Elle's Updates: Look who's TWO!!!

How is my sweet "Suga Mama" two years old in just two days?! On Sunday the 31st we will celebrate two years of this sweet little life! I skipped the last couple of months in updates to give you one big post on how our Nelly has been doing. The end of an era is here, I promise I won't say she's 24 months, she'll just be 2. I will still post her favorite things from time to time and what she's up to, (probably the interesting things coming out of her mouth) but there will no longer be monthly updates.

To say she is talking is an understatement, she won't stop!! She has several phrases under her belt, one of my favorites was "you wash your hair?". Her songs and dance moves are daily fixtures in our home and she now requests the songs by name, but not by official name. For instance, the wheels on the bus is "round and round". Noelle is super silly and loves clowning around. She loves helping with laundry and very often tells me she "wash clothes" with her Dad when I come home from work. I could not be prouder that Noelle knows the entire alphabet! We've been working on it for a while and she has for months been practicing pointing the letters out and her numbers.

Noelle loves bath time and hates when it's time for me to actually bathe her. Books are still one of her favorite things and she is constantly asking to be read to. Eating is definitely more challenging as she has become much more picky. She could eat french fries for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Breakfast is definitely her favorite meal, she wakes up with pancakes, bacon and sausage on the brain (mama's girl).

Denver Metro Moms Post- Becoming A Denverite

In case you guys missed it, my first post with Denver Metro Moms posted this week!! I was so excited by all the feedback the post received and my friends are seriously the best. Thank you all for your continued support of me and my writing. 

http://denver.citymomsblog.com/around-town/10-things-learned-becoming-denverite/

Click on the Denver Metro Moms icon to the right to check out the website and other blogs the moms have posted. 

Get Us Out Of This House

Winter has us itching for some activities outside the house. This winter in Denver is a little different for us because Noelle now says "outside" and she wants out. She cries when it's time to come back in some days. I feel so horrible about keeping her cooped up in here. For both our sanities, WE NEED OUT! But I need some of you real snow bunnies advance on things to do. 

We recently took a trip to The Children's Museum in Denver and had a great time with our friends Kristen and Ellington. 

 

I know some of you are thinking "Winter? Yeah right, you guys don't even have coats on"! Well Denver winters are very bearable most days and it is beautiful even on the coldest of days but this is very much winter to me.
It was a great morning out of the house and I'll have to start putting things on the calendar to do with her on my days off. Any suggestions for good winter activities?

Noelle's Hair Style

Caring for Noelle's hair has not been an easy lesson to learn. You'd think because I do my own hair I would be capable of caring for hers. Oh but the truth hurts and is hard to hide. Noelle's hair has seen it's days of dry and brittle. As an infant I was putting baby oil and lotion on it, not having a clue of what I needed to do to keep it healthy. Since starting from scratch on my own hair I have really learned what her hair needs to look good and most importantly be healthy.  

I wash and deep condition it about once every two weeks. This way I'm not stripping her hair of it's moisture. If her hair is not in braids or they don't last two weeks I will try and deep condition it more often. 

Her hair has grown so much since I've started braiding it. It locks in her moisture and cuts down on the constant manipulation. And Lord, I couldn't imagine doing it everyday, there's no way. When we're out, I get asked all the time how I am able to get it done. Fortunately she has gotten pretty use to it, but that doesn't mean she likes it. We are big on distraction, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, the iPad, or our phones.  Even that doesn't work sometimes and I just have to give her a break. Depending on the design it can take me anywhere from 45 minutes to over an hour. I usually always finger detangle her hair immediately after I deep condition (while it's softest) and in some cases I will use a wide tooth comb to get through it. 

Because of her baby balding it's been hard braiding her hair with the back being so short. It hasn't yet caught up but we work with what we've got. For whatever reason I've decided that I can trim the ends myself, this probably isn't the best idea but it works for now. I want her hair to continue to grow and I'm not paying anyone to do it. I've been shocked at the rate of its growth over the last few months. 

I posted all my favorite products in my last hair post but I use this leave-in conditioner for her.

I get a lot of design ideas from Pinterest or whatever comes to me in the moment. As much as I love her curls and setting them free it's easier to maintain when it's braided.

What are your go to hairstyles for your toddlers?

Christmas + New Years At A Glance

So I'm super late posting but because I still see Christmas decorations up I feel safe to share our last couple of weeks during the holidays! We had family in town for the a week during Christmas and the fun was endless. Christmas day was a blast and the days that followed were just as fun. We headed to Orlando on the 31st so I could celebrate my best friend's 30th birthday! We stayed just long enough for us to also celebrate my mom's birthday, it was a great holiday season. We are back in Denver and I have officially started as a staff member at the children's hospital. 2016 is sure to be a great year and we are thanking God in advance for the blessings He will bestow upon us. 

Noelle had a great Christmas morning! As expected my postal paper wrapping was a fail for her to get into, I won't do that again. Out of all the things she received, her favorite no doubt has been her small stuffed Mickey Mouse Clubhouse characters. Thanks again for the idea Vicki!!

 We baked cookies on Christmas Eve and I was so close to saying to hell with it because the whining and tears were too much to handle. Watching the cookies in the oven created a complete cookie monster meltdown. 

 They weren't pretty but they didn't last long!

We spent Christmas afternoon on the ice!

We ended the night with an amazing meal and a movie.

 She just had to bring her friends!

Other highlights with the family included tubing and of course snowboarding!

We made it to Orlando on New Years Eve just in time to celebrate with my bestie Blair's 30th birthday celebration!

 We also got to celebrate my mom's birthday with our family which was the icing on the cake for another great trip home! #blessed

Now by show of hands, how many people still have their Christmas decorations up?