12 Month/1 Year Update!

My Ellie Bear turned ONE!

Here are some pictures from her party...

(another post will be coming soon with detailed pictures of the party itself)

Cupcake Tower!

Matt & Kyla writing a message in Ellie's memory book

Brett & Eilish reading a book at the table

Pappy & Uncle Josh discussing the finer points of life

Hanging out with Grampy

Cake!  For me?!

Here MaMa, have a bite!

This is the BEST THING I'VE EVER EATEN IN MY WHOLE LIFE!

Birthdays are AWESOME!

Opening presents - this one is from Auntie & Uncle Josh!

Saying Bye-Bye to my buddy Sarah - have fun in Germany!!

I honestly have no idea how tall she is or how much she weighs (although we're sure it's over 20 lbs.) because we missed her 12-month checkup a few weeks ago.  You see, I'm pretty sure she's due for some shots, so I wanted to swing by the house (between the babysitter and the doctor) to get her some tylenol.  But she had fallen asleep and it was in the middle of the arctic vortex thingy.  So I let the car running and the heat blowing and just ran inside to get the tylenol.  Couldn't have taken me more than a minute.  However.  We live in town and so I'm always leery of leaving my car unlocked ESPECIALLY while it is running.  I just have this fear that someone will be walking by [in the middle of an arctic vortex?] and think 'hey, free car!' and run off with it.  So I wasn't about to let them do that with my daughter sleeping in the back seat.  So I locked it, while it was running, and took the key fob and my house key inside with me.  Sounds like a good plan, right?  Wrong.  Evidently, there is a safety feature [doesn't seem so safe to me!] that disables the key fob when the key is in the ignition.  So I was locked out of my car with poor Ellie asleep inside.  So what do I do?  Cry hysterically, of course.  And call Andy.  Not sure what he's going to do, but it was the only thing I could think of.  He assured me that he did have the only spare key with him at work (an hour away) and I should just call 911.  Well now that did NOT make me feel any better.  You only call 911 in a real emergency, so if he was telling me to do that, then that must mean that this is a REAL EMERGENCY!  Ellie was still asleep.  But moms, you know what I'm talking about when I say this: no matter the circumstances, if something is preventing you from getting to your child, they are in immediate and grave danger.  Period.  SO I called 911 and barely remembered my phone number [um, caller ID much??] and address to tell them where to come.  The kindly borough police chief showed up just a few minutes later and quickly jimmied open the door (after reminding me that neither he nor the police department is responsible for any damage done to my vehicle, blahblahblah).  And I was FINALLY after 10 WHOLE MINUTES able to get the door open and get to my baby.  She was still asleep.  The chief got a decent giggle out of that and assured me that this wasn't the first time he's done this and it won't be the last.  Thanks, chief.

So anyway, we technically could have made it on time to the checkup (since the office is only a few blocks away), but I was still pretty shaky and crying, so I called and cancelled.  Which Andy had already taken care of.  Oh well, better safe than sorry.  At least I can be responsible about something!  So the very next available appointment isn't until February 6, so we'll find out then how big my little peanut has gotten.  [unless there's another arctic vortex...]

In the meantime, please enjoy this super adorable video that I made to show at the party.  It still feels weird to say that she's a year old.  And yet I feel like this year has taken FOREVER.  So, enjoy the video!  More birthday party details and post-one year old updates coming soon!

11 to 12 Months

So life happens and got crazy busy and I didn't get to do a normal 11 month update.  Bummer.  I know you have all been on the edge of your seats to see what all we've been up to in the past 2 months.  So here it is...

Ellie is such a great household helper.  She loves to unload the dishwasher.

 Even when the dishes are dirty.  She pulls out all the silverware and proceeds to lick it and then throw it on the floor, requiring that it be washed again.  Adorable.  But not terribly efficient.  We've taken to ONLY opening the dishwasher when she is asleep to avoid the drama that comes from it being open and not letting her near it.

And she's a pro at checking the answering machine messages...

Alllllllllmost got it!

And she's awesome at deleting them too.  Yeah.  So that got moved.

We traveled up to Pappy & Gramma's house in November for Auntie's 21st birthday.  It was fun.

Can't believe that she's now as old as she will be when she gets married.  Crazy.

We also got together with my dad's side of the family for Ellie's first Thanksgiving!

That was really fun.  My cousin and I grew up like sisters and now she has 2 little girls of her own.  One is almost 5 and the other is just 2 months younger than Ellie.  So all three had a good time playing together at their house.

Sarah, Mia, and Ellie playing Ellie's favorite game: unpack the diaper bag!

It's all fun and games until someone steals a rattle.

And then she turned 11 months old!

Being silly for my photoshoot!

Still no word on how tall she is or how much she weighs because she hasn't had a reason to go to the doctor since her 9 month checkup.  That's a good thing :-)

This month, we found out that she LOVES blueberries!

She eats them by the fist-full, like candy.  It's hilarious.  The resulting full diapers are not as funny, but I guess that just goes with the territory.

Then, before we knew what happened, it was time for Christmas!

Oh hey, Santa.  How's it goin'?

We celebrated Christmas at the same cousin's house...

Gramma and Me in my Christmas dress!

And we also celebrated with my Mom's side of the family...

Showing off my walking skills to Pappy Horst and Aunt Janice!

Ellie LOVED opening presents.  Luckily, we had some spare gate pieces to set up around the Christmas tree, otherwise there wouldn't have been anything left!

Here's the photo that we used for our Christmas card...

It was SO difficult to get that picture.  Speaking of pictures, here's a bunch of fun ones from Christmas day!  We were so lucky to be able to celebrate with just the three of us, then with Andy's dad, and then with my parents and sister all in the same day!

Christmas morning with my stocking!

Mommy & Me on Christmas morning!

Playing with my new cell phone from Grampy

Drumming with Mommy's special drumstick spoons

Mommy, Daddy, Auntie, & Me with our stockings from Pappy & Gramma!

Hugging my new Baby from Gramma!  Her name is Izzy!

Opening my big present!

Having fun with Baby Izzy on my new Rocking Horse!

Maggie enjoying her traditional post-Christmas nap under the tree

And then pretty much right after Christmas is her birthday!  But that's a post for another day :-)

10 Months and Counting!

Ellie turns 10 months old today!

I say this every month, but I really can't believe it.  Everyone warns you that it goes by so quickly, but you can't really imagine it until it's happening.  There are only 2 months left until her birthday.  I'm starting to plan the party and everything.  It's just unbelievable.

Snuggly Bunny towel that Grampy bought me in Maine!

We're not sure about her measurements right now.  She was at the doctor for her 9 month check-up in the middle of October and she weighed 17 lbs. 3 oz. and was 27 inches tall.  She goes back on the 15th of November for the other half of her flu shot, so they might weigh her again then.  She waves bye-bye now and seems like she's working on trying to stay it, too.  And she shakes her head 'no' when she doesn't want to eat whatever you're trying to feed her.  AND she claps her hands, which is the cutest thing ever.  Except she doesn't know what it means.  She'll be laying on the changing table screaming for some reason, but still clapping her hands.  At least it makes the screaming a little more adorable!  She's crawling around like a speed demon and is into absolutely everything.

Um, mama, can you put down the camera and help me get un-stuck?!

It's great developmentally, but it sure does make life more difficult!  I can't go anywhere without her following, but I can't take my eyes off of her for one second to do anything.  So our morning routine is basically me trying to get ready while chasing her at the same time.

You can't find me!

By the time I get myself ready and her ready and both of us out the door and do our respective destinations, I'm exhausted and need a nap!  But again, all of this is par for the course that everyone warned me about.  So I don't know why I'm surprised, but I am.  This past month has been full of fun firsts.  Take a look...

Ellie started eating cereal puffs and yogurt melts this month!

Mmmm tasty!  I think I'll save this one on my face for later!

It sounds like a small thing, but I'm pretty excited about it.  I can now put her in the high chair and pour some puffs on the tray and have at least 3 minutes to myself where I don't have to chase her around the house.  It's glorious.  It is amazing how much I can accomplish in those 3 minutes!  Next stop: cheerios!  But we're not quite there yet.  She needs to get a little better with the puffs before I trust her with something more dense.

Oh, and we have a tooth!  It's still only about half-way up, but at least it is through the gum.  And with just the one, it's not too painful for me just yet.  I'm starting to think she's working on the second one though, with all the drooling she's been doing.  And no, I couldn't get a picture of it because she just wanted to stick her tongue out at me and then turn her head.

Another big milestone was our first FAMILY trip to camp!  Their Fall Festival was a few weekends ago and we spent most of the day there.  Ellie had a great time!  I have a ton of pictures and need to do a whole post dedicated to it, but here are a few highlights...

Soft bunny!!

I am SO EXCITED to be here!!!

Ellie also went trick or treating for the first time!  And the second time!  First, we went to the local state park to their Halloween in the Park event.  It was really family oriented and fun.  They rent out the camp sites and the campers decorate for Halloween and then the public is invited to come trick-or-treating through the park.  There's fun vendors and demonstrations and even a hay ride!  My parents and my sister came down and we all went together.  It was cold, but I think we still all managed to have a good time...

Grandma, Pappy, & Auntie came trick-or-treating with me!

*meow!*

The next day, we got a surprise call from Ellie's Great Grandparents (my mom's parents) saying that they were just down the road at a woodcarver's show and thought they might pop in for a visit!  So they stopped by and we had a good time visiting...

I'm the only one who noticed the camera was out!

It's hereditary!

Thanks for visiting!!

Then the following Tuesday, our church hosted a Trunk or Treat for the very first time.  We couldn't get there until close to the end, but it was still fun to go and see how people had decorated!  And they were kind enough to give lots of candy, knowing that Mommy and Daddy were the ones who were going to be eating it...

Watching the magician at Trunk or Treat, who is actually a family friend who performed at Mommy's sixth birthday party!

A few days later, Ellie celebrated her first actual Halloween, although we stayed in that night to welcome any potential trick-or-treaters in our neighborhood.  There weren't any, but at least now we know what to expect in the future!

And that was our month!  November is shaping up to be pretty eventful to with holidays and birthdays coming out of our ears.  I've also been working on a project in the nursery that I hope to show you someday, whenever I get a free moment to finish it!  HA!

Also, I wanted to let you all know that my church is doing a Yankee Candle Fundraiser to help raise funds for some building repairs that are become more and more urgent.  For one, we need a new roof that is going to cost well over $70,000 because of the unique design of our building.  So, head over here and see what Yankee has to offer.  These are really high quality candles - not junky stuff that loses its scent after you burn it a few times.  Online orders are due by November 12 and they will ship directly to you and should arrive in time for Christmas.  We keep 40% of the sales, so your purchase will do a lot to help us repair our building!  Thanks!