cows, goats, frogs...

this week ella and i went to appleton for a hike. we saw all kinds of exciting things, from bluebirds to forget-me-nots, but the most exciting thing was seeing the cows out again. first there were two cows who ran right up to the fence and stood looking at us before galloping off to a sunny field. then on our way back to the car about 50 cows came running over to the fence and we got to see them up close as they ate grass and ambled about. ella kept exclaiming "what a good cow you are! i like you, cow!"

it was very sweet.

we also went to the wenham museum for the first time. they really do a great job displaying things in a way that would really interest children. they had a paper exhibit with a large giraffe made of paper. the also had a lot of miniature trains that are set up in miniature villages and that the children can start and stop by pushing a button. they have an antiques doll collection to look at and a big box of dress-up clothing right in the middle of the museum. downstairs they have a children's play room with an old-time town set up for kids to use their imaginations with. there's a log cabin that the children can go in and a country store that they can pretend to get groceries at. there were 2 little girls there who took ella under their imaginative wings and she was the "sister" and made a quiche. it was very sweet, and a good way to spend 2 hours on a rainy day.

j. randomly started asking ella the question "which number is bigger?" the other day, and he'd list 2 numbers and she would tell us the bigger number. i could not believe that she was getting them all right! really! i thought it was luck at first, but then she kept getting them right! and i'm talking numbers like 405 and 822. not just 1-10. amazing.

yesterday after ballet, s. and aurora went with us to long hill, and we had a picnic in the gardens. everything was in bloom--the flowers and the trees--and it was just so lovely. the girls ran about and found huge frogs in the lily ponds. elenora even touched one (gently).

in the afternoon we went to russell orchard for the opening day, and they had goats and sheep just roaming about the grounds freely, so elenora got to pet them, too. she kept saying "i like this little goat!"

i love this photo. she's so sweet.

here she's looking at little chicks.

this sheep let elenora pat her. she was pretty excited about it. maybe she'll be a veterinarian or something.

she has been such a good girl. maybe the "terrible twos" from a few weeks ago are past us. they didn't last very long, thank goodness.

she looks more like me these days. she's always looked so much like j. that i've never really seen my face in hers'. but just in the last couple of weeks i keep seeing "little b." in her face, and it is just so indescribable.