Slide Play

No child ever just goes down the slide and Ellie and Cooper are the same.  Cooper has mastered climbing up the slide and normally goes down feet first on his tummy.  Ellie likes making tunnels for Cooper to go through on his way down. 

Sister and Brother

They love each other and get so excited when they see each other.  Cooper always wants Ellie’s attention and follows her everywhere.  He gets very grumpy when Ellie goes to school and he can’t go in the car with her.  Ellie loves playing with Cooper and allows him to jump and bounce on her but she also likes time without him destroying her work.

Monarch Butterflies

Ellie loves butterflies and rainbows. She was very happy this summer with so many Monarch butterflies in our garden this year.  She would go outside a watch them fly around and would try to quietly walk up to where they landed.  She would say “Hi” to them and named them all either Mona or Monie.  On this day she wanted to be like the butterflies and went to get her wings.  She was upset that they didn’t listen to her and land next to where she was sitting.

No Training Wheels

Ellie is working on riding her bike without training wheels.  The pictures were from her first attempt.  She did very well and figured it out right away.  She was excited to ride like a big girl but also nervous about falling.  She is still learning how to start without one of us giving her a push.  

On a later practice session with just Ellie and I, she said “Daddy, I don’t think mummy will let you take me or my brother out because you always bring us home damaged.”  This was after her falling, not off her bike but off a bench she was balancing on. (I was on the bike.)

Cardboard Box

I came home from work to find this incredible cardboard house for the kids constructed by Victoria.  There were multiple rooms and Ellie had furnished it with books, crayons, stuffed animals, pillows and blankets. 

The red light was created from my camera flash with a deep red filter that Ellie picked out to give it a scarier look.