Pumpkins

Ellie Bakes a Cake

Today is my Grandma's 86th birthday. What's even more exciting is that she's flying here tomorrow to visit us for the weekend. Ellie (who is named after her) and I made a cake for her this afternoon. It was Ellie's first adventure in baking and it wasn't a total disaster.

she did want to drink the water at first

but then figured out it had to go in the bowl

her favorite part was eating the batter with John

she's all ready to have "cakecups" tomorrow night!
Happy Birthday Grandma, we can't wait to have you here!

Daddy's Girl

The pajamas say it all.

Apple Picking

We spent this afternoon apple picking. Ellie had gone as a baby last year, but she really enjoyed walking around the orchard and filling bags of apples today. We picked a few different varieties and tried some along the way. Ellie was excited about the pumpkins for sale and really thrilled to discover a "zoo" at the farm. Since she has been referring to any group of animals as a zoo, it's time that we had a chat about where animals really belong in this world.

To see the entire album of photos, go to: Apple Picking '08

Oktoberfest

We spent today in Newport at Oktoberfest. Ellie wasn't outfitted in lederhosen but still had a fabulous time. We loved spending the day with so many friends.

Gwyn, Ellie and Liv dancing

Benny and Ellie on the dance floor

Ellie enjoying her German pretzel

Henry and Ellie

Will leading Ellie back to the beer tent

Day Off!

I had the day off from work today and Ellie and I had a fantastic time together. We went out to lunch and to the playground with friends and then after her nap, we rode/pushed her bike to our local playground. On the way, Ellie stopped to admire all of the dogs playing in a field.

Ellie wants to make sure that everyone knows that her shirt is a fashion statement, not a political one. Although she will not be voting in this year's presidential election, she is endorsing Senator Barack Obama.

Biker Baby

Ellie is now the proud owner of a bike. We've been going on "bike rides" the past few days which means pushing her around a few blocks in the neighborhood. She seems to like it and has even started to get the hang of steering her trike.