The Gould Family

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

40 Weeks and 5 days

Still waiting!......Scheduled for induction on Friday, the 18th....

Maybe we'll get a belly picture tonight (...or maybe, not)!

Yesterday after school, I decided to treat Ella to a surprise---a visit to Bounce U (it's an indoor facility with lots of huge inflatables that you can bounce in, climb on, and slide down). We'd been there before with our MOMS Club when Ella was younger, but I think she was a little bit too small and it was crowded. Yesterday, there were only 3 other kids there.

Ella LOVED it this time! For nearly two hours solid, she bounced, climbed, jumped, and got lots of energy out. It was fun to watch her (even when I had to climb up the steps myself and rescue her)!

getting ready to go down a slide

Whoa!

playing basketball in one of the inflatables

dancing to the music

climbing up to go to the slide

climbing up to go down a HUGE, fast slide

in a tunnel

pretending she was "sleeping on a little bed"

(love that cute face)

Happy Valentines' Day!

We had a nice, quiet Valentines' Day this year as we didn't have much planned since we didn't expect to be home. After dinner, we exchanged gifts and played until Ella's bedtime. On Tuesday, Ella wore her special heart shirt from Aunt Sue and her new heart socks from Gram. She also received stickers from Nana and Granddad and Aunt Lesley and cards from lots of people who love her, including Paulette and Jerry. Thank you, everyone!

opening her new Snoopy from Pappy and Baba

(We lost the other one almost a year ago and she still talks about him)

so happy to have a new Snoopy!

giving Snoopy a kiss

sampling chocolates always makes her smile!

giving Rob a valentine gift that she picked out for him (and her!)---

a pack of sports' balls

Ella getting her gift from Rob--what could it be?

excited

It was a heart shaped soft pretzel!

(She loves soft pretzels)

kisses for Daddy

someone's little hand in my special chocolates from Madge and Dad

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Love Her!

Today Rob and I were talking about how blessed we are to have Ella as our daughter. She has so much personality and love. Everyday she does or says something new that takes us by surprise or makes us laugh.

Having a "Conversation"

Ever since Ella's been little, when Pappy wanted to talk to Ella, he would say, "Let's have a conversation." She loves hanging out with him, but when she can't, the next best thing is talking to him on the phone and having a 'conversation.' Pappy is so good about calling Ella at least several times a week to see what she is up to and to say "hello." At the end of every call, they give each other big kisses! Ella is so blessed to have such a wonderful Pappy (and me, the best dad)!

listening to what Pappy is saying

something was funny

giving a good-bye kiss

Rob's Photo

a neat photo Rob took of Ella's and his shoes by the door

Chestnut Hill

Yesterday, we spent the day in Chestnut Hill, one of my favorite little places to walk around. Our friends, Cynthia, Dave, and Liam, came along with us and we first visited the Little Treehouse for the kids to have some fun together. After lunch, we walked along Germantown Ave. checking out some of the shops (my favorites were the florist, Kitchen Kapers, and the Farmers' Market). It was definitely still a brisk, cold day, but it was great to get some fresh air and to spend the time with our friends. I am looking forward to their Home and Garden Festival in May.

posing with her shopping cart of food at the Treehouse

a turtle pillow Ella found to play with

friends (Ella and Liam)

Do all 3-year-olds tip their heads to one side to "pose" for pictures??

buddies

daddy and daughter

where Ella and Liam could be found when we were inside the music shop

(under one of the displays looking enviously at a box of fundraiser candy)

a neat photo that I always take when we are there

family picture on the polar bear bench

(sun in our eyes!)

Around the House

We are expecting (fingers crossed!) for a bit of a warm up in the weather this week, but in the meantime, we've had to spend a lot of time indoors. Luckily, Ella loves to do "projects," so we've been keeping busy with different crafts and activities to pass the time.

painting a special heart wand

(It was a Valentine/magic/princess wand, in the end)

one side of the wand

the other side of the wand

helping me scrub the kitchen floor--it realllly needed it!

(I realized the last time I did this was on Ella's second day of school back in September)

a marshmallow bridge made out of marshmallows and toothpicks

(We saw this on an episode of Curious George and Ella wanted to try it)

concentrating on her creation

proud!

putting animals in the bridge

using cookie cutters and paint to "stamp" a picture

enjoying her regular ink stamps from Christmas

the project that she made for the new baby

(She wrote her name by herself so the baby would know she could do it)

Ella got a Valentine care package from Gram yesterday and one of her goodies included a pack of headbands. Ella was so excited because she said her friend at school has headbands, too! She immediately wanted to wear them and have Rob try one on, too.

He was such a good sport and wore one while he worked on the computer and I got his picture--what a dad!

Playgroup Friends

Here is a picture of Ella and some of her playgroup friends at our house last week---they were enjoying some snacks before they started playing :

clockwise from Ella--Ella, Anna, Charlotte, Zene

(our buddies Xander and Keegan hadn't arrived, yet)

Happy Birthday, Nana!

Rob's mom had a birthday last week, on the 9th, so we had a little dinner and dessert here for her to celebrate her special day. She came over in the afternoon, along with Aunt Lesley, and Ella enjoyed her time playing (wearing them out)!

Happy birthday and best wishes for a great year ahead!