Popcorn in bed!

After bath time tonight, Ella and I snuggled up in my bed with a bowl of popcorn, Panda, Simba Kittie and watched the old classic, Frosty. If I allowed her, she'd devour the entire bag of microwave popcorn.

It is a rare moment in this household when all three women are quiet and content at the exact same time! Don't believe me? Ask the only guy living here.

Good night, Ella-land!

H, L & EML

Working from home, fort-building and cupcakes.

I debated on whether we should build an ark instead of a fort. Recent weather in Ella-land has been super soggy. While I worked away at my computer, Ella and Roz kept busy. What a girl can't do with an old blanket and blue painter's tape.

Pretty stunning get-up, isn't it?

Nothing beats the rainy-day blues quite like a cupcake either.

I am pleased to report that we are all, at this point, healthy and back at it in full swing. We plan on making up for the missed feasting at Christmas.

Stay dry, Ella-land!

H, L & EML

The Good. The Bad. The Ugly.

Little did I know that just after programming our blog to post our sweet Thanksgiving greeting to you, that we were going to end up like this...

It hit Larry on Tuesday/Wednesday and me on Wednesday night/Thursday. I might be the ONLY person in this country to lose five pounds on Thanksgiving Day. We were sad to miss out on the gathering at my brother and sister-in-law's house. Tonight, I'm longing for my sister-in-law's cooking! (Not so much yesterday.) Knock on wood, our little firecraker is still healthy. She has been resistant to napping the last two days, however, which has made for two very exhausted parents. And although I'm feeling much better today, Larry is not. We hope that Saturday brings better health our way.

Ella did share this with me tonight. "Mama, my belly button aches like Daddy's because Baby Yiyyee (Lily...the recent addition to our family) is in there."  I just didn't have the energy to tell her differently.

The good, wonderful, heart-warming part of all this is that while I laid in a heap on Thanksgiving morning, Larry and Ella went to our church to lend a hand in coordinating the 444 meals that were packaged and delivered by a group of fabulous volunteers. I have no problem saying that over a dozen of those volunteers were our friends, with no affiliation to our church. I received numerous texts that morning from these friends. It was so touching. Ella was completely in her element: at her Ah-men with so many of her people. If your heart is open, finding that silver lining ain't so tough.

H, L & EML

Good morning, Thanksgiving 2011.

May your day be filled with thankfulness, reflection, laughter, sunshine, snuggly window seats, good food, good music, good books, family and friends. Our hope is that it continues past Thanksgiving Day.

A gathering of enormous proportions!

Nicely done family!!

I really don't think I can beat this blog post from one year ago. More importantly, I don't know if I could muster up the creative energy to express the joy that still lingers now, two days later. My body is beat up. My house is rather disheveled. Yet, I'd do it all over again today - in a heartbeat. I still can't believe we all fit in our house!

Ella woke up at the crack of dawn on Sunday and fell into a heap at 7pm when my clean up crew (aka my parents) got in their car.

We all gathered bringing my Grandma's food. She would have so enjoyed tasting (and perhaps critiquing!) our hand at her recipes. Just a few...

Sandwich Loaf...three of them. Devoured.



Chicken and Noodles. Quintessential Donna Ruth Comfort Food.



Ella so enjoyed her family. Kaia and Alyssa were especially sweet with her.

Ella shared her Pete The Cat book. BIG hit.

While we were setting up the group shot (me behind the camera with the timer going...) Ella decided she was done waiting. What I find especially touching is the expression on the faces of her people. If ever there was a picture that showed it, it is this one. The girl has got an army of love behind her.

Give thanks Thursday and every day.

H, L & EML

Lampshades and Leopard Hot Pants

Nothing says party girl quite like a lampshade on the head.

Or, leopard print hot pants.

It's only fitting that the shade is from a very old (and fragile) lamp belonging to my grandma. The house is a-buzz with party preparation for the Sunday celebration honoring her and what would have been her 105th birthday. Knowing Donna Ruth like I did - like we all did - I think she would have loved these photos. I can see her throwing her head back with a resounding "Ha!"

Babies!

In the last two weeks, Ella has been around several wee-ones. Never, ever has her first reaction been anything but indifference. Total stinkpot. I suppose it didn't help that when we went to visit her cousin, Lily, for the first time her mama spent several hours fussing and photographing her. When asked if she wanted to hold Lily, her response was "I'm too big to hold her."

But, the photo shoot was a score! And since leaving Lily (and Matthew) she has talked nearly non-stop about going back.

Pretty little addition to our family, huh? We are excited to watch the girls grow up together AND share all our wonderful hand-me-downs.

Ella did better this morning at Ah-men with Baby Alice who sat behind us in church. By that, I mean at least she smiled and interacted with her. Tonight, when meeting a neighbor mom's ten-day old baby, she announced to both parents that Baby Colette looked like a monkey. We. Could. Have. Died.

Promise to get my camera back out and snap a few of Sassy Pants this week. We have a very busy week on tap as we prepare for the Grandma Donna Ruth Celebration a week from tonight. The house will be busting at the seams with family and laughter. Ella is already asking about how many days until the party. Of course she is...

H, L & EML

Last year. This year.

A year ago, we were trying to coax Ella to walk on her own in this blog post.

This year, we are trying to coax Ella not to boss anyone who comes within ten feet of her incredibly mobile little self. She was quite vocal at "Ah-men" yesterday morning, turning up the bossing smack dab in the middle of the sermon. No less than six mamas gave me a sympathetic pat on the back and a sweet smile after the worship service.

We had a busy weekend of preparing the yard for Old Man Winter, painting the kitchen, a trip to the art museum and boycotting diapers. Some of those activities were messier than others.

Matthew and Ella helped out at our Lily photo shoot last week. Matthew is very kind to his little cousin and they play so well together.

Here's hoping your internal clocks have adjusted to the end of Daylight Savings Time! So not looking forward to it getting dark by 5pm in Ella-Land...Have a great week!

H, L & EML

Cheating

Want to see what we've been up to the last two days? Check out Roz's world here. Because Roz's mama is a bit more on the ball than I am :)

Note: Ella's Papa and Grandma are on vacation this week which means I'm taking vacation days this week to be with Ella - to fill-in the gaps.

It has been a flurry of activity. Icing on the cake will be a visit tomorrow with my niece, Nicole, and her newest addition, Lily Victoria. She is eight days old today. In the last few days, Ella has had this to say about Baby Yiyyee (Ella speak for Lily):

"Baby Yiyee is in my tummy now, mama."
"Baby Yiyee is out now. She so silly."

I guess I should gear up for further discussions on how 'she came out'. Oy.

This auntie is charging her camera, perched and ready to go into shutterbug mode tomorrow. That's for sure!

H

Peacock on the loose...

We had big shoes to fill after Jumpsuit Ella Halloween 2010...Click here if you need a reminder :)

Ella declared "Peacock!" when asked what she wanted to be this year. Did she have any idea what this thing Halloween was all about? Nope. By 8:30 last night though, I think she had realized it was gooood stuff.

On Sunday, we took part in our annual neighborhood Halloween party and parade. Daddy drove her chariot. We stopped along the way for a few photos. The day was picture-perfect.

And my lovely assistant tried to get the peacock to flap her wings a bit.

She seemed less than impressed about putting the outfit on again for actual trick-or-treat fun. Why go through all this when a huge bag of candy was propped by the front door? It took some coaxing, but after visiting our immediate neighbors, she was off with the masses traipsing up and down our street. I even let her dip into the loot for a little snack.

My favorite of the weekend is this one. We have an amazing backdrop of color in our neighborhood at this time of year. When you throw in my two favorite people, well...I think it doesn't get much better.

H, L & EML