Happy Gotcha Day, Ellie!!

I'd love to report that we had one of those Norman Rockwell kinds of days where everyone got along, the birds were singing, the sun was shining and good will was felt by all mankind. HA! We had a normal Latham day, though, and it was good. (*smile*)

Early morning was a sweet time while we got to cuddle on the couch and watch some television. We gave Ellie her Kyrgyz purse and the hair bows that we purchased from Sugarplum Orphans which were made from Kyrgyz felt products and are being sold as a fundraiser for Kyrgyzstan. They are beautiful. I'm so glad we could give her a gift the reflected part of her heritage. We have several other things to give her over the next several years. I think next year will be a fun year to give her her two dolls. We also got out her felt bunny slippers that she's had before but she was fascinated with them today and kept putting them on and taking them off.

We got a bit of a late start on our day and so we didn't get to go over to Monkey's Treehouse like I had wanted to. I got a wild hair, instead, to take Ellie and Josh to JCPenney's to get a picture of Ellie in her traditional Kyrgyz dress and Josh a picture for his upcoming 12 year old birthday. I have a membership card so I knew I would only have to pay $3.99 per sheet. Since I only wanted a few, I thought it was a good idea. Wrong.

We got the photographer from, well, let's just say he was less than stellar. His personality grated on all our nerves; I don't think he had ever taken kids' pictures (maybe it was his first day??), and the pictures were not good at all. I had a hard time coming up with two or three that I could even tolerate but since we'd gone to the trouble, I got a few 5x7s. Stay tuned for scans of them next week. I did get a close up of Ellie during the two seconds she was wearing her hat -- THAT was another story. I was amazed at how very Krygyz she looked when she put on her traditional dress. I guess I just don't see it every day when she's Americanized. It just struck me as a glimpse of what her life might have looked like had she lived in K'stan.

Afterward we went over to the bookstore to pick up the latest Wimpy Kids book for Josh, and to let Ellie and Josh play with the Thomas the Train set while we waited to meet my parents for a late lunch.

We were all really hungry when we got to lunch but Ellie was in rare form, trolloping around the table and refusing to eat or sit in her high chair. All in all though, it wasn't bad because there were so few people there that it didn't really matter. MeeMee and DeeDee got Ellie a Princess outfit (how appropriate, huh??) that we can't wait to see her wearing. Stay tuned for photos of her modeling it soon. No pictures from lunch. It took all of us to entertain and contain Ellie. Seems like I remember giving up going out to eat when Josh was about this age. Now I remember why.

After lunch, we went down to get a Gigi's Cupcake to celebrate (what good is a celebration if there is no cake??). Ellie was really only interested in her icing. They were so big, though, we could only eat half so we have more to eat later. Kevin called me "Grandmother" when I took the camera in and said that he remembered a time at the Old Country Buffet when Grandmother wanted to take a picture of me and her outside the restaurant and I was mortified and here I was doing the same thing. *smile* Busted. And then, of course, Josh was mortified because there where two *girls* in there and he didn't even want to go in. Finally, he agreed to go in and this is the looks I got from him -- 1) mortified, 2) ignoring me and reading his book.

We've now gotten home where we got a card from "Auntie Jennifer" that was so cute. She's had her bath and tried on her new hat (she's outside a lot at the ballpark and it's getting cold!!) and mittens (again, fighting the "keep the hat on" command by taking it off every time I put it on). She's eaten dinner and is currently rolling in the floor with her "blankie".

She is such a sweetie pie -- and such an independent spirit, outgoing and full of life and laughter. She giggles all the time and loves to wave and blow kisses. My mother swears she is already hitting the terrible twos. I think she might just be right. However, we are so blessed to have her. We look forward to the many, many years of "Gotcha' Days" to come.

Coming up next is Daddy's birthday next week, Halloween, my "Gotcha' Day" in a couple of weeks, Josh's birthday, Kevin's birthday, our anniversary and then Thanksgiving, Christmas and my birthday. WOW -- we are fixing to get on a roller coaster around here!! Hold on for the ride, folks - it's gonna' get busy!