3 for Tea

Another post is needed to show off Ellie's birthday tea.

MaMop and BaPop set a pretty table, put out dress up clothes and even made tea sandwiches with M&M's in them!

Ellie thought it was great!

This girl sure has a sweet tooth. And with Halloween just days before her birthday who can blame her!!

She said she wished for "A Boat - not a real one like grampy's, but one I can float in the tub." I appreciate how specific she is with her wishes. Maybe a boat for Christmas :) We all talked in English accents and Ellie thought that was pretty funny. Tea may be good but special Birthday juice in fancy glasses is the best!

Thank you MaMop and BaPop for a divine birthday tea party!

Halloween & Birthday Madness

It's been a crazy couple of weeks!

What I wouldn't give to move my kids' birthdays to the spring!!!

In the span of 6 days we celebrated Halloween, Ellie's 3rd birthday and I put on a fundraising auction for her preschool! (We raised $10,000 in 3 hours)

Whew! I'm exhausted but have lots of good photos to show for my efforts!

A new tradition. Trick-or-Treating with the neighborhood kids.

Ellie still talks about how a 'monster' jumped out at her last year so she was a little trepidacious about the whole thing. But with the bigger kids at the head of the pack she quickly got into the idea of random neighbors giving her candy! We had a Halloween/birthday party complete with costumes, pumpkin crafts and presents, of course. 22 adults and 12 kids under age 7. Wowzers!

This year Ellie was a PUNK ROCKER for Halloween! She loved her crazy skirt but her favorite part was getting to paint her hair hot pink!! We had many more celebrations on her birthDAY but we'll save those for another post.

Fall Smattering

It's a very busy time of year in the Noble household!

Lots of birthdays, planning Ellie's preschool auction and 3rd trimester pains and excitement!

Here is a sampling of what we've been up to . . .

Alisa and I (and our husbands) have been friends since junior high. This photo was taken just 2 days before baby Sedona Rose was born!

Ellie and her friend "baby Dylan." Even though Dylan is well over a year old, I think Ellie will always refer to him as baby Dylan. She's constantly talking about having a baby brother. But I suspect she thinks he's going to born a toddler because she has been listing all the things she's going to teach him - like how to ride a bike, go pee in the potty and wear big girl panties. Poor baby brother ;) Drew is 30!!! I can't believe I'm married to such an old man!

We had a fabulous birthday celebration weekend starting with a delicious dinner at a Moroccan restaurant in Seattle called Marrakesh. We sat on the floor, ate with our hands and Drew even got to dance with the beautiful belly dancer.

I think this was his favorite birthday moment.

Ellie-isms

Ellie has always had a great vocabulary. Once she started talking - she talked in full sentences.

And let me tell you - she never stops!

But lately, her speech seems to have advanced to a whole new level.

Now, she really converses . . . she picks up on nuances of speech . . . and totally understands sarcasm.

Here are a few examples . . .

Drew was playing with Ellie on a blanket and said "Daddy, will you roll me up into a burrito?." But when he did, she got claustrophobic and started screaming. When he unwrapped her she looked completely hurt and said "Daddy, I wanted to be a taco!"

Some kids say no, some whine - but Ellie's phrase of defiance:

"It's not possible!"

Tonight at bedtime:

"I'm really tired, Mommy. You better only give me 2 more kisses."

And just for your viewing pleasure, here are a few shots of Drew and Ellie's outing to the pumpkin patch!

The perfect pair - a pumpkin and a worm

Naval Gazing

Now, at almost 31 weeks, I'm really starting to picture baby boy in our family.

Will he be like Ellie? Will he be a better sleeper? Will Ellie feel jealous? Will I survive having a newborn and a toddler?

In the meantime, it's fun to see how much Ellie loves her baby brother. She talks to my belly all the time and tells him that she'll teach him how to ride a bike and go pee on the potty.

Step One

This week marked a major milestone in Ellie's school career.

She had her first day of drop-off preschool.

We have belonged to this co-op preschool for 1 1/2 years but I've always stayed at school with her.

I was a little worried about drop-off day since she wouldn't even play in the playground by herself last year.

But we've been talking about drop-off day all summer and much to my surprise it was easy as pie!

Happy girl! She was so proud of herself.

Ellie has talked about her friend McCormick ALL summer. He's such a sweet little guy and they actually stood still for a photo! Doesn't she look grown up??!! When I got her set up at the art table and told her I would see her later she looked up at me and said "bye mum" eeek! I felt a few pangs pf separation but I quickly got over it and ran to the coffee shop to enjoy a cup of tea and 2 hours all by myself!

Is this winter?

"Is this winter, mommy??"

That's the question Ellie has been asking the last few weeks. Summer definitely faded out with rain and clouds and Ellie seems to have noticed!

Good thing she has such a great collection of rain coats! Drew's sister, Aunty Neen, came for a visit over labor day weekend. Look at that family of blue eyes!!!