Nativity Scene

Ellie Bellie Kids: Gift Wrapping

I have to say, trying to figure out how to wrap a tutu made my head hurt a bit. And since this is not a service we normally offer, I had to come up with a technique on the fly. Thank goodness for extra tissue paper!

We're Dreaming of a White Christmas Tree...

Dave: Hey when we go artificial, we go artificial.

I have to say the picture doesn't do it justice. The tree really glows this beautiful white from the inside out. It pre-lit so all we had to do is assemble it and plug it in. How beautiful is that? And best yet, all the ornaments we bought only cost $15. Fifteen bucks to decorate an entire tree? Now that's something to make the holiday season bright.

Happy Holidays From Our Family To Yours

Yes, that's us in Target hunting for our Christmas tree. The Starbucks hot chocolate and warm apple cider really helped enhance those warm and fuzzy holiday feelings. Man, now that I think about it, I should have gone two aisles over and grabbed a bag of Pepperidge Farm cookies. Then the whole experience would have been complete. Hmm, something to look forward to for next year.

Seriously though, isn't it a pretty crazy day when your kids' memories of getting the family tree involve a cup of Starbucks and a trip to Target? Oh well...

Here's to making those magical holiday moments your own. Happy Holidays!

Thanks for the Stories

When we're driving in the car, it's a given—Ellie at some point will ask, "Mommy, can you tell us a story about two little babies?" This question will be repeated over and over until a story is finally started.

Now, these stories are kind of like Mad Libs. Remember those? Anyway, the stories are fill in the blank and always involve two central characters: baby Ellie and baby Jonah. Most recently, these two baby heroes have taken to adventures on a farm to get a gift for their Daddy. Why? I'm not sure, but since the story is told jointly, I don't always get to choose the direction. But let's just say, Farmer Brown has an amazing array of sheep's wool for sweaters and wax for birthday candles.

Opera

On Sunday we took the kids to see an opera. Yes, you read right. We took our four year old and 18 month old to see their first opera. Crazy? Quite possibly. As a matter of fact it was our first opera too.

We went to see Amahl and the Night Visitors. It is a great little story about a precocious boy who likes to spin tales. He and his mom are extremely poor and Amahl’s visions of grandeur are one night made a reality when three kings (the three Wisemen on their way to see the baby Jesus) knock on his door.

I have to say the kids did remarkably well! Jonah sat and munched on his graham crackers and intermittently pointed to the singers and then randomly to the lighting. Ellie did eventually whisper her questions rather than yell them out loud. And since it was only an hour long and the opera took place in a church where the performers used the aisle during the performance (so they were right there next to you at times) it kept the kids and us entirely engaged the whole time. On top of that having a live orchestra and choral singers, well, it was all very moving.

So Ellie and Jonah got a little culture this weekend. Frankly, I'm glad. I was beginning to fear they thought the tv was the center of the universe.

Ellie: On Little Brother Jonah

Jonah is a cranky boy isn't he. He doesn't listen, he doesn't know any better (brief pause) and he bites.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Yesterday, our big guy celebrated his birthday in style. We all lunched together at the Cheesecake Factory, strolled around, then caught a showing of Flushed Away. It was the kids' first movie together in a theater. They were completely mesmerized by the big screen. As Dave and I giggled throughout the movie (it was very funny!), Jonah quietly watched while nibbling on popcorn and graham crackers. Meanwhile, Ellie wouldn't take off her new winter hat from Baby Gap—she said she looked so cute.

Looking More Like Papa Everyday

It's Been Too Long...

Last week, we were reviewed by Mommies With Style. It was a wonderful write-up and between that and the inclusion of us in their newsletter, we had a ton of interest in our line. It was a very busy and exciting week filling all those holiday orders. Between that and prepping for our dinner party, we had our hands pleasantly full.

So I'm sorry I didn't post any pics or entries last week, but we're back now!
(feel free to insert your applause here...come on you know you wanna)

Our Thanksgiving Brunch

This year rather than go to two (or three) different houses for Thanksgiving dinner, we opted for a different approach. We hosted my side of the family for Thanksgiving Brunch and then traveled to Dave's Uncle's for dinner.

The brunch was a lot of fun! We ate yummy food, drank mimosas and watched the parade. What more could you ask for?

Thanksgiving Brunch Menu
Baked French Toast
Turkey and Swiss Quiche with Caramelized Onions
Pan Fried Sweet Potato Medley
Maple Sausage
Turkey Bacon
Mimosas
Coffee
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Pumpkin Roll
Mixed Berries with Fresh Whipped Cream

Okay, so it was neither low-calorie, low fat nor low-cholesterol, but it sure was tasty!

Happy Thanksgiving

Disney: Day 5

So we've come to the last day of our trip to the Disney World Theme Parks. We started off in MGM (which I made Dave go to since it's his least favorite park). We caught the Little Mermaid and Playhouse Disney. Jonah was pretty tired so he cried throughout Playhouse Disney and eventually feel asleep in Dave's arms.

After Jonah's brief nap, we walked the park. The kids got to meet their favorite characters (JoJo, Goliath and the Little Einsteins) and Dave got to meet his favorite character, Matlock. Okay, here's the inside joke: everyday, Dave used to watch Matlock in between his breaks at college. I, of course, teased him relentlessly.

Anyway, the real highlight of the day was the trick-or-treating event at the Magic Kingdom. They only let about 15 to 20 thousand people through the gates (you had to buy a special ticket) and there were meet and greets along with candy spots throughout the park. There was also a special fireworks show and parade. The best part? NO LINES! Dave took Ellie on Splash Mountain. Then she went on Thundermountain twice!

We had a great time! And while we did feel slightly guilty about keeping the kids up so very late past their bedtimes, we were comforted by all the other naughty parents around us who had their kids up late too. Hey, it's vacation!

Quote of the Day

Scene: restaurant
Situation: Ellie's snap on her overalls has come undone

Daddy: in the middle of a conversation
Ellie: Daddy. Snap.
Daddy: continues his conversation
Ellie: (louder) Daddy. Focus please. Snap.
Daddy: he reaches over and snaps together the undone clasp

Seriously, I cannot believe that worked. Obviously reflexes just kicked in at that point. Oh and I wonder where she learned the word focus from? Certainly not me. Wait. Yes, I could write something here to throw you off the scent but it was me. My parenting has come back to bite someone. Luckily this time it wasn't me.

Open for Business

Ellie Bellie Kids is now open for business! The shopping cart is enabled so shop, my friends. Shop!

Disney: Day 4

So after a long night in the ER we were ready to have some fun. We took it easy in the morning (slept in since we didn't get back to the room until midnight, had a leisurely breakfast) and didn't get to the parks until lunchtime. Since we were still recovering from the night before, we didn't plan for anything except lunch and dinner. We were dining with the Princesses for lunch and Germany for dinner.

I'll let the pictures tell you the story of our day. The only thing I'd like to mention is that we met some really great people that day. There were the lovely family from Ireland who were also lunching with the Princesses, a really cool couple from Florida who told us about traveling to Europe (and gave us some tips for our trip to Belgium in the spring), and a fabulous pair of retirees who moved from New England to Tennessee and are now spending their retirement traveling near and far.

Between meeting new people and just relaxing and enjoying the day, day four was just the day we needed!

EBK Messenger Bags Added to Precious Personalities

We always knew the owners of Precious Personalities had good taste. Make sure you check out the EBK messenger bags while you shop around. Speaking of shopping, Ellie has already added the Babywatch-Paris watch they carry to her Christmas list. Happy shopping!

Babesta Tees: Not For The Boring Tyke

Melissa over at Mommies With Style recently posted a review on a Tribeca tee-shirt company called Babesta. These baby and kid tees are great! Plus, one of my favorite features is that you can shop according to your little tyke's attitude—anything from politico to sweet & chic—and don't we all know kids have nothing if not attitude!

Magic Dog Studios Hits the Airwaves

You might remember a post a while back I did reviewing a charm made from Ellie's self-portrait by Magic Dog Studios. Well when a Cleveland station shot a segement on Jennifer Bunt (Magic Dog owner/designer) they also got footage of her working on Ellie's charm.

Click on the video link to see for yourself!

Disney Day 3: The Day It Happened

Well day three started out like any other. We got dressed, ate breakfast and hopped on a bus. Today it was off to Animal Kingdom. We spent much of the day in the Africa section: taking the Safari trip, listening to the musicians, viewing the animals on the walking tour. Of course, we also hit the Lion King show. If you haven't seen it, it is a must see! We also caught Pocahontas and Friends which was very cute.

After the shows, we traveled to the Asia section where Dave and Ellie went on the white water rapids ride. While they enjoyed that, Jonah and I strolled through the walking tour. We saw tigers, flying foxes (large fruit bats), peacocks and a variety of other animals.

We also hit the Dinosaur section of the park. And this is where it happened. Dave helped Jonah up off the ground by holding Jonah's hand and teetering him up from a sitting position (Dave was a couple steps down from Jonah so he was more at an equal height with him). When Jonah stood up he started whining. We left the park. He whined the whole way back. I thought maybe he was tired and/or hungry. So when we got back to the resort, we fed him, gave him a dose of Tylenol and laid him down for a proper nap.

Dave of course was worried that he somehow hurt him. I figured we'd assess the situation when he woke up, but Dave was convinced we would need to go somewhere to have him checked out.

Well, when Jonah woke up, he rolled on his tummy to push himself up and started crying. That's when I knew for certain something was wrong. We called the front desk and they gave us a number to call to have someone assess the situation and see if further medical treatment was needed. We called the number and told them "Yes, he is breathing. No he is not bleeding. Yes, he is conscious." They told us that they would send someone out to take a look at him.

Ninety seconds later we answer a knock at the door. When we open it, we find four people: an EMT, a security officer, a lifeguard and some other dude wearing protective gloves. Was it overkill. I'd say yes.

Then the fire truck shows up.

Anyway, Disney drove us to the hospital. I could write for days about our experiences there, but to summarize four hours later Jonah's nursemaids elbow was put right again and he was back to his old giggling self. I will say this though, after holding our boy for four hours (because we left in a hurry and didn't think to bring his socks and shoes) we were all very exhausted. We returned to the room around midnight. It was a very long day.

Playdough

This classic recipe for playdough is something you and your little one can enjoy making together.

3 cups flour
1 1/2 cups salt
3 cups water
6 teaspoons cream of tartar
3 tablespoons oil
1/2 bottle food coloring

Stir over medium heat constantly until ball forms. Knead.

Vocabulary for the Day

Remembory (re-mem-boar-ee) n. Ellie's ability to recall past events.
Mommy, I have a good remembory don't I?

Disney Day 2

Well I had a clever post about Day 2, but my technical assistant (aka Jonah) pounded on the keyboard and I lost an hour's worth of witty dialogue and pictures. Plus Blogger has been acting crazy when I've tried to upload my pictures. So the summary of Day 2 will be brief:

Spent day in Magic Kingdom (stop) Daddy took Ellie on her very first roller coaster ride while Jonah and I waited (stop) Met Jasmine and Aladdin (stop) It was hot (stop) Kids rode Buzz Lightyear Daddy and Ellie rode twice (stop) Ate at Epcot (stop) Watched live Moroccan band and belly dancer (stop) Everyone exhausted (full stop)

Now on to the pictures!