Welcome Baby

Baby Elliott joined our family this week.  Born to my cousin, Peter, and his lovely wife Rebecca.  He is named for Peter's mother's family (which is also my mother's family).  He was a whopping 10 pounds 2 ounces.  You are a champ, Rebecca!  We can't wait to meet him.  Just look at those cheeks!



(I think he looks a lot like Peter in this photo)

Reading Time

Alexis is supposed to read aloud for at least 15 minutes each day as part of her homework.  At some point, someone thought it was a good idea for her to read to Ella (maybe it was in my desperation to get them to stop fighting one day) and now it has become one of their favorite things to do together.  No matter how frustrated they may be with each other, if I say it's reading time, they gather together closely and Ella listens intently as Lexi reads.  They don't even argue about what book to read.  It's fabulous!

Biking

Ella got this little bike for her birthday back at the beginning of the summer.  It is a two-wheeler with no training wheels, and is also known as a running bike, or a balance bike.  The idea is to use your feet to power the bike, and it helps kids to learn to balance on a bike making the transition to a bigger bike much faster and smoother.  She loves this bike so much and has become very proficient.  We love it, too!

Sometimes she gets moving a little faster than she can handle, but I guess that's good.  Shows her confidence is growing. 



In her preschool, they had an event called Trike-A-Thon to benefit St. Jude's Hospital.  The kids were allowed to bring their own bikes if they wanted to.  Ella, of course, wanted to bring hers, so I schlepped it on the subway and bus at rush hour because I love her!
 



She also tried out a scooter:

Apple Picking Take 2

2 days after our first apple picking excursion, my mother got an email at work about an apple picking event that Pepsi was hosting at a local farm in Yorktown, NY.  We decided to give it another go, and this day was so much more pleasant!  Hot apple cider, free apples (thanks to Pepsi!), chillier weather and a farm that was not nearly as crowded or commercial.  The leaves were gorgeous and the farm itself was sort of nestled in a valley with rolling hills all around.  Apple picking has redeemed itself!  I now have a large load of apples that need to be used... applesauce, anyone??

Apple Picking Take 1

Our first attempt at apple picking was, shall we say, fruitless.  We went to a farm in Morristown, NJ that had hayrides and mazes and apple picking and lots of seemingly wonderful activities.  It was so commercialized, however, that just to get into the orchard to pick apples you had to pay $11 per group of 5 people.  And since we had 6 people we had to either pay $22 or sit one out.  So Grandma took one for the team and sat out while we went in and picked some fruit just to have to pay for that per pound as well (which we actually expected to do).  The hayride was $7 per person and the mazes were $8 per person, so we ended up skipping all of that since we didn't plan on blowing $100 on what is supposed to be a quintessential New England fall activity.  We were totally disappointed.  We did get some good photos, though. We took a drive through downtown Morristown which was really quite lovely, and then found a playground for the girls to play.  The weather was beautiful, and it was nice to be with Allie & Grandma.

First Day of School

The first day of school! First grade this year. 26 children in her class, many that she already knows from last year.  This year I got very ambitious and decided to make all her uniforms (well, not the blouses).  So we stocked up on navy blue materials from Joann's Fabrics and I made her several skirts and a couple of jumpers.  I did some of it in California while able to use my mother-in-law's serger.  Heaven!  I decided to make her clothes this year because most of the stuff we can buy off the rack does not fit this tall, slender young lady.  I end up having to alter it anyway, so I figured it would be just as easy to make it from scratch.



Ella started preschool 3 mornings a week this year, too.  She does not have to wear uniforms yet.  She loves going to school and is learning so many new things.  She can write her own name and most of the letters of the alphabet without any assistance.  I think that's amazing.