Fun at Thanksgiving...

My parents, nephew Austin, and nieces McKenna and Taylor joined us for Thanksgiving! Elyse was THRILLED! She played so much she passed out for naps and bedtime. Thanksgiving afternoon we took a walk to the park to play before dinner. Nate even joined in on the playground fun.

Austin on the top of the slide!

Monkey Taylor...

Ellie conquering the slide...

McKenna

Nate hanging out.

Ellie leading the way home for turkey!

YUM, YUM. Chocolate cake.

HA! So this is what happens when Ellie gets chocolate cake. She was SO excited. I mean I love chocolate cake too but she was really happy.

She ate her whole little piece. Then looked at Nate and I for seconds. She didn't get anymore! She did decide to try a new hair style though with chocolate frosting as her hair product. Yum yum. It was a fun bath that night.

What???

So this is what I find while I am cleaning house. I guess they were 'helping' by staying out of the way!

Chore time...

We have given Ellie the job of feeding the dogs in the evening. Sorry for the sideways view in the beginning.

Chicago

Nate had to take a trip to Chicago for work and wanted Ellie and I to join him. I have to admit that I was a bit nervous at first. We have traveled with Ellie before but we have stayed with family or friends. This time we were staying in a hotel and a nice one too!
Ellie decided she would 'help' me pack for the trip. Nothing like the help of a one year old to slow ya down. She had so much fun climbing in and out of the suitcase and unpacking it as well.

Here is Ellie checking out the bed and the tub at The Drake.

She also loved the window display at the store outside The Drake as well. They had a Santa climbing up and down a ladder. She kept watching him and saying "OHHHHH!!" every time he got to the top and started coming back down.

We had brunch with our friends Chad and Greta. Ellie had a blast with them.

She also liked the band that was playing that morning too!

Sunday night we had dinner with Nate's cousin Marty and his family. Ellie loved playing with the twins Aaron and Anna.

Aaron and Ellie entertained one another shaking their heads 'no' and eating goldfish.

Anna was talking care of some business on the phone and just needed a minute before her photo

Ellie and I also got the chance to see our friends from Michigan Neha and Gitesh. We also finally met their son Aarav, who is 1 1/2 months older than Ellie. They had a great time playing as well. And I had a great time visiting.

On Tuesday while Daddy was at work Ellie and I checked out the Chicago Children's Museum. Ellie had a BLAST.
Here she is my budding archiologist...

Look I even got to get in a picture with her....kind of

My little flower. These were in one of the nature exhibits. If you stick your head, or arm, in they play animal noises and kids laughing.

Posing as a little pup...

Going for a strike....

Checkmate...

The best part of the museum was the water area! Ellie was a bit to short to really enjoy it but she still enjoyed it. The best part was the little rain coats they give you to wear!

Overall we had a wonderful trip. Ellie did so well with the drive, the hotel and the crazy schedule. Can't wait for our next trip.

Walkin' and Talkin'

As you can see from above we have a walker on our hands! She has been walking for a while and we finally got it on video to share. Of course she really took off while daddy was in Europe. He was happily surprised when he got home.

Trick or treat time

Halloween was very fun this year. Elyse had fun with it. We went down to daddy's office for a trial run Halloween afternoon. I don't know who was more excited Ellie or Daddy! She toddled around the office and got a few pieces of candy.

The one lady in the office insisted she have a dog to carry in her basket. After all, she was Dorothy!

Halloween evening was a blur. It went by quickly. Ellie was excited and intrigued at going up to all the houses...then they gave you candy!! She also thought she was to go into everyone's home!
Here was our crew from the neighborhood.

Here was Elyse and Carmen, the chick, and Grace, the dino.