Summertime Fun

This post is about my friend Reed, who is one of my very favorite people. We had a picnic and unsuccessful chick-a-dee hunt at Mendon Ponds Park right after I moved back to Rochester. Ella was in sore need of some new shoes so we then went to Marshalls(I think?) where Reed bought Ella two new pairs and a very coveted backyard kiddie pool.

Picnic time!

Piggy back ride

Ella half heartedly holding out her hand after we tried to entice chick-a-dees for awhile (they are hard to entice in the summer, why would they bother landing in a human hand with all of that natural goodness surrounding them?) 

Ella puppy? Yummy stick?

POOL!!!

Settling In

Okay, so next up on the last year road trip is random photos of us settling in to Rochester!

Ella trying out the carousel at Charlotte Beach

Moving can be overwhelming...

Ella playing on her slide

I just want to pause and make a note here: I originally planted a garden in Kingston since I had not planned to move last summer. When I found out I was moving, I packed all of my growing plants into boxes and buckets and drove them across the state of NY. This is a picture of me re-planting my garden, now in Rochester. Most of the plants lived! That is a testament to their original source, Regeneration CSA. Thanks Sarah!

Hmmm, Ella bird?

I sprayed myself with the hose

My silly girl LOVES tape!

My mother's poor cat is just getting used to us a year later

Ella loved this "her sized" mirror. She also crayoned all over it as proof.

Getting ready for some summer fun. Come back summer, we need you!

This one is a bit blurry but I couldn't resist it. She still feels this way about getting her hair brushed. 

I missed this space

I abandoned this space last year after I moved. I've thought about reviving it, and now feels like the time. For now I am just going to update what has happened over the year, although if I continue on I'm sure I will be posting new and relevant information!

So to start where I left off, moving day!

This is the woods next to our old home

Here is the moving van half full

(and Andrew taking a break to say "hi" to the neighbor dog)

On the road to Rochester

Ella playing in the back seat, she was surrounded by toys!

(You can see the moving truck in back this time)

Well that's it for today, hopefully I will remember to stick with it!

Come again?

Gahh! I just allowed Ella to have a lolly-pop but I told her she had to promise to eat some salad I was making afterward. I showed her my salad bowl and said "see, when you are all done you can have some."
She said "No Mommy, I should eat the healthy food first!".
I was a little flabbergasted so I said "Oh, should I take your lolly-pop until you eat some salad first?"
"No" (I started to feel the world was a normal place again, BUT THEN...) "I'll give it to you. Here"
She then handed me the lolly-pop and took my bowl of salad. While I stood there. And gaped.
What just happened?

She is now humming and eating ALL of the salad. Including the tomatoes. Which she hates.

I just had to share this so I could look back and believe it really happened.

Token's candle

I've started a new bed time ritual with Ella. I got the idea from two books, my favorite parenting book here, and a cute kids book here. So every night we light Token's candle(Token being a giant blue cat), to wake him up. He comes and sits outside Ella's window and keeps her safe, brings her good dreams and chases away the nightmares. After we say prayers she blows out the candle. She is so into this that when I ran out of matches one night she started crying and saying she didn't want to get nightmares! Ooops, this was supposed to be comforting... I had to have a very one sided conversation with Token to wake him up. He was pretty grumpy about not having his candle lit, but Ella apologized and he felt much better.

 Token's Candle

Anyone want to give me a bigger bed?

You can sort of make out a funny redness to Ella's face in the last picture. She had a pretty bed allergic reaction to something. It's cleared up now, and hopefully we'll find out what it is when she goes to the allergist on Friday.

Ella's quote of the day

"Even though we live together, I still like to have sleepovers with you Mama"

Flowers

There has been much floral related goings on for me lately. First I read on another blog (here) about making floral jelly with violets and dandelions. Sarah and I tried it with a little help from Elanor. She definitely helps me eat it though. I think she is probably the only kid at school with peanut butter and violet jelly sandwiches...

 my violet stash

They're so pretty

Ella "helping"

Finished Product

In other floral news, I got a quite a few birthday presents with a flowery theme. Included is lilacs, some rosewater, rose scented essential oil, and a painting of flowers. What a nice time of year!