The Dog Days of Summer

Well, the dog days of summer are upon us, meaning that it's time to go back to "school", back to a "normal" routine, blah. We did a lot of fun things this summer and celebrated the end of the summer with a mini-family-getaway. This summer Ella went to a new summer sitter (since Sara only takes 1 day a summer). Ella you did great. At first you weren't so sure, but you loved Miss Erin and her 4 kiddos. You loved to play. It's amazing to think about the difference of dropping you off on the first day of summer vs. the last. You are so much more confident in your words, communication and knowing who I am, who Daddy is, who Miss Erin is, etc... It was fun to watch. This summer I also got to take 1/2 day off every week for "Summer Time." I appreciate my work VERY much for allowing me to do that! Ella we got to spend afternoons at the pool or taking a nap together or in the garden, it was a lot of fun to spend that extra few hours with you. It seemed like this "summer" was actually a "school summer" for you and me. I took a lot of time off (with the help of 'summer time') and for about 2-3 weeks you didn't go to daycare at all, just hung out. I think you love routine, so I think you'll be glad to be back at Miss Sara's for the start of fall, but, you definately liked the chill out days of summer too! Ella took swimming lessons for 2 weeks this summer too which was fun, we'll do that again next year or maybe the year after. We did LOTS of activities in the community like Drive in Move Night, Farmers Markets, Downtown Getdown, Music in the Park, Disc Golfing, all kinds of things. I think you're sort of like me and like to be on the go! This last weekend we went camping for the first time as a family of 3 !! Let's just say that your mom is a trooper, going camping 7 months pregnant, in a tent, with a 2 year old. You did as well as we could of expected, probably a lot better! We went with friends and Marie & Brad, and you had a blast hanging around the campsite, playing in the kiddy pool and eating all kinds of junk! The first night when we put you to sleep in your pack n' play in the tent I'm not sure if you knew what to think. You cried just a little bit and then laid there and went to sleep like a champ. Of course a couple of hours later, you could hear us, and I came to bed to cuddle with you on our air mattress where you slept the rest of the night!! Night two you didn't cry at all, but still came to sleep with us on our bed. On Sunday, we packed up and headed to Madison, WI for a few days. I had some training on Mon, Tues & Wed, and we thought it would be fun for you and Daddy to tag along and play in the hotel. You had a GREAT time at the hotel pool with your "floaties" and asked to go to the "poo" all the time! You thought the hotel room was like a huge play house I'm pretty sure!! You did get in trouble a couple of times for running out of our room to the elevators and pressing the RIGHT buttons and then almost going down to the lobby before Daddy or I could catch you. How in the world are you so stinkin' smart?! You crack us up!! We took you to the zoo on Wednesday before heading home. I will NEVER forget the look on your face when you realized that the bear you were looking at was real. You were so excited. You fed some goats (you loved them!), got scared by an otter than swam real fast by you, and loved riding the mini train they had there. You asked for the "choo choo" over and over again! Whew, what a whirlwind couple of days. You sure were excited when you came home too! Last night, you said, "Mommy color" and I said, "Ella, you know where the colors are, go and get one if you'd like." You walked over to the colors, picked one out and said (with a grunt), "Got one Mommy" walked over to the table, proceeded to color on the notebook that was on the table and exclaimed, "Mommy Mommy M" and I looked down and sure enough, you drew an M. Whether it was by accident or not, it was incredible! Then I asked you to draw a circle and you did that too! Unbelievable!! Daddy didn't believe me, I had to show him the papers!! (I saved them too FYI!). In some other big news, Miss Sara annouced that she's having a baby in Feb/March. We are very excited for them, but I also know that this will change your world upside down. You will go from being an only "kid" at Miss Sara's in eary fall to being the oldest of 2 babies. I know you'll handle it amazingly and I know you'll be a HUGE help! Love you Ella Bella and cheers (as you like to say) to fall, may it be a great one!! Oh, one other new thing... you LOVE LOVE LOVE saying the word "Ma'am"- you call everyone "Ma'am"-hilarious!