Halloweenie.

Remember last year? When I put my baby in a costume and put myself in a clean shirt and left my house for the first time since bringing her home? That was a good time. NOT. Having a newly borned is the pits. There. I said it.

This year is much better. Though Ellie is understandably distressed about the lack of treats in her treat bag.

Tonight we went out to Yorba Linda to do a little bit of trick or treating and then have dinner with Grandma and Grandpa and some friends. We really only went to one house for our trick or treating purposes, to see Becky!

This is sadly, the only photo I took of Ellie with Grandma tonight, because I am a dolt. But look at how excited everyone is about trick or treating! Just think of how much better it'll be next year.

I dressed as a fancy lady. Much better than last year's costume of "exhausted, milk stained, horribly frazzled new mom."

Tim just borrowed Ellie's hat.

Her walking is really picking up. She's starting to actually let go of the coffee table and other objects to walk on her own and has strung ten or more steps together more than once. In other developmental news, she's cut a third bottom tooth. So right now we're at six - three on top and three on the bottom. Still missing one of those big front teeth - maybe she can ask for it for Christmas, because now we're in the holiday season. Yipes.

Alone Time.

Today, Tim said the most romantic thing he's ever said to me. He asked me if he could take Elizabeth to his mom's house, so that I could get some alone time while he sets Don and Eileen up on a new laptop. Just when I think I can't love my husband more...

Mom and Dad are off on their way to Italy today. Ellie helped drive them to the airport, and burst into tears as they walked away from the car. I managed to keep it together. I hope they have an amazing time, and I'm looking forward to lots of time hanging out with Sara and Grandma Rosie in their absence. Plus I'm going to wear all of mom's fancy jewelry that she couldn't bring with her on the trip. How many crystal necklaces do you think I can wear at once? We'll soon find out.

Friday afternoon we went trick or treating at Tim's work. His company does a great job with the family friendly events - there was candy for everyone to give out, and parents were encouraged to take a little time off to show their kids around. Ellie was delighted to get into her walrus costume and explore the building. Her favorite part was a bubble machine that featured smoke filled bubbles. She probably stood in front of that thing (on her own! Balancing!) for a good three minutes.



Yesterday, you will be surprised to learn, we went to a first birthday party. I know, right? Only two more to go for our little group. This time, we went to the petting zoo in San Juan. I'd never been before, but it's a great little place.

The only animal she really petted was this bunny, who I plunked into her lap.

She petted his bunny buns for a minute, and then basically pushed him onto the ground. OVER IT! In other petting news though, last night I finally taught her how awesome it is to sniff a cat tail. She followed it up by putting Rocky's tail in her mouth. He was not amused.

She also pretended to be a black cat on her own.

And of course, enjoyed party favors and cake.

At mommy class on Friday, we had a potluck costume party. Now, stop me if you've heard this one, but a peacock, a pink bunny and a walrus walk into a bar...

Kicks.

Grams took Ellie today to get her first pair of big girl shoes. She has a couple pairs for when she's a little bigger (like some FABULOUS sparkly shoes from Grandma) but I wanted to get her a pair of solid, dependable Stride Rites... with straps so she wouldn't slip out of them and hopefully can't pull them off in the car. The lady at the store was really helpful in telling us what shoes were appropriate for a crawler/beginning walker, and we found a silvery pair that remind me of moon boots.

Ellie is horrified by them.

She did enjoy the smoothie that Grams got her afterwards though.
(click to enlarge if you'd like to see the pathetic tears she produced when we made her stand on her own.)

Things she does enjoy: her friend Bucky, and her Auntie Kate. Happy birthday Auntie Kate! Hope your shoes don't make you cry.

Having a Little Seafood.

The Great Pumpkin.

On Sunday afternoon we went to the pumpkin patch with our pal Lexi, to check out some Halloween fun.

We posed like the fat little melon head we are

We visited the petting zoo

WE RODE THE PONIES AND OMG IT WAS SO EXCITING!

We totally ruined cute photo ops with our crying and our inability to look at the camera

But then we made up for it by being cute elsewhere

In short, we had a great time! And then we went out to lunch (not pictured.)

Year One Stats!

Today we had Ellie's one year well baby visit, which went well. We got to meet two very sweet four day old babies in the waiting room. Unfortunately, I think the newborns in the waiting room combined with it being Monday (which meant lots of kids in the sick room) meant that our quick visit took nearly two hours. Le sigh. Don't these doctors understand how unruly children can be?

At a year old, Ellie weighs a little over 21 pounds and is 29 1/4 inches tall, both of which put her in the 50th percentile. So she's slowed down a little on the growth curve, but is still a good, healthy size. Her head is over 47 cms around, which puts her int he 95th percentile, where she's been all along. I laughed when the doc said "well, since her head has always been large, and since she's got a dad with a big head, it's nothing to worry about. If her head had all of a sudden got this big, we might have to send her for additional testing." ADDITIONAL TESTING? Nice work, big brained baby.

The doctor was very impressed with Ellie's ability to mimic (she clapped for the doc) and said that her vocabulary is more like that of a 15 month old. Must be all the books she reads. Or the fact that everyone talks to her all the dang time. So that made me feel pretty proud. The doc encouraged us to keep nursing as long as it's working for both of us, especially as we're heading into cold and flu season, but that we can try to get Ellie to drink whole milk if we want. We've offered it to her a couple of times and she doesn't seem to enjoy it, but you know what? I don't blame her. I think I was 12 the last time I drank a glass of milk. Perhaps I'll have her hang out with her Uncle Jake and he can show her how to put away a half gallon in ten seconds or less.

In other news, either Ellie's teeth are really bothering her in the morning, or she's giving up her morning nap. UGH. The second option makes me want to go lay in a ditch, because while she hasn't napped at her usual time the past three days, she also has been a total stinker during the morning hours. It's not like she's not napping because she's content and well rested. She is just fighting me every step of the way until she finally passes out in the car. Look kid, I gave you plenty of time to sleep while were at our house, so now snooze on the way home from the errands that had to get run, whether you were tired or not. I'm hoping once those teeth come in, she'll go back to settling down for a snooze around 10am.

Ellie at One.

Well, so how have things been going for our favorite one year old, you might wonder? Pretty good, though apparently being one means you need more teeth. She is cutting her other fang through, and the front tooth next to it. Hopefully the second front tooth will come through soon, otherwise she's going to look like a yokel. Good thing I have a lot of bib overalls for her to wear. She's been a pretty good little egg through the whole process - we give her a little Advil before bed, and if she's being a real turd during the day we'll dose her, but usually she's good with a lot of cuddling and frozen toys. This morning though, after a full night of sleep, she got up at her usual wake time, snuggled up with me on the recliner for breakfast, and when I looked down next she had fallen back to sleep, FOR AN HOUR. That hasn't happened since she was a newborn! It was the only good nap she got all day, poor Bug.

What else?

She got a sweet new ride from her Grandma and Grandpa. Here she is texting and driving. I cited her for it, obviously. NOT OKAY.

Today we had a birthday party for one of her little friends - we have three more to go before our group of eight will all have one year olds, crazy!

She enjoyed playing in the Temple of Doom maze

She REALLY enjoyed when her Dada gave her some cake

She did not so much enjoy it when we tried to wipe all the dirt off her face and hands. She thought she'd done a pretty good job using her mouth to clean her mitts. Oh Elizabeth.

She continues to enjoy reading, and her Coco books probably most of all. Grams got her a new little storage unit for all of her books, and tonight Gramps asked her to get a Coco book for them to read, and she did! She is so smart.

In other news, I put away most of her nine month outfits today and washed all of the 18 month clothing items. Nothing makes me tearier than putting away baby clothes. I will hold something up and think "she could probably wear this once or twice more!" knowing that she won't, and I'll let it sit in her drawer until it's waaaay too small. So I put it in the space bag a little sadly. I feel like I've had to pack away all of the clothes that I bought when I was pregnant. Now it's just the latest fashions from the kid's consignment store. She's got some cute things coming up, but I will miss you, yellow romper and cheetah print velour pajammers.

One Year Slideshow.

This free picture slideshow personalized with Smilebox

Yes We're Going to a Party Party!

So, Elizabeth Rosemarie is officially one! Well, in one hour. It seems slightly odd to me to be celebrating her birthday on the 19th, when she was only outside for the last hour and a half of the day. But there you go, it's still her birthday!

It's been funny leading up to her birthday, telling people that she's not having a huge party. People are like, "oh, well the party is for the parents anyways." Exactly! And I had a big 30th birthday party for myself, so there you go. Plus, we had her baptism with all of her Smith family and even a few Thiels, and we'll see everyone at Thanksgiving in a few weeks, and we're spending time with all of her baby friends at their birthday parties. I don't feel like either of us missed out on not making it a huge blow out.

But we did make sure to celebrate some time with Elizabeth Beanserina today. Since it was Wednesday, we went to knitting, where the ladies had gotten balloons and a banner and some fabulous gifts. I brought a salted caramel and chocolate tart, which was devoured by all of the lady folk, and Ellie was allowed to play with Jan's iPhone, which was the thrill of her life.

Tonight we had steak dinner with all of the grandparents, Sara and Jake, and it was so nice. Dad did an excellent job grilling, Ellie LOVED all of her presents (especially her baby cell phone from Auntie Sara) and then we watched a photo slide slow I put together. It'll be up on the blog later, but warning, it's long. Then it was time for cake! I figured the little hog would be happy to stuff cake into her mouth by the handful, but she was not interested. She waited until I could fork it into her mouth. What a fart.

It was a great, low key evening with the people Elizabeth loves most in this world. And the people who have been instrumental in keeping me from eating my live young when the going got tough.

Now, some photos of the action, including her amazing, totally unwieldy birthday dress.
So big and cute and coy!

OH MY GOSH I AM SO EXCITED TO KNIT AND PARTY YOU GUYS!

"I hate this hat!"

"Your hat, Granny Janny, I like."

Rocking her "snow queen" outfit from Jill and examining her new toy from Janet

OMG MORE PRESENTS YOU GUYS THIS IS GREAT!

Examining her fabulous new phone with Auntie Sara. She is trying to get her contacts to transfer over.

Family photo #1

Family photo #2

Clapping for her cake... even though she wouldn't stick her dang hands in.

Due Date.

Oh internets. It is the anniversary of my due date. Remember last year when Tim shattered the shower door and we realized the tires on his car were showing the steel bands and after helping with the shower door clean up I had the only strong contraction I ever had in my entire life? That was a day.

It's still hard to believe that those same little feet that were jammed in my ribs a year ago are now taking their first toddling little steps. That the little button nose I saw in ultrasounds is now the little nose I "beep" and kiss during the day. I'm so excited for her birthday. I know Elizabeth doesn't care either way (but will be thrilled to spend time with her grandparents) but I am so grateful every day to have her in my life, and I'm ready to celebrate how far we've come, me and that naughty, naughty Bean.

Settling the Bet.

362 days old!

This means that Tim "didn't walk until 18 months" Ford is officially the least athletic of this family.

New Photos.

Yesterday Tim and I had a matinee date to see "Moneyball," which we both enjoyed muchly. I love baseball. I love sports overall, except for ones like basketball. Too fast paced for me, not enough fat guys. I need some big man booties in my sports. Grandma and Grandpa took on baby duty, and from all indications, they had a great time. Baby and grandparents can unite in their distaste for mom's rules!

Today it's game day, and then we're meeting up with some friends at a pub for an evening of Irish music. In one week, Ellie's done some more Oktoberfesting, and now a little taste of her Irish heritage!

And now, pictures!

I have a rule about not giving Ellie my phone, my iPod or other pricey electronics. It just seems like a recipe for breakage. She of course, is then desperate for said items. The other day after shutting down my computer, I decided to let her play on the keyboard. Yeah, she promptly ripped off a key. So, back to not being allowed to touch nice things.

We were goofing around in the backyard in our matching girl outfits, but this is the first time I've gotten her top fang on camera. Enlarge the picture and check that baby out! It is still her only top toof.

Quite pleased on her new pushcart at Grandma and Grandpa's. As you can see, it's also something she can ride on, which the laziest baby definitely enjoys.

This is my new favorite face. The accompanying noise is a happy sort of "Hmmm!" and it is done to express great delight. It happens a lot around meal times, and immediately after a nap. And when grandpa is letting her play with his chair, of course.

Up To.

I feel like Miss Moo is getting smart and more fun every day. Here are some things she has recently accomplished:

-Now she not only selects her favorite books, but she hands them to me, climbs into my lap, and waits for me to tell her to turn the page to turn to the next page. Big favorites include "On the Farm," "Mommy Kisses," "All Things Bright and Beautiful" and "The Very Hungry Caterpillar." I love that she loves reading.
-For her baptism, she got a Noah's Ark storybook that features removable foam pieces. Last week she would just open to the pages with removable pieces and cry until I gave them to her, but this week she figured out how to stick her finger in and pry them out.
-She has also figured out how to use her two bottom teeth to open her container of puffs/Cheerios. She has not figured out how to keep the container upright once she's opened it.
-She is really starting to let go of the table or my hands and balance on her own. That first step is just around the corner.
-There's a lot more talking going on lately. She's saying hello (into her remote, mostly, like it's a phone) and bye bye and she LOVES to talk about her ball (bah.)
-She has great self esteem. Yesterday after our shower, I caught her in our bedroom, totally nude, making out with her reflection in the mirror.
-She is very into the care and keeping of her baby, Lolly the Dolly. She can kiss her baby if you give it to her, or she'll have you kiss her baby, and she thinks it's most delightful when someone else rocks and cuddles Lolly. There is nothing cuter than seeing her in the backseat, snuggling Lolly up in her car seat.
-She loves the push cart at mom and dad's, and pilots herself all around the house. She's started steering it slight better and doesn't get stuck under the cabinets so much.
-She's also taken up pole dancing. For FITNESS, y'all.

Weekend Review

Another wonderful weekend in the books. Saturday we had a great time at the first birthday party for Elizabeth's best friend Lexi. Lexi and Ellie met at their first trip to Mommy Matters, when Lexi was 27 days old and Ellie was 17 days old, and Kristen and I were both exhausted out of our minds. The kids had a great time at the party - there was plenty of shade for us to put our blankets under, yummy food to share, and a bubble machine, which was just about the best thing Ellie had ever seen.

Then Saturday night she got to hang out with Grandma and Grandpa while Tim and I went to the UCLA game. The Bruins won, though we were too tired and old to stick around until the end (plus the first three quarters were sooooo boooooring.) When we got home, Missy Moo was happily sprawled out in her bed, and her grandparents had spent a wonderful evening with her. EVERYBODY WINS!

Today after a nap and some time hanging out with her daddy-o, Ellie got to go swimming in the baby pool (read: spa) at Grams and Gramps'. She is the very cutest little Bearducken - I'm going to weep copiously when she outgrows her bear swim suit. She got to hang out with Grams for quite awhile, having fallen asleep and consented to sleeping in her "fun cage," while I came home and started getting set up for Sunday Funday. We had 8 people over to watch the game tonight, which was a blast. Miss Ellie was a big hit - everyone was amazed at how good she's gotten at standing and creeping along the furniture, and she also let go of the table and balanced herself for a few seconds here and there.

She is such a sweet, happy little girl. It will never cease to amaze me that she's so content and confident and funny, considering how miserable and screamy she was for her first three months of life. I am a lucky lady, to be her mommy.

I mean seriously, look at this happy Bug, enjoying her life. She's such a blessing.

Eight Clap!

Two Bruins, one cub.

She's very excited, probably because she's unaware of the fact that we are NOT bringing her to the game with us. 7:30 in Pasadena is just too close to her bedtime and too far from her bed.

Quiet Week.

Nothing too exciting happening around these parts - we're keeping busy though. On Tuesday no one else showed up for swim class so Ellie got a private lesson. Mr. Shane worked her like a little field mule! We actually end up at the other end of the pool where there's a long step, and after every back float or bit of work, she'd have to walk along the step to get to me, and then I'd scoop her up, kiss on her, and hand her back for some more floating and splashing. She took a pretty fat nap after that one.

Wednesday it was raining so the Angels didn't garden, they just spent the afternoon knitting. Mom and I actually brought lunch provisions and we had a makeshift picnic in Jan's warm, homey kitchen. Ellie is so lucky to have a group of women who basically think she's the best thing since sliced bread, and who continue to love her even though she spent the first few months of knitting just wailing for no reason. Each week, she impresses them with new skills - this week it was her devious laughter. She has the best laugh in the world, that kid.

Tim went to see a movie with his bruddar on Wednesday night, leaving Elizabeth and I to our own devices. Of course, we mooched dinner from mom and dad, and I kept her out late so that she'd fall asleep on the drive home. Man, the convertible car seat is good because it feels so big and safe, but I really miss being able to carry her into the house in her bucket seat. I left her in the car when I first got home so I could do a couple of quick chores around the house and change into my pajamas, and then brought her in for her last meal and bed time routine. She went easy on me and fell asleep eating.

At 11 months, young miss still doesn't "put herself to bed," but we're okay with that, as limited bouts of crying it out have resulted in Ellie getting absolutely hysterical and nowhere near sleep. I'm also just grateful that putting her to sleep no longer involves Tim cradling her and letting her suck on his finger for up to two hours, after I'd already let her eat for close to two hours. Now she just sort of crawls around in her bed until she lays down, closes her eyes and sacks out. But she needs to have someone hanging out in there with her, or she'll lose her bananas. I have faith that someday in the next few months she won't need that anymore, just as she doesn't need a finger to suck until she passes out now.

Today we got to hang out and have lunch with Grandma! It's so funny how quickly Ellie is getting for real big - at lunch she sat in a high hair and quietly fed herself blue berries and puffs, and drank from her sippy. She even rode in her stroller through most of our shopping, and was able to admire the beautiful baby clothes at Janie & Jack without demanding an outfit for herself. Unlike me.

Tomorrow is our mommy class, which is one of my favorite parts of the week. And then, yet another first birthday party this weekend! All these babies, growing up.

Two Times the Fun!

While it's true that Ellie will probably get to be the baby of the Thiel side of her family until she gets a sibling, her reign as the littlest member of the Ford clan only ran about 11 months long, when cousin Jolie delivered her beauty healthy little twin girls two weeks ago. And this morning, we were lucky enough to get invited to meet them.

Chris and Jolie may be playing man on man instead of zone defense right from the start, but two weeks in they seem to be doing absolutely amazing. I mean, when Ellie was two weeks old, I certainly wasn't inviting people over, because all I wanted to do was lay on the couch and drool, and I couldn't be bothered to put on clean pajama pants unless my mom or Eileen came over to hold the baby while I stood in the shower and sobbed for awhile before getting dressed.

Nina and Talia, they are so sweet. So tiny and perfect, with their tiny little noggins and their sweet, kissable feet and their wee bitty baby hands. It was squealing central for me. And Ellie was a pretty good girl about it all, and was distracted from her jealousy over me holding another baby by Auntie Jolie offering a few bites of cupcake (sadly, I brought Jolie cupcakes while she was on bedrest, which she couldn't eat due to gestational diabetes. Today she enjoyed one, and I hear they were going to let the twins split the "birthday cake" cupcake after I left.)

Seriously, how beautiful are all these girls? Baby Nina is on the left, Talia on the right, and Ellie being naughty with Jolie (possibly stuffing in a few last minute cake crumbs?)

For the last few weeks, a couple friends and I have been meeting up in the evening to walk a couple of miles with our little ones. The other two babies usually sack out sometime during the ride, but Ellie entertains herself with the friends I bring along for her to play with. Usually I put her in her pjs before we go so that her feets and arms are totally covered, but tonight I also put her in a hoodie because it seems to have all of a sudden become fall.

Cindy Lou Who much enjoyed her walk.

Oktoberfest.

While our little lady may have some red highlights in her hair that cause strangers to ask if she's Irish, it's important to remember that have of her heritage is solidly German (hence her cankles.) Yesterday Ellie got a chance to celebrate her Teutonic heritage at the St. Martins Oktoberfest with Grandma. Tim has fond memories of Oktoberfests from years past, but I've never been. We had a great time, even though Ellie is still too small for the majority of the rides and food items. After we indulged in some funnel cakes and brats, Grandma took us on the carousel and the ferris wheel. Ellie loved both! (though it did take her a second to warm up to all of it.)



I guess in olden times, they used to take blown out eggshells and fill them with confetti, and then middle schoolers could throw the eggs at one another in some ancient Catholic flirting ritual. Now they just fill little cups with the confetti - I thought it was still fun to toss one at Tim while he was imbibing in the beer tent. Elizabeth was also amused.

Here are some of the cute pictures from our adventures!

I think Tim looks good in leiderhosen.

Happy girl on her noble steed

Snuggling with Grandma on the ferris wheel