Fall is in the Air

I love Fall! Don't get me wrong, I love summer also and was sad it was over but now that it is officially fall and starting to finally feel like fall, I am loving every minute of it. The warm but not humid days, the crisp clear nights, pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin beer (oh, that's right, no pumpkin beer for me this year) and of course Virginia Tech football!

We have been staying busy as usual. Most nights after dinner, we either take a walk to the park or a bike ride around the neighborhood. Ella and I are usually in need of some fresh air by that time and it's the perfect thing to do before the bedtime routine. Ella decided on this particular night to lay on the soccer fields and say "cheese" until I take her picture.
Most night we bring her mini soccer ball and if we get her to kick it once, it is a success. She mostly just wants to run around, jump on the baseball bases which she calls "pillows" or climb on the benches. If she is going to be the soccer star her Daddy wants, he has his work cut out for him!

One thing she does love to do is fly, twirl or anything that involves us swinging her in the air. She gets some good air on this twirl.

Friday night was a big first for us, our first Disney show! They must have shown the commercial every hour on tv for the past 2 months and every time, Ella would say, "I want to see Rapunzel" but not knowing how she would do, we waited until the last minute and then decided we should give it a try.

We went with our neighbors and all the girls wore their princess dresses since it was Disney Princesses on Ice show and Ella was Tinkerbell for the night. Of course, Daddy is a major sucker when it comes to buying Ella anything and he got Ella her very own Rapunzel doll before the show. Ella LOVES the doll! Tangled is definitely Ella's favorite movie and we didn't have anything with Rapunzel on it and she clutched the doll the entire show.

All of Ella's best buddies decked out in their princess gear waiting for the show to start. Instead of a doll, they opted for a snow cone in a Rapunzel cup. As you can see, Wesley was too busy eating hers to pose for the picture.

The show was so adorable and Ella did great! It didn't start until 7pm and went for almost 2 hours and she was mesmerized the entire time. Cindrella and the evil step sisters dancing at the ball.

Cheering for the skating princesses.

Ella's favorite part for sure was the Rapunzel part and it did not disappoint. Rapunzel and Eugene flying through the air. Ever since Friday, Ella will throw her Rapunzel doll in the air and say, "Rapunzel is flying."

The final scene they brought all the Disney princesses out on the ice along with Mickey and Minnie. I don't know how Disney does it but they certainly have created a goldmine. All the kids loved it and I can't wait to take Ella to more shows now that I know how much she liked it.

On Saturday morning, we woke up to a gorgeous day and did we spend it outside all day soaking in the sunshine? No, we spent the entire day inside potty training. Which meant Ella only wore a shirt and socks all weekend.

And who is the best dad, definitely this guy. He gave up his weekend also and spent lots of time with Ella on her potty and reading her the Tinkberbell book.

Day 2 of training and still no pants, I think Ella could get used to this. I don't want to jinx anything yet so I will let you know more about it later but let's just say so far so good. Fingers crossed it continues.

By Sunday afternoon, we all had major cabin fever and felt like Ella was ready to venture out without a diaper so we took a walk to a local church that just received their pumpkins.

This age is so much fun for so many reasons but one reason is how well aware she is of everything. She knows all about pumpkins, ghosts, trick or treating and can't wait for Halloween. So, when she saw the entire lawn full of pumpkins and a pumpkin bean bag toss, she was all in.

Since we walked up, we didn't have much room to bring any big pumpkins or "punkins" as Ella says but we did let her pick out 2 little ones. She decided she needed to do some bicep curls and tone her arms!

Our little pumpkin sitting amongst all the pumpkins. I am definitely a sucker for a cute pumpkin picture and this one was completely unplanned so I am thinking a more formal trip needs to be planned for next weekend so I can get even more pictures.

And to top off the weekend, the Hokies won a big game against Miami. The game was a lot closer than we wanted but it was great to see them win, we only wish we had been at the game. Blacksburg looked like so much fun, maybe next year.

Mike has off work tomorrow for Columbus Day and Ella and I are happy to have another day at home with Daddy and hoping for more beautiful fall weather. Have a great week!