At the Beach

Since I am now two months pregnant (ALREADY!) and feeling pretty queasy most of the time, Tara was nice enough to take Ellie for a few hours and let me rest! Ellie had so much fun and hasn't stopped talking about her day at the beach with her auntie. Not only is Tara a fun and silly Auntie, but she also takes AWESOME pictures! Here are a few I wanted to share. Thanks Tara!

Our Newest Gift

Hello again! It has been so long since I last posted an entry on our blog and I must say there are some stories to tell. What you have missed:

I had a great visit with my girlfriends Elizabeth, Erin and Claire. We all met in Seattle at Claire's mom's house (this has been our meeting place of choice for years now) and had a wonderful time watching Ellie, Riley and Wesley play (and sleep). It's so fun to see the kids growing up and to hear the different turns and twists each of our lives are taking. Elizabeth and Erin have some great pictures of our visit so check out their blogs (click the links on the sidebar).

The following weekend Dan, Ellie, Jaxie, and I met my family in Sun Lakes. We have been camping there since I was little and it seems it has hardly changed at all. The weather was RIDICULOUSLY hot (102 degrees) but the A/C cabins and the pool helped keep us cool. Olivia, Nick and Ellie had the most fun in the pool or simply playing with their toys on our beds in the cabins. Safe to say, they are all learning what it means to "play nicely and share" with their cousins.... :) Anyway, here are some pictures. It was a relaxed vacation but very fun and it is always so great to be with family.

Ellie had a difficult time with the heat so she ate a lot of ice cream!

The Chavez Family

The Ciabattari Family

Ellie and Mommy

The Three Musketeers

The McDonald Family

Baby Noah's great smile

On the paddle boats

More ice cream and popsicles!

Mommy reads bedtime stories to Nick and Ellie

Ellie and Nicholas

Oh yeah, and one more thing:

I'm pregnant. :)

Noble Knights and Lovely Ladies

Daddy and Ellie

By this point in the party, she is half naked and wired on sugar

Ellie brushes the pony...but check out her expression! She admires her work!

My favorite picture of the day...she sure loves her daddy!

Silly Ellie in the bouncy house

A good view of the crowd behind Ellie

Ellie and Mommy

Today, Ellie attended her first major birthday party amongst her friends. Gabriella, Liam, Mary and Ava all turned 2 years old within a few weeks of each other so the parents decided to throw a huge party for all of them at once. What a blast! The moms chose a middle ages/medieval theme and Ruth's mom's house was perfect (HUGE gorgeous property on the river in Auburn). There was a bouncy house and pony rides, a castle cake and inflatable swords and shields, medieval hats for all the kiddies, and some seriously delicious food. Almost all of Ellie's closest friends (and their parents/our friends too) were there. It started at 4:00 (perfect weather!) and we didn't leave until almost 8:00. By the end of the evening, Ellie was so exhausted! She rode the pony at least three times and spent the majority of the remaining time bouncing in the bouncy house or running in the grass with friends. Overall, I think it is safe to say that this was a dream-come-true kind of day for Ellie!

So Proud

Ellie was so proud of herself today because she pooped on the potty. I guess that my excitement and pride wasn't enough because she decided to share the news with Jaxie and my brother's dogs, Brutus and Bella (we are dog-sitting for the weekend). In the video, she says she is "a big girl, like Prudence." For those of you who are not familiar with Prudence, she is the little girl in Ellie's Potty book who finally learns to use the potty. I know you can't see Ellie's face in this video, but the sound of her excitement in her voice is enough for anyone! Enjoy!

Jet Skiing on Lake Tapps

Mommy gets ready for her first try

Picnic time!

Sawyer and Ellie still eating!

Mommy and Ellie go for a ride!

Dan on his jet ski and me holding Ellie on the other

I can't remember the last time I had this much fun! Our neighbors (Steve, Jodi, and Sawyer) invited us to go jet skiing on Lake Tapps yesterday. I have never been jet skiing before and was excited but a bit intimidated. Well, I got the hang of it right away and was immediately addicted! The weather was a GORGEOUS 87 degrees and the water was so refreshing. Even Ellie rode on the jet skis! She was a bit scared at first but then went back for more and more. When we weren't on the jet skis, we were swimming with the little ones or chowing down on picnic grub. We had such a good time and pending another invite, we will definitely go again!

Ellie Takes the Floor...

...and steals the show! This weekend, Ellie and I (Dan had to work) attended a McDonald family wedding in Yakima. I wasn't sure how it would go since it started an hour before her bedtime, but sure enough, Ellie had the time of her life and stayed up until 11:00!! Yikes! I learned very quickly that Ellie has her mommy's love for dancing the night away! She wouldn't leave the dance floor! She copied all the moves of the bride and her friends and even did the "YMCA." Seriously. Too funny. She thought the wedding was a "ball" and the bride was the "princess." I wish you all could have seen her. She walked up to Megan (the beautiful bride, I swear, she does look like something out of a Disney fairy tale...STUNNING!) and touched her dress SO gently, I think to see if it was real. Megan was so awesome and went out of her way to make Ellie feel so special. She was so patient and would stop everything just to talk with her, dance with her, etc. Ellie hasn't stopped telling me (and EVERYONE) that she "danced with the princess in the beautiful dress and hugged her too." Here are a few pictures. Unfortunately, I think the camera that took these wasn't on the setting for action shots because many of them turned out blurry but you get the idea. Enjoy! Love, Ang The candy dish that Ellie kept sneaking to all night long! No wonder she stayed up so late!

"Princess" Megan dances with Ellie. What a stunning bride and the sweetest person ever!

Ellie dances with the "little princesses" as she called them (girl on right is Ellie's cousin) Ellie dances with Megan...again!

Ellie shows the crowd how to do the YMCA!

Ellie and Mommy on the dance floor

A new Gymboree dress, matching bows in her hair, and her gold cross necklace.

Such a little lady!

Dan says he can always tell when I've been drinking wine because I get really smiley

and my eyes squint... :)