Ellie Belly

2009-07-23T08:22:00.022-04:00

Well, the time has come...

I always knew that this time would come at some point but truly, I didn't realize is would happen so soon. There have been so many happy times, some sad times, and lots of life changes and if you are reading this right now then you have shared them with us.

I have exceeded my space for photos here on Ellie Belly's blog and because I still want to continue to share our adventures I have created a new space for our memories...

Ellie Belly... 3.5yrs and Beyond!

I will have each blog linked to the other to try and make the transition easier for everyone and please be patient with me for the first few weeks. Oh, and thanks for stopping by!

By they way... The photos of our latest adventure are already posted on Ellie Belly... 3.5 and Beyond!

2009-07-14T11:57:00.013-04:00

July Fun

Schatzie sporting her new summer style
Ellie the tennis star... Watch out William's sisters!!
Getting ready for the serve.
Thursday night Slip-n-Sliding
Getting ready for the slide.
Woosh!!! (Insert girly squeal)
Planning the next slide.
View from the bottom.
Afterwards Ellie and Sean played some more tennis... Thats hard to do whey you have a tennis ball thief, aka: Schatzie.
Ellie's Growing Garden
The first squash harvest! The tennis ball is there for sizing.
One view.
Tomatoes
Zucchini
Friday Night... Feet on the Street
Ellie and her noodles, what a noodle head!
Other Ellie loves her noodles too!
And so does Joelle!! Let there be noodles for everyone!
Noodle head is eating morenoodles... go figure!
All of us at dinner... Joelle, Cathy, Ellie, Chris, MB, Sam, and Ellie.
Joelle and her ice cream.
Ellie and her chocolate ice cream... Yummy!
Bouncing, bouncing, bouncing!!
Sammy and the two Ellies.
The Ellies laying down listening to the tunes!
Ellie crashed when we got home... And not much later I did the same thing!!
Saturday...
Bouncing around at the Perry Hall Town Fair.
Sitting in the National Guard's Hummer (aka: gassguzzler)
Visiting with one of the dogs in the K-9 unit, Daisy.
And the best part of the day... Ice cream with your girlfriends!
Climbing on the sea monster at The Ultimate Playzone for Ryan's birthday party.
Joelle was at the party too! The pirate ship playhouse.
Sliding down the bouncy slide.
Bouncing with Joelle.
Cake and LOTS of snacks... Happy birthday Ryan!
Down the super fast pirate slide... Weeee...
This is why she likes Aunt Margie and Meme to put her to bed... Can you find Ellie among the animals?? I can't either!

Sunday

At church on Sunday morning doing what she always does... "Rubbing" her friends while they naps.
Playing in the sprinkler in her panties and pouring water down her pants... Oh, the simple joys in life!
And watering her head.
And sitting on the sprinkler.
Ellie's garden... her pumpkin growing up the fence.
"I can see you!"
Hanging out with (on) Schatzie and watching some toons.
Below: Ellie's garden, singing tunes, and playing tennis.

2009-07-06T12:00:00.001-04:00

Early Morning Songs with Ellie...

2009-07-06T10:34:00.016-04:00

4th of July Week and Weekend!
Wednesday...
Schatzie got her summer haircut... she looks so pretty and cool for the warm temps!
Thursday night...
We stayed up late on Thursday night so Ellie could see the fireflies for the first time. She wasn't too thrilled when I told her we were going to go outside to see some buggies.
But once she saw the first few she was pretty excited. I had to catch a few to show her what these things were that were flashing.
Then she found some on her own! The evening was magical!
Looks like that one got a little too close for comfort!
Friday...
I had off of work so Ellie played hookie from school and we went out to Larriland Farm to pick some blueberries. It was about 45min away so to pass the time we counted trucks on the road... we got all the way up to 75!!
Just letting the wind blow through her hair!!
Mmmm... Blueberries!
Ellie picking a few of her own!
Posing next to a blueberry bush... it may not look like a lot but they sure were good!!
This one is titled "Blueberries in a bag", print 1 of 1. Photo courtesy of Ellie.
Larriland Farm
Mommy picking most of the berries.
More of the farm.
Ellie picking clovers while I was picking blueberries!
Look at all of the pretty flowers!Ellie and I by the blueberry bushes.
We did try to pick the rasberries but that didn't work as well as the blueberries... too many prickleys. Also Ellie kept picking the red ones... not bad but we were picking black rasberries so hers weren't ready yet!
Saturday...
Ellie in her 4th of July outfit. You can't really see them but she is also wearing red cowgirl boots!
See here they are! Erica and Ellie posing in their patriotic outfits!
Ellie and I waiting for the festivities to start... she is ready with her ears already covered!
Erica "cheesing" for the camera with Ellie's tiara on top of her sun hat! What a silly girl!
Silly Ellie wearing her crazy head band!
Lisa and Batman!
Oh look, Andrew looks so much like batman! Hmmm... I wonder why??
Here is the parade group... Julie, Lisa, Andrew, Erica, Margie, Meme, Papoo, Aunt Angela, Cindy, and Ellie
Same group again but I'm in there instead of Lisa.
The begining of the parade...
I will start this by saying that it went much better than last year. Ellie's ears weren't covered the entire time and she didn't hide out in the back of the group. Instead she covered her ears only when the fire engines, motorcycles, and some of the bands went by! Also, she sat up front on the curb for almost the entire time! Way to go E!!
Ellie and one of the fire engines... this one had a bell and not a siren!
Ellie and Andrew perched up on Papoo's lap!
Ellie in Papoo's hat.
Ellie and Marg taking in all of the parade!
Ellie and Andrew watching the band very carefully!
The Raven's marching band!! Go Ravens... Caw, caw!!!
This band was a little loud!
Erica and Ellie on my lap.
TSU Tiger pep band.
That afternoon we were off to a picnic/ cook-out with some friends at their pool. Ellie and Connor were really enjoying their cupcakes!
Connor the cupcake man!
And Ellie the icing face!
Exploring the pool grounds.
Swimming (blowing bubbles) in the "big" kids pool... it went from 2 1/2ft- 3ft... Ellie was in heaven!
Noodle for the Noodle-head!!
Its getting late... almost time to go home and eat dinner!
Ellie went down the little water slide a couple of times and even went under water all by her self (on purpose). She still isn't a big fan but she tried it on her own... I am so proud!!!
One last ride on the elephant before we leave!
Prime spot for the fireworks... in the Target/ Superfresh parking lot!
Popsicles and fireworks... Fantastic!
Ellie and I at the Towson fireworks.
OOhhhhh....
AAAAhhhhh....
BOOM!
BOOM! BOOM!!
Ellie and Papoo snuggled in the back of my car watching the fireworks... it was a long, long day!!
Sunday...
After church in her red, white, and blue dress.
Ellie's mean face... I am sooo scared!!
Climbing on the dinosaur at the playground after church.
Ellie bouncing on the see-saw.
Climbing on the bottom!
Weeeee!!!!!
Playing in the sandbox and building castles. Getting ready for the beach in a few weeks!
Ellie swinging on the swings at Uncle Ronnie and Aunt Pat's house on Sunday evening.
Ellie, Emma, Erin, and Wes on the swings.
Emma having a fantastic tim
Wrestling with Dan in the sun room... Super Ellie.
Ellie playing with Annie. they had a lot of fun but I think that she may be allergic to cats (boo!). The rest of the evening she was itching her eyes and her nose was running... No fun!

2009-06-29T09:59:00.003-04:00

Monkeying Around
It is official... this little noodle head needs to start eating bananas for dinner because she has turned into a monkey!
She has been practicing a lot at school and it sure tells.
But you know what... you just can't get the full effect from a series of snapshots! The only way you can truly appreciate the way that Ellie "owns" the monkey bars is to see it in action. And to forewarn you, she was not injured in the making of this video... what you don't see/ hear is at the end, she is laughing her fool head off! Enjoy!

2009-06-28T15:42:00.017-04:00

The Yin and the Yang
We are into the last few days of June and as we look back we can see just how opposite the past two weekends have been for starters...
It all started off with a package from Grandma. Ellie was excited about both her Adidas jogging suit and her Fancy Nancy dress-up dress and shoes. So she wore them together!
Then the sick-bug hit... It was Friday evening at the Towson Block Party during dinner and the fever hit. By the time we got home and were going to bed then the upset tummy hit (all over the bed and me) so there was plenty of sleeping to be done on Saturday.
Sunday she was well enough to have a mani and pedi.
See, she was really enjoying some outside time.
Showing off some of her own handiwork.
Ellie and her manicurist pose for a photo.
There were also Nick Jr computer games to be played!
During the week she was feeling much better, unfortunately, I wasn't... Ellie was nice enough to share her bug with me! :-(
Stopping to smell the daises... this was the first one this year!
And oh how Ellie's garden has grown!! That is her pumpkin that has taken off across the yard and in front are her green beans.
Those are her tomatoes and squash.
Look at how they tower over her!!
Our first harvest of the summer!
Ellie's First Camping Trip
Ellie and I were invited to join some friends on a camping trip this past weekend. We didn't go too far, the camp site was about a half hour away from home up by the MD/ PA line (or as some of the southerners insist on calling it... the Mason/ Dixon Line). The campgrounds were great. There was a playground, a pool, and even mini-golf. And as many of you know, I am not the most "outdoorsy" kind of a gal but this was my kind of camping... in a camper with our own beds and AC! We had a fantastic time!!!
Ellie and the girls playing with their coloring books and crayons on Friday evening.
Saturday morning Ellie and I are up early waiting for everyone to wake up.
Lexi, Ellie, and Sarah at the swings
Lexi pushing Ellie on the "E-sized" swing at the playground.
Hanging out on the tunnel... She never did go through the tunnel, just over the tunnel!
Ellie and the girls down at the stream splashing and tossing stones.
Uh, oh! Here come the 3 Musketeers!
She had her tongue going in full force on Saturday!
More splashing and playing... Woo-hoo!
Taking in all of the fun of the morning!
Sarah just hanging out in the water... Why not??
The little ladies posing on the big rock in the deep part. The water was about to their waist before they hopped up on the rock.
More splashing and look, there is that tongue again! Ellie had quite a time splish-splashing in the stream even though she was a little afraid of the minnows.
Lets go fly a kite...
Up in the atmosphere!
We had to take advantage of the breeze while it was there!
Just hanging out pool side. The water was pretty chilly because of all of the rain that we've been having so when the sun went behind the clouds we had to hop out and warm up!
Lexi mugging for the camera.
Look... Ellie has wings and she can fly!!
Ellie and I are just chillin'!
Getting the campfire started after dinner on Saturday. Guess what was for dessert?
S'MORES!!!
Ellie and Sarah enjoying dessert. Ellie likes raw s'mores better than the warm gooey ones. When I say raw, I mean a graham cracker, a piece of chocolate, and marshmallows right out of the bag!
Watching Dora before bed on Saturday night.
Playing on the chute slide before we head home after a fun weekend!

2009-06-15T08:59:00.016-04:00

Sunny Days and Lots of FUN!!
This past week has been huge for Ellie! It was like this week it clicked and everything she has been working on came together! She can get on the swing at the park all by herself, she can button her buttons and zip her zipper. She put her face in the water at swim lessons, she can go across the monkey bars at school all by herself, actually she showed me when I picked her up one day, she went across them 4 times and I was amazed! To top things off, Papoo measured her yesterday and she has grown an inch since March and is just a hair under 40 inches!! Way to grow, kiddo!!
Friday...
We met up with Joelle and Cathy after work and school to unwind after a hectic week... It was the perfect way to end the week!
Ellie and Joelle having fun rolling old cable spools (or college coffee tables, whatever you want to call them) around in the sand.
Ellie just looking way too cute!
I think they are driving the spool. Oh well, at least they are having fun!!
Saturday...
Saturday morning Ellie and I did the Out for Blood 5k run/ 1mile walk for the Red Cross down at Druid Hill Park in the city.
There were over 200 runners and walkers!
And here is Ellie... Just strutting her stuff! All in all the walk went ok! She lost interest part of the way through and was ready to go so we backtracked and probably ended up walking way more than we had too! But lucky Ellie, she rode on my shoulders for at least half of the walk and guess what... there were lots of hills!Elie and I at the end of the walk!
Yay! We did it! Now it is off to the zoo!
Here we are at the zoo, we got there a little early so Ellie played outside for a bit!
The rhinos.
The ostrich.
A duck looking for food in the mud.
Ellie at the Elephant Outlook.
Ellie and the elephants.
My little map reader. She was in charge of the map on this trip she showed me where to go and how to get there... and not in a bad way!!
We even got to see the baby elephant nursing. It was very cool!
Speaking of cool... Ellie got to see the penguins! This one looks just like Bird!And here he is swimming... The budding photographer took this shot!
Ellie as a penguin! After this picture was taken I had to play doctor... between the humidity, low cut socks, and all of the walking, Ellie got a blister! No worries though, I got her all fixed up and she was fine even if there was some dramatic limping thrown in every once in a while so she could beg for another shoulder ride!
Ellie and I are lions! She is the mommy and I am the baby!
Ellie checking out the fish in the Monkey House.
Speaking of monkeys... The chimpanzees were all outside and full of action! This guy brought a trash can over and was playing it like a drum.
While he was making music the others were running around, climbing, and swinging. Two of them ran off to the side to work on making a baby monkey while yet another decided to show off his alpha-maleness and body slam the window. That startled everyone but really freaked Ellie out! All of this activity went on for about 10 min and as quickly as it started up is settled down but it was really fun to watch!!!
Now Ellie was making music too!
Ellie showing me how to walk like a chimpanzee.
3 little monkeys (and 2 more on her shirt)!
Toucan (aka: The Blueberry Monster)
Ellie learning all about why they call him the Blueberry Monster... That is his favorite food. He will hold one in his beak and show it to everyone then toss it up in the air and swallow it!
Ellie and I riding on the tortoise.
A really pretty bird in the aviary. Just seconds after this photo was taken it pooped on the railing. Ellie was amazed and grossed out all at the same time!
Ellie in the bird's nest.
Ellie as a turtle!
Running through the tunnels.
Ellie riding the kid tractors at the farm area of the zoo.
Brushing the goats... I can't tell who is enjoying this more!
Ellie and I riding the pretend horses!
Trekking back up the big hill after a fun day at the zoo. We were there for about 4 hours and now it is time to go home!
Stopping to see the prairie dogs on the way out.
She's not lion... Ellie loved the zoo!
Sunday...
Playing in the, I mean around, the fountain at church.
Taking it all in!
After church Ellie and I went to Great Grapes Wine Festival at Oregon Ridge. Despite a few bumps in the road we made it and Lisa and Andrew were able to join up for an afternoon of fun and later Beth, Kiley and some other friends joined us!
Attempting the monkey bars... maybe not, these are pretty high up!!
Ellie and Andrew enjoying some tunes.
Ellie in the field enjoying the bluegrass music all by herself!!
Ellie and Andrew in the wagon.
Ellie, Andrew, Lisa, and I
Ellie and Kiley rolling around in the field and listening to some tunes!
Dancing to the music!
Ellie's garden is getting bigger by the day!
Her 'maters are getting HUGE!!
Enjoying some pool time on Sunday evening!
Just scoping out the scene!
Ellie playing with her party boat in the pool!
And below it is a clip of Ellie at the pool. She opens by saying "I'm not Ellie anymore, I'm Butt!" then she spits while she is upside down so it goes right into her nose...

2009-06-07T17:58:00.015-04:00

Yay June!!!
Now that is is warm there are so many things that you can do only in the warm (hot) temps like eating banana and chocolate pudding pops with Papoo... In the winter they just don't melt all over the place (like your face) like they do in the summer!!
See... I told you!
Saturday...
We went to Ellie's friend Ellie's brother Sammy's 6th birthday, did you follow that? Anyway, it was a pool party and because of all of the rain that we have had the Saturday morning sky wasn't looking too promising. Luckily any rain finally went on its way but it was still cool. The pools were heated and the kids loved running from the splash pads to the pool. Lots of fun was had by all!
Ellie and Ellie playing on the splash pad. Talk about little girls squealing!! Eeeee!!!
Ellie running in circles.
Back to the pool to warm up!
Hurray! The third Musketeer made it... Its Joelle!
Again, running back and forth!
Here they are, the Three Musketeers... Joelle, Ellie, and Ellie. Or maybe they are like the brothers from The Bob Newheart Show? You know, Larry, Darryl, and Darryl... Hmm...
Yay! Water fun!!!
Ellie strutting her stuff! Her parents will have their hands full during the teenage years!
Noodle for the Noodle Head!
Snack time.
Getting ready for lunch... Pizza and ice cream cake, yummy! Only Ellie doesn't like pizza, unless it is pepperoni then she picks all of them off and leaves the pizza!
Debating lunch.
After she opened her goodie bag she HAD to try on her new set of pearly whites!
On the way home from the party we stopped at a farm and picked up some asparagus, corn on the cob, and peas. Saturday afternoon we shelled the peas and found out that Schatzie was quite a fan! I snapped a few and gave them to Schatzie and she would pop them with her teeth, eat all of the peas, and spit the shells on the ground... Now that is talent!
Ellie thought that Schatzie's trick was fantastic so she kept handing over peas to her. If you enlarge this picture you can see that the dog has a half a pea pod (w/ peas) hanging out of her mouth!
Ellie helping me shell the peas.
Time to check out the garden!
We have a baby tomato!!!
And everything else in the garden is growing so well!!
Sunday...
After church Ellie wanted me to take pictures of her...
Jumping over the grass!
And with her beautiful smile!
After church we went home, changed, and went to the Charles Village Festival.
If you look closely you will notice that she has two different shoes on... 1 red croc and 1 white sandal. That was on purpose! She got a boo-boo on her big toe the day before, she caught it in the bottom of a door, don't worry, she is fine! But being the drama queen that she is she was unable to wear her other white sandal because it hurt and she wanted to wear her crocs, but she wouldn't wear both! You see, the white sandal hurts her boo-boo but matches her dress and the red croc doesn't hurt her boo-boo. See, I told you, it is very simple... If you can't be 100% fashionable then you can at least put your best foot forward! And lets face it, this wasn't a battle I wanted to fight and yes, everyone noticed!
At the playground at Wyman Park.
Ellie hoopin' it up... She is getting much better at it! And sometimes if you watch close, she even gets the tongue going with her hips... priceless!
You will notice the guy behind her on the pedestal hoola-hooping... Well, this was the 8th straight hour he had been doing it (with a few minute break every hour) and it was only about noon! Wow!
My hoop is bigger than your hoop!
There she goes again!
Doing some arts and crafts while we wait for face painting.
Ellie and I at the Charles Village Festival.
Getting her face painted... a pink and purple butterfly, of course! She was very patient and still... the face painter really appreciated that!
Beautiful! And no, not all of the paint came off in the tub that night so she ended up going to school Monday morning with pink lines on her face!
Practicing her skills at the ring toss... 2 out of 6 ain't bad for her first time!
The bean bag toss was next... 3 out of 5! Way to go!!
Bouncing in the moon bounce!
She is almost flying!
Weeeee!!!
Walking back to the car around the park.
Near the Baltimore Meuseum of Art (BMA) we saw this mobile piece of artwork.
Very interesting! And in case you are waondering... Yes, that is someone's car that they drive!
Ellie taking a breather on the wall to the park.
And sticking her tongue out at me!! You Noodle Head!
Having a cheese stick as a snack before swimming.
Playing with the blowhole of her whale pool before she actually gets wet. The water was really cold on Sunday!
Splash!
She has that "I'm up to something" look in her eye. I think my legs are getting ready for a splash!
Having fun in the pool!
There is that 'look' again!
Goggles are on!
And now they are on and she is ready to go!
Hoola hooping in the pool... Why not??
Water down her pants... Cheap excitement!
Oh wait, there were cars in that bucket too!! Silly Ellie!!!

2009-05-31T21:23:00.002-04:00

Neighborhood Block Party
May 31, 2009
It was the first official Block Party in the neighborhood and we all had a great time!Singing songs...
Ellie and I
On her way to the cook-out... All dressed up with someplace to go!
Ellie was just making the rounds.
And just enjoying every one's company.

2009-05-31T15:10:00.009-04:00

Summer, Summer, Summertime...
Wednesday evening...
Ellie riding her bike and getting really good at it! Way to go kiddo!
Saturday...
Picking strawberries at Baugher's Farm. Ellie was working the field really well until she got bored (that took about 20min) then she realized it was just easier to eat them from the ones Meme and I already picked!
So many strawberries! Yummy!
Ellie getting some strawberry pickin' tips from Meme.
Berry-licious!
Mmm...
After a while she just had fun jumping through the rows of strawberries with her Dora bucket.
Checking out all that is around.
More berry goodness!
I told you she ate a lot... Its a good thing they didn't weigh her before we started!
Ellie and I in the fields.
Meme and Ellie
Striking a pose with a berry covered face.
There was some good stuff at the farm!
Ellie and I waiting for the tractor to take us back to the market.
Climbing in the tree before we go to lunch.
Ellie and the giant apple.
Next it was off to lunch... PB&J with homemade applesauce and chocolate ice cream for dessert. Then we were off to the petting zoo.
Ellie and the baby goat were checking out the baby turkeys.
Ellie and a lamb and a goat. We didn't feed any of the animals, I was afraid that Ellie would get pinned in the corner by some hungry goats.
One of the hungry goats!
The buck toothed llama... Looks kinda like Shchatzie!
Ellie had a little lamb, little lamb, little lamb...
Look, ducks!
Ellie and the donkey!
This is Ellie and the pigs right before she got a snout kiss on the cheek. That was so silly!!
Sunday...
After church Ellie and I went to the playground for a bit to run off some steam.
We had lots of fun on the swings...
And on the slide...
And in the tunnel!
We played chase through the field
Still running!
And didn't realize just how far away we ran until we turned around! And guess who was tired and wanted to be carried back...
Taking a break in the shade to cool off before we head home.
Homeward bound!

2009-05-26T13:10:00.011-04:00

Memorial Day Weekend
Friday...Friday after work and school Ellie and I met our friends Whitney and Connor out for the playground and dinner. It was quite a way to start a fantastic weekend!
Ellie contemplating what to do next... more juice box or climb all over the pirate ship? Hmmm... decisions!Whitney and Connor
Connor and Ellie rolling in the sand before dinner.
Bucket head #1 and Bucket head #2 waiting for dinner.
Saturday...
Ellie pauses at the Waverly Farmer's Market to listen to a performer play the guitar and sing some Bob Marley. "Cause every little thing is gonna be alright..."
Ellie strutting back to the car with our fresh strawberries and asparagus... Yummy!!
Off to Annie's Playground to meet some friends. It was a perfect day for the playground and a picnic!
Part of the playground, a view from the back.
Ellie monkeying around on the perfect sized monkey bars.
Lexi and Ellie playing at the puppet theater.
Ellie in the tire swing. But by the look on her face maybe we should call it the tired swing??She met some new friends to play with also!
Ellie, Sarah, and Lexi taking a break in the garden.
Spinning her friends on the tire swing.Playing music on the music stage.
Here is Ellie and she is DONE!! We are on our way to Wally World from the playground to pick up a sprinkler for this afternoon... Ellie slept the whole way. Well, there goes nap time today!
Just before sprinkler time in the back yard I was able to convince Ellie to put her red cowgirl boots on and strike a pose for Memorial Day!
Checking out her soccer ball.
Searching for buggies. She loves to look but definitely not touch!
She just realized I was down there and taking pictures!Sprinkler fun!!We are still working on hoola hooping but I think she is finally getting the gist!
Hoola hoopin' in the sprinkler... way to multi-task!
Sunday...
Pushing her luck out side of church on Sunday morning... she just has that "look" in her eye. And when we finally got into the car she was soaking went from the waist down but it was so warm on Sunday that she was dry in no time!
Twirling, twirling, twirling!!!
Cook out with the Fayas.
While the girls were in the playroom we heard "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!" Chris and I ran in there and my Ellie looked at me and said, "Mommy, can we get naked and put princess clothes on?" Relieved, because I thought there was something tragically wrong, I replied, "Yes, just keep your panties on please." So, this is how the girls played the rest of the evening, in princess outfits and dress up heels. But what you cant see is that both of their bellies were hanging out the whole time! Very classy!Ms. Thing strutting her stuff. She looked like quite a piece of work when she was sitting on the tractor in the sand box dressed like this!
Sammy sporting a Snow White outfit... he was very proud of this! I guess he just couldn't let the girls have all of the fun!
My Ellie pouting because Sammy was dressed like a princess and "Boys don't dress like princesses. I'm not taking my picture with him!"
All of the kids playing hide-n-seek in the backyard.
Getting ready to hide under the pool.
Monday...
Ellie and I went to the Oregon Ridge beach for a couple of hours on Monday.
There was playing in the sand.
Dumping of sand.
Even Princess Aurora came along for the visit.
We had lots of fun in the water. It was a great day for the beach and it was a good thing we left when we did, it stormed later that day.
Kicked back relaxin' and eating a chocolate cupcake from the farmer's market. Mmm, mmm, good!!
Playing tug-o-war with Schatzie and her new ball with tails.
Ellie's garden is growing. Ellie wanted to take some pictures of her garden.
Look, her tomato plants already have flowers!!
Ellie and Schatzie.
Ellie and I on the patio.
Ellie's flowers from Nana for her dance recital have really opened up and are so pretty!!
Out on the patio roasting smores after dinner.
Ellie and I working on the perfect marshmallow!
Ellie liked putting the smores together but didn't want to eat the smore put together. She was a much bigger fan of the deconstructed smore!
Eating toasted marshmallows. Mmm... a great way to end a great weekend!

2009-05-21T20:47:00.020-04:00

Mid-May, Lysse Visit, and a Tiny Dancer
Spring has sprung and summer is knocking at our door and that means longer days and lots of stuff going on!
Above is Ellie after enjoying (really enjoying) a bowl of chocolate pudding. I say this because it is in no way related to the next picture! They were taken on two different days!
Tuesday...
I would title this one "Terd on the Verge".
Here is how it all went down, or more accurately, didn't go down... One evening during dinner, just like every other night, Ellie excused herself from the table to go potty. She came back to the table, washed hands and all, and finished her dinner. After dinner Papoo excused himself to go to the bathroom when I heard, "Come in here, Beth. You gotta come here and see this!" I went back to the bathroom and saw exactly what you see above. Papoo then explained that when he went to lift the seat to use the toilet, this was sitting there neatly between the seat and bowl. I asked Ellie if she took it out of the potty when we were sitting at dinner. She said no, it came out of her butt when she got off the potty and Mommy told her to never touch poo-poo, so she didn't. And yes, I did have to share that with everyone!
Wednesday...
Getting ready for swim lesson #2. She is learning to go under water and float on her back and belly.
Posing pretty and excited about swim lessons.
Friday...
Grandma, Grandpa, and Daddy came to visit. After dinner Ellie did her best to give Grandma a mohawk... I think it is a good look for you Deb!
Mmm... More sprinkles than you could dream of at Carvel!!
Ice cream on the bench.
Ellie sure loves her pink ice cream with pink sprinkles, of course!!
Sharing her ice cream with Grandma.
Dancing in the streets, actually it is the walkway.
Shoulder rides from Grandpa on the way back to the car.
Daddy, Grandma, Grandpa, and Ellie... Say "Pink ice cream!!"
Saturday...
Ellie's first dance recital.
Here is Ellie's fan club waiting for the show to begin. Papoo, Grandma, Meme, Margie, Grandpa, Ellie, and Daddy
Abby Cadabby (aka: Stinky Badinky) and Ellie warm up before class.
Ellie is taking some pre-show shots. Just no autographs please!
Pre-show streching.
Showing off some of her moves.
Getting situated for the show.
Tiny dancer showing off her stuff.
The whole class dancing to "Music of My Heart".
Dancing and in deep thought!
All of the pretty ballerinas!
Pretending to be a "shy guy"!
After the show Miss Jessica gave them all silly glasses and candy for a job well done!
Ellie, Bill, and Abby Cadabby with Ellie's flowers from Nana! Thank you!
Ellie and I. I am so very proud of my big girl!!
After her dance recital we all went to "The Pancake Store" and Ellie got a big plate full of noodles... Yum-O!
Then it was off to the "Big Playground" or as most people know it... Port Discovery Children's Museum. Here is Grandpa maneuvering some of the smaller crawl spaces in the giant rope gym in the middle... Grandpa, does this take you back to your days in the Marines?
Ellie is helping Grandpa up the ladder... When they designed this they definitely made it for kids, not grown ups!!
Hurray!! We made it!!
Playing with the marble maze.
Everyone poses for a picture in the supermarket.
Playing on one of the kid friendly computer programs.
Everyone is checking it out!
Grandpa is trying to give Ellie tutorial on proper window cleaning and Ellie just wants to have fun!!
Ellie and Daddy in a giant bubble! Amazing!!
Playing with the pluming.
Teamwork!
Exploring the water table.
Look... Its Ellie in a bubble!!
Ellie and Grandma in a bubble... Awesome!!
Drying off before running off to the next thing!
Yee-haw!!
Looks like Cowgirl Deb roped herself an Ellie!
Giddy up!!!
Ellie and Grandpa at the top of the rope gym, they made it!!
Grandpa making his way out of the rope gym. He wasn't very graceful at all and he left his wallet half way through the tunnel! Way to go Jer!
Riding the stuffed ponies!
Playing soccer with Jer on the main level.
Shopping at the Royal Farms exhibit.
Learning how to pump gas and put air in the tires... Both are very good skills to know!
Trying her hand at cashiering.
Look it is "Driving Grandma"!
Not for quite a few more years Ellie, don't get any ideas!
Strolling through the Inner Harbor and checking out (scaring) the pigeons.
Grandpa, Grandma, and Ellie checking out the water and all of the boats.
And taking in all of the sights!
Group photo by Harborplace.
Ellie playing at the Harbor by the USS Constellation.
Ellie in deep thought, hmm...
Strolling over to Panera for a snack before heading back to the hotel.
Swinging with Daddy and Grandpa.
Swimming with Daddy at the hotel.
Miss Independent can do it all by herself!
Cheese and giggles!
She is her own water fountain!
Ellie and I watching Rachel Alexander win the Preakness at Bill Bateman's.
Ellie and Bill enjoying dinner at Bill Bateman's.
Jer at "Wiener Man's" for ice cream after dinner.
Chocolate kisses for Grandma.
Mmm... Very attractive!
Ellie loving her chocolate ice cream! This was quite a day, she branched out from her normal pink ice cream.
What a beautiful ice cream face!
Picking pansies outside of the Barnes and Noble.
Sunday...
Custom made donuts at the Fractured Prune.
Their masterpieces... Yummy!
Ellie showing off her photographing skills.
Twirling around in her new Little Mermaid nightgown... it even has a bustled back. Too cute and yes, way over the top!
Ellie and I taking a breather after a busy weekend!

2009-05-19T19:13:00.005-04:00

Soccer Star
Ellie is practicing her new skills in the hotel room dressed in her new Ariel night gown.
I think she is working on her verbal skills (aka: trash talk) here... "You're going down, downtown!!" "You can't get past me!"
Its soccer time in the back yard! Watch out Mia Hamm, Ellie is gonna bend it like Beckham!!

2009-05-11T09:40:00.015-04:00

Mother's Day Weekend
To start... it was another busy weekend!
Thursday Ellie started swim lessons, I figured it was about time and better now then in the middle of the winter, right? Above, Ellie is sporting her new pink gingham tankini... thank you Nana!
This is her lessons... yes, I know they aren't that great but lets face it, it was the best I could do from the other side of the plexi-glass observation window!
She really enjoyed her first lesson. She was so proud of herself for putting her nose in the water and lets face it, so was I!!
She was exhausted by the end of the evening!
Saturday...
After dance class Ellie and I went downtown to Mt Vernon for the Art Mart. There was a park right there also so we definitely took advantage of that!
Someone (Ellie) was trying to go into the fountain without her shoes on...
Taking a break on a park bench and taking in all of the sights.
Ellie on the stairs at the foot of the La Fayette Statue
Hmm... that is one big statue!
Ellie with scenic Mt Vernon in the background.
Stopping to smell the flowers.
Grinning for the camera.
The Walter's Art Gallery... our next stop!
On our way to visit the family art section.
The directory in the elevator... We picked the 3rd floor to visit, I guessed it would be the best chance to see princesses.
She was quite taken with the sculptures. I had to explain (again) that we look with our eyes and not our hands!
Ellie peeking over the edge to see the common area.
This was the only gallery she went into. She got scared because the rooms were darker (than she would like) and scary. Maybe we will have better luck next time!
Walking out to the brighter area...
Ellie and I in front of one of the pottery displays.
Getting ready to go and pick up our stuff...
... and we had to pass by this crazy fish!
Ellie by the azaleas by the driveway. They are in full bloom and she has to see them every day!
ELLIE LOVES PINK!!!
So much pink... What could be better??
Ellie modeling her new mermaid dress before we head off to a birthday party.
Ellie, Schatzie, and I on a warm Saturday afternoon.
Ellie's first time a a Chuck E Cheese... it took her about 30min. to not be so overwhelmed by everything. Actually, it took both of us that long!
Ellie riding the Merry-go-round
I hope this is the way she looks at her dates, once she is finally old enough to date. You know, at age 28 or so!
Ellie on yet another ride, Clifford!
Sunday...
Running around and hopping in the grass after church.
Looking cute with a white carnation.
Ellie hamming it up after church.
Ellie and I on Mother's Day before we head to the diner for brunch.
And for brunch (at 11am) we had spaghetti, hold the sauce, and a tuna salad salad... Yum!
Look... its Princess Noodle-head!
Schatzie playing in the yard.
Ellie Hoola hooping around her neck. I love the things she learns at school!
She was getting everyone to hoola hoop... Go Meme!
I love hoola hoops!!
Even Schatzie got in on the action!
We finished up the garden on Sunday afternoon.
Everything was planted in 2 nice rows... hope it all turns out!
This is the pretty salad that we had with dinner and I included a picture of it because Ellie ate some of it (her first salad) at dinner!

2009-05-04T10:02:00.009-04:00

Hurray for May!!!
With May finally here the April showers still haven't let up but Ellie and I haven't let that slow us down! We had yet another busy weekend and lots of outside time. Friday evening we had a fun play date with the other Ellie and Joelle after school.
They had a blast playing on the pirate ship and in the sand.
Down the bumpy slide and into the sand... Weeee!
There were kiddos on every level!
The girls and the moms... Ellie and Chris, Joelle and Cathy, Ellie and I.
Saturday...
After dance class and on our way to Ms Beth's house we had to make a pit stop. Then we ventured up to the Fairy Festival at Sproutwood Farms in Glen Rock, PA.
Excited about the fairies!
On the hayride to the festival gates. And so big surprises here... Ellie hated the hayride also and was just about terrified about the tractor that pulled it!
All smiles at the Fairy Festival despite the clouds!
Checking out the alpacas checking us out!
One of the random spots of music that Ellie and I stopped to enjoy!
A little fairy and giant mushroom!
Into the woods...
One of the performers that we watched... they were something else!!
Playing with the bubbles.
Ellie and I take a break to enjoy a bit of sunshine!
Look! A fairy in a tree!
Wait... Two fairies in a tree!
Ellie having fun climbing a tree... what could be more fun? Don't worry, she did need help getting down. They didn't make Crocs for climbing!
Fairy Kiley
Ellie playing in the sand pit with some other kids!
Watching one of the puppet shows.
Some more music.
Trekking through the grass to get to the car. And no, the grass doesn't just look that tall, it is that tall!!! Again, don't worry... she had plenty of bug spray on. Stay away buggies!
Ellie had lots of fun just running through the tall grass!
DONE!
Still done!!!
Sunday...
Well, the skies opened up on Sunday morning/ Saturday night and the rain hasn't stopped yet (it is Monday close to lunch time now). One inch of rain yesterday and another inch expected today. It didn't hold us down though, Ellie and I ventured to the Towsontown festival anyway. Not too many people were there and the rain caused most everyone to pack up but we still walked around and enjoyed the day! Ellie even managed to find a lollipop and some puddles, not at the same time... the candy was given to her!
Lunch at Souris' during our walk around Towson.
Ellie and I at the festival. This is one of the few times that Ellie was actually walking, most of the time she was on my shoulders holding the umbrella for both of us... I am sure we were a sight for sore eyes!!
See, the streets were pretty bare but they still had some bands playing that we listened to for a bit. At one point the lollipop became a causality in the gutter so we had to walk to the 7-11 for a replacement. I think Ellie won on this deal... the first lollipop was almost done when she dropped it!
After about 2-3 hours in the rain we headed home for dry pants and naps. We had such a good weekend neither one of us wanted the week to start again!

2009-04-27T13:04:00.018-04:00

Bill's Baltimore Visit
Friday...
Above, we all look relative happy at the Japanese steakhouse, right?
See, here is Ellie and Bill all smiles!
Ellie working with her kiddie chopsticks... she is a natural! She was practicing pulling the mushrooms out of the soup.
And eating rice!
But wait!!! This does not look like a happy camper. She just experienced the main attraction of the steakhouse... fire! Long story short, we all ended up with to-go boxes full of dinner eating on the bench outside! At least it was a nice evening!!
Ellie and Bill eating dinner.
Ice cream after dinner... Carvel had a sprinkle dispenser.
More sprinkles, please!
Awesome!!!
Ellie and I eating ice cream on another bench.
Saturday...
Ellie eating her create-your-own strawberry, sprinkles, and chocolate chip doughnut... Mmmm!
Ellie and her daddy outside of the Fractured Prune for design-your-own doughnuts.
Ellie and her Elton John glasses... that girl sure can make a fashion statement!!
Climbing through the inflatable obstacle course at the John Hopkins University Spring Fair. It was a great morning for fair, sunny and 85+ degrees! Don't worry, we wore our sunblock!

Going through the tube.Getting ready for her third time through the course.
Ellie and Bill at the JHU Fair.
Ellie running ahead of us.
Ellie is getting some basketball tips from daddy... "Ellie, you see that basket over there? Ok, now you throw that ball in it!"
To heck with it, just bounce!!!
Ellie is a mermaid... this one isn't as adorable as the one last year in the sand but still cute! She looks like her favorite princess, Ariel!
Ellie and Bill under the sea!
Running through the field.
Getting a kiss from a spider monkey. Look close, you can see his tongue touching her nose! Ellie held up a dollar and the monkey took it out of her hand, put it in her cup, gave her a hi-5, kissed her nose, and...
... sat on her shoulder! She was super! She stood very still, just like a statue!
Getting her face painted.
All smiles with a kitty cat on her cheek!
Someone is about wiped out! Little did I know that she only needed the 20 minute re-charge nap she got in the car and she was ready for more!!
Daddy trying to teach Ellie how to twirl a baton... better luck next time!
Ellie contemplating, should I even bother trying?
Ellie helping Papoo pimp her new bike...
Our seeds are sprouting in their starter cups... Yea!!
Ellie and her new bike. Dora bike, princess streamers, bell, and basket, big horn, purple flag, and Barbie helmet... What more could a girl want??
Ellie feeding Bill his dinner on Sat night at Bahama Breeze. Faster Daddy, faster!!
More ice cream after dinner.
Princess Ice Cream Face
Climbing on the playground after dinner.
The next two are out of order... Sorry!
This is Bill and Ellie off of the Light Rail, see it departing in the background? This was the unsuccessful Light Rail trip. You see, she has enjoyed the 'train' before but for some reason she freaked out at the first stop. We didn't make it off the train then so we had to hold out for the next stop then walk about a mile back to the car. Did I mention it was almost 90 degrees?
But see, Ellie doesn't look too upset about the train.
Back to Saturday evening...

Ellie playing with the trucks in the sandbox at the playground.
Practicing on her new bike.Pushes from Daddy on the swing.
Sunday...
Ellie's dance party, Baby Loves Disco, at the Recher Theater in Towson.
View from the dance floor.
Ellie looking around for Joelle.
She found her!! I love those silly smiles!
Hugs!!
Bill and Ellie pause for snacks!
Playing with scarves.
Silly cheesy smiles from the both of us!
It was getting a little late with no nap... could she be getting tired? NO!!
I just really like this one!
Ellie and the beautiful bubbles, or is it Beautiful Ellie and the bubbles?
Sunday evening she still didn't stop! Here she is "working on her game". It is her SpongeBob Squarepants soccer set and she took right to it... last night I even gave her some kicking tips.
And hide and seek with Margie in the yard. Bet you can't find Ellie!!
Just running in the backyard... Hurray for spring!!!
Ellie in the cartoon zone when we visited Meme at the hospital.
If you didn't know, Meme was in the hospital for a week with her athsma but she is home now and much, much better!
Ellie and Bill in Towson at the end of his visit... See you again in a few weeks!!

2009-04-19T17:34:00.010-04:00

What a Wonderful Weekend!
After a week of rain (which seems to be the norm lately) this weekend was perfect, sunny and in the 70s. Ellie and I spent a lot of time outside enjoying the weather and spring!
All smiles on Sunday on our way to go get pancakes after the Inspiration Walk.
Ellie (aka: Ed Reed) after the walk watching the silly clown.
Swinging on a Sunday morning after our mile walk.
And we are walking!! There were a lot more people walking but we were near the back of the line.
She insisted on bringing her stroller to walk her baby. It was either Ellie brings her baby and stroller or she wanted me to bring her stroller and push her. We tried the second choice last year and and I ended up pushing an empty stroller for 2 miles... No fun for me!!
Margie, Ellie, MB, Aunt Angela, Allison, and Mike before the walk.
Ellie (and baby Kiley), Margie, Julie, Aunt Angela, Allison, and Mike before the walk. It was the 3rd annual Inspiration Walk for the Special Olympics of Baltimore County.
Ellie on the playground before the walk.
Saturday and Ellie's Garden
Ellie taking great care to water her tomato plants.
If you look closely, you can see that she wears her dirt very well... you would think she was eating it!! Here she is taking a break in the shade.
Planting her strawberries in the pot all by herself.
She was a super big help cleaning out the beds, mixing the soil, and planting. She was always one step ahead of everything we were doing! The one thing was that she was scared of the worms... she thought that they would bite her, Papoo and I tried to tell her that all they do is eat dirt and poop dirt. That got a chuckle out of her but she was still having no part of the worms!
Mixing the soil and breaking up the big chunks to get it ready to spread out and plant out veggies.
Again... one step ahead. Ellie was spreading out some of the dirt before we even finished cleaning out the beds!
Friday afternoon after school
A gust of wind in the window while singing her "Hippity Hop" song... Life is good!!
Chillin' out on our way home from Loch Raven.
We saw all sorts of things at Loch Raven... Here are some hoof prints, another sign of spring!
Taking in the sights, sounds, and smells of spring.
Checking out the geese at the reservoir.
Hanging out on the rocks.
She couldn't get to the next thing quick enough!
Ms Sassy-pants in her Adidas outfit.
Getting ready to toss sticks in the water... what a great game!
While we were looking for more sticks to toss Ellie found a piece of fishing line... She knew it didn't belong there so we made sure to throw it away on our way home. What a smart girl!
Tossing sticks!
Not a care in the world!
Hoop Dreams
Ellie trying to learn how to hoola-hoop.
Enjoying the afternoon.
I just love this picture so I had to include it!
She may not have the hip shaking down but she is sure having fun with her hoop!
She got the twisting start down pat, now if she could just add the hip swivel & shake she would be all set! We tried but it is a lot harder than it looks!

2009-04-15T10:59:00.018-04:00

Happy Easter Weekend!!
We kicked the festivities off with a neighborhood egg hunt on Wednesday evening.

Ellie Bucket-head!
Waiting to be cut loose.
Cheese for the camera!
Ellie and Meme on our way to the Egg Hunt with baby in tow!
Good Friday...
Ellie and her friend, Joelle, chowing down on fries on Friday evening.
Rocking on the porch.
Ellie eating her squeezy yogurt outside of the Panara downtown after Friday morning at Port Discovery.
More lunch...
Looks like we are done!
Saturday...
Dying eggs with the cousins. Andrew and Ellie start the fun!

Margie and Heather's 3week old, Maddie.
Andrew's got a system...
And Ellie is just taking it all in!
Erica just wants to peel and eat the eggs...
And Robert says, "Forget peeling them, I'll eat them dyed shell and all!"
3 grandmas... Marion, Angela (with Maddie), and Meme
Ellie showing off her eggs... Gorgeous!
Robert taking a break from the eggs to play.
Andrew's blue eggs!
Aunt Angela and baby Maddie.
The final product... Easter Eggs!!!
Ellie is fixing something with Andrew's tool bench.
Mmm... Ice cream sandwiches
Erica likes hers too!
Andrew and his messy fingers.
And now Ellie with her messy fingers!!
All of the cousins... Robert, Erica, Maddie, Ellie, and Andrew.
All smiles!!
Ellie says good bye to Andrew as he gets ready for another engagement.
Ellie "brushing" her teeth at the mall playground in Columbia.
Easter Sunday...
The Easter bunny came to visit... that's a lot of stuff for a bunny to carry all by himself!
The candy stash!
Ellie's new high chair and barrel of Easter cheese balls. What? That's not normal?
Ell spots her loot early on Sunday morning. Look, CANDY!!!
Pots and pans and a princess cup...
And mail...
And cheese balls...
And more candy...
Feeding her baby with cheese balls within reach, of course!!
WOW! It is sugar and jewelry all in one... bracelets, necklace, and a ring. Sweet!!!
Nothing like geting started early. I think this was before 8am!
After bath, you guessed it, more candy!
All dressed up and ready for church.
Some of the sugar is showing its ugly face here.
Ellie and her cousin, Emma, after church.
Running in the grass after church.
Ellie and I in our Easter dresses.
Pat-pat, Emma, and Erin after church.
Ronnie Reichart and Papoo pose for a picture... Ellie took one also but that one was dubbed "The Belly Brothers"... I didn't post that one!
Pretty Ellie in the spring time flowers!
Blowing bubbles outside on Sunday afternoon with Schatzie.
The egg hunt. Crazy thing was that the Easter bunny stopped by during nap time too. This time he left eggs all over the back yard.
They were in trees...
On the hill....
And even on the wall. But don't worry, Ellie found them all!
The post hunt cool down.
Meme, Margie, Schatzie, and I on the patio.
Adding up our loot from the egg hunt. More candy!
Dessert after a yummy lamb dinner.
Our after dinner concert... Cinderella sings Hannah Montana.
Please, no photos!
What a ham!!
Everyone sings alon... Meme is grooving along.
Even Sean sings a bar or two.

HAPPY EASTER!!

The videos in the post below are from Sunday and Tuesday night... You can tell that the one of her running like a mad lady is from Sunday. Ellie + too much sugar for too long = Crazy Lady!!

2009-04-15T10:32:00.005-04:00

Ellie in Action...

2009-04-05T17:52:00.007-04:00

April is here!!!
We had a fun weekend of warm weather! Above is Ellie and Papoo cuddling up on Sunday afternoon... Neither one of them got a nap. Ellie didn't want one and wouldn't let Papoo take one! Lucky us, we got to deal with both of them! :-)
Also, the weekend ended with birthday wishes and cake... Happy birthday Papoo!!!
Sunday afternoon walk with Papoo, Margie, Ellie, and Schatzie.

Ellie checking out the magnolias. This is the first spring she is realizing what is going on... the grass is getting greener, leaves are growing, and flowers are blooming. So many questions but so much fun!
Ellie playing with my camera again... good shot of Margie and I.
This is a little backwards... but this is the end result. Grass in my hair. I guess I am the dummy for letting her do it!
The mischievous smile (that is chocolate icing on her face) on her way to "grass my head".
Getting ready to grass...
Ellie and her anti-smile!
Cootering on a Sunday afternoon.
Ellie patiently waiting while I adjust her helmet... the straps are getting a little tight. Someone is getting a big head!
Practicing for the roller derby on the back patio.
Schatzie!
Ellie checking out Ellie at the pancake store.
The unicow at the traveling zoo on Saturday and here is my review:
Well, I took Ell to the zoo at the fairgrounds and well.... it is something else! It truly reminded me of the circus freaks version of the zoo. Instead of the bearded lady they had a giant cow with one horn (coming out of the top of his head) and instead of the 6 inch man they had a zebra that looked as though he had painted stripes.
There were elephant, camel, and pony rides... we avoided those. Pictures with a 7' snake, alligator, or pony. The face painting "studio" was a wanna-be tattoo studio with loud music, shady people, and offerings of basic face painting, all over face painting, air brushed painting (I saw one kid getting a shark on his arm), and temporary tattoos.
As for their rides, just think ghetto! The cars, train, and airplane rides weren't bad just old but those things could go!! The "fun house" was remedial at best. One tube down (all stationary) net to climb to 2nd level, another tube back across then a tube slide out... Woo-hoo!! Ghetto teacups/ scrambler, they looked like large painted and halved barrels with a metal circle in the middle and painted plywood seats (Ellie flipped her stuff on this one). After that one she refused any other rides. Then the Merry-Go-Round just looked a bit beat up bit it ran!
We had fun despite the uniqueness of the event. All in all this definitely was not the Baltimore Zoo or the Greatest Show on Earth but in its own way it was an enjoyable morning!
At the bottom of the "fun house".
One of the petting pens.
Checking out the sheep.
Looking at the bunnies.
Riding on the airplane ride... this was pre-tea cups!

2009-03-29T20:34:00.007-04:00

The Last Weekend in March
This was a lower key weekend than most of our more recent ones but the week as a whole was quite eventful. On Monday P.D. went to doggie heaven. Ellie is taking it pretty well, every once in a while she will ask where he is or tell me that she misses him but all in all she is adjusting very well. I am proud of her!
Wednesday, Opa and Uncle Steven came to Baltimore to visit and Ellie and I played from school/ work. We had a fantastic visit and a great time at the Inner Harbor.
Thursday evening we had a knotty hair and Ellie finally gave in to getting a haircut. Actually, she wanted on right then but we compromised on Friday after school. So after work and school we drove to the kid's salon and had her first real haircut!
This weekend was rainy (for the most part) so after dance we went to the pancake store then to the big playground (aka: Port Discovery) for the afternoon. Sunday, the weather finally broke in the afternoon so we went out to wash the car... What else is there to do on a 73 degree, sunny afternoon? And go figure, as we were rinsing the wheels off and putting the bucket away it started raining! Oh well!
Ellie is stretching up tall to reach as high as she can.
Scrub it good!
I think this was her favorite part... playing with the hose!
Putting her to work... she has to earn her keep somehow! Those big brown eyes will only get her so far in this house! :-)
At Port Discovery riding on the horse, "Hee-haw!!!"
Snacks before we head home from the big playground.
Pretty girl at the pancake store!
Sippin' on her oj and looking cute!
This is where the magic happened!
The inside...
Ell all dried after bath that night.
After washing her hair in the bath that night.
Two styling braids after her cut.
Post cut and pre-braids.
Not looking so happy during the cut but don't let that look fool you, she did great. No complaints! She just sat there and watched part of a movie while the stylist worked her magic!
The first cut...
Before we began.
Her hair before the cut... Get ready to say good bye to a couple inches! When it is wet it goes most of the way down her back!
Waiting her turn and playing with the trains.

2009-03-25T19:13:00.011-04:00

Baltimore with the Lysses...
Looks like we will start from the end.... Above that is what happened about 7 minutes after we were on the road. We were out and about from before 10 till about 6... it was a long day but it was filled with lots of FUN!!! We started with the aquarium, then to lunch at Philip's, then to a Lysse favorite... Barnes and Noble.
Good-bye Uncle Steven, drive safe!
Good-bye Opa... I love you!
DJ Ell in the B&N at the Power Plant rockin' out the kids tunes... spin it girl!!
So much to choose from! Ell checking out the cds at Barnes and Noble.
Ell checking out anatomy... WAIT! Not now, not until you are 40!! Put that down!
Seriously... Put it down!!
Opa, Ellie, and I after lunch at the harbor.
Opa, Steven, Ariel the mermaid, and Ellie at the Inner Harbor after a fantastic lunch at Phillip's.
Ellie's new mermaid, Ariel... Thanks Steven. They are already inseparable.
Steven, Opa, Ariel, MB, and the photographer... Ellie. Great shot kiddo!
Opa, Steven, and Ellie
Spinning, spinning, spinning with Ariel while Steven and Opa finished watching the 4D movie spectacular.
Grumpy snack time.
Our future's so bright... Ell and I in out 3D shades getting ready for the 4D movie at the aquarium. It didn't go over too well with Ellie.
It was the water in her face that set her over the top. In case you are wondering what makes a movie 4D... The 4th "D" is the interactive chair that vibrates, pokes you in the back, hits the back of your feet, shoots air in the back of your hair, and yes, sprays water or bursts of air in you face.
Ellie posing with a National Aquarium of Baltimore monkey around her neck.
Look... it is more Brother Birds!! Amazing!
Ellie and Steven goofing around with the frog mask!
"Look Steve, more fish!"
Ellie explaining the happenings of the world to Opa in the Australian exhibit.
Watching the Angler fish feed just like they would in the wild... They shoot a stream of water up to knock a bug (cricket in this case) off the stick and into the water so they could eat it. Really fascinating to watch!
Adorable Ellie in the Rain forest.
Scary sharks... Girlie girl Ellie was terrified of the sharks and couldn't get out of this exhibit fast enough. She was so scared that the sharks were going to eat her and no matter how many times I explained to her that they couldn't get through the "window" it didn't matter!
Pink birds in the rain forest.
Cheese!!
In the Amazon River exhibit we saw lots of turtles and even some alligators!
And this is Ellie running away from the alligators... Again, girlie-girl in action!
And this is Ellie before I pointed out the alligator.
Ellie looking at the bright coral reef fish, we even saw a pink one in there!
One of her favorite exhibits... the man cleaning the tank.
Ooohh... and octopus, cool!
Ellie and the anemones.
Opa, Ellie, and Steven looking at the fish.
Listening for bubbles. One of our first attempts at a group photo. As you can see, it didn't go very well but we did have better luck later in the day!
WOW! There's one!
Blub, blub, blub... one of our early attempts at a group picture.
Ellie gets a close look at the dolphins after the show... They are so big!!
And they can jump so high!
Ellie was enamored with the dolphins! They were so exciting to watch!
Ellie on the bridge to the Power Plant while we waited for Uncle Steven and Opa... they got tied up in a little DC traffic so we got to eat a little something and do a little shopping!

2009-03-22T18:11:00.008-04:00

Philly and Baby Loves Disco
The first weekend of spring we went to visit The Maxons in Philadelphia and then to our "dance party' on Sunday with our friends! Above, the girls are in choo-choo train line. At one point Joelle was the engine leading the girls around, waving her hand in the air, saying "Choo-choo!" and it was just too cute!

Joelle, Ellie, and Ellie as doggies! Later that night in the bath a certain someone wouldn't let me get it all off of her face so she went to school this morning with hints of dog still on her cheeks and forehead! Oh well, could always be worse, right?
Ellie sitting super still and serious while getting her nose and whiskers.
Checking out the fish tank at The Recher Theater... The club where BLD was held this month (and next) is in Towson and was originally a movie theater that was gutted out and is now a smaller venue for shows. Hows that for a random bit of trivia for the day!?!
The Ellies dancing silly!
Ellie busting a move out on the dance floor.
They are just too cute together!
Please don't mind the panty shot but they all have their 'wagging' faces on!
Ellie in her Cinderella best.
Earning her keep at the Maxon's house on Saturday. It was too pretty of a day not to do some manual labor!
Saturday afternoon Leigh and I took the girls to an orchard that was right around the corner from their house... There was a petting zoo with horses, pigs, goats, sheep, emus, ducks, and chickens. Also there was a HUGE wooden playground with jungle gyms and slides, castles and pirate boats. But most of all it was filled with FUN!!!

Ell at the playground.
Ellie static head! E at the bottom of the twisty tunnel slide.
Riding the pony.
The pretty peacock.
Can you spot the pretty princess in the castle?
Hmmm... I got up here and now how to get down?
Weeeee!!!!
Ellie and I in a giant tire!
Feeding the chickens.
Ellie and the Guinea hens... She is looking at them and they are looking at her!
Ellie and Sophie on the bridge by the ducks.
Say cheese girls!!
Ellie, the farmer's wife! Hmm... I think I like her as a princess a little better!

2009-03-18T17:58:00.005-04:00

St. Patrick's Day and then some...
Ellie in her St. Paddy's Day green... I don't think we could have gotten her in any more green, wait she does have a green jacket and sweater. Oops! Above is Ellie and Bird as a leprechaun... Top 'o the mornin' to you!

E and her new toy... the phone. Hmm... we'll have to have a talk about that one.

A close up with her leprechaun hat.

Ellie and I before I went to the Motley Crue concert this past Saturday.

After I got all dressed for the show, I walked into the family room and at the same time Ellie and Papoo spoke... Papoo said, "If you were 16 I would never let you out of the house looking like that!" Ellie said, "Mommy, you look so beautiful."

I figured out later that it was probably because I looked kinda like Hannah Montana but anyway it looks like we will have to start talking about that too!