Beautiful Ballerina

I finally let Ellie wear to ballet one of the big poofy tutus that we made. I have been worried that it would be a distraction and it was only just a little. I caught her looking at herself in the mirror a lot today! Do you blame her though? Look how beautiful she is!



coloring with her friend Sophia after class

Festival

This weekend, Mom and I took the girls to the Covered Bridge Festival. Even though there is not much for kids there, the girls did great! They rode in the wagon most of the time and just enjoyed all the things to look at. Ellie kept filling the wagon with rocks "to throw into the water" so on the way home we stopped at a boat ramp for her to do just that. It was a really nice day!




At the boat ramp







The highlight of the whole festival: Ellie dancing!

Zoo Boo

We all went as a family to Zoo Boo today. Ellie was the only unicorn we saw and whenever someone would remark "Hey there's a unicorn!", she'd shout "No, I'm ELLIE!" Josie looked so adorable as a butterfly. We had a lot of fun and it was really a treat for Eric to be able to join us!

Chef Ellie

Ellie and Eric made delicious vegan oatmeal raisin cookies on Sunday. It has become a tradition for them to bake together on Sundays and we all enjoy the yummy breads, muffins, and cookies they make for the rest of the week.
I just recently found this chef hat and apron of hers that has been packed away since she was a baby. She loves wearing them!





Remember these pictures? Same outfit (and probably the last time she has worn it!)

I love finding Ellie's notes and drawings around the house. She is getting better and better at spelling and usually only has to ask me how to spell something once before she's got it and starts writing it regularly. Here are a few things I've been able to take pictures of before they get erased or heavily taped into envelopes that I'm "not allowed to open."





Ellie loves Mommy and Daddy and Sara and Silas and Josie and Uncle Ike.


Picture of Daddy with his new haircut and the glasses he was wearing that day. She even drew a goatee :)








Ellie told me that this is "Sara and me...best friends forever."


and this is a sad cookie "because he didn't get into anybody's tummy..."


More to come later!

Deer

Ever since I told Ellie that you usually only see deer at dusk, she has been on the lookout every single time we are out driving during the evening. Yesterday, we just happened to be driving right by Eagle Creek at the perfect time and so we drove through with the hope of seeing a deer. Well, to Ellie's delight, we saw 12! We saw one running, two others grazing, a group of five walking together, and then another group of four eating and playing...all in different parts of the park. We must have sat and watched the last group for at least 15 minutes. Ellie also got to see a lot of birds, a fox and, at the marina, a really big fish that jumped out of the water. Josie didn't seem to notice the deer but she did love looking at the water!

Orchard

The other day, we were trying to go to a new park that we have never been to and somehow missed it and ended up in Mooresville. I knew there was an orchard there so I called Eric to look it up and it turned out we were just minutes away from it. So our plans changed just a bit and I am so happy they did! We had the BEST time there! The weather was perfect, the scenery gorgeous, and we had the entire orchard to ourselves to just play in and enjoy. Ellie told me that she was

"going to remember this day for...EVER!"

Me too, Ellie, me too.











Josie LOVES balls and since she thought all the apples were balls, she was in ball heaven!


Ellie's favorite place was the pumpkin patch. Here we are playing a game of "Duck, Duck Pumpkin." She had a blast!