Vrroooooom, Vrooooooom!!!

I took Ellie grocery shopping late yesterday afternoon after a LONG day in the car on our way home from Florida....the traffic was UNREAL!!!  We were on the road with everybody and their mother from the North East...guess they ALL spend their spring break in Florida or Hilton Head!  Ellie was an angel in the car, though.  Speaking of cars, she got to ride in her first fancy car shopping cart that afternoon.  She had a ball steering us all over the store.  She makes me so happy...the best little companion ever.

Sun Goddess

Ellie and I visited Annie and John in Tampa over our last two days in Florida for Spring Training.  Katie Moore was also there for her Spring Break from Santa Clara.  All of us gals enjoyed a long morning of soaking up the sun by the pool.  Ellie just climbed up and down the pool steps a million times over...poor tired pregnant Mommy had to go right along with her.  Kind of sad to be back in Charlotte's 45 degree weather today.  

We found out just a couple of days ago that Joe will be starting the season out in AAA for the Braves in Richmond.  It was a big bummer and, really, quite a shock.  I just know that he'll be back up there in the Bigs in no time at all, though.  He truly earned a spot on that team with his amazing performance in Spring Training, but baseball is not fair.  He'll just have to prove them wrong!  Send your positive vibes his way, will you?

Uh-Oh!

We let Ellie feed herself on the kitchen floor in her diaper the other night...so polite and lady-like, I know.  We'll work on the manners later.  When she decided she was done, she dumped her entire plate on the floor and let out a loud and clear, "Uh-oh." That and "thank you" seem to be her only words from the English language so far. 

Sea World...Take Two!

So, I really, really loved Sea World the first time around.  I knew that there was just so much more that we needed to do there, so we went again about 3 days later with our friends, the Ohmans.  We saw her favorite penguins again, visited the dolphin nursery, and best of all, saw two fantastic shows (the dolphin/ Cirque du Soleil-type show was AMAZING!).  I think Ellie liked it almost as much as her momma did this time around=).

Sea World on Easter

You'd think Sea World on Easter Sunday would be empty...WRONG!...Ellie and I found out that spending Easter at Sea World is just the most popular thing to do in Orlando.  I took her there yesterday, just the two of us, and we absolutely LOVED every minute of it!  We were only there for about two hours, but we filled every minute of our visit with fun.  Can't wait to go back before we leave here on Friday morning...so much more to see and do!  Ellie is OBSESSED with fishies right now, so it was the perfect trip for her.  Funny thing, though, she insisted on chatting on her Polly Pocket cell phone throughout the entire seal and sea lion show!...cute, but kind of embarrassing for mommy=).

Happy Easter!!

On our way to our first Easter Egg Hunt!  Ellie was ready to go and so excited.  She got some Easter treats in the car on the way over...a new Easter basket, a cheeping stuffed chick, and little bunny truck toy...what could be better?!

Doing a Team Cheer with her Buddies!

Go Team!  Ellie is obsessed with Jack and Annabelle, her twin buddies who are a year older than she is.  My giant child is the same size they are, but she just loves observing them and copying everything they do.  I like to think they were giving her pointers for the Big Hunt in this picture!

Ellie's First Easter Egg Hunt Begins!!

Little Miss Independent loved every second of hunting for eggs, except that she absolutely REFUSED any help from mommy.  Major tantrums were thrown every time I tried to hold her hand or direct her somewhere.  I was the crazy pregnant lady running all over the place, trying to keep up with my kid.  It was pretty funny.

Meeting the Easter Bunny

At the end, we got to meet the Easter Bunny.  Ellie's still not brave enough to hang out with him on her own, but as you can tell by the top picture, she loves the Bunny!  I included both pictures, because one is better of her and the other is better of me...momma's gotta include at least one where she looks OK!

Wild Animal Kingdom

We did Disney's Wild Animal Kingdom with my friend Allyson and her twin two-year olds, Jack and Annabelle, yesterday.  We were there for about three hours...tons of fun, but it wore me out!  Ellie LOVES fish...way cooler than gorillas and hippos even...who knew?!  She was not so sure of the people dressed up like the characters.  There was certainly no way of getting her to take a happy picture with Mickey by herself...way too scary!  Maybe next year.

Loungin' With Dad

Joe has had two night games in a row, so we've had him at home in the morning for the first time in what seems like forever.  He and Ellie were enjoying watching "Diego" together like that for the longest time...such good buddies.

She's Learning to Hug!

Ellie surprised us all last night by wrapping her arms around her cousin, Jack, out of the blue.  By golly, she knows how to hug!  The next morning, she did the same to me.  Awwww, nothing more satisfying to a hard working momma=).

First Trip to Disney!

The Borchards are in town, and we had a ball yesterday at Disney World with the whole crew.  Ellie got to go on the merry-go-round, Dumbo with her grandparents, and Small World.  She was wide-eyed the entire time.  As you can see by the last picture from our drive home, it was all just too much to take in, and she was exhausted by the whole thing!  Can't wait to go again when Anna, Katie Moore, and maybe Michela get into town.

Splish Splash!!

We're back in Orlando again with Joe, and we're enjoying every minute of it!  Ellie loves being with her daddy, I'm loving the weather, and there's nothing better than being at a resort where I have all sorts of ways to entertain a toddler all day.  This really is our heaven!  Ellie and I hit up the park and the water park today.  She's getting braver every time we head to the pool.  And I can't believe it, but she actually asks (whines) for her life jacket...she actually likes wearing it.  If anybody needs a get-away, come visit us!

Grammy's In Town!

Grammy Molly is in town for a visit...and we're LOVING it!  Is Ellie a "Mini-Molly," or what?!

So Pretty!

I had to post this one just because she looked so cute.  What you don't see in this picture, though, is the totally devilish fit she threw while we were out to dinner at that restaurant 15 minutes post-picture.  Ugh!

Enjoying the Florida Sun

Ellie and I spent time last week visiting Joe at Spring Training in Florida.  We can't wait to go back for good this week...we had a BALL!  Ellie loved the water park at our resort.  And her Auntie Noni insists that she looked like a little "gay boy" posing in her lady bug bathing suit!  I found it pretty darn cute=).