Playing Puzzles

One of the perks of potty training was some intense, focus solely on Eleanor time. We read books, built towers of blocks, chased each other through the house and put together puzzles. Each of these activities is getting more and more fun as Ella grows and gets more interactive. She's getting pretty good at identifying many animals, doing some matching and putting together simple wooden puzzles.

And, on the potty training front, Ella has successfully moved on to going potty for caregivers both in the nursery at church and at daycare. Way to go Eleanor!

Backyard Wildlife Take 3

So I posted about the deer yesterday morning and not 5 minutes later our next door neighbor comes knocking at our door... she says, "Look in our backyard! There are 2 big buck back there and we didn't want you guys to miss them."

So Ella and I head out to check things out and this is what we see:

Pretty cool, but they are definitely pests... so I was grateful they were next door. They bedded down back there and looked like they would stay for a while.


Ella and I then headed out for our morning activities and when we came back I sent the dog out to go potty. But she didn't really go anywhere, she just stood on the deck. So I looked up and realized the buck were in our yard, eating our very dead garden! And the roses!So I guess you can't really tell from the pictures because our camera has a good zoom on it - so the ones of the deer "far away" don't look so far away - but this last pic was really close to the house. These animals are big! I just can't imagine being this close to a moose or an elk... and I'm glad those two haven't shown up in our backyard!

Backyard Wildlife Take 2

How interesting to look up and realize there is a buck just beyond the fence in your backyard! He was beautiful and bedded down in that yard for most of the day. It was really fun to look at him with Ella. She knows "moose" and "elk," but still has trouble identifying deer. I think this experience helped her in that regard. Although, she typically just identifies all horned creatures as "buck"... a true Wyoming girl!
And this picture is just to make you smile. Our funny girl who is obsessed with shoes...

Another Year Older

So, yesterday was my birthday. It also happened to be the Columbus Day holiday and federal employees get it off. Thus, Seth was able to be home all day with us! It was a great birthday present. He also allowed me to head out with Amanda for pedicures and we all went out to dinner. All in all a good celebration.

The best part of the day, however, involves our dearest Eleanor.

For the past 3 days we have been working intensively with Ella on potty training (and with the dog, too!). Saturday and Sunday she worked at it and we worked at it and all in all we were totally frustrated and exhausted. Monday morning I woke up and thought, "Today is my birthday. I don't want to work so hard today. Oh, well! At least Seth will still be here to pay attention to the dog." Wonderfully, however, Eleanor woke up in a great mood and told us right away she wanted big girl undies. She then proceeded to have NO ACCIDENTS ALL DAY! We rocked the stickers for dry pants and the M&Ms for pees in the potty. It truly was a party all day long in our house!

Here's the big girl in her Minnie undies:
We still have a lot of work to do to get Ella 100% potty trained, but I'd say she's 80% there. We're still working on the poop thing - timing is definitely an issue. :) And, Ella's still a bit afraid of big potties, so having her go outside our house is still a challenge. She is getting better already, however, as the nursery workers at my Bible study this morning reported she told them she needed to go potty twice and was successful once for them.

We are very proud of our big girl and I am totally relieved that life won't be continually as difficult as it was last weekend. :)


P.S. If you are a mother of a child in diapers, DO NOT get a puppy you need to house train at the same time you begin potty training your child!!!!!

About the Beach

So, we took a 2 week "vacation" of sorts out to Oregon at the end of September. The trip was wonderful, busy and not quite long enough to fit in everything and everyone we wanted to see...

Normally I like to do things in chronological order - probably because I'm Type A, but also because it's helpful when we look back over the blog as a "scrapbook" of sorts - this time, however, the posts will show up amidst our present lives and in no particular order. Today I'm feeling wistful about our visit to the Oregon Coast, missing the fresh coolness and muted blues as I look out my window at yet more snow falling. So, here are some pictures from our first walk on the sand and Eleanor's first experience with the ocean.












This last picture is my favorite. Living in Wyoming makes me acutely miss the dampness of the ocean, the smell of salt water and the look of flushed cheeks and windblown hair that come with a fresh return from a walk on the coast.

We stayed in the Captain's Cabin at Harbor Villa (part of Twin Rocks Friends Camp) for our time at the coast. This was graciously opened to us by my brother and his wife since Jeff works at the camp. We were able to meet Daniel, our 4-month-old nephew, for the first time during our visit and enjoyed catching up with Jeff and Emily. We also were treated to fresh Pacific salmon, introduced to the Chuck-It (thanks, Owen) and played some rowdy hands of Find the Queen. Good times.

A Return to Wyoming

Once again, it is snowing in October. Sadly, autumn (especially October) is my favorite time of year. Here in Sheridan, however, it is feeling much more like winter than fall. Ella, Puppy and I are enjoying the excuse to stay home and relax through the cold and wet, though. I'm loving the return to sweaters and tea. Hopefully the sun will return in a week or so and stay for a few weeks before winter really sets in...

A New Family Member

We still haven't quite settled on a name (although I think we're close), but here is the newest Tippin:We picked her up Tuesday night, just after Eleanor and I arrived back in Sheridan. The last few days have been quite the adventure with us all adjusting to being back at home while also handling the puppy business. It is super fun, though, and we love our little "Mo" a ton. ("Mo" is what the breeders were calling her because they knew we hadn't picked a name and had been calling her "Faux-hawk" or "Mohawk" because of her fabulous hair style). She is a 10 1/2 week old female Golden Retriever. I can hardly believe we finally settled on a breed, let alone actually purchased a pup and brought her home! This has been a long process, but we're very happy with the outcome.


P.S. Sorry for the huge break in blogging. I think I'm back now. Hopefully life will be a little less full of bustle in the coming months.