The fun, happy stuff!

This is what happens at the end of a princess-party, day-of-fun with grandma and grandpa.

Linda and Bob watched Ellie for us this past Friday night -- Nov. 26 -- so we could go out for a night and celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary. Brian and I went to St. Charles, Mo., which is only about 45 minutes from Linda's house... but it felt like we completely "got away," took off our parenting hats for a night and really enjoyed some "us" time. I was telling Linda before we left that even though I was anxious about leaving Ellie overnight, I felt like turning off my "mom" switch for 12-18 hours would do me good. I was right.

And from the looks of it, Ellie wasn't too stressed in our absence! I'm so glad that everyone had a good time.

Here is Ellie donning most of her princess garb... which only lasted a minute or two! But I'm guessing she'll come 'round to the princess party stuff in time. And here she is getting a laundry basket ride from grandpa. Oh, and you can see her awesome new wagon in the background! Linda and Bob got her the cadillac of radio flyers! (Or maybe the SUV?... those are some air-filled tires that Bob assures us with provide her with the smoothest of rides :)

And here she is sharing some laughs over snack or dinner. She ate and slept great all weekend.

What a great thanksgiving-anniversary gift! As promised, this post is more upbeat than my last. I'm still struggling a bit with the emotional rollercoaster of the past few days. But the great news in all this is that Ellie continues to amaze and bring smiles to family and friends, near and far. Whether it's at Thanksgiving dinner, in her grandma's living room or even at a funeral... Ellie is a joy. I've pretty much forgotten what life was like before this beautiful angel came into ours. And I'm so thankful every moment for all of the wonderful memories we're making as a family.