Guest Teacher

Wes and I were guest teachers at Ella's school today. Wes played his guitar and the teachers and I sang. We had such a great time! The kids ranged in ages from 2-4 (three different classes) and all sang and danced with lots of enthusiasm.

Thank You Lefty

After Ella played with Caroline's scooter, she asked Lefty (see the puppies below) for one. And sure enough- that Lefty is one clever puppy and got one for Ella! Here is a video of Ella explaining how to ride her scooter:

Poncho and Lefty

This week, Ella and I went up to DC to visit Bill and Rhonda and to see their new puppies. Adorable doesn't begin to describe them. I'll let the pictures tell the story of our visit.

Ella has been telling everyone about the puppies- that they are babies, tiny, and to be careful.

"Cutters"

Today Ella wanted to use "cutters". Those would be scissors to you and me. She came home from pre-school with cut-outs that she had done and so we continued the theme this evening. Here she is with her "cutters":

Not Such a Great Mom Award

I have to admit I could easily win the not-such-a-great-mom award today. No big deal though- I already have a stack of these certificates (one for too much TV, another for hot dog breakfast/lunch/dinners, letting her sleep in our bed, not letting her sleep in our bed... oh the list is long).

Today's award is for not challenging our child. Let me explain. Ella and I were walking by some stores, in a bit of a rush, and she was (or I thought she was) falling behind playing around singing the alphabet song at this one store. I kept calling back to her to no avail and when I went back to get her, it turns out she was calling off the letters E, L, A, and S. Since the store was on our right, she saw the sign "SALE" in reverse and called out the letters as she saw them. She quickly mixed it up pointing to and calling out the different letters. Now, why did I not know she knew her letters you ask? Good question. We play a lot. She is two so it hasn't really occurred to me to start drilling her on things like letters. She is happy, sings the alphabet, can dress herself,... we figure she has 16+ years of school ahead of her so why not play while you can. Right or wrong, it's where we are (you can tell I have some guilt hence the feeling of not being a great mom today). Anyway... she asks to do letters now and we write them out or use a book and she knows a lot of them as I'm sure the majority of kids her age do. Many of them can probably write them also. I write this post for your baby book Ella. I often wonder when I mastered these activities myself.

Scooters

The newest toys on our street are scooters. Caroline has one and Ella LOVES it. Sharing is a tough game to learn at this age but Caroline was so great to share her scooter with Ella while she rode her bicycle.

Bug

Oh the innocence of a two year old. This morning I woke up feeling terrible- head congested, sore throat, headache,... you get the idea. I didn't even get out of bed. Wes got Ella up and brought her in and said, "Mommy has a bug in her head". Ella turned to me, got close, and said, "Mommy, you have a spider in your hair?" I felt so sick I didn't have the strength to explain and just said "Uh-huh". Wes tried to explain. So... that evening when they came home Ella said to me, "Mommy, do you still have a bug in your hair?" and I said no, I felt much better. She put her hands out as if she was saying "why?" but said, "Oh mommy, I'm so proud of you!"

As I type...

...Ella is in her room screaming. Shouldn't it get easier to let her "cry it out" by now? In between sobs, she is eeking out "Mommy,...(sob sob) I... (sob sob)...don't want (sob sob)... to (sob sob)... take... a... nap. Dare I even point out this is no nap, it's bedtime! Seriously- anyone? After explaining her predicament, she just screams. Am I just the weakest mom alive? One thing is for sure, when Ella is in my shoes, I'll whip this blog out so fast her head will spin. I can pretty much guarantee I'll be in her room in a couple minutes after I can't distract myself with this any longer...

Goldie

We have had a great weekend: pool parties, great dinners (and desserts, see below), sleeping in (Thank you Wes!), golf, guitar store- just a great summer weekend. But the funniest thing is Ella's new sister Goldie- her older sister to be exact. Goldie did not get to go to the pool with us this weekend (not so great for Goldie since we went to three!), nor did she get to sleep in Ella's room (she sleeps "all by herself"). She did get her picture taken though (above). Maybe she will be gone tomorrow but I really got a kick out of her today.

Polly's Favorite Things

Steve surprised us with chocolate eclairs for dessert tonight (from Albemarle Baking Company for you locals). Now these are Polly's absolute favorite, her number one request when she visits, the one thing (next to Bodo's) that is a carry-out MUST for each visit. So Ella called her to tell her what she was having. Sorry Polly. We did think of you at least! Feel free to have Gracie give me a call when you are next at Jersey Giants!

And yes- that is a port-a-potty in the front yard (construction workers).

Why I love this sofa...

As if I needed any other reasons, but this is Ella and Caroline watching a movie together. There are many reasons to have a space you love, but for me, to have a space Ella can hang out with her friends and enjoy was at the top of my list. Number two on the list was having a space everyone (adults and children) could enjoy. Now if I can just find a spot for Wes' guitars, I think I will have accomplished both.

Summer Days

There are always a couple hours in the day I'm never prepared for. It's either when it's too early for a nap or too early to start dinner. On this day it was before dinner. We were both a little tired from a morning at the pool and a less than lengthy nap. At this point, laying on the sofa and watching a movie was looking like a pretty good option. And here's where my logic gets fuzzy. I asked Ella what she wanted to do. Now, for some of you out there, you're thinking, "Why would you do that? Snuggle up and watch a movie!" The other half are thinking, "Sara, who's the parent here?" Well, today Ella said, "Paint outside!" I was so ready for the classic two-year-old answer of "I don't know" that I just stared at Ella. She then said (I kid you not), "Maybe now would be a good time mom." So out we went and it is that unplanned time of the day that is, of course, the most fun.

Caroline is Three!

Happy Third Birthday Caroline! Did you ever attend a Birthday party at the pool when you were little? Well, I did and loved them. When Amy told me about the plans for Caroline's Birthday, I was so excited for Ella to be able to go to a swim party- especially at the Crozet Pool (think zero entry and a big mushroom waterfall). It was all the fun I remembered (can you tell I'm at the point of re-living my childhood through Ella?). We swam, had pizza, swam some more and had cake (princess castle cake) and... HOME MADE PEACH ICE CREAM! It was such a great day. In this picture you can see the Blue Ridge Mountains- how much better could it get?

Farmer's Market

This is Ella at the Crozet Farmer's market today. She loved counting plums (10 for $1.00) and the owners were so nice they let her stay for a bit and help count. This particular farmer picked his plums that very morning and they were so deliciouse. Sort of like tasting sunshine (I think?). Ella popped them like candy. They also brought them to market with a biodiesel car. We tried to explain how small a carbon footprint that is to Ella but all she wanted then were her flip flops.

Counting Down the Days

We are definitely counting down the days until we see Uncle Matt again. I say to Ella, "Soon Uncle Matt will be home!" and lately she says, "And we can have ice cream?" I think she says this because Wes wrote Matt's name on the wall downtown and then we had ice cream. I just love the way her mind works! Uncle Matt, we miss you.

H2C2 Avon 2008

It is already mid-July and I haven't posted since June. It isn't for lack of content, I assure you- we were away on vacation! I call it H2C2 Avon 2008 (Hawkins/Holland/Cueny/Campbell- get it?). It was a great week and I was sad to see it end. Many many thanks to Poppy and Nonna for the entire week.

This year Ella put her feet in the water and would let the waves catch her if she was holding our hand. Isabella looked like a Roxy model (see below picture) and Gracie was her usual pioneering self (she went into the ocean the first day!). This year we also went jet-skiing. I think I may need one now! Here are some pictures from the trip: