The Life and Times of Ellis Kaye: August 2009

Most of the time, this is how Ellis pushes the stroller around the house. I think it's because she wants to see the babydoll while she's pushing it.

Ellis and her doll. I found this Asian babydoll on Amazon and just had to order it. It's not half-Indian but it will do. I have since named it Mei-Mei which means "little sister" in Mandarin.

Not sure what Mei-Mei did here but it appears that she's getting a lecture from her big sis!

Cuddling. Read below to find out why she's sleeping with Mei-Mei...

Ellis is checking out the other kids who came to visit the fire station. I seriously love how diverse our neighborhood is.

Engine 1

Inspecting Engine 1 with Jo-Jo (her friend and babysitter)

Driving the fire truck. I thought she'd lose her mind when Jo-Jo put her in the seat but she just grabbed the steering wheel and seemed ready to go.

Truck BIG, Ellis SMALL

Playing with the ladder

Watching the firefighter demonstrate the water hose

"Wawa, Wawa, Wawa" was pretty much all she had to say for this one

As you can tell from the photos, we recently bought Ellis her first doll and doll stroller. Every time we were at the park she'd try to play with other kid's dolls and, recently, she started to pick up her stuffed animals and pat them, rock them, comfort them and give them her sippy cup. So, it seemed the appropriate time to get her a doll of her own. For those of you that know me well, this was not an easy purchase for me. As a kid, I spent more time playing with my brother's Tonka trucks than I did with dolls, so this whole "girl" thing is a bit of a learning curve for me. Anyways, once the doll and stroller arrived, Ellis fell in love. She pushes Mei-Mei from one end of the house and back. If she's awake and we're home, she's playing with this doll and stroller. So, obviously, good purchase despite my reservations.

As you can tell from the sleeping picture, Ellis took Mei-Mei to bed for her nap time yesterday. Usually I don't let her sleep with toys. She has one snugglie (DA BEEEEE) and that's it. But yesterday while Jo-Jo was watching her, Ellis managed to take her snugglie into the bathtub with her, thus rendering it too wet for nap time. Since I wasn't here, Joanna gave her the doll to help her sleep. When I got home and she told me what had happened I immediately found the backup snugglie (yes, we have two) and headed into her room. I didn't think she'd sleep with such a fun toy and was determined to swap them out so that Ellis could nap. Well, needless to say, I found Ellis cuddled up with Mei-Mei. I thought it was so cute that I just had to take a picture of her.

This morning our local fire station held an open house for kids in the neighborhood. I decided to take Ellis and I'm really glad I did. As you can tell from the pictures, she enjoyed poking around the fire trucks and observing all the kids. She did get a little scared when some firefighter (who obviously does not have children) decided to honk the really loud horn. In fact, there was a collective cry that rang out from many kids and that, I think, is what actually scared Ellis (not the noise). Anyways, it was fun to watch her explore this new place. And it just reminded me once again why I love living in the city.

Last week we all flew to Portland, Oregon for our friend's wedding. I was a bridesmaid and Ellis was the ringbearer. Ellis did really well on the flights and she quickly adjusted to the 3 hour time change. While in Portland, Vimal went camping with the groomsmen (yes, you read that right--Vimal went camping) and, since my wonderful mother once again made the trip, I was able to go out for Colleen's bachelorette party! But of course, despite all that fun, Ellis ended up stealing the show in her white tuxedo on the day of the wedding. The venue was in an Arboretum and, despite the heat, the wedding was perfect. All in all, the trip was a great success. Seeing Steve and Colleen get married was also really wonderful for me because I witnessed their courtship from reconnection to wedding. I can honestly say that this couple is meant to be together!

Getting combed and ready for her big moment