Autumn Has Arrived!

Friday morning I knew I had to focus my time on finishing up the baby quilt for Saturday's auction. I took Ellie over to Deb's house around 9:00 and she went down for a nap by 10:00. I quilted and almost finished by the time Ellie woke up. Fortunately Mimi was free so she stopped by (partially for a tour of Deb's new kitchen) and helped me out considerably by entertaining Ellie while I finished up by sewing on the binding.

Kelsey, Mrs. Baskin, and William stopped by on their way home from Weaver's Orchard to also see the new kitchen. Ellie became excited when William showed up and she was talking to him and crawling towards him. She also spent quite a bit of time on Kelsey's lap and I'm not sure why! New person, I suppose. We left before lunch, thanking Deb and Mimi for making the quilting possible.
I took Ellie home and we ate and I started the hand-stitching portion of the binding. When she started cranking I put her in her crib for a nap but she didn't go to sleep for an hour at least. She was not a happy camper!
The quilt got finished and Jon was allowed to come home early since he is leaving for Germany on Sunday. He went out and mowed the lawn and Ellie watched and ate a snack while I gathered my things for the auction. Ellie was supposed to go to Grandma's while I ran errands but since she was cranky all afternoon we didn't get to stop by until 5:00. I talked with Grandpa and Grandma before Grandma shooed me out the door (I had called to cancel but Grandma was disappointed so I still went).  I dropped my donations off at the church for the auction and saw Dorothy and Mom there so hung around for a while before going back to get Ellie.
Jon and I wanted to go out to dinner as a family before his departure and Deb had recommended Cafe 110, which is right in Morgantown. Cafe 110 is open for lunch every day but also serves dinner Friday nights. We went in and had bruschetta for an appetizer, salad, soup, and split the filet with caramelized onions, bleu cheese, and a dark wine-based sauce. Smashed potatoes and asparagus finished up the meal and boy was it delicious! Two thumbs up.

Reading a book during dinner

Ellie hung out in the high chair for the first three quarters of the meal and then got antsy. The restaurant wasn't very busy so I grabbed a chair with arms on it from another table and she sat in there playing with the butter containers in the bread basket for the duration of the meal. We went home and she went to bed while Jon and I watched a movie in the basement.
This morning, Saturday, Jon was supposed to wake up early and start working on the basement. Apparently the bed was too comfortable because he slept in right up until Ellie woke up. He made our iced coffees and got right to work on painting trim for the laundry room. I showered and entertained Ellie until 9:00 when I left to pick up Brittany for the auction and a bridal shower. Sadly this year the women's fall auction landed on Hannah Kurtz's bridal shower. Brittany and I went and drooled over the items and I bid on a few silent auction things before we went to Morgantown for Hannah's shower.
Today was the first day that felt truly like autumn. I did not realize this, but Hannah's shower was outside. Fortunately I had decided to wear a maxi skirt and long-sleeved shirt, otherwise I would have been freezing! A lot of girls were wearing cute little dresses but I'm sure they regretted that as soon as they saw the location.
The shower was a cute set-up, a garden tea party of sorts. I sat with a bunch of girls from church including Corinne, Katie, Brittany Mountz, Tiffany Hopkins (now Wilson), and Kelsey. Corinne and I reconnected with our old babysitter, Theresa. It was neat to see her and meet her daughter, Carrie. The shower was enjoyable in spite of the cold weather.

Us with Theresa, our old babysitter

The CEFC girls

After the shower Brittany and I stopped by the church and the auction was just finishing up. The women broke last year's record of $3200 with a whopping $4400 (I think I got that right!). A successful event!
I went home and Ellie was napping. She woke up but I put her back down and wrapped up a pair of earrings for the evening's birthday party. Alyssa Gibson turned 13 on September 5 and Stephanie invited us over for the party. Jon was working on trim in the laundry room so Ellie and I went without him. We stopped by Morgantown for some groceries and then went to the Gibson's. I took Ellie's walker along and she cruised around like she owned the place. At one point two family friends (single sisters maybe in their 50s) were holding her and playing with her which was nice since that meant I could talk to people without interruptions. We left when Ellie seemed to be getting tired and it was nearing close to dinner and I had the groceries.
Jon asked in the morning if he could have some guys over for dinner and FIFA. Omar, Peter, and Daniel came and the four of them had burgers, bean dip, chips, and watermelon. Over dinner they were chatting about the teams and Daniel said that they should try America vs. Internationals or something like that. Ha. I think they switched around the teams a bit but the guys hung around until after 10:00. By that time I was in bed and Jon came up and started packing for his big trip to Germany!

Mid Week Roundup

Tuesday morning Ellie slept in while I finished up some piecing for a quilt I am making for the women's auction on Saturday. Or perhaps she took an early nap -- whatever the case, I finished up the quilt face before we had to head to Elverson for lunch at Grandma's house.
Kelly, Clark, and Maya met us at Grandma's around 11:15. Grandma decided to call Mom as well and she joined the party. We feasted on leftover barbeque from the Fox picnic and Clark, Ellie, and Maya hung out together. Maya is a cheerful kid even after coming straight from her 4 month checkup. What a champ. Grandpa asked to hold her because he had noticed earlier that he hadn't held her since she was a newborn! Ellie and Clark took a spin on the deck and it was quite a beautiful day! Sunny and warm.

Maya & Great Grandpa

After lunch Ellie and I went home for her nap. She slept for about an hour then we went to Deb Saint's house to quilt the quilt I finished piecing in the morning. I worked for an hour on planning it out and sandwiching it before we had to go back to Elverson for my piano lesson.

There's something on your chin, baby

Grandma and Grandpa held on to Ellie while I taught Carson from 4:15-4:45. They said she did wonderfully. Ellie really enjoys Grandpa and Grandma and always points at their door when we pull up because she wants to go inside. They interact with her on the floor and give her a lot of attention - of course she loves them!
We went home and made dinner for when Jon came home. In the evening we stayed home and took it easy.
Wednesday morning Ellie and I stayed home and she took a nap because we had some fun stuff planned for later. We put dinner in the crockpot and at 11:15 went to Nana's house to hang out with Cecelia Mountz who is one year older than Ellie, she was born on August 30, 2011. We went up to Nana's playhouse and explored the kitchen toys for a while until we went back inside for lunch. Nana prepared brats for us while the kids had fruit, crackers, and cheese. Ellie seemed infatuated with Cece and Cece liked talking about "Ehwie."

Notice the difference in hair...

Tea for two

Sharing

When Ellie seemed to be getting cranky and Cece was obviously ready for a nap we said goodbye and went to Mimi's house. Wednesday was a balmy 92 degrees and Pops had opened the pool so we couldn't pass up the last good swim day of the summer. We were the first people to arrive so Ellie played with the toys inside until Mimi, the Iyas, and Kelly and her kids showed up. The pool will probably be a favorite for Ellie next year because she seemed to really enjoy it this year but was restricted by her inability to walk/my lack of desire to swim. We hung out by the pool (frequently with nobody actually in the pool) for an hour before I had to take Ellie home for my afternoon piano lesson.

Snuggling with her stuffed animal

Ellie went down for a nap and my student came at 3:00. Ellie woke up right after she left so she got to watch me shred the beef for the barbeque sandwiches for dinner and chop up potatoes to be oven roasted. Jon came home and I ran out the door to grab some groceries to finish dinner (rolls). We had dinner and Jon left for prayer group while Ellie and I played with her People before she went to bed after much protest. She even threw-up all over her bumper and carpet. She didn't have a fever, I just think she worked herself up so much from yelling that she threw-up.

Playing with a birthday gift from Nana

Action shot

Standing up like a big girl

Trying to stack

Thursday morning we went to Deb Saint's house and I worked on the quilt most of the morning. Ellie took a nap while we were there and when she woke up I decided to go home since she wasn't really cooperating. She went down for a nap before my afternoon piano lesson and woke up right as it ended. Aunt Carol Hoke was disappointed since she was waiting to play with Ellie when she awoke. Next time.
We had leftovers for dinner then headed out to small group in Morgantown at 6:30. A couple from our small group had their first baby at 10:36 this morning and weren't going to make it and Brock and Nebin weren't either so I brought Ellie along since it was a smaller small group and was less formal. Sarah Rus had a son and named him Teophil Graham Rus after his dad, Teophil Paul (we call him Paul because his dad is named Teophil, too) and Teophil Graham was 7lb 14oz and about a week early. I haven't heard anything more about the birth story but I'm looking forward to it. She delivered at the women's clinic place where you go and use a midwife and no epidural and stuff. So we will see!
Jon put Ellie down in the pack'n'play while we were at small group so we woke her up and brought her home. She didn't fall asleep in the car but when I gave her a bottle and laid her in her crib she just waked her head on the side bars (where the bumper is missing) a couple times accidentally and fell asleep (or knocked herself out??) (I checked, she was breathing). I'm glad he put her down because we didn't leave until after 10:00.

Ellieisms:
I am trying to teach Ellie how to "blow a kiss" and she has only done it twice, once to me and once to Jon. Usually she becomes distracted and puts her fingers down her throat and gags instead.
When Ellie is feeling silly she shakes her head fast or puts something on top of her head. Exhibit A:

A Busy Saturday, a relaxing Sunday, and a Typical Monday

Saturday was set to be a busy day. Jon woke up early (6:30) to go help someone from our small group on a project in their basement. Ellie and I slept in a bit then I woke up at 7:30 and prepared for our first event: yardsaling.
We left shortly after 8:00 to pick up Brittany and hit up a few advertised yardsales in Birdsboro. I bought Ellie a snow shovel (short and light, of course) and a book and myself a few mason jars for a craft room project and a glass cake plate for the women's auction. We came back home at 9:45 and I put Ellie down for a nap. She didn't fall asleep until almost thirty minutes later while I showered and Jon came back. We had a party that began at 10:30 but I left Ellie sleep and wrapped the gifts and packed up the car. We finally left close to 11:00.
It worked out that we were running late because Kelly called and asked us to pick her and Maya up for the party. Josh and Clark were off getting the tour of the Kurtz's Robo-farm and were taking a lot longer than anticipated. We picked up the Fenton girls and headed to a double birthday party for the Hannah kids, Gwen and Adam. Gwen turned 3 a week or so earlier and Adam was about to turn 1 (Adam is the boy who was born on the side of the road on the way to the hospital). The party was themed "Pirates and Pixie-Dust." They had a moon bounce and grilled hot dogs and chicken for lunch. Adam had a walker that Ellie used to cruise around their house. We sang happy birthday and had delicious cupcakes before they started opening gifts and we made our departure.
Saturday morning into the afternoon the Kurtz family was opening their new robotic farm to the community for an open house. People parked at the elementary center then took hayrides over to the new farm. People presented or posters could be read at various stations throughout the property and at the end they offered free ice cream, milk, and iced tea. Lunch and Twin Valley Iced Tottys could be purchased. Ellie was not very thrilled about the cows but she remained content in the backpack as Jon and I moseyed around the property. The robotic milkers were so impressive and the entire system state of the art.

Riding on the tractor

Our next stop was the sewing machine store in Hinkletown. Deb Saint has been letting me use her Bernina sewing machine when I need to quilt and the largest Bernina dealer is in little Hinkletown, about 35 minutes away from Elverson. We drove out to the location and spoke with the owner, Ervin Zimmerman. He is an Amish guy who knows his stuff and is an excellent salesman. We left without a machine (as was the plan) but with more information on what we wanted. Our next spot was the Fox picnic.
Mimi once again hosted the Fox picnic at this year since she has more space for eating. We arrived just as the Foxes were unloading. Daniel had the opportunity to meet Uncle Aaron for the first time and he received a warm welcome -- actually, three welcomes ("Welcome, welcome, welcome to the family" - quote Uncle Aaron). Uncle Aaron asked Corinne where she was in Africa and he would repeat it as "Newganda" or something. Later on some of the relatives were talking about Muslims and they hushed each other in case Daniel was Muslim. Um, no. I guess they got confused when Dad told them how Daniel's parents were doctors in a largely Muslim area.
Clark swam and Uncle Aaron played bean bags. Ellie took a nap in the basement and walked around leaning on Mimi's toy tractors. She was tired by 8:00 so we bid them adieu and went home to put her down for the night.
Sunday morning Jon woke up and made pancakes and coffee for me. I love this tradition for Sundays. We woke up early enough to have a leisurely breakfast and managed to make it to church on time, in spite of my slow speed. We went to first service worship and I was hall monitor while Jon went to Sunday school. Following church we went home and ate lunch then took naps. We had prayer meeting at 6:00 and Ellie was in the nursery with eight other babies and Aunt Kelly! Kelly took a few pictures of Ellie pretending she was a big girl and crawling onto the picnic table and eating her snack.
Following church we went to Nana and Poppop's for dinner. Ellie behaved but was very tired after an hour (it was almost 9:00) so we thanked our hosts and headed home for bed.

Monday morning Jon went to work while Ellie and I stayed home. Hunter Hall, a three year old boy from our church, will be spending three hours with us once a week for several weeks this fall. He is a very pleasant boy and came at 9:00. He is potty trained so my job is easy - make sure he doesn't have to use the bathroom and make sure he stays safe. Hunter is an easy going, quiet boy who plays well by himself. The hardest part of the morning was distracting Ellie from taking his toys. Ellie went down for a nap at 9:45 and so I cleaned up the kitchen and worked on a quilt while Hunter played. I asked him if he needed to use the bathroom and when he was successful he asked for a treat. What do you get as a treat, Hunter? Fruit snacks. Well we don't have fruit snacks but fortunately I had some gummy bears that I had bought Jon on Thursday so he was allowed to pick one of them out. Before his Mom showed up at 12:00 Hunter went to the bathroom four times. Then he asked to go one more time before leaving. I think the gummy bears were a hit.
Naptime ended after Hunter left and Ellie and I ate lunch together. We had company coming that evening so while Ellie played in the living room I prepared the chicken and vegetables and cleaned up the house a bit. At 4:45 my piano student came and she ended shortly before Jon came home from work.
We grilled chicken, brats, and vegetables for dinner and Katie Estes brought Couscous. I had the Fentons and Estes' over for dinner to hear about Mark's trip to Uganda since Jon, Kelly, and Josh had missed his presentation at church a few weeks back. Clark, Wyeth and Ellie had some fun paying outside before dinner then in the living room after dinner.
Dinner was quite an embarrassment as I noticed while slicing the rolls that they had mold on them! Nothing is more horrifying than finding mold on your rolls when you don't have anything else to offer. I had only bought the rolls a few days earlier (with Corinne) but I had bought some fresh from the Shady Maple bakery so I suppose the lack of preservatives caused mold to form in the few days they were at my house. Mark laughed at my reaction but I was so thankful that I had some chicken to serve along with the brats. I served the rolls with the least amount of mold (or none that I saw) and told the guests to stick with the chicken! Hopefully this will never happen again. Thankfully it was family!
I tried to put Ellie to sleep a few times before they left since she was exhausted after her early nap. I was unsuccessful but she went down as soon as the company left (after crying and cuddling with her Dad).

Elliesism:
When Jon was getting something from the basement he allowed Ellie to crawl up the stairs. When she reached the top of the steps she stood up, reached for the railing, held on, and took a step. Fortunately Jon was behind her because her step was onto thin air and she tumbled into his arms. She thinks she's a big girl.
Ellie is also a bit of a bully. At church there was a walker in the nursery and she was not letting other kids have a turn. Adam went up to use it and she crawled right up, pushed her way to the handles and walked away with it.

Grocery Shopping and Maya's Birth Day Gift

Wednesday I wanted to get my grocery shopping done so I decided to text Corinne to see if she'd want to come and make it fun. Ellie and I headed towards Terre Hill the "back way" past the road stands I like to hit up. Corinne and Daniel needed a few tomatoes so we grabbed those and reached their house around 10:00. Corinne had heard about a discount food place so we went there first and were not very impressed with their prices. We then found Shady Maple and we grabbed the rest of their groceries.
We had called Jon to ask Nate Hupal about the discount food location and he didn't remember the name but only that it was across from a Mexican restaurant. Jon heard "Mexican restaurant" and really wanted some food from their but called requesting some from dinner when we were already halfway to Shady Maple. Instead Corinne and I arranged for a double date plus Ellie for dinner.
I had to go back to Geigertown to teach a piano lesson so I took Ellie home and she napped and my student came for her lesson. Ellie woke up for the last ten minutes of the lesson and was mopey until she decided that she wanted to play the piano. Not happening, baby.
Picking up and putting away groceries took up the rest of our day until Jon came home and the three of us drove out to Terre Hill. We picked up Corinne and Daniel and ate at La Borimex right next to ten Mennonite girls who had come on their bicycles. Only in Lancaster County. We sat on the porch outside and Ellie played nearby walking around while holding on to our benches or the railing posts. The people coming and going also helped keep her entertained.

Bonding.

Corinne and Daniel invited us over for dessert (provided by their landlord - say what?!) at the apartment. Ellie showed off her tricks and gobbled down some peach cobbler. She was too cranky to hold off any longer once 8:30 rolled around. Thanks Corinne and Daniel for hanging out with us!

Thursday morning I had the plans to finally finish Maya's Birth Day gift. Two months and three days late. Oh boy. After Ellie woke up and I fed her breakfast we went over to Deb Saint's house. Ellie apparently knew I was trying to work on something because she noticed my lack of attention and voiced her opinion. Instead of playing with the dozens of new toys she decided to grumble and complain. At one point I even put her in the backpack. I finished up what I needed to do on Deb's machine and went home.

My little supervisor.

Ellie took a nap while I worked on making the binding and sewed it on the quilt. I also made dinner and Jon and I ate when he came home from work. We ate dinner and I hand-stitched the binding as the final step. It felt so nice to have it finished! I do not recall what we did Thursday evening but it was probably very exciting.

The quilt

Friday morning I wanted to get Maya's gift to her as soon as possible. Ellie and I wrapped it up and stopped by the Fentons. Clark always gives us a nice greeting with a shout and little dance. It's nice to feel loved. We hung around and Ellie ransacked Clark's toys before we headed home for her nap. She took a wonderful nap and then we spent some time cruising around the family room. She loves to walk but hasn't taken any steps without holding onto something.  Later on we went to Mom's house to drop off some stuff for Corinne and grab some things from her for us. Ellie took advantage of Mimi's toys and used all of the heavy equipment as a walker.

Busy

Thanks for the dress, Brusts!

when Jon came home he mowed the lawn. Ellie was eating dinner and then we sat by the front door and watched Jon mow the lawn. She would talk to him and then lose interest as he moved out of sight. After Ellie went to bed Jon and I ate dinner then watched a movie. It was nice to have a quiet, relaxing evening with Jon.

Go Daddy, go!

Showing off her figure

Reading books. 

She loves books.

Ellieisms:
Ellie (usually) signs "all done" when finished eating (the waving/twisting of both hands).
Ellie now crawls out of her car seat when I unbuckle her. She doesn't get entirely out of the seat, she just turns around and stands up, reaching for deliverance.
Ellie points to things she wants. If she wants her cup, she points. If she wants to go into another room, she points. If she doesn't want to go to bed she points to her bookshelf so that I will read another book to her. Then she flips the pages too quickly to read it and shuts it after a few seconds. We're working on the actual purpose of books.

A Day at Grandma's House

Tuesday morning Ellie slept in until 9:00 (woot woot!) but only after I gave her a bottle at 6:15 that put her back to sleep for almost three more hours. She played for a bit before I decided to feed her some leftover refried beans for breakfast. That baby really enjoyed them but got them all over herself. I decided to bring her in the shower with me to clean her off, which worked well.

At 11:00 I packed up the car and headed towards Elverson. Grandma had invited us over for lunch and I wanted to help order pictures through Shutterfly for them since I had a coupon code for 101 free prints. Grandpa was out working on the flower beds so Grandma and I chatted while Ellie played. She really enjoyed pushing the Tonka truck around but figured out that she could use it as a riding toy, too. She began to get cranky so I fed her some lunch and then set up the pack'n'play. Kelly and her kids showed up close to noon. Maya was showing off her tummy-time and rolling over skills and Grandpa kept commenting how happy she was - she didn't cry until she was hungry. She was just busy watching her brother and smiling.
Ellie went down for a nap and slept for a while, waking up after the Fentons left for home completely missing their presence. She woke up after only an hour of sleeping so I tried to put her back down and let her fuss for a while as I went through pictures with Grandma. Finally I decided I was picking the wrong battle to fight so I let Ellie get out of bed and play for a while. I left at 4:00 to teach Carson his piano lesson but not until I laid her down again for another nap attempt.
When I came back at 5:00 Ellie had fallen asleep - hallelujah. She woke up a few minutes after I arrived so I packed everything up and headed out.

Her new riding toy

It's a lot of fun

Jon went directly from work to Lowe's to pick up an electrical part to install at the Bradshaw's new apartment (Uncle Keith's property). Ellie and I stopped by to see if we could help out with the moving process, that had begun at 5:00. Everything seemed under control in the carrying-of-boxes area so I went back to the old apartment with Mom and some other ladies from church and we cleaned it. Ellie helped by supervising and watching the vacuum very carefully.
By the time we finished cleaning the moving van had been unloaded and the crew was waiting for the pizza dinner. We ate dinner then Jon did some more work on the electrical stuff to help Jere Scott (stuff with the washer and dryer, he hung a chandelier, and answered other questions) while Ellie and I helped unload some boxes and move furniture around. I left when Ellie was finished being pleasant - around 9:30. She was a trooper. Jon came home about an hour later.

Labor Day

Labor day was a treat for Ellie and I since we could enjoy having Jon home before he had to head back to work. But in all reality he wasn't home at all on labor day. We ate breakfast together before he headed off to help Uncle Keith with an electrical project at his apartment in Elverson at 8:00. Ellie and I stayed back and played, showered, then headed off to the outlets to take advantage of the Labor Day sales.
We arrived before 10:00 and the outlets were just started to get busy. I hit up the kids clothing stores to grab a gift for Cecelia Mountz since we were celebrating her birthday in the afternoon. We also found a couple good deals for Ellie, too. I also made some returns from before the wedding week that I had quickly picked up when I was searching for shoes but didn't need since Katelyn had found great ones at a re-use-it in Texas.
Right as we were rolling into Ann Taylor Ellie started fussing and complaining about being in the stroller. Apparently finding clothes at a good price (60% off the entire store, including clearance) was not in her plans. So we headed home.
I put her down for a nap and prepped our food for the day's events and wrapped Cecelia's gift. Ellie only slept an hour (too short!) so I filled another bottle and handed it to her and she hung out in her crib for another hour happy yet not sleeping. Oh well. I packed up the car while she hung out in the crib then nabbed her when it was time to head to Elverson.
After we celebrated Ellie's birthday with the Mountz family on her actual birthday Donna told me that she wanted to do a joint birthday part with Cecelia on Labor Day. Oops. Sorry to everyone who had to sit through two events for Ellie! While we were eating dinner Ellie kept trying to snag chips from Layla and Owen's plates. She needs to learn the concept of personal space. After eating we opened gifts and Ellie received several cute new outfits from her Mountz cousins and Nana and Pop-pop and a stuffed animal puppy from Grandma Mountz.

Trying to steal chips

At 3:30 we headed to Mimi and Pop's house for our second party of the day. The Fentons were already present and the Iyas (Corinne and Daniel, not Dr. Dan and Dr. Clara :) came soon after our arrival. We hung out inside and had some chips and dip and watermelon for appetizers then Pops grilled burgers for dinner. Mom made oven roasted potatoes, baked beans, and other sides and Kelly brought a green salad. It was all delicious. For dessert we had Heath Bar ice cream cake. Mimi dished out huge portions and I think we all gained a minimum of five pounds. Except for Clark, who helped at else three people eat their servings.

Clark during the prayer (yes, I took a picture while Dad prayed)

Grandpa, Grandma, and Mom-mom came by later and Jon headed out to help Uncle Keith again at his apartment. I tried to get people to play a game before heading home but the Fentons had left and the Iyas were busy taking advantage of the internet.  I went home when Ellie was cranky around 9:15 and Jon arrived home over an hour later. I was impressed that he was able to stay out so late in spite of his jet lag from China.

Ellieisms:
Ellie is a little afraid of Pop-pop. She gets nervous when he comes into the room and if I put her down right away she cries. She didn't seem to notice him too much on Labor Day, though, due to the chaos of everyone else being present.

Jon Comes Home from China

Thursday morning Ellie woke up earlier than usual (before 7:00 sometime) so we started our day with breakfast and coffee (coffee for me, not Ellie). I had skipped grocery shopping since I had eaten at Mom's house Sunday night and Monday night (she made steaks, baked potatoes, and grilled vegetables for Caleb's last meal home), Grandma's house on Tuesday night, and salad Wednesday night I thought I should grab some essentials before Jon came home. Plus we were running low on milk which has suddenly become a necessity since Ellie drinks it like its going out of style.
When we were loading the groceries into the car at 9:30 Grandma called and asked if I was stopping by since Katie and Wyeth were visiting. I said we could definitely do that but would probably not stay too long since Ellie was due for a nap.
Ellie and Wyeth crawled all around, Wyeth in the lead and Ellie following frantically. They even banged on the piano for a while and stole toys from each other. There's something about little babies following each other crawling that is just so adorable!
Grandma made sure I had some breakfast cake before we left at 10:30 to put Ellie down for her nap. While she slept I did some laundry. Thursday is laundry day because if I don't do it Thursday I'm usually stuck doing it over the weekend, which is not fun. In the afternoon we were supposed to meet up with Kelly and Charlotte Grosso and their kids at Mimi's pool but it was raining on and off so Charlotte invited us to meet up at her house in Morgantown.
The Grossos moved just recently right next to Cutters and it was a lot of fun to see their new house. It is adorable and has a lot of room for growth. It was built probably close to the same time ours was with a walk-up attic which has potential to be finished as a couple rooms. When I walked in Cameron, her three year old, asked to give me the tour. He showed me his room and the other rooms and then played with Ellie and Hannah until Clark, Maya, and Kelly showed up. It's funny how kids just want to play with the toys other kids are playing with. We avoided fights with some distraction methods.
Thursday evening I had small group. I took Ellie along with me and she was an angel. Someone shared their testimony and Ellie just played on the floor with a pillow. She would sit on it with her legs in a straddle on top of the pillow then face plant and hug the pillow, giggling. Then she would crawl around the room but always return to the pillow, her little throne. We stayed late until after 9:30 and I left when she was too tired to remain any longer.
Friday Ellie and I stayed home all day. I organized the house a bit and relaxed after our long Thursday. Ellie took naps and we cleaned the tub together (one of my least favorite and most avoided chores). I had bought the cheapest frozen pizzas possible (cheaper and grosser than Elios, they were all out of those) and we ate them for lunch and dinner. I had bought two and when they turned out so disgusting I decided to eat them right away or they would probably go to waste. Now I know to avoid them.
Saturday morning Ellie and I went over to Dorothy Bradshaw's new apartment at 10:30 to help clean it before they move in early next week. Ellie once again behaved well (in my opinion) and allowed me to clean out all the cabinets and wipe down all the trim and closet in the kitchen. I cleaned alongside of Kelsey Frisco, so it was nice to catch up with her while we worked.
We ate lunch and did a bit more work until Ellie was getting cranky. I headed home and was inspired to clean my house in preparation for Jon's homecoming. I did the dishes, finished the laundry, cleaned the bedroom, vacuumed, dusted, etc. It felt great to have a clean house and nobody to host (usually the house is not this clean unless I have company coming). Being excited for Jon coming home also helped keep me motivated to keep cleaning.
At 4:00 Ellie and I went to Dad's house to practice for worship. We finished up about an hour later and Ellie and I came home and Dorothy Bradshaw came over so we could go out for dinner. Jere Scott was out of town so I thought it would be fun to go out just us girls since she probably needed a break from packing and I don't really cook just for me. We ended up going to a place called Say Cheese! in West Reading. I enjoyed chatting with Dorothy and Ellie remained engaged by the hustle and bustle of the waiters. We came home after eating and had some hot tea and talked in the living room while Ellie slept. She went home at about 10:30 and I cleaned up a bit before heading to bed.

Hanging out during worship practice

Sunday morning I was supposed to be at church at 7:45 for worship practice. We showed up about 30 minutes later but better late than never, right? Ellie went to nursery and I sat through first service and then second service worship, picking up Ellie after worship was over. Nursery was mayhem when I arrived so they were happy to see me pick her up. Although she wasn't misbehaving she was definitely tired and needy.
Ellie and I quickly stopped by Walmart to grab some milk (I suppose I had forgotten that on Thursday) and bread for the Iyas. Then we ate lunch from the Deli with Mimi, Pops, Corinne, and Daniel at Pops' house. Thanks, Pops, for the meal!
Peter picked up Jon from the airport and brought him home at around 5:00. I made dinner and picked up a movie for us to watch and we ate and put Ellie to bed. We watched "42" (thanks, Carly, for the promotion last week) and enjoyed it. It's in RedBox, if anyone cares to see it.

Reading a book waiting for Daddy to arrive

It is so nice to have Jon home! He said he was surprised that Ellie wasn't bigger. He brought her home a stuffed panda (not many gift options at the airport) and a mug for me (he knew it was lame but wanted to get me something rather than nothing). It is wonderful to have him back at home!

Ellieisms:
Ellie uses anything that will move along the carpet as a walker: chairs, boxes, her highchair, toys. I'm wondering when she'll start walking!