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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We're Moving!

We are moving to California. The Los Angeles area to be exact. Nick will start work at a new TV station on Monday and I will be transferring to the LA office of my company.

The house is for sale. Nick and Mallie are moving out to Cali tomorrow. It's been a stressful and whirlwind few weeks...no wait...months...but all seems to be falling into place now.

California here we come!

Stopping to Smell the Flowers

The tulips are up n the backyard! Last year I planted a couple extra bulbs so we got some great surprises this year in the way of orange and purple tulips.

After stopping to smell the flowers, we took the scooter over the the black-top at the elementary school next door. Ellie is getting really good at riding her scooter and stopping when and how she wants.

Easter!

So the Saturday before Easter was the annual Charlestown Mothers Association egg hunt. Fortunately the weather was nice so the hunt was outside this year and Aunt Susie was able to come. However, this year was a little overwhelming for Ellie. She moved up to a different age group and she was now one of the youngest hunting for eggs within her group. There were a lot of people and she wasn't too happy with the crowd during the hunt. She only got ahold of a couple eggs but it was fine there were other fun things to do. Ellie saw a few of her friends, she got a balloon animal, and she met the Easter bunny.

On Sunday, Aunt Susie came over and we did an egg hunt in the house which turned into a game. Ellie or someone else would hide the eggs and then everyone would look for them. We were really only looking for 3 eggs so it was a pretty fast game...unless you are Nick and decide that hiding eggs in the freezer is a good idea.

After playing "easter" we had a nice breakfast of egg-in-a-hole and bacon.



Grandma Dolly's 90th Birthday

Aunt Susie, Ellie and I were fortunate to make it to California for Grandma Dolly's 90th Birthday at the end of March. Now, we all know how much Ellie loves a birthday party, especially where balloons and cake are involved!