Happy Birthday Meme

Ella was so excited about Meme's birthday all week. Since she LOVES birthdays, she can't wait to celebrate in Dallas tomorrow. Today we made a red velvet cake, from scratch. She siad she was "making a ladybug cake for Meme." This is because it is red & there was a ladybug on the box of the red food coloring. Here is step by step how to do it in case you ever need to know...pictures show the process minus the final product. She was in bed before I topped the cake off with the homeade icing. And to tell the truth, the cake has some "appearance issues," but I'm sure it will taste delicious! I don't blame Ella at all...she is quite a little baker!

FYI - this stuff does stain!Checking out how a sifter works.Of course I remembered her apron AFTER the red food coloring part.So serious!Showing some attitude!Snuck this one in...guess she was finished stirring.
And here is one of the Happy Birthday videos she made for Meme.

2 "Firsts" Today

Ella got to experience 2 firsts today. She had her 1st visit to the vet with Aussie. I explained to her that we were taking Aussie to the doctor, aka "vet." She thought it was really funny that Aussie was riding in the back of my car (which was a first as well) and talked to her the whole way there. When we walked in, she said "This is NOT Dr. Boecker, Aussie has a different doctor." FYI...Dr. Boecker is her pediatrician. She was great the entire time we were there. They came & took Aussie a couple different times to run tests & Ella said, "It's ok, she'll be right back!" After the vet came & talked to us the first time she said "I LOVE Aussie's doctor. This is fun!" She was also good at comforting Aussie who was very vocal with whilning the entire visit. She would pet her tell her "It's OK. I think you are tired." I know where she'd heard that one before! She also learned a new word through the experience...leash...she had never seen Aussie on one before. In fact, we had to go to Target & buy one this morning before the appointment. By the way, Aussie is fine. She has a UTI & is now on antibiotics, but everything else looked great!

Putting stickers the vet gave her on Panda, which is now her FAVORITE animal & went everywhere with us today.
She also had her 1st sushi experience this evening. New Braunfels now has a sushi bar/restaurant & it is wonderful! Of course, Ella showed absolutely no interest in trying any of the food, but she had fun playing with the chopsticks.
.Get that spicy tuna roll!

Summer Visit from Cynthia & Arturo

Aunt Cici & Arturo came to NB for a fun summer visit. We grilled great lamb chops Friday night, floated the river Saturday & relaxed with a movie that evening after cooking out buffalo burgers. Craig & Andy (from Austin) and Stewart (from San Antonio) met to float with us. It was a WONDERFUL float! In between, we enjoyed hanging out at the house with Ella. She was great & loved the extra attention! She got to share her "donkey experience" with Cici & Arturo Saturday & Sunday mornings. Each day, she fed them strawberries & peaches. Thanks for making the trip to see us. We had a great time!

Ready to hit the river on this 103 degree day!



Cynthia thought it was a little strange that this is Ella's new show watching position.

Donkey encounter Saturday morning.

Ella Loves to Cook

On Friday afternoon, Ella & I had so much fun making a banana split pie for our weekend guests. She helped me every step of the way. And, we had a huge dietary breakthrough...she will now eat fresh strawberries! After she finished placing them in the middle layer of the "pie" I asked her to try one. While she wasn't so sure at first, she proceeded to eat every single straberry slice that was left in the bowl. Funny thing is they were supposed to go on top of the dish, but I was not about to stop her shoveling them in her mouth. She kept saying "delicious," "yum, yum" & rubbing her tummy!

Looks so yummy!Now for the bananas.All done!"Do I like this?"Going back for more & more & more...Finished product & strawberries in the bowl...ALL gone!Now for the beaters!

Growing Up

It's hard to believe how old Ella is looking & acting. Just for the record: she is a little over 2 months shy of turning 3 years old, weighs 25 lbs & is 35 inches tall. Did a little mini photo shoot this weekend...full of personality!

Showing Off

After I took these pictures, I realized a video would have captured Ella's dance moves much better. I never think to get out the video camera...need to be better about that. Anyway, she has recently learned passé, pirouette, & loves to end it with a bow.

Trying a passé, looks more like a karate move.Much better!"Ta-da!"Turn aroundPretty ballerina"Thank you very much!"Loves her pink painted toes. It's a new obsession!

Backyard Animal Friends

We had another visit from the Donkeys this morning. We hadn't seen them in awhile & Ella was eager to go outside & say hello. They are so friendly...they just stand there & let her pet them. What a wonderful 30 minutes of entertainment! Unfortunately, when we went inside to get something to feed them, they continued on down their path. Next time they visit we will have apples or carrots in hand before going outside.

Mind of her Own

Here's a funny story for you:
Yesterday morning I was taking a quick shower & Ella was supposedly watching a show. Come to find out, she had gone outside to the back patio (yes, I left the door unlocked - oops) and brought her bubbles inside. You can guess what I found when I walked in the room...an empty container of bubbles, a mess on the floor & Ella saying "Well, I wanted to blow the bubbles inside, but something happened & they spilled!"

And...here is a picture of what naptime has looked like around here this week. Her room was perfectly clean each day when I put her to bed. This is the 3rd day in a row that I've walked into this after about an hour and a half. Hey, at least she knows how to entertain herself!

Nana & Papa's Summer Visit

Nana & Papa came to NB last weekend to stay with Ella while I had an outpatient day surgery. Everything went great, I am fully recovered, & Ella had a ball. She enjoyed playing outside & reading the new books Nana brought her. We were all impressed that she knew unprompted what a "comet" was when she saw a picture in one of the books. On Friday, Ella & Daddy took Nana & Papa to show them the fun they have at Schlitterbahn. Ella asked them "did you like MY Schlitterbahn?" She was so excited that Nana rode the Family Blaster & the red & yellow slides with her. Despite Nana being stung by a scorpian the 2nd night they were here (we still feel horrible it happened...sorry,) we had a wonderful visit. Thanks for coming!

Get well flowers Ella picked for meWhere'd the bubble go?Big helper - taking Nana's bag upstairs to herReady for Schlitterhbahn with Papa's sunglasses & hat

Family Vacation - Port Aransas 2009

Over the 4th of July, we took a family vacation with the Blackburn's to the Texas coast. We stayed in a condo at The Sandpiper in Port Aransas. It has convenient beach access with shaded canopies & chairs set out each day. This is definitely the way to do the beach! Jeff wheeled our "wagon of fun" down every morning, set up camp, & we enjoyed it off & on all day long. Ella & Landry had 4 full days of beach fun - jumping the waves, swimming in the ocean, building sandcastles, flying the kite, looking for seashells & playing games. Rilyn fit right in and loved her 1st trip to the beach, too - she was so happy & content. Heather's niece, Lauren also went with us, as our babysitter. This was wonderful, because the adults got to enjoy a couple nice dinners out while the kiddos played in the condo & got some well needed sleep after the busy days outside. Lauren also rested with the kids while they took their afternoon naps. Therefore, Mommies & Daddies got to relax on the beach with cold drinks & some "red neck" golf & bocce ball. How nice! Ella was great & really liked her vacation to the beach. She is already asking to go back.
I LOVE beach pictures & always take a ton...since toddler's actions & expressions are priceless (in my opinion), there are a lot of good ones. I am going to post quite an assortment. Until next year...enjoy!
Ready for Vacation!

1st Day at the Beach

1st Evening Out to Dinner
Another Beautiful Morning at the Beach

And Some Afternoon Fun

Go Red Raiders!

Date Night - Dinner at Venetian Hot Plate

3rd Beach Day

Fun in the Condo

Happy 4th of July!

What a fun summer vacation! Ella gave it a big thumbs up!

And, just a note on the band-aids...we've been through about a box and a half in the past week. She scraped both of her knees when she fell at Schlitterbahn last week and "can't walk without the band-aids." So, we kept reapplying new ones after every bath. Since we've been home, we are down to 1 band-aid. The goal this week is to get rid of the other one!