Winter Dance Recital

Someone is ready to dance!

 Posing with Daddy before her first recital

 Ellen & Grandma Nancy

 A little quiet time before heading backstage...

 Putting on her tap shoes..."BY MYSELF!!!!"

A couple of very rare "Ellen & Mama" shots

 We ran into our BFF Emma Claire on our way backstage

 There was no photography allowed during the show so I have no good shots of her in action, but let me say it was pretty adorable!!

 And, our prima ballerina receiving her fans after the show...

 Some attempts at family shots!

Visit with Santa 2012

This year, we decided to head to Cheekwood to check out Santa and the reindeer.

 Mary Elizabeth was not impressed :)

 When we got there, we realized that we should have arrived early and got on the waiting list because there were no more slots available to see Santa.  So, we decided to check out the other activities instead!

 Sitting in the sleigh (exposure is completely off but it's the only one of the 2 of them!)

 Playing in the treehouse...

Luckily, things in Santaland moved along ahead of schedule and they ended up sneaking in a few more children and we managed to get a spot!  As soon as I find our CD, I'll post some of the Santa photos!

O Christmas Tree...

Mary Elizabeth enjoyed her first tree trimming experience...

 Ellen & Daddy had some serious conversations about how to tackle the lights on the tree...

 She had some strong opinions about what should go where!

 After many years, I finally found a tree topper I liked. 
It was a little Christmas miracle!!!

 Working on hanging ornaments...

 Ta-daaaa!!!

Just another day....

When Daddy decided it was time to do a little landscaping, he quickly had a little apprentice jumping in to assist...

 Little did she know they would be out there all day tearing out all the landscaping that we had!

 This girl will work hard if it means she gets to hang out and do work with her Daddy!

 Whew!  Manual labor is tough.

 Time for a snack...

 ...and some iPod... 

...and more snacking!

 

And here's Mary Elizabeth doing what she does best--hanging around, chewing on stuff!

Just another day in the life...

Pumpkin Pie

Ellen decided this was going to be the year for making our own pumpkin pie!

 We gathered our ingredients...

 and got to work!

 There was lots of mixing and stirring...

 ...and mixing and stirring... 

 ...until the pies were ready to go into the oven.

Once they were done, someone was a little bit protective over her creations!

But, I have to say, they were pretty yummy! Good job, Ellen!

 And, here's Mary Elizabeth while we were slaving away baking our pie: