Happy 6 Monthiversary, Ella Faith!

Yeah, I'm about 2 weeks late with the 6th monther, but it's Ella's fault. She's reverted back to her newborn days where she wakes every 2 hours. As a result, I've suffered a devastating loss of brain cells and nothing I do is on time these days. Anyway, she's weighing in at 14 pounds, 3 ounces and is 25 inches long. She's considered tall and thin. Yes, she's my child.

Happy 6-months!

Aside from Ella's horrific sleep patterns, we've made a lot of progress with her 'tude. 90% of the time, she's smiling and laughing, and she is quite entertained by the dogs and her brother. She now permits other people to hold her and the grandparents love that she has finally accepted them. She's also now easily appeased when she's upset, which makes being in public with her more tolerable. She's not like Brady was at this age; he was just happy to be invited. This girl wants to be center stage. Please, God, have mercy on me when she's a teenager...

Another huge difference between Brady and Ella has got to be her affinity for putting everything in her mouth. Once she's on the move, we're really going to have to keep our eyes on her! For now, she's perfectly happy chewing on her feet.

Nursing is still going well, but I'm just not enough food for Ella, so we've been supplementing with formula. Miss Thing will only drink out of a select few cups, and she's very eager to hold them herself. For as easy as Brady was, dude was LAZY. He never had the desire to hold his cup, crawl, or walk because he just figured (as most men do) that the lady in his life would do it for him. So for as challenging as Ella is, she's also extremely independent. This, I know, is going to be good and bad, but it should help me reach my current short-term goal: having the girl sit on her own. This is a must on my to-do list so I am no longer required to hold her all. day. long. On the plus side, my arms look amazing.

Brady still loves giving kisses; I'm not so sure she's as happy about getting them...

Since I've last written, Zach turned 33, I turned 31, and Penn State has been turned upside down because of a disgusting pedophile which has consumed the media. Obviously Zach is a huge PSU fan, but even he is backing off his emphatic love and support for JoPa who, allegedly, knew the pedophile was doing his pedophile things. All I can say is if that is the case, there's a special place in hell for those kinds of people.

See--even the kids are horrified by the PSU thing.

In more exciting news, I've finally purchased a new camera. I have big plans for my kids (they just don't know it), especially their Christmas card photo shoot! Oh what fun! Unfortunately, I haven't had the time to use the new camera yet, so the pics in this post are from the old one, but I still think I got a few cute shots. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to have a word with my neighbors who are decorating their yard with inflatable snowmen and cranking out the Christmas tunes. It's November 19th, people. At least let me digest my turkey before I have to hear Bing Crosby for 30 straight days. Ahhh, who am I kidding? I LOVE IT!

Halloween. Boo.

As it turns out, Halloween proved uneventful for the Jankowski kids this year. Despite the costumes having been purchased and the red wagon ready for another round of Trick-or-Treating, alas, boogers and rain kept us home. Brady had a ferocious cough and cold, which he generously shared with this sister, but the crappy weather was the nail in the proverbial coffin. No way was I risking sicker kids for a plastic pumpkin-full of candy. Instead, we shoved Ella in her flower for the sake of a few "My First Halloween" pictures, and would have had similar dress-up fun with Brady had his costume not been intricately folded in the packaging. Call me cheap, but I wasn't taking a chance of being denied when I go to return the bad boys...

Brady was very helpful passing out candy, though. He and I hung out on the steps so we could see the Trick-or-Treaters approaching and when we did, he yelled out: "MORE TICK AND TREATS!" He also reminded them to say thank you when they took their candy. Such a polite boy :) When there was a lull during the 2-hour event, Brady enjoyed his very first lollipop. At first he didn't quite know what to do with it, but he quickly got the hang of it:

Zach headed to State College with 25 of his closest friends to witness a ridiculous snow storm and the last home PSU game of the season. Apparently it was a big win for Jo Pa, too, but I don't know or care much about that. The kids and I stayed in our comfy clothes all day and made Rice Crispy treats, watched the snow, and played with Matchbox cars. I had originally wanted to do some shopping, but the weather wasn't cooperating, so we opted for indoor fun. Brady is learning different nursery rhymes and every day he asks to learn a new one. So far we've got Hey Diddle, Diddle, Jack and Jill, and Humpty Dumpty down. He wants to know how to spell things all the time, too. He's constantly playing with this magnetic letters and pointing out letters anywhere he sees them: on our shirts, on signs at the store, etc. He can identify all of the letters, and we're in the process of learning the ABCs. Although a few weeks ago when she was talking to himself before he fell asleep, he sang the whole song. A few parts were a bit sketchy, but it wasn't too shabby! I know I'm biased, but he's pretty darn smart for a 2-year-old!

Showing off the snow and his Cars window clings

Things are still going well with Miss Lisa and the babysitting, which is fortunate because work is crazy. Literally. Last week, Student Nutjob sent me a poem stating that he's in pain and everyone who has caused him pain must die. "Die, die, die," was the exact quote I believe. As a result, I had to follow Crazy Kid Protocol, contact his home district, find out he lives on an army base, contact the colonel of the base and the local police. I was simultaneously kicking a ball around the living room with Brady and bouncing Ella on my hip as I made the calls, so I'm sure I sounded really professional. Anyway, when the student's parents got wind of what was going on, they immediately blamed me. I shouldn't have overreacted; after all, I don't understand their kid's love for Japanese anime or the fact that he wants to be a "horror writer." My bad, Mr. and Mrs. Nutjob. Just thought you'd want to know your kid's plan is to eventually shoot up his school. Good luck with that. Fortunately, the kid is being evaluated by the district's psychologist and the principal actually called me and my boss to thank us for taking such caution; turns out the kid is one fry short of a Happy Meal. Shocker. And perhaps not coincidentally, I was awarded an end-of-the-fiscal-year bonus.

The dog looks how I feel on most days.

Brady is growing up too fast. Two months ago, if we asked him to take a canned good up to the basket in church, he would have freaked out. This morning, when Father Mike asked the kids to bring up their food, there marched Sir Brady with his can! I couldn't believe it. I, of course, started to tear up, but Ella helped put things into perspective as she promptly spit up all over my hand. I thought I was out of the emotional woods, but the kid surprised us again when he went up to get the coloring pages Father Mike hands out at the end of each mass. For the past 6 years, I've always watched the little ones teeter up to the priest and, with trembling hands and voices, take their pages and whisper, "Thank you." I never knew I would be such a mess when it was my own kid! Brady did, however, stop mid-way to Father Mike and announce (loudly), "I not going any more." He changed his mind, grabbed his papers, and found his way back to the pew. I let the tears flow freely that time...

Waiting to be served his breakfast!

Ella is...Ella. She has my personality which means she is beyond stubborn and on most occasions, it's all or nothing with her. She either sleeps like a champ, or not at all. She either cries like she means it, or not at all. She has ZERO patience and she knows what she wants and she doesn't stop until she gets it. I am completely prepared for the point in time that I'll have to adopt a combative attitude and wear my "I'm the Head Bitch in Charge" t-shirt (I'm having one made when she's 12), but for now, I just try to appreciate her harmless obstinacy and remind myself that, comparatively speaking, the infant days are probably pretty easy. 

I wish she had his disposition!

Zach's birthday is this Wednesday and mine is next week, so we've decided to celebrate on Friday. We're going to dinner with some friends and then we have no plans. And we don't have to have a plan because we don't have a curfew!! Brady is camping out at my parents' and Ella will be bunking with the oh-so-brave Gramma Terri and Pap Rick. I'm a little worried because her 6-month check-up clad with immunizations are that afternoon, but she hasn't been affected by them in the past, so here's hoping all goes well. All I know is that if I don't get at least 5 hours of solid sleep, I may hurt someone. Speaking of hurting...

Please focus on the wrestling move rather than his ridiculous mix-matched outfit...

Brady is normally very good with Ella; he wants to give her kisses every second of the day still. However, his BOY-ness kicks in every now and again and this is what happens. Remember how I said Ella is me? Yeah, well I fear for Brady's safety as soon as the girl starts walking. I think my brother was 4 by the time I gave him stitches. Poor, sweet Brady. You don't even know what you're in for.