Is This Thing On?

Tap, tap, tap.  Anyone out there?  Did I lose all of you?  Was our month hiatus mysterious and suspenseful and too long to go without your random updates of what Breckin says or Ella's new tricks?  I'm sorry.  It's not really my fault.  Actually, it kinda is my fault in a roundabout, don't think about it too long way.  Oh so long ago I ok'd it for Dustin to get an iPhone.  Was it inevitable?  Sure.  But I gave in cause it had a contraction calculator that would help us figure out when to eat more pie and when we should go to the hospital to deliver Baby Ella.  Ever since then, he has joined the rest of the data junkie world while I sat with my phone that barely texted, usually lost texts in mid-flight, had no battery charging capability, and irritated the living daylights out of me but I didn't really feel the need to have apps or surf the web on my phone.  Until I got lost looking for a park.  Three different times.  And needed something to entertain Breckin while waiting in line.  And needed to check an email but wasn't going to be home til 10 pm.  Ah-ha!  An iPhone would solve all of those problems and we were due for an upgrade a few days after my last post.  Do you know how hard it is to type a blog entry on an iPhone?  I tried once and got so frustrated with re-typing everything it tried to auto-correct that I gave up.  It is, however, super handy for checking that email and playing mindless games and texting and getting directions.  It's so handy that I had to get directions on how to get to our own office cause I am NEVER on the home computer.  Never.  Thus, no blog updates. 

I'm sorry.  We've been kinda boring the last month, anyway, and things will pick up as the weather picks up.  By boring, here's what I mean:

Breckin did 3 months of swimming to end up in the same level he started in.  Don't get me wrong, he had a blast and is really good at back floats, kicking his legs, doing alligator arms, and pushing off from the wall.  He just doesn't want to get his head or face wet.  So, we are taking a break and coming back to it circa later.

Ella.  Ella is a full blown toddler.  She LOVES to say NO to anything and everyone for no apparent reason.  She wants what she doesn't have and is good at having fits.  She can play by herself extremely well for long periods of time but once she hits her wall, you better be ready.  She wants up and a binkie and to go to bed.  Her newest words (sorry, the absolute newest, you missed the older newest) are wowler (flower), weet weet (birdies), Neece (Denise), BINAN (Mr Brian), botty (potty), mou (mouth), and ai-bane (airplane).  She is a chatter box and reads stories by herself and sings to her Curious George.

TBall has started.  Dustin coached his first game and has checked that off of his bucket list.  Done.  Handing that one back to the head coach for now.  Let's just say sometimes the kids aren't the hardest part of coaching. 

Ella likes going to the gym's kids play area better than her house.  She screams PLAY whenever we drive past the gym and cries when we don't stop.  The gym is right outside of our neighborhood and we have to pass it to go anywhere.  It's super fun.

Breckin is reading.  He reads pretty much all Dr Seuss books, everything on commercials, menus, the mail, things on the computer, and thinks we need each and everything he sees a commercial for.  He tells me frequently that if I'm good for the rest of the year, he'll tell Santa that I can have a roomba, sham-wow, lifelock, ziploc containers, dryer sheets, shampoo, and a swiffer.  Marketing works.  On 5 year olds.

I'll add some pictures but I only have a few minutes as Breckin is on his way home from playing at a friend's house- the story of my life these days- and Ella is napping but who knows how long.  I LOVE that the weather is getting nicer- even if we have arctic winds- cause Breckin is really loving playing outside and bounces from house to house with the rest of the neighborhood gang.  It's my childhood all over again....  Love.