Fan, Farm, Baseball, Tricycle, Fame...

Today, we put together the living room fan. With no a/c, it's getting pretty warm in here!! As you can see, Ellie was pretty excited about it! She was singing, "Ellie, the builder" to the tune of "Bob the Builder"! Later, she was trying to "take the wind out" of the fan - sticking her fingers in the slots.
We went to the Ardenwood farm today, and Ellie loved the chickens. She was laughing at their wings, and pretending she was going to "get them".

She also enjoyed petting the goats.

We went to the Stanford baseball game on Wednesday. Very fun!

Ellie learned to ride a tricycle this week. She's not really crazy about it, but she can do it when she tries!

Ellie is pretending to pack her car for our summer move.

Chris is now famous. He was pictured (far left) and mentioned in The Stanford Business Reporter for his rugby skills!

Baseball, Construction, Problem-Solving...

Ellie showing me how to play baseball...
First you get a bat.
Then you spread your feet.
Then you swing!

Chris gets inspired to give a few more pointers!

Ellie sending an email to Granny. Benji, the stuffed dog, watches tucked inside Ellie's shirt!
















I took apart Ellie's toddler bed one afternoon this week while Ellie watched and of course, asked a lot of questions. Then, I went downstairs for a while and left Ellie playing in her room. I heard her making some noise and saying she was "working really hard." So, I went upstairs to make sure nothing too crazy was going on! She jumped up when she saw me and came over to me and said, "Look Mommy. I was working really hard on this. I was taking my baby's bed apart." If you look at the picture, you'll see two small little plastic bedrails next to her toddler bed pieces and mattress. She took the crib apart and laid the pieces against the wall just like I had done with her bed!

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I was impressed by Ellie's problem solving skills this morning! Chris was playing in a charity flag football tournament. He left early in the morning for the events before Ellie and I woke up. Once Ellie and I got up, we got ready to go and packed a bag with snacks. She was excited to go and was saying, "Come on Mommy, let's go!" Then, I realized that Chris had taken the car, which had our two strollers in the trunk. The fields were about 2 miles away. The rest of the story went this way...

Abbey: "Ellie, I don't think we can go to the game because Daddy took the car."
Ellie: "Let's go get it."
Abbey: "No, it's too far away. We can't just go get it."
Ellie: "Maybe Daddy can come get us."
Abbey: "No, Daddy is playing football. He can't come get us."
Ellie: "We can walk"
Abbey: "No, it's too far to walk."
Ellie: "I can ride in my stroller."
Abbey: "No, your stroller is in the car, and Daddy has the car."
Ellie: "I can ride in Arden's stroller."
Abbey: "That's a good idea!"

So, we borrowed a neighbor's stroller and went over to watch the game. I figured she had earned it - always finding another way in spite of the obstacles! Along the way, we saw a fluffy cat. Ellie quickly told him, "We are going to watch Daddy play football." She ate cheerios (or Organic Purely O's) the whole way and never complained a bit!

January through April Activities!!

PICTURES from the last few months are after all the text!!

It's been WAY too long since the last Ellie update! I found this in my email under "drafts" from February 9th...

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Ellie had her 2-year checkup on Wednesday. She is still off the charts (100th percentile) for both height and weight!

She has started asking questions, like "Whacha doin' Daddy" and "Where you at"! I guess grammar rules come later!

She loves to sing and do the motions for "Wheels on the Bus" and "I've Got the Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy Down in My Heart". She can sing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" and "ABCs" by herself.

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As for now... She has started to ask "Why?". Uh oh!! Those who knew me as a kid understand the years of parental torture that can come from this development! But her favorite question is still, "Where did you buy this from?" and "Who gave me that?". The answer to the last one is almost always, "Grandma." She has started to assume that everthing comes from Grandma!

A quick recap of the last few months...

NEW CAMERA! for Abbey!!

PLANTING! with Arden and Karen in our plot in the Community Garden.

SNOW! Trip to Tahoe was the first real time to play in the snow!

BLAST FROM THE PAST! 70's Costume Party in Vegas for Chris!

NEW FISH! Ellie got a blue beta and named him Penson. She loves to say, "How's Penson doing?" She had a great time setting up his "house" and putting in his "toy".

RUGBY! Chris has started playing Rugby and just returned from an MBA Rugby tournament at Duke University. Chris won MVP of the tournament for his team!

MUSIC CLASS! Ellie loves it! "Circle to the left old brass wagon, you're the one my darling!"

BABY BOY! We are expecting a baby boy somewhere near July 31 to August 5.

SPRING BREAK! San Diego Zoo, big bike in Santa Barbara, playing in the pool, sea lions, Disneyland!

EASTER PARTY! Chris planned and executed an Easter brunch for the Business School! It turned out really great!

TWIN BED! Ellie moved from a toddler bed to a twin bed!

PIZZA PARTY and PETER PAN! Arden and Ellie just had a pizza party last night!

TALKING BACK! "Stop that Mommy. You DON'T say that Mommy. That's unacceptable."

POWERFUL KICKS! I can now actually see my tummy move when the baby kicks!

Here are some pics from the last few months - in reverse order!