Life With Ella

Ella had a great day at school but after school was where all the action was.  First, I picked up Brickelle and Ella from school, took them back here, gave Brickelle her lesson and then I took Ella and Brickelle to Blush.  They were playing with these little toys and brought them everywhere with them.  They had a lot of fun.  Tonight, Ella hung out with Stella and Juliet and of course Helen and KJ.  We all went back to Blush so Ella got her Blush for the week today! Did you find Ella’s little animal? Their little friends are coming with them to Blush.Ella Stella and Juliet hopscotching to Blush. Frozen yogurt time.  Ella needs a suntan. Making a choo choo train on the way home.

The three of us went to the game today with our friend Mary.  It was pretty cold out and although we have amazing seats, we were in the shade and cold!  The Giants lost but that’s ok.  We need to lose games in order to win more.  Ella had a lot of fun.  We bumped into one of her soccer teammates and they sat together.  After the game, we came back here and I gave Ella a piano lesson.  She has finished her first piece with both hands.  She kind of amazes me with her focus and concentration.  We’ll see where it all goes.  After dinner, Stella, Juilet, KJ and Helen came by to say hi.  The girls all played well together…no need for the talking stick.The cutest Giants fan in the world. Mother and daughter walking to the ballgame. I have no idea why Ella is giving me the finger. Family love at a baseball game. Nothing like the warmth of a Giants blanket.

Here is a little video of Ella playing some pieces that she’s working on.  The first one is “This Old Man” and the second one is the beginning of Ode To Joy hands together.  It’s pretty incredible that Ella can play hands together like this.  We’re just trying to take everything slowly so she really understands what she is doing and doesn’t burn out.  She’s doing an amazing job and continues to practice at least 5 times a week.

Ella got right back into her routine this morning.  She seemed very excited to be at school, loved the Tree Frog Treks class…she met a giant tortoise and fed it some strawberries, and then had a super sweet ballet class.  I have pictures from ballet and a video from this weekend.  The video is of Ella swimming and playing in the water and the last part is of the lady making Ella’s silhouette.  It’s pretty funny.  At first she’s fine and then you can see Ella being totally uninterested in the whole thing!  OK – I’m tired. I love this one so much.  I have a feature on my new camera that does this.Now for the video…

We were out late last night(Sunday)  having a lot of fun and Ella didn’t get to sleep until after 10:00.  Waking up Ella at 7:00 this morning was not pleasant, but there were no tears and no yelling so it was all good.  Turns out that Ella had an amazing day at school.  She loved it.  When I picked her up from Tree Frog Treks, she was so excited to tell me that she touched a hissing Madagascar cockroach.   She said that they built a bridge for the cockroaches to crawl on.  I was happy that I got there on time and not early.  Ballet was beautiful.  There is a part in the video where Ella fell.  She was totally fine and don’t be embarrassed  if you laugh.  I did! I think Alicia outdid herself today.  What a gorgeous braid!  Ella couldn’t stop looking at it . Getting ready for class. A little stretching. Before dinner. Ella found her own ballet barre right here in our own building!Jesse and Heather’s dog Bob died today.  So sorry for such a huge loss.  He was a great little guy.  He will be missed.  We love you guys.

It’s super late so my words will be few.  This morning, Ella and I went on a bike ride along the water – we were looking for tsunamis. Thank goodness, we didn’t find any.  We had a lot of fun being outside.  We met mommy back at the house and then we all headed over to the ballpark in Noe Valley.  Ella had her first T Ball practice of the year today.  There was a small turnout but it was perfect to get to know some kids who we didn’t know.  Ella had a blast and also mastered the monkey bars before practice.  Tonight we met the Kim/Arena clan at Los Jarritos to celebrate Ron’s birthday.  Everyone had a great time.  Julie, Justin and Kate also joined us.  After dinner, everyone came back here where Helen and I watched Monster Inc with the kids and Sunny, Kate and Ron stayed downstairs and had adult conversations.  It was a wonderful night. On our ride this morning looking for tsunamis.mastering the monkey bars. Running the bases. Batting Fielding. A little more batting. Costume change…time to go to dinner. The girls having dinner at their own table.  They did a great job without us! Bubble fun. Sweet KJ> Happy Birthday ROn!  Hope you had a beautful day.

I think I waited too long to write this after taking my ambien so I”ll make this very short.  The video below is of Ella’s piano lesson today.  She did the twinkle duet with me and then learned Ode to Joy!  Ella is truly fantastic.  Here are a few pictures that AJ sent me.  Beautiful shots of Ella, papa and Milo.  Check Ella’s finger in the last shot.  We watched the Bee movie tonight because Ella is learning about and studying bees in class.  Ella is going to have a few more questions to ask Ms. Alicia about Bees on Monday.  Here are the pictures before I fall asleep. Nice finger big cuz! happiness after school on Thursday.  Alicia gave Ella a very special hair style that Ella loved. Talking to papa on the phone after school. My little serious student. My little goofy piano student.Sweet Towby hanging out with Lou Seal.

Today, we stayed around the house for most of the day.  Milo needed some rest and is really battling this cold so we decided that we didn’t have to take any field trips today.  We spent a great part of the morning playing down stairs.  Ella and Milo were playing with Legos and every time Ella began to build something, Milo would knock it over.  Ella was getting frustrated but instead of taking it out on Milo, she went over to her dry erase board easel thing and drew the following… This is Ella’s way of expressing her feelings.  There was a picture of Milo with a circle around it and a line through it and then there was a drawing of a leggo and all around it it said, “NO, NO, No, No:  I thought that was great way to get Ella to get her feelings off her chest!  It was also really funny.We had lunch at Crossroads Cafe which was a big success.  Ella had her usual bagel and some fruit and Milo had a bowl of mushroom barley soup.  By the end of lunch, Milo literally almost fell asleep in the soup!    After lunch, we came back here and Ella went over to see Stella and Juliet.  She has been dying to see them – they were out of town during the beginning part of the week.  The girls had a great time as always.  After that, We took Milo into the hall to play with the bubble machine.  Milo kept trying to eat the bubbles off the ground like a dog.  It was hysterical. Bubble fun for everyone!After the bubbles, Ella had a swimming lesson.  She was amazing.  I didn’t take any pictures, but you have to trust me. Ella’s backstroke is like she’s flying across the water.  Her freestyle has improved a billion percent and she’s really swimming like a swimmer…whatever that means. Here’s the gang on our way to Nama. Ella beat grandma at Tic Tac Toe about 8 times. Ella and grandma having a wonderful night together.Milo is so happy.  He’s watching every move that Ella makes. Milo and AJ dancing the night away.What a bunch of gooofy people!  Love is everything. Ella and Milo dancing.  Ella took this lovely picture of Michael and Milo. Finally home from all that dancing and eating,   Ella had a job…to feed Hanna’s fish Blue.  Ella did a great job

Ella was so excited when she was going to sleep yesterday morning because she knew that she was going to wake up and then  a few hours later, Ella would be with some of her favorite peeps.  So cute to see Milo come off the plane and immediately see Ella in give her one of those heart melting smiles.  We spent most of the day hanging around, letting Milo check the place out and for all of us  to reconnect and enjoy our beautiful time together.   Ella and Milo are the cutest together.  They are going to have a bast this week.  Ella is having a sleepover with grandma for the next 2 nights and Ella can’ be happier.  I’m sure my mom is having a blast too.  We love having everyone here.  The guys will join us on Thursday.  Tomorrow we will go do something fun.  Here are a few pics from today. Ella practicing her letters before breakfast the other morning. So excited to see grandma, AJ and Milo. Holding hands in the back seat of the car.  True love. It warms my heart to see these two playing together.My very serious piano stuent. Chocolate with Grandma = pure heaven on so many levels.

Ella was doing a lot of water ballet and some old school swimming.  I loved editing the video and watching Ella thrive in the pool.  For my visitors next week…don’t forget your bathing suits!  Not too much to say.  I’m heading towards that sleepy place.  Can’t wait for everyone to be here next week.  I love you guys.