November, 2005
Elisa playing in the leaf pile next door.
Jack and Grace diving right in.
Elisa is a frequent visitor to Daddy's desk. A favorite request is to have tape put on each finger like long fingernails. Sometimes Daddy draws faces on each finger.
Elisa especially loves to explore the top drawer, where she finds the kind of little interesting things she likes to collect, count, sort and scatter. Here, she has successfully extracted a binder clip.
As nightfall gets earlier and earlier and the weather gets colder, we have to get more innovative about entertainment. The shopping mall has an indoor playground. Thanks to Aunt Franca, Elisa is the most fashionable kid in the play area!
We had a sleep-over at the Cutraro's. Elisa borrows Mommy's glasses and strikes a pose. Elisa had lots of fun running laps around the Cutraro house, being chased by Julian, Luca and Daddy. She ran flat out top speed continuously for at least 45 minutes, which was way more exercise than Daddy is used to getting!
Looking like a little Russian Princess. We got her dressed up to go to her first concert of the Windsor Symphony Orchestra. They started a new program called "Peanut Butter and Jams" for kids, which they held in the function room of the Windsor Public Library. Elisa danced to Mozart's Allegro (and to Twinkle Twinkle Litter Star).
At swimming lessons, the kids are encouraged to try to get their ears wet. So we practice in the tub at home. Now she can even dunk her whole face. And she knows she's performing a daring act when she does it. She also likes to fill her mouth with water (from her water bottle or the tub or the pool) and then hold on to it for as long as possible. When she does this, she has this look on her face like she knows a secret.
From the first time we gave Elisa a bath in China, she has never fussed when we poured water over her head. But what started as rinsing has now turned into a game. She yells "pour" and "top" to request that a cup of water be poured on her head, which we do 10-20 times during a bath.
We got a new toy for the bath tub. Elisa likes it, but is a bit frustrated because SHE wants to be able to go down the slide too.
Thanksgiving Weekend in Chicago
Turkey Dinner with Grammy, Ross, Nancy and Papa
Ben, Emma, and Charlie come to visit Jack and Elisa
Jim with his daughters...
Getting ready for Mom's 29th birthday dinner at Cafe Le Cave.
Jack goes spikey and does his best GQ pose.
Bridgy and Meg
The Christmas Village is bigger and better than ever.
Visiting the indoor playground at Grampa and Nanna's condo.
Elisa learns to catch some air at the pool!
