Last month we joined a rec center near our house called the Altoona Campus. It's a great family place where Darren and I can workout (no laughing or heckling, please), Ellis will be taking classes (such as swimming, tumbling tots and later on she can take tap and ballet lessons) and has a great pool. Sunday we took her swimming for the first time in quite awhile and she thoroughly enjoyed herself.
On Sunday morning Darren made Ellis a tent to play in in our great room. She soon moved a ton of stuff into it including her coloring books and crayons, her best friends-Dora, Elmo and Baby, her small chairs and doll's highchair and after this picture was taken her potty chair. Please note this is also Elli's standard outfit on any given day at home--a Pull-up diaper and her Dora T-shirt and not much else.
Mommy's summer shirt sure makes a lovely dress for Ellis!
Dina's 37th Birthday dinner at Centro with the family.
Great Grandma Hansen and Ellis
Trying to get a toddler to cooperate for the camera is not an easy task!
Mommy & Ellis
Our little family at my Uncle's Dean's birthday party on Jan 5th. I'm embarrassed to say I don't have a picture with Uncle Dean in it.
There's lots of interest in the tree and pressies. Note that most presents are now missing bows (if you see the pic below on the day we put up the tree to the time this was taken they are nearly all missing and laying around the house).
To our Irish family--Elli can still fit her Ireland kit!
Ellis got her first chance to help bake cookies last weekend. With a lot of patience and lots of cleaning up, we had a great time. She loved playing with the dough but also loved to eat it. As a side note, whoever thought up frosted cut-out sugar cookies did not have kids, a job or was easily frustrated. It will not happen again in our house!
Baking is fun and really messy!
Elli loves to help with the dishes and this time felt it would be a good idea to also give her hair a wash with the kitchen sponge.