WOW!

Well it's been ages. My camera broke around Halloween and took MONTHS to get back. I figure I've got some major catching up to do. Where to begin???

Last September 23rd Ella had her 3rd birthday. We threw a "Cinderella Party" as she requested. We had a bounce house set up in the driveway. It was a great day though I must admit that Rob and I had as much fun in the bounce house as the kids did.

34 pounds
39 inches

The Cinderella cake...



















1st bounce house sighting...



















A few minutes later...

Ella at the Dentist

Last month we had our first visit to the dentist. I know, it was a little late. Ella was great! She looked a little nervous but sat through the whole exam without a word of protest. Her only concern prior to the visit was that the dentist would have a mask. It seems that the mask in her book about Dora's visit to the dentist is "scawy."

A child who takes her "pink" ice cream very seriously!

Baking Cookies.

She's been into EVERYTHING. She's quite the independent thing. My mother was visiting a few weeks ago and Ella told her that she wanted to make cookies so my mother went out and and bought cookie cutters. Ella had the attention span to roll out and cut one or two cookies before she's run off to play. Mom would just keep the dough in the fridge and they's make a couple of cookies a day. One afternoon Mom and I were cleaning out my closet and Ella got really quiet. We found her downstairs. She had gone into the fridge and pulled out the dough, gone into the drawer and pulled out the cookie cutters and rolling pin, and gone into the bathroom and pulled out her stool. She was standing at the kitchen counter, had rolled out the cookie dough and was attempting to cut cookies. I was pretty impressed.

Farm Fair and Watermelon

Ella, Auntie Amy, GeeGee and I all spent the days at the Bishop Museum's annual Farm Fair. Amy and GeeGee got to see the giant insects and tour the exhibits. Ella and I got to pet some sheep, stare at some chicks, unsuccessfully (thank goodness) fished for goldfish and sat outside eating cookies and watermelon. The watermelon was a HUGE hit. She ate two pieces.

A HUGE month!

I've been a little slow with the elimination of the binky. Well, on the afternoon of July 2nd Ella put all her binkies in a "pincess bike" box and the two up us went to the "whyberry" to look for books. When we got home the Binky Fairy had paid us a visit and exchanged all the binkies for a "pincess bike" that is "SOOOOO BOOTIFULL". We had a few tears that night and fewer at nap time the next day. A couple of days later Ella woke up VERY excited because she was sure that the Binky Fairy had returned all her binkies but it seems she was mistaken. We've now had a binky free house for over a week and all is good.

We've also had a diaper free house for over a week. We use pull-ups at night and have a had a few "assidents," one of which involved Ella climbing up the stairs to the landing to have a pee because I wouldn't give her a Skittle as a reward for an earlier pee in the potty.

In addition to being diaper and binky free we are quiet free. Ella rarely stops talking. We picked "GeeGee" up from the airport last week and Ella wouldn't stop talking. We had a couple of 20 second pauses between 3:00 and 6:00 and that was it. I wonder who she takes after? In addition to the talking she's been obsessively singing Baa Baa Black Sheep for a couple of days. Much to my amusement, it's started to dive her father slightly nuts.

She frequently talks about her "best friend" who seems to change on a minute by minute basis. Sometimes it's Bailey or Jake, or "GeeGee, or Daddy (aka" Wob-but Dan-ull"), or Hailey.

Ella and a couple of her best friends...

Congratulations, Sr. Chief Daddy!

Last month Rob made Senior Chief and Ella and I got to pin him.

As you can see, it was a VERY serious event. Rob was a bit distracted by Ella getting to know "a dive-ah".



















Here she is shaking a hand...




























Then two hands...



















Then just going all out! It took all of about 30 seconds, had all the divers on our half of the room cracking up, and showed us we need to be FAR AWAY from all divers when Ella hits puberty.