Recent Ella and Holly pictures

Ella really did look like a little hippie on Labor Day. She had a lot of fun playing at Super Dave and Betsy's house though!

Here's Pork Chop and Astro taking a break from their, well... their recreational activities.

Good thing she's so skinny, her little butt still fits in the swing at Grandma and Grandpa's house. And Holly's on one at the park.

Uh-oh, Spaghettios!

She's really happy about her first swim lesson. We took this right before we left.

Holly gets crazy-excited when playing the drums. I think we should start calling her, "Animal." She's also planning on trying out for the Bears Drumline.

The girls love playing in the kids' area at the Hawthorne Mall.

More sleeping Adventures...

We never know where we'll find her next. Here's the last funny spot.

Halloween at Fish Lake Beach

Fish Lake Beach, for those who don't know, always does "Halloween" in September because the real Halloween is after shut-down. I always loved having double candy every year, but now I love it for a different reason.

It's usually cold and misty and nasty on Oct. 31, but this gives the girls a chance to dress up without all the layers. Cinderella and my NIU Cheerleader had a great time.

Holly didn't care so much about candy, but when we passed the park she said, "swing?"

Holly was a little mischievous, so Mommy and Daddy took turns keeping her up high and out of trouble. She was still a little rambunctious, dancing around on Daddy's shoulders.

Ella had more fun handing out candy to all the kids than walking around collecting it I think.

Here's Holly investigating and enjoying her first dum-dum.

Swim Class - Ella's a Jellyfish!

Ella had her first swim class through the park district on September 12.

She was pretty good about listening to her teacher Yazmin even though she's never had a "teacher" that wasn't a member of the family before. Her class is small, only has 3 kids in it. The limit of the Level 1 class is 5.

Most kids are nervous about being on the backs in the water... Ella was no exception. She was not afraid about jumping in the pool, however. And even got into a bit of trouble when she jumped in while her teacher wasn't looking. Oops. All was good, and she got a talking to from both myself and Yazmin.

Week 2 - and just as excited about getting in the pool.

This time, she stayed on the edge when she was supposed to. A vast improvement in only 1 week. I'm very proud of her.

If you look closely by her feet, you can see the ring that she's been instructed to retrieve. She's still scared to put her face in the water, so she cheats sometimes and uses her foot. Very cute.

Still nervous about going under, but she did a lot better about being on her back this week. Below are some video clips from the first couple of weeks.

The whole class is 6 sessions, and we already plan to sign her up for the next session as well. I want her to be really comfortable in the water and maybe I can work with her some more next summer. Go Ella!

Ella's First Cubs Game!

So, last Friday Jason called and asked if I wanted a Mommy Night Off because someone was selling Cubs tickets for Tuesday night's game (9/15). Confident I could find someone to go with, I told him to get the tickets and I'd figure out the rest later. I couldn't. It seems that everyone either has kids and can't get baby-sitters, has to work early the next day, or is on vacation. I bet if the Cubbies were in playoff contention I would have had an easier time, but I digress.

I was actually a little depressed on Monday when I hadn't been able to figure it out until I completely changed strategies from a Mommy Night Off to a Mommy/Ella bonding night. Then I was excited, but a little nervous. I hate getting to Wrigley on my own, let alone with a 3-year-old. What we ended up doing was perfect, and I'll do it again. My only regret is that this was a night game, and she might have made it longer if it wasn't past bedtime. Oh well, next time.

We left the house around 3 p.m. to beat some traffic, but as it turned out, the only traffic we hit was the "Stimulus" traffic that occurs on every side road all day long because off all the construction. There was little if any on the Edens and Kennedy. I didn't want to be stuck to a train schedule because I didn't know how long Ella would make it through the game, but I also didn't want to drive and have to find a parking spot near the park. I love the remote lot at Addison and Rockwell - $6 per car and they bus you to the marquee. Love it. Also, there's a McDonald's with a play land right across the street from the lot. Not exactly the most nutritious dinner, but hey - it's better than cotton candy, right?

Apparently the lady taking our picture didn't know how to turn the camera to get the marquee in the frame. That's what I get for asking, "Can you take our picture under the sign?" Technically, she did what I asked.

This is Ella's first glimpse of Wrigley Field. I think she liked it better than the concourse. We got there pretty early, so it wasn't too crowded down there - but she liked this view a lot better. We were sitting near the Ferris Bueller seats, but unfortunately no balls came our way while we were there.

I was teaching her about the park and showing her all the flags and she actually liked watching "the boys playing catch!" I learned my lesson about the marquee picture, so this time I made sure to ask this person to get the scoreboard in the shot. ;o)

Ella brought her camera and took more pictures than I did. Most of them were of me telling her to watch the game. She did a great job, and although was tired seemed to enjoy herself. She cheered every time other people did and even copied some of the heckling calls the guy near us was yelling. (He had kids at home, so knew to keep it clean.) Sometimes she'd end up telling me to cheer if I was busy shooting videos or taking pictures...

There are a couple of new things in the park this year, like the new flags on the poles for Fergie and Maddux. But the one thing that made me sad was the added digit to the Eamus Catuli sign. AC0064100. Ouch.

The game started out really good, but Zambrano had a rough 5th inning. So did Ella. She started to try to (and eventually did) curl up in my lap with her blanket and try to nap. I wanted to see Zambrano get out of the inning, and I'm glad we waited because Ella got to celebrate Soto's home run in the bottom of the inning. She yelled and cheered and gave out high 5's to all those around us. Big smiles.

The flash blew out her face a little, but I wanted to show the Cubs tied it up before we left. She made it longer than I thought she would and behaved so well. I hope I can take her to another game sometime during the day so she can sing "Take me out to the Ball game." The Cubs ended up having 5 runs in the 7th and beating the Brewers 13-5 in the end.

And on a side note, she has a pink Cubs t-shirt and a cheerleading outfit. But this is what she wanted to wear. The jersey of a player on another sport who isn't even going to be playing this year. Awesome. People still thought she was adorable though... I agree, but I'm biased.

Go CUBS!

I was waiting for this...

This first one is Ella in November of 2007 during nap time.

I caught Holly this morning. I don't know how long she was like that, but stayed that way for quite some time even after the flash of the camera.

I'm not sure if it's halfway in bed or halfway out of bed. Either way we're getting closer to not sleeping on the floor!

Ella's 2nd haircut...

Ella's had a bunch of bang trims, but only 2 real hair cuts. This one was about 4 inches, and you can barely tell! It's much nicer on the ends and is a little easier to comb through.

Holly enjoyed watching Mickey Mouse while Ella was getting her hair cut.

It's really hard to get a 3-year-old to sit still, but give them a Jeep, a movie, and some books, and it's a little easier. :o)

She even sat still long enough to let the girl give her some princess braids.

I'm glad I took pics, they only lasted about 10 minutes. Ha ha.