Virginia, Music, Snow, and Hide & Seek

Virginia: Elena and I took a trip to Virginia two weeks ago because she hadn't seen my family since before Christmas. I love that my mom is able to drive down and visit about once a month, but my dad and sister can't come visit as often since the poor things have jobs. :)
My parents have pictures just like this of us kids playing the piano when we were about her age.
When we were in Virginia, we went to the aquarium. Elena liked people-watching just as much as she liked seeing the animals and fish. I guess my mom took most of the pictures while we were visiting because I only have two aquarium pics. Here she is with my dad watching the otters and some little boy.
Music: Elisa, one of the Young Women in the branch was in All County Orchestra, so Elena and I went to go see her (Dan had a church meeting). The music was great! I really enjoyed the performance. Elena did too, but she enjoyed it by standing on my lap and pointing and saying, "Oooo" and clapping repeatedly, so we ended up listening to the second half from the hallway. I think that next year I'll go again (without Elena) and this time Dan and I can make it a free date. :)
Snow: It snowed (big fat Utah-sized flakes) the night before Valentine's Day here. It was beautiful. We actually got 2 inches! We went out to play in the morning before it melted and she loved eating it. This is the only picture that I got without her hand in her mouth. The one below is her eating the snow off of her pants when we came inside. The video is more of the same, but if you listen closely you can hear her suck on her mittens.



Hide & Seek: She started hiding like this yesterday. I thought it was so cute. Then today she did the same thing only she "hid" behind a postcard.

Elena's Favorite Things

Elena's #1 favorite thing is her dad. I love the way that she looks at him. She is in love! She literally cries for him sometimes when he leaves the room even if she and I are playing. They have so much fun together. I love this picture. I took it last week. They both look so happy.Elena's #2 favorite thing is her pig. She always sleeps clutching her "teddy pig", and each time she wakes up, I go in and see her holding and talking to it. Because she so attached, she is only allowed to play with her pig when she is getting ready for bed. Other than that it stays in the crib where it "sleeps" during the day. Well, Elena loves her pig so much that I had my mom buy an extra so that I could wash one while she used the other. Earlier tonight she discovered where I had the spare hidden and she was so excited. She made a happy noise and I looked up and saw her hugging them both with a big smile on her face. Adorable! I happened to have the camera in her room, so I was able to take a picture - although of course she stopped smiling right before.
#3 is books/reading. This girl loves to read. She has started to request certain books or stories by barking for her book about dogs or patting her head and saying, "bump" to request the book where the monkeys fall of the bed and bump their heads. She loves being read to, but she also really likes flipping through the pages by herself.
and #4 is her Cabbage Patch baby doll. She loves to give hugs to her baby and say, "Awww." In this picture she is sitting in the box for her new car seat and patting her baby's belly. That's about it for the list. Oh wait! I forgot to include me. Elena likes me too. I don't think that I should be in fifth place, but I'm also not tied with Dan, so let's just say that Mom is number one and a half. :)