We Love Penguins

Alright - so I have totally slacked about posting in February.  Sorry :(

Anyway, March must be right around the corner.  It was a balmy winter day today -- perfect for ice skating! (Who goes ice skating when it's cold?? Brrr!).  We decided to finally hit up the ice skating at the Georgetown waterfront.  We had heard about the super cool penguins there that meant kids could actually skate by themselves and you didn't have to break you back helping the kids skate.  Baba joined us as well.  Cooper said he was all done, then screamed to get back on the ice, then decided he was done again, then screamed to get back on the ice.  But it was a beautiful day, the kids were (mostly) happy, the sun was warm on our face, Ella couldn't stop smiling because she could skate "all by herself," and we got to spend some time with Baba.  Overall, a pretty sweet day.

Anyone for tea?

 My mom really wanted me to love horses when I was little.  So she signed me up for riding lessons when I was just a peanut.  I was so small that the horse didn't even know I was riding him, so he never went anywhere, and I wasn't strong enough to pick up the horse to clean out his hooves or reach up and put the saddle on. 

I was not a fan.

I have done nothing to encourage the horse obsession with Ella -- she must have inherited it from her Nana.  So, needless to say, her birthday gift from Mimi, Poppa, Baba and Nana was pretty much a dream come true for her.  Now she has her own "Ella" doll with her very own horse.  Are riding lessons in our future?

On the day of Ella's birthday, all the girls celebrated by taking Ella-doll ("Ellie") out for tea at the American Girl restaurant.  I'm not sure if this was Ella's dream come true, her mother's dream come true, or her grandmoms' dreams come true.