Today's Hilarity.

Ellie has learned "tickle tickle tickle," in that, if you say it, she begins to tickle her own armpits. It makes everyone laugh!

Banana!

Well, the holidays are over and our last Christmas visitors are gone. Now, we are back to lazing around. Tim is off this whole week, which has been great because I get to shower by myself, and actually eat a meal without little hands trying to stick themselves into my mouth. Winner!

Tuesday we had one last fun afternoon with the Nollins - we went to the Mission with the girls (and Jimi) and had some delicious Golden Spoon.


Ellie may have liked the fish even more than she liked the frogurt.

She is just amazing me lately with her talking. A lot of animal noises (woof woof, caw caw) and then tonight when I grabbed a clementine for her dinner, she started trying to say orange. Her mouth screws up as she makes the O sound, and it was so funny to see her try to say it. Then later I was drinking a bottle of sparking water and she came over and said bottle (like bod-dah.) And her favorite multi-syllabal word, banana. I mean, don't get me wrong, she isn't saying these words perfectly, but it's very distinct and clear that she knows what the object is and what it's called. Such a smartie smart!

Party Party and then some more Partying!

Uff da, what a fun and exhausting couple of days. We have been spoiled rotten, eaten ourselves sick, and stayed out way past our bedtimes.

Ellie was a trooper through it all, mostly because she loves being where the action is and doesn't want to nap if there's walking around and squealing to be performed.

Friday the 23rd was her Grandpa's birthday party, where as you can see, she hated her some Santa. She was such a good girl, despite only having gotten 45 minutes of nap time during the day. When we got home though, she did do this:
She was so tired that she stayed asleep even after I picked her up out of her car seat - that hasn't happened since she was a newborn.

Christmas Eve she had to hang out with Tim and I while we cleaned the house and grocery shopped. Just kidding - I made Tim do the grocery shopping by himself while I did nap time. It's his payment for all of the other holiday activities I spearhead. You want me to wrap all the presents I picked out for our loved ones? Wade through the shoppers and buy me a ham. He also spent some time sitting with her while Grandma Rosie read "Twas the Night Before Christmas" via recordable storybook (aka, the best things ever.)


Then we picked up Auntie Sara at work and headed over to mom and dad's for the big gift exchange. The Nollins refused to give up their Christmas morning tradition, so they mostly sat around and snacked while the Thiels did present opening. Ellie cleaned up of course, with a great bunch of puzzles, a dress made by her Grandma Rosie, and most excitingly, a stroller for her babies from Auntie Sara. Oh Auntie Sara, she always knows just what a baby needs.

As for Tim and I, we got some good loot too, and we had an EXCELLENT White Elephant exchange - everyone won!

Then Christmas morning we hosted brunch for everyone. It went much better than last year - seriously, I don't know what I was doing last year, trying to host when I had a farty little baby and very little control over my brain. I think it was mostly about wanting to establish the brunch tradition, but I did not execute anywhere near correctly (or really at all. I just sort of looked at my mom with mystified "oh help me" eyes when she arrived.) This year, when everyone arrived I had coffee in the coffee pot, and the croque madame sandwiches in the oven, toasting. The only thing we needed was fried eggs, and Dad was happy to be the Eggman (coo coo cachoo!)

It was so nice to have everyone over, enjoying breakfast and some good company.


Ellie also cleaned up during the Ford Christmas exchange, after the hoopla had died down. SHE GOT HER VERY OWN PONY!

Hi Ho Silver, AWAY! You can also see her sweet new slide in the background.

Then, while I got her down for a nap, Tim and Eileen put the kitchen back together. It was a Christmas miracle! I am a lucky girl. We spent our afternoon with the Smith-Fitz clan, including Ellie's little twinsie cousins. They are suddenly so big! Amazing what 14 weeks can do.

Look at all those baby hungry aunts!

We spent today relaxing and hanging out with Ellie's pals. It was nice to have a chill day after spending so much time dragging her all over the place, to strange, unbaby-proofed homes (not that our house is baby proofed at all. Why buy cabinet locks when my kid hates when I walk out of her sight?) I went for a walk with two of my girlfriends this morning, and Ellie actually fell asleep (usually she just whines in the morning when she's done, that naughty thing!) Then after a little lunch and cleaning up, we met up with her friend Clare for a little park time. Clare was very envious of Ellie's stroller, mostly because she's not quite walking yet and so the lightweight stroller wasn't enough support for her to walk on her own with. On our way home, we got a text from her friend Dean (okay, from his mom) who was hanging out at the park in our neighborhood, so we swung by there as well. The park has a ton of quiet green space, and we let Ellie just run free (she and her baby, just exploring the grass!) After that, it was nap time.

Tonight we got in on some of the delicious Christmas leftovers at mom and dad's - tamales, posole, and finally, a salad. I feel like my body was about to shut down from lack of green vegetables. Frank, Jasmin and Baby Fluff were driving back from Christmas in Carlsbad, and they stopped by to say hi, which I'm so glad for. Baby Fluff has also gotten huge and even more adorable since we last saw him - he is starting to look more like his mommy, but still has all that red hair. Ellie was actually pretty well behaved about me holding another baby... until we tried to make them take a picture together (it was past her bedtime.)

It's like when Fluff and I were in college - me crying for no discernible reason, and him patiently listening and thinking what a moron I am. Oh, silly babies!

Second Verse, Same as the First!

Just a little bit louder and a little bit worse!

Holiday Visitors.

Lucky Ellie and lucky us have been surrounded by great visitors this past week. I must admit, I am a little tired by the end of the day, but appreciate all the extra hands, and all the extra fun. So does Ellie.

Here she is with her Grandpa Charlie and her Grams. And her favorite bracelet. And Petunia, who as you can see, hates her. That is some over the top cat disdain.

Here she is with her Uncle John. Last Christmas, I think the only time he acknowledged her was when she blasted a big nasty fart and he was like, "did that come from the baby?" (Though he did get her some GREAT books for Christmas.) This year? He is all about his little toddler friend - teaching her to do knuckles, balling up paper for her to fetch, working with her on her dexterity skills. He is a great uncle.

Wednesday we went to a fabulous cookie exchange with our mom friends, and then off to hang out with the knitters, at Janet's house this time. Janet has two weiner dogs, and Ellie set about making friends with them, as you do. She was SO cute - she didn't like so much when they jumped on her, but as long as Janet was holding one, Ellie would stand next to her and say "hi! hi! hi!" over and over again, along with lots of woofing.

Oh Rusty, he's so silly and loving.

So as you can see, Santa's little elf is having quite a good time. Except when drank all of the Johnny Walker Red Label. I tried to tell her we'd let her play in the box anyways, but she insisted on drinking all of the contents first before she sat in it.

Keyboard Cat.

Those two, they kill me. Ellie now demands to play the big piano every day, and her dancing makes me want to just keel over with joy. Except... someone has to be there, making sure she doesn't tumble off the bench. Then we play with her Thomas set and she chases the cats.

Ellie and her Elders.

What a fun weekend we've had! Yesterday we spent with the Smith/Fitzpatrick family matriarch, Sister Mary Brigid as she celebrated her 90th birthday. Despite getting a crappy nap, she was in good spirits, and delighted to play with her awesome cousins. She was also very happy to hang out with her great-great aunt Mary.


And then today (after the sadness of the Packers loss) we went over to hang out with the Miller family patriarch, in from Wisconsin for the holidays (along with John and Great Lisa.)

First, he read to her.

And then, she read to him. She's a good egg that way.

The rest of the family arrives from Chicago tomorrow, and we've got family and friend events from now until the New Year, it feels like. Plus at some point I have to wrap presents and prepare our house for Christmas morning brunch.

More Evidence of Catladyness.

Cleanup on Aisle Five.

We had such a fun, busy day today. Went to the endo, where my blood and thyroid was pronounced perfect (I either come back in four months, or when I get pregnant, whichever happens first.) Ellie was thrilled to read a small magazine about diabetes while in the waiting room. It was baby sized!

Then we met up with mom and Sara just as they were about to escape for the day (literally - I pulled my car behind mom's as she was coming out of the driveway, and then had to honk before she hit me.) Ellie and I got ourselves along for the ride to Sara's school, lunch and then Target. Turns out, Ellie likes the Hat's pastrami sandwiches and onion rings (her mama didn't raise no fool!) And she LOVES being out of the cart and allowed to walk in Target.

The funniest part was the first time she saw the red tile at the end of an aisle - she actually got down and crawled over it. What a funny little lovebug.

Tonight we had a holiday party with some mom friends. Ellie was the biggest girl there. I think the other moms were jealous that my kid is smart enough to understand the command "smell my feet."

Crazy Bird Girl

I am pretty sure we are cutting a molar - today has been about managing temper tantrums and bad moods, and Ellie seems to have a sizable bump on her lower gum, towards the back. That could just be her actual gumline, but I think it might become a toof. Poor love.

We still had a good one today with the knitters. Mom brought us into the Mission and we discovered Ellie's newest skill - going caw caw at crows. She was really interested when they flew overhead and thought it was absolutely hysterical when mom and I went "caw caw." Then she joined in, and cracked herself up. She's going to grow up to be a crazy bird lady. I should probably start familiarizing her with Mary Poppins.

Melonhead meets a giant gourd.

Little moonboots, cawing at the birds.

A bonus cutie-cute picture from the other day. Such a big girl!

Fat, Willful Baby.

So, after a very full day of morning coffee with friends, swim class, a two hour nap, a trip to Grams and Gramps and an evening of watching Auntie Sara at horseback riding, Ellie and I came home and started getting ready for dinner.

Tim and I still had some delicious mushroom ravioli leftover from last night, and I was holding Beans as I was transferring the pasta from the doggie bag into a bowl. She saw the ravioli and started SCHA-REAMING for the next three minutes until the food finished warming, and I could get a ravioli on her high chair tray and cut into baby sized pieces.

Who knew that toddlers loved mushroom ravioli?

Up to No Good!

"Oh, hello. Since you let me run around in a diaper after the shower, I decided I should dress myself. I am ready for a training bra mom, but yours is kind of big."

"Also, did you know that I have discovered our tree? It has ornaments on it. I will bring this one to you." Her hair style is what happens when she has a boinger all day, and then I take it out before she goes to bed and she sleeps like a crazy person.

Some new developments in Ellie's life - she is really learning quick and understanding the English language. I realized the other day that she'd picked up "where's your nose?" and "where's your ear?" because I tend to name those parts when I'm trapped, holding her in my lap while she eats. We are now working on cheeks and eyes. Still no dice, but man is she good on the nose and ears, and mama's nose too. She is getting great at saying da da (and finding da da - my special trick is asking where da da is when I need a minute!) and in addition to saying kitty, she now says "rah rah" for Rocky (and sometimes, other cats in general.) It's amazing to watch her learn new things every day, and absorb what's going on around her. I am going to need to start watching my language and switching to the kid friendly playlist on my iPod, I fear.

She's had a lot of fabulous time with her grandparents lately, which is always awesome for Tim and I, because it gives us a chance to sneak away now and again. Date nights!

Boink!

Want to see our parent of the year nomination?

So, Monday morning Tim was getting ready, and Ellie headed down the hallway to see him, muttering "dah dah dah dah dah" as she does, to spite me. So I went to make breakfast. A couple of minutes later I hear her crying, and the "I'm hurt!" cry, not the "why aren't you holding me? You don't need to be putting on pants!" cry so I head down the hall to find her in the bathroom, and Tim right behind her. He hadn't seen what happened, and Ellie stopped crying a few seconds after I scooped her into my lap, but then I pushed up her bangs and Tim and I both freaked out, watching the gigantic goose egg raise on her head. As far as we can figure, she must have fallen into the corner of the shower tile. Learning to walk is a full contact sport!

Funny (but not really funny haha): on Friday at mom class we'd been talking about the symptoms of concussions, since many of the babies are getting mobile and boinking their heads, so I at least knew right away that Ellie did not need to go to the hospital. Getting her to hold still so that I could try to ice her bruise was a different story.

Poor thing - it hasn't seemed to bother her or slow her down at all, but I feel like a real heel when I'm out in public with her, my beautiful girl with her beautifully colored bruise.

Now we just have to hope that it goes away before Christmas, so we don't have to remember it in photos for years to come.

Christmas Letter.

Hello all!

Our Christmas cards went out this weekend, and I am getting word that they have hit mailboxes all across the country. So I assume that a few people saw the blog address and are new visitors. And I assume the rest of you faithful readers will continue to read the tripe I post here, in order to get to new picture and videos of Ellie Beans.

But first! Here, the traditional Christmas Letter, in blargh format:

Timothy Joseph:

Tim continues to enjoy his dream job, making the video games. He also likes to eat the freshly baked cookies that the cafeteria offers every day at 3, and the free booze that is proffered every (other) Friday. That's right, not every Friday. Every other Friday. It's like a prison camp. His project is still top secret and a long ways from hitting the market, but he is working hard. He got a promotion this year and now has minions of his very own. He still takes my phone calls during the day though. And lets us come for cookies. In his free time, he has been wiping baby butts, doing bath time, having Thor sleep on his feet, and PLAY the video games. He will be 32 next week, and is as handsome as ever, with his giant sideburns.

Meg Marie:

I have enjoyed my full time job as head baby feeder and butt wiper over the past year. I keep busy with a great group of mom friends who I walk with a couple days a week (one group on Monday and Wednesday nights, one fun friend on Tuesday and Thursday mornings!) and am so grateful that all four of Ellie's fabulous grandparents live within a half hour's drive. I feel like I've got my mommy sea legs under me, and I really enjoy having a toddler.

Elizabeth Rosemarie:

Ellie will be 14 months in a little over a week. She is walking full time now, and has a few words, mostly related to cats. Her favorite food is Cheerios, probably because she can get the container out of my diaper bag, open it, and wander around like a dude with a bag of Doritos, stuffing them into her mouth. She continues to enjoy her swimming lessons, and get so cutely excited when she sees one of her grandparents, or one of her little baby friends. She gets better every dang day (except for the days when she is cutting teeth. Then, not so good.) She is a bratty little princess and sleeps in her mommy's arms for naps, and alone in a queen sized bed at night (with a bedrail.) Thank goodness our crib was a free hand me down.

Cat Friends:

Ever since half-stray neighbor cat Jonesy became a full time inside cat, our two have spent less time fighting each other for no reason. Neither of them are too hot on the baby - Lulu has gone on cat prozac since early spring, and Thor runs if Ellie so much as looks at him. But they still snuggle with us at night -it's our favorite form of cosleeping.

Our Lives in General:

We did not go on any vacations this year, as traveling someplace with a baby sounds like more of a chore than a vacation. But Tim and I, with the help of our lovely parents, managed to get away for pretty regular date nights throughout the year, and still like each other quite a bit. Ellie did manage her first plane flight, to visit her Grandpa Howie in May, and is looking forward to spending the Fourth of July with everyone in Door County this coming summer. She should be a world of fun as a full blown toddler on a plane. We did not do any home repairs, but yearn to have a new kitchen someday. SOMEDAY! Basically, we did not do anything super fabulous this year, except watch our awesome daughter become a totally fun little girl.

The Question People Love to Ask:

Yes, we are going to have another baby someday. If it happens tomorrow, we'll be thrilled. If it happens in two years, we'll be equally as thrilled. And honestly, if it never happens, we pretty much adore Ellie with every fiber of our beings, so that would be pretty okay too.

Two Lazy Ladies.

In case you were wondering, Lulu is no less jealous a year later.
For reference, this was almost EXACTLY a year ago.

Morning Movie.

This video has everything I love. Walking, talking, a boinger hairstyle, and baby kissing.

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like...

What a fun night! A few weeks ago one of my mom friends sent out an email because she was selling tickets via her MOPS group for a ride on the Christmas train in Irvine Park. I figured it would be a fun night, so we bought a couple, and then we took our live young. I didn't seem to get any good pictures on the actual train (because I was clutching a little girl who wanted to toddle and grab things) but we did get some great photos from our adventure.

Here is our little elf, Cindy Lou Who.

Here she is with Santa! Santa told her that she looked just like Mrs. Claus used to as a little girl, in her cute little sweater from Grams. That still did not make her feel any better. Is it wrong of me to say that I was hoping she'd cry? Kids crying with Santa is THE BEST.

Here's all of the family, after we arrived at the North Pole. You know, where we visited Santa.

People always tell me that Ellie looks like me, and I say thanks, but secretly disagree. Look at these two! They are two giant eyed peas in a pod.

I also think it's funny when people go "oh, look at her two little teeth!" We are up to seven people, SEVEN! (Not me though, I have all of the teeth you're supposed to have. Whatever that number is. That's how many I've got.)

Bonus: here she is from earlier in the day, in her new pushcart from Grams, with the pine cone that Grams grabbed her out of the gutter. Could there be a luckier girl? All of the neighbors and people of Starbucks wanted to be our friends, because we knew Santa's little helper.

Genius Baby.

Sweet Girl.

How lucky am I to have this crazy little sprite to hang out with every day?


Here is a story about how she is a genius. One of her favorite books is called "Posy." It's a book about a cat, and it was given to her by Granny Janny's two cats Willow and Lizzie (trust me. They even wrote a message inside the front cover.) So tonight, I'm lacing up my shoes so we can go for a walk, and Ellie toddles around the corner of the recliner, muttering "Poe... Poe..." and I look down and she's got Posy clutched between her little mitts. Smart as a whip.

Baby Love.

Sunday afternoon we drove up to the Valley to met Ellie's newest baby friend, Lucas Francisco, son of Fluffy. I have to say, he is my second favorite baby ever in the entire world. So sweet, and so adorable, and just the most perfect little doll. It was a little bittersweet for all of us, having Ellie and Lucas meet, because in a perfect world, she should be hanging out with his older brother, who was delivered premature in the summer of 2010. Instead, "baby Blue" will just have to keep an eye on Ellie and Lucas as they get to know each other better, and hopefully, are as snarky to each other as Fluff and I are. For example: when I was in the hospital with Ellie, Fluff texted me "I'm only going to say this once. Ellie is beautiful." Now he tells me she's ugly and smelly When we got word that Lucas had arrived safe and sound, my text to Frank was something like "I'm so glad he's here! I'm sorry he has a weirdo like you as a dad!"

I am learning fairly quickly that Ellie does not take kindly to her mommy holding other babies. She cries and gets up in my face, trying to weasel into my lap. Sometimes she's interested enough in the baby to pipe down and not be a total pest, but sadly, a lot of her interest involves trying to poke babies in the eye or stick her fingers in their mouths. Not helpful! Woe betide my hypothetical future second child... they are going to have an overbearing jealous baby for a sibling!

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas!

True Story: I knew we had to buy our house when we were standing in the foyer, looking into what is now the pretty room, and Tim said "and we can put the Christmas tree in here." I promptly burst into tears. Funnily enough, the first two years we celebrated Christmas here, we kept the tree in the living room, because I wanted to look at it all the time. This year it finally made it out to the pretty room, partially because we have less space in the living room with the new furniture, and partially because I was hoping putting it in a different room would discourage Ellie from destroying it.

She seems mostly disinterested, which is okay with me.

I didn't realize until I was an adult that some people have "theme" trees at Christmas. Like, their ornaments all match or work together. And I always thought colored lights were awesome, but apparently in some circles, they are tacky. BEHOLD, our tacky, yet themed tree! The theme is, nice ornaments and glass balls up top, and handmade, soft ornaments on the bottom. Grandma Rosie's quilted ornaments are heavily featured on the lowest branches. It's a pretty sweet tree.

And going with my non-theming, the mantle still has all of the usual weird stuff, with bonus stockings and nativity scene. As you do.

Yesterday we had a bunch of friends over to watch the UCLA/USC game. Most of us were Bruins, with two Trojans (hissss!) and a couple of Ohio State fans. Thankfully, we all knew the outcome going in and everyone was able to keep the peace. What a blood bath. I was thankful that I spent forty five minutes feeding Ellie in the other room and could avoid some head shaking embarrassment. How many times do you need to get stuffed in the red zone before you kick a field goal just to get some damn points on the board?

On the upside, they don't make Trojans this cute. And check it out - we officially have enough hair to get a quality boinger going.

Thankful Thankful.

Last year, Ellie didn't get anything but boring old milk on Thanksgiving. Such are the perils of being a newly borned.

This year, she learned about all of the food groups that she has to be thankful for.

Thankful Eve.

This year, you know what I'm thankful for? Zoloft. Thanksgiving marks a year ago that I realized that what I was going through - the endless sobbing, the feeling like I was hanging on to my sanity by the very edges of my fingernails, the feeling like I was never going to feel "normal" or "okay" again, was not simply "the baby blues." I mean, my daughter was six weeks old. Still a newborn, but my blues were not just hormones gone awry. After my sweet husband and my best friend had mentioned to me several times that maybe, just maybe, it was time to call my doctor and ask for help, I finally did something over Thanksgiving weekend.

It's still funny to me that in modern America, taking anti-depressants is seen as fairly taboo or shameful, but the on-call doctor had no problem calling in a script for me, and when I went and met with my regular OB a few weeks later, he was like, "are you feeling better on the Zoloft? Great! Then call me if you're having problems, but if it's helping you, stay on it," like I had mentioned that I'd been taking a gummy vitamin and seeing improvements in my skin. It was completely no big deal to them.

It was a hard thing for me to admit then, I think because I didn't feel like I had typical post-partum. You hear about celebrities who felt like they weren't bonding with their baby or didn't love their baby - I never felt anything except for overwhelming, soul crushing love for my daughter. I just felt like I couldn't hack it as a mom, even while also knowing that I was doing a pretty good job of caring for a colicky newly borned. And on the medication, I just felt like I wasn't so overwhelmed or on the edge. I could handle a baby who cried all afternoon and ate for three hours straight. I mean, I gritted my teeth at times, but I didn't sob until my face swelled up. Now it's no big deal, and I'm quick to talk about it with my mom friends, especially the new ones. Because I'm not and never was some sort of catatonic zombie who didn't love her baby - I'm a lady who had a couple of risk factors for PPD (thyroid problems, c-section deliver) and who really benefited from a chemical boost for the first few months of my baby's life.

This Thanksgiving? I'm grateful for a million other things as well. For my amazing girl who is walking everywhere. Who laughs and breaks into an enormous smile after you lean in and give her a smooch. Who giggles during diaper changes because she's anticipating a big fat belly raspberry. Who gets out of the shower and does a happy buns on parade dance around our master bedroom. Who is so snuggly and sweet after her naps. I'm so glad I get to be her mom, and that she put up with me when I wasn't at my best, and who is teaching me every day how to be the best mommy I can for her.

I adore her so.

Another couple of busy days, not just for Ellie, but for Tim and I. Sunday night we had one of the MOST fun dates we've gone on since becoming parents. A big group of us went up to a great Italian place in LA for dinner, and since there were 7 of us, and since it was going to involve two cars carpooling, and since it would be more fun to all go together, and since it didn't really seem fair to make Jake rent a van and drive us... WE RENTED A LIMO!

And it was amazing. I have only been inside a limo once before, and it was stationary. Which is not the same as piling in the back with a bunch of friends, opening a bottle of bubbly and enjoying the hour drive.

Our meal was great! The restaurant, Vito, is very old school - dark wood, waiters in tuxedos, classic Italian fare. They make their own caesar salad at the table, which is amazing. Our waiter was very similar to Agador Spartacus in the movie "The Birdcage," which made me giggle every time he came by. Or maybe that was the champagne talking... But either way, the food was good and the company was great. Tim and I have had some nice dates in the past year, but it was so fun to be out with grown up friends, having a grown up night (and jokingly hissing "stop it, this is a grown up dinner!" when people got rowdy at the table.)

And look, Tim and I even cleaned up special! I wore my best fake eyelashes.


But who cares about us - look at this cute little nugget!
Man, the walking? She is all about the walking at all times. It cracks me up because while she's a little less Frankensteiny, she's still not 100% smooth. I definitely understand the idea of the pitter patter of little feet, because she's no twinkle toes. She's gotten better about wearing her shoes though, so that's a plus. Her favorite thing to play with lately is the picture magnets on our fridge, and any electronics she can get her hands on. And of course, cat chasing. Her best walking is done in pursuit of a cat who wants nothing to do with her and her grabby hands.

Week in Review.

Tim hassled me last night for the lack of blargh updates this week - it's been a busy one! Which sadly leaves him no new pictures or video to look at when he has down time at work.

Because of our schedule, we moved swimming to Monday morning. Now that Ellie is a real person with thoughts and feelings, she's gotten a little ornery about her lessons. She still LOVES being in the water and playing with the toys and splashing around, but she doesn't like when the instructor makes her work. There's a lot of yelling during back floating now, but Mr. Shane just holds her there until she gives in and does what she's supposed to do. I joke that he's working her like a show pony. He asked me if she's pretty independent, and I said no, but she's definitely willful. She'll come back around.

Tuesday we weren't at swimming because we were at Granny Janny's surprise 70th birthday party, thrown for her by the other Gardening Angels. She was completely surprised, and it was a great party. Jackie made a big cake and they actually lit 70 candles (and Jan actually blew out about 65 of them on the first try.) All of the Angels seem to enjoy having a small Ellie Bean running around, and Ellie very confidently walking between the ladies that she loves and recognizes.

Wednesday was a play date day! We spent most of the afternoon with Christine and her daughter Carina, who is a few months younger than Ellie. Took the girls to the park, hung out and played with all Carina's awesome toys, ate some Cheerios together - what more could you want if you were a small baby?

Thursday was adult play date time. We headed up to LA for lunch with my former coworker girlfriends, Ingrid and Emily. Emily was bringing her almost three month old son Liam to the office for the first time, and Ellie made a repeat appearance. We grabbed lunch and Ellie wandered around the office, impressing people with her walking skills. Most of my former team is now gone, which was a little sad, but I guess time marches on. We still saw a lot of our favorite people, and Elizabeth was delighted with Liam. She thankfully napped on both parts of the drive, which I always appreciate. I must say though, there's nothing cuter than watching her in the rearview mirror when she obeys commands from me - kissing her baby, hugging her baby, making weird noises with her mouth in response to me. I always crack up when she's being quiet and I think she's asleep, but she's only quiet because she has a foot in her mouth.

Thursday night was also big fun, with a fundraising dinner for the Glennwood Foundation, which facilitates Sara's youth group "club" on Monday nights. Once again, Ellie was a hit, wandering around in her little shoes, cramming parts of other people's dinner into her piehole at an alarming rate. I wonder if she's going through a growth spurt, as she seems to be a bit of a bottomless pit when it comes to dinner time lately, and then a half hour after eating she's ravenous to nurse for another 40 minutes before going to bed.

Friday was mommy class, which we always love, and lunch afterwards, where Ellie and Lexi pushed a tray back and forth across the table to each other and laughed like loons. They are so funny, feeding each other Cheerios and stealing each other's sippy cups. The little germ farms. And then we had dinner with Grams and Gramps, and John, who is in town for Thanksgiving. Things are a lot different now - last time he saw Ellie she was in her "screaming all the time" phase. She is quite pleasant now.

In between all of the events, we've done our usual - hanging out, reading books. She loves pushing her Cozy Coupe around the house, or moving the coffee table in the pretty room. Her other favorite thing to do is pull her picture magnets off the fridge and walk around with pictures of cute babies clutched in her hands. The walking is full time now - she only crawls if she falls and is in a rush to get somewhere. Otherwise, she pushes that big booty back up in the air and takes off with her little Frankenstein walk.

Unsurprisingly, Grams made her wear a flower as a hat.

Here she is, bothering Granny Janny and attempting to steal her presents.

Meow.

Cat lady cat lady, make me a match

Find me a feline

Catch me a cat!

(Yes, she is head butting Rocket. She just wants to be friends! For those who don't know, Rocket is Rocky's mom! Can you believe such a big fat cat came from such an itty bitty lady cat?)

Playground.

Took my little farty to the park this afternoon. She was, as you can see, delighted to play on the swings, and walked all over the toddler part of the playground equipment in her new shoes. She was also a fan of the slide, and the stairs to get up to the slide. Also, she was able to hoot lovingly at some dogs that walked by.



She is my favorite, that kid.

Elizabeth and Friends.

I feel so lucky to have found a great group of moms to help me survive the first year of motherhood, because this stuff is tough. Advice from the older generation is great, but can sometimes be a bit outdated, or clouded by the ensuing 30 years. It's nice to have moms who are down in the trenches, surviving each stage along side you, so when you email freaking out about the amount of drool streaming down your child's face, someone else says "yeah, we had that last week, and now we have a tooth." Oh... a TOOTH! I hadn't thought of that in my sleep deprived haze.

At first, our "playdates" were all about the moms - in a perfect outing, all the babies stayed asleep in their bucket seats. But now they're all toddlers, and it's so fun to see them interact with one another.

Ellie (on the left) and her friend Clare, out for a morning walk.

Here Ellie and Clare are at Friday's play date. Ellie is telling Clare secrets of walking (Clare is 10 months.)

Ellie and her buddy Jonathan (just turned 1!) and all of the books, which ended up on the floor.

"Hey you guys, check out my sweet ride! Yeah, my grandparents gave it to me, they're pretty generous. My parents are still making me pay for gas though."