Welcome to Fall!

Just had a week off from work that was full of fun! The weather was great, I can't believe it's October! Unfortunately out of the 7 days I had off from work, Jay was only off for one of them. We have a 4 day weekend off together in a few weeks so I'm looking forward to that, can't remember the last time we had that many shared days off!

Looking at an animal "book" (it's a calendar!)

Friday was our gender reveal party, which I've already covered. I still can't believe we are having a baby BOY! On Saturday, I got some shopping in at the outlets with my mom and Kon - including a Halloween costume for Miss Ellison and some clothes for Baby Boy Miller (yes we will be keeping the name secret until he arrives). It's a little overwhelming that we have to start all over with clothes, bibs, towels, blankets, etc...but at least all of our big ticket items are gender neutral so we really only have to worry about a double stroller! I think we are getting close to the theme for his nursery, but we'll see how many times that changes. Ellison is still using the furniture that will go in the baby's room and we probably won't try to put her in the toddler bed until after the holidays, so we have time!

The little acrobat showing off

Sunday we took advantage of the weather and hit the Harvest Fair at the State Fair grounds. Ellison just wanted to see animals, so we were hoping there would be a petting zoo like there was last year. Unfortunately they replaced the petting zoo with an exotic animal exhibit (there was a kangaroo and some other strange things), but luckily for us the 2013 World Beef Expo was also taking place at the fairgrounds, so we wandered in and checked out some cows! Ellison LOVES animals, but farm animals are her favorites right now. She played in the giant hay pit a little, but mostly she found it "ucky". She can be a little prissy about things that make her dirty!

Monday was Jay's day off so we went to the pumpkin farm. Going to Swan's is one of my favorite parts of the year, and it was not busy at all since it was a weekday! We almost had the place to ourselves, and of course, Ellison loved the animals.

On Tuesday Ellison and I had to run an errand downtown, so we went to the lakefront and hung out for a bit. She really likes to go to the "park" and even has a little song she sings about the park. "Park" is the only word we understand in the song, but it's super cute when she sings! We went to McKinley Beach, which has a really nice playground. She didn't want to get too close to the lake. Luckily I remembered to put real shoes on her (not sandals, because she wouldn't like the sand getting on her feet!) so she ran around the beach a little bit!

Wednesday was our zoo day. E talks about the zoo and all the animals at the zoo constantly. She was so excited to go, and did not want to leave when it was time to go home! I had to tell her all the animals were going to take their naps, too :)

Consulting her map...

Favorite animal right now...cows!

"Mingos"

One of Ellison's favorite things right now is playing in our front yard with the acorns. She picks up acorns and "tops" and puts them in little piles on the front porch and sidewalk. She would probably be fine if we stayed outside and did that all day long!

Picking up her acorns and tops

With Daddy, probably talking about acorns!

E has also started to narrate what she is doing. If she's running around, she will say "running!" and when she eats she sometimes will say "eat it" before she puts the food in her mouth. She's getting good with combining words and says her name a lot. Lots more -ing words (running, playing, eating, shopping, swimming). I can't believe the explosion of words she has had over the past month and a half...I wonder if getting rid of the pacifier is part of it? She can definitely say over 200 words now, and is starting to say some letters (O is the one she regularly points out), numbers, and colors. Mostly purple!

Time for baby's dinner!

Her penguin Pip even got his own seat one night!

Ellison likes her "buddies" to join us for meals. They sit in her booster when she isn't using it, usually to have "soup" which she loves to make with her letters! Actually, one or two buddies usually go everywhere Ellison goes!

Making soup at Grandma and Grandpa Millers

Soup with all her buddies at home

Sad that I have to go back to work! This week has been a great break from all the stress of the ICU - although I have to again give credit to stay at home moms, because I am TIRED after a full day at home with Ellison!

As for the pregnancy, I'm feeling great now other than some back pain and getting tired easily. I've been falling asleep on the couch most nights. Appetite is getting better each week, although I still have some weight to gain to get back to where I started. Wearing maternity shirts most of the time but not the pants yet! We'll see how much longer that lasts...