Ellis and Bubbles

Here is a video of Ellis having fun on our porch with the bubbles. She is a doll!

Catching Up

I feel like it has been a while since I last posted, so I wanted to catch everyone up on what we have been doing:

1. We had some awesome weather around the Pacific NW a couple weeks ago, so I brought out the bubble machine for Ellis to play with on the porch. She loved it! Every time the bubbles would be taken away by the wind she would reach after them and say "don't leave me bubbles!". So sad, but so cute:

Posing - her favorite thing to do.

Looking longingly after the bubbles.

Posing again (you can see the bubbles)

2. We decided to head down to Seattle and hit up Pac Place and Pike Place. It was a lot of fun; of course a visit to Seattle couldn't be complete without a Gyro and a Humbow (sp?):

Loni ordering my Gyro for me. Such a gem.

Prego Marie - chowin down.

Ellis grubbin on her sucker. She ended up dropping it on the ground.

3. We met up with some old friends of ours: Ashley and Scott Loughran. They have two little girls (Olivia and Ella), one of whom is a month younger than Ellis. We went out to Tacoma, went out to dinner, then took the kiddos swimming and had drumsticks for dessert at thier house later. Ellis loved the water and would have stayed all night if she could. Thanks Ashley and Scott for inviting us down!

I love these two pictures of the girlies:

This is great shot - they were all looking! Yay!

All three of the girls LOVED the hot tub - it was great. Except when you had to get back in the pool.

Ellis and Loni swimming in the pool.

At dinner that night. Ashley was a mystery shopper for Applebees. It was very funny!

Conversations with Ellis

This morning, while driving in the car:

Ellis: "Mommy, Mommy!!!" (very frantic)
Me: "What, baby?"
(slight pause)
Ellis: "Oh, I just freaked out"

Ellis & Jaida

Ellis and her cousin Jaida hanging out together.

Ellis

Ellis enjoying an Ice Cream Sandwich!

Happy Birthday, Ellis!

Ellis,

Today my little baby girl turns two years old. It is hard to believe (and also very cliche to say) that two years have just flown by. You have grown up so much in the last year, its incredible to think about. You now talk non-stop, love non-stop, play non-stop and laugh non-stop. You are one of the funniest little girls I have ever seen; you know how to finagle your way into any situation you want to be in. You bat your eyes to get you whatever you want and you have your daddy wrapped around your little finger. You are such a joy to both mine and your father's life. You are the best daughter and I couldn't imagine anyone else but you to fill my days with laughter and sunshine. I love your little personality - how you can get so angry sometimes yet so joyful at others. I love that you are so much like your father, yet also like your mom as well. You love unconditionally and will give your heart to anyone. You have such a temper sometimes and the crocodile tears you can produce at a moment's notice would put any actress to shame. I love waking up to your face looking at mine and how cute you are in the mornings. I love it when you want to cuddle with me, but also when you want your alone time. I love your love for books and learning. Everthing now-a-days is "what's this, mommy?" and "what's that, mommy?" You love to find out about new and unique things and drive me crazy with all of your questions! You are more and more beautiful everyday both inside and out and I wish you would always remember that you are a Daughter of God. Your dad and I wish the best for you and want you to know we will always love you.

Happy Birthday!

XOXO,
Mom and Dad

Ellis at 2 years

Ellis at 1 year

Ellis as a newborn - 4/11/07 5:07 pm

Celebrate!

Last night we celebrated Ellis' birthday two days early by going to Pump It Up in Kirkland, WA. It was a blast! They have this entire warehouse filled with inflatables that kids of all ages (and I mean ALL ages) can run around and jump to their hearts content. Ellis had a blast and I think most everyone else there did too. The kids and the adults were all sweaty and worn out by the end of the party. It was a mixture of family and friends that came to help Ellis celebrate and we are so thankful for everyone that came! Happy (early) birthday Ellis!

Picnic at the Beach!

Since yesterday was so nice (topped out in the mid-70's) we had a wonderful FHE picnic at Coulon with my family. We had fried chicken, potato salad, veggies and strawberry shortcake. It was a great way to welcome the warm weather and say GOOD-RIDDANCE to winter. I know it won't stay like this for long, but we are sure enjoying it while it is here!

Starting to Party!

On Saturday, my parent's hosted a birthday party for Ellis with the Opfar/Rider side of the family. It was great timing because my two Uncles were in town and we were able to visit with them as well as start celebrating Ellis' second birthday. It was a lot of fun: we have pizza, salad and cupcakes as well as tons of presents for Ellis. She is still the only grandkid on my side of the family, so my parents like to go all out and spoil her. She got a lot of cool stuff but her favorites would have to be: her princess shoes from my dad, her princess books from my mom and her princess jacket from both parents (do you sense a theme going on here?). All in all, it was a great day!

Early Easter Egg Hunt

Loni's work is great about putting on activities and events specifically catered to families. For Easter this year, they hosted and Easter Egg Hunt for all of the kids. It was a lot of fun - their event planner, Jacine, is great about hosting the parties and making them fun for kids of all ages. Ellis had a blast. She absolutley love hunting for Easter eggs - in fact the whole time they were hiding the eggs, she kept trying to go collect them. After she got them, we went and sat down and she started opening the eggs - that made her even more excited b/c there was CANDY inside! That is a direct way to her heart - give her candy. Anyway, it was a great day and beautiful weather to boot, so THANKS Centennial!

Sunny Days!

I love the weather here in Seattle when it is sunny and in the 60's. Here are some pics of Ellis enjoying the weather:

This is what she does everytime I ask her to smile for a picture - she strikes a pose.

She LOVES jumping on the trampoline. She would do it all day if she could. That's all she wanted to do yesterday.

Posing again...

Trying to stay still long enough to get a good picture.