Disney World (part one)

We are home from our week in Orlando and had the most fabulous time! I was invited to give a talk at a conference in Tampa so we turned it into a week long vacation once we realized how close the conference was to Disney World. We spent two days at Magic Kingdom, one day at Downtown Disney, and two days playing at our resort (including a visit by Lori's brother and sister-in-law!).

There are really no words to describe how much fun we all had on this trip. This was our first family vacation and the best part was watching the joy on the girls faces as they discovered this whole new world. Ellie is usually a pretty timid kid, but she let go of all her inhibitions and had a great time. We were worried that Audrey wouldn't have much fun since she is so little, but she really enjoyed most of what we did (she would point at things and say "Wow!"). We cannot wait to go back!

These are pictures from our first day at Magic Kingdom...

Waiting for Magic Kingdom to open

Watching the opening ceremonies

Dumbo, one of Ellie's favorite rides!

Ellie and Audrey ready for the 3D movie!

Ellie meeting Ariel (the Little Mermaid). This was one of the most special moments because she was the first character that Ellie met. We were worried that she would be scared, but she ran up to her with her arms outstretched!

We had lunch at Cinderella's Royal Table where we met all of the princesses. Ellie loved it and it was definitely one of her favorite things about Disney.

Riding the Tea Cups!

Our first ears!

Trying to cool down while waiting for the afternoon parade to begin.

Audrey took a much needed nap during the parade.

In front of the castle

After Magic Kingdom, we went back to the resort and went swimming. This is Ellie in front of the biggest of the six pools! There was a sunken ship to play in and lots of fun slides.

Tonight with a little prompting, Audrey said her name for the first time!

Birthday Eve

We cannot believe that tomorrow our little baby is turning four! This afternoon she had a party at school. She chose Fancy Nancy as the theme and requested blue cupcakes and grape juice. There is a short video at the end of her classmates singing Happy Birthday. Tomorrow we will celebrate her birthday by going to Friendly's for lunch and having Mimi and Boppa over for a taco dinner. She hasn't decided yet what to do between the meals!

Audrey video

At 16 months, Audrey is learning new things constantly. Her latest interests are in feeding herself and talking (today she was pointing to and saying "fish"). This is a short video of her at dinner one night just being her cute rapidly developing self! And as a note, Albert is her buddy at school and we love the way she says her name.

Happy Halloween!

The girls had such a fun Halloween! Mimi and Boppa joined us for our two rounds of trick-or-treating. Despite the rainy weather, we were able to go out in our neighborhood and then meet up with the friends we've been trick-or-treating with since Ellie's first Halloween. Ellie had a great time, although she was scared of some of the decorations and of the kids wearing masks. Audrey had no idea what was going on, but she quickly learned how to go up to the house with her pumpkin and then say "bye bye" when she was done. She clutched her pumpkin all night and wouldn't let anyone hold it, no matter how heavy it must have been.

Halloween outfit #5

The girls in their Halloween costumes - Dr. Ellie and Little Chicken Audrey

The gang ready to go get some candy!

Trick-or-treating

Feeding Ellie her first pixie-stick :-)

"I do not care that I cannot eat this candy. You can't have it!"

Pre-Halloween Festivities

We have been in the Halloween spirit all week! The girls have each worn a special Halloween shirt to school each day this week and Ellie has even had a different Halloween tattoo every day. Today was their parade and party at school, which they loved. We can't wait until tomorrow!

Halloween outfit #1

Halloween outfit #2

Halloween #3

Halloween outfit #4

Pictures at home before the the school parade

School parade



Trick-or-treating and pumpkin picking on the playground

School party in the afternoon

Halloween preparations

We are ready for Halloween around here! This weekend we carved our pumpkin, went to a fall festival at a local farm, and even had fun at a Halloween party without kids! The girls have their costumes ready for next weekend and their five Halloween outfits laid out for the week!

Ellie scooping out the pumpkin "guts". We baked the seeds and they were yummy!

Our finished product, designed by Ellie with help from Boppa

Cleopatra and her cat heading out to a Halloween party :-)

Ellie on the hayride at the farm

Audrey looking cool on the hayride

Mommy and her girls

Ellie getting her face painted (a pumpkin on one side and a ghost on the other)

Ellie loves riding horses!

The two cutest girls we know!

The apple farm of sisterly love

Apple picking

We had wonderful weather today so we welcomed in Autumn by going apple picking this morning. The girls had a fun time, although I don't think Audrey understood what was going on; she kept picking up the rotten apples from the ground and putting them in her bag. One of us would then throw them back on the ground when she wasn't looking! We ended up with plenty of apples and now have apple cake, applesauce, and apple cider.

Ellie also had another treat today - her first doughnut! I have always told her when (if) she is no longer allergic to egg, the first thing we'll do is stop and get a doughnut. Today the farm stand had cider doughnuts with NO EGG!!! She loved very bite of them!

Last summer hurrah

We took advantage of the reasonably nice weather to head to the boardwalk one last time this year! September is our favorite time of year at the beach - smaller crowds, cooler weather, and free beach access. The girls both had a lot of fun and didn't want to leave!

Ellie playing in the sand

Audrey hated the sand and insisted on sitting in my lap the entire time so that the sand touched no part of her body!

Audrey went on her very first ride! It was so sweet - Ellie kept her arm around her the entire time.

Then Ellie went on a few rides by herself (enough of baby sister tagging along!)

Ellie was so proud of herself on this ride. She and I went on it together last time because she was afraid to use the handle and make it go up. This time she went alone and made her elephant go up and down the entire time. She kept yelling it to us whenever she went around. We told her that now she's ready for Disneyworld!

Ellie played her first game of Skeeball today!

We're sad to see summer go, but we've made the most of this one! Now on to apple picking, pumpkin picking, and Halloween!