Time is Flying

Oh my goodness - today Ellie is exactly one month from being five. I honestly can't believe it. Nor do I want to. Where is my little girl going? Where do the months go? I feel like with this blog I now just play catch up and post huge monthly updates. Which if you are reading that is just what you are about to get yourself into - a January post.

January was the end of the college football season. We spent the first few days on a roller coaster watching our teams win and lose. Ellie has decided grandma's team is her team as well. Grandma's team took the Sugar bowl so she ended the season as happy as any 4 year old college football fan could. I don't know that she really is a football fan, but she does like when it's on TV and she always wants to know whose team is playing. She has sided with Grandma at this point which probably doesn't make her dad very happy. But it sure makes the Heath family glad.

In January, Ellie retired from Bliss Dance Academy only to start a new dance group closer to our house. Really close to our house - right across State Street. We are so excited about this new group and her friend Carly attends with her. We get to play with Carly an hour before dance at our house each week and then the two little dancers head off for an hour of first position, chasse' and cartwheels. I love the mix of this new class and the fundamentals that she is learning. I can't wait to go to a recital!

We are still on a mini-break from the long game of bowling but replaced it with miniature golf. Since it's so cold we had to find an indoor place. There is one in Utah county that Ellie refuses to go to because it is dark and scary. The lights are really dim and the walls are painted florescent and glow. I think it's cool - but my very safe child does not like it at all. We found a place in West Valley, which if she were a little older would have realized it was just as - if not more - scary. :) We had a great time regardless. Ellie's first ball went over the green and off the course - I caught the end of her look. We had so much fun. I tried to get Ellie to go on some of the rides after our game, but she stuck with her usual favorite - the carousel. We then finished off the night with dinner and desert. It was a fun, carefree Friday night. I love those.




Ellie got a Nintendo DS for Christmas which she dropped in a sink full of water two days after. We sent it off for repair and in January we got it back. Ellie spent a lot of January learning her new games. When she and her friend Isabel realized they both had one and they could chat they were so excited. Ellie didn't even get out of her pajamas before Isabel was over and they were playing. I have to admit it can be a little addicting. I too played it quite a bit and can happily say for the first time in my life I beat Super Mario Brothers - I saved the Princess. Ellie likes watching other people play her games and picks up on how to play. I am amazed at how well she plays it at four.


Most Sunday afternoons are spent at my mom's house. One Sunday in January we were all kind-of doing our own thing and Ellie was sitting on the table just making up a song. I love her imagination. I love how creative she is and had to catch the song on video. She can make me smile like no one else. If you listen, I bet this song makes you smile too.


We took in our first "not animated" movie at the theatre in January. Hotel for Dogs. It was a hit with Ellie. I love that Ellie is little and innocent and I try to keep her that way as much as I can. I don't let her watch shows at home that aren't animated (although I know she gets some of it at friends or cousins houses.) I don't like Hannah Montana or any of the Disney shows really that aren't animated. We watch Noggin and movies most of the time. We try to keep the themes young. Anyway, I was a little nervous for this first one, but it was great. Slowly, very slowly we will creep into that world. Although I wish we didn't have to.

We traded the cold weather for a weekend trip to St. George. We packed up the dog, the golf-clubs, stuffed grandma in and headed down. The minute we got there we had to eat at Utah's first In and Out Burger. (There will be four soon in Salt Lake.) Ellie then got to play with cousins she rarely gets to see and they got to play OUTSIDE in January. It was so nice to be outside and enjoying the sun. (I got my first birdie ever in golf. ) It was also nice to be with so much family. Ellie was also excited because we were staying at a hotel. There was a sprinkler head on the wall of the room and Ellie was curious what it was. I explained if there were a fire it would spit water out to. She said," Whoa, then we would have to dunk." I said,"We would have to duck." Ellie said, "Oh. Quack, quack." I laughed so hard. The best part is she knew she was making a joke. She knew the difference and put the pun together. Funny kid.






I usually try to clean my house when Ellie is with her dad. Yet we were always on the go in January so we had to clean one day together. Kevin found the perfect chore for Ellie - dusting the base boards. She is really good at it and enjoys it. Ellie still really enjoys doing what I do and I don't look forward to the day when she doesn't.


In the car Ellie looked up at the windshield and said, "It's the biggest shark in the world." If you've been reading you know what that means. We decided that we should not only clean the house, but the car too. When we were at the car wash the soap was pink, purple, yellow and green. Ellie from the back seat said, "It makes a wonderful sight."

Ellie, every month is my most wonderful sight.