Scary Cat.

Ella and her buddy James at pre-school.

Halloween here is really cold, windy and rainy - thanks a lot Super Storm Sandy. But the cat is scary. And I am so desperately behind on sifting through photos from vacation and our incredibly busy last seven days that our pretty little feline is just going to have to do for now.

She rocked the pre-school Halloween program, by the way.

Sebastian and Ella, keeping in step.

And because Ella still wasn't all that sure about pumpkin carving and the pumpkin guts, the Pumpkin Fairy finished up after she went to bed.

Happy Halloween everyone! ~H

Warm breezes.

Boy have we enjoyed them! This past week we flew down to South Carolina to join my parents for a mini-vacation. The weather was perfect. (Pictures from that adventure later.)

We came home to the last bit that summer had to offer. Our timing was excellent. We took advantage of a late afternoon romp at the park with Roz and Thomas, too.

And this Mama hung those sheets out on the clothesline one last time for the season.

Our schedules are way, way off. (Translation: Ella's in sleep deprivation mode.) The ripple affect is crippling. If Baby Girl ain't happy then pretty much no one is happy. We had a very big day today at a private show from the circus that's in town (Sorry...more on that later too!) for our FCC group; we have cousin Lily's first birthday party tomorrow and a Chinese acrobat show on Sunday afternoon. Whew!!

Updates coming at you later. Until then, enjoy the weekend!

A post of self-portraits and flashbacks.

Ella's version of Halloween faces ("Scary Cat" is lower right.)

Mama got a new phone. A new glitzy one. I've taught Ella how to photograph herself with this new phone. She digs it. And she's good at it!

The living room painting project is done. It took us exactly 7 days. Balance has been restored to the first floor, kinda. So we went outside to celebrate yesterday.

I asked Ella to stand in the middle of the street, dance and 'act a fool'. She looked at me in disbelief and then told me this move was against the rules.

 

But she did it anyway.

 

 

Our neighborhood is on fire at this time of year. I know, I know. I spend a lot of time writing about it on her blog but I'm not making this up.

 



Such pretty fingers

And a little flashback to show, if nothing else, how fat her face was two years ago...and how unbelievably LONG her hair is now! This also makes me miss my Baby Ella :(

Ella - October 2010

Have a great weekend, Ella-land. Play in the leaves a little if you can!

~H

Actually.

Ella has mastered the word actually.  Do I say it a lot? I must, right? She says it whenever possible and always properly.

She also told me something was terrific! this morning. I ooh'd and ahhh'd so much over her proper use of the word, I couldn't even begin to tell you what was so awesome.

I'm sad to see this past week fly by. AGAIN. Everything is moving so terribly fast - Ella's vocabulary, the pre-school year, work, life. We are enjoying it but w-o-w-z-a I wish I had a 'freeze' button.

Topping out all news this week is my parents' big move.

After 17 or so years in their current home, they've decided they need a new project. This little gem is nestled in my mom's favorite neighborhood - OUR neighborhood! Yes, they will be living 12 houses away from us. On our street! We are so happy for them and Ella is 1,000 kinds of excited about having them so close by. The place needs some updates and Larry and I will be gearing up as painters/cleaners/movers over the course of the next couple of months. Ella will get her first stab at painting walls. Again...ecstatic.

We had our first field trip with pre-school this past week. On a particularly brisk, windy morning we hit a sweet little farm. Ella had perhaps the worst sleep in a year the night prior to this field trip. She spent a lot of time whining about the stinky animals (she is my kid), sucking on P-Man and ignoring her classmates. I had a blast, however. We had a personal tour from the owner, went on a hayride and picked out pumpkins. She gave up a few smiles before it was over.

Unimpressed Ella, P-Man and her teacher, Mrs. K.

Best Milk Moustache Ever!

Hayride fun with James.

FINALLY warming up to this farm thing.

So many choices for such a little thing.

Sebastian and Ella. She only speaks of two classmates. James and Sebastian. Boys. I'm guessing it is the mutual love for cars.

And on the drive down our street afterwards, I stopped the car long enough to hang out my window to capture what beauty surrounds us. Come mid-November, I'll be cursing the leaves these big trees give us. Right now they are nothing short of perfection.

Speaking of painting, we are in the midst of painting our own living room.
With a three year old underfoot...
Including the three year old's toys....
Both of us working full-time....

I'll leave it at that.

Larry has been working all summer on a huge front yard project. I can't do it justice but what started as a simple walk-path with sandstone and gravel turned into a major excavation of tree root removal. All by hand with one heavy axe.

His helper has come on the scene now to make sure the stones are in order. I walked out the front door to check on them and she said, "I don't need to see you. I have my listening ears on." Sneaky way to be sassy, don't you think?

Have a great week! ~H

A day at the orchard.

 

Funny how times flies. I've certainly written that a thousand times before. I feel like Katie and I were just at the orchard with our little pips in tow. It wasn't until I reviewed the images from a year ago that I realized they really aren't toddlers anymore.

 

They are little women, ready to rule the world and stuff.

 

 

See what I mean? A year ago they looked all innocent and timid, still in diapers with humble little pig tails. There wasn't anything timid about this year's outing!

 

 

There was also a shift in cooperation: Ella was fantastic with Shutterbug Mama Heather, Roz was not.

Not often do you see a 'time out' in a pumpkin patch. I promise you I did not alter the color of those trees. It was that stunning. So was Roz's fit.

 

Before it was over, I hopped in the corn fields and drug the two little ones in too. I'll admit that it was a little overwhelming with those huge stalks towering over us. And it was kind of like being in a sound-proof booth - all outside noises quieted once we were in there. Roz stuck it out longer than Ella.

I love these two. They are opposites in nearly everything yet compliment each other so perfectly.

And on the pre-school progress? Huge. Ella expressed disappointment that she had to wait until Tuesday of next week to go back. Ring the bells!!! I think she's over the hurdle!

Happy Weekend, Ella-land! ~H

Weekend in pictures.

Crisp autumn sunset and a spider's last efforts to hunt and gather before winter sets in...

 

Sometimes her shiny hair astounds me.

 

 

Ella's self-portrait, with braids. And she took this photograph on top of it!!

This last photo is how we spent our Saturday evening - the annual block party in our neighborhood. It. Was. Magical. Just as I suspected, we are in love with our neighborhood all over again :)


The garage sale was successful and over! Have a great week, Ella-land!