Baby Birds

There have been baby birds living in our stone pillar.  We have watched the mommy and daddy bird bring food to the babies and we can hear them every time they are hungry.  I have wanted to show Ellie the birds but didn’t know how to get her up to the top of the pillar.  We decided to wait for some extra hands to help. 
Grandma and Granddad came out for a visit and the baby birds were on our list of things to do.  Ellie at first was excited then when she understood how we were getting up to see the birds she had a change of heart (ladder and car roof).  With a little coxing and lots of help from Mum, Grandma and Granddad; we made it to the tops and were able to look in and see the birds.

Dance Concert

Ellie was in her first dance concert in November.  The picture above was taken during her rehearsal, for her show she wore a bumble bee costume with a backwards baseball cap.  Ellie now loves putting on dance shows for Victoria and I any chance she gets.

Water Colours

Ellie was enjoying her water colour paints.  She likes to mix the paints to see what new colour she will get. She even signed the painting without help from us.

Blog Update:  I have been trying to catch up publishing all the photos and stories I have.  Currently, these posts are from November.

Practicing Photography

Ellie and I went out to the playground to practice taken photos.  She had her camera, I had mine, we had props (little people), and the light diffuser. I held up the diffuser next to the little people and showed Ellie the difference in the light and then took a few pictures.  Ellie decided that she wanted to hold the diffuser and then use it as a blanket.    While these lessons are short, I think she does learn a little, even as I am writing this, she is talking about the pictures and I learn how to use the light diffuser.

Ellie Quote of the Day

When the new baby comes out, I am going to teach it how to unwrap presents.

Merry Christmas

Ellie, Giraffe, Victoria and I wish you a Merry Christmas.

Watch Out!

One would think doing laundry would be a safe activity away from dangerous animals.  This is not the case in our house where I found an Alligator eating garlic on our cloths drying rack.

Working Outside

Ellie wanted to be outside on this beautiful day but she also wanted to do some “work” cutting and pasting things to paper which is normally an inside project.  So we carried Ellie’s table and chair outside under the tree for her to work.  She loved it!  She helped set up her area and found other things outside to paste on to her paper.

Tissue Paper Play Time

The Jewelry Ellie received was wrapped in brightly coloured tissue paper.  She decided to use that tissue paper to wrap her toys and dolls.  Then she hid them behind her reading pillows.  What fun she had!

Tire Swing

Ellie and I set off on a mission over the weekend, making a tire swing. We used one of the old tires in Ellie’s playground that have been used for a balance beam, jumping and our free-running course and some rope.  Ellie went for a swing sitting in the tire and thought it was alright.  Then I told her when I was a little boy, a little older than her, I would climb up and sit on top of the tire when swinging.  She wanted a try and said she would hold on tight.  She loved it and now can climb up on top by herself.

Dressed up Doggie

Ellie received lots of fun jewelry from her Grandma Gwen that she has been wearing around the house.  This occasion Doggie, named Bonnie, joined in the fun.  I don’t know where they were pretending to go but Doggie was dresses up for an outing.

Planting a Tree

We bought this tree a while ago and finally planted it by the bunny’s cage in the back yard.  Ellie helped by keeping the worms entertained, not necessarily safe, and by watering the tree.

The Return of "E"

Ellie’s Christmas elf “E” returned to our house on the first of December. Every night, after his trip to the North Pole to see Santa, he finds a new place to hide and watch Ellie.  This year, Ellie goes down stairs in the morning to find “E” and then will come back upstairs to report on his new location.

Ellie thought it would be fun to make a Lego chair for “E” to sit in for the day.  We made the chair and Ellie created a letter for the elf to understand that the chair was for him and also included some drawings of Christmas presents.

Mum's Card

Ellie has been working on writing her letters.  She can write her name and other small words.  Victoria and I have been putting words on her blackboard for her to copy or sound out.

Dino Puzzle

Ellie was very proud of herself finishing the Dino puzzle on her own.

Ellie Sheep Playing

Ellie was trying to feed the new lambs some grass but the mum sheep wasn’t happy with Ellie being so close and was stomping her foot.  Ellie thought the sheep was playing with her so Ellie started to jump up and down.

Cards from friends

It’s amazing at times to sit back and just watch, unnoticed, at the enjoyment she gets from simple things.

The Ellie didn’t know I was taking this picture of her reading a card from one of her best friends.

Washing Baby

In our house; any reason to play with water is a good reason and if you can put a baby doll, soap, a sponge, and a water bottle in the mix all the better.  Ellie is working hard to keep her bath babies clean.  On this day she ran out of soap and requested more. I can’t remember how this baby bath ended but they usually ends with Ellie taking off some wet, water logged clothes and running around on the grass.

Carpentry

Ellie has been enjoying carpentry at school where she makes airplanes.  On this day, we had some wood left over from our bathroom project and Ellie wanted to do some work.  She hammered the nails into the wood and then inside decided to use the wiggly eyes she had on the wood.  Then Ellie wanted to take a picture and grabbed my phone and without me showing her how to take a picture she simply took a picture.

Rain

While Ellie doesn’t necessarily like the rain; she does love puddles, playing in the water and her new umbrella.

Puzzle Stickers

Victoria was away for the weekend, I was busy vacuuming and Ellie was occupying herself.  Then she came to me and said mom will be happy with her.  I didn’t understand what she was talking about until I looking in the active book she was holding.  Without any instruction, she figured out to count the computers and put the correct number sticker next to each group.

Panda’s Breakfast

Panda has just woken up, is still in his sleeping bag and hungry.  Ellie brought up the panda food in the Tupperware and juice in the Sippy bottle.

Game with Spike

Ellie and Spike have a new game they play together. Ellie will run up to him, make a loud high pitch sound and then Spike runs off.  Then Ellie will chase him and once Spike stops and sits, it is Ellie turn again.  I am not sure that Spike understands it is a game and not just the crazy girl running and making loud noises.

Worms

Last weekend Ellie said "There is a worm in my pocket, that is great."

Singing

On the way home from dinner last night, Ellie started singing and clapping in the car.  She has been singing this song for a while but never clapping. 

The video is rough as I was sitting next to her and not looking at what I was recording.

Who left the gate open?

Ellie and I were feeding the alpacas before we went in for our dinner.  After dinner, as we were getting ready for bath time, I looked outside and was surprised to see the alpacas in the backyard.

Statement at lunch

Ellie; "Wow, look at the bag!"

This was Ellie's statement when she spotted a purse that she liked at lunch.

Conversation at Dinner

Ellie: “Let’s talk to each other.”  
Victoria: “What should we talk about?”
Ellie: “Let’s talk about me.”

Climbing

 

Up, Ellie climbs.  Until a few months ago, Ellie would climb the fence or a few other objects but didn’t find much interest in climbing.  Now, she wants to climb everything.  She will stand up on her swing, climb the rope latter and has just started to climb on top of her play house.  Too bad she hasn’t figured out how to climb back down.

Flowers Blooming

The bulbs that Ellie helped Grandma and Granddad plant last time they were out are blooming.  Ellie checks the flowers every few days to see if there are any new ones and has reported to her grandparents that a bug was eating some of the flowers.

Rock Washing

Any reason Ellie can find to play in the water is a good reason to her.  Here she is washing off the rocks she found earlier in her playground.

Strange Conversations

Last weekend Victoria asked “Where is my hair tie?” and Ellie and I responded “On top of the ceiling fan.” 

Background: Earlier in the morning, when we were still in bed Ellie stretched and launched the hair tie and it had landed on the ceiling fan.  She was amazed that she was able to get it to fly so high.

No Hand Swinging

Ellie will happily swing for as long as she can.  She can now get herself going from the stopped position, even though she will ask for a big starting push.  She likes showing off and will swing without holding on and has tried swinging standing up.

Computer Painting

While computer painting isn’t as dirty or fun as real painting, Ellie gets excited when she can use the computer.   We help her change brushes and colours and leave the creative part up to her.

Rabbit Hat

 

The picture says it all!

After Helping with the Alpacas

After helping the alpaca’s find the long grass in the garden, Ellie went back to her two favorite outdoor activities; swinging and picking flowers.

Alpaca’s and Ellie helping

The first step to preparing our vegetable garden was to get rid of the high grass.  We thought this would be a good job for the alpacas.  The garden area doesn’t directly connect to the paddock, so we had to put up a temporary fence.
 
Ellie helped put the tape fence up and tested out the path from the paddock to the garden.  Then she called through the fence to the alpacas and told them to follow the leader, which was her.  She then proceeded to walk again from the paddock to the garden.  The alpacas watched her and when they didn’t follow she started to talk to them about how they needed to play the game with her.

Finding “R”

Ellie went on a hunt around the house to find all the “R” she could.  This included the letter “R” on objects and things that started with “R”.  Then Ellie worked on some action verbs that started with “R”, running and rolling.

New Aplacas

Ellie, Victoria and I welcomed 2 new alpacas into our family.  We now have 4 alpacas eating, sleeping, and playing in our paddock.  They were named before coming to us, faerytale and Bubba, but Ellie has already changed their names to packa Spike and packa Ellie.

Coloured Light

Ellie has had a fascination for light bulbs for the last few years.  She will spot the bulb that is not working and tell us that we need to take her to the light bulb shop to get a new one.  While there, she will take herself to the lava lamp display and watch the bubbles change shape.

For a while now she has been asking for a red bulb for her room.  While we didn’t just want a red bulb in her lamp, I found this one that can change colours.  She helped me install a new light fixture and put the new special bulb in.  Now, she has a little remote that she can choose the colour of the light that she wants and picks the colour to go to sleep with. 

The light isn’t as bright as the pictures makes it look.  The exposure was 3 seconds long for each shot.