Greek Fest

Every year in Rochester the Greek Orthodox Church downtown hosts a festival fundraiser. There is music, dancing, food, a bake sale and activities for the kids. We have been every year that we have lived in Rochester, and we always have a great time. This year was no exception. We met some friends down there on Saturday night, and we all had a great time!

The Farm

On Friday we took a short drive to my friend Emily's family farm. Her grandma and dad were so nice to host us for a tour and lunch. Farmer King took us for tractor rides and out to see all his cows. Grandma King cooked a wonderful homemade lunch that included her award winning rolls. It was a really fun day for all of us! 

21 Months!

This is a nice post to do each month because it gives me some time to stop and examine all the things that are wonderful, unique and amazing about our daughter. The countdown to 2 has begun whether we are ready or not! I have asked Ellasen several times what kind of birthday party she would like this year. Most of the time she says an Ice Cream Cone Birthday Party! Some of her other responses have been Elmo, bubbles, bunny rabbits, diapers, etc. I think I may have to make an executive decision and go with the ice cream cone theme. Stay tuned on that one. She continues to amaze us with how much she understands her world, how many words/phrases she knows and how physically capable she is. We are blessed, grateful and humbled that she is ours. I think it every day (multiple times), but sometimes it is nice to send up a praise in a little more formal and public fashion. Tim and I, now more than ever, are realizing how grown up she is and how fast the time really does fly. We are so thankful she belongs to us!
At 21 months Ellasen

Loves:
Bunny Rabbits
Going outside
Bubbles
Music
Doing summersaults
Dancing
Milk
Fruit
Stickers
Coloring
Elmo
Cookie Monster
A robin's nest YouTube video my grandpa sent us
Big Girl (Brooke)
Rachele
Trains

Can:
Count to 10
Say parts of the ABC's
Sing parts of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Row Row Row Your Boat and Happy Birthday
Ask for pretty much anything she needs
Sometimes go on the potty
Twirl (Dance)
Put her shoes on
Climb into a chair or onto a couch
Take turns
Share (sometimes begrudgingly)

Waiting Around

Now that the girls that I take care of are back from their summer vacation we have been spending some time waiting around for them at summer activities and appointments so I have taken some random pictures and videos as a way to pass the time. Some of these were taken while we were waiting for an orthodontist appointment, and some were taken while we were waiting at school for a soccer meeting. The videos at the bottom were also done to pass time. Ellasen can count to 10 with no help (although I have yet to capture it on video) and we are working on colors. The videos are mostly of me trying to catch her new skills. The last one is just silly.

Cuteness...