better teach her how to get down safely!

Well, my mom is coming to visit this afternoon and our guest bedroom is a disaster.  It's the one room where I can just throw things into it and shut the door.  It looks like Ella went in there and threw everything all around, but no, that room's mess is entirely my fault.  I better get to it...