Earlier in the month we were able to take advantage of some of the warmer days. This is outside on the first Friday in November.
Our store trips now often included these exact two lines, "I want this." "Add it to your Christmas list."
I finished my gallery project and then we decorated for Thanksgiving.
I should mention that the table runner was a gift from my mom. She is pretty amazing and I have been the lucky recipient of several seasonal runners.
Last year I searched everywhere for a ship - I was happy to find one this year.
On the first Saturday of November we finished up the fall season of soccer. We had a no win season, but we did have one game that ended in a tie and we are excited about the Spring season. You can tell from the picture the girls enjoyed each other.
On the 8th we had the team over for a pizza party. It was fun to see them outside of the soccer field and I think they loved playing something other than soccer together.
We had them party in the basement and I was glad when I saw how crazy they could be.
On the 9th - we got hit with some snow. Kevin, Ellie, Anja and I all took advantage of our steep driveway and got our first sledding of the year in. At first we were just pushing each other down....and then Kevin decided we needed a little extra speed so he had us holding on to the tow rope and then he would run and give us an extra boost.
On the 16th - Ellie took her last picture of 2012 with no braces.
And then her first with them. That night she had a birthday party for Abi to go to and I was happy she had something to take her mind off the pain. She was super brave about it and I think the fear of the unknown was the hardest part. I never had braces so I had a hard time relating, but Kevin tried to help.
Ellie was the first in her grade to get braces so I think the added novelty at this age made the transition even smoother.
That night and the next morning I had a really hard time adjusting to how much older the braces made her look. It was crazy to me how much influence they had on her appearance. It was also crazy how quickly her teeth moved!
Luckily for me, she still has a kid inside.
I don't remember why we were at this store, but while we were waiting in line, Kevin picked this up and Ellie, in her most adult voice said, "I'm pretty sure you're too old for that." We all cracked up.
On the 21st, Kevin and I went to the school and we celebrated Thanksgiving with school lunch.
On that same day, big bear got to go to school for a read-a-thon. She could only take either a pillow or a stuffed animal, so she took big bear. He acts as both!
Ellie spent Thanksgiving with her dad and her cousins from that family, so Kevin and I spent it alone in Las Vegas. We thought of Ellie though and took pictures of two of her favorites...Elvis and MJ.
Ellie went to Grace's birthday party for most of the day on the 24th. Grace is in the other class but Ellie and Grace were pretty good friends last year. Grace got to pick one friend to spend the day with her for her birthday and she picked Ellie. I'm always impressed with how nice Ellie is and how many compliments I get from parents on how wonderful she is with their children and how they are always happy to have her around. In fact, the school administrator stopped me in the hall one day to say that. She told me that often with kids as bright as Ellie they are not always kind, but that she was so impressed with Ellie's ability to be both. I told her I was glad she was bright, but as a mother, I am super proud of what a kind and sweet child I have. The way she treats others is awesome.
A few random extras bits of Ellie love for the month.....
Ellie got in the habit of watching videos on her iPod every morning and often after school. We had talked about addicted before and used her and her iPod as an example. One day I found her making this.
How addicted am I?
Something I LOVE that she does on her iPod is Facetime with Mason. They got in the habit of sending each other videos when they weren't on Wi-Fi and able to call one another. Here are a couple that crack me up.
When we are at my mom's house and Ellie doesn't want to eat her dinner, my mom often eats it for her. In fact at times, they try to build this wall of stuff on the table so I can't see. One night we were having dinner at our house and she said, "I wish grandma were here to help me finish this!"
I don't recall why Ellie said this, but I said something about my mom not remembering something and Ellie in her defense said, "She's not as young as she used to be!" - Again, we all cracked up.
We were at the store and a young child asked his mom how to spell heart. She said, "HART" - Ellie was shocked and quietly said to me, "Mom, that is not how you spell heart - even I know that."
I will end November early as the rest of the month we move into Christmas mode, but something sweet Ellie said as I was getting ready for the month. "Mom, when you make the advent calendar maybe you can put two things that are the same when Mason is here so I can give her one."
Love her!
