Spring is in the Air!

Yesterday we got our first taste of SPRING and it was glorious! The temperatures were in the 60's, the sun was shining and everyone was out and about soaking it up! Sherry, Ellie and I were feeling the urge to get outside so we headed out on a walk to our local park. This park is actually in the affluent Oakwood neighborhood and is two blocks from our house (our neighborhood is called "Oakwood View!") Ellie had not been in her stroller since last summer and she really didn't care for it then more than 15 minutes at a time. Yesterday, she LOVED it! She sat up like a big girl, kicked her feet, smiled at everyone we passed and just looked at the world around her. I have been waiting for the day to take my own kids to this park as it is so cool. Joey and Emma have longed loved it. It has a huge sandbox; play gyms and swings for little and big kids; a picnic shelter; basketball, handball, and tennis courts; a baseball diamond; restrooms; and the coolest thing is the wading pool which is staffed with a lifegaurd in the summer! While most parks have all these things, this park is right in the middle of a little neighborhood, surrounded by houses and is contained in one block and has no parking lot. It's a fun place, close to home and a short walk away. I though Ellie would love to try out the baby swings and boy was I right! She LOVED the swings and LOVED looking around at the other kids and babies running all around her. Here's a video of her swinging.

This past week was rough as Ellie was sent home from daycare Monday with diarrhea which then continued for the rest of the week. You would have never known she was sick as she never fussed or acted cranky or tired. Brian stayed with her Monday and Tuesday and then I took my turn on Wednesday. I woke up Wednesday morning not feeling too great and it progressed quickly to full fledged, knock out illness that had me on the floor. Poor Brian had to leave work yet again to come home and take care of both of us through Thursday. Friday we were happy to all return to work and school but the daycare called again due to Ellie having goopy eyes so Brian was back home again! Ellie was cleared by the doctor and hasn't missed a beat this week. She is even more verbal, "talking" all the time and took a few steps the other night. She's an eating machine and while she still loves to nurse, she is a big fan of big people food too. She found a pack of girl scout trefoils the other night and proclaimed them good with one in each hand and a smile on her face (cookie schmootz too!)

It's almost Ellie's first birthday and we can hardly believe it! We had the pleasure of celebrating our friend Beth's birthday yesterday with a surprise birthday party at Spaghetti Warehouse-Ellie's first surprise party! A good time was had by all and Beth really was surprised. Speaking of birthdays, today Ellie has a special message for her Grandma who is out in New Jersey taking care of the triplets and Emre: