Happy 5th Anniversary Jason!

Today is our 5th Anniversary! I really can't believe it has been 5 years since we got married. I'm so happy to be married to such a wonderful guy who is also an amazing dad. We have had a wonderful 5 years and I love him more every day. We celebrated by going out to dinner Ellie-free which was nice. We took our "anniversary trip" back in September to Wilmington because we knew that I wouldn't be so comfortable to travel now. Aunt Zoe kept Ellie for us and they did just fine.

We had a wonderful weekend full of relaxation and doing whatever we wanted. I must say that involved a lot of naps! We also ate at a great fondue restaurant, took the river taxi over to the battleship, went to a movie in a move theatre (for the first time in almost 2 years!) and just enjoyed spending time together.


Eating at a local seafood restaurant- yum!

Our hotel, view from the river taxi-

32 Weeks!

I can't believe I'm 32 weeks pregnant! That is just crazy. We had our ultrasound to check growth today so that we have an idea on her size if she decides to come early like her big sister. She looked great! Check out the very cool 3D ultrasound pictures.

She may be a boxer when she grows up! Here are her little fists--

They aren't the best pictures because she was so big- they estimated 5 pounds!!! and because she is breech :( She had both of her arms and one leg up by her head so it was pretty hard to get a good look at her. The doctor said she is measuring about the same size that Ellie did...around 3-4 weeks ahead of schedule, and she was hopeful that she may turn on her own. She did mention c-section or trying to manually turn her at 37 weeks. If I happen to go into labor they will check right away by ultrasound if she is breech and I will have to have a c-section if she is at that point. Otherwise they will plan to do another ultrasound for presentation at 36 weeks and then we can decide what to do if she is still breech at that point. I've been googling ways to get a baby to turn- pretty funny! I must say I did try laying on a pillow with my feet up in the air. She moved around a bunch, apparently not to happy with that configuration! I also did the headphones on my belly technique where you play music really low and supposedly the baby tries to move towards it. Ha! I hope it works but I'm pretty doubtful that she'd really care about that. So we have another two weeks and we'll head back to the doctor to see how things are going.

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.