17 Months!!

Hugs...

Kisses...

Tickles...

...and Giggles!

Happy 4th of July!!

Urban Babies (Part Two)

A second edition of Ellie's urban adventures previously described here.

Urban babies know the best way to cool off is to head to the local public sprinkler playground!

Urban babies know the second best way to cool off is to eat a popsicle (in your bathing suit because it'll make a huge mess).

Urban babies know that even if you don' have a driveway, you can still make sidewalk chalk art on the wall.

Urban babies love to hang out and grill in the backyard with friends and family on hot days.

Urban babies know that putting pitted cherries on your fingers before you eat them is a fun summer treat!

Urban babies use squirt bottles full of water to beat the heat (when home from the public sprinklers and have finished your popsicle...hey! squirting yourself with water from the squirt bottle is a great way to clean up after eating the popsicle so mommy will let you back in the house!)

Celebrating my Birthday

A few weeks late, but here is a summary of how we celebrated my birthday.

The weekend before the actual date, we went strawberry picking during a local farm's Strawberry Festival. It wasn't quite as awesome as strawberry picking in previous years partly due to the horrible crop the farmers got this year (early heat wave, lots of rain, a shorter season with smaller berries) and the fact that we went at the end of the day, after the fields had been picked over. That didn't stop Ellie from trying really hard to find the berries (once we explained what she was doing there). She did actually find a few. Nick stopped her from eating the white or green ones. It was also ridiculously hot, like August in St. Louis hot, not middle of June in Boston weather.

On my birthday Aunt Susie came over for a nice dinner of pizza and cake. We did end up eating after Ellie went to bed, but we let her have some cake as her dessert too.

I actually used a mini-bundt cake pan which shapes the cakes as bugs (dragonfly, butterfly, bee, ladybug) that my mom got me for mother's day (thanks mom!). Susie, Nick, and I all decorated our own cakes before we ate them. Definitely a lot of fun.

It was a great birthday. Thanks Everyone!

Happy 29th Birthday Mommy!

Happy Birthday...now let's eat cake!

16 Months...and now a toddler

Ellie is now 16 months. In these photos she was taking her hats and sunglasses and putting them on the dolphin. She is currently really into sharing and adding accessories to her toys.

In related news, Ellie has moved up to the Toddler Room at daycare. Gone are the days of napping when she wanted to and ruling the Infant Room, but now she has more toys, more outside time on the playground, and popsicles on Fridays! The transition was a little hard for Ellie who was a little overwhelmed by the other toddlers. However, in her first full day the teachers reported that she did pretty well and her only freak-outs were when everyone was supposed to grab a handle on the rope to go outside.

Ellen now has 4 teeth! Her third tooth cme in while we were out in California and the fourth just broke through. These two have really caused her a bit of discomfort and both are on the top.

She also had a check-up with the doctor last week. She is 5th percentile in height, 95th in head circumference, and 50th in weight. That's my kid all right!

Bunker Hill Day Parade

June 17th is Bunker Hill Day, to remember the Battle of Bunker Hill in which the American's fought the British on the hill we now live on, and lost. It is a holiday within Suffolk County, which means no school (right before the end of the school year I might add) and the City takes a break. The Sunday before the holiday Charlestown celebrates with a fantastically long parade.

We have been to the parade several times before, but never with a toddler in tow. This was the first year we realized how long it actually was (over 90 minutes). The parade is filled with local ROTC, politicians, local bands, every town's reenactment group, and several bagpipe groups, of course along with the fire trucks and police cars. Some of the highlights to include the entire crew (minus those still watching the ship) of the USS Constitution, the model of the USS Constitution, and the Friends of Charlestown Dog Parks (if you are Ellie and currently fascinated by dogs).

Oh yeah, even the "Red Coats" came out for the parade.