Happy 9th Anniversary to Us!

Today is our 9th wedding anniversary. Ellie took this picture as we were waiting for the parade at Disneyland where we went to celebrate as a family.

Happy Birthday Aunt Susie!

Dear Aunt Susu,

Happy 28th Birthday Susie! Ellie hopes that you will have cupcakes and cake on your birthday and that you have friends who will sing to you. Don't worry, I'm sure we will call and sing Happy Birthday to you as well, because that's what Ellie does.

Ellie really misses you out here and asks when you are going to come visit. We explain that you are in Boston and that you will come visit when you can, but that you aren't just a drive away anymore. Her mermaids aren't just mermaids, but her "special Aunt Susu" mermaids.

And her pretty dress you got her for Christmas...its a cherished object. She still loves to wear it. Today she asked if she could wear it and go to the "castle" (aka Pasadena City Hall).

Anyway, have a great birthday. We will miss not having wacky cake with you this year, but we know we will see you soon. We can have cupcakes then. Oh! Ellie wanted me to remind you to have balloons at your party. Its not a party without balloons!

-- Ann, Nick, and Ellie 





Exploring L.A. :: Los Angeles Zoo

So I thought I'd start a little series within our little blog here, Exploring L.A. As we venture out beyond our little apartment complex and explore what Los Angeles has to offer, I thought I'd summarize it here. We are trying to get out as much as possible, but so far our work schedules haven't quite allowed for a lot. Also trying to time things with Ellie's nap schedule and find thigns that she would be interested in add an additional challenge. We did head to Griffith Park, and we've done quite a bit of exploring within Pasadena. Without further ado...

On Saturday we headed to the Los Angeles Zoo. Now, the zoo is located within Griffith Park ground, but since it is its own thing, we did it separately from our previous hike. Living in LA I thought things would be much further away from our home base out here. Well, actually getting to the LA Zoo is easier and quicker than either zoo in Boston. Ellie really likes the zoo and she was not dissapointed by the animals at the LA Zoo!

As this zoo is located literally in the side of a mountain, there is quite a bit of walking up and down hills and stairs. It makes for a fun adventure, but also a tired little girl. However, Ellie was a trooper and was always excited about what animal was around the forner.

There were the usual favorites, elephant, giraffe, zebras, alligators, snakes, chimps...Ellie was impressed with the koala and thought the wild pigs were hilarious. And we all thought the gorilla exhibit was awesome. There was also a nursery where we saw some baby seals. Ellie thought it was hilarious that they had baby animals in cribs like people babies. Ellie was very happy that the flamingos didn't smell like at the Boston Zoo. I guess when you have a completely exterior exhibit the odors dissipate enough.

However, the orangutan exhibit was everyone's favorite. Why? Because there was a very active baby orangutan. And we all know how much Ellie likes baby anything. We stayed watching the baby orangutan for a long time, it was really fun to watch.

As soon as we walked through the front gates and it was visible, Ellie locked onto the carousel. She loves "round and round horsies". Since Ellie was very well behaved and walked most of the zoo by herself, we agreed to one ride on the carousel. Now this wasn't just "round and round horsies". Ellie quickly noticed that it was "round and round animals". Ellen selected a gorilla to ride. She thinks next time she wants to ride the giraffe.

The stores...there was quite a bit of shopping and Ellie wanted to look at everything. There were some really cool toys, but seriously that much...its hard for parents to walk out of there with money left in their pocket. Ellie actually was really cool about the fact that we didn't get her a toy. I think the promise of getting to come back was enough.

We enjoyed the zoo and are now have a family membership. Since it is so easy to get to, and there is so much there, we know we will go back quite a bit. I know there were animals that we didn't see and apparently they do a cool elephant training thing which we missed. There are also some other animal encounters and shows that we didn't go to. Ellie was one happy little girl at the zoo so I know she'll be asking to go back!

Happy Mother's Day

We had a great mother's day weekend. We spent yesterday exploring Griffith Park and the Observatory. Ellie had been requesting to go on a hike or "walk in the mountains" so we figured Griffith Park would be fun and let us explore part of Los Angeles.

We all have a blast and Ellie did a great job keeping up with us. She got a little tired and got a little bit of a ride, but for the most part did a good job on the hike. We took some snacks with us and had a snack up at the Observatory, once we made it up there.

Unfortunately we went for the hike in the morning and the morning fog hadn't burned off so we didn't get the great view of downtown. However, we did see the Hollywood sign and parts of Hollywood.

Happy Mother's Day Everyone!

Happy 32nd Birthday Nick!

Happy Birthday Nick!!

Over the weekend we went up to Santa Barbara to have a VB family birthday party for Nick. On Saturday, we grilled out burgers and hot dogs...and by we, I mean Nick! My grandparents and aunt and uncle were there to celebrate Nick's birthday. Ellie helped decorate the cake by putting the strawberries on it.

Tonight we went out for dinner, then had some cake and opened Nick's present back at our place in Pasadena.

Saying "See you Later!" to Boston

Last week, Ellie and I packed three large suitcases, said some good-byes and boarded a plane for Los Angeles. Nick and Mallie had already made this journey. For a while, I thought Ellie didn't understand it. That we were flying out to California for a vacation like all the other times. But, she knew something was up. Between Mallie not being at home and all the talk from teachers, parents, and friends at school...she knew it was different. But she was excited for California.

Her last two days at preschool I left our camera there and asked teachers to take photos of Ellie with friends, teachers, napping, and different activities. The pictures speak for themselves. Ellie really enjoyed going to her "Bright Horizons" school and teachers and friends loved having her there.

On Thursday, Aunt Susie, Ellie and I went out for a celebratory dinner in the North End. We also had gelato! Of course, before we got to the food and gelato...we stopped at the Old North Church. I figured Ellie needed to learn some history (we were with Aunt Susie) plus, the photo opportunity was there...

Of course, after pasta and gelato came time to say "see you later" to Aunt Susie. Ellie was a little upset that Susie wouldn't be a car ride away anymore, or that she wouldn't come to see her on the weekends. Well, I think Susie was a little sad about that too. And Nick and I are a little sad that we don't have free babysitting 10 minutes away...

As we waited for the cab to take us to the airport Ellie said, "see you later" to the house. She even gave it a big hug.

As much as we are going to miss things in Boston, we are super excited for this new chapter in our lives. Ellie is looking forward to playing with the baby carriage at my parent's house and eating tangerines at Grandma Dolly's house more often. She asked if she could feed the fishes at Grandma and Grandpa Van's house too. Nick and I are looking forward to career opportunities out here as well as not having to shovel snow.

So stay tuned, I'm sure there are going to be lots of fun adventures ahead!



Ellie Goes to The Dentist

Today we had a dentist appointment. Ellie hadn't been to the dentist since she was 1 and only had 4 teeth.




W had a bit of a wait this morning, but Ellie was VERY patient. Once she climbed into the chair she was a very good patient. Everyone was very impressed with her. She chose bubble gum flavored toothpaste and grape flavored floride treatment.


We took Baby Sister because Ellie was concerned about her teeth too. Ellie was a little afraid of Mr. Thirsty the suction device which sucks up the toothpaste and saliva. But after she saw that Baby Sister wasn't afraid and it didn't hurt, she wasn't afraid anymore.



After her teeth were all clean, she got to choose a toothbrush, princess temp tattoos, and some stickers.



Ellie enjoyed her trip to the dentist and is happy to have pretty, clean teeth!




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