Updates! Updates! :)

Once again, I've failed in my duties as family blogger... Hence, we've got more updates than I can possibly share in one post (without putting readers to sleep.) So i'll try to capture some highlights of the last couple of months.

Ella is 2!!!!
She had a lovely princess birthday and had a wonderful time celebrating with friends and family! Thank you everyone who came!
Here are her stats as of her 2-year checkup:
Height: 33.25" (30%)
Weight: 29.2 lbs (77%)
Head: 19.5" (94%)

In summary, Ella is a little short, a little chubby and a bit top-heavy (i.e. she has a very healthy brain). :)

Since she turned 2, she has grown up all of the sudden! I dont know how birthdays do it, but they cause this quantum leap every time in our kids. She's started talking almost completely coherently and fluently... at least *we* can understand most of what she says. :) It still requires a little bit of translation with people who dont spend as much time with her, but she's getting there! She's also started sprouting up and thinning out! She's turning from our baby girl into our big girl. She's such a girl too. It's so funny to see her play with her babies. She's so gentle with them and acts like a little mommy. She also loves her clothes, jackets and shoes... Most of all, she adores her brother and follows him around every chance she gets. Yesterday he was being really silly and running through the house saying goofy things and she was right behind him repeating his every move and sound. :) He also has a special talent for making her laugh. That's one of my favorite scenes in life. :)
She has also decided that she's ready to potty train. She hasn't actually gone in the potty yet, but wants to sit on it frequently. I figure eventually it'll happen accidentally, and then it'll be smooth sailing from there! (a mom can hope!) :)

Owen is now a complete big boy... with a big attitude to go along. :) He's become very independent and pretty much thinks he runs the show. He's the sweetest little guy but boy does he know how to throw a fit. It's actually comical at times because he gets so worked up over the silliest things. We're hoping this is a short-lived phase. He's also remarkably intelligent! His current kick is robots. Everything is about robots. We bought the movie Short Circuit and he loves it. He can tell you all about it - just ask him about "that robot movie". :) This week we got down our old 90s version of the Lego Mindstorms Robotics kit and Owen had a blast building a little robot and making it "go all by itself!" He's convinced and keeps telling everyone that "Daddy is getting me new robot Legos for Christmas!" This is the first time he's ever had a wish for a gift and it's so much fun to see him excited about it... we're not sure how we're gonna work it out yet... but hopefully he'll get something along the lines of robot Legos from us or someone. :) I think his daddy is having a little bit of fun with this too. :) It's fun to see them working and playing together. Nothing beats hearing Owen run up to me and say "Look what Daddy made it do!! We're gonna make other robots too! and we can make it do different things!" Ahhh... the father/son bonding. So sweet!!
He has also been saying some of the funniest things lately. If we recorded them, I'm pretty sure we could make some TV shows. :) Just a couple of examples:
One day, we were talking about Baby Drew (my nephew who is arriving this week!!! hurry up Aunt Chrissy!!) and Owen told me that he wants a baby brother and a baby sister. He said he wants a baby brother first and his name will be Hairja and he will grow in daddy's tummy because boys grow in daddy tummies and girls grow in mommy tummies. I tried to explain that's not how it works, but he didnt quite understand. :) Then he said after we have a baby brother, he wants a baby sister named Shua who will grow in mommy's tummy. It'll still be a while before we'll fulfill his request for more siblings, but we're still wanting more eventually. :)
Another story..
The other day, the UPS man dropped off a package for Daddy. He rang the doorbell and left the package on the doorstep like they often do. When I opened the door and picked up the box, Owen has this very puzzled look on his face and asked "How did that box ring the doorbell?" I about fell over laughing and explained to him what happened, but it was so funny! A legitimate question, but hilarious. :)

Our latest family addition is Haledunia. He's a bundle of energy and fun.... and messes, but mostly fun. :) He's now almost 5 months old and weighs around 6 lbs as of his last visit a few weeks ago. He's *mostly* gotten past the potty training phase, but we still have accidents occassionally. They are certainly less frequent at least. The big thing now is keeping him from tearing to shreds everything he finds on the floor... everything from tissues and toys to clothes. He has a special knack for shredding a tissue into a million little pieces all over the living room... and he seems to enjoy dumping his food all over the kitchen floor. I guess the dirty floor makes it taste better! At the same time, he's so sweet and cuddly and fun to play with. He got his first haircut weekend before last. They cut it to about 1 inch all over and just trimmed up his face. He's so cute! We're not big fans of the classic poodle cuts, so I think we'll stick with this sort of haircut as long as it works for us and him. :)

That leaves the fish, daddy and me! We're also doing well. There have been a lot of changes at work over the last several months, but I believe they are, overall, positive for my group and for me. There are certainly a few bummers given the economy, but nothing I can complain too loudly about. We underwent a big reorganization which I think has been pretty positive for most of us. Since my last boss left this summer, I've gotten a new boss and with the re-org, he has also gotten a new boss, who has also gotten a new boss. :) So in summary, I'm in a totally new organization with new management and it's much like a breath of fresh air. Our new management chain is very supportive and optimistic and they create a much more positive atmosphere. It's great to have support for some of the ideas and initiatives I've been trying to push through over the last year! It's also had a good impact on the other members of our team who, I think, are set up much better for success now with strong leaders in the management positions. It's going to be a very challenging year for us all, but a much more up-beat one I hope! :)