Dancing Queen

Ella's in Charge!

That's right, look who's in the driver's seat! Jack, Ella, and Eddie at the McKown's for a Labor Day BBQ.

Cousin Cooper and August!!

What? We promise we're not planning on smooshing him again!
Enjoying their favorite summer time treat in Cooper's backyard.
Smile for the camera, cuz!

Poor Cousin August, the victim of too much love from two lively and excited two-year-olds!!
Sitting in time out because we squashed Cousin August while trying to love on him!

Cooper, Phil, Ella, and Oscar (when he had just been shaved for the summer) at the Andres' house.
Trying on shoes with Cooper. Do you have this in an 8, sir?

Cooper, or as Ella calls him, CooPoo! Ella was able to spend a lot of time with her cousins Cooper and August for the first two weeks of her time in MI. They enjoyed numerous activities together, including raiding Moma's spare rooms, trying on shoes, swimming in the baby pool, squashing baby August (for which they both received a time out--they actually are quite fond of him, but just love him so much!), riding on the three wheeler, and much more! We were also able to visit their new house in Pittsburgh where he showed us all his favorite things.

A Hands-on Mother

Not only has Ella become very fond of baby dolls lately, but she is also a very good mama to them. See here where she actually climbed into the baby doll's Pack-n-Play to calm her down--what a hands on mother!

La Famiglia Siciliana

In case you've been wondering who the people are that take care of Ella everyday while Phil and I work, here they are. In the top picture is, from the left, Nino, Pippo, Pina, Ella and Phil. In the bottom picture is me, Pippo, Pina, Ella and Phil. As you can see, Ella wants nothing to do with them while Mom and Dad are around, but she has a great time with them while we're gone. Today they took her to church for the children's day celebration for Saint Antonio. She received bread (not sure why) and maybe a blessing of some sort. They said she had fun, more so playing outside of the church than inside.

Jaguar Men's Soccer

Some of you may know that it was just Ella and I at home this week while Phil traveled with his soccer team to the DODDS European Soccer Championship in Ramstein, Germany. He had a really outstanding team this year and just to quickly recap, they ended up winning all but one game in the pool play, (the last of which was against Brussels and ended with a shoot out after a double overtime, our boys winning after making three straight goals and blocking all of the opponents' shots), which lead them to play in the finals game on Friday against the team from Rota, Spain!! The finals game was also a very close match, going into double overtime again. Unfortunately, Rota scored with 30 seconds remaining in the second overtime and our guys just didn't have enough time to score. So they ended the tournamelt in second place for Division IV. This was an awesome way to end the season and I know Phil is very proud of all his players. Go Jags!! You can check out the article about the game in the Stars and Stripes at this link:

http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=123&article=55048

Ella is.....

on

the

go!

What we love in Sicilia...

My creation
Originally uploaded by ajaphilip

....almond blosson petal paths, ancient temples, pizza with rucola, extremely old olive trees, waters of aquamarine and cobalt, the rocks thrown by the Cyclops, theatres open to the skies....just to name a few.

Ella has been Warhol-ed

My creation
Originally uploaded by ajaphilip

Happy 3rd Birthday, Jack McKown!

The Birthday Boy and Ella

I did not take any of these pictures, but I just had to share them with you all since they are so adorable! Enjoy!

A rare moment of calm between the two. Aren't they a cute couple when they're not bickering over the same toy or adult attention?

Ahh, check out the adoration in Ella's eyes! Meanwhile, Jack is oblivious; typical guy!

This is classic Ella and Jack behavior! As you can see, Ella has clearly crossed over into Jack's personal space while trying to see/grab his new toy and he will have none of that, thank you very much! Poor Matt just looks on in wonder at the "sibling" rivalry.

Technically, Jack's birthday is today, but we celebrated it on Saturday with a Super Hero theme party. Here you can see the crowd of girls watching as Jack opened his presents. Just to clarify, this was like a junior high dance and all of the boys were on the other side of the room!

Beach Day in Brucoli

Nice look, Ella!

Ella and Amity Crone, Ella's adopted big sister!

Picking out that perfect rock to throw into the sea.

Our friends, the Crones, rented a condo at the beach near the town of Brucoli for the week of Spring Break, so we drove down there today to join them for some fun in the sun. It wasn't a very pretty day, and the water was very nippy, as you can well imagine since it is only mid-April, but we still had a good time in the Baia Arcile! Ella really enjoyed the cows that were resting under the trees further down the beach, as well as the neighbor's dog, Poncho, who was just her size!

Ella's Galloping Good "Step in Time"

Ella Poppin' Wheelies with Grandpa

Blog Makeover!!!

Buon giorno, tutti! As you may have noticed, there are a few new features on our blog, including the Blogarithm tool which you can use to be notified via email when our blog is updated, my favorites list through Amazon, and a list of post labels so you can view all posts related to a certain label, e.g. holidays, Ella, friends, etc. I am currently working on adding a slideshow of our pictures that will run continuously. More to come!

Unfortunately I will not have as much time to idle away on the computer everyday since I will start working as a teacher's aide in a Sure Start classroom this coming Monday through the end of the school year. Ella will be watched by our Italian neighbor and friend, Pina, so I know she'll be in good hands while I am gone. This was a tough decision to make, since I have been out of the work force for nearly two years while staying home to raise Ella, but it feels like it's time to get back out there.

We hope you enjoy the new look of the blog. Please continue to check in with us!

Arrivederci!
Aja

Easter Egg Hunt 2008

Don't stop hunting, Ella! You can eat the treats later!

Don't mess with Ella's eggs, or you'll feel the wrath of the Hulk Fists! I've heard of "Stage Moms", but "Easter Egg Hunt Dads"? C'mon Phil, just let the kids have a good time!

Hmmm, is there an egg in that watering can, Ella?

The hunt continues in the McKown's yard.

Buona Pasqua!

Okay, so I guess getting to eat this chocolate bunny was worth having the "scary" Easter Bunny creep into our house last night to leave my basket.

Hmmm, is the Easter Bunny trying to turn health conscious, or is this just a plastic carrot filled with candy? Further investigation may be required!

All dressed up with someplace to go! We're having an Easter lunch with some new friends today.

Here are some delectible treats from our neighbor, Pina. She made the smaller cookies using homemade almond paste, which Pippo (her husband) opened every almond for by hand from their trees, as well as lemons from their yard. The larger cookies are a traditional Easter egg cookie, which I think are a Sicilian tradition. Ella ate a bit of hers this morning while she rifled through her basket, and we passed the other cookie onto Jack.

Some additions to Ella's list of things she loves...

Ella took this picture, no lie!

I don't know how these two were missed last time, because they are so obvious! Mama, or Mommy as I have now become, and Daddy.

Her John Deere tractor and RED firehat, because the yellow one is completely pointless (her opinion, not mine) and only good enough to be offered to Jack, even though he wants the RED one too!

Don't be messin' with a girl's John Deere!

Her awesome shades, both practical for eye protection and stylish for fashion's sake. This is Italy, after all!

In like a lion, out like a lamb...

Hates the bunny, LOVES the bunny arts and crafts!

...that's MARZO!! Crazy, rainy weather one day and blue skies with sunshine for miles on the rest! Spring has sprung here in Sicilia, so yesterday we headed down the ol' bunny trail to sneak a peek at our favorite Easter candyman, the Easter Bunny. Now, the Easter Bunny is right up there with Santa Claus as far as Ella is concerned, meaning that she hates them both equally and would like NOTHING to do with them, thank you very much! So, here is a picture of Jack and his mom Carrie with the Easter bunny and a bit of Mt. Etna in the background because my kid wouldn't go for this photo op!

A Visit from Grandpa Tim!!

Supercalifragilisticexpyalidocious! My Grandpa Tim is here in Sicilia with us for two whole weeks! We've been taking him to all of our favorite Sicilian hotspots, but I know his favorite thing so far has been watching Mary Poppins with me at least two times a day!! It's my latest obsession.

Picture Perfect View from the Greek Theatre in Taormina taken by Grandpa

"Oh, how you flatter me, Grandpa! I know I AM your favorite grandchild and all, but come on!"

To view more pics taken by Grandpa Tim on his Sicilian adventures, check out our Dropshots page at www.dropshots.com/ajaandre . Ciao!

The Loves in Ella's Life...Happy Valentine's Day!

JUMPING!! Up, up into the air! Mama's pretty good at tossing her into the air, but Daddy can throw much higher and do fancy tricks like 180(s) and 360(s).

Darn that crappy camera! Can't seem to get her hold body in one shot!

Again! Again!

WATER!!! Sometimes for hand or dish washing, but mostly just for the pure joy of feeling it slip through her fingers and drenching her clothes!

RUNNING!! In lieu of her regularly scheduled Tiny Tots gym class on Thursday, the base gym hosted a Cupid's Run for the little ones. They were each given a number, ran around the indoor track a few times, then refueled with little cups of water and stretches.