Trick Or Treating with the cousins

Halloween 2011 was fully of energy in New Market. All the cousins came over to go trick or treating with us. Even Granddaddy showed up for a bit. Ellie was Belle from Sleeping Beauty in her winter suit, and Max ended up being my little Lion. The idea was Beauty and the Beast. However, I never got a single photo of them together. I think that they had fun though. Ellie probably visited about 20 house in an hour. Max tottered up to about 10 of them. He started to get the hang of fishing out a treat. I'm not sure if his favorite part was eating the treats or seeing the dogs at people's houses. It was clear that if he could choose, he'd prefer to be visiting homes and meeting people and dogs. We headed home a few minutes before the others becuase both kids were pretty chilly. But I think Max enjoyed being outside even though he was a bit cold. I love the fall air!

After a crazy couple hours with the cousins, I always hope that the kids had fun. Sometimes I feel the time flies by and all we are doing is yelling at kids to keep them safe, in line, and out of trouble. I hope that's not what they remember.

Halloween Treat

All day Ellie has been looking forward to choosing her treat when we returned from trick-or-treating. When we finally got home, she came inside, looked at her take, and asked, "Mommy, for my treat can I have some more of the Gingerbread house please?" Gotta love my Ellie Bean!

The transition to winter clothes for Ellie

As the days have gotten cooler, Ellie has had a hard time giving up her summer wardrobe which was full of squorts and dressy shirts and cut sun dresses. Her winter wardrobe is much less girlie and thus, less appealing to her. During this transition we had a lot of crying in the morning about what she could wear. After a couple weeks I finally came up with a positive solution (compared to all the yelling we had been dealing with each morning). I set up a chore chart where she could get smiley faces for good behaviour. We agreed that after she got 50 smilies, she could go shopping for a new dress (since this was part of the problem). Key chores were to get dressed in the morning and brush teeth in the morning without any fussing. We focused a lot on theses. There were some others on there (totally 7) that we didn't focus so much on - pleases and thank yous, sharing, helping around the house, no whining in general, and cleaning up her toys.

After two weeks she finally collected 50 smilies, so this weekend we took her shopping for her dress. She was funny becuase the first dress she saw, she wanted it. It took me a few minutes to explain to her that the idea is to look at everything that have and then select the best one. (I'm not sure Daddy wanted me teaching her this fine art of shopping, but I did it anyway). After looking at the whole selectiong in Penny's in Columbia mall, she decided on two that we both liked. So, we ended up buying them both saying one for this time and another for the next 50.

Ellie could hardly wait for morning to come today so she could wear her new dress. When I went in to her and asked if she wanted to get herself dressed, she bolted out of bed while saying yes. (Usually I have to beg for about 5 minutes and then peel her out of her bed). It's amazing how happier this little princess is when she's getting dressed in dresses and "Dressy shirts." I will admit this little outfit is so cute and she does suit these dresses and dressy shirts very much!

Max's first day at church nursery

This weekend Max has stopped taking his morning nap. Turns out, he's totally great with this and sleeps without fussing in the afternoon. I guess it's been time for a while. Anyway, this made it time for Max to start going to church with Ellie and I. Even though he won't sit in church and won't go to sunday school, I still want to get into the routine and have him meeting some kids his age at church. David said he'd come with me to help becuase usually taking Max to church is a chore. When we arrived at church, we decided to let Max give the nursery a try. This was not necessarily the plan. He seemed amicable to it. I put him down, took off his jacket and let him start looking around. There was one other boy there, a three year old named Colin. There was a nice teenage girl who was working there who started playing with Max and showing him around right away. This was great for him. I let him play and watched for a few moments. As I stepped towards the door, he ran over to ask to be held, so I did. Then I took him back to the toys. He dove in and started playing without any fussing. So, I decided to leave him and see what happened. I told the lady in charge to please call me if he cried, that I'd rather come out of church to help him get used to it, as opposed to having him hate it. She agreed that was her approach too. So David and I set off to church.

I watched my phone with anticipation through the whole service and there was no call. Halfway through the last song, we bolted as I couldn't wait any longer to see how he was doing. As we approached the room I listened and heard nothing (specifically, no crying). When we went around the corner, he was happily playing with w truck on a table. He smiled when he saw us and ran to give me a hug and Daddy his car! The ladies told me he did great. He only had one moment of partial sadness, apparnetly when he couldn't get a toy to do what he wanted. I'm so proud of him!

Snow in October

Today was the first snow of the season; yes, in October. I didn't believe it was goign to happen, but Ellie told me that Daddy said it was going to snow. Sure enough, we woke to snow on the ground. Ellie was delighted! We ended up having dance, and when we returned, Ellie was sure she had to play in the snow. We didn't even have any boots, but that didn't matter, she just had to get out there. She ran around and made tracks on the ground. She fluffed the snow in the ground! She even watched me try to empty the snow from the tree. I had her pose for a picture by the pumpkins to note the time of the year.

Kisses

For a few months now if I'm leaving the house and going to say bye to David and Max, Max will kiss me after I kiss David. And, by kissing, that means he would lean in to my face. This week Max has started puckering up and actually kissing when I ask for a Kiss. It's so adorable. The first time he did it was in the mall. I was so smitten, I had him do it twice! My little boy is growing!!! and learning to love :-)

Again

Max is really trying to start talking. His words are not clear, but he is trying. One word he's learning to use to his advantage is "Again." If someone does something funny - like sneeze or bang something - Max will laught and say, "Gnn." Tonight when I was reading the story Snuggle Puppy, after I finished the song, I heard this magic word, "Gnn." He looked at me with a smile and asked adamently, "Gnn." I ended up reading the whole story twice becuase I love that he is starting to cmmunicated with me so well! A few other words that Max is starting to master are Mike, More, Ellie, Mommy, and Kiss!

Simple pleasures

This evening we decided to finally bring down the carpets for the living room and family room. We put them up for summer.

Ellie was so excited, she was giddy. I had no idea she missed the carpets that much. She did make a comment when we put them up indicated she hoped they were only going up for a night or two, but we didn't hear about them again. When David rolled the first one out, she was extactic! She was helpful and laughing. It was funny. She immediately asked for the second one. David got that one too. When it was finally set up, and she was allowed to get on it. She laid down and rolled across it for a few minutes, laughing, sticking her legs in the air, just rolling around. It was cute. Then, to top it off, Max copied her energy, rolling and laughing exactly. It was really really funny!

Who would've ever thought something so simple would give so much happiness to them!

The most fought over toy of the week is....

The swiffer mop....
Yes, that's right. My kids think this is the coolest thing ever. Really, it's Max who thinks it's the coolest thing ever. But, becuase I let him try it out and Ellie never has, then she thinks it's also the greatest thing ever. Bob says I need to learn how to take advantage of this, but becuase Max gets so frustrated when he gets it caught somewhere, I don't think that's really possible. But, I will try in a few years. Already, Ellie refuses to use the real vacuum, despite continually asking me to replace her toy one. I said no new toy vacuums. If you want to vacuum, you must learn to use the real deal. I'm betting that will never happen.

Another great family day

Today we decided our destination would be to try out the Maryland Zoo. The day started a bit slow when I realized Max could not skip his morning nap. So, we put him down and let him sleep nearly 2 hours. During this time, we sat around for the family premier of Annie, the movie fro 1981. I didn't remember the racy parts of the movie and thought it was something Ellie would enjoy seeing becuase of all the singing and dancing. She watched intently through about 90% of it. I did have to explain a few things - why Pepper was mean, why they were chasing Annie, etc. But all in all, it was a success of a showing I'd say. Daddy and Grampa also enjoyed it.

I woke Max at 11:30 and we were out the door. The kids ate a light lunch in the car and we just sort of let the day flow. I'm not always good at this, but I'd say everyone genionly enjoyed this opportunity. We only made it through half the zoo exhibits, but that was the right pace for the kids. I thought it was a nice zoo and would go again. One thing about when you pay for something, it's usually full of people are who there to enjoy what they are seeing, and not too often causing trouble.

We saw all the necessary animals. This giraffe came quite close to say hello to us, and lick the side of the building for some reason.

Many of them were still and sleeping at mid day, but we did get some great action out of the gorillas. They were being fed and the keepers were there talking about them. They had this huge outdoor play area. There must have been about 10 of them there. They would get excited and then run and pound their fists on the glass and scream. This is the glass where all us plebs are standing around starring at them. Man, did we all jump the first time it happened. Then, we got a bit used to it. No one was ever able to stand still without jumping. I think it was pretty scarey for Ellie. It's not natural to see these beast jump at you like this. Apparently, they know they will get a rise out of the spectators and therefore repeat it many times. It's really funny. Who's really viewing who in this case?
Daddy and Max were watching for them to come back and pound on the window again.

The kids got to play at the park in the zoo for a bit before we left and then we got on the road around 4. We decided to stop near Ellicot City for an early dinner and head home. Max was good as gold at dinner. I can't believe how well he's doing sitting still while we eat out. This isn't like him. Obviously, he requires some entertaining. See Max the Walrus below.

We had a great weekend with Grampa. It was really nice of him to come visit for the weekend. It worked well to have an excuse to just hang out and enjoy the kids this weekend. We should make this a more regular habit. I think we try to squeeze too much work in on the weekends. The kids are growing up so fast. I'm so thankful for these times with them.

A wonderful fall day

Today was a wonderful fall family day. Grampa is here visiting for the weekend. We started the morning with Ellie's dance class. She's really coming into it and doing well. I think she's truly enjoying it and trying to learn things. Grampa got to watch, and parents don't get this pleasure right now. So it was nice to get some insight from him about how she's doing. Apparently she is very patient and very good at waiting her turn. She doesn't try to get in front of others and was even patient when they tried to get in front of her. There's a balance we need to teach, but I'm not sure what that shuold look like. In any case, it was a good class experience.

We then went home, collected Daddy and Max, and went for a walk in the neighborhood. It was such a a beautiful day. We had a nice walk and stopped at two playgrounds. It was a great fall morning.

After lunch and naps, we got everyone ready and went into Frederick. We spent about an hour playing at Baker Park. FOr the first time both kids were old enough to really enjoy it. The adult to child ratio was really great too. Max was climbing and swinging and rocking! Ellie did the big slide a few times with the big kids. We even ran into Ms. Sarah and Erin there. Ellie enjoys seeing Erin any time. Max was a bit funny seeing Ms. Sarah away from her house. He was condused, but eventually went and gave her a hug.

We had a nice dinner downtown at a favorite place. Both kids were really good. We even enjoyed some chocolates after dinner from the Truffle shop. The kids ate up the chocolate like little birdies and I enjoyed dishing it out. We came home and everyone remained in good moods through to bed. This is what topped it off as a perfect night for me. I love when everyone goes to bed happy. Ellie even had lots of things to say when we talked about the best part of her day.

Moon

Yesterday I briefly pointed out the moon to Max on the way home from our evening adventures. He seemed only mildly interested. Tonight we were outside again and I pointed it out. He seemed fascinated. He pointed, "Moooooooone." I would say, "Yes Max, moon." This must have repeated for about 5 minutes straight before I finally sent him to find David. Max trucked it down the driveway to find Daddy and bring him up to show him the new thing in the sky, pointing... he proclaims loudly, "Mooooooone!" Eventually he started walking towards the moon, calling for it, as if he could finally get his hands on it... only to eventually fall down. He would just get up and repeate. It's cute to watch him learn something. He really likes to drive it home!

Mommy and Ellie Day

This morning instead of going to church, as a special treat, Ellie and I went to see the new movie Dolphin Tale. We ended up seeing it in 3D as well, so that was a whole new experience for Ellie.

We both loved the movie. Ellie has continued to ask me questions about it all day. She was fascinated with both the kids and the Dolphin. I think we will talk about it for weeks to come.

As the movie started, I encouraged her to put on her 3D glasses. The opening credits follow fish and dolphins as the swim quickly through the underground of the ocean. It was really cool. Ellie put her glasses on and then almost immediately started trying to reach out and catch the fish. It was too cute. She had her arms out in front of her reaching and feeling, as if she really could get them.

The glasses only made it for about 10-15 minutes, then she watched the rest of the movie without them, seeing a bit of a double vision, but she didn't complain. She patiently sat still for 2 hours and watched the movie. We did enjoy a small popcorn between us, which is another little special treat for us.

After the movie, we went home for lunch and a nap. She laid quietly for nearly 2 hours, but couldn't sleep. So I got her up and took her for ice cream while Daddy and Max finished their naps. It was a nice little escape for us. We had a good day together.

Tonight, when I was tucking her in, I told her how much I loved our special time together. I asked her if she would still come back home and have special Mommy and Ellie time with me even when she leaves and moves out. She started to get really upset. She said she would be here forever and didn't want me to leave her. I said that was fine, I would be here as long as she wanted me to, but one day she would want to leave - not me. She said adamently, "No, I want to stay here with you forever." I just said okay Ellie, whatever you want is fine. I'll be here.

She is adorable and cracks me up! I love her very much.

Ellie loves Christmas

It's not news that Ellie loves Christmas. She requests CHristmas Chorals all year around. So, when we were shopping yesterday and she spotted her first Christmas Tree of the season, she was thrilled beyond belief! She let out a shriek of laughter and pointed! It was so cute. Most people, adults that is, cring at the site of a tree on Oct 1st, but not our Ellie Bean!

First enjoyable Merry-Go-Round Ride

Max has been on the Merry Go Round about 2 or 3 times, but he's always seemed indifferent. Tonight, for the first time, he was acting like he was riding a horsey and desperately trying to hold on. Then, when it was over and David took him off, he screamed! He wanted to go again... my cute little boy who is growing so much!

Waiting and anticipating, my handsome family...

Return of Sven

I put off Max's third haircut as long as I could. I decided that this was the weekend. After nap, we headed to the mall to do the deed. I dreaded this. David wondered why I just didn't try to do it at home myself. I shutter at the thought!

I had David sit down to hold him, while I stood by to watch freely. As soon as Max looked around, his little lip puckered up and he began to cry for Mama, mama, mama, and then the crying got louder as he was gowned up. And it really hit full speed screaming before the clippers even made it to his little head. We perservered though.

The whole thing took about 10 minutes. The lady that cut his hair (same as the last one) was really fabulous and patient with both me and Max. I wanted it as short as could be - basically a buzz with just a little more. This helps minimize the number of return trips before his hair is too long. At times it took both David and I, plus the hair dresser, to keep him still enough to be safe.

Nearing the end, she used the clippers that give that close straight lines on him for the first time. He really screamed bloody murder when this happened. I was worried. Poor little thing.

After it was all said and done, I picked him up, brushed him off and cuddled him. The tears stopped within 15 seconds. When we turned around, he gave the nice lady such as stare it was unreal. She played with him until he finally gave her one of his winning grins. They became nearly friends... or at least he stopped looking at her with hate. It was over; I think he forgave her.

He's so handsome. When his hair is this short, we start calling him Sven - as he looks like our little Sweedish boy. David said it's the return of Sven!