MeMe and PaPa's part 2: Myrtle Beach

Baywatch, here we come!

We headed to Myrtle Beach on Tuesday afternoon and were there until Saturday. We spent our days on the beach or at the pool. Ella loved the ocean, the waves, the pool, the sand, everything. She just loved the beach. It was wonderful to relax with no worry of cooking, cleaning, laundry or in Matt's case work or bills. Ella took a power nap every afternoon like clock work and when she woke up we would all get ready and go out to dinner. After dinner we would walk down the beach or the pier and listen to the bands, Ella LOVES music and dancing! We would stop in at the arcade on the way back to the condo and then head in for a great night's sleep. Here are some pictures from the week:

Ella's first day at the beach

Ella and daddy in the ocean

PaPa, MeMe and Ella before dinner

Ella making herself at home outside of a store on our way to the pier...sometimes you just need a break!

Ella looking over the pier at the ocean...trying real hard to see some "sharps" aka sharks

Ella and mommy walking down the beach

Ella looking for shells

FOUND ONE!

I LOVE YOU, Matt! It was wonderful having you all to ourselves the entire week!!

Ella's favorite part of the arcade. Oddly enough you didn't even have to put a quarter in it for her to enjoy the ride!

The Euten family playing Dance Revolution, if you've never played I'd highly recommend it!

Going into Ripley's aquarium

I didn't think we would get Ella past this exhibit. It was the first one after you walked in and she probably would've spent the entire day here.

Ella and daddy looking at the "sharps" and "turtlas" in the walk-through tunnel

Ella, daddy and Uncle Josh with the crabs

Check out the "mer"baby

At Broadway at the Beach

We went to the Japanese steakhouse for my PaPa's birthday. I didn't like the big fire in front of my face at all. You can't tell by this picture that I didn't enjoy it though because my mommy and I hung out by the waterfall in the waiting area until everyone was finished eating...that part was cool!

Another day on the beach

Thank you PaPa, MeMe and Uncle Josh! We had a wonderful vacation and great time hanging out with you guys! Ella can't quit talking about you and has told me several times that she wants to go back to the beach.






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MeMe and PaPa's

We started our vacation off last Sunday at MeMe and PaPa's house in Hartsville, SC. They weren't expecting us until Tuesday, but we surprised them by showing up early on Sunday afternoon. We thought we would make it in time to join them for lunch after church, but as fate would have it they had decided to go out to eat that day! We called them from their back porch with the news and I believe they made it home in record time! For several days we just enjoyed the pool and catching up. They hadn't seen Ella in several months so she had plenty to tell them and many tricks to share. Ella loves to be with family. She loves them almost as much as they love her. She was incredibly excited to see her MeMe, PaPa and Uncle Josh. Because they live so far away and we don't get to see them whenever we want or nearly as often as we'd like, MeMe has a very present and real fear that Ella won't remember them. I'm hoping that after this trip that will be a concern she will no longer possess. When we first arrived Ella didn't waste any time getting in the pool. I was holding her hands while we stuck our feet in at the stairs and before I knew it she was continuing to walk in with her clothes on! We all quickly got changed to cure her anticipation. We were in the pool when the three of them got home from lunch. When Ella looked up and saw them walking through the back gate she jumped out of the pool as if it were on fire. She ran with her arms up screaming, "Hey, MeMe!" She scooped Ella up, soaking wet, and they shared an embrace that was long over due. It was an absolutely precious moment and my eyes filled with tears. I truly believe in that moment that without a doubt everyone is now reasonably sure that Ella won't be forgetting any one any time soon. Matt and I took advantage of the many readily available baby sitters and had a nice date to the movies on Monday night. We saw The Dark Knight and thoroughly enjoyed it. The last movie we saw in the theater together was, I believe, The Dukes of Hazzard, which if my memory serves me correctly came out in '05. Sad, I know, but very true. The greatest part was that the theater in Hartsville only charges $2 for a movie ticket...you can't even buy a gallon of gas or milk for that any more, we were super excited! It was nice to spend some alone time with my husband in the town he grew up in. Another member of the family and a note worthy of mentioning would be a shout out to their dog, Boy. PaPa named the dog himself because as a puppy he would always say, "Come here, boy!" So, why name him anything else! Well, if you know her, you know that Ella has a true love and passion for dogs that no one can explain. She spent much of her time at their house at the back door looking at the "boof, boof," which is what she calls a dog. She was constantly grabbing someone's hand so they could take her outside to play with "Bows" (Boy). We all headed to Myrtle Beach on Tuesday afternoon. I'll post pictures of that later...I only have 300 to choose from!!

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We're Home!!

We just returned from our vacation in South Carolina. We spent the week with Matt's family at his parent's house and then several days with them at Myrtle Beach. We had a wonderful time, it was great to get away and spend some time together as a family. I'll have to blog this trip in several sections I'm assuming because there is just simply too much for one sitting. But, I'd like to start here, this was Ella last year at the beach...

This was her this year when she first hit the sand...

What a difference a year makes!!

Ella's new faves!!

"Choclik Milk" and her pool shoes:

She drank the entire juice box by herself, while repeating, "I likes choclik milk. GOOOOD!" The pool shoes we got at Target the other day. She wore them the entire time we were there-with the elastic string still attached that holds the shoes together (yes, she was riding in the buggy.) She then put them back on when we got home and wore them for the rest of the afternoon.

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Angels Bowling

I don't know exactly when it happens, but at some point (after the age of 1, but before 2) the sweet serenity of a baby leaves and the very present reality of fear kicks in. For Ella, her first and only fear, thus far, has been of thunder. She is TERRIFIED! Not so much hysterical, but completely unsure and uneasy. When she hears the loud boom, she drops everything and runs with all her might to me, or Matt, or whoever might be closest. This is where she remains for the duration of the storm. Don't get me wrong, I love her to be close and I love the attention and stillness that we share during those moments, if I didn't know any better I'd think she was trying to get back in! But for the record, I do hate for her to be afraid. As a rookie mom the only thing I knew to do was just reassure her that everything was all right, it was just thunder and it was outside and she is safe.

Well, last week our SoSo had her friend Mary in town. One night we all went out to eat at the Mexican restaurant. We hadn't been sitting for 10 minutes when the horrific happened...it started storming. The thunder hit and Ella's eyes popped open bigger than silver dollars. She threw her arms up and grabbed Mary around her neck so tightly it could very well have cut off her circulation. Mary just simply replied, "Ella, did you hear that? It was the angels bowling." Now I'm reasonably sure Ella has no idea what bowling is nor has she even seen it, but she was intrigued. It thundered again. Throwing her hands up in the air and clapping, Mary said, "it's a strike!" Ella began clapping too. To this day, almost a week later,when Ella hears the thunder she no longer trembles or runs, she throws both hands in the air shouting, "STRIKE!! Angels bowling!" Thank you Mary. It never occurred to me to take something that causes fear and turn it into something good, fun or even exciting. It's a novel idea really and worth all the money in the world to watch her celebrating during a thunder storm! The above picture is of her doing just that.

This is her activity during the remainder of the storm:

She shopped through some of her books and read by herself:

She didn't run for my lap once. Well, at least not because she was scared!!

I Think We're In Trouble

We had some friends in town during the fourth. They have a 9-year old daughter and one that is 10-months old. Ella loved them both...they also have a four-year old son (hence the name of the post!)

Here's Ella and Cam

This is Ella fishing for "land sharks." Cam of course not too far away!!

It was a match made in heaven!

Too cute, huh!?

SO...I think we're in trouble!!

Puppy Love and a Monkey Shine