Maryland-Sunday

On Sunday we checked out of our hotel nice and early.

And headed to Silver Spring, MD to meet Uncle Michael. He took us out to an amazing brunch at Mrs. K's Toll House . The food was amazing, the ambiance was beautiful and the staff was terrific and so kind to the girls. Ella mentioned in passing to Ricardo that she wanted french fries. Ricardo told her that it was breakfast food and there were no french fries. 10 minutes later a waitress showed up at our table with french fries! She heard Ella talking and went in the kitchen and made them for her! That was very sweet.

After brunch we went to Uncle Michael's house so the girls could meet his 4 dogs and we could watch the wedding video of my cousin Jenny.

The girls loved the dogs!

We then headed to Baltimore to check out the Aquarium-which is fabulous!

Ella enjoyed holding Uncle Michael's hand
And petting him
What was the first thing we saw when we walked in? Christmas Carolers..on November 17th!!
But the girls really did enjoy them. (Sofia is teething her canines so it was near impossible to get that paci out of her mouth!)

It was really hard for me to get pictures inside without them being blurry, so I didn't take many. But it was very cool. We got to see a lot of sharks and we got to watch the staff go in the giant tanks in scuba gear to feed and give some love to the sting rays and turtles. It really is a wonderful aquarium.

Before we left we stopped at the Cafe to get some snacks and in typical Ella fashion she quickly made friends and had a dance party in the middle of the cafe.

Sofia even got in on the action
We then packed up and started on our way home. We got to stop at The Cracker Barrel right at the Maryland/Delaware boarder for dinner which is some good ole' Southern comfort food. A great way to end the weekend!

Ricardo made up a new state slogan for Delaware too- "Delaware: Don't Blink"

We had a wonderful weekend and the girls were both really great. Ella slept like a champ in her own queen bed, Sofia not so much, but we pushed them both and they both really did great. It's really nice taking trips with the girls. I'm glad we did it and we'll definitely be taking some more come Spring. We have so many places we want to visit with them-Hershey, PA, Boston, MA, Sesame Place, and more.

Washington DC-Saturday

We had a really wonderful time in DC this last weekend. The entire car ride home Ella cried, "I don't want to go home. I want to go to Washington DC!" and "I want to see Uncle Michael!"

We'd really like to go back in January for the inauguration of what will be the greatest President ever (sorry-had to do it!) but with a projected 4 million people in attendance and a cold, cold winter day, we'll just have to see.

I already posted that Friday night we went out with the Mark, Jenna, Jack and Bennett. Ella and Jack hit it off and Ella decided that they were getting married the following night and that we should just drop her off for her date...oy!

We didn't really take pictures on Friday though, except here is a cute picture of Mark, Jenna, and Jack

Saturday we met and walked around "the mall" for a bit and then went for lunch at Old Ebbitt Grill and then got caught on the street because the G20 leaders motorcades were coming down. It was actually very cool to see-until it started pouring.

Washington Monument

Ricardo and Ella in front of the White House where the are building the bandstands for the inauguration.

Ella and Jack gearing up for the storm

My view of Ricardo while huddled in a door way waiting for the rain to pass.
This is what I looked like after the storm (click to enlarge to see how wet I really am)

This picture is blurry, but it's cute of Mark and Jack-especially with the
Pennsylvania Ave. sign behind them.
We finally made it to The Natural History Museum

Ella and Jack had a great time running around telling each other, "Look at this!" "Oh wow!"

Ella also enjoyed being with Baby Ben-she has a thing for Baby Bens! Oh, this is what Ella looked like after the rain storm!

I loved the Hope Diamond

Ella loved exploring

And well, Ben and Sofia thought it was all rather boring
It was a very long day and Jack was not having it. He threw himself to the ground just to make sure his parents knew how done he was but as soon as he hit the ground, Ella was there rubbing his back. It was very sweet and ended the tantrum quickly.
When it was time to go, it started pouring again so Ricardo ran to get the car while we waited for him. The video I posted the other day is of Ella dancing and singing while we waited. I tried to get a picture of her next to the museum sign but Ella took this as the perfect time to do a handstand!

We had a great time with the Husons and Ricardo and Mark had a great time talking about college!

Next up is Sunday in Maryland with Uncle Michael.

Sofia's 15 month Well Baby Visit

Sofia had her 15 month Well Baby Visit today. She was such a trooper especially since it was right during nap time and she hasn't had a decent nap in 4 days with all the travel this weekend.

Here are her stats:

Height: 32.25 inches (95th %ile)
Weight: 25 lbs (80th %ile)
Head: ummm, can't remember but he said it was the 80%ile.

I love Dr. Steifel! After looking at her stats he said, "Well you probably couldn't tell by looking at her thighs but she really is tall and skinny." Hehe. Love them thighs!

Prima Ballerina? American Idol?

We're still in DC and having a great time. We went to dinner last night at a fabulous French restaurant in DuPont Circle called Bistrot Du Coin with Ricardo's good friend from college, Mark, and his awesome wife Jenna, and adorable boys Jack (3) and Bennett (6 months).

We spent the majority of the day with them today eating at Old Ebbit Grill which is known as a place where many political deals have gone down and very yummy too.

We then headed down to the Smithsonian Natural History Museum but along the way we got held up first by the motorcade for the G20 Summit. It was definitely a cool thing to see but Mark and Jenna mentioned it's cool for the first year you live in DC, then after that it gets OLD. I bet. We weren't even allowed to cross the street for fear that the cop would yell at us, "GET OUT OF MY ROUTE!"

Right after they let us cross "NORTH TO SOUTH ONLY OR YOU'RE GOING TO JAIL!" I looked up at the sky and said to Jenna, I think it might rain again, and within seconds a torrential downpour started and people scattered like mice trying to seek shelter, but the cops wouldn't let us go down one street until one cop felt sorry for me with my giant stroller and yelled, "Ma'm (or in Ella talk- MAN!) come this way" andtried to let me into a building which was locked so we all hovered for the 10 minutes in this doorway. Ultimately, we were still drenched but it was funny.

We finally made it to the museum and the kids had a blast.

It's 11 pm now and Ella's sleeping in the bed next to me, so I'm going to wait until Monday to post all the pics (we're going to the Baltimore Aquarium and out to brunch with Uncle Michael tomorrow!) but I had to post this video tonight.

Ella has been OBSESSED with Barbie movies recently. We borrow a new one every week from the library. But her all time favorite is Barbie Island Princess. I think we've borrowed it about 800 times...

Anyway, it was pouring again when we went to leave so Ricardo ran to get the car while we waited and Ella spent the entire 25-30 minutes just singing and dancing at the entrance of the Natural History Museum. She couldn't be bothered by the people coming in and out. She was in her own (dancing/singing) world.

I can't watch this video without erupting into a fit of laughter. I have NO idea where she got these "moves". They have to be from Barbie, or maybe gymnastics, but wherever she got them, she's got a little practice ahead of her to perfect them. YIKES!

Wow! She must get her musical abilities from her Daddy...

Where have we been???

So sorry for the lack of pictures lately but my memory card on my camera locked, which makes it unusable.

I ordered a new card on ebay on Monday and I hope it gets here by tomorrow because we leave for Washington DC on Friday for a long weekend and to visit Uncle Michael and Ricardo's friend and roommate from college, Mark. I'm hoping to see one of my friends from high school, Kaci, as well but she's going out of town for the weekend. Hopefully we can catch her on Sunday before we leave.

Anyway, I'm dying without my camera. Especially right now as Sofia's walking around the house totally naked except for Ella's sparkly Cinderella shoes...

I hope to have some pictures for you on Monday.

Ella's Big Big Girl Room

So, Ella's been in a toddler bed now for 6+ months but we've been talking a lot lately about getting her into a full sized bed. We never intended on putting her in a toddler bed but because her crib converted to one, it was easy (and cheap) to do, so we did it. But it's small and cramped and near impossible to lie in bed and read books with her, so we made the leap to a twin bed this weekend.

Ella was so excited as we're Ricardo and I. We just can't stop peering into her room. There's no longer a baby in there but an actual...KID! YIKES!

We went to IKEA and let Ella pick something out for her new big big girl room and she chose these cool flower wall lights which were only $9.99 each-man, I love IKEA. She loves that she can turn them on and off on her own, especially since she still ask to sleep with a light on at night.

So without further ado, Ella's Big Big Girl Room

Yes, I know the flower lights are a little uneven. We have to fix that...some day.

Being that I'm not artistic or creative, I was pretty pleased with the pictures in her dormer. She received two different "Ella the Elephant" books, which she loves. I always remove the sleeves off the book before putting them in her bookcase and hold on to them. I figured, why not put the sleeves to use so I went to The Christmas Tree Shop and bought frames for $7 each and framed the sleeves. I think it turned out pretty cute and it was certainly a cheap way to put up some artwork!

Ella spent a good portion of Sunday just hanging out in her big girl bed reading and playing.
And of course, Mikka got in on the action too...doesn't she look thrilled?

Saturday night was Ella's first night in her new big girl bed, so of course, I checked on her 8 million times. Around midnight, I found her like this:
Poor thing is so used to her bed being against the wall that she just gravitated in this direction. Last night was better though. She seemed to stay in the right direction all night and under the covers.

It's a little bitter sweet to see her in such a big bed. I'm glad we didn't go right to a full. I don't know if we'd be able to find her in a bed that big!

Happy Halloween!

We had such a fun time on Halloween. It was especially fun because this was the first year that Ella really "got it". She had so much fun saying "Trick or Treat"!

We started off our Halloween festivities right after school by going with Ella's friend and classmate, Natalie, her little brother Jeremy, and their mama and my friend, Diana to lunch at our favorite pizza place, Pompillio's and then trick-or-treating in the stores in dowtown Westwood.

The girls scored really big! Conrad's Ice Cream and Candy shop gave them each a giant bag of gummi worms AND a giant chocolate lollipop and then they each got a sparkly purse at the beauty supply store as well as a ton of other candy.

Unfortunately Sofia was pretty sick, so she was stuck sitting in her stroller which did not please her in the least.

Cinderella and Ariel
Our attempt at a picture of all four kids..haha (If you click on the pic it will enlarge and you can see how glazy eyed and miserable poor Sofia was)
With a witch in one of the stores...the girls were not willing to take their eyes off her for a second!
Something was obviously pretty funny! (I love how they are holding hands)
With our neighbor, Sarah, at the dry cleaners where she works part-time. Ella was so excited to see her and shouted, "My Sarah! My Sarah!", but she too busy working on her lollipop to look at the camera.

With my Cinderella and Gus Gus...poor Sofia was just not having it so I didn't even bother to put her pants or shirt on, so she played the role of Mouse with Pants once again.
(and yes I know Mom-Would it have killed me to put on a little lipstick? Hey, I did my hair...that's a major achievement)

The cool ending of downtown trick-or-treating was when we were standing on the corner saying good bye to Natalie and a car drove by and we heard, "Hi Ella! Hi Natalie!!". We looked and it was their teacher, Anita! The girls were so excited. Ella is still talking about how Anita called her name from her car.

We got home from downtown around 2pm and Ricardo surprised us by being home! We hung out for a couple of hours, dressed Mikka up as Yoda

and then Ricardo and Ella went to River Vale to trick-or-treat with Jordy, Sammy (and of course Jess and Andy). Sofia was just too sick to partake and unfortunately I was getting sick too, so we stayed home to pass out candy. I was so bummed because both hubbys got out of work early so we could all hang out and get dinner but it is what it is and I'd rather not get Jordy and Sammy sick!

The area of River Vale where they live is known for trick-or-treating. The streets were packed with kids. Ella got a full sized box of Tasty Cakes at one house (were mailing to our friend Pete in San Diego who is from PA and obsessed with Tasty Cakes!) and a ton of full sized candy bars. She had a blast.

Daddy and Cinderella heading out
Jordy and Ella waiting for their treats!
A snapshot of the busy street
Ella hording her way in for candy while Jordy patientally waits her turn
Deep in candy thought
Look at Sammy Trick-Or-Treating!
I'm so sad that Sofia and her BFF didn't get to hang out. Ricardo said when he and Ella walked in Sammy started looking for Sofia! They are so cute together.

Ella and Jordy taking a detour through the leaves

Our awesome neighbors on either side of us bought special treats for our kids which is just so nice. So I took Sofia to see the neighbors and then Sofia and I decided to spend some time hanging out and handing out candy with SuSu and of course SuSu supplied Sofia with enough candy to make her happy (and feed a small village).

She was so cute trying to put candy into the buckets of the kids who came up. She even tried to say trick-or-treat which came out like "tet o tet" but she got her point across. She wanted to trick-or-treat so badly. Next year, little one, next year!

Enjoying some chocolate with a side of drool and snot
Moving on to a sucker (notice the filthy storm door in the background courtest of Sofia)...

Ella didn't get back from Jordy's until 7pm but we were informed that she had to make the rounds to the immediate neighbors. When we got to Susu's house of course she had to go in to visit and see Ryan who was home from college.

Papa Rick started teasing her and said Trick-Or-Treat. Sweet Ella reached into her bag immediately and handed him...an empty bag of pretzels! Then she laughed and reached in and gave him some skittles. It was very sweet.
It was a wonderful Halloween and I truly enjoyed seeing how much Ella enjoyed it this year. But what I didn't enjoy was her waking up at 6am this morning and announcing that she'd like some candy, please. Oy!