secret garden

Last week we discovered a sweet little park near our house.  Ella named it "The Statue Park".  No swings or slides here --- but a nice shady path for skipping, cute statues to discover, a wishing well, and some pretty cool  musical instruments.

Ella wondered aloud today if the statues come alive at night :)

We brought a handful of pennies for the wishing well . . .

Leslie will like these . . .

We'll be back!!!

Gingerbread House

yummy, messy fun :)

Rudolph

Getting back into the swing of things . . .

Thanksgiving break is over and we are getting geared up for Christmas!  Lots of Christmas crafts in the works . . .  Here are some of the things we've been doing this week:

a new puzzle

dressing up and dancing with scarves

ornaments with lots of glue and glitter!

some learning center games

November Is . . .

playing outside as much as we can - taking advantage of perfect weather

turkey crafts

a new level of comfort with the pets - an interest in holding Sammy and petting Jack

watering our new garden every afternoon

searching for fairies

. . . and, for me, being thankful for the little fairy that comes to skip and hum at my side every day.  Thank you, Ella, for reminding me what's important.

Story Time

I love that Ella loves books.  Because of this, and because we have so much time because it's just her, we read - a lot!  We usually have story time three times a day.  It isn't unusual for us to read ten books or more each day.  Ella loves to pour over the illustrations, ask questions about the text, and really engage with the books.  We've been finding some great books at the library after our story hour but I also love being able to share all of the old books I've loved over the years.

butterfly houses

I finally have the kind of backyard that is right up Leslie's alley - very Michigan-esque.  Soft grass, trees, rocks, flowers.  So far we've managed to keep the fire ants at bay.  We are very happy - and Leslie is thrilled to share it with Ella.  A little friend who shares her love of wee things and nature.  These two have been busy, as of late, constructing houses.  Butterfly houses.  A house for Sammy.  I miss Michigan in the hot Florida summer but it kind of rocks around here in the late fall.

Playdough Monsters

Botanical Gardens

perfect day

learning new things

giving the flowers a drink of water

being the center of attention :)

. . . and a spot of tea to finish off the morning!

Our Week in Photos

Our week started out with rain and had us snuggling in for two days - making applesauce, watching a Disney movie, and playing lots of board games!  Luckily, our weather turned sunny and spectacular in time for our Thursday story hour at the library and our fabulous Friday outing at the pumpkin patch and park.