Eliza Made Santa's Nice List

I can't stop watching this, it is just too cute!
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Eliza's First Birthday

On October 30th, we had the pleasure of celebrating Eliza's first birthday. We started the day off with a photo shoot at JcPenney where she wore her Halloween costume, and then changed into a pretty embroidered dress with a pink sash. We then came home and got ready for the party. We had a variety of sparkling juices, many finger foods, a pot of cheese fonu going, and of course...the cake. Once the guests arrived, both of her grandma's and our closest friends, we opened the presents. Of course she was more interested in playing with the packaging than anything else at first. Then on to the kitchen to sing happy birthday. She had a beautiful Disney fairy cake, which really didn't excite her much until a chunk of it was placed in front of her. With hands full of frosting, she surprisingly didn't make too much of a mess. Once she had her fill, we headed upstairs for the birthday bath. After getting clean and dressed in her footy pj's we headed back downstairs to play with her birthday loot. There, she and her friend Scott played until eyes lids began to droop and it was time to go to bed. We had a lot of fun, and now look forward to the holiday season.

Chesterfield Pumpkin Patch

Saturday, October 10th, the whole family, along with our extended Ashmore family, took the kids to their first trip to a pumpkin patch. They had a great time seeing many different kinds of animals, I think Eliza's favorite was the rabbits, got to eat yummy food, and take a hay ride! The hay ride was a covered wagon pulled by a tractor that took us out to an impressive pumpkin patch where we picked out a small pumpkin for each of the babies. We ended our visit with pumpkin milkshakes and a fun wine tasting. We are excited about many future returns. I'm sure each year will be more fun than the last.

The Waterford Fair

On October 4th, Eliza and I attended the Waterford Fair, in Waterford Virginia,

with our good friends the Ashmore's. Waterford is a beautiful 18th century town with

beautiful original buildings. The people living there open up the town, and some

their homes, once a year during the fall. There were hundreds of local artists selling

and demonstrating their craft, live music, great food, and home made goodies.

I think our favorite part was the home made apple butter. A great time was had by all,

we can't wait to return next year. What great family tradition.

Disney On Ice

Last Wednesday we saw the Disney On Ice Celebration at the Hampton Coliseum. It celebrated several holidays, including Halloween, Christmas, and Valentines day, and included all the major Disney characters. Eliza was really mesmerized by it all. Pointing at the ice, jumping up and down, and even enjoyed people watching. All three of us had a blast. This will definitely be a repeat family event!

Children's Day at Jamestown

Saturday, the 12th, we attended Children's Day at the Jamestown Settlement. David was hired to play at the event. He worked part of the time as a strolling minstrel, and then a concert on the main stage. We all had a great time, and the children loved hearing David talk about and play 17th century music.

A Day at the Zoo

Saturday we took a trip to the Virginia Zoo in Norfolk. It was a small zoo, but still very enjoyable. It was Eliza's first visit and although she didn't get much out of seeing the larger animals, who were out in a larger open area, she really loved the monkey house and getting to feed the goats.

She was hysterical when the goats ate from her hand, and even tried taking a taste of the pellets herself. However I think her favorite animal was a tiny monkey in the monkey house. He sat right up against the glass looking at Eliza as she tried to pet him over and over!

We also discovered that she LOVES water! We let her splash around in the fountain in the front and her reaction made the holiday traffic we suffered worth it.

To The German Restaurant

Yesterday we attended a pre Oktoberfest celebration at our local German resturant. There was live oompah music, lots of great food, and quite a few people came dressed up in their lederhosen and dirndls, including David and Eliza. They were so cute together. Eliza was the center of attention in her dirndl, which we bought in Oberammergau on our trip to Germany this past Easter. She enjoyed the music while we enjoyed good beer and home made German food.

Silly Girl

Eliza was laughing her head off last night which reminded me of this video I took when she was 6 months old. I never get tired of watching it.

David at the Jink and Diddle Fiddle School

This summer David went on his yearly trek to Valle Crucis, North Carolina to teach at Dr. John Turners Jink and Diddle Fiddle School. This was David's sixth year teaching, and as always he had a great time. About 45 students attended this year, some students having only been playing for a matter of weeks, others were veteran Jinker's having played for many years. Classes were taught, faux competitions were had, and much laughter was made. We look forward to seeing many Jinker's this October at the Richmond Highland Games.

Eliza and Scott have a swim.

We had a lot of fun Thursday taking Eliza swimming with her friend Scott. It was his first time swimming and he took right to it! We have taken Eliza swimming several times this summer. She loves to splash around, and is even able to propel herself around the pool by kicking in her starfish floaty.