Jack-o-lanterns

This past Friday night we carved our pumpkins (notice my very loose use of the word "we"...). Ella was very excited about the prospect of making jack-o-lanterns and told us how she 'would not cut them, but would scoop them!' since she's not allowed to use a knife.

Ready to carve!



Although she was prepared for the idea of scooping the seeds and pumpkin strings, when she figured out what that meant, she had second thoughts...



I thought maybe she'd do better if she didn't have to get her hands dirty so I told her she could wear some "gloves" (= sandwich bags)



After watching Grammy do it for a while she got brave and was ready to really get to work.




Once the pumpkins were all scooped out, Steve got to work carving.



Steve did an incredible job with them, I think they came out great. One of them had a really thick stem and it's walls were inches thick, it was a major effort to carve it. They came out awesome though, here they are!




SPPPOOOOOOOKKKKKY


Now we are officially ready for Halloween!

Next Stop - American Idol?

Ella really loves to sing. She has many favorites that she knows most or all of the words to, and loves listening to the songs and singing along - ABCs, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, If You're Happy and You Know It, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Ring around the Roses, Wheels on the Bus, Good Night Ladies, Old MacDonald, the list goes on.

But she also loves making up her own songs and I just get the biggest kick out of this, it is so funny to me. As all great songwriters do, she sings about what she knows - for Ella, this revolves around our family members, our pets, and playing. When Dad and Donna were here, while she was going potty she asked for "privacy please" while she was going and we could hear her loudly singing a rendition of "Granddad's Shoes."

After lunch on Sunday she was on a role and I managed to catch a little bit of a few of her songs on video. Make sure to turn on your speakers, and enjoy these funny little gems!




Singing while she works!

Pumpkin Picking and Granddad's Birthday

Yesterday was Dad's birthday, so he and Donna came up on Saturday so that we could celebrate, and we all took Ella pumpkin picking. We had beautiful weather and was a perfect fall day.




The farm


Driving a tractor


Climbing on a hay bale


Riding on a pony!


Hay ride - you'll notice how Ella refused to look at the camera - she was a cranky lady on the hay ride and managed to pull it together once we got to the pumpkins





Luckily she really perked up once it was time to pick out pumpkins and became really happy and excited





She thought it was her job to put all of the small pumpkins back in the pumpkin box - she was busy and hard at work




Grandma, Ella, Granddad



When we first got there she said she wanted to jump in the inflatable jump houses but she changed her mind when it was time to get in and didn't want to go. After we got pumpkins she said she wanted to go back and jump and go down the slide.

Climbing with Grandma


So much fun!


Some cute videos of her having so much fun climbing the wall, going down the slide, and jumping (the funniest part of the jumping is her commentary!)







We came home and Ella took a nap, then we went out for dinner for Dad's birthday. We went back home for cake and Ella gave Granddad a special card she had made for him.





She was really proud of herself and said "I made this for you." He also asked her to guess how old he was turning and she said "two and a half?"

It was a really fun day, and a perfect way to celebrate Dad's Birthday!

Bass Lake

Last Saturday we had a sunny and beautiful day and we decided to go to Bass Lake, a lake nearby our house.




Inside the building there are a bunch of tanks with turtles, frogs and snakes. Ella loved checking everything out.






Steve decided to show Ella how to go fishing for the first time

Getting brave enough to touch a worm







Although there were some fish that ate the worms off the hook, they did not actually catch any fish this time (other than some seaweed!).

Ella being so silly - This picture captures her so well - being funny, dancing and having fun



After our fishing attempt we got Ella an ice cream sandwich, which she loved (no surprise there!)



It was a great way to spend a beautiful Saturday afternoon. Ella was so tired after that she fell asleep in the less than 10 minute ride home!

Ella-isms

Here are some of my favorite Ella-isms from the last few weeks:

Hi, how are you?

See you next time!

See you tomorrow!

Nice to meet you

Cory, you can NOT play in my sandbox. You have no hands!

I LOVE this apple!

Wait a second!

Don't tell me no! (usually announced with a finger in the air and warning tone - I hear this one several times a day)

I love peanut butter. And jelly. On a sandwich!

One night in bed I asked her to read to me. Her reply: "I can't. I don't know the words to know. When I grown up, I will read this book to you." (She said all this while stroking my face, it was heart meltingly sweet).

"Nopey, nopey!" - this was a phase where she would happily reply 'nopey nopey' to anything I'd ask her to do that she didn't want to.

Sure! (I love this one, she says it all the time when she agrees with something)

I don't think so!

Alright, alright, I all set!

Some new words that have surprised me: Cinnamon, dis-gus-ting (said with this exact inflection), tortellini, delicious

"I REALLY love my house. All the time. Going to sleep, reading books..."(gets distracted) - "Mommy, are you making breakfast?"

In bed snuggling, "you're the prettiest girl in the world" (she is incredibly sweet when she's wanting us to stick around awhile longer in bed :))

Picking up Cory at the vet, Ella says to the lady: "Where's my Cory?" The lady's reply: "She's in the back. ___ is getting her." E: "I hear somebody's dog woofing!" Vet lady: Does Cory woof? Ella: "Not like that!"

I said to Ella after she came down from a bath with Steve, "Mmm, you smell yummy!" Ella's reply to me: "Mmmm, you smell yummy too - like pizza!"

"I told Payton, it's time to clean up your toys!" (wow, lucky Payton!)

We were walking in the neighborhood and she picked up a pinecone and said "I want to take this pinecone home." Me: "Ok, what are you going to do with it?" E: "I will love it!" Then, after quietly thinking for a minute, "I will put it in a bucket and feed butterflies with it!"

"I am a good singer, and I love Cory!"

Yelling like a dictator from the backseat of the car, "I want ABCs, I want ABCs." (Meaning she wanted me to put on the ABC song on her CD) Me: "Ella, let's try asking with some manners." Ella, in the sweetest tone she could muster: "Excuse me, Mommy, please have some ABCs?"

"You're my best friend. Best buddies!"

"I love you in the world. More than anything."

One day I asked her in the morning if she could remind me after school that we had to drop library books off on the way home. Really I was hoping that by asking her, I'd remember that I needed to drop them off. When I came to pick her up, the first thing she said was "Mommy, we going to the library to drop off books?" I was shocked!

She knows that 'yesterday', 'last weekend', and 'last night' are all used for past tense and uses them all interchangeably to start sentences where she's talking about something that has already happened.

It's getting so hard to keep track of the funny and sweet things she says because she talks all the time and so much of it is so entertaining. She is so dramatic and so animated, uses big hand gestures and makes so many funny faces while she's talking, I just love it!!

Erin and Josh's Baby Shower

Last Saturday was Erin and Josh's baby shower, so we went to Charlotte on Friday morning to stay for the weekend. GeeGee, who has never met Ella before, came in from Ocean City, and Kelly flew in from Boston.

GeeGee, Ella and Erin


We had the shower at 300 East, one of Erin and Josh's favorite restaurants, and we had the whole upstairs. Mom, Kelly and I had a debacle of a time getting everything squared away on Saturday morning but it all worked out great and we got the room decorated and ready to go!







Mom and GeeGee


Aunt Kelly and Ella


The Mom and Dad-to-be


Erin and Ella


Mom, Glenn, Erin and GeeGee


Ella, Steve and I


Dad and Donna


Erin and her friend Sara


We enjoyed a delicious lunch and played a few games












And then enjoyed the cake


Baby Boy Edwards got many, many presents to welcome him into the world!




Unfortunately, Ella did not understand the concept that it was possible for there to be gifts that were not meant for her, so she graciously donated her services to help open gifts!


Erin and her nieces




These monkey cookies were the favors


GeeGee letting Ella "smell" the orchids (which have no scent!)




Ella had been dying to get her hands on the balloons the entire time, so once everyone had left she was finally able to go for it


That night Erin and Josh were at the Omni hotel bar with their friends; and Mom, GeeGee, Kelly and I went out to join them - wild and crazy ladies on the town!!







The weekend was a great success and I'm so glad we were able to have such a wonderful party to celebrate the upcoming arrival of my new nephew!! In about 7 more weeks he'll be here!