Aunt Mandy

So the week after Elliette's birthday and having grandparents and Beanie out here Mandy was able to fly out and stay for a bit. It was a lot of fun and we showed her a lot of the same places but we did add the shopping areas of Carmel to her list of tourist activities. Aunt Mandy also brought Ellie some new Red Sox clothes and PJ's and a baseball bow for her birthday, she looked so cute in them, Thanks! A few things we did learn was that Ellie LOVES to chase the pigeons, we let her chase a few at the wharf and she was having a grand ol' time and had quite a crowd of people stopping to watch her, she is just so funny. She also LOVES cotton candy and dippin' dots - Thanks Mandy.

Sorry there are so many pics again, I get them off of everyone elses cameras because they are nicer and they just take so many cute fun ones.

1st Birthday and visitors

This past week has been a lot of fun. First thing is first, my little baby is no longer my baby - she has turned 1. I don't know what happened but she sure did decide that as soon as she was one she was a big girl and can do things all by herself. But on the plus side she has also become a little more cuddly so we'll take it. My parents and Beanie were able to come out for her birthday which was a lot of fun and with the amount of gifts they brought it looked like Christmas for her. We didn't do a whole lot on her birthday other than open presents and eat cake which Ellie just kind of picked at instead of really digging in (there are more pics of the cake on my treaty treats blog). She really loved her new toys, books, and clothes - Thank you so much everyone. Side note, the blocks were hand made by my brother and his wife and have her name on them and everything, how cute!

The next few days consisted of showing grandma, grandpa, and Beanie around Monterey. HBere is a quick recap of what we did... The first day we went down to Fisherman's wharf and walked around the souvenir shops. Don't judge, the double stroller is all that would fit in the trunk that day so we look kinda odd in the pics. While down there we took the time to walk along the harbor and look at the boats and the ocean and got a close up look at some jellyfish, crabs, and seals. The next day we went to the aquarium and hung out there all day long so Ellie could show them around and show them her play spots. She was so funny and caught the attention of everyone around when she was playing, dancing, and posing for the camera. When we were out on the observation deck Beanie and I looked out and saw a group of dolphins swimming by, that was really sweet. It was also the county fair and carshow this past week so we saw a LOT of really really really nice expensive cars driving around. That night my parents treated Justin and I to dinner at a place on the Wharf while Beanie babysat, it was so yummy and nice to get out and we were lucky enough to get one of the window seats so we also had a really great view. On Sat. we drove through Carmel so my mom could see it and then went to the mall where the boys saw GI Joe and the girls (including Elliette) just broused. After the mall we made our way to the beach and just relaxed on the sand watching the waves and Elliette play in the sand and water. It was a really fun week and since there was a lot of walking involved we were all pretty tired and worn out but it was worth it. On a side note, I am 33 weeks pregnant now which you can see in some of the pics - I feel huge but it is a baby not just me being super chunky.

Beat up

Ellie had her first run in with another baby today and she lost, in her defense she didn't actually fight back so technically she just turned the other cheek. On the first Tues of every month a bunch of us ladies who stay home during the day make treats or food or whatever and get together and have a little lunch and let the kiddos play. During this little get together poor Ellie had another little baby smack her in the head multiple times with a marker drawing all over her head - the pic doesn't really do the artwork justice. Then a little later the same little girl pushed her down and held Ellie there by her shorts and diaper and whacked her a few times. It was actually kind of funny because the marker thing didn't even phase Elliette she just kept playing and having a good time. I did take her and make her eat some lunch so she didn't end up completely covered in markers and then the second time she was fine with being pushed down but when I went in to grab her she had a sad look cause she kept trying to crawl away but couldn't cause she was being held there. I did have to ask the other little girl to try and be soft cause Elliette is just little still and she just looked at me with the cutest little innocent look, it was funny.