ONE YEAR!

Ellie is ONE YEAR OLD! I can't believe how fast this year has gone. At her one year doctor's visit she weighed 20 lbs 3.5 oz and was 28" tall. Ellie had a wonderful birthday party at our community center on March 6th, it was a beautiful day and she got to see lots of family and friends.
Ellie was walking a couple weeks before her birthday but only a few steps at a time. Now she's much more confident and she's walking from one place to another. It's amazing how much changes each day.

Videos from January and February 2010

Art


Walking with help


Shoes

11 months and our little Valentine!

On Ellie's 11 month birthday she took 4 steps! And since then she has been practicing taking steps on her own, usually getting up to about 4-6 steps before falling down. All this practicing has led to a few bumps and bruises but that's all part of the process.
For Christmas Ellie received a little car she could push or sit on from Heather. She loves to be pushed all around the house by her Daddy, while making car noises from her mouth.
We have gotten record numbers of snow this winter and Ellie has enjoyed watching the snow fall from the windows. The snow is way over her head so she hasn't really been able to play in it much. Hopefully we will get some warmer weather soon to melt the massive piles of snow so we can resume our daily walks.

Lots of snow


We built an igloo


Daddy pushing Ellie


Ready to get out of the house!


Our little Valentine


Check out those teeth!

More words and swim class

Ellie is learning more and more everyday.

Her vocabulary now consists of:
Daddy (which includes Da Da, D, and De Da)
Momma
Kitty
Doggy
Cheese
Bubbles
Pop
Christmas Tree
Baby

She can shake her head as if she were saying "no," but she does this to be silly right now. She also likes tilt her head and smile, just to get Daddy to do the same thing. Her favorite foods right now are strawberries, blueberries, cheese and peas. Ellie has been practicing walking while holding onto my fingers, and she does a great job!
We had our first swim class last week, Ellie LOVED it! She loves bath time so I knew she would have a blast. We did some singing, splashing around, kicking, and she started learning how to hang on the side of the pool and pull herself out.


Having fun in her tutu



Walking with her shopping cart



On a walk



Reading "Pat the Bunny," her favorite book at the moment



Getting ready for our first swim class

Wonderful 2009 Holidays & Hello, 2010!

We all had such a wonderful Christmas, it was even more special because it was Ellie's first. We got to spend quality time with family in Maryland and Pennsylvania. On New Year's Eve Ellie was sick, with a fever of 103.9, a cough, congestion, vomiting, and chills. This was the sickest we've ever seen her and it was not fun at all, for any of us. She's doing much better now, and is enjoying all the great toys she got for Christmas.
Today Ellie is 10 months old! Only two months to plan her birthday party! She's been practicing standing and a little walking with her shopping cart. We'll have to see if she will take any steps on her own before her birthday. One of Ellie's favorite things at the moment is balloons. When we stand in line at Trader Joe's she points at the balloons, babbles loudly and leans towards them until she can get one. She is now a pro at clapping, shaking and splashing.

Out enjoying the snow.

I just want to test Santa's cookies...

They're pretty good!

First crawl through in her new tunnel.

Christmas at Boompa and Ngoai's house.

A little angel napping on Christmas Day.

Playing with her drumsticks at Grammy and Pappy's house.

Everyone having fun with Jim's wii guitar.

Taking steps with the help of a chair.

Clapping!

Winter Pictures

Ellie in the snow. We got a little less than 2 feet!

Ellie and Daddy

Out our front door, before we dug the cars out.

Out the back door.

Ellie's first Christmas present, a musical plush Christmas tree that spins and lights up, she LOVES it!

9 months and counting!

At Ellie's 9 month doctor's appointment she weighed 18lbs 13oz and was 26.25 inches tall. Ellie is crawling all around as fast as her little legs will take her. She is starting to cruise along the furniture and climb up the stairs. She is keeping us quite busy just following her around.
Ellie will probably be a chatty little girl because she's already babbling a lot. She started with "Da-da," and then her version of "kitty cat," which sounds more like "ke-ka." Other words she says are "doggy" and "Christmas Tree." Of course to the untrained ear it sounds like baby babbling, but we can tell what she's saying.

Ellie's first trip to Lenhart's Tree Farm in PA.



First snow!


Playing on the stairs.


Decorating and trying to untangle the lights... not really...