Ellie Is Coming To Work With Me... One Way Or Another!

Ok, so I am sitting at work pouring up samples and lost in my own thoughts and out of nowhere there is, it is like a cancer! It is still here as I type this. There must be a name for it other than just loosing my mind and if you know what it is... Please, I beg you, let me know! Before I tell you what is going on let me backtrack and tell you why I think it is happening.
I am a talk radio junkie, I admit it!! I listen to it in the morning going to work and in the afternoon on my way home and if I could listen to it all day, I would! It's ok, I have comes to terms with the fact that I am a nerd and I think that I am fine with that! (Don't worry, this does have to do with Ellie.) I don't watch the news, too depressing and violent and I am just too damn busy! I have just started reading the news paper (there is one at work) but I will say I am a bit of a gossip junkie and a fan of the fluff stories so I stick to the Today, Live!, and Taste sections. And on a rare occasion I may flip to the Maryland section only because a cover story caught my eye. It is not that I am not informed or that I am shallow but lets face it... there are a lot of bad things going on out there and sometimes ignorance is bliss! So my friends, that is why I like talk radio. There are opinions, warm and fuzzies, and also the news on the war, the presidential candidates, economy, and so much more (see I am informed)! And in this fast paced world it is multitasking, not only are you going somewhere but you are more informed once you get there.
Now that I have explained my position, I will tell you why my talk radio bit me in the butt today. As I was saying... Lost in my own thoughts when there it was... "Lights, Camera, Action, Wiggles, Welcome to out TV show..." in my head. Over, over, and over again!! And it is still there!! Maybe if I listened to pop 40s radio like most other people one of those catchy tune would be in my head instead of those clever Aussie songs.
But instead, here I sit, humming along with that tune I hear every morning before we leave because I really do like to watch Ellie wiggle along. Here is my choice... Do I deny the joys in my life (talk radio and a happy toddler) to feel a little sanity each day or do just accept the remedial feeling I get when humming along to children's song in the adult world? I say sing on Captain Feather-sword and watch out Hanna Montanan I am sure I will know your songs before long!!

It Is Thanksgiving Time...
Well, it is that time of year again, the holiday season is officially upon us and you can feel it in the air (most of the time)! Time to eat turkey and pumpkin pie but more importantly to spend time with the ones you love. I could give you a list of the things that I am thankful for but 1- I don't want to bore you and 2- I am sure you can figure out the two things I am most thankful for... family and friends! But here is a list of things that Ellie is thankful for... Papoo, Meme, Ma-ma, Pa-pa, Mommy, Daddy, and blankets. That was straight from school and I didn't change a thing! One of the girls in her class was thankful for her family and princesses. Anyway, I thought you would enjoy that! It is funny... it really is the little things in life!!
Home SickEllie and her sick face (covered in blueberry apple sauce). She had a virus the same week that Meme and Marg were on their cruise. She had a fever, a snotty nose, and a horrible case of the crankies. I think that the only thing that she ate all day was apple sauce, but when she ate it... she really ate it!!!
Luckily Papoo is a good sport and was a stay-at-home-Papoo for a sick Ellie. She played hookie from school on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Hmmm... I hope she wasn't fakin' it or else I may have to lay down the law a little earlier than I thought!
Shoe Shopping
On her first day our after the fever and crankies went away Ellie and I went and did a little outlet shopping.... What fun!! Here is Ellie trying on some Prada shoes in Neiman Marcus' outlet ( I still can't afford anything here even in their clearance store!!)

Ellie in her hat that Meme made for her. Well, not really for her, it was originally supposed to be a purse but we stuck it on Ellie's head and not only did it fit but she liked it. So Meme made some modifications and added some tassels and Voila! Ellie has a brand new hat!!
Thanksgiving Day
We got up early and went to the playground (it was about 68 degrees) so that she could run off some steam and we could be home in time for lunch and the parade, we had a very busy day!
Here is Santa, it is now the official start to the holiday season!!!
Ellie watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. This was as close as she was going to come to one this year. She was just getting over her cold last weekend so we had to miss the one downtown but there is always next year!
Thanksgiving Dinner

Mmmm... Thanksgiving dinner! Well it was more like turkey and that is it because she ate so many crackers and cheese before dinner she wasn't all that hungry. The funny thing was she must have gotten her appetite back once someone mentioned dessert. Would you call that selctive hunger and is that like selective hearing? Now that is some food for thought!
Ellie, Emily, Kaitlyn, Baby Emma, and Pat-pat
Erin and Baby Emma... what a cutie!!

Ellie and Emily posing on the back stairs. Ellie was so taken by her cousins.... So that is what the big kids are like.... Awesome!!
Emily and their new golden puppy, Miley. And for those of you who are up on it... they named her after Miley Cirus ( aka: Hanna Montana)
Papoo with Ellie and Emma on his lap (I don't know if he could be much happier) with Kaitlyn and Sean in the background.

Hey, what can I say... I have baby and my big girl and I am pretty happy too!
Ellie trying her hand (actually the back-scratcher) on the piano. Now lets be honest, it was music only a mother could love!!
Ellie and Dan. Once she warmed up to him they were having a great time!! And he got to witness one of the joys of a toddler... when "One more time!" turns into ten more times. Hey, he was a good sport!

Ellie just hanging our with her cousin Kaitlyn.
She didn't even make it out off the street before she passed out! But I guess that is what happens when she runs after her 8 and 5 year old cousins all night and stays up until 9:00 pm! Don't worry, I did the same thing when I got home too!
Its Potty Time!
Ellie on the potty all by herself! She can do it all on her own even though it may not be the "normal" way it is the Ellie way!

And she washes her hands (and makes a huge mess) all on her own!!
Festival of Trees
Friday Ellie and I went to the Festival of Trees at the fairgrounds. It was a Christmas wonderland and the perfect thing to introduce Ellie to Christmas. There were decorated trees and wreaths all over the place, puppet shows, trains, and live music. Santa was even there but we just walked on by, that would have been a little much but maybe next week!
Here are some of the candy houses they had on display. If that doesn't make you hungry, I don't know what will!!
Here is my favorite tree. It is a "Girlie Tree" decorated with spa supplies, make-up, hair products, and a garland of pink foam curlers. It even had a bubble machine under it blowing bubbles onto the onlookers! Ellie liked those bubbles!!

Ellie looking on intently at the choo-choo trains. "All a board!"
Here are some of the marionette puppets. This one was an ice skater skating to Winter Wonderland. Ellie had trouble taking her eyes off of them and pitched a fit at the mention of walking somewhere else!
This was the dancing bear/cat (I am not really sure what it was) but Ellie loved it just the same!!
Shopping with Mommy
We went to the Dutch Market on Saturday to pick up a few things and browse around and then we had a fantastic lunch before we went home. Ellie had a grilled ham and cheese with apple sauce and milk and I had a crab cake sandwich.... Yummy!

And as you can see... this is not a sandwich but it is dessert, triple chocolate cake. Ellie and I make a great pair, I like the cake and she likes the icing. And together we lick the plate clean! Truth be told... we didn't finish it, not even close, but it sure was good!! Now the amazing thing is that she was even able to take a nap after eating this!! Lucky me!
When Heads Turn Away.... Toes Turn Pink
We will just call this the nail polish incident. I had just given Schatzie a bath and was combing out her ears and Ellie kept telling me that "I do nails myself" and I just said "ok" then I looked down and saw pink!! Pink on her toes, pink on her hands, and pink on her face and luckily no pink anywhere else!! All in all it was rather painless, nothing a little nail polish remover, elbow grease, and a few laughs didn't take care of!!
The diva modeling her new look..."I do myself" and also known as "Death Toes" look. It will be all the rage in the spring!! Just remember where you saw it first!!

Ellie playing Peek-a-boo before church on Sunday. I know that I am biased but she is too cute!!
My First Movie
Meme and I took Ellie to see her first movie on Sunday afternoon. We went to see Enchanted, or as Ellie calls it... The Princess Movie. Armed with juice, cheese puffs, and Cheerios we marched in and were ready to conquer the hour and a half sit-still time.
Success!!! The movie was fantastic and she sat on my lap almost the entire time and she even seemed to follow along with the movie!
Way to go!!
Ellie in the theater before the movie started.

Everyday Photos of My BellyIn the car goofin' off with her silly coke-bottle glasses. What a silly goose!!

I taught her some more funny faces, we are still working on this one.... Usually there is a thumb in one ear and a finger in the other ear with both pinky fingers waving and the tongue just gets stuck out. Let's face it, that is a lot of things to do all at once!!
Eating Cheerios (and sharing them with Schatzie) on Mommy's bed while wearing big girl pants, again... a lot of things to do all at once!!!

"Ha, Ha!! Look at me dancing in my panties!!!"
Seriously, I think that this cookie was bigger than her head! And no, you should know me better than that! Of course she didn't eat the whole thing, I had to throw it out after three days!!
One morning on the way to school... Doesn't she look like such a rag-a-muffin? Her hat is on crooked and her sweater is hanging out the bottom of her vest with her bah-bah in one hand and the dancing/singing chicken in the baby carrier in the other hand. Truthfully, it is called picking your battles and that was one better left untouched!! But don't be fooled, there was a little battle of wills when she wanted to take that stupid chicken into school. And in case you were wondering... I won that one but I also went into work that day with little red feathers on my coat. So really... did I win?

How tall is the Belly??? I don't know but Papoo did make her first mark on the wall!!
Lunch with Mommy on a Saturday afternoon. Mmmm... Gyro and french fries with ketchup.
Saturday night Julie and I went out on the town and look who we ran into... Brendan and a friend of his. What a small world!

Heather and Brian's Baby Shower
November 3rd was the shower for baby Oster who is set to arrive sometime in late January. I know that Brian and Heather are so excited! It was a very enjoyable shower, we were able to see a bunch of family and there were fun friends for Ellie to play with!

Ellie hanging in the play room with Gillian and Andrew, look at all of the fun big girl toys (I can hardly wait for the small pieces)

After Heather opened the blanket that Meme made for baby Oster Ellie ran over and took it from her and proceeded to give it back to Meme saying, "Meme banket". Well, in her defense, she had seen Meme working on it for the past month or so and as far as she knew it was Meme's blanket!
That good lookin' boy, Andrew.

Ellie in her McDonald's hat, let's teach them early... "Would you like trans-fat with that?"
The expecting parents... Brian and Heather.

The knights of the round table, or should I say, the cakes of the round table! Ellie, Anna, Gillian, and Andrew enjoying some cake with their icing.

Happy HalloweenHere is Ellie before school in her pumpkin shirt and sparkle shoes. They had a costume parade and a Halloween party. Luckily when I picked her up she wasn't too wired... yet!!!

It is me and my girls... the princesses. Ellie the fairy princess and Schatzie the fairy tale princess!
I think she was already looking for some candy and wanting to go to the party. I think that I have created a party monster!!
Princess Schatzie, and no, she didn't like the hat at all but it did stay on for about 10 minutes. Good for her!
We went to a neighborhood pot luck. This is something that they have been doing for a few years, a great way for everyone to eat and mingle. It even got all the kids trick-or-treating at the same time and not too late!! It was really nice to meet some of the neighbors and see all of the costumes!
Ellie eating (and not liking) a drumstick but don't worry, she ate her fair share of Mac-N-Cheese!
Ellie trick-or-treating with Meme and Auntie Margie. She took to it like a fish to water. I think once she realized she was getting candy she was ready to go to the next house!!
Look... A fairy princess helped David Beckham overcome his fears of the haunted castle as she takes him by the hand and leads him around the corner and into the house!! Thank you brave fairy princess!!
Aaagghh! I love Halloween!!!
The last stop for my trick-or-treating machine... Meme and Papoo's house, then to bed!!