Ella the next morning.

Perfectly well rested and waiting for mommy.

Big girl bed!

For weeks.... no let me take that back... MONTHS we have been talking about breaking Ellas bed down into the toddler bed. We want to start urging Ella to be a little more self sufficent not just because she is getting to be a big girl but also because, she is a BIG GIRL! Ella is 30lbs now and we pick her up a lot. Everyone knows Bens back is still on the mend and mine at times feels like its on the way out. I have to remind myself that Ella is capable of climbing and descending the stairs on her own and give her the opportunity to use her body and give my body a break. But that is not always easy mentally. Ella is still my baby so when she had a meltdown over having a toddler bed I had a bit of meltdown too. Sure, I look happy in this picture but inside I was freaking out just as much as she was. I think I was smiling because I was stupified that she was reacting so strongly to having a different side rail on her bed. I had hoped that she would be excited over having a "new bed" but when I saw how scared she was I had doubts if we were ready for the progression.

Thank goodness for fathers though. Ben stepped in and told me to take a break. He sat with her for almost an hour talking about her big girl bed and how everyone would be so proud of her the next morning when they found out. Luckily she calmed down and gave into the fatigue from her fit and fell asleep. She hasn't made one fuss about her big girl bed since. In the morning when I woke up she was still laying in her bed quietly waiting for me to come and get her. I wonder when that will change?

Next step... potty training. UGH....... Lord help me.

Train of Lights.

Last Sunday we took a train ride on the Historic Niles Canyon Railway. Every Christmas they decorate their train inside and out, and take people for an hour and half train ride while they serve hot chocolate and played Christmas music. Even Mr and Mrs Claus made an apperance. Ella loved the trip. She is still talking about her train ride.

Santa Claus

Today was a special day. Ella met Santa for the first time and she did suprisingly well. Not one tear but rather all smiles and laughs. She even made sure to tell Santa that she wanted "candy" for Christmas, a wish which Santa promptly fulfilled by giveng her a yummy Candy Cane. It's amazing, each year, to consider how much she has changed, how big she has gotten. The differences, year to year, are incredible, and we constantly marvel at how much two people can love one littel girl... Happy Holidays to all our loved ones, may the coming year bring you great happiness.

Baxter

I guess this is a perk about having a small dog!

I don't always take Baxter on my long walks with me because he normally can't keep up due to his short legs. Today I took him because I have been on the mend from being sick so I thought he would have no problem keeping up. He was doing well for awhile but I think his paw starts to bother him the longer we walk and he was beginning to limp a little. This is from an old injury when he was a pup. So to give him a break I stuck him on top of the stroller and he really seemed to enjoy the view. I can't say the same for Ella. I think Bax might have been encroaching on her head room. It was cute regardless. Maybe I will get a double stroller sooner then I thought and let Bax ride with us from now on. ;-)

Sweet gestures.

Every once and a awhile Ben will do something nice for me like set out my coffee and cereal bowl in the morning or bring home flowers and I always appreciate it but yesterday it really surprised me. I have been feeling a little under the weather lately and this little gesture made my morning. What's even more impressive is that he thinks of this stuff at 6am! I have the sweetest husband in the world.

Family day at Blackhawk!

Yesterday we took a trip to the Blackhawk museum and saw a European model train exhibit. Ella loved watching the trains go in and out of the little cities. Next weekend we are riding a real train so this was a way to get her excited for our next holiday excursion.
Daddy also liked looking at all the classic cars the museum had on display.

Afterwards we ate lunch and then fed the ducks and swans. It was a nice winter day at a beautiful place. More pictures to come next week!

Ellas Halloween.

This year was Ellas first time trick or treating. I have put it off for as long as I could. I really don't care for the holiday and never did as a child. I think the only reason why I would dress up when I was young was so I wouldn't feel left out. And I don't want Ella feeling left out either so I have been talking it up for the past couple of weeks trying to get her ready for the event. We talked about her costume, pumpkins, and what to do when you approach someones house. And I will admit it was cute seeing Ella dressed up and having fun but Im not thrilled about all the extra candy laying around the house. Her bag was so heavy she needed help to carry it on the way home. And we didn't even get through 1/2 of the neighborhood! Here are some pics of Ellas all dressed up. As you can tell she didn't like us trying to paint her face.

My muffin eating a cream puff

I like giving Ella a little sweat treat after dinner as long as she ate her veggies and most of her protein. Normally I don't have too many sweets or deserts in the house other then animal crackers and shortbread cookies but I saw these cream puffs in the store today and I couldn't resist. Here is Ellas reaction to her first cream puff.

Pumpkin patch

Despite Ben and I feeling under the weather we decided to take Ella to a pumpkin patch today. We had a fun time. Ella loved riding in the wagon. They also had kiddie rides which was hard to convince Ella to go on. But once she rode the train she didn't want to get off. We tried to get her to ride the ponies but she had a melt down right as she saw it walk up. I guess she won't ever be a cowgirl. We also got to pet some chickens, rabbits, goats pigs and some bunnies. Ella had so much fun that I think we will go again before Halloween is over.

Girls having fun.

Amelie and Ella

These girls were so cute together at our play date today. They were laughing and playing together nicely. Well , for the most part they were nice to each other. ;-)

Sarasota Trip.

Zach and Ella watching one of the daddies making a joke. Grandma Mac and the Birthday girl!

Ella was excited to get a second birthday cake.

Some one wasn't happy with dinner that night.

Daddy was having more fun then Ella playing in the sand obviously.
She only wanted to sit in out laps because she didn't like touching the Sand

Having fun with daddy in the water.

Pt Reyes.

Sunday we took a drive to Pt Reyes which is North of San Fran. We drove around the park and even had a picnic on the beach. This pic was taken at the lighthouse. I wish we would have considered to go to the light house first. By the time we got to there the fog was rolling in so thick we couldn't see the water beneath us.

Ella's Safari Birthday!

Ella was getting a little daring and wanted to jump into the pool.

She jumped a couple of times.... or maybe flopped is the right word.

Ella couldn't wait to get her hands on the birthday cake!

Things are finally slowing down a bit here in CA. We had a busy couple of months due to planning two birthday parties and traveling to and from FL. Once my wisdom teeth come out I think I will finally relax! So I'm going to try and catch up here on the blog and post some pics from the past month.

Here are the pictures of Ella's birthday party in CA. We rented the clubhouse for the day which is attached to the community pool. The day was beautiful and warm. Warm enough to melt some of the decorations on Ella's cake. Other then the cake snafu everything went well and people seemed to enjoy themselves. Ella got a lot of great gifts and had fun playing with all her friends. We had animal masks, punch balloons, safari helmets and goodie bags for all the kids.

I'm kind of sad that I couldn't find the picture of the table with all the food on it and decorations. So if you see a random post in a few weeks of colorful looking table you will know it was from Ella's birthday party.