The Best Dad

(As a side note, my own dad is pretty great too, but the sole purpose of this post is to brag about Daniel.)
Dan is such a fun dad. He loves to throw and chase and run around with Elena. But more than that, he really takes the time to patiently teach her things: Spanish, the way to set the table, how to figure out how to open doors, etc. He loves to take her on errands, play games, or do whatever she wants to. And, despite how all this sounds - he does a good job of walking a fine line and not spoiling her. He also makes sure that she helps clean up and that she listens to her mother. Elena is a very lucky girl to have such a hands-on and instinctively wonderful father. Everyone who spends a lot of time around us knows who Elena's favorite is.
You're the best, Dan! I love you, Honey!

In Idaho, he ran around pulling her in this little sled for a long time once he got tired of carrying her and the sled back up the hill over and over:
Bowling together in Utah:

Playing around between helping with loads of laundry:

He taught her to put underwear on her head and on Teddy Pig's head too. She was so proud. She called it her silly hat.
(I promise this is completely unrelated to your post, Brianne - he hadn't even seen it yet.)

First haircut

Much to Dan's dismay, I decided that I couldn't handle Elena's scraggly mullet any longer and I gave her a trim last night.

BEFORE:

I only cut off a little bit. Maybe an inch and a half in the longest places. It looks a lot shorter though because it curls more now. I'm actually really happy with the result; her hair looks a little bit thicker all of a sudden.

AFTER:

Also, I liked that today I just put a couple of clips in it instead of having to do it in pigtails like always. I definitely didn't do a perfect job, but she sat pretty still and let me get it even. Of course, it curls and flips a bit when it's dry and that means that it's hard to tell what a great job I did. :)

The current goal is for it to grow out and be on the longer side so that I (I mean she) can have more fun with it and enjoy lots of different styles.

"I'm hiding!"

I love this age. Elena loves hiding: under a blanket, with her hands over her face, behind a door, and "behind" the back of this chair. Then she pops out as if we had no idea where she was previously. She thinks it is the funniest game in the world. So cute!

Elena's 2!

Elena's birthday was a month ago on January 17th. I am horrible at starting posts and then not finishing them until weeks later. I think that I didn't post this particular one right away because I was planning on adding a couple more pictures. Oh well. From now on, I will really try to post things without saving them first. Have I promised that before? :)

Andy and Shiree (my brother and his wife) flew to Virginia (may parent's house) for the weekend since we didn't get to see them at Christmas. We had a great time getting to hang out with them and Bethany and my parents. Elena thoroughly enjoyed her family birthday party. It was lovely and laid back and consisted of a pinata, a tower of cupcakes, and playing with presents. I loved having a little party with some of her friends when she turned one, but it was nice to have a quiet family party this year.
As a side note, we are all super excited that Andy and Shiree are expecting a little girl one week before baby boy Dison is born. We will have to get all the Wright cousins together often (since there will be three now), so that they can get to be good friends.

Shiree and Elena blowing bubbles:

Aunt BB let Elena play with makeup at Ulta:

This may look like a grimace, but it is actually a picture of her holding her "Cheese!" face even though she is no longer looking at the camera.

Before Elena began to hit the pinata, she turned to me and said, "Sing 'dale, dale' Mommy." That is a special song that everyone sings during the pinata portion of parties at church (in the Spanish branch). It's really cute and when the song is over, you know that your turn is up. Unfortunately, I don't know it. I guess I better learn it before next year. Here it is on wikipedia. The version I recognize is the variation at the bottom.

She opened this package of dress up things and jewelry from abuelita and abuelo just before we left for VA. Notice the adorable cupcake bow? Summer made it. Isn't she awesome?

Here's the cupcake cake. I apologize for the video quality. Someday I'll get a new camera. Isn't it amazing how quickly whatever you have becomes obsolete? I feel so bratty wanting a new camera when this one is only 3 years old and works just fine, but it would be so nice to have more than 4 megapixels. Anyway - enjoy our singing!

Pictures

Here are some ultrasound pictures. Half are traditional and half are 3D. The baby was moving like crazy and so it was hard to get a good still action shot in 3D, but it was very cool watching him move real time. That's why his arm looks kind of like a rubber band in some of the pictures. I love how he always has a hand up by his face. You have to combine all three to really get an idea of what he looks like in there. He's still so little - he only weighs like 7 ounces. All babies are such miracles!

Overhead view (top) and profile (bottom):

Another profile and below that is a great 3D ear and hand picture. You can see his little ribs too.In this top picture, you can see his eye and mouth well. We also noticed that cord is up by his neck in this picture and I started to freak out for half a second. Then I realized that it was just next to it (for a minute), not around it. I am such a worrier when I'm pregnant.
In the bottom picture is a good shot of his little nose. That's his arm under the nose. It's not deformed or anything, he was just moving fast when she took the picture.
I spared you guys the "It's a boy!" pictures, but there is no doubt. I have such a hard time seeing anything on ultrasounds, but I was able to announce it before the sonographer did.

Here is a family picture from yesterday. We're standing in front of the Raleigh temple. This is not a very flattering picture since we are all squinting into the sun (especially me), but it's an accurate portrayal of what size I am right now (at 18.5 weeks).