Garbage, Tats, and Dresses

So this post is totally random. No real theme, you can just file it under "What's Elly K up to now". 

So here is the new problem we are facing in the Schlenker house. Miss EK can open up the trash can and put items in there. Here she is putting new, never worn pants in the trash:

She will also put food she doesn't want to eat, her sippy cup, and anything else she deems fit for disposal. 

You may also notice in the picture above EK's arm. Yes, our 16 month old has her first tattoo! We went to my nephews' birthday party over this past weekend and army tattoos were in the favor bag. Of course, Jonathan had it applied before she even went to sleep that night.

But thankfully, outfits with sleeves are starting to be worn. That way the tattoo can be covered up if needed till it comes off (FYI those things are STRONG). Even in those wonderful pictures my Mom took of EK in that cream dress...she had a tattoo. EK the rebel!

And speaking of dresses with sleeves, how cute is this dress and her new shoes!?! Such a big girl:

 

My mom made the dress! Just wait till I post pictures of her in the newest one (let me just say Roll Tide). This style dress is super cute and can be worn with leggings all the way into the winter (with a sweater of course).

Photo Shoot with Gram

Yesterday, my mom (AKA Gram) took Elly K out for a photo shoot. She is wearing one of my dresses from when I was her age. She didn't get very many smiles from the child who was up most the night with a stopped up nose (we don't like having a sick baby...no fun). However we will try again to see if we can get a few with some smiles over the weekend.

So beautiful!!

Fancy pants Elly K!

"What...you want me to smile...?"

And here I am with the same dress on: 

Night Time Routine

Over the past few weeks, we finally got Elly K into a night time routine. You might even say, she put herself on a night time routine! I don't care either way, I am just happy that night time is fun!

It all starts around 7:00-7:15 with a bath. This girl loves some bath time.

She will let me play with her hair:

Recently, the bath cloth has become her favorite toy:

And of course, bath time ends up with a cute and clean little girl:

Sometimes, while waiting on Elly K to decide she is ready to get out of the bath, I get in on the towel action:

FYI - EK thinks its hilarious when I wear her towel! 

After bath time, we head to Momma and Daddy's bed. I will apply lotion, clothes, and give medicine (she takes Zyrtec each night) all while watching Elly K's FAVORITE show....Max and Ruby (I just sang the tune to the show as I typed it....the joys of cartoons).

She gets to watch one episode (3 mini shows) then is it off to bed:

Even when we have guest, they get in on the night time routine too:

After all is said and done, she is usually in her bed by 8:00/8:15! Sometime, she is so sleepy that she won't wait till Max and Ruby is over. She will simply slide herself off our bed and head for hers! LOVE IT!

 I would also like to mention how wonderful she sleeps at night (minus the occasional issue). It will be very interesting to see how the next bundle of joy will fit into the routine!

Basement Makeover

As a college instructor, I get breaks in-between each semester. I feel like each break I get, I create a list of house projects that need to get accomplished. This break, the basement makeover was top priority since baby #2 will be here before you know it.  We orignally wanted the basement to be a Man Cave for Jonathan, but we also need a new guest room since the current one will be turning into a nursery over the next few months. So the solution was very simple, we created a multi-purpose room that can pull both duties.  Nevertheless, since painting/home makeovers and 16 month olds do not mix, EK went for an extended visit to Gram and Pop's house. Also Jonathan was on night shift, so this work was done quietly (not to wake Jonathan) and quickly (so EK could come home), while I had a few days off from school. 

Here is the basement before. We had already painted two of the walls a few weeks back but stopped there. Yes, this picture is not pretty but I wanted you to see exactly what I started with on Day 1: Basement Makeover:

Same view after 4 days of hard work:

We still need to hang the deer heads back up and get one of those cord hiders for the TV cable! However the difference is CRAZY WONDERFUL! 

Before from a different angle:

After:

The finished part of our basement already had a bathroom, but boy it was not pretty AT ALL. It was all white/beige and NASTY:

After (I put the floor down and Jonathan installed a nice, new,  CLEAN toilet):

Before:

After (we are still working on some of the finishing touches....like towel bars):

Before:

After:

 FYI - I got this vanity top at Lowes for $66 (marked down from $128) and we were able to get a new vanity for just over $100 at Southeastern Salvage. Two coats of walnut stain and a little elbow grease from Jonathan and we have a very handsome vanity (and might I add TALLER)!

Overall, the basement makeover was a success in my book! Yes...painting is NOT FUN (all the walls, trim, and doors had to be painted) and we still have a few things that we would like/need to do but for now it is a fully functioning Man Cave/Guest Room! I was also able to get Elly K's room painted (walls, trim, and doors) but I will save that for another post when we get her big girl room finished by October.

New Clothes

What do you do when you get new leggings?? 

You put them on your head of course! 

Bless it! 

Silly Elly K...

The Bag Lady

Our child has a problem playing with bags! Any where she can find them, she will take them and carry them around like a little bag lady. 

She even has an obsession with taking all the ziplock bags out of the box ALL THE TIME! 

She has all the toys a little girl could ever need, she just chooses to play with bags over toys more often than she should! Crazy little Elly K! 

Absolutely Shocking

Elly K has been making the "shocked" face for a while now, but sometimes they are hard to catch on camera. Here are a few of her "shockingly surprised" look! 

Molars

For over a month now, we have been dealing with MOLARS! They are horrible, miserable, nasty little things and thankfully it looks like we are at the end of this round. She started showing signs of them the weekend of July 4th and this past week she finally started acting like our normal Elly K again! 

We had many of these moments during the past 5-6 weeks and I am very happy they are over (for now)!

***Update...they are not all in yet! I thought we were done but we still have one more to go :( ***

The "Cheese" Face

Elly K has got the "cheese" face down pat and will do it on command!

 I absolutely love it!