Apple Picking 2012

APPLE PICKING 2012

The last time we went apple picking Ellie Reese was in my belly and I was about 38 weeks pregnant.

Fast forward 1 year and here we are Shady Brook Farms in Bucks County, PA, and the love of our lives is picking her first apple.  I can't believe how fast it really all goes.  

 It was a beautiful day for apple picking, although a bit warmer than we expected.  This farm had a bunch of goats and sheep to pet, bounce houses and trampolines, gem mining for the little ones, corn cannons, lots of food, pumpkins, and apples.  At night they put on a great haunted hayride and corn maze.  I love that kind of stuff but I'm guessing it will be a few years before we bring Ellie to anything scary.  In the meantime, we'll keep picking apples!

She loves animals

First wagon ride to the orchard

So cute!

She's so proud of herself!

Touchdown! 

Look at that mischievious smile

Lots of fun baking and canning to do with all the apples we picked.  I love fall!  

11 BIG months old, XOXO, Ellie Reese

Hey y'all!

Today I am 11 months old. I'm standing up on my own and just started taking itty-bitty steps.  I like crawling way better but my parents put me through drills every night so I guess I better get moving on the walking stuff.

I still have no teeth but I love food....all kinds of food!  Sleeping is still cool, as long as my momma give me my favorite blanket.

 Life as an 11 month old is pretty good, but I can't wait to be 1 year old because so many of my Massachusetts friends are coming down here to party with me for my birthday!

I've been keeping pretty busy over the last month.  My favorite baby-sitter Maggie moved away to North Carolina ( so, so sad ) so I've been hanging out with mi madre.  Every Tuesday we go to the funnest place in the whole wide world:  My Little Adventures.  There are tons of smart toys, kids, and things I can climb in, under, and over.  I love it there!

Wasn't sure if I wanted zucchini, pepper, or rice cracker...so I had all three.

Sometimes, I get really excited!!!!

Mi padre has been traveling a lot for work but when he's home we are always doing something fun.  One day he took us to the Camden Aquarium.  I've already been there so I showed him around.  Have you ever seen a Hippo's Booty?  I have!

I was able to get up close and "swim" with the fish in this glass enclosure that floats out into the ginormous tank.

Want to see something else that's funny?  

I just sneezed on daddy!

So somedays Momma gets pretty busy with cleaning and decorating.  So i decided to help her out:

Now we are getting ready for my birthday and just having fun.  The weather is still great here so we go on walks, play in the yard, and go swimming.  If anyone wants to come down to play with me let me know, I can check with momma.  

Seton Hall University!!!!

Back at school.  I really didn't think I'd be saying that at this time of my life but I am.  With the move to New Jersey, Ellie still being little, and the fact that it's taking FOREVER for my nursing license to transfer over, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to go to grad school for my MHA.  So, I applied, got accepted, and am now up in Parsippany, NJ for my orientation residency of my two year program,

SHU has a great reputation for their MHA program and have faculty teaching their courses with incredible credentials.  During the three residencies they put you up in a hotel to meet with your group, professors, do group work, and listen to two credits worth of lectures and discussions.  Obviously, with the healthcare reform and managed care being hot topics, our discussions are very interesting and quite informative.

We also get to spend some time on campus for some of our residency and it brings back memories of being back at UW as a freshman.  When I first stepped onto campus I immediately felt like I was at a small scaled UW just by the buildings and the quad.  It was crazy to see all the freshman (who made me feel so old!) moving in and buying all the books and wearing all the SHU gear.

And this is all great but I do miss my family!  This was my first time to leave sweet Ellie Reese and it's been hard!  Luckily, Dave's Aunt Bonnie was able to watch her during the time that this residency overlapped with Dave being gone for training.  Of course I had to pick up a little something for her :)

Dave ended up coming up to the Hilton with Ellie for the last night of residency.  We had a good time mingling with my classmates and professors during the cocktail hour and dinner.  Ellie ended up staying up way past her bedtime but faired quite well.  I was so thankful he and Ellie could come up.....5 days was a long time away from my sweet family!

10 months old! XOXO, Ellie

T-minus 2 months and and I'll be a 1 year old!!!! Can you believe it?  My momma says it has all gone by way too fast.

So, now that I'm getting bigger and bigger here is what the doctor told me about me when I saw her last week (a very belated 9 month check-up):

I weigh 20lbs 9oz, 68% ( wearing 12 month clothes and some 12-18 month )
28 inches long
17 inch head circumference, 80%

I still do not have any teeth but the doctor didn't seem too worried. ( The lower two are on their way in evidenced by whiteness in the gums.)    But I do love food!  I'm over chicken and avocado so I tell momma "No Thank You" with a swipe of my hand and shake of my head.  I still love my peas, green beans, nectarines, eggs and bananas.  Lately momma has turned me onto fish and dried seaweed, you know, like the kind wrapped around sushi.  But what I love the most is pasta and this chicken/veggie/quinoa mix mom gets from the store.

I am crawling all over the place, can pull myself up to stand, and have even tried standing on my own without holding on to anything.  But that ends real fast with a big thump to my bum on the ground.

Ever since we moved away from Cape Cod, we've been traveling and have had lots of changes.  So I kinda snuck into momma's bed....alot!  But last week she put her foot down and NO MORE!  (Luckily, it only took 2 bad nights before Ellie remembered what it was like sleeping all night in her own crib again.)  I guess it's ok.  But I don't like it when the dog comes in and barks at me to pick him up and put  him in my crib.  Doesn't he know that I'm not allowed to do that?!!!

I'm having a great time with my baby-sitter Ms. Maggie, who watches me 3 times a week.  But i'm getting sad that she will be moving away at the end of the month.  I just love her son Drew....who will I play with now?  Bella, don't worry...you're still my BFF ;)  Anyway, time for bed.  Bye for now-

XOXO,
Ellie Reese

Adventure Aquarium

Today we went to Camden, NJ, just on the other side of the river from Philadelphia, to the Adventure Aquarium.  Before leaving Cape Cod, I had heard that this place  was pretty fantastic.  Let me tell you, I was not disappointed!  In fact, I loved it so much I may get a membership.

This place was so hands on and kid friendly.  Although I probably shouldn't have gone on a Saturday with the stroller, it was still so much fun.  We were able to pet stingrays and sharks and they also had a seal feeding program but we didn't stick around for that.  We also sat through a 15 min 4D Undersea Creature film which was geared toward little kids, but so cute!  I can't wait to take Ellie back when she can actually enjoy it with the 3D glasses.

I just have to say, Ellie was amazing all day.  She loved this place, probably because of all the kids running around and the dark rooms, bright lights, and different smells.  I'm for sure a fan and will be back soon!