2 3/4 (and 2 1/2) Years Update

2 1/2 Years OldYou're 2 3/4 years old!

2 3/4 Years OldWhich yes, means this is also your 2 1/2 years update.

February 9

February 16You're 23 lbs and 2 oz (0%ile). It's an official weight since we were at the dr recently for an ear infection. Although it's the first you've had since you had tubes just over a year ago. You're wearing a mix of 12 and 18 month clothes. You're wearing size 8 shoes (although I think you technically can squeeze into your old 6s.) We actually just started potty training and you're doing pretty good. But before that you were wearing 2T pull-ups.

February 23You have become such a character. You've developed this evil mastermind-type laugh, that I can't quite get over. You want to do everything your sister is doing, which I guess has been a common theme. In addition to calling her Kay-Kay which you've done for a while now, you've also started to call her Sissy.

March 3Food is still a struggle, in that if your not hungry you just won't eat. But we can normally count on you to eat hamburgers, chicken, burritos, or cheese. But I will say at your last appointment, you had the highest percentile in weight since you were just a couple of month old.

March 17After seeing your big sister go to party after party, you finally got to go to one of your own. You had a blast at the park at O's party playing with your friends from school O, KA, and P.

April 22

April 24You got a tool bench for Christmas which is one of your favorites. You love to pick up tools and go around fixing things. You've even corrected me a few times when I haven't named the tool right. You're still obsessed with tractors and lawn mowers, although construction equipment is pretty up there too. Any time we're driving around you're quick to spot any equipment we drive by.

May 3You do love playing in the play kitchen mixing stuff up. We actually bought you a train table for Christmas, and while we may not like playing with it that much, you do love destroying it. Other favorites are playing "mobiles" (Playmobils) or board games.

May 25You are constantly non-stop, on the go. It can definitely be difficult for you to calm down and listen, but it's a work in progress. You're just a crazy and wild bundle of energy. It's hard to believe what a little person you've turned into.

July 7Here's a comparison with your sister at 2 1/2 Years and 2 3/4 Years.

2 1/2 Years

2 3/4 Years
Birth Story

1 Month ~ 2 Months ~ 3 Months

4 Months ~ 5 Months ~ 6 Months

7 Months ~ 8 Months ~ 9 Months

10 Months ~ 11 Months ~ 12 Months

14 Months ~ 16 Months ~ 18 Months

20 Months ~ 22 Months ~ 24 Months

2 1/4 Years

Return of the Movie Review

The Force Awakens
It's been a while since I've posted a movie review. Granted we're seeing less of them, but there are a few we have seen in theaters that haven't made it to the blog (Ant-Man, The Martian, Spectre, Mission Impossible, Creed, Concussion,... to name a few... and by that I mean most of them). But I couldn't let the new Star Wars movie go by without commenting on it.

I've been so excited about this movie, but a little apprehensive as well. My mom raised my on Star Wars and I've been a fan as long as I can remember. When Episode I came out I dressed up as Padme. (Which was fun until I ran into the high school baseball team walking to the theater.) When Episode III came out I was in France and saw it next to the Arc de Triomph. I even used the Throne Room Theme as the processional to our wedding.

As for the movie I absolutely loved it! Although it's a little disappointing it doesn't match the Expanded Universe exactly, there are some similarities. I guess we'll see what's to come and if they use any of the other characters. (My hope is that Mara Jade appears, who was always my mom's favorites.)

There were some surprises that I wasn't expecting, although could have seen coming, especially if I hadn't been able to avoid spoilers. And once I was finished my main thought was when we'd be able to see it again. I'll likely wait till it's out on dvd (or I guess now blu-ray), but it's one I'll definitely own, which says something since we rarely add dvds to our collection.

Do You Believe in Magic

Magic Mike XXL
If you know anything about this movie, you have a pretty good idea what you're in for. And on that front, it completely delivers.

Looking back at my review of the first movie it's that it tried to have a plot and failed. But this time they don't really try for one, because they realize it isn't needed, and it's far more successful. In a way it's a little bit like The Hangover, but with strippers.

As for me, my favorite part had to be the Backstreet Boys references. I mean really, what else would you expect? But besides that, you couldn't help but enjoy yourself throughout.

This isn't a movie I necessarily see myself sitting down to watch again, but I definitely had fun while watching it!

Monday Movie Review

Inside Out
I always love Pixar movies, so it's no surprise I was looking forward to this. Especially after it got such great reviews, I knew it was one that we couldn't miss. So much so that we had my in-laws watch Elley for the afternoon while the boy and I went ourselves to see it.

Except it didn't quite live up to my expectations. Don't get me wrong I still enjoyed it and found it amusing. And there were certain parts that I fell a bit in love with, like the first scene when Riley is a baby and Joy first appears seeing her parents. But most of the time it just didn't quite live up to the hype for me.

I wouldn't consider this my least favorite Pixar movie though, but also it's even further from the top of the list.

However, I absolutely adored the short before the movie. Much more than the movie. Even so, it's still in second place behind Feast as my favorite of the recent shorts, but it is absolutely adorable.

Monday Movie Review

Jurassic World
Like the rest of the world, we went and saw Jurassic World opening weekend. I absolutely love the first movie, the sequels not so much, so while I had high hopes for this I also knew how it could play out.

Starting though, with the theme park itself, it looked amazing!!! The dino petting zoo and the baby triceratops ride... I immediately asked the boy if he'd let Elley ride one. Then the kayak ride down the river with grazing stegosauruses, I would definitely go on that ride.

As for the movie itself, it was definitely enjoyable, although maybe not as good as the original. I did love all the throwbacks to the first, and while I know I didn't catch them all had fun trying.

Knowing how much money this has already made you know they will be making a sequel. I just hope it's far more like Jurassic World instead of The Lost World.

Back to the Future

Tomorrowland
I really wasn't sure how this movie would turn out. Don't get me wrong, I love everything Disney but didn't see how a land from a theme park could be turned into a movie. It didn't help either that the previews made it look quite cheesy.

Except I wound up really enjoying myself with it. The film is actually able to take the idea of a Tomorrowland and have an actual movie with a plot that works.

I was surprised at first seeing It's a Small World at the 1964 World's Fair in New York. At least until I remembered that It's a Small World was originally built for the World's Fair. I loved that this was part of the movie, especially since it's really the only aspect that feels really Disney.

I am curious as to how Disney will market this film with the theme park in the future. Although I'm sure it will be based on the movie's success. Even so, I wouldn't be surprised if we see some type of new ride at the parks based on this movie.

Monday Movie Review

Avengers: Age of Ultron
This was mine and the boy's first movie together in months, and what a movie it was! I love these Marvel movies, so it wasn't a surprise that I really enjoyed this one as well.

I think what's so neat is how this whole universe of movies fit together. Not only that, but there's the tv show too. Which honestly is one reason why we had to see it this weekend, because I'm sure this week's episode of S.H.I.E.L.D will refer back to the movie, and we didn't want any spoilers.

I especially loved the interactions with all the superheros, but do think there could have been a little less action. Although considering it's a superhero movie it's pretty much expected.

According to the boy, they cut cameos of Pepper Potts, Jane Foster, and Agent Coulson. While I do agree they weren't really needed, I still would have loved to have seen them. But maybe they'll be in the deleted scenes once it's out on dvd.

Definitely a lot of fun. And if this is the only movie I wind up seeing this summer, I think we made the right choice.

Five on Friday (6)

I'm back linking up with Five on Friday to share a few recent happenings!

1. This weekend the boy and I are planning our first real date night since becoming parents. Or really date afternoon, since I'm not quite ready to leave Elley overnight yet. But my in-laws are planning on watching her tomorrow afternoon while we go see The Avengers, the first movie we'll see together since November or so. Definitely a change from a year ago when we went to the movies together almost every weekend.
2. Speaking of Elley, we decided to start her on real food this past week. She seemed kind of indifferent to the whole thing. I really think her favorite part was chewing on the spoon, but overall it seemed successful. We did start her a little early, especially since the boy so was excited to start making food for her. For her first meal, we went with green beans, but this does open up quite the world of possibilities.
3. Elley has a number of outfits that my mom made for me when I was a baby like these purple overalls. Even more fun, my dad sent me a picture of me as a baby wearing the same thing. In the picture below I'm on the left, while the one on the right is my daughter, 30 years later.
4. We had some crazy bad weather earlier this week, with not only thunderstorms but some tornadoes. It was so bad that we all took shelter at work. Thankfully I'm not aware on anyone who was really injured. But we did have a tree fall on our front fence and a tree fell on the driveway at our daycare. Definitely a scary experience, but one that could have been a lot worse.
5. On a brighter note, the Re-Read Challenge at at So Obsessed With has been inspiring me to re-read more often lately. I've slowly been posting my reviews of the Little House books which I last read in college. But also, I recently reread Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg. I'm not posting a full review of it since I posted one when I read it a little over a year ago. I do think I enjoyed it more this time. I think because the information wasn't as new I was able to absorb it a little more and pick up things I missed the first time through. I know I rated it a 4.5/5 before, but now I'd probably go with a 5/5.

March in Review

I feel like March was such a lazy month. Honestly looking back on it, we didn't really do much. A lot of it was due to the cold and having a baby, but hopefully in the months to come, as days start getting warmer, we're able to get out a little more. Really looking at this past month there's a bunch of food, and not a whole lot else. But at least it's delicious looking food, right?

In March...
...After seeing Carissa post about pesto risotto, I asked the boy to make some as well. It was pretty good, although not quite as good as his normal mushroom risotto.
...The boy also decided to make biscuits and gravy. I'm not normally a big fan of this, although it's really more that I never think about having it, but even so, I thought it was quite delicious.

...I posted reviews of 5 books and 1 movie.
Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Infants and Mothers by T. Berry Brezelton, M.D.
Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
After the War is Over by Jennifer Robson
Race to Tibet by Sophie Schiller
Fifty Shades of Grey
As for a favorite, I actually can't believe I'm about to do this, but I think it's likely Fifty Shades of Grey.

...7 years ago, in 2008 (Crazy to think it's been 7 years!) I posted about my family's trip to Japan. This was actually before the blog really existed, so instead what you're reading are excerpts from e-mails I wrote to the boy, bad grammar and all.
What are some of your highlights from this past March?