Week In Review

Since we don't have anything planned for this weekend, I thought I would go ahead and post about the week we have had. We've had a busy and fun week, as usual. On Monday I decided to do some spring cleaning in our closets. As I was rummaging through all of Ella Ann's winter clothes and spring clothes she, was of course, under foot and saw her brand new bathing suit hanging in the closet and immediately wanted to put it on, even though is was around 50 degrees that day! Being the girly girl I am, I happily obliged because I'm always wanting to try new clothes on her and dress her up! The two pictures below are a combination of her wardrobes that she thought was perfect to wear ALL day!

The Easter Bunny also brought Ella Ann a new baby doll that can bathe with her. She never gets that baby dressed and wants her naked all the time! She uses it's towel as her "bobbie."

I kept Mara Kate on Thursday morning, and that was fun for both Ella Ann and I because the girls pretty much entertain themselves, so really Mara Kate came over and baby sat Ella Ann! I was able to get some stuff done around the house while the girls played.

Every time Mara Kate comes over Ella Ann always wants her to get in bed with her. She will scream "MARA KATE!!! COME HERE!!!! GET IN DA BED!" I don't know why that's so fun, but I know Mara Kate likes it too!

Ella Ann was not okay with sharing her baby with Mara Kate, so I ended up having to referee while they played with it.

We have started going back to story time at our library on Tuesday mornings since The Music Class is over. By the way, we started a new music class a few weeks ago that is on Friday mornings and Ella Ann is loving that one! She's much more talkative in this one and will sing, clap, stomp, jump, run, etc. along with Mrs. Okie, her teacher. I think it helps that Jana and Mara Kate are sitting beside us! Anyway, since we are back at the library, we've been getting a stack of books for Ella Ann. She won't read anything else while we have these books, so Spencer and I are ready to see them go when we take them back the following week! If we end up grabbing a really awful book, I have to hide it from Ella Ann until we take it back so we don't have to read it again! This time we got a book about a little boy that built a tent in his room so now Ella Ann wants a tent in her room. She slept under it this afternoon for her nap! She kept wanting me to get in it with her and told me Daddy was going to get in her tent when he gets home from work. Yeah, I'd like to see Spencer curled up in her toddler bed under a tent! :)

Happy Easter!

This weekend we stayed at home and celebrated Easter, which was nice. We went to our church's annual preschool egg hunt and that was a blast! It was right during Ella Ann's nap time, but was worth missing the nap because the three of us had so much fun, especially Ella Ann! All of her little friends were there and they all got out in the yard and hunted tons of eggs. Ella Ann got plenty of treats for Mommy and Daddy! :) The weather here was absolutely perfect for the day...75 degrees and sunny!

On Sunday we attended our church's Easter service, complete with an amazing orchestra! Ella Ann stood in her chair and danced and danced! She loved it, as did Spencer and I! I am cooking a big Easter dinner for us tonight, so I'm sure we'll be eating on that for the rest of the week since only 2 of us will eat it!

Here are some pictures and a video from our weekend.

Patiently waiting to hunt some eggs with Daddy.

Lined up and ready to run! They were all so cute!

Ella Ann and Mary Chris spotted one egg at the same time. Mary Chris was so sweet and gave it to Ella Ann!

Digging in the ivy.

Mara Kate and Ella Ann after the hunt.

Dumping all of the candy out into her basket or the yard!

The lemon meringue pie I made on Saturday. I had to take a picture of it because it was so pretty!

This morning we gave Ella Ann her basket from the Easter Bunny. She got some new Disney shades because she already lost her other ones and asked for them about 100 times a day!

We Are Fine

Thankfully, the three of us were in Toccoa this weekend while a tornado hit 1 mile from our home in downtown Atlanta. We left Friday afternoon and didn't know anything had happened until we turned turned the channel on the TV to the SEC Tournament around 10:00 p.m. My Dad had immediately called us to see if we were okay, as did Spencer's family. We just couldn't believe how close we were to the path of the tornado and we just hoped and prayed our home was okay when Ella Ann and I drove home Saturday afternoon. Our neighbors assured us that everything was okay, but I wanted to see for myself. I had to wait to leave because so many bad storms were passing over the surrounding Atlanta area that I couldn't even attempt to get into the city until late that afternoon. As soon as I pulled into our parking lot I could see the Westin and all the holes in it. Ella Ann and I went for a walk downtown this afternoon so that I could see everything. It is a very erie feeling to see it all in person. They have cleaned up the streets very quickly and were doing some major repair work to the street lights (to put new ones in), going through rubble, and boarding up the broken windows. I was unable to walk down the main street that the tornado hit, but I could look down it and see the smashed cars and damaged buildings. The Westin was the only building that hadn't boarded up it's broken windows yet so the curtains were flapping in the wind high in the sky. I definitely looked like all the other tourists walking around and snapping pictures left and right...along with all the news broadcasters! This city has become our home, especially since we live right in the middle of it, so to see it in such disrepair is sad. I just can't believe no one was killed. The Cotton Mill Lofts that keep appearing on the national news because several floors collapsed upon one another after the tornado hit it are about a mile from our home also. It's as if the tornado did an "L" around us and our entire condo community was in perfect condition. Thank the good Lord!

We did have a good time in Toccoa Friday night and Saturday, though. We stopped at Jaemor Farm on our way there and went out to dinner at a good Mexican restaurant up the road from our hotel on Friday night. Spencer came back to the hotel around noon on Saturday and we all just hung out in the room for the most part because of the bad weather. Ella Ann always has a good time there and gets so excited when we tell her we're going to Toccoa. I think she just likes to stay in a hotel room! The first thing she goes to is the telephone and pretends to talk on it to all her grandparents and has a pretend conversation with them!

Below are the 3 pictures I took in Toccoa (being stuck in a hotel room there isn't much to take pictures of!) and the rest are from our walk this afternoon.

Ella Ann on the phone about 2 minutes after we arrived!

Having a snack after her nap while watching basketball with Daddy.

We did manage to go for a quick walk Saturday morning and I picked some Daffodils for Ella Ann, which she thought was the greatest thing! Spencer put one in her hair, but she didn't like too much!

You can see the big columns that were torn off their stands in Centennial Park.

An overturned concession stand and on the right is another fallen column.

This was one of the buildings that was completely destroyed. Behind the man on the right were a few cars that were parked in front of it that were full of bricks.

Working on the cleanup around the CNN Center and Omni Hotel.

The back side of the Westin looked the worst. There were so many broken windows. All the dots of white are curtains blowing in the wind.

All the white dots in the Georgia Pacific (building on the left) and the Equitable building are boarded up windows.

From The Mouth of A Two Year Old

Below are some funny things that Ella Ann has said over the past few weeks. I just had to share them because they are so darn cute!

I was trying on a hat at Target: "Mommy, that hat is sooooo cute! It just looks SO cute!!"

The balloon that we got at Trader Joe's blew out the car door so I told her it was going to heaven: "Jesus is going to take good care of my balloon."

Saying our prayers at bedtime as Ella Ann looks around her bedroom: "Thank you for Jesus. Thank you for Mommy and Daddy. Thank you for Sam, pink giraffe, puppy, Baby Tad, Minnie Mouse. Thank you for my makeup brush, Miss Tato Head and her shoes, pink sunglasses, and green sun glasses. Thank you for my brown horse, duck, white bear, bobbie, horsey, green blanket, and pillow."

We are trying to teach her to say "no thank you" instead of a whiney "NO" as a response to a question: "Ella Ann, you need to go sit on the potty right now!" Her response: "No thank you, no thank you, no thank you!!!!!"....in a very fretful voice as she stomps her feet!

We were going to our new music class this morning and I was telling Ella Ann that Mara Kate and Miss Jana will be there. "Miss Jana's going to sing! Miss Jana's going to dance!!!"

A bee was flying around our door as we were trying to leave: "No bee!!! No buzzzzz!! No beeeeeee please!!!!"

After putting her down for naptime this was what she said laying in her bed: "I'm a big girl. I'm a good girl. I'm a pretty girl." Yes, Ella Ann, yes you are.

Sitting in her carseat listing to Toddler Bible Songs CD: "Mommy, I love God and I love Jesus!" Despite this statement she still says, as she starts to cry, "No church! No church! No church!" when she recognizes that we are driving down the street our church is on!

Today Ella Ann woke up from her nap as I was watching "Giada's Weekend Getaway" on the Food Network so I brought her out to the living room so I could watch the last 10 minutes of it. Just as we sat down on the couch, Giada said, "This restaurant is a typical French bistro where guests dine around the bar." Ella Ann turned to me and says, "I like bars." I replied, "You like bars???" Ella Ann's reply: "Yeah, I like bars."

I hope we made your day a little brighter by sharing with you a few of our laughs that we get to experience on a daily basis!

A Cold, Cold (But Fun) Week

On Tuesday afternoon Ella Ann and I drove to Kentucky to stay with my parents for the rest of the week/weekend. Boy was it freezing cold there! I can honestly say that I didn't defrost until I hit the Georgia boarder today! Despite the Arctic temperatures and 6 inches of snow, we had a blast! Ella Ann was so excited to see her Mimi and Grandpa and was like white on rice to both of them the entire time I was there, which meant I got a very nice long break! She followed her Grandpa around the second he got home from work each night and would want to play with him and dance, of course! My Dad just loved all the attention and vice versa!

On Saturday we had plans to travel to Nashville because my parents were flying out to Miami on Sunday so I was going to stay with my good friend, Emily and her husband. We had a change of plans after it snowed like crazy Friday so while my parents left for Nashville early Saturday afternoon, Ella Ann and I stayed behind in Kentucky because the roads were just not that great. I was so lonely after they left and we were beyond bored! We painted, watched cartoons, read books (over and over again), ate dinner, and played with Dottie. It was quite a looooong day! We got up early Sunday morning and headed home. Spencer was in Toccoa all weekend so Ella Ann won't see him until Monday morning. It felt like we were gone for such a long time so we were glad to get home and see Spencer!

Breaking it down with Grandpa as soon as he hit the door Tuesday evening!

Talking a walk with Mimi.

Visiting our Aunt Bee across the street.

Playing Aunt Bee's organ. Very fun!

The wild turkeys that often visit my parents in the mornings!

My Dad and his favorite gal and favorite pet! My Mom made Ella Ann a cape with a dish towel and she thought that was just great!

Ella Ann hates the sun being in her eyes so this week we finally bought her a pair of sunglasses. To say she loves them is an understatement! She wore them all around the store with the tags on, the rest of the day, and to dinner at a restaurant that evening! She wore them the entire rest of our trip and didn't take them off on the way home to even nap or eat at McDonald's! She has permnant red marks on her face from them! In this picture she is posing, which Mimi taught her to do!

My Dad kept calling her Miss Hollywood and today we were shopping around here in town and she said to me (wearing the sunglasses, mind you), "I'm Hollywood!!!!"

It was so cold even Dottie was curled up by the heater all day!

This is the first time Ella Ann has ever seen real snow! It did flurry once this winter here, but it wasn't enough to get her to even notice it. I opened the door and asked her if she wanted to touch it and I got an immediate "NOO!"

Grandpa giving Ella Ann a lift to the kitchen! She kept saying, "I want to go on a trip with Mimi and Grandpa!" Don't worry, Ella Ann, Disney awaits!!!!!

When we were all alone and bored on Saturday, I dragged out all my old Beanie Babies and let Ella Ann rummage through them. I think she was expecting us to take them all home!

A Visit From Nana & Papa

On Thursday, Spencer's parents came down from Kentucky to visit us. We were so excited for them to stay for 4 days!!! They arrived after Ella Ann woke up Thursday from her nap, so it was a fun surprise for her because we didn't tell her they were coming (or else she wouldn't have slept). I made dinner (manicotti) that evening and we watched Louisville play and American Idol. Spencer got off around noon on Friday and had the rest of the weekend off so he was able to enjoy the entire weekend with his parents.

Ella Ann woke up Friday morning and the first thing out of her mouth was, "Nana and Papa!!!!!" I got the same statement Saturday morning too and she was not at all happy that they weren't waiting for her in the living room! Fortunately, they were on Sunday because they stayed with us Saturday night. I ventured out to Wal-Mart and Kroger by myself (yeay!!!) on Friday morning and we all went to IKEA that afternoon because Gary and Gayla hadn't been and wanted to see what it was all about. There is so much to look at there, so it's always overwhelming! We all found some good buys, of course! You cannot go in that place without buying at least 1 thing! We went to Spencer and I's favorite Mexican restaurant for dinner and hit Trader Joe's after that, again new places for the grandparents.

Saturday was really fun because we all went to The High Museum, which none of us had been to before. It is free for Fulton County residents the first Saturday of every month, so only Gary and Gayla had to pay the entrance fee. Well, we really enjoyed it and it was a neat experience but it would have been nice to have left Ella Ann behind! A museum isn't the best place to take a toddler! We kept her in the stroller for a little while but since I wasn't allowed to feed her or give her anything to drink she got antsy pretty fast. She did really well, considering the circumstances and her age, and we got to enjoy most of the exhibits. I think the neatest thing we saw was the exhibit from the Louvre. It was all very fascinating to me because I really loved studying Greek history and mythology in college and several rooms were filled with such artifacts. Ella Ann had a good time at the children's learning center that Spencer took her to while the rest of us continued to explore. That afternoon we went to the mall and then Spencer and I went to the movies. We saw "The Other Boleyn Girl" and it was awesome! I really, really liked it and highly recommend it!

We went to church Sunday morning and ate lunch with Nana and Papa before they headed home. It was such a nice visit and we were so glad they come down to see us! Thanks again Gary and Gayla!

Ahhhhh...such fun at IKEA!!

Ella Ann got some blocks from Papa and Nana this weekend. Very fun for all of us!

In front of a sculpture outside The High.

Trying to keep Ella Ann in line at the museum!

She was not too happy about having to hold Spencer's hand. She wanted to run around in all the open space!

Before church Sunday morning.

The new playground at Centennial Park finally opened a couple of weeks ago so we walked down there Sunday afternoon to check it out. It was so nice and, needless to say, Ella Ann had a ball! Unfortunately, there were tons of kids so Ella Ann got mowed down a couple of times!

Spinning around in the flower pedal. It was funny to watch her try to walk when she got off! She has on her new Disney World t-shirt that Santa brought her. She loves that shirt and any time I ask if she wants to wear it, her face lights up and she says, "YESSSSS!"

They even have a fun little sway ride in which you sit down and rock back and fourth.