Happy Halloween!

We had a great Halloween weekend! Friday afternoon we took Eleanor to Hill Ridge Farms. She loved it! She got to see the goats, chicken, and sheep and helped us put food down the tube that the goats gobbled up. Then she took a ride down the big slide with Jason- she couldn't get enough of that and probably would have gone down all day if we let her.

Then Jason and Ellie took a ride on the little train so Ellie could practice her "choo choo". We wrapped up the day by going on the hay ride over the the pumpkin patch together. Ellie was pretty proud of her own pumpkin. She ran around looking for the perfect one and then had to carry it by herself.
We tried to entice her into a semi-small one so that it wasn't such a task!

On Saturday we went to a big Halloween party at some friends and then tonight went to another party at Glenn and Kathy's house. Ellie dressed up as a ladybug and was pretty darn cute! She even got to Trick or Treat and got the hang of that very quickly! She went to our neighbor Ceci's house first- Ellie LOVES Ceci, every time we pass her house she wants to stop by and ring the doorbell :) So she rang her bell and Ceci brought her two apples!

Ellie was so proud and carried her bucket over to a couple of the other neighbors. That will last her until next year when I'm sure she'll understand the concept a little too well!

Happy Halloween!

Washington DC and Delaware!

We went on a very last minute trip to Washington DC this weekend to visit with Maysa, an exchange student that lived with my parents around 4 years ago. She was in the United States translating for a group of teachers and we really wanted to see her so we decided to drive up and visit. We left Friday morning and Jason worked in the car and then at the hotel when we arrived. I was a pretty scary driver in DC...I really couldn't figure out what was going on with the traffic circles that have stoplights! Ahhh! We got to the hotel and tried to check in although the room wasn't ready (What a pain!) We ended up waiting around in the hotel which was okay because it was super nice. They had huge koi fish which Ellie absolutely loved. She even got to help feed them and could have stood and watched them for hours.

We took the subway down to the mall to meet Maysa. We found her and stopped in at Starbucks for a little break and a chance to catch up with her and then made our way back to the hotel for Happy Hour (Embassy Suites :) Don't worry I ordered a Shirley Temple! We ended up having dinner at a really good Chinese restaurant and then stayed up way to late visiting with Maysa. Ellie enjoyed playing with her and we were so happy for them to have an opportunity to meet!

On Saturday Maysa was leaving for NYC so we drove over to Jason's dad and stepmom's house in Delaware. We ate lunch and then took Ellie to the golf course where they have a carousel. Ellie loved riding the carousel and then played on the super cool playground that they have.

We visited and had a great time Saturday night and Sunday morning and then drove home Sunday afternoon. We have been wanting to get up to Delaware with Ellie so it was nice to do that...although our visit was too short. We had a great- whirlwind-last-minute, traveling weekend...probably last until Little Miss Hamilton 2 makes her arrival!

What has Ellie been up to ???

Ordering Milo (and everyone else) around!

Being a Rockstar! (She saw this outfit at Target and had to have it) to go with her beloved silver flats that she even slept in one night.

Playing outside in any way possible!

Laughing, laughing, laughing (in this case with her Great Great Grandmommie Pearl)

Hanging out with her Aunt Zoe, and trying to be just like her!

Learning about the world (at the science museum in this picture!)
And being a silly goose that we love so so much!

Our Little Preschool Dropout

Well Ellie is our family's first dropout! Preschool didn't work out....Ellie cried a little more and a little sooner every day that we tried. She is a smart cookie! She realized that if she cried they would call us to come get her. Poor thing! You could tell that she really wanted to play but couldn't get past the separation part of the whole thing. The preschool has a policy that family can't come in the room which made it harder because I think if we were able to go in with her and help her feel more comfortable she may have been able to transition a little easier. So after 4 failed attempts and a lot of tears we decided to wait until next year. After all she is very young for preschool!

Preschool!

Ellie started preschool last Tuesday. She was super cute getting ready, of course having no idea what was in store. Poor baby! She walked around the house with her backpack on chanting..."backpack, backpack, backpack!"

Jason, Ellie and I visited the preschool last week for the open house and Ellie warmed up pretty quickly with us in the room. She met the teachers and a couple of the other kids and had a chance to check out all the fun toys. She was especially excited about the baby doll highchair and the strollers!

When I dropped her off on Tuesday morning she was timid in the hallway kind of wondering what was going on but seemed ok when I left. I must admit I turned and walked out as fast as I could so I couldn't hear her cry. I went home and cleaned up and kept busy and was ready to see how it went at 11 (they have short days the first week). When I got her she ran to me and burst into tears. They said she had a rough day. Poor little thing. It must be so scary to be dropped off and not know what is going on.

Thursday didn't go any better. The school called around 10:30 and said she was ready to go home. They were worried she was going to make herself sick.

So tomorrow is another day and we will try again. We are sending all of her lovey things. I made a photobook for her with our pictures that she can look through...but I can't be there with her. It breaks my heart. It may not work out this year and that is okay, but we'll try a few more days. It has been a rough week for her all around. It is amazing how much this has stressed her out, but I guess that is "normal." I don't like it one bit, I'm ready to have my happy, no-worries toddler back.

New Stroller

With the idea of actually being as ready as possible when this baby arrives (and considering she may be early like Ellie...and will arrive right in the middle of holiday craziness) we have decided to get some things done.

There are very few things that we actually need to purchase but one of them was a stroller that could accommodate a toddler and a newborn. I did a lot of research and finally decided on the Joovy Ergo Caboose.

It was expensive...but Ellie isn't really old enough for the regular sit and stand models (she'll only be 2 when we have the new baby) and I think I'll really want something that I can easily transport them both in especially when I'm home on maternity leave. I really liked that this stroller could hold the smaller baby close to the parent and let the older toddler sit in the front seat. When they are both a little older the little baby will be able to sit in the seat and Ellie can use the "sit and stand" feature.

I ordered the stroller last weekend (after scrounging the net for the best deal...and figuring out some major price-matching/coupon code/free shipping deals) and it came super quickly. On Wednesday night we assembled it. Ellie was a big help. She helped daddy pump up the tires and made sure she tested out the new seat. She was super thrilled when we brought down the baby carrier and had to secure her baby doll in carseat and cover her up with a blanket.



We have 30 days to return it so I needed to try it out before the baby arrives. I read about people pushing them around the house because you can't really take it outside or they won't return it. Our house is way to small for that so much to Jason's shock I took the baby carrier complete with Ellie's baby and we all went to the mall! I did put a blanket over the carrier so no one knew that there was no baby in there. Ha! Even better....I really like the stroller and we found Ellie some clearance shoes! Two pairs- one light up pair of Sketchers and one neon orangish-pink pair of Converse, under 20 bucks!

So we can mark this off the list. There really aren't many more things we need. I actually can't think of anything. So that is great. We need to bring back the mini-crib from my parents house or buy a new one but otherwise we have everything we need...just need to get it organized :)

Baking Kolaches!

We had our first ever family baking event this week! We made kolaches together- kolaches are a Czech pastry that my great-grandmother used to bake often and now my grandparents and mom make as well. I have very fond memories of eating kolaches and helping along the baking process.

Ellie isn't totally into helping in the kitchen yet, though she does have a little kitchen that she will work in. She cuts and mixes...and whips up all sorts of wonderful things! So we pulled up a chair and let her in on the kolache action.

She watched intently and then we had to pull out her little mixer....unfortunately she didn't really want to pretend with her mixer, she wanted something in her mixing bowl! So I gave her a little flour figuring that couldn't hurt the toy. She had to "test it out" and I don't think she was particularly impressed with the taste of flour!

Then Missy got in the way and was covered with flour...

We finally called daddy in to the rescue to help with the kneading! That is hard work!

Ellie especially loved covering her hands with flour...so her dough wouldn't stick! Surprisingly, she didn't really like touching the dough.

After letting them rise (and a break for a bath) we rolled out the dough!

My mom came just in time to help us fill the last couple pans. We made cherry and blueberry filled. The traditional ones that my family makes are cherry and prune but we didn't have Grandpa Lorin over to help us eat the prune so we decided to try blueberry.

Yummy!!! Ellie refused to try one. She doesn't know what she is missing :)

We had a lot of fun but baking is hard work! I wasn't overly impressed with our kolaches. My mom and my grandparents have it down much better than I do. I guess I'll have to try again!