Quick updates & Wahiawa Botanical Gardens

A few updates & explanations:
-Ellie and I are leaving Hawaii tomorrow for Christmas Exodus and will arrive in Baltimore Tuesday evening! Bring on the Season!
-Andrew will be in on Friday. We'll be staying in Cumberland and hope we'll get to see all of our friends & family.
-Someone asked me why I consider my Ellie escapades, "exquisite" and this is why... Exquisite means to be finely beautiful or delightful. It's not that everything we do is exquisite, it's that my EllieBellie is exquisite in all things. :)
-Why do I post pictures here AND on Facebook? Sometimes a caption is not enough. And my wit needs more than a single sentence. Yeah. Right.


Now. The Wahiawa Botanical Gardens. I have wanted to visit there for a month or so and the weather finally cooperated. Thank God! Wahiawa is the largest ghetto in Hawaii which is unfortunate, but it's the closest to base and yadda yadda yadda, it's okay. Somehow in the middle of this ghetto is this outrageously incredible Botanical Garden, though. Over 20 acres and secluded. Just. Amazing. It was also our first BIG outing with the backpack/carrier/like thing and it was a total success! Ellie loves bouncing around and being upright enough to look around.

So chic!



Love that little muffin!

We also considered a Zoo trip today but we've been passing a cold around and thought football and Steve Martin was a better remedy. :) 

Laaazy Days.

Andrew has been home early everyday since Wednesday and it's been super nice... mostly because the weather makes Ellie and I extra cuddly. Also because I do less housework that way. :) Some pictures from our silly days---

Coming back from a doctor's appointment.



Hanging with Papa



 AND we had company. With the rainy season starting in Hawaii, we've had flash flood warnings and RIDICULOUS storms all week... So, plenty of rain means plenty of little critters hanging out around the house. Like this little guy!

He may LOOK big, but he's under 2 inches and aaaadorable.

And our weekend plans? More of the same!

Two things that every Mama needs...

1. A cute, squeaky clean little T-Rex baby [get it- big head, teeny arms?].


Omgosh!

2. A fail-proof and improvisable Mac and Cheese recipe. It's great for leftovers and as long as you have some basic ingredients, you can whip up a deliiiiicious dish. ANY cheese works!

Yum.

This has been a public service announcement. :)

Case of the Mondays.

My Ellie is a TERROR on Mondays. She won't nap. All she wants is to be held and nursed. And, honestly, I consider finding a nice gypsy family for her... And then I realized why. Ellie over the weekend---


Saturday




Sunday


All this Papa spoiling does her in! Napping, cuddling, yadda, yadda, yadda. That jerk loves to ruin our schedule! :) :)

Oh well. One terrible Monday for two blissful weekend days? Deal.

My 7 favorite things about my 7 week-old

Ellie Brooke is officially 7 weeks old and still pretty aaaadorable. I'm not sure why I keep bracing myself for her to fall into an "ugly spell," but I am. I'm such a jerk. Anyway. My 7 favorite things about my sweet 7 week-old...

1. She's a wonderful night baby. She goes to sleep around 8 pm, gets up at Midnight, 4, and 7. She will eat quickly and go back in her crib without a fight. It's probably only a 20 minute affair from her crying to snoozing again. This is truly a blessing.

2. When she DOES get up at 7, she is... omgosh. There aren't words for how adorable, mild, sweet, and hilarious she is. Ellie is definitely a morning person. She plays with Andrew and I and just babbles away. These mornings will always be so dear to me... especially when she's 14 and screaming at me because I "hid" her favorite shirt or something obnoxious.

3. She is learning "tricks." One is an Indian-call like babble that she and Andrew perform together. I think a video would explain it better... look for it tomorrow.

4. She teaches me something life-altering everyday. Today she taught me that your children never "belong" to you... She grows and changes so quickly and will very quickly [like next week!] become an independent and wild girl. And really, if she's anything like me, she's already her own boss.

5. She is tall. Andrew and I are, obviously, suuuuper short. But Ellie is in the 95th percentile for her height/age and growing like a weed! What a hilarious irony.

6. She loves to be cuddled and held. I know, I know- all newborns do. The reason this is special is because she loves to be cuddled and held by ME! How cool is that?! There is a human on this Earth who LOVES to just hang out and relax with me! This will be short lived as she moves into toddlerhood, but goodness. It's incredible.

7. She'll be 8 weeks-old. As much as I hate that she's growing up and won't be a baby forever, I look forward to all the amazing things she will do. Talking and walking and running and flipping and squeaaaaaaling through our house like a banshee.

Ahhh. My EllieBellie and all the beauty that she has brought to the world and to my life. :)

TGIF.

I don't know that I've ever said "TGIF." I'm usually always having a good week and, to be honest, I live one awesome life. And then came November 29-December 3, 2010. Besides a trip to the MVA, several overflowing laundry baskets, and a fussy baby... Andrew got a live flu shot and we're all dealing with that aftermath, my kitchen is a WRECK, I demolished my dishwasher, and my favorite Maryland missionary moved. Whyyyy?! So. Obviously. TGIF.

But, then again, THIS made me say TGIThursday.

And this was TGIWednesday.

Alright. What the heck am I complaining about?! :) Babies freaking rock.

Tomorrow we're trying the Botanical Garden again... Wish me luck so that maybe I'll say TGISaturday.