Jeremy, Ella, Mindy and I were sitting around the family room the morning after Christmas when Ella looks around and asks “Where is Grandpa Eric?”. As soon as she said it you could tell she knew it wasn’t what she wanted to ask. Jeremy told her “Grandpa Eric and Grandma Dot are in Denver”. And Ella says “No . . . where’s . . . Grandma Mindy’s Grandpa?” Grandpa Greg was taking a shower. But I thought that was a smart (and cute) way for her to explain what she was asking.

I finally have a few minutes to update the blog and add pictures to the photo gallery from Christmas 2009. Ella really got into Christmas this year. She kept asking “what else can I open”, “are there more presents for Ella?”. The biggest initial hits at present opening time were a plastic candy cane filled with hershey kisses, the Gone fishin’ game, duplos, Christmas gummi bears, and a fisher price doll house. The clothes gifts were tossed aside once she realized they were clothes (that will change in a few years). We’ll have to see what becomes her favorite as she gets to play with everything. She was disappointed that there wasn’t actually a frog associated with the Leapfrog reading system.

More Christmas pictures

We took a trip down to Ithaca today to see Mark, Robyn and baby Anya. Anya is adorable (as you can see in the photos linked below) and very well behaved while we were there. Ella was more interested in Oscar and the cats than her new baby cousin though. We also exchanged Christmas gifts since Mark and Robyn didn’t think they would be up to traveling with Anya at Christmas time. Ella loved her new pony and her playdough!

Click on pic to see the rest of the pictures in the album.

On friday when I went to get Ella up to drop her off at Grandma Carol’s because I had to work Ella sleepily asked me “Is…is Santa here?” I told her she had to wait another week for Santa.

Yes, I realize that is a pony and not Santa, but it is the only picture I could get of Ella at the mall that day. She seemed excited about going to see Santa and was disappointed when he wasn’t there and we had to come back after we ate lunch. But as soon as he was in the chair she would have nothing to do with him. She didn’t want to talk to him, sit on his lap or even stand near him.

On Monday when I picked Ella up from Grandma Carol’s house she had a baggie with some marshmallows in it. When we got home she asked for one of the red plastic glasses on the counter to put her marshmallows in. After I gave her one she put a few marshmallows in it and then gave it to the dogs. Ella thought she was being nice and sharing with the dogs but the cup was too tall and thin for Lily and it got stuck on her muzzle.

Ella would like a barn for Christmas . . .

When we take the backroads near our house we will look for barns to see if there are any cows or horses outside near them. This week Ella told me “we should get one of those barns so we can have some ponies”. I told her to talk to her uncle Mark, he has been asking for a pony for years – he will understand her pain.