Fun With Friends

Just before we left for Spokane, we had our good friend Rosanna and her two little ones (Gabriella and Dante) over for dinner. The kids had too much fun as usual! Dan had to go to work and the kids had a good time dressing up like him. Here are some snapshots from their visit!

Pretty in Pink

Yes, this is a picture of me with fake pink hair and an apron. Yes, Ellie dressed me. And Yes, Dan had to get it on film. Ellie loves to dress up and try on different clothes. Here are a couple more fun pictures:

Fall Festivals

Ellie and Me in a 1951 WSP patrol car

Ellie sits in the Fire Engine

This is our good friend and neighbor Steve (Eastside Firefighter) On one of the WSP cars Pony rides! Ellie enjoys a corn dog, WSP stickers (on her shirt) and a new balloon Ellie and Dan in front of the pony rides

Fife Harvest Festival

Have I mentioned that I love fall? We have been having a lot of fun at autumn festivals lately. We went to two this weekend: a local harvest festival in Fife and the Salmon Days Festival in Issaquah. The Fife festival was very small and we almost didn't stop because the weather was so awful, but Ellie wanted enough time to get a balloon animal, jump in the bouncy house, and see the fire trucks. The Salmon Days Festival was awesome! Dan was volunteering at a WSP booth but he was able to join us for a bit of fun at the bouncy castle and the pony ride.

The best thing about going to all these festivals, outings, etc is that Ellie's vocabulary grows tremendously. She has learned the concepts 'attached' 'fog' 'hibernate' 'autumn' and 'traffic' just in the last two days. She understands what makes autumn a different season and is associating leaves, Halloween, pumpkins, etc. with one another. She is growing and changing so much. My most recent conclusion is that Ellie is extremely observant like Dan. Today she pointed out that a man on a motorcycle had curly hair and while parked in front of a store, she said, "Look Mama, an O for Olivia, a P for Papa, an E for Ellie and and N for Nicholas (all the letters in the OPEN sign in the store front window)." While driving, she points out that she sees an "America flag" or "two diggers, but only one is yellow" or "Mountain Rainier." She further explained that a witch is like Cinderella because they both have a cat (Lucifer and a black cat) and a broom. I just don't know what she will say next but I am always amazed.

I also took Ellie to the Senior Citizen Bazaar at Milton's town hall. I put $4 in coins in her little pink purse and let her "shop." Needless to say, she had so much fun and the Seniors LOVED her. If you were wondering, she purchased two bracelets and two felt pumpkin goody bags with M&M's in them. Jewelry, "purses", and chocolate...she is so much like her mommy. :)

Happy Autumn!

Ang

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!