Thanksgiving and more!

National Cathedral

Hanging out in the cherry tree

Fall cherry tree in bloom

Playing tag in the gardens

Thinking by the koi pond

Remembering the wishing well where she had her 1 year old photos

Looking for her wish

Fall sunset at the National Cathedral - Eila and Papa

Eila at the Nutcracker

At the Kennedy Center

Gigi and Eila with Baelie

Mommy and Eila in the Danish Elf hat

Capturing the moments on film

Pumpkins

A candid- sitting down to Thanksgiving dinner

Eila and Kaelin- techno punks!

Paolo- turkey master

Paolo and Jean Sebastien

Kim and Kaelin

We had a fun November with lots of activities and a nice week with Gigi that ended with a wonderful Thanksgiving with good friends and family. We had the great pleasure of having Sonja back from Denmark and also Paolo our turkey master and Jean Sebastien who Eila always looks at so fondly since he helped build her playset. We also were so lucky to have Kim and Dinkar and Kaelin over for the festivities and Eila and Kaelin had a great hoopla for the holiday. The final weekend of November ended with our first ballet- the Nutcracker at the Kennedy Center which Eila kept pointing out had a live orchestra. She loved it! We ended a gorgeous day with an unplanned stop at the Bishop's garden at the National Cathedral. We found a cherry tree in bloom- magnificent! November was fantastic...next comes the favorite month for children - the countdown to Christmas. Luckily Eila is still just enjoying the idea of fun and family and the little advent calendar. She isn't pining over an i-Pad or anything crazy yet.

Quick Cousin Catch-up

We did a 24 hour quick visit to get a peek at baby cousin Max in Philadelphia and catch up with Eila's godparents Lauren and Bart, who we miss so much since they have moved. Maxine has doubled in size but is as sweet as ever with those gorgeous dimples and lovable disposition. Eila felt very proud to be given big cousin privilege to feed baby Maxine sweet potatoes and hold her in her lap. It was too short, but wonderful.

Happy Halloween!

Cimeren, Eila and Keya- sending Happy Halloween wishes!

Cimi, Eila and Keya- a little Halloween cheer!

Eila and Keya

Practicing some ghost sounds

A little pre-trick-or-treat lollipop

Halloween was a hit! A perfect Autumn night with starry skies and a lot of spooky and silly kids running through the streets. Eila and cousins couldn't get enough of it! (the excitement and the candy)

Who are you?

Eila decided on being a character from Totoro for her school parade and party and a cowgirl for the neighborhood Halloween party Friday. We'll see what whim there is this evening. At 3 years old, it is all her decision. She is not intimidated by having to explain who Totoro is to everyone...and by the way, we do recommend watching My Neighbor Totoro. It really is wonderful, even if you see it over and over again. Here are some sneak peeks for pre-Halloween.

Boo!

Eila is into getting scared (for pretend, of course...meaning when she is expecting it and asking for it). She loves to be chased and surprised and is oh so ready for Halloween. We'll see what she settles on for a costume. She is somewhere between being her favorite rock star singer Lisa (of a children's band from Baltimore no less, a very wild and crazy group called Milkshake) or the lead actress (cartoon girl) in a movie she loves called My Neighbor Totoro (and I'm supposed to be her Totoro - a huge but sweet, fuzzy gray creature that only children can see...hmmm), or a good ol' cowgirl. She is wearing her cowgirl boots around everywhere. I'm hoping for the simplest one...the cowgirl. We are loving the Autumn! We just visited a local plant nursery that had a fun Alice in Wonderland fun house and hay bale mazes which was an unexpected and fun surprise. We're looking forward to the annual visit to the pumpkin patch next weekend...and then comes Halloween! Eila is also very excited about our low budget re-do of the basement...she calls it her yoga studio.