Dress Rehearsal

The Big Week finally arrived. Ellison was thrilled to finally have her dance costumes, though I couldn't believe it when I saw the one costume we get to keep happened to be another Dorothy outfit! Thankfully our little biscuit makes the cutest Dorothy ever, but sheesh. Now we'll have another 123 Dorothy pics to add to our collection from Halloween. The week started off with a bang when we went to the dance studio to take her dance portraits. Oh. My. Word. What was literally supposed to be a 2 minute deal - stand there, smile and pose, one click, next person - ended up a 45 minute ordeal as I looked like a total freak, sweating profusely, with perspiration dripping down my forehead, begging and pleading with my STRONG WILLED 3 year old to just stand there and take ONE STINKING PHOTO! We stepped aside and waited so she could watch 3 other kids do it extremely quick, to warm her up to it. The first 35 minutes she wouldn't even stand in position, instead choosing to cling to me. Miss Angela, her teacher, even tried tactics. Finally, we got her to stand there without me, but she refused to pose, and refused to smile. The photographer actually said I needed to start traveling with him since I had such great kid tactics, but do you think they worked on my child?! Photographer Phil and I got real acquainted, since I resorted to pretending to tickle his armpits, falling all over the floor next to him, standing upside down, etc. Ellison had the look on her face where she totally wanted to burst into a smile, but bit the hell out of her lips so we wouldn't see it. Argh. After my body temperature went back down to normal, I realized that it's just fine. She's 3. The portrait we'll have will certainly bring back funny memories.

So I didn't know what to expect for the dress rehearsal or recital. Since Ellison was a little slacker in dance class the last several weeks, sometimes dancing and sometimes just standing there flopping around, I was betting that she would just stand there on stage and do nothing. She was WAY excited to get dressed in her costumes and have make-up on, but I figured that'd be the extent of it, and wondered in the back of my head if we were going to encounter disaster when the time came for her to leave me to go on stage.

She absolutely loved watching the show while waiting her turn, and was pretty hyped up. She left my side easily and excitedly, so anxious to get on stage. It was so cute, as soon as they came out she went right out front (she's normally in the middle 2nd row) and separated herself, then mostly watched the other girls with the look, "What the bloody heck are y'all doin'?", then would try to see me and Jonathan out in the audience.

She would join the other Dorothy's for some of the parts, though.

It was WAY adorable!!! I was the crazy parent beaming from ear to ear with tears in her eyes. The hilarious part is, as soon as she came back up to the balcony and I greeted her, she was grinning from ear to ear, jumping up and down, shouting, "I want to do it again, again, again!!!". Then it was time to change into her "Surfin' USA" outfit. She danced on the balcony to heart's content to all of the other songs playing while she waited.

Her little friend, Isabella Tooley, and Ellison

She didn't even mind having to hold hands with one of the big girls for the practice finale.

Then it was showtime again, and she danced like a little champ. :-)

That's our little peanut, kinda the 2nd one from the right.

An exciting night for our little dancer!

[May 19, 2010]

Rollerskates

"Look, Mom, rollerskates!"

[May 19, 2010]

Baseball Season

The employees of RFMD and their families were treated to an evening Grasshoppers baseball game. It ended up being spur-of-the-moment for us since we had forgotten about it, but it was a gorgeous evening to take in the game.

Ellison was all geared up to get a pic with her beloved "Hopper" until she realized there were people there to watch (and waiting for their own photo op), then became instantly shy. :-)

As is often the case, she was our little bottomless pit during the game. For things like cotton candy and popcorn, of course.

We all really enjoyed the game, but had to make it a pretty early night since it was a day without a nap (see earlier comment about forgetfulness) and back to school the next day.

She had to give the replica of Little Babe Ruth a hug and kiss on the mouth (as we both cringed thinking of all of the germs that just planted themselves on her precious lips), too, before we left.

[May 12, 2010]

The Strawberry Patch

We headed to Rudd Farm to pick strawberries with Megan and Baity one morning. I'd been wanting to take Ellison for some time. I remember picking strawberries at my Uncle Bob's house next door as a kid all the time - one of those great spring/summer memories. She was so excited and wanted to carry the basket all by herself. Until she realized it was getting too heavy, and it was much better to just eat the strawberries that Mom picked. I think she picked one berry, maybe two, and the rest of the time was spent depleting our supply. It was fun (and bloody hot) though, and my tastebuds met up with the sweetest berries they have ever met. I was carrying on inappropriately during one taste test. My mouth is watering right now just thinking about it. They made a darn good Summer Strawberry Pie, too! Mmmm...

Taste testing

Afterwards, we grabbed lunched and headed over to the Barksdales for a short bit. The girls actually played great together, playing dress-up the whole time.

[May 12, 2010]

Matthew's Birthday Party

Sweet Matthew Holcomb turned one, and we joined the gang in celebrating.

Ellison, Big Sis Ella, and Ella James (holy Ell's!!!)

Ellison was shy for a good chunk of the time and wasn't keen on interacting with others, until she saw a bunch of little girls running back and forth into the woods screaming (for fun). It was the ice breaker for her. They were all hilarious, pretending scary monsters were back there and going to get them, so they'd run back and forth.

Ella (in the way back), Ellison, Baity, and ?Helena

Baity and Ellison

The mini-roller coaster was a hit - all of them always insisting it was their turn.

A great party and fun family night out. :-)

[May 8, 2010]

My Mother's Day

My Mother's Day was actually kinda spent on Saturday, since I had to work 12 hours on the actual day. I first had to run off to a baby shower for my friend, Jennifer Stone, then came home and just hung out with Ellison while Daddy went to grab us some lunch. It was a beautiful day, and we layed around on the hammock together for a while just chatting and resting. Then Daddy appeared, we ate lunch, I opened a lovely card and my new stethoscope (mine got stolen at work!), and had a gorgeous bouquet of roses given to me. It was such a great afternoon of just being Mom.

Ellison wanted to take our picture. Not too bad for 3...

And since Teddy is such an important part of the family, too...

We all then headed to celebrate Matthew's 1st birthday! I always catch myself wanting to call him Baby Matthew to Ellison, but he's not a baby anymore! These Little People are growing as fast as Chia Pets before our eyes.

[May 8, 2010]

Gifts from Abuela

Ellison's sweet Abuela knows how much our girl loves dresses, so she went to work sewing her 3 new dresses! Ellison absolutely loves them, and we absolutely love having such beautiful keepsakes from Abuela.

Here she is when she saw them come in the mail...

Abuela embroidered this one by hand!

Spinning around to see how twirly they are.

Muchas gracias, Abuela! Te amamos mucho!!!

[May 7, 2010]