Snapshots

Ellie woke up early to see Daddy before he left for work

Look who came to visit me!

Ellie and Mommy

What to Do?

I Don't Know What to Do Today

--Kenn Nesbitt I don't know what to do today. Perhaps I'll go outside and play, or stay indoors and watch TV, or take a bath, or climb a tree. Or maybe I'll go ride my bike, or pick my nose, or take a hike, or jump a rope, or scratch my head, or play a game, or stay in bed, or dance a jig, or pet the cat, or drink some milk, or buy a hat, or sing a song, or read a book, or change my socks, or learn to cook, or dig a hole, or eat a pear, or call my friends, or brush my hair, or hold my breath, or have a race, or stand around and slap my face. I'm so confused, and bored, and blue, to not know what I ought to do. I guess that I should just ask you. So, what do you think I should do?

Celebrating Fall

Little Betty Crocker uses the Kitchen Aide for the first time

"Sifting" the flour and other ingredients

Waiting for the bread to bake

Ellie is so excited and can't wait to try her chocolate tea!

So careful

Fun with Fancy Nancy

After I said, "No more marshmallows."

Today was a great day. Today was a "Mommy and Me" day. Today was a day that I truly relished having a little daughter. I did not hurry through the moments in order to get things done on my list of things to do. Ellie did not whine and push my buttons as she has tended to do as of late. Instead, we took our time enjoying the second day of Autumn and just being Mommy and daughter. It was so much fun.

We woke up and made banana pancakes (for us) and coffee (for me) and watched a bit of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. We went to Little Gym and saw our friends and laughed out loud at Ellie's silliness. While Ellie napped, I was able to switch out my summer wardrobe with fall/winter and cook a nice lunch (fajita quesadillas...Ellie LOVES to say this out loud). We tended our garden (LOTS of tomatoes for Ellie and the pumpkins are turning a nice orange just in time). We ran errands and treated ourselves to some time at Borders. We purchased the book Ten Timid Ghosts (we've already read it too many times to count...it's a must-have for toddlers this time of year) and purchased princess slippers ($2.50 at Target...again, a must-have for a toddler girl) and then headed home. Ellie decided what I would make for dinner: pasta with noonals (noodles) and cheese and broccoli and tomatoes. (I laugh every time she asks for pasta WITH noodles...she doesn't understand they are the same thing.) She sat in her big girl chair and drank from her big girl cup and enjoyed the meal that she chose all by herself. And as is common these days, she beamed with pride as she showed off her new independence. Then the fun REALLY began. Ellie and I harvested zucchini from our garden and then baked zucchini bread. I cannot tell you what joy was on her little face. I let her do EVERYTHING from grating the zucchini to cracking the eggs to sifting the flour. She had a ball! While the bread baked, I made "chocolate tea" (hot cocoa) for a real tea party. We used my real pottery and I let Ellie put as many marshmallows in her cup as she could fit. Of course, Ellie insisted that Antsy (Fancy) Nancy join us. What a time we had! By the time we were done, chocolate was everywhere, I was exhausted, and Ellie was in desperate need of a bath. Later, as I sang her to sleep with the same song I have since she was born, I caught our reflection in the mirror in her room. She has grown so much and so quickly, but there is no more beautiful and special moment for me than that one at the end of the day. No matter how the day goes, that moment is always the same: I want to hold her as much as she wants to be held and the rest of the world just melts away. Just me and my beautiful daughter. Thank you God for such a gift. Love to all, Angela

Two Years and Six Days

There is no place like San Diego! What an amazing vacation! Ellie had her second birthday party on Saturday, September 13th at Edgewood Park. All her closest friends and family were there and she and her friends played on the swings and slides and ate cupcakes and sack lunches. I cried when everyone sang "Happy Birthday:" in part because I couldn't believe my baby girl was two years old and also because I was overwhelmed by how many people loved and supported Ellie at that moment. She (we) are so blessed. The following morning, we left the house at 5:30am (yikes!) in order to catch our flight to San Diego. The airport and flight were great and we were in San Diego and ready to play by 10:00am. From then on, it was an endless run of sun, sand, amusement parks, zoos, beaches and harbors, poolside relaxation, and great food. I won't detail EVERY moment of our trip but I will say that Sea World was BY FAR our favorite experience. We all got to pet the dolphins and Ellie embraced every new experience. Most of you know that we met up with our good friends, the Pine family. Their little daughter Gabriella and Ellie are dear friends and needless to say, had the time of their lives together. Our two families had so much fun and the time the girls spent together made their trip that much more memorable. For those of you who want more details and pictures, I have included a link to our Picasa photo album on the sidebar of this blog. For those of you who don't, here is a sampling of a few of my favorite pictures. We loved our six days in San Diego and will definitely go again, but it was nice to come home to our dog and home and the Pacific Northwest. Can't wait to see or hear from all of you soon. Love to all!

A Sad Loss

Dear Family and Friends, Last night, I experienced some complications which brought me to the hospital and ultimately led us to the knowledge that I am not carrying a successful pregnancy. The ultrasound revealed that I am pregnant with an egg that never produced a fetus. So, my body went through the motions of pregnancy, growing a gestational sack (as the doctor called it), but I never actually had a healthy baby to speak of. Of course this is such a sad time for us and a huge disappointment however, we are considering ourselves very fortunate. There was no fetus so our loss seems less tragic. The doctor assured/reminded us that this is extremely common and does not mean we can't get pregnant (obviously since we have Ellie). I felt much better when he explained that the problem was with the egg and not with me. Dan and I know it's God's plan and that another special little one awaits us in the future. I guess this is why most people wait until 12 months to share their pregnancy news! Oh well. Anyway, thanks for your support and please know we are fine and will surely grow our family as soon as the doctors give me the OK! Love, Angela, Dan, and Ellie

9 Weeks

Hello family and friends! I'm a little over 9 weeks pregnant and feeling more on the upside of things. Today is the first day in over a month that I haven't needed a nap with Ellie (hence the reason I have time to sit and create this blog) so I guess that is a good sign that I must be feeling better. The pregnancy is going well. I have a little bump growing bigger every day to remind me that our little family will be a little bigger soon. We are all very excited but I will feel much better after my 12 week appointment with my doctor.

No real big updates otherwise. We have a very busy month ahead. Ellie turns two (GASP!) and we leave soon for a nice vacation in San Diego. I love this time of year for all the holiday anticipation and I have enrolled Ellie in several preschool holiday-themed workshops. I will be sure to take pictures of her "art projects" and whatever else she creates, brings home, etc. I can't wait. Today, we are making noodle necklaces. I tied a Q-tip to the end of the string to serve as a "needle" and it works perfectly. I am dyeing the noodles right now and Ellie plans on making a necklace as soon as she wakes up from her nap. How fun!

That is all for now. Here are some pictures to fill in any gaps. Love to all!

Growing up...

Ellie and Jaxie say goodnight as usual

Little Miss "I do it by myself" shows me how she pulls her pants up...all the way!

Ellie gets ready for work like Daddy

Ellie shows mommy how she can sit on a ball