Setting Up the Christmas Tree

I pulled out our Christmas tree this morning to see how Ella will react, will she destroy it or will she have learned a little of what I've been trying to teach her? At first was excited but she's been very good about "look at the pretty tree" and "don't touch". I left it most of the morning before trying to decorate it as I figured if she is in typical Ella form, she will have tried to climb, topple or warp the thing - why let there be ornaments involved. As you can see from the video, the tree and the house are decorated and Ella loves to look at the lights. Just a few stern "don't touch" reminders have all worked. She looks at it from a distance but won't touch it... keep your fingers crossed for me. Here is a little Christmas decoration from a couple of years ago, I figured Ella would love it. I taught her how to turn it on, and we've been listening to the little Christmas ditty all night. Luckily it has a master on/off button underneath that we can use to put an end to the noise. Ella has a bit of a fit when we turn it off and say finished... but it's so funny to see her enthralled with the penguins and snow man and the moving parts.

Happy Thanksgiving

I am thankful for the love, friendship, support and encouragement in my life. We hope everyone has a blessed day, from our family to yours, Happy Thanksgiving.

ps. It should be noted that 8 Americans enjoyed a wonderful AMERICAN feast prepared by the only 2 foreigners in the group. :) Complete with Green Bean Casserole, Corn Pudding, Mac n' Cheese, Squash Casserole, Mashed Potatoes, Broccoli Rice Casserole, Stuffing, Turkey and Gravy.

Our House

Here are some pics of the outside of our new house. We chose this house because it backs a small and very private playground; we are separated from our neighbors by huge hibiscus plants; and it has some pretty landscaping. Aside from the cinderblock walls, the ancient slat windows and white tile floors that look like a school room, it's not so bad. :)

Rain, Rain, Go Away...

It's been raining a lot here since October, I think I recall someone saying we missed the rainy season when we arrived last year and I guess they were right. I found Ella an Elmo umbrella and she is in love with it (so much so I had a hard time taking it away from her when we got in the car - she had a bit of a melt down). Here are some pics of us in the backyard playing in the rain. She sort of got the idea, but mostly she just ended up soaked...

I took Ella to Walmart to get some Christmas photos done ($5.00, you just can't beat it.) I bought her a pretty red dress and new shoes. The photos look great and I can't wait to get them back in a few weeks.... I then returned the dress to another Walmart, no sense in keeping a winter/Christmas dress she'll only wear once. A little shady, I know, but it worked last year with the pumpkin Halloween costume and I now have a car payment I have to keep in mind. :)

Dress Up Pics

I am making Lahrissa a dress-up box for Christmas and while putting it together, I let Ella play around with some of the stuff... most of it is for ages 3+ due to all the things that can be choked on, but she was a cutie for the minute she got to play with them...

Ella's Prayers

Ella has an angel that recites the "Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep" Prayer that Grandma got for her before she was born. We've taught Ella how to hold her hands in prayer and she loves being a big girl.

Ella's Pretty Room

Here are the pics of Ella's newly painted room. I love that we have a little girl that I can spoil with whimsical decor and pretty things like butterflies!

Ella's Funnies

Okay, it's been over a week but I've been painting Ella's room and enjoying the new car. I decided to paint Ella's room as I am tired of boring, blah, white walls. They are scheduled to tear down these homes before we leave Hawaii, so I won't have to paint them back to white. That gave me the motivation to get out of the blahness.

Ella is funnier than ever! I have been trying to get more video of her antics and she's learning so quickly now. She loves the pair of old sunglasses Ron gave her and always makes this no-nonsense stern face with them on. Here's some video from the other night.

She also loves her musical table and loves the ABC song. She tries to sing along with it. Ron likes to jump around and get her all worked up. I'll try to post some more videos of all the funny things we've taught her....

I just tried to take some pics of Ella's room and our camera doesn't seem to be working...

New Car

Yesterday, we went out to test drive the new Honda CR-V and after a long day at the dealership, Ron brought me home a shiny new, silver, fully-loaded CR-V. It's GORGEOUS! Sun roof, 6-disc CD changer, leather heated seats, tint, alloy wheels.... GORGEOUS!

Ron's Honda died on me, Christin and Ella a couple weeks ago in traffic and luckily we were able to start it up again after a few panicking minutes. Ron's search for an "island beater" to take him to and from work ended in our driveway... we already own an island beater! So we, and by that I mean I, decided Ella and I needed something safe to drive, the fact that it's totally shiny and pretty is beside the point... really. :) The new CR-V drives beautifully, has a ton of safety features and a pre-paid maintenance program that is worry free for us. Ella loves it, of course, as she is high enough to look out the windows and observe everyone around her. I'll post some pics tomorrow but here's what it looks like... We got the test results of the ultrasound back and they were very positive. Ella's right kidney is slightly, very slightly, swollen but the doctor didn't seem too concerned with it except to say that they will do another ultrasound in a year to see how it is. She explained that Ella is very young still, so it doesn't seem to be much of an issue. Potty training is to be very strict though, and once she's out of diapers, she needs to be going potty every 2-3 hours. Looks like it's time to roll up the rugs and bite the bullet on this whole potty training... just get it done with, sigh...

New (Old) Home

Here are the pics from the new house... it's older and the outside walls are cinder block but we've managed to make it livable and it's home to us now...





Entry from the front door, looking into the living room. Laundry room is on the right, the office is on the left. Out our backyard is a playground - perfect for Ella!




The living room/ dining room.
The kitchen... and the office...

Our Room and Ella's Room...