Catching Up

I have fallen way behind on posts. I have so much to share but will start with just a few pictures and videos to try and catch up a little!

Thanksgiving

Chef Eric and Chef Ellie prepared this delicious vegan feast for us to enjoy on Thanksgiving!


Christmas Fun

Santa visit


Christmas card picture


Christmas slide at the Children's Museum



Santa at the CM


making cookies



singing carols with friends


Christmas dance recital



Christmas

Ellie's new best friend.



Josie opening a favorite ball, Ellie with her new laptop, and Charlie dog happy with a new bone!


"Handy Ellie" already making a birdhouse with her new tool set from Santa.


Ellie's new "monster feet" and Josie's new piano.


sisters


LOVE this random picture!


Ellie's Birthday

Ellie turned FIVE on the 28th. I can't believe it! The main thing she wanted to do for her b-day was go sledding so we braved the freezing cold and went for it.

We lasted about 15 min but Ellie was happy!



Ellie with the cake she made and decorated herself. She is such a big girl now!

I hope everyone has had as much fun this holiday season as we have! It really has been a blur of activities but we feel so blessed to have so many fun things to do and so much wonderful family and friends to celebrate with! I have many more pictures and videos to go through so check back for more cuteness coming soon! :)

Field Trip (Civic Theater)

Ellie got to go on her very first ever school field trip last Wednesday! And, thanks to Eric staying home with Josie, I was lucky enough to be able to go with her. It was to the Indianapolis Civic Theater and it was so awesome!! Ellie got to stand in line at the box office by herself and purchase her own "ticket" (with a penny)



and then find her own seat in the theater.


Then the director taught her and her classmates all about the theater and acting and then they got to go on stage and even backstage.

The best part for me, though, was when we got to see the costume area in the basement. The theater is currently preparing to put on the Wizard of Oz and so we got to see all the AMAZING costumes! In fact, Glinda the Good Witch's dress was being sewn right before our eyes!


We also got to see all the munchkin outfits (that will be worn by 40 children in the play), the Scarecrow, the Cowardly Lion, and both of Dorothy's dresses (one black and white for the beginning of the play
and the other for when it turns into color). It was so neat!

After our backstage tour, the kids all got to go back onstage to try a little acting and, I'm telling you, I think Ellie has found her calling. She just beamed the whole time up there and really lit up the stage. She had so much fun and it was so neat for me to witness her discovering something she really loved doing! They do offer classes there for preschoolers in the spring so hopefully it will work out for Ellie to be able to do them!

Here's a few pictures and video from when they were learning about the stage and theater.







Ellie doing a little acting exercise.

Halloween

We all had a great time trick-or-treating in my mom's neighborhood on Halloween! This was Josie's first time and she was so in to it! She was so proud carrying her pumpkin bucket and said "trick-or-treat" and "thank you" at each house. The cute thing was that when we got back to my Mom's house, every time the doorbell rang with new trick-or-treaters, Josie shouted "I have to go get my bucket, go get candy!" and then ran to the door for her candy too.

Ellie was Snow White and Josie was a pumpkin. Cousins Sara and Silas were a princess and Mario.











my mom


Later that evening, we trick-or-treated at the nursing home where my grandma just recently started living. This amazing woman is 101 years old! (Ellie changed into a warmer pumpkin costume.)



It was such a nice Halloween!

Pumpkin Decorating

The girls decorated their pumpkins "Mr Potato Head style" this year. Easy, fun, no goopy mess and oh so cute!!

MORE Leaf Fun

We had so much fun plying in the leaves on Tuesday that we decided to do it again yesterday. This time was even better because our friends came along too! All five girls had fun in the leaves and we also went for a walk through the woods and found some of the biggest leaves I've ever seen!

I have to say that with the girls both old enough to do so many things, this has to be my most favorite fall of all!








In the woods.


Maia, Ellie, Sophia, Josie (holding GIANT leaves)


Sophie



Celia



Josie's first time on a merry-go-round!

Leaf Fun

Ellie and I have been reading a couple of books about the season fall and both of them talk about raking and jumping in piles of leaves. She wanted to do it, too, so we packed our rakes in the truck on Tuesday and went down the road to Eagle Creek Park in search of lots of leaves. We checked out our favorite playground and it could not have been a more perfect place to go! We made huge piles and the girls jumped and played to their hearts content. We stayed all the way until past dinner time and the girls left exhausted and their hair full of leaf bits...but boy was it fun!!












Josie loved playing in this little puddle, too.



All the deer starting coming out as we were leaving.