Day Trip

This past Saturday we took a trip to the Children's Museum....in Muncie?? Did any of you know that even existed? I didn't until a good friend approached me about going with her family. On the 3rd Saturday of the month, they offer free admission for everyone. So, of course, me being curious as well as cheap, this seemed like a perfect idea. :) We had been stuck inside most of the previous week due to a double ear infection for Ella, so we were all ready for a little get-away.
It's been so fun to see Ella develop her imagination and really start appreciating things like this. She had a blast!
The first stop was a dinosaur exhibit. Kinda fitting for us because recently Ella has been asking us for a dinosaur...she has now decided if she says "pleeaasse" really nicely, the Easter Bunny may bring her one. ;)



This is the only pic I got with her playmate, "Baby Ben", as she likes to call him. He's just a year younger than El and they definitely didn't want to stay together, which wasn't surprising. He sure kept his mom and dad on their feet chasing him around though! :)



Another hit for her was the puppet show area. They had every puppet under the sun, and she had a great time both watching and participating. Here she is with her puppet of choice, a sheep.



Ella and I taking a break in the "book nook."



Going down one of the slides, which are always a hotspot for her.



Trying to make her way through the ant colony.




There was a "barn" area with some farm animals and some information about being a veterinarian. In the upstairs "loft" of the barn there was some equipment to play doctor to some stuffed kitties. Ella sure knew what to do with the stethoscope!



One of my favorite parts of the museum was a "mock town" that was set up. I'm such a kid I wanted to jump right in and participate! LOL One of the many joys of being a parent to young children, you can pretty much jump right in with them and it's ok! :)
There was a "street" that you went down, and on either side were different places to visit. Things such as a post office, grocery store, school, pet store, etc. And at all the places there were dress-up clothes to actually play the part of mailman, check-out person, etc. if you chose to.

Here's Ella checking out the snake in the pet store.



Playing a student at school. Which, by the way, I am NOT ready to see her sitting behind a desk like this yet!!!



And then she takes her turn at teaching. Lovin' the chalkboard!



Taking a break for "recess." I lost count of how many times she went up and down this slide!



Then we came to the grocery store, which I thought was pretty cool. Ella's trying to decide which produce looks the freshest....



paying for her items...



And then taking her goods next door to the kitchen to put them away. The workers are constantly moving the food from the kitchen back to the store, it's pretty funny to watch.



There were several other things to do there, it took about 1 1/2-2 hrs for us to get through it all with a toddler, but believe me, she was more than willing to stay longer. If you're interested in checking it out, the website is www.munciechildrensmuseum.com

We'll definitely go back! :)

Movin' on up

Out with the old......




AND...in with the NEW! :)



to put it mildly, we're excited! :)

It's Playtime!

There's a great place for kids in town called "It's Playtime." Our first time there was last Valentine's Day, (awww, romantic, huh? Complete with a fish fry for dinner! LOL) Ella was only 1 1/2 yrs at the time, and she did enjoy it, but man, she LOVES it now! We always save things like this for the winter when we're not able to hit all the parks around us. There's tons of things to do for the kids, ranging from slides to ride-on toys. Also, it helps enhance their imagination with tons of dress-up clothes and a small stage, as well as a kitchen. There's even a rock-climbing wall.
Here's Ella climbing up to the slide



Heading down as fast as she can; just to run up and do it all over again!



She has a hard time deciding what to play with first. Runs from one thing to the next! If you want a good nap for your kid(s), bring 'em here!



These dogs are her absolute favorite. She never seems too happy when another child is playing with one of them, even when she's perfectly content with something else. We are working on the art of sharing...



Every time we have went, the employees have been great at walking around sanitizing toys and putting them back in their place for the next child to grab. We did go last Saturday with a friend, and it was the busiest we have seen the place. But, even at full capacity, it did not feel too crowded for the kids. Just have to look a little harder to keep track of your little one, though they wear bracelets and there's only one exit, so it does feel pretty safe. :)

Hmmm...I should get a cut of the profit for promoting this one! LOL

Happy Birthday, Grandpa!

Last Saturday was my grandpa's 81st birthday, and we dropped by to visit and celebrate with him. Grandparents are so important to me, I don't know what I'd ever do without them. They all are so much a part of my upbringing and memories I have; it sometimes pains me to think about Ella not having my mom around as she's growing up. I know her other grandparents make up for it, as well as the rest of our family. We are very lucky.

Here is grandpa with his Birthday treats. Anyone who knows him knows how obsessed he is with sweets! He can put anyone to shame when it comes to a plateful of cookies, pie, and cake.

(If you look carefully, in the bottom, left-hand corner of the chocolate cake, there is a piece missing. Who would've done such a thing? Surely not my sweet, innocent grandmother....just want to see if you're reading this, Grandma!! :) She thought no one would notice!



My cousin and Aunt from Michigan came down to spend the weekend. We wished Grandpa a Happy Birthday, and got ready to dig in. Notice how Ella's got her eyes on the prize!!



Hope you have a fantastic year of good luck and good health, Gramps!! We love you soooo much!!

*SMOOCH*

Daddy, pleeeaaasseeee......

No words needed. She's going to get better at this the older she gets....

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to my sweet husband! My world is a better place because you're in it. We make quite the team.....



Love ya! :)

Ella's 1st slumber party

Ella's cousins are so good to her, and she truly loves them all for it. She loves playing with them every chance she gets. The week after Christmas, we kept my niece, Allie, overnight while she was off of school.

The evening started of with what else? The movie 'Up' and popcorn, in your jammies, of course!




When it was time to go to bed, both girls slept in Ella's room. She thought it was so cool to sleep in her sleeping bag. Both girls were pretty excited about what the next day would bring.



The next morning, as I was getting ready, the girls were having a blast using Ella's stroller to race up and down the hallway.



Ready to head out! We had given Allie a gift certificate for Christmas to use at Build-A-Bear and I had promised I would take her, so Ella could get her first one with her. So, it was gonna be a fun-filled day of animal stuffing, lunch at the food court, and, of course, the Merry-go-Round. What kid wouldn't be excited?



First stop was Build-A-bear. It took a lot of thought and contemplation on picking out the perfect animal. Allie finally decided on a dog, and Ella on a cat. Here they are waiting their turn to get stuffed. Ella's still not quite sure what's going on, at one point she was ready to run out of the store to play with her very unstuffed and flat kitty.



Ella got a lesson on getting the heart ready to put inside the kitty as it was being stuffed.

First, you pat it to get the heart pumping.....



Then, you've got to give it a big kiss to put some love in that kitty. :)




The girls gave their animals a bath, so they were ready for the real world!




They made them birth certificates and the last step was to pick out some clothes. Allie had no problem finding something for hers, but Ella was not interested in clothes. At all. She prefers all her animals and babies at home to be naked, so I wasn't pushing the issue. Why spend money on clothes when they'd be lost under her bed in no time? And she's been perfectly happy with her naked kitty.:)

While I stood in line to pay for everything, Brad took the girls outside of the store to some little rides that are in the middle of the mall. About every time we go to the mall, Ella loves to play on them. We have never paid for her to ride them, but she's perfectly content to just go from one to the other, playing around in them.



After lunch, we rode the infamous merry-go-round.....twice! Am I a nice aunt, or what? ;)



Then, because it was a special day and because Allie had some money burning a hole in her pocket, we let the girls play some games at the arcade. It was purely all for the kids, Brad and I didn't enjoy our friendly competition of air hockey at all. (For the record, I believe I won....)




After leaving the mall, we needed to stop at Sam's Club for a few things before taking Allie back. This last picture makes me laugh. The backstory: Kids get free cookies at Sam's..did you know that? Well, they do..and it's a great tactic for keeping Ella quiet for atleast half the store. :) So, they're munching on their cookies and Allie, being her sweet, thoughtful self, asks if she can buy something for her mom and dad. I'm thinking to myself, "What is she going to buy them here? An economy size package of TP or a gallon of peanut butter?" As we're walking through the produce section, she sees the watermelon and decides she would like to buy one. Ok, I decide, could be a lot worse things to spend money on. In the end, she also ends up with some flowers to take home; her parents were having a party the next day and she wanted to help decorate. Isn't she the sweetest little girl? I sure hope Ella is that thoughtful when she gets older.....she'll be the one coming home with the gallon of pb. ;)



All in all, the girls had a great time. Ella still talks about it a month later. I'm hoping she has the opportunity to make many more memories like this with her cousins in the future. Family is so important, and I hope she always stays close to them all.