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.