Halloween

We have had a fantastic Halloween! It's not even 8 pm and Ellie is sound asleep and we're exhausted! Ellie went to school today wearing her monkey costume and was fascinated to see all the other kids in costumes, too. Lori and I were able to go back to daycare later this morning for their Halloween parade, which basically consisted of about 25-30 VERY excited kids in costumes walking around the block and even more parents watching. The parade ended in the daycare's playground, which had been turned into a pumpkin patch. Each kid got to pick one pumpkin and then walked around the playground trick-or-treating from each of the teachers. It wasn't even 11 am and Ellie already had a bag full of candy! We went back to work after that, but her class had a party later in the afternoon and of course the dairy-free, egg-free sugar cookies were a hit :-)

After work we headed to our friends' house for some dinner and trick-or-treating. Ellie walked up to each house and said "trick-or-treat" when someone opened the door and always said thank you for the candy. She seemed a little overwhelmed at times, but was always ready for the next house that held the promise of candy. Afterwards we came back to our neighborhood and just visited the few neighbors that we are more friendly with.

The candy switch also went off without a hitch! I dumped all the candy she collected into a bag and filled her pumpkin with stickers and treats that she can eat. Lucky for us, things like pretzels, Teddy Grahams, and Peeps come in Halloween packages and are okay for her to eat. When we got home and dumped out her loot, she certainly didn't notice the difference between what she had and what she had actually seen go into her pumpkin. We'll deal with next year when next year comes...

We had a wonderful day and were thrilled that Ellie really seemed to enjoy it. Now if this busy day and late night will only translate into sleeping in a little tomorrow morning....

Happy Halloween!

The girls from Ellie's class with their teacher

Lining up for the parade

Ellie walking around the block. She waved at every person and car that she saw!

Ellie finds just the right pumpkin in the pumpkin patch

Ellie and Mama showing off her find

Ellie getting candy from one of the teachers during the trick-or-treating in the pumpkin patch

This evening we joined our good friends for trick-or-treating in their neighborhood. It was hard to get a good picture with all 6 kids!

Ellie and the scarecrow

And we're off to trick-or-treat!

Ellie gets some goodies

Mommy and Ellie

We really tried to keep her off of people's front lawns!

"Please, Mama, just one more house!!"

A tired Ellie is ready to head home with a full pumpkin

Halloween Eve

(By JPC)

We spent this evening getting ready for all of tomorrow's festivities. Ellie will have a costume parade at school in the morning, which Lori and I will be able to watch. In the afternoon, each class will have a little party. Holiday celebrations are always hard for the food allergy kids (and parents) - Ellie can't eat anything with chocolate (dairy) and is too young to eat really sticky, chewy, or hard candies. In hope of making this easier, we are providing lots of snacks for Ellie's class so that she can enjoy what everyone else is having. Tonight Ellie helped us decorate her special sugar cookies that Mimi and I made over the weekend for her class (and she even got to have one before dinner!).

I'm sure that Ellie doesn't totally understand what we're going to be doing tomorrow, but she has worn her costume and seems excited about wearing it to school tomorrow. She'll also just be happy to be out late with her friends tomorrow night. As for me, I haven't been this excited about Halloween in 20 years!

Ellie helps decorate Halloween cookies

One for Mama, one for Mommy, and one for Ellie!

And Ellie continues to pile on the sprinkles.....

Ellie enjoys her handiwork before dinner

A plate of our expertly designed sugar cookies

We'll try to post pictures from tomorrow soon! Happy Halloween!

This past week

We have been too busy this week to post anything so here's a quick summary and some pictures...

Ellie and I spent a grey Autumn afternoon at the duck pond. Ellie (and the ducks) are getting so brave!

Ellie does not like to wear barrettes in her hair, but sometimes I can sneak them in if she doesn't realize it!

Having breakfast with Mimi and Boppa - bagels, of course!

Miss Cutie-Pie in her fancy jacket. Gee, do you think someone has figured out what the camera's for?!?!

Today we went to our town's Halloween party at the library with Mimi and Boppa. Ellie was adorable in her monkey costume! There was a petting zoo, where Ellie checked out the chickens, bunny, and goats. She also decorated her own pumpkin.

We couldn't make ourselves go inside after the Halloween celebration. The day was too gorgeous! We went to Ellie's favorite park to sneak in a little more playtime!

Today, Ellie had her first taste of hot cocoa, thanks to a yummy dairy-free cocoa mix we found at Whole Foods. After her first sip, she said, "Delicious!". She quickly mastered holding the mug on her own and finished with a chocolate mustache and beard!

I love our girl and her sweet hugs and kisses!!

Busy weekend

(By LPC)

We had a very busy weekend. Although we are in the thick of the Fall season, it has seemed more like Summer! We started off by going to a get-together in Brooklyn at the home of one of Jana's former classmates. Today we went to the beach to cheer on our friends who ran a race at the boardwalk. To wrap up the weekend, we went to get some more books at the library and visit the duck pond. Ellie loved walking around the pond and gathering Fall leaves for Grandma Richmond.

Fall may be here, but summer hasn't left!

Ellie in the car on the way to Brooklyn

Blowing bubbles at Erin and Shane's house

A glimpse of Manhattan on the way home

At the boardwalk with Nora and Brian. Ellie is thinking, "Brian, that Binky sure is looking good!". We babysat these two and their two brothers while their parents ran the 5K.

Ellie in the sand pretending it is still summer

Fall leaves on their way to Grandma's house

A video of us at the duck pond



A video of Ellie playing in the gazebo near the pond