Ballet School!

It was all we hoped for... AND MORE!  Elsie Anne payed attention, participated + even lead some new friends astray, having their own fun time!

EA doing 'log rolls' on the mat...

Watching herself in the mirror.  We were singing along w/ the music, 'Eyes + Ears + Mouth + Nose', and she's mashing her nose down!

This is where she led her new friend Kayleen astray... EA loves hanging on anything, so these bars were tempting the whole class!

Sitting front-and-center for the story about a ballerina!  "Teacher's Pet" wouldn't you know it :)

And dancing w/ Sage for the last song!!  This class is for 18mo-3yrs, so she's hanging in there w/ the Big Girls!

And Momma... on cloud 9, + feeling very girly once the class had ended!  So glad Daddy got to witness this very special first!

Oh, and BTW... we call it 'Ballet School' so EA feels special, like her friend Henry that goes to 'school'!

18mo! (sept 3rd)

Man, life is passing us by waaay too FAST!  We had Elsie Anne's 18mo check-up last week.  It might be silly, but I get so excited for her appointments, to see where she is on the developmental continuum :)  I love chatting w/ her pediatrician to see what we can work on (colors, numbers, potty training, etc), her nutrition/diet, + anything else that may be on our mind. 

This visit was one of my favorites, since I was able to prep EA about where we were going + what we were doing.  She was excited to see Nurse Theresa "Teesa" to get weighed + measured, and then happy to see "doctah" Winfield when she walked in!  EA showed Dr.W her dance moves, her 2 legged jumps off the ground, her crazy vocabulary, + even a bit of the ABC's!  Dr.W was very impressed, to say the least, + Momma was proud as she could be! :)

Weight: 20lbs. 9.5oz: 5th% (this was exciting b/c she had dropped to 0% at 15mo)
Height: 32 3/4in: 75-90%
Head: 50cm: 97th% (her head has always been huge, I guess its a blessing I had a C-section)

As you can see, these pics were from NFL Sunday, too bad our Bengals lost too:(

I don't even try to keep this child clean anymore!!  She is all in to the "DUUT" (dirt)!  I love my little TOMBOY:)

Tatro Wedding!

A fun evening was had by ALL!  Katie + Chris tied the knot, and we got to enjoy friends, good food + dancing!!  And of course, the latter, was Elsie Anne's highlight!  She danced w/ Daddy...

with Momma... (and anyone else that would hold her hands!)

Nothing like a good sugar-high to keep our daughter up longer than we ever thought we could:)

And a quick pic of both of us before we headed home:)

'Big City Life'

Warning: Longest Post I've Ever Made!!!

Wednesday

After work, we headed down to Denver for Elsie Anne's first baseball game ever... Cincinnati Reds vs Colorado Rockies!  The game started @ 6pm, so we knew we'd be pushing her bedtime.  Sure enough, EA was a trooper... she made no complaints + loved every minute of it!

Shawn's cousin Jenn lives in Denver + Aunt Alexis flew in for the game, so they both met us there!  Its always comforting to be around family, even if its just a short visit!

When you're @ the game w/ a toddler, you end up cheering for the HOME team, since she claps anytime the crowd does!  She was such a ham... "GO,GO,GO eeeds!" is what she would say!

Even on the walk home she stayed awake... too much going on for her to miss!  This pic is fuzzy, but a keeper none the less:)

That's right, you read correctly, we got to WALK HOME from the game!  Everyone knows how much I love my job w/out any perks, but this just couldn't get any better!  The Dudick's (Henry's family) were so generous to let us use their Downtown Condo for the Reds games + our 4th Anniversary!  So, we were cheesin' even after the Reds lost...

Thursday: Sept 9,2010... Happy 4th Anniversary to us!!

We were shocked that after EA went to bed @ 10:30pm, she still woke up @ 6:30am?!  So, we started our day a little groggy, but nothing a nice walk through the "big city" couldn't cure!  We ate breakfast + had some coffee @ a little hole-in-the-wall, then enjoyed all the new scenery through Elsie Anne's eyes!

EA loved going over all the "bigdes"!  There were bridges for cars, some for trains, + some for people!  She was captivated w/ everything we explained to her!

One of her favorites... this heart that lit up @ night, outside the Museum of Modern Art!  We walked by it almost everytime we came back to the "condo"!  The Dudick's condo is right behind it.  Also, check out the funny 'artwork' in the bottom left corner.  EA would say "uh,oh!" everytime she saw the car standing on it's hood!

Time for game #2... Aunt "Lex" got EA a treat... shaved ice!  She used the spoon for a bit, then discovered she'd get more of the juice if she used the straw!!  I never got a good shot of EA's Red's jersey that Alexis gave her, along w/ many other Cincinnati goodies, but you can see bits of it in this pic!

Well, Red's lost again, but we all had a great time anyway:)  EA watching the cars from the 'people bridge'!!

Enjoying the Condo balcony w/ beers + pizza!  Jenn + Alexis came back + hung-out for the evening!

Looking to the right from the balcony...

Looking to the left from the balcony... the train track, river, Speer Blvd, then Elitch Gardens w/ the Ferris Wheel!

Momma + EA got clean + cozy in jammies, watched the Ferris Wheel, read some books, and got EA to bed @ a reasonable time:)

Friday

We strolled around until we found the perfect brunch spot @ Mona's.  It was delicious + we loved our entertainment... EA's new 'silly face'!  She had sweet potato fries for the first time!

After our bellies were full + we had plenty of energy, we continued our walk along the river until we got to the Children's Museum!  Elsie Anne was in awe!  She picked carrots in the garden...

cooked lunch in the kitchen...

drove the firetruck w/ a fireman helmet...

got stuck in a HUGE bubble w/ Daddy...

...and so much more!  We will definitely be going back to the Museum, we didn't have time to do the dress-up or art areas!

Once EA had a nice nap, we headed back out for a stroll + dinner... We found this herd of buffalo stampeding along 16th Street Mall!

We listened + danced to this violinist...he was practicing + making a few bucks for the Children's Orchestra concert!!  What a sweet family... his Dad is hanging out by the light pole + got to watch my little ballerina enjoy the music!!

As we headed home, we stopped off @ the park right near the Condo!  EA happily spent the rest of her energy sliding, running, bouncing, climbing, etc!

Looking @ the opposite side of the Condo, from the park!  Everything we needed was right @ our fingertips! 

Back @ the Condo, we rested our tired legs!

Saturday

We slept in, packed up, cleaned up + went for our last walk in the Big City!  We found 'The Market', a wonderful breakfast + coffee shop that Anna had recommended, and it was DELISH!  I'm bummed we didn't have the camera b/c it had the best atmosphere, like an old time market!!

This was one of our favorite 'Family Getaways' to date!  Thank you so much Dudick's for making our 4th Anniversary so memorable!!!

Labor Day Wknd!

How could it not be a GREAT weekend w/ a start like this... picked Henry up + went to the 'green park' which boasts the most spectacular view!  The kids had a ball playing, which pooped them out for a LONG afternoon nap:)

Shawn arrived to Henry's house...and now the party really starts (in Henry + EA's world)!!!  They played in the back of his truck for at least 30min!

Breckenridge Duck Race down the Blue River on Saturday was a sight to see!  We played @ the Downtown Park w/ our friends for an hour + then we had to head back home for lunch + naps.  That place was a ZOO, kinda makes me wonder if I have a bit of anxiety!  I was so stressed watching both the kids, amongst 75 other children, in an area about 50'x75'!  (lft-rt: Quinn, Lexi, Henry, Shelby, EA)

Then playtime, alone, w/ our Big Girl!

She thought this was HYSTERICAL...

And some loungey time on the couch w/ her 'milk sippy' + turkey bacon!  Watching her very favorite program...

YO GABBA-GABBA!!  She is completely hooked + dances all around the room to the funky music!!

Now, for the short week ahead!  I'm super excited for our Anniversary festivities...stay tuned!!

birthDAY 3.0!

My lovely day started w/ a piping hot shower, delicious breakfast, and a sweet-as-can-be card from Shawn + EA. 

Adeline came over, as scheduled, then Kristin + Jake brought over chinese food (my fav) and these gorgeous roses!  It was a great visit + the kiddies loved playing in our tiney little living room.

Jake playing w/ EA + Adeline...always the 'ladies-man'!!

These BEAUTIES were delivered during the girls' afternoon nap!  Just a start to the BIG surprise he had in store for me...

...a FULL-BODY HOUR LONG MASSAGE!!  wow, can I have one of these monthly??  It was a silent heaven, well maybe I should say a soothing heaven, since she had beautiful music playing in the background!  Who knew an arm massage or a tug of my hair would feel SO AMAZING?  I couldn't have asked for a better present, as I have been completely stressed out w/ my wisdom teeth extraction + a full week of work on top of that!  Thanks so much my loving, wonderfully, perfect husband!

Then, they took me out to eat!  EA loves these cowboys + their funny faces + hats:)

Jumping off the deck into Daddy's arms!

A little walk along the river to end my PERFECT 30th birthDAY! 

That doesn't mean we aren't going to continue my birthday celebration into next week:)