Trick or Treating

Gracie, our little princess, was timid about ringing doorbells and saying "Trick or Treat." I had her practice at our house before we headed out for the neighbor's houses. She only needed a little coaxing and then she had a lot of fun.

Gracie was a beautiful princess. We didn't have to spend a penny on costumes this year since we already owned all of the necessary items to be a princess. Ella's elephant costume was given to us by my cousin, so whoever says the average person spends $60.00 on costumes didn't poll us.

The princess enjoyed the warm weather, but her wicked not-step-mother made her wear warm leggings under her dress anyway. :-)

One of our neighbors down the street was decked out as a witch and sat outside to greet kids. She looked very authentic. I should have taken a couple shots since Gracie's eyes are closing. There's always next year!

No Fair!

Ella and Gracie usually take a bath together, but Ella has had a few "accidents" in the bathtub recently, so Gracie refuses to take a bath with her. (I honestly can't say that I blame her!) Ella stands on the outside and looks so confused about why she's not sharing a bath with Gracie.

"Um, Gracie...I promise I'll try not to go potty in the tub if you let me in!" That's my translation of all of the babbling that was going on in this picture.

Ella finally decided her pleading wasn't going to work, so she just sat down and watched Gracie playing with her mermaids...all alone!

Not For Ella

Gracie is a very good big sister, but recently has become a little "too helpful" when it comes to telling Ella what to do and not do. I just stood back and watched as Ella was trying to get into the DVDs under the TV. Gracie knows that when Ella gets into the DVDs we tell her, "No, No. Not for Ella." Today she decided to take matters into her own hands and...

she kind of tackled her and pulled her backwards. Ella wasn't too happy, but then she looked up and saw me and appeared to realize that she had been caught by a higher authority than Gracie, so she quickly abandoned her plan of raiding the DVDs.

Ella in Action

Ella is an on-the-go kind of gal these days. She doesn't sit still for very long. Our basement that Brent finished (with the exception of the trim) doesn't have any furniture yet, so for now I have made it a playroom. It is perfect for Ella to do some exploring. She climbed up into Gracie's Dora chair and posed for a cute picture. Mike and Angie, if Gracie had seen Ella in her Dora chair she would have claimed ownership in a hurry!

I was trying to get a shot of Ella crawling, but she decided to stop and smile instead!

Since she was so good at climbing into the chair, she decided to do it again and kick back and relax!

What a big girl, our Ella is getting to be. She's still the best little baby!

"All right, Mommy. I'll pose one more time but then I want to do some playing!"

Round 3

Today I took Gracie back to the dermatologist for her third appointment. She started with 4 warts on her fingers (I think, but I'm losing track). Her first treatment went well, but we had to go back for a second application of the medicine. Today was her third application of the medicine and she had two new minuscule warts. Ick! We were disappointed to find two new ones, but there was also success as the biggest warts were either gone all together or much smaller. Gracie is just as pleased as can be with her dermatology appointments. She loves the doctor, the rewards for being so brave (thank you Grandpa and Nana), and the suckers she gets from the receptionist at the clinic. She doesn't care that she has warts; in fact she calls them bumps. Her doctor said she can look at Gracie's skin and she that she is predisposed to viral infections, but she thinks that as Gracie ages and "gets tougher" she should outgrow this. We hope so! Her doctor also said there is research that proves you should yell at your warts and they will go away quicker, so we have been doing lots of yelling in our house!

The Confession

Yesterday, since Brent was home, he had a little extra time with the girls. He was sitting on the couch watching Gracie play, so I put Ella beside him on the couch so I could get a few things done. A couple minutes later I heard Ella crying and I went to see what was wrong. She was on the floor by the couch crying, and Gracie said, "Mommy, she fell off the couch." Well, Brent was nowhere in sight, so I went to find him. He was in the other room and heard what Gracie said, and he immediately protested, "I didn't leave Ella on the couch. I put her on the floor." I said, "Well I didn't think you would leave her on the couch, but it looked funny when I went in there and you weren't around and Ella was on the ground." I reentered the living room supposing that Ella had just gotten fussy and that was why she had started crying. However, when I looked up at Gracie she had tears in her eyes and said, "I put Ella on the couch, Mommy." Instantly I realized what had happened. I just explained that Ella could only be on the couch if someone was with her. Gracie felt so badly for hurting her sissy, so that was punishment enough this time. I know the day will come when Gracie doesn't willingly offer the truth, but it's really sweet to see her tell the truth, even when she knows it will get her in trouble.

The Library and Fun With Daddy

We go to the library at least once every two weeks, but usually it's a weekly trip. Today Brent had a day off from school, so he went to the library with us. It was kind of nice, because I usually have to chase Ella around the floor while Gracie wants to be read to. Challenging...yes. Impossible...no!

Ella enjoyed spending some time reading with her daddy. Yes, I know I shouldn't put her in blue. She was mistaken for a boy, despite the flowers on the outfit and the pink pacifier. The library also has movies, so we let Gracie get Mary Poppins and The Wizard of Oz. She was very excited since she had never seen either one. So far, The Wizard of Oz is her favorite. Mary Poppins is just a little too long for a 4 year old.