Where's Ella?!

Ella acting and looking cool in her shades.

What a busy week it has been for Ella. There is no resting on vacation for this little two year old. We have spent the last week visiting friends and family in Michigan. It's been quite the tour of the great lakes state...first stop was Muskegon to catch up with our good friends the Taylor's and then a stop in Petersburg to visit with Grandma (Jason's mom). It is amazing how many new things Ella is doing and saying. A little change of scenery goes a long way.

I think the biggest difference has certainly been walking...Ella is walking EVERYWHERE now. She had lots of kids to keep up with in Muskegon and she held her own rather well. Jason and I are amazed at how active she has become. You literally can not take your eyes off her for a minute (unless you want to find her climbing her way to the top of the nearest staircase!)

Playing with all her new friends in Muskegon.

The running joke for our time at the Taylor's became "Peek-a-boo, Where is Ella?"....Samantha (the most adorable almost four year old I know) thought this was a fun game to play with Ella and it was quite literal too. She would repeat the game over and over and over, much to Ella's amusement (and our laughter). There were many moments I had to stop and ask "Where is Ella?" We could usually find her right in the mix with the kids, playing with the toys, or exploring a new room in their house.

Ella and Samantha hanging out!

Ella has also developed quite an appetite while on vacation. In fact, Jason's mom wanted to know what we were talking about when we said she eats like a bird. This girl has packed in the food this week all while making her mom and dad look absolutely foolish for ever mentioning that she was not a big eater. You name the food, she eats it. It was a nice break to not constantly be worried about whether or not she had enough to eat. Ella certainly won her spot in the "clean plate club" this week. :-)

Posing with the gorilla statue at the Toledo Zoo

There were lots of other firsts to mention too....first boat ride, first dip in Lake Michigan, and her first trip to the Toledo Zoo. Ella LOVES animals.

She has had a blast playing with the dogs and enjoying the horses at Grandma's house and the zoo trip was the icing on the cake. She was fascinated by the apes and monkey's, giggling at the baby Elephant, and fast asleep by the end of the day.

It's never fun to see vacation come to an end, but it was a really nice week. We hit the road tomorrow night for the long trek back to New York (10-11 hours, yuck)...and then it's back to the grind for all 3 of us on Monday!