Discovery Weekend

Ella enjoys doing just about anything, literally. She loves to play at home, loves walks, love to eat, sing, dance. We think that most of all she loves to do more and more things. She is especially good at imitation these days. She loves to play in her kitchen and has taken to caring for her baby - until she wants to move onto something else - then her baby gets dropped on her head. Ella even has long conversations with everyone she meets - not with many words yet, but with a lot of inflection.



This weekend Nana came to visit and we headed to Acton for our first trip to the Discovery Museum. It was a lot of fun. There were holes to crawl into...



Food to play with...



Puzzles to solve...



Buttons to push...



Pretend adventures to have... (Mommy and Ella in their row boat)



We enjoyed every minute.

Here she comes!

Ella's First Haircut

So, it was time. Our little baby with a full head of hair has become a big girl with hair down past her shoulders. We took her into Snip-Itz, a little kid hair salon with games, and tall chairs. Ella loved it while we were waiting. She ran around for a little while, took a rest and had some juice.




But when the time came to get the haircut she didn't like it. Not one bit. First she didn't like being strapped into the big chair. Then she didn't like the smock. Then she didn't like the spray bottle, lady, or the lady's scissors.




We tried to intervene with a fishie (goldfish crackers for those of you not in the know). That only worked for a second.



Finally, we had to break out the emergency wubby (who has been retired except for super long car rides. Senor Wubby helped.



Ella resigned herself to the fact that she was getting her haircut and there was nothing she could do about it... but she didn't have to like it.



With only a few tears, a little bit of grump, and a lot less hair - she survived. The barber cut her new do with less than five minutes, provided Ella with a certificate of bravery and a lock of her own hair. Her hair looks so cute, but we hope to not go back for at least a few more months.

Happy Valentine's Day...

From our little sweetheart!! Ella always celebrates big and this year was no exception. Mommy came home to find a dozen red roses and a clean house. Ella also planned for Dad to come home early and take Mom out to a great Italian dinner.



She even picked up the bill.

A Cultured Young Lady

Ella and her parents go many places and see many things. We are trying to expose Ella to lots of joys and different experiences. Her dad is an avid reader (at least he was until he worked in a bookstore) and an amazingly talented writer. So we spend some time in the bookstore. Ella always heads for the biggest books and just thumbs through the pages.



Ella always stops to say hello to her favorite person in the cafe.



We've also introduced Ella to some popular culture this month - namely Sesame Street. We spend some quiet mornings singing about bananas, hippos, and rubber duckies.



But you can't have worldly experiences without great food. So Ella had one of her dad's chocolate chip cookies. Once she figured out where they were on the counter - this is what she did.



She has excellent taste!

Almost March already??

Wow. We're half way through February and haven't updated the blog. You know we must have been busy!! So I guess we have some catching up to do. Well, the month started out with a big superbowl party at the Reed house. Mommy and Dad invited their friends over and Ella also had four friends come for the big game. But before the big game Mike helped Ella put together a little play kitchen we found for $10! Sure, it is not the studiest of kitchens, or the best construction (sorry Mike!), but she loves it.




Unfortunately we didn't get a single picture of the party - but here is a picture from that same night as Ella did a nice job playing and sharing.



But we also played outside the house. Ella and her friends headed over to the Family Center which is a little playplace for kids under 5. Ella loved the tunnel, but also took her hand at the computer. I'm sure she will be blogging in no time.





Then we played at our friend's house - Ella hung out with Adam and Jason and was happy to explore their big room of toys.



Then... we went to Old Sturbridge Village, which has been updated a lot - and enhanced by a new play place for little kids. Ella got to pretend garden, cook in the kitchen and wander around without any limitations. Mom's favorite part of the day is watching Ella explore.

We played athome! Ella loves to put herself into boxes. This time she jumped in and brought her piano right behind her to give Dad a cocnert.

There of course was time for eating and sleeping... and waking up. Each time we hear stirring on the baby monitor we go into Ella's room and see this.

All in all, lots of fun.