Trick or Treat!

(This is actually my favorite picture from today)

Happy Halloween! We had a great holiday! We met up with Andre, Mary and Olivia at Microsoft's Halloween celebration. Ellie got the hang of trick-or-treating very quickly, thanks to her big cousin Olivia. Olivia was so cute and kept telling everyone, "This is my cousin. Her name is Ellie." After a bite to eat, we left and joined up with Nana and Papa at their house. Ellie got to do some more trick-or-treating, this time door to door and she LOVED it. She was not shy at all and just looked too cute in her little outfit. Afterward, she handed out candy for Nana and Papa for a bit and then it was back home and right to bed (in her Halloween PJ's of course :) ).

Leaves, Leaves, Leaves

It seems like Ellie always wants to play with things that she shouldn't. I feel like The-Grinch-Who-Stole-Her-Childhood because I often find myself saying, "Ellie, Honey, let's play with this not that" or "That is not for you. Try this instead." So you can imagine my delight today when Ellie asked if she could play in and jump on a huge pile of maple leaves in our neighbors' yard and I was able to say, "Go for it!" It was so fun to watch her satisfy her curiosity and I even jumped in with her when no one was watching! :O

Later, we went to Tara's house for Dinner and Dan and Ellie entertained us all:

(This picture is actually upside down but it is so much funnier this way!)

A Little Fancy Goes a Long Way

This weekend, we brought Ellie to two major Halloween "Costume Required" events. The plan was that she would be Cinderella...we have a Cinderella dress, a Cinderella crown, a Cinderella ring, glass slippers... you get the idea. For a month now, she has asked me daily, "I get to be Cinderella today, k?" so you can imagine my surprise (not really) when last minute (I mean, literally, the last minute before we had to leave) she changed her mind. Suddenly it was imperative that she be Fancy Nancy (her favorite literary character who loves all things fancy). Fortunately for her (and me), Ellie received all the Fancy Nancy dress up essentials for her birthday. I quickly put her in her revised costume and off we went, with matching Fancy Nancy doll in tow. Miraculously, Little Miss Fancy had a great time being fancy all evening, never again changed her mind about her costume, and most importantly, we all survived. :)

Here are some pictures of the afternoon/evening. According to Ellie, her favorite part was "walking on the squares," which we might all know as a "cake walk." The first time around, the MC called Ellie's number and she won the prize. It was like she just won a lifetime supply of fruit snacks. She was elated.

Mommy and Ellie Marie

Hmm...these arts and crafts are tricky! :)

Ellie and friend Gabriella at Gymboree Harvest Party

Little Miss Fancy

Look Mommy, I won a prize!

Making the Most of the Season

Sometime between leaving for college and getting married, I realized that holidays just weren't as much fun as they used to be. At that time, neither I nor my siblings had any kids and so the holiday celebrations seemed to be wanting. Today, I was looking at my photos from the weekend and realized that I do more to celebrate the season in a weekend than I ever did post childhood/pre-Ellie. Everything is more fun with Ellie! She is such a joy. On Saturday, I took Ellie to a preschool workshop where she made four different Halloween crafts (a picture frame, a windsock, etc) and then attended a special Halloween themed day/birthday party at the zoo. Today after mass, we took Ellie to a pumpkin patch in Olympia (I swear, that was the last one!). Papa Jerry went with us and Ellie had a great time riding the old fashioned carousel and a pony named Reggie, sliding down the big slide with Dan, and tasting her first Elephant Ear. I really don't know who is having more fun. :)

Girls Will Be Girls

The girls having a quick meal

Hmmm...I wonder where Ellie gets her Magoo Eyes from?

Ooh! I love that face!

Ellie gets a Halloween dessert Hey Magoo!

Not bad for chocolate pudding!

Dressed up for playtime at Gabby's house

Everything is pink pink pink these days!

Hiding from Mommy

On the Other Side

This past week, Ellie and I took a road trip to the other side of the mountains. We had a lot of fun with family and Ellie especially enjoyed waking up Mema and Papa in the morning and playing with Nicholas. The highlight for me was our visit to Seimer's Farm in Greenbluff. It was a beautiful and COLD day; the perfect kind for a little fall fun. We stayed until Friday and then my mom, my sister, and the kids all came back this way to stay for the weekend and attend Mary/Andre's baby shower. We are all so excited to welcome another little one into the family. My how we keep growing!

Dan scoops up the rugrats

Ellie holds baby Noah

Cousins

The view from the pumpkin patch train

In the corn maze

Still stuck in the corn maze!

Picking out pumpkins

Ellie and Papa Lenny

Mema and two of her little munchkins

At Harvest House's Pumpkin Land

Such Good Friends