Jump, Jump, Jumping Bean...

So where did the week go? Ohhh yeah, we’ve been jumping and jumping and well, jumping some more. In fact Elyssa insists on jumping in the morning as soon as she gets out of bed and before breakfast. I swear the kid could probably jump 24/7! She is certainly enjoying her new trampoline from Cousin Lisa. I think Eddie and I are enjoying it as well. Now if I could figure out how to bounce off a few extra pounds, it would be totally worth it!

We had Elyssa’s friends Jack and Luke over to play on Monday and on Tuesday we had her friends Gavin and Isabelle over as well. Everyone enjoyed playing on the trampoline and on all of the outside play stuff we have. I look around my back yard and all I see are kids play structures and a swimming pool. Pretty soon the dogs will have to move out because there will be no more room for them to run in the back yard. Elyssa certainly does not want for much when it comes to playing outside, or inside for that matter. I do know she loves all of it!

Last weekend we had 2 birthday parties to go to. Elyssa’s friend Jamie had his 4th birthday party on Saturday afternoon and we went to her cousin Ethan’s birthday party that evening. She had so much fun but was certainly tired out from all the excitement.

Tomorrow I am going to attempt to take Elyssa to her first movie in a theater. She has never been and we have been a bit scared to take her because of her sensitivity issue but I’m going to see how it goes. We are going to see Cats and Dogs: The revenge of kitty galore. It is at the dollar cinema so if she hates it, I am not out a ton of money. We’ve talked about it and she watched the trailer to the movie over and over again and laughs at it every time. She says she cannot wait to see it, but time will tell. I’ll keep my fingers crossed! We tried to take her to see Toy Store 3, but when we were going to go to the theater she threw a fit and cried that she did not want to go. I figure there is no use forcing her to do something she does not want to do. Seeing a movie is certainly not a life or death situation, if she does not want to go…so be it!

Well she is standing in front of me begging to go out and jump, alas the simple pleasures to a 3 year old!

Sept 23, 2010- Elyssa's new Trampoline

Elyssa has been blessed with a brand new 12 ft trampoline with enclosure from her cousin Lisa. Unfortunately it arrived while we were on vacation and it has taken forever for daddy to find the time to put it up. He started on Sunday and last night had it to this point (see pic). The safety enclosure will hopefully be put on tonight so she can enjoy it to it's fullest but we let her jump for a bit last night while we closely supervised her. She had soo much fun and this morning after putting our pumpkin cakes she insisted on making in the oven we quickly went back out side to jump on her new "jumping bean" trampoline. I swear this kid could jump forever! A big thank you to cousin Lisa for this super duper present for our little princess. She will certainly get hours of fun from this one. I also posted a video of her jumping in the video section as well!

Time flies when your're having fun...

Time flies when you’re having fun…

…..I guess that means we have been having lots and lots of fun! I know it has been a long time since I’ve last wrote anything in this blog and for that I apologize. Mostly to Elyssa because this is supposed to be a living diary of her wonderful life and mommy is failing miserably. I am going to make an honest effort to keep up with this blog on a daily (ok maybe weekly) basis from now on!
Sooo you ask what have we been up to??? Well the biggest thing we have done is a beautiful vacation to Honolulu Hawaii over Easter!! Daddy had a business trip scheduled for some work in Honolulu and well we decided it was a chance in a lifetime for us all to go to Hawaii. So we tallied up our frequent flyer miles and we were off! It was a 10 hour flight from Dallas and I was scared to death that it was going to be a nightmare with a newly potty trained little girl but she did great. In fact she did better than both Eddie and I did. I was ready to jump off after about 7 hours, which is a long time to be trapped in the air. The most miserable part was watching the monitors on the plane as they showed just how fast we were flying, where we were over the ocean and how much longer we had till we arrive at our destination. Once we were there we forgot all about the plane ride and enjoyed the beauty of the area. Daddy worked all day everyday and had the car so Elyssa and I spent every day at Waikiki Beach. Words cannot express just how beautiful the area is. We saw so many things and on Saturday Daddy spent the morning scuba diving while Elyssa and I went to the Honolulu Zoo. That afternoon we went to Pearl Harbor and did some other sightseeing. It was an incredible experience for all of us and Elyssa asks almost every day if she can go back to Waikiki beach.
It was not long after that trip that Eddie lost his job. Although he was able to find another job rather quickly even in this depressed economy is was quite a step backwards. Lots changed in our lives, but we are blessed that he is still working. It has taken a lot of getting used to for me having him home every night and not gone every week. Elyssa loves having daddy home every night and still runs to him when he gets home from work yelling “daddy, daddy, daddy!!” It really does make you see all that he has missed in her life in the last 3 years while he was traveling. Since losing his job he has started his MBA and is working on a few other certifications as well.
We have season passes to Six Flags this year and a membership to the Dallas Zoo so we have been to both parks a few times this year. Elyssa loves Six Flags! In fact for my birthday in May we spent the day at Six Flags. It amazes me that she has no fear of anything. She gets on the rides holds on and when they are over asks to do it again! I tell her she would not be her mother’s daughter if she did not like the fast rides because mommy has a need for speed when it comes to the amusement rides! The Dallas Zoo has been lots of fun as well. They opened a new area called the Giants of the Savannah and it is just incredible. On one visit to the zoo with Aunt Tonia we got to feed the Giraffes’ !
We have spent most of the summer visiting with friends and family and of course swimming. The pool has had a real work out this summer. Elyssa loves to swim and with her arm floaties on she is quite the little fish. We tried swim lessons this year and it was a miserable mistake. One think I’ve learned about my little girl , is that we will never ever, ever make her do what she does not want to do. She has a mind of her own and will express her opinion at will. We have decided we will pick our own battles cautiously.
We just got back from Pennsylvania visiting some family this past week. We had some frequent flyer free tickets that were going to expire, some free hotel stays and free car rental that were all going to expire so we decided to just jump and go. We got to stay with my cousin Lisa for a couple days in State College and then went to see Grandma and Pappy and some of my friends for the rest of the week. We had a great time and it was good seeing everyone again since we are not sure when or if we will get the chance anytime soon to do it again.
Elyssa is changing so much and growing up before my eyes. She is now 39 inches tall , 31 lb s, and wears a size 9 shoe! She is talking in 6-8 words complete sentences, says 3 syllable words (pretty good at pronunciation) tells me stories and makes up her own songs! Her ability to negotiate and rationalize amazes me! The other day she told me when I corrected her for doing something wrong, “Mommy, you are not being my friend!” She starts sentences now with “ Mommy, when I was a baby last year,….” And of course follows it up with “I’m a big kid now…” Since we had to cut out all things that are not necessities, she is not going to pre-school this year. She asks me all the time when she gets to go back to school and I just tell her we are on vacation from school. I figure I can teach her everything they teach her in preschool right here at home! With Elyssa everyday is an adventure!
Well I think that brings us up to date! More to come (I Promise) later….