Snow Day!

There was no school yesterday because of the snow. Ellie and I had a great time at home. She helped me bake cookies and was very interested in the chocolate chips. She is now 26 months old.

Ski Weekend '09

We had a very fun, albeit frigid time in the Adirondacks this weekend. It was our Ski Trip of 2009 and although I wasn't able to ski, it was great to be away with our friends. Ellie was very excited about her "cation" with the other kids and probably won't know what to do when it's just the three of us tomorrow. We stayed at a beautiful camp on Brant Lake. It was -16 degrees F this morning when we woke up.

Fun with Mimi

We had a great time at dinner on my mom's final night here. Ellie hasn't been that well behaved in a restaurant since she was an infant in her car seat. She loves being doted on by her Mimi and I know the feeling is mutual. We're already looking forward to our next visit with her.

Concert on Monday

We took Ellie to a concert yesterday morning. She seemed to enjoy it although she wanted to talk on the phone during it. I'm not quite sure who she was attempting to call...

Snowy Sunday

We were housebound for most of Sunday because of the snow. It was so great that Mimi was here to help entertain Ellie. We finally got out that evening to watch football with friends. Ellie had a blast playing with Cate.

American Girl Place

There's a new American Girl store outside of Boston which we went to after the museum. It was really fun to take Ellie there, especially since she received her first American Girl doll, a Bitty Baby from Santa for Christmas. Ellie was psyched that Mimi bought her a toy for her doll, a miniature potty!

Mimi's Visit: Boston Children's Museum

My mom came to visit over the long weekend. Ellie and I picked her up at the airport and headed to the Boston Children's Museum. It was awesome for Ellie, we could've spent the entire weekend there. Ellie's favorite exhibit was the one about Arthur. She especially liked posing next to all of the characters.

Music Class Reinactment

We had Ellie's first official music class last week. She's gone as a walk-in to classes in Buffalo and with friends here but now she's a registered student and she'll go every Wednesday afternoon. Since she's enrolled in the class, we got a CD and music sheets to take home. I played the CD for Ellie for the first time tonight. There's a welcome song where the instructor sings a hello to all the children. Ellie calls this, "Ellie's Song" because her name is mentioned in it. She insisted that we reinact music class and placed her dolls around the room in a circle. She also insisted that John join in on the fun. Ellie would get up and point to each doll and we'd sing the verse with the doll's name. The last photo above is of her singing to Sidney Claudette, her new Cabbage Patch Kid from Adam. It was pretty hysterical (at least the first six or seven times).

The Naked Chef

The photos above are of Ellie cooking in her kitchen today. We're really psyched that she's into wearing underwear but we wish she'd realize that it's important to wear clothes over her undies (especially in January). I guess that's the next step of the potty training process.

Haircut and the Children's Museum

Ellie had her third ever haircut this morning and then we ventured to the Children's Museum for some fun and exploration. The whole time she was getting her hair cut, she kept saying, "I get my haircut." I guess she likes to state the obvious. Our Children's Museum has a new section with a huge lite-brite like station. Just in case you are wondering, Ellie did not make the "E" on the board.

Babies

Ellie has been playing with her doll, Baby Cate a lot lately and was thrilled to get a new baby from Santa who she named Bridget after her aunt. Santa also brought her a doll highchair which has provided hours of entertainment. Ellie's getting good practice before her real baby arrives in April.

Ellie & Quinn

Quinn and Michelle stopped by for a visit while we were home. It was great to see them and we can't wait to see them the next time we're in Buffalo when they are a family of four!

More Christmas Photos

We had Christmas Dinner at my aunt and uncle's house. Ellie was entertained by her cousins Kacie and Courtney and loved every minute with them. She's been talking about them ever since we left Buffalo.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! Ellie and I began 2009 by making star pancakes together. She was eager to help and enjoyed the finished product.