Ballet Recital

Now that Ellie is taking ballet class, dressing in ballerina attire is a daily occurrence. In order to be the prettiest ballerina possible, one must wear as many tutus as will fit on your body at one time. Hence the multi-layered skirt. She's also a multi-talented ballerina, not only does she dance, she also sings and plays the piano at the same time!

Fairy Tale Dress Up

Sir Nicholas Knight and Dame Eleanor Dancer

Happy Birthday Eleanor!!!

Our baby is 2 years old! Hard to believe. She enjoyed eating Dora cake and the lifesized Dora balloons. This year Ellie was actually able to unwrap her own gifts. She loves her new Bitty Baby, stroller, and high chair. And she gets a big kick out of the little pink vacuum! Unfortunately, Nick likes the vacuum too and they frequently fight over who gets to use it. Now if only it actually worked.....

The kids enjoyed their visit with Nana and Papa. Nick was able to go fishing with "the guys" in Estes Park. And the children had fun eating lunch and playing at the White Fence Farm.

Nick's First Day of School!!

Nick enjoyed his first day of Pre-K in Mrs. McDonald's class. You know it's going to be a good year when your teacher has the same name as your favorite restaurant! He picked out his own superhero backpack and is extremely proud of it. Drop off went great, he remembered which class was his, hung up his backpack and joined the other kids. Didn't even look back at his poor old mother to say goodbye. Sigh...

A Day in the Life of a(n) (almost) Two Year Old

Someone recently asked me what I do all day at home. Aside from household chores and errands, and caring for Nick; I basically spend my day keeping my daughter from probable disasters or at least from certain messes. Here are a few snapshots of Ellie at her best, all taken in one day. (And these are just the times that I managed to have the camera handy!)

Payton's Halloween Costume?

Payton has had her first emergency visit in Colorado. I'm sure there will be many more to follow knowing her.... She tried to climb a metal fence and succeeded in tearing up her foot. Many stitches, antibiotics, bandages, and an overnight stay in the emergency later she's up and around. But depressed by her required headgear. Ellie calls her "bucket head".

Playing Dress Up

Nick is all ready for Halloween, he's going to be Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story. The jury is still out on Ellie's costume, she's been trying out both fairy and ballerina costumes simultaneously.

We found a lake!

Not quite as big as the Michigan ones, but it was a lake! This is Grand Lake up in the Rocky Mountain National Forest, a cute little tourist town with a beach area. Nick and Ellie had fun wading into the glacial water and splashing each other.

Colorado Wildlife

We saw an elk! They are surprisingly big, and I'm glad we weren't any closer.

Rocky Mountain National Park

We drove through the spectacular National Park this weekend, and enjoyed the breathtaking views. The kids were impressed too, although Ellie wanted to know why she couldn't see any sharks.

Cooling off

The kids loved the water fountain in City Park after the museum! It was a great way to cool off. The fountain is a brick paved circle with jets that fire streams of water into the air at timed intervals. Ellie wasn't too sure about it at first, but went in only after we stripped her down to a diaper and Paul held her hand. Nick was having a great time trying to run all the way across or running to the "dry" center before a water jet blasted him.

Beware there are LLamas

Nick and Ellie enjoyed riding on the animals in the South American exhibit while reciting from the children's book "Is your Mama a Llama?"

The Dinosaurs and our Tiny Terror

The Denver Museum of Nature and Science has a wonderful dinosaur exhibit. Nick enjoyed posing for pictures with his favorite dinosaurs, while Ellie tried to become part of the exhibit herself.

Kids in Space!!!!

We joined the Museum of Nature and Science this weekend, and the kids absolutely love it! Nick is just starting to enjoy reading about space and astronauts so this exhibit was right up his alley. Nick and Ellie both enjoyed "flying" the space shuttle, using "grabbers" to pick up moon rocks, and walking on the moon's craters.

We have solved the Mystery!

While enjoying a leisurely afternoon in Denver City Park over the weekend, we discovered why there have been such few reported sightings of the Loch Ness Monster recently. Nessie has moved west! (It's all the rage these days!) Will be notifying the appropriate scientific journals shortly. (And maybe the National Enquirer).

Technical difficulties!

We cannot access our regular blog, so while the bugs are being worked out we are posting here! We will let you know when our original blog is back in business. Sorry for the confusion!