Visiting and Shopping

Yesterday morning Ellie and I invited Sarah and her two month old son, Teo, over to hang out. I had said she could come whenever she wanted to, which turned out to be 10:00. Before they arrived Ellie and I dusted, vacuumed, and washed the kitchen floor. While Sarah and Teo were here Ellie was very attentive to Teo when he was in his car seat. She spent probably ten minutes trying to buckle his straps. She also would give him the ride of his life if we weren't careful.

Helping me vacuum

When I was holding Teo (or he was in the car seat) Ellie was all over Sarah. If she's not the center of attention she sometimes tries to become that by physically sitting in the middle of the action. She does not like to miss out.

I made some blueberry muffins and we sat and chatted until lunch time. Teo and Sarah headed home and Ellie went down for a nap. I cleaned up the dishes and worked on the binding for Ellie's baby quilt - the one I started over a year ago. Ellie woke up and I continued working on it a bit more with her until I decided we should play with her toys. When we were in the basement I folded laundry and she moved my scrap fabric from the family room into the laundry room, very seriously and methodically. She'd pick up one piece from the pile, walk it into the laundry room and throw it on the floor in a pile. Very helpful.

We played, tended the fire, and got ready to go out. Jon had agreed to go out for dinner and hit up Target so I could return some items and look around at some potential Christmas gift ideas. He arrived at 6:00 and we left right away for Chickfila.

Dinner came quickly and Ellie remained very engaged with her cup of water with straw. I've learned to always order an extra water or I will have a very gross, clogged straw from her backwash. Plus I don't really want her drinking all of my lemonade. Several families with young kids were nearby so she was also entertained by them. I fed her before we left so her large water consumption and lack of meat was not a problem.

We returned our items to Target and Jon patiently followed me around as I slowly browsed almost every department. We snagged some groceries and headed home.

Friday morning Ellie woke up early so I got up and we got dressed and ready for a long day of shopping. We met up with Mimi at Shady Maple to see the table and chairs that she gives the oldest grandchild of each family for Christmas. We piled into my car and drove out to Intercourse and hit up a couple shops before landing at the Rockvale Outlets. Our purpose for driving so far was to go to Pottery Barn and it was definitely successful. Mimi found the gifts she needed and we headed to some other stores for kids clothes and my Christmas clothes from Mom.

Ellie was a trooper but was getting cranky. Corinne invited us over for lunch and Ellie said she would pull it together for Uncle Daniel. On our way to Terre Hill we stopped by an Amish shop I had visited before and found a table and chair set that we liked and packed it into my car. I dropped Mom back off at Shady Maple so we could drive separately from Corinne's after lunch.

Corinne put together delicious made-to-order sandwiches for us. Ellie snacked on lunchmeat, cubed cheese, and juice. After lunch she pulled out some wipes and cleaned the floor and laid around. It was definitely time for bed.

She fell asleep once we hit Churchtown so I went ahead and stopped by Masthof Printers and ran in to grab an item I had ordered. The beauty of living in a small town (I left the car running so she wouldn't freeze). I was gone all but a minute and she remained sleeping until we were home. I transfered her to her bed and did something productive while she slept, I'm sure.

Dave and Joie Culbert texted and invited us over for dinner after I arrived home (around four o'clock). They knew it was late notice but we were ready for a night of fun! Jon was supposed to work late but opted for hanging out with friends and going into work on Saturday instead. I scrounged together items to add to the Chef's Salad Joie was making and waited while Ellie slept for Jon to come home.

He came home at 5:30 and we woke Ellie up to go to Culbert's. She was still a bit dazed when we arrived and took some time to warm up to their kids (aged 3, 6, and 9). We finished the dinner prep and all sat down. Ellie stands on one of their chairs like a normal person and she LOVES it. Once she was bored the younger two Culbert's were ready to play so they messed around and had fun. Soon they were pushing her up the hall on a rocket riding toy. Surprisingly nobody was hurt until Jon gave her a push and accidentally ran into the wall and bumped her cheek. It's still black and blue!

We hung out following dinner and taught them "the person game" using people from church. It was fun and Dave had us stumped for a while with his person. No, I did not use Mr. Kiely (since that is always Jon's first guess now).

We heaed home at 8:30 and Ellie was so tired that she went right to sleep when we came home. Jon and I sat by the fire and enjoyed some downtime before heading to bed.

Ellieisms:
Ellie climbed one of our kitchen chairs for the first time. She climbed right up and stood at the table ready for a snack.
When we go down to the basement Ellie jumps on our backs and clings on down the steps.

Constipation

Monday was a beautiful and mild fall day so Ellie and I went to the outlets for some Christmas shopping. I grabbed some gifts for Jon and Grandma and Grandpa and Ellie played on the playground. We arrived just before they opened so they were empty. Either that or people have decided to wait until the black Friday sales kick in.

We went straight to Grandma and Grandpa's house for lunch. Arriving early we beat everybody else. While we were waiting Ellie played then walked to the kitchen smacking her lips. She knows what we do at Grandma's house! Soon the Iyas, Fentons, and Mimi came. Grandma made some pasta and tomato sauce, fresh iced tea, applesauce, and her delicious made-to-order sandwiches. She had also baked cookies before our arrival so we each had several of them. So delicious!

Since Ellie had woken up early she was pooped by noon. We went home and she napped right through my 2:00-3:00 piano lessons. We hung out at home until my 4:45 lesson, during which Ellie was cranky and complaining the entire time. Not fun, baby. I wonder if she wasn't feeling very well.

Jon came home and we had a quick dinner of ravioli. I was hosting the craft night at church and Jon was helping Ryan Frey with his electrical project. Ellie spent time with Tara while Jon and Ryan worked and they came back at 8:30. I was home by 9:15, which was great. Jon said before Ellie went to sleep she had a really hard time going to the bathroom. I had been trying to get fluids into her and we had been feeding her prune baby food for two days but it didn't seem to be helping enough.

Tuesday morning Hunter came to hang out with us for three hours. Ellie had woken up at 7:00 and was so sad about another attempt to go to the bathroom (too much information, I know) and after she finally went I changed her diaper, cuddled with her, and decided she was still tired. I gave her some milk (this time watered down) and put her to bed. She ended up sleeping two hours.

Hunter kept himself entertained even though I told him we couldn't go outside while Ellie slept. He had found a pinwheel I had made for Brittany's shower and he saw the fan blowing and used that to make it go. When Ellie woke up she saw him doing this so she joined in on the fun. She actually followed him around very closely. We spent time in the basement and they found my fabric stash since I was going through it looking for something and Hunter had so much fun playing with all of the "blankets." The fabric was all over the basement by the end of the morning.

Ellie's buddy left at noon and I fed her some lunch and put her down for a nap. She proceeded to sleep almost three hours - it was monumental. I prepped our food for dinner and after Ellie woke up we went to Grandma and Grandpa's house. They watched Ellie while I taught then Jon picked her up on his way home from work. Grandma thanked him, but Jon tried to tell her that WE were the thankful ones!

I was home by 6:30 and Jon had the chicken finished (he had it grilled) and the sweet potatoes in the oven. What a man! We sat down and ate together then Jon left for his missions committee meeting at church. Ellie played with the pinwheel then went to bed and I hung out on the couch in the basement in front of the TV. A regular couch potato.

Ellieisms:
When Ellie was with Tara she "told" her she wanted her milk by pointing at her diaper bag and smacking her lips. Her lack of words doesn't hold her back!
Ellie prefers to climb up the slide at playgrounds. She doesn't get very far with her leather-soled shoes.

A Glimpse of Our Weekend

Friday was a nice and relaxing day for Ellie and me. The man traipsing around Morgantown was caught at 7:20AM about a mile from Jon's work (I forget if I linked the article for those who care but you can read about the event here). I cleaned up the dishes from our small group snacks after breakfast then played with Ellie. She really enjoys stacking her blocks back into their collapsed form - she definitely prefers this to stacking them on top of each other. I believe she also took a bath. 

Jon came home for lunch and Ellie took a nap. I worked on making another gift for a niece and when she woke up I put the sewing things away and we baked. In the evening we had a fall event for church and I signed up to bring a dessert. I brought a variation of this old-fashioned apple crisp recipe by Ina Garten. One of my friends recommended her recipes. I threw in cranberries and scratched the lemon and orange zest, along with the orange juice. Mimi said it turned out.

My little helper

We dressed warmly and went to the evening of festivities at the Montgomery's house. Mrs. Montgomery, Ruthie Noble, and Katie Hageman graciously offered to watch the children so I didn't have to keep an eye on Ellie after she had eaten her dinner of chili and rice. We stayed past all the other mom's with babies and finally headed home at 9:30. Ellie was pooped.

Saturday morning Jon was up early and off helping Ryan Frey with an electrical project. I slept until Ellie woke me up, around 8:00. We ate breakfast and prepared for the day. At 11:00 we met up with Kelly, Maya, and Mimi at Mr. Frey's house in Elverson for a fair trade event that Mrs. Frey and Mrs. Willis were hosting. They had all sorts of gift-type things such as jewelry, scarves, and bags. Linda Smith was there when we arrived so Ellie and Linda compared hair styles. They are both going with the bold, short look. It works.

Cousins hanging out. Ellie's showing Maya how cell phones work

Since Jon was helping out at Frey's house Tara invited Ellie and I to join us for lunch. She made a delicious chicken salad sandwich and had fruit and chips. Ellie was much more daring with Zoey (their pup) and once ventured close to her when she was sitting on the couch. She was a bit too brave because Zoey jumped up to come say hi and Ellie turned and ran for my legs. Ellie behaved well but was obviously unraveling by the end so I took her home for her nap.

Jon ended up working at Ryan's house past dark. He came back at 5:30 and we ate dinner. I put Ellie to bed at 6:45 then headed to Elverson to help Donna and Jess set up for Brittany's surprised baby shower.  I was home by 9:30 and we did some preparations for church, I made a couple of pinwheels for the party decor, then went to bed.

Sunday morning Ellie slept in until 8:45. That is a wonderful time to wake up, on any day except for Sunday! Jon left before we were ready and dropped off some things for the shower at his Mom's house. I followed after Ellie was dressed and her breakfast packed. I apologized to the nursery for having to feed her but felt pretty pleased since she had such a well-balanced breakfast (a bunch of grapes and a pancake) (yes, that is well-balanced in my book).

I left after the sermon to prepare for the surprise shower. Jess, Donna, and Amanda showed up before the other guests. Brittany came quite a bit after church ended due to some talented stalling techniques and was surprised, which was very exciting. We had lunch, opened gifts, played a game, opened more gifts, then bid the guests good day. You can ask Kelly and Mom what they thought about the shower. It was over by 2:35, which I think isn't bad (she arrived at 12:45).

I didn't take any pictures during the shower but here is some of the setup:

I hung around and helped Donna clean up, leaving her house at 4:00. Jon had been hosting his Dad, brothers, and Owen and Layla while I was gone. Although the company had left a while prior to my arrival, Jon had been entertaining Ellie for an hour and a half and she was being needy. He handed her over declaring his appreciation for staying home for Ellie during the week.

After the shower and company we decided to forego evening prayer at church and spent time as a family at home. Ellie went to bed promptly at 6:28 (somehow 6:30 really couldn't come soon enough) and she was very tired from her long day. Jon and I watched a movie and followed relatively close behind.

Ellieisms:
Ellie was testing me at Mr. Frey's house on Saturday. They have an antique glass case with a brass latch right at Ellie's level. At first I let her touch it but then she started jiggling and wiggling it so I told her no. I would remove her from the location and she would saunter back, put her finger on the latch, and look up at me before jiggling. Oh dear.

 stacking:

collapsing (she shakes her head when she gets it wrong):

Ellie Goes Boom-Boom

Wednesday morning Jon was back to work and Ellie and I went to church for Bible Study. We came home for lunch, all three of us, since I had neglected to defrost the lunch meat the night before for Jon to pack a sandwich. We ate our sandwiches in peace since Ellie ate before he came home and was in bed.

After nap time Ellie and I taught a piano lesson (Ellie kept the student's mom entertained). Ellie knows how to get as much attention as possible when the student's mom and sister are at the lesson, it's funny. Next we made caramelitas for Bible Study. I worked on the homework for the study and prepared dinner (soup). I had heard Tara was sick so I sent some soup over for her and Ryan and Jon grabbed fresh bread from Walmart for us all. I put Ellie to bed before heading off to Bible study at 6:50.

Thursday morning I had one major task: clean the house. Small Group was being held at our house and I needed to clean up. My craft area was a mess in the corner of the basement and it needed to be organized into the new hutch I had bought a week prior. Ellie helped by playing with my buttons and fabric stash. While she napped I finished up my project and started the dusting and laundry. Ellie woke up and we cleaned the bathrooms and vacuumed.

A man was running from the police locally and was receiving a lot of media attention (read more here). Jon and I chatted about it and I kept tabs on their progress throughout the day. Roads near us were closed for most of the morning into the afternoon but when I found out Weaver's Road was open I went out. I wanted apple cider for our snack for small group so Ellie and I ran out to Weaver's Orchard for a couple gallons (they are on special right now - $3.99 a gallon). We did not spot the suspect. When Jon arrived I washed the kitchen floor while he fiddled with the fireplace and watched Ellie.

Ellie posing in front of the bees at Weavers

Our group begins at 6:30 and I wasn't ready in time to have Ellie already asleep. Our couples were arriving as I was still plating the caramelitas and slicing apples and cheese, but it gave me something to do. We had a new couple joining our group so this was their first evening (technically it's a "test-run" but I hope they stay!) (It was Ryan & Lauren Smith, to people who care). Ellie behaved very well and was interested in Teo Rus. She also liked to have Jon hold her while everyone was talking. Before the study time began in the basement I put Ellie down for bed and she went right to sleep, which surprised me. I'll take it.

Elliesisms:
I do not generally worry about Ellie near the steps because she has never fallen while climbing up and she hollers at the top when she wants to go down. Thursday afternoon she carried a book up the steps and sat on the top step reading it. I received a phone call (a telemarketer) and Ellie fell halfway down the steps while I was on the phone. I frantically said "gotta go!" and hung up. Ellie somehow stopped about five steps down and recovered within minutes of me picking her up. I haven't found any bruises yet! But I think this was her first big tumble!
At Weaver's the cart return is on a hill that if you aren't careful the cart will fly down the hill. I lazily didn't want to take Ellie and the cart to the car and back to the cart spot (about 10 yards away) so I grabbed the groceries and lodged the cart into the last cart and took my stuff to the trunk. When I turned around Ellie was rolling down the hill in the cart. I caught her before she crashed but not before another costumer pulled in and witnessed the event.

Ellie re-enacting the event

Jon's Days Off

Monday morning we started our week slowly. Jon had off for his usual compensation day for traveling over the weekends and he was truly in recovery mode. I hadn't gone grocery shopping recently so we were out of cereal, orange juice, and eggs. Fortunately Weaver's Orchard has delicious apple cider donuts in the fall that I have been wanting since I ate one at Hannah Kurtz's wedding so I ran out and picked up half a dozen along with some Twin Valley Coffee beans. Welcome to America, Jon.
We spent quite a bit of time lounging on the couches in front of the fireplace. It was nice to sit and relax. At 9:00 Hunter came and spent the morning with us while Jon worked in the basement. After lunch I finally showered and Jon did some work around the house. At 2:00 I had two students and Jon watched Ellie. He had her outside with him as he loaded up some wood in the basement and organized his shed. Ellie loves watching him work. She must have been tired from being outside because she took a brief nap before dinner.

Supervising window washing

Brittany texted me in the morning and said that her school was having a fundraiser at Chick-Fil-A and asked if we wanted to order dinner from there and we eat together before the congregational meeting. Jon and I never turn down Chick-Fil-A so Peter and Brittany came bearing chicken at 6:00. We ate together then headed to church.
The congregational meeting was good and Ellie behaved in childcare. I picked her up and brought her back to the sanctuary for snacks and she walked around like she owned the place. When we got home she went straight to bed and Jon and I watched a TV show together.

Tuesday Jon had a second compensation day due to his traveling nightmare that caused him to come home a day late. Ellie and I definitely enjoyed having him home again! He spent some time raking leaves, unpacking, and he painted a door. Ellie watched him rake and wash windows. It was snowing early in the morning but just cold later. Kelly lent me Josh's baby snowsuit so I put Ellie in it to go outside to watch Jon work. She looked hilarious! Poor babe.

At 3:45 Ellie and I left and she went to Grandma's house while I taught a lesson. A grocery trip was desperately needed to we ran to Walmart and grabbed our items then went to Mom's house. Mimi had agreed to watch Ellie during my two evening lessons since I had Jon running out to Reading to pick up some items for our basement. Ellie was sleeping when I returned but woke up. Jon and Omar had brought the furniture pieces into the house but I had them bring the buffet for under the TV downstairs after they had relaxed a bit. It was nice to finally have the furniture I had been looking on Craigslist for for weeks.

Ellieisms:
Ellie gives out loud kisses voluntarily.

Olivia's Wedding & Jon's Return

Saturday morning I woke up with a text from Jon. They had been flying home for three hours and had to turn back due to their water tank leaking all 500 gallons out and apparently it is illegal to fly without that water. Tokyo refused to let them land at their airport (too many foreigners they would have to process or something) so they had to fly the three hours back to Hong Kong.

Ellie and I were disappointed, to say the least. Jon was wishing he was home since he was still feeling sick. It was a lose/lose situation. Fortunately his delayed homecoming meant I didn't have to spend my Saturday finishing cleaning up the house. Ellie and I left right after breakfast to pick up a gift for Olivia and Nate and grab a few ingredients for the dessert I needed to make for the reception (my go-to cake recipe can be found here).

I baked the cake while Ellie napped then I dressed and wrapped the gift. I packed Ellie's bag and dropped her off at Gibson's in time to make it to the church at 3:45. 

The wedding was wonderful. Uncle Steve officiated and had a great message. Olivia's dress was gorgeous - it was from the same designer as mine and was so flattering. The reception was in a tent which caused me to dress warmly and prepare to be cold for the next two hours but it was pleasantly warm! Tyler was MC and the dinner was from a pork BBQ spot in Morgantown. Guests brought all of the desserts. I was sitting with Ted & Liz DeWalt, Stephen & Sara DeWalt, Janell, Michael & his girlfirend, and Kelly and Josh. Corinne and Daniel came after his class and were right behind me at the next table, which was nice. I ended up remaining at the reception until after 9:00. 

The happy couple

Brie & me 

First dance

Ellie was hanging out at the Gibsons loving every moment of the chaos and attention. I hadn't meant to stay out so long (5 hours) but Calla insisted that she was behaving. I took her home and put her right to bed. 

The Gibsons gave Ellie this fun rocking duck

Sunday morning I decided to let Ellie sleep in since we had been up late. Of course she was awake at 9:02 (church begins at 9:00) so I gave her a bath and we leisurely prepared for church. We arrived with plenty of time before second service began. 

Ellie loves the ramp at church

Following church we went home and ate lunch then Ellie napped. Generally I rush around the house cleaning it up but I had done some of it Friday and I was just too lazy to put much effort into it today. Isn't Sunday the day of rest anyway? Jon didn't mind when he arrive at 3:30, he was just happy to be home! 

We decided to skip Sunday evening prayer since Jon would have fallen asleep. Actually, he did. In front of the fire. At 7:30. He didn't remain sleeping and held off going to sleep until 9:00. It is so nice to have him home!

Ellieisms: 

Ellie was very excited to see her Daddy come home! 

Ellie loves to play the piano. Sometimes she even sings along:

Friday

Friday morning Ellie woke up at 7:45 and we ate breakfast together and started up the fire. It’s amazing how our wood insert really heats the house! If I let it go out and stay out for too long the house really cools off. Our heat kicks on when it goes below 59, which has only happened once since Jon was gone (disclaimer: it was this cold in the morning because I refuse to wake up and add logs in the middle of the night).

Breakfast

At 9:00 we went over to Joie Culbert’s house to help paint. I wish I would have thought ahead and left Ellie at someone’s house because her youngest was off with his grandpa (her other two are at school). But she behaved the two hours I spent helping her paint the trim, some of the time being spent in the backpack.

We went to Nana’s house next for lunch. Grandma always enjoys watching Ellie play and couldn’t get over her walking around the house. Ellie knows exactly where her toys are in the family room and which cupboard she can play in: the one with the plastic bowls and pans.

Nana made us a nice lunch and we chatted until Ellie became cranky. We went home for naps and she slept a pathetic hour. I left her in the crib with a cup of milk and a book for another hour. When her complaining became loud I went in and she was sitting up and reading, just expressing her opinion about her situation. So I let her get up and play.

She did not last long with being content with her toys so eventually we went to Elverson to drop off something at Mom’s house and ended up back at Nana’s. Nana and Pop-pop were watching Ellie for me as I went out to dinner with Charlotte and Ginner. We went up and explored the playhouse until it was time for me to leave. I said goodbye to Ellie, who was already sitting in her highchair smacking her lips.

I picked up Charlotte and we met up with Ginner in Reading. She found a nice, small French Restaurant in the center of town to eat at. It was a wonderful time! Plus the food was delicious. During dinner Donna called and said that Ellie was asleep so I should take my time. I definitely took advantage of that offer. When I went to sleep Jon had boarded his plane and was heading back home! 

below: when I park the car I sometimes grab Ellie from her seat before getting out of the car and she likes to pretend to drive for a bit before we get out.