Life With Ella

Today we decided to go to Golden Gate Park.  The weather was beautiful and we thought that we could squash Ella’s kayaking desire by going on a row boat at Stowe Lake.  When we got there all the rowboats were rented so Ella decided that instead of waiting, we should go on a pedal boat.  Well…we got 45 minutes of amazing exercise.  It was such a sweet afternoon and Ella was so cooperative.  After our pedal boating, we had a little picnic on the side of the lake.  Ella’s cold seems to be all better.  She actually fell asleep at 8:30 tonight so that means we will have a happy camper tomorrow morning.

Ready for an afternoon on the lake.

Lots of love and fun.

Our picnic.

Ella loved this little tree.  She loved how she could reach up to the top.

Twirling in her twirly dress.

Love by the lake.  Mommy and Ella were feeding the ducks, geese and of course seagulls.

Last night our friends Heidi and Sharon came over for a Rosh Hashana dinner.  We had a great time.  Ella had a lot of fun with all of us.  Right at bed time, Ella got a stuffy nose and was breathing in really hard and she was getting really frustrated that she was having trouble breathing.  She started yelling, “It feels like a big ball up my nose…it’s too big.”  It was sad but I was really impressed with her description.  Today we laid low because we wanted Ella to get some rest so her cold would go away.  We took a walk with Becca and were throwing some bread into the water over the 3rd street bridge and we looked down into the water and saw Ron and Juliet kayaking in the Bay!  It was fantastic.  Luckily I had my camera and took some great shots of them.  Ella really wants to go kayaking now.  Maybe in 20 years or so.   Tonight, Phyllis, Hannah, Naomi and Charlie came over and we had Rosh Hashana dinner and played the Beatles rock band.  We had so much fun.  Ella sang Yellow Submarine with Sunny.  At the end of the post is a video of Ella playing the shofar.  She is amazing.

Going to school on Friday morning.  Nothing like a lollipop at 7:50 am.  By the way uncle Michael…Ella picked this headband because you love sea horses.

Washing hands at school.

Fun fun fun with the shofar.

Becca and Ella playing around in the lobby.

Ron and Juliet on their amazing kayak adventure.

Trying to catch a bubble.

Sunny, Ella and Becca on a beautiful sunny day.

Ella was really excited about her swimming lesson today.  Ella did a great job.  Ella told us that she held her breath under water, learned to keep her legs straight when she kicked. Megan is going to teach Ella how to start swimming freestyle next week.  Here are some pictures of the lesson.

Well…Ms. Alicia outdid herself today.  When I picked up Ella today, she came running towards me with a wonderful princess hairstyle.  Ms. Alicia and Ella decided that they need a blue headband and it would be just like Cinderella’s hair.  Here are 2 pictures.  The first is of a serious princess and the second is of a very happy preschool kid.

Today was Strike Out Violence Day at the ballpark.  It was a successful day all around…Rich Aurilia one of our players recited an amazing pledge about being a “No Hitter” both on the field and in the home and Jonathan Sanchez, one of the pitchers who pitched a no hitter a few weeks ago was standing by his side.  Sunny was honored and Sunny and Ella were on the field together.  It was super sweet.  To top it all off…the Giants won!  They clobbered the Dodgers.  A whole bunch of our friends were at the game – including Stella and Juliet and we all had a blast.

Ella insisted on wearing her tutu to the game.

Just like a real ball player.

The jumbotron.

Ella and mommy on the field.

Ella and mommy on the jumbotron.

Mommy and Ella during the national anthem.  Ella decided that she was going to cover her ears.

Ella and Lou Seal.

Me and Ella at the game.

Stella, Ella and Juliet.  Its always so hard to get all 3 to cooperate at the same time.

Happy Ella sitting between her 2 best friends.

Laura, Kate, KJ and Karen.  Kate held KJ for a while to give Helen a little break.

Our friends Simon and Tonia.

Helen and KJ.

Helen, KJ and Tonia’s baby Lola (obviously Tonia was holding Lola).

Becca, Ella and Lori.

Ella and some of our friends from the building…Hannah, Max and Pablo Sandoval’s daughter.

Grandma and papa came in on Thursday night for a quick visit.  Ella was so excited to see them.  When she woke up on Friday morning, she was so happy that they were in our house.  We took Ella to school on Friday for the morning part but then I picked her up early so that she could spend the rest of the day with grandma and papa.  We just all had a really sweet time.  We love you – can’t wait to see you in October.

Ella and Brickelle on Friday morning with their 7th grade buddy Cassie, who they both LOVE!

Grandma, papa and Ella on our way to lunch.  Ella scooted all the way down the Embarcadero!

Putting on lipstick after lunch.

Our little diva.

Just beautiful.

Papa reading one of Ella’s favorites…Angelina Ballerina.

Doing magic with grandma.

Ella took her first swimming lesson today.  Sunny and I took Ella to the pool. Ella was a natural and Ella told us that she didn’t want the lesson to end!  What a difference from a few weeks ago when Ella said, “I don’t want to take swimming lessons, they stink and are boring”.  The beginning pictures are some shots from the past few days. Kate came over the other night and we had such a fun time. Ella joined me on the piano and also danced and sang for us. Sleepwalking down the hallway on the way to school. Ella’s dry erase board art. Playing before class. Some serious trampoline jumping.Now for the swimming lesson pictures…

Today was a beautiful day and we spent it at the ballpark.  The Giants beat the Padres and we made it through another 9 innings.  Ella had a great time.  During the game Ella went with Sunny to go visit our friends Tonia and Simon and their little girl Lola and then I took her to go see some classmates that were sitting a few sections over from us.  What a beautiful day to have off.

Running to the elevator.

Beautiful Ella at the ballgame.

Ella visiting with her school buddies.

Tender moments with Mommy.

The Giants are gonna WIN!