Boats and Backpacks

This past weekend we went to Austin and had a great time. Ellery has always liked the boat but this time she was obsessed. She would go outside and just stare longingly at the water and the boat and make "vroom" sounds until Poppy agreed to take her again and again. She didn't even mind the marshmallow-like life vest that we make her wear. Poppy drove Ellery through the canals where she went under bridges, pointed at turtles, and waved to all of the other boats and passengers. I even caught her humming. She adores the lake and I can't wait to get her on skis!
Nathan was able to go to the UT/TCU game and it is a good thing because he would have been downright ticked to have to watch the Aggies in their 3rd overtime and miss the 1st quarter of the UT game on television. He bought Ellery her new UT duds at the new UT co-op here in Houston. We really wanted to get her the cute 2T cheerleader outfit but when trying it on it caused a lot of tears and tantrums, so we passed. Maybe next year!
On a another note, Ellery seems to be adjusting well to her new school and friends, although pick-up time has been a little rough. All of the kids come out looking beat-down and exhausted. Most likely it is because they take a nap from 12:30-1:30 and this is hardly enough napping after a morning of playing on the playground, story time, lunch, and other toddler activities. I am assuming they have to wake them up, pack up pacifiers and loveys, and send them out the door to mom. I have started a not-so-healthy routine of having a Sonic milkshake waiting for her in the car. It seems to do the trick and perk her up. The teachers say she is doing well throughout the day and even sitting still during story time. I have my doubts! I even spied on her out on the playground since the school is less than 1 minute from our house. I parked across the street and watched her happily playing in the sandbox. Her new back pack came in the mail today and she knew just what to do with it. She seemed like such a big girl!





Striking a pose!