Cousin Camp, part 3

With Ryan gone for 12 days I knew we would need a little distraction to stay sane. So we hopped on a plane and spent the weekend in Texas with Lauren and gang. We had a fantastic time. Never mind that 7/8 people were sick. That mosquitos were in full force. That we had to fit 5 carseats and 3 adults in the Honda Odyssey. We cooked, ate, crafted, movied, zooed, farmed, parked, beached, laughed, played, played and played. The kids got along amazingly well, and the adults didn't do half bad either. 

{Ella's first step into the ocean}

Thanks, Lauren, for making it a great trip.

guy on a buffalo

Don't worry, there are 4 of these little gems. Episode 2 might be my favorite.

And t-shirts.

Love it.

Private/Public Blog

The worst thing about a private blog (in my opinion) is not being able to use your reader. I've tried to get around this by making a duplicate public blog, that only has the title of new posts, with a link to see the full post. You can put the public blog in your reader.


http://ryanandalissapackerpublic.blogspot.com/

Sunday night pics

The girls and I (Ryan is in China for 10 days) went to my parents for Sunday dinner. The fall colors are gorgeous in PC so we took a few pictures.

don't clap

Oh, the many, many, ways you can scar your child's psyche, without even trying.

Ella's potty training has taken off this week (after I told her that we were all out of diapers and her options were to pee on the floor or in the potty). After her first success we hip, hip, hoorayed, clapped and called grandma. The next time she did the potty dance our conversation went something like this:

Mom: Ella, do you have to go potty?
Ella: Don't twap [clap].
Mom: What?
Ella: Don't twap.
Mom: Huh?
Ella: Don't twap when I go potty. Don't say anything.


And pretty much every time I ask her to go she tells me not to clap. The funny thing is my pediatrician told me the same thing, and I pretty much ignored him. Looks like Charlie knew what he was talking about, once again.

it's time

I really, really hate doing this, but I think I'm going to go private for a while. The comments from men all over the world kind of creep me out. So send me an email or leave a comment if you want an invite. I enjoy blogging and suspect I'm not going to like it as much if I think only 3 people are reading...so this may be temporary. We'll see.

alissa.packer@gmail.com

*btw, if you don't know me, or don't know me well I'd be flattered if you want an invite. As long as you're not creepy.

Caramel Apple Cake

I made this last night for book club, and it was delicious. I used pears instead of apples. Great fall recipe.

Ella at 3

We had Ella's three-year-old visit last week. Here's some tidbits about Ella these days:

• She is very precise. Today she told me that she wanted to go to Bajio. I told her it was Sunday and we don't go on Sunday. She told me, "Mom. We don't go to stores on Sunday. This is a restaurant." 
• Still no luck on the potty front. She can hold it but cannot for the life of her figure out how to go while sitting down. We're trying to be patient.
• Loves her imaginary friends. Has conversations and playdates with them on a daily basis.
• Leveled out height and weight. Sadly, I can't remember what her percentages are. around 50th. 
• Loves Anna. My favorite thing lately is she will recount their encounters. "Mom. I went and saw Anna and she made her face go like this [smiles goofily]." Or, "Mom. I tink Anna is twy-ing to say, 'I don't want any more food, I want my binky.'" Or, "Mom. Anna was yike dis, 'Aaahhhhh.'"
• She is from Utah. She has started to say "like." It pains me, but it's my own darn fault.
• She can add and subtract, using her fingers, most single digits. This morning she asked me, "Mom, what's 3+4?" "I don't know, Ella, what is it?" "Come on, mom. You can do it. You know. This is an easy one!" "7?" "Right! Good job." (honestly, I am not pushing this on her...as I write this I realize it looks like I am being a little bit of a Tiger mom). She also wants to know how to spell things. 
• She has given up the nap. Sad, sad, day. She can be quite the grump come 4 o'clock. Not my favorite stage.
• Conversation last night: "Mom. Do you know what Daddy yikes more than oranges? Peaches. Do you know what Daddy yikes more than peaches? Ellas." (she and Ryan must have had this conversation a few weeks ago). 10 minutes later: "I yike this slice of pear." 1 minute later: "Mommy. Guess what I yike better than pears? Daddy." melt. his. heart.

Preschool "Howdy Day"

dine-o-round

Every year I say we are going to take advantage of Restaurant Week, and every year October 1st comes and goes without us dining o' round. If we make it downtown this year you may find me here, here, or here.

apple picking

Amelia and I went apple picking today in Heber. We scored nearly 100 lbs of organic apples. Now we just have to figure out what to do with them...


*post edit

We made 21 quarts of applesauce, 9 quarts of apple juice and lots of dehydrated apples. Kind of wishing we had picked more apples :)

lotoja 2011

Ryan decided to do Lotoja again this year. He convinced me to do support, so Amelia and I made a road trip out of the infamous Logan to Jackson. We had a great time. Stopped at local gardens, the Oregon Trail Museum, chatted it up, and ate tons of bad-for-you snacks. Oh yeah, we handed the boys water bottles and gels, too. The riders did great. All had their best times and Justin even made it on the podium. Ryan felt strong, but had really bad luck and got not one, but two flat tires. He ended up stopped on the side of the road for nearly 20 minutes. But still, he did great and we had fun together. We stayed in these cool cabins--"glamping" they called it. Sweet.

Ryan's already planning next year...maybe someday I'll join him. Or maybe not. 206 miles in a car might be more fun than 206 on a bike.

Thanks to Drama and Drampa for watching the girls. You know you've got it good when the worst behavior is when your child sobs for 10 minutes when she discovers it's time to go home. Love those grandparents.

wolka dots

The other day Ella and I were driving in the car and I heard her say, "No, no no. You don't say 'wolka dots.' It's 'polka dots!'" "Ella, what did you say?" I ask. "Ah keeps saying 'wolkadots' and I am just telling her that they are 'polkadots.' She always calls them 'wolka dots'."


Nice work, El. Nice work. Way to keep that Ah in line.

preschool

Big day today. Real preschool. With real artwork. Artwork that can really clutter my already cluttered home. So I'm going to do this.

Source: remodelista.com via Alissa on Pinterest

Scan in her artwork, save it digitally, and toss the original. When I have enough we will make a cool piece of art to hang in her room.

Day 1:

Ella turns 3

Some things about my darling Ella Jane

• She has a remarkable memory. She gets it from the Packer side, that's for sure. 
• The imaginary friend thing is evolving. She now has Ah, Va, Da, Sa, Na and Eda-pho-Eda (who knows where she came up with that one). They are her "kids." She converses with them on a regular basis. And today she took it to a whole new level when she told me that she had to crawl on the table because Ah wanted the balloon. 
• Potty training, oh the joy. Here's where we are at: She feels the urge to go. She tells me. We take off her panties and...put on a diaper. She relieves herself, we remove the diaper and put the panties back on. She can't figure out how to go sitting down. She can sit on the potty and hold it for HOURS. She's not stubborn, she honestly can't figure out how to control the muscles while sitting down. Yesterday I asked her to practice sitting in her diaper and going and she told me, "I can't. That's not how my diaper works." Preschool starts in 5 days. Don't think we'll make it.
• She is very very thoughtful. She loves her friends and her sister. She remembers what everyone's favorite color is, and then tries to match their popsicle/balloon/cookie/toy/napkin to it
• The only food she wanted for her birthday dinner was strawberry soup. She hadn't ever had it before, but that's what she she wanted.
• The morning of her combined birthday party 2/2 guests called in sick. We managed to have a great time anyway. Lots of hand sanitizer was involved. 
• She has nearly given up her nap. She needs it every third to fourth day. Shed a little tear. 
• She is fun, smart and sweet. Love you, Ella Jane.