Snow and Halloween

Well, Ellie is sacked out in bed after a successful evening of trick-or-treating. She wore a kitty costume my sister made for our niece 12 years ago. Brigette is trying to dig out a picture of Kieron wearing it for a side-by-side comparison. Ellie really wanted to wear her cousin Eddie's old lion costume, but it was too small. We had awesome Halloween weather, which was a nice change from the 15 inches of snow we had earlier this week.

Here are the pictures:

Look at the size of those snowflakes!

Halloween, reverse order (because that is just the way Blogger is being tonight...)

Enjoying her candy:

So tired by the end...

With Jamison the Dinosaur (who she refers to as her brother, by the way).

Playgroup

Ellie had a couple of friends over this morning. We had a good time making "oobleck" and it entertained the little ones for over an hour. It did take me a good thirty minutes to clean my kitchen afterwords, but it was worth it! Avery and Jamison are both 3 (about 7 months older than Ellie) and it is so interesting to watch her learn things from them.


Hugs from Jamie:


All three of them watching the rocking Hallmark Christmas Dog bark Jingle Bells. Great-Grandma E. gave this to Ellie on her first Christmas and she still hasn't gotten enough of it (I may have though... :)

See the condition of my kitchen floors? What a teacher will do for "sensory experiences!"

Avery attempting to make hand prints.

Jamie is so excited!

If you have never made oobleck with kids before, and you have some to make it with, it is worth doing. Oobleck is not quite a liquid and not quite a solid. When compressed it will form a solid, but when let to sit it becomes a liquid and will pour. If you really want to add an educational connection, and your kids are about 4 or up, read Bartholomew and the Oobleck by Dr. Suess first.

The recipe:

It is basically equal parts cornstarch and water (colored water if you want to get creative). Add the water slowly; you might not need it all. If it gets too runny just stir in some more cornstarch. You can save it (uncovered, or it will get moldy) for a week. Just add more water to reconstitute it as needed. Have fun!

30 Days Hath September...

...and you would think I would have found more time to blog! The last few weeks around here have been one illness after another, primarily confined to Ellie and me. We've all had colds, some of us two of them, and Ellie had a stomach and intestinal virus. It was as fun as it sounds. This was the first time that Ellie has ever come down with something that caused her to throw up (she's been carsick a time or two, though) and it was certainly not pretty. We are all recovered now, though, which is the important part.

In a few minutes Ellie and I will be heading to Build-A-Bear to "trade in" her pacifiers for a new toy. The time has come. She has only been allowed to have them in her crib for the last 6-9 months and we are ready to take the next step. I'm not really looking forward to the next few nights. This is going to be a big change for her, but I am hoping for the best.

I don't have any new pictures for this post, but hopefully I'll find time this weekend to add some shots of a Highlands Festival we went to a couple of weeks back. We are going to a festival tomorrow at a local Waldorf school. Hopefully Ellie will have fun with the pony rides and other activities they will have there!

Flower Girls

Last weekend we were in Idaho to celebrate the marriage of Josh and Jordan. Jordan, my cousin, is one year younger than me and we spend a lot of time together growing up. She was our maid of honor 10 years ago. I was honored to be a bridesmaid in their wedding; Ellie was a flower girl. Here are a few pictures taken after the ceremony.

The happy couple.

Showing off her flowers.

The flower girls together: Ellie and her cousin Abby.

Ellie did very well at the wedding, when you take into account that she is two and has a mind of her own. She was fantastic during pictures and the hour or so waiting for the ceremony to start. She and Abby walked down the aisle together and were adorable. About two minutes into the ceremony Ellie started talking (telling Abby to stop holding her hand) and growling very loudly... After a few attempts at quieting her on my part, and a hand placed over her mouth by Abby, Tim sneaked to the front and removed her. Oh well, it could have been worse!

The wedding was beautiful. Jordan's dress was stunning and her choice of flower girl dresses made for a very simple and classic look. We bridesmaids all chose our own black cocktail dress and shoes. The guys were in black tuxes, but not matching. It all worked so well together. I am excited to see the professional photographs when Jordan and Josh return from their honeymoon.

Library Concert

Ellie and I went to our local library a couple of weeks ago for a kid's concert. It just happened that the lady who taught her music class last winter was performing, so off we went. Ellie had a blast, even though it was hot on the concrete in the sun!



Singing "Old McDonald" - Ellie had a cow puppet.



After about 15 minutes we moved back to the shady trees. Not as good of a view, but much more comfortable. Ellie is holding an egg shaker.

Showing off her shaking abilities.

Sorry, No Pictures

Well, I don't have any new pictures to post, but I thought I'd update the blog anyway.

Ellie and I have been keeping busy with swim lessons and park trips the last two weeks. She has one more week of lessons and then we will be getting ready to head to Idaho for Josh and Jordan's wedding! Ellie is going to be a flower girl and she is very excited about it. She may not have a clue what it means, but still she tells us every day, "I am a flower girl!" After hearing a description of the dresses from Jordan, I am sure that Abby and Ellie will look absolutely adorable!

We have a nice family weekend planned to celebrate my birthday on Sunday. I can't believe I am turning the big 3-0 this year. I suppose you can't believe it either, Mom! Tim, Ellie, and I are going to try and make it over to a working "kids" farm tomorrow morning. (We were supposed to go with Hailey, Berlin, and Jamison this morning but they were closed. Three little ones were very disappointed!) The farm has lots of animals to play with, eggs to gather from the hen house, a big sandbox, lots of trikes, and tons of other things to do. Tomorrow afternoon Hailey has graciously offered to watch Ellie while Tim and I go see Harry Potter at the theater. We still haven't left Ellie with a babysitter; tomorrow was supposed to be the first, but Tim backed out... :) Luckily, Hailey came to our rescue!

We told Ellie that it was going to be my birthday this weekend. Ellie replied with, "Oh Mommy! Can I come to your party?" I believe that she is picturing something involving a bounce house... She also pointed out that she would get to eat cake. I hadn't really planned on a cake, but I don't want to disappoint her. Any excuse for cake, right?

Hopefully I will have some new pictures next week. We went on a beautiful hike last weekend, but forgot the camera. Ellie hiked almost two miles, and would have gone more if we hadn't put her in the pack so that we could move a little faster. She is our active, outdoor girl!

Overdue

I know that this post is long overdue. We have been so busy this summer that it seems like I never have time to sit down at the computer to update the blog. We spent the Fourth of July with Tim's folks (avoiding all the neighborhood fireworks here - maybe next year we'll stay home and let Ellie enjoy a sparkler or two). We've been spending a lot of time each day outside at the local parks, pools, and just playing in the front yard and alley. Ellie's big accomplishment is that she can pedal her trike by herself now. She figured it out last month while I was recovering from surgery and now it is hard to keep up with her!

I will be leaving Ellie overnight for the first time tonight. After Tim gets home from work I am heading south to go rafting tomorrow. Tim and Ellie will hold down the fort until I come home tomorrow night. I am halfway tempted to cancel my plans and stay home, but I am sure that they will be just fine without me!

Anyway, on the the pictures.

Ellie and Sebastian playing in the backyard:






Feeding the geese (4th of July):




At a wool market and llama, sheep,goat, etc show in a nearby mountain town: