The Tale of Birthday Cake

Whoa...here it comes...

Mmm...caaaake....

I'm so excited!

Om nom nom.

Christmas Lights!

Ernie's been telling us all week long that "...on Friday we're going to hang LIGHTS!" Nope, not excited a bit :) She and daddy did a great job! It was her responsibility to plug them in tonight, too. Bliss!

She was quiet

As I cleaned the last of the dishes I heard Ernie in the next room start to ramp up about something- I called her in to help me finish up (she LOVES washing dishes!) She had at it quite happily, then went to go read some more books while I chatted in the front room with Wonder Daddy. Mimi toddled into the kitchen, and I didn't realize she never toddled back out again!

The Berninger!

Our friend dropped by for a surprise visit this morning! She's basically adopted Ernie- she stops by to take her to the zoo, take her to lunch, or just take her downstairs to play dress up.

She and her husband recently moved, so we won't be seeing as much of her (but her husband works down the street from us, so she'll pop by whenever she drives him to work, I'll bet!) She's been a good friend to Ernie.

What to Wear

Turn to Ernie for all your fashion needs this fall- parka, sunglasses, and umbrella. The ultimate in active wear for your nippy Pacific NW walks!

We had a great walk this morning- best we've had in a long time! Ernie and Mimi were troopers and we went miles before we headed for home (our ears were getting a little cold. Mimi and I didn't have parka hoods.)

Mommy's Little Helper

"Don't worry about the pedals, Mom- I've got them covered."

Shall We Dance?

Boogie Woogie Baby

Can't get much cooler than that!

Big Kid Painting

What was the big kid doing during our little kid painting? Ernie's favorite painting project: old-fashioned clothes pins. This time they were done in a very nice pink/black mixture (which oddly turned purple.)

First Painting

I'm a weeny- I dripped splorps of paint for her, and let her go to town mashing them around with a foam brush. I also stood by with a sponge to wipe up anything she got on the table. Yeah, not the delirious abandonment art should generally be, but we're taking baby steps/strokes :)

We have some very weird "art" pieces left her by the previous owners- they basically look like finger painting, on huge art canvases. I'm going to paint them white, then let the kids go to town with paints that match our new wall colors. I'm thinking this "drop and spread" method would work well for Mimi :) I just can't decide what kind of paints to use. It will probably just be tempura, for the non-toxic factor. She doesn't have a very well-established sense of "Hmm...this tastes funky, I better not eat it." She'll eat homemade play dough, shuddering with each bite. She kept dipping her finger in the paint and thoughtfully sucking it off. I KNOW it didn't taste good, so what she was so "thoughtful" about, I have no idea!! *grin*

Playing Old Maid

The excitement.

The fun.

The drama.

The loser.

The Chocolate Factory

While the guys were at the gym, "lifting stuff and grunting," the girls went to the chocolate factory.

Sadly, we found no "chocolate bars with gold tickets on top" as has been Ernie's fondest wish since we watched Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (she keeps asking me to look in my cookbooks for that particular recipe) but we did have a grand time!

Happy Birthday, Bert!

Ernie's still picking out your present.

But Richie's feeling pretty good about what he found for you. Since it was wrapped and all.

Happy, Happy birthday, Sister Dear!

Finders Keepers!

"Yeah. I found it. Yeah. It's in my mouth."

She was pretty stoked when she managed to bite through the plastic and found chocolate inside.

And see that fabric in the background? Yep- my napkins. She's on the table. Like she always is.

Grr.