An Ellie Update

20 Months. I know. I can hardly believe it either, but it's true. She's 20 months old. Maybe it's time to start saying "she'll be TWO in June," but I think I'll hang on to the whole counting months thing for a little while longer. I'm not ready to give that up yet. I'm not ready to give a lot of things up yet, but she keeps growing and changing and I can hardly recognize the tiny infant in the pictures anymore.

There's something that happens as your child starts approaching the age of TWO. Maybe it's after they turn one, but for me I started noticing it when she was around, oh, 18 months. People start asking a lot of questions, people you don't even know. They start glancing at your stomach, looking for that bloated bump that signals the early stages of pregnancy. For example, I was pulled over by a Policeman today for making an illegal u-turn (don't worry...this is going somewhere). I've always had a problem getting pulled over for making illegal u-turns. Anyways, that's not the point. The police officer sauntered up to my car and proceeded to lecture me. I suppose I deserved a good lecture. After all, I've been pulled over several times for the same thing. I was prepared to remove my license and registration when he asked me how old my daughter was, pointing to Ellie in the back seat. I answered "20 months." He then asked me if she was my only child. I told him she was (thinking this was really strange all the while). He then proceeded to ask me if I was going to have more (it just keeps getting stranger). I am wondering to myself at this point if this is some kind of joke or trick question. I answered seriously, "hopefully." He replied, "GOOD." He made one last remark about driving safely and then told me to have a nice day. I think this is indeed the most bizarre encounter I've ever had with a person of the law.

Maybe I've gone a bit off topic. The point is that Ellie is now 20 months old! The point is that the days of my chubby, little infant are gone. Forever. I will never have them back and that makes me feel kind of sad. I am embracing this new stage with Ellie. She is a very sweet little girl who entertains us with her funny personality for hours on end. The point is that hopefully, someday, we will have more. They may not be chubby or have dark, spiky hair. They may not resemble Ellie at all, but until then, I will look forward to meeting him or her. Hopefully. Someday...

A few pictures of 20 Months-ish:

Fairyland in Oakland

The eight dollar Elmo Bubble Machine that offers endless hours of entertainment...no matter the weather!

Be Mine

Spending time at Golden Gate Park with her Godmother, Amanda.

Little Miss Hollywood

February Randomness

I have felt kind of boring this month. Just the usual daily happenings and routine. When I can't think of anything specific to blog about (which hasn't been much lately) I always find it easiest to use bullets. So here you go:

*We (as in Ellie) have had every kind of chest cold, ear infection, etc. run through the house this month. This meant a lack of sleep, a lot of crying, and plenty of Elmo. Fortunately, we're fully recovered now (which means a very happy mom and dad).

*I found a dead rat in the backyard last week while we were playing. It was fat with a huge tail (I'm not exaggerating). I panicked. I couldn't find a shovel, so I grabbed a rake. It's lifeless body dangled from the rake as I carried it from the backyard to the trash can on the side of the house. I'm still a little traumatized.

*I have become pretty busy in an organization called BVA (I don't want my blog to pop up in a Google search). It's a nonprofit volunteer organization that supports children's literacy through a Tutorial program. I am on the Auction committee, which basically means I get to call around and solicit restaurants for donations. I get turned down a lot. One day I even dressed Ellie up really cute and we walked from restaurant to restaurant in downtown Walnut Creek. We still got turned down. How could anyone say no to her little face? Anyways, please let me know if you have buckets of money you don't know what to do with and you'd like to donate it. Maybe you'd like to know what BVA stands for first?

*What is the deal with Yo Gabba Gabba? I don't get it. I hear it's the latest craze, but quite frankly it kind of creeped me out. I know I'm not exactly their target audience, but I still have to watch the stuff too. I find Elmo way more entertaining (if anyone cares).

*American Idol and The Bachelor are currently my favorite shows. I'm a little embarassed to say that I still am hooked on The Bachelor, but I figure I should come clean. TV is a great thing in February.

That's all the randomness I can think of at the moment. Last, but not least, I leave you (whoever you are) a few recent pictures:



Knute wanted to spend a Father-Daughter afternoon with Ellie. He took her to Pier 39 to see the Aquarium, ride the Merry-Go-Round, and eat junk. I was a little bummed to miss out on the fun, but it was nice to spend an afternoon watching some high quality Lifetime movies. There I go talking about tv again...
This is Ellie and Rudy's favorite hang out spot (our bed, which gets smaller by the day). They like to shed dog hair and dump out dry cereal all over it.

Ellie enjoys "grooming" Rudy. She even wipes off his paws.

18 Month Professional Pics

Last weekend I put Ellie in her Sunday best and attempted to get some 18 month pictures taken at the "Picture People." Unfortunately, we left without getting a single shot. The patient photographer tried to play every peek-a-boo and silly game she could muster up in attempt to get Ellie to cooperate and smile, but it was a no-go. She was in one of her stubborn moods and there was simply no snapping out of it. Maybe we'll try again in a couple months. I will definitely have to give her a pep talk beforehand and maybe throw in a nice bribe. In the meantime, here are a few candid 18-month shots of Ellie:

Curious Ellie

Building a bear she named "Amy"

A Love for anything outside

A Love for chocolate Teddy Grahams as well (or anything chocolate really)

Ellie has some very special dance moves. She usually likes to bust them out when she knows she is getting ready to go down for a nap or bed.

Playful Ellie

Stubborn Ellie

Ellie the Drama Queen

Ellie the Bookworm

How Time Flies

I'm not exactly sure where the last month went. It must have gotten lost in a whirlwind of fun Christmas festivities, food, friends, and family. We are looking forward to everything 2010 has in store for us. A few highlights of Christmas 2009:

Ellie had the pleasure of sitting on Santa's lap. I thought she might recognize her Grandpa's friendly face behind the scary looking beard, but apparently not. Why are children expected to sit on a strange (to them) man's lap with an overgrown beard? It's kind of an odd concept, but I'll reserve my deep thoughts for a later post.

Ellie was in hog heaven with all the yummy Christmas treats.Christmas Eve marked 18 months with our dear, sweet Ellie. I know...I can't believe it either. She is an absolute joy (most days) and has enriched our lives in the most incredible way. I need to get some professional pictures taken of her this month. I wish I could freeze these precious moments with her forever in time.We hosted our first Christmas at our house with the Hooks family (Dane decided to spend Christmas Eve in San Francisco with his girlfriend). It was a sad loss for us, but we were excited for him. I don't think I've ever spent a Christmas Eve apart from my brother.

The little Sugar Plum Fairy woke up to a Christmas morning filled with so much love, so many toys, and a serious case of bed head.

We headed to Napa the day after Christmas for a fun day of wine tasting.

Dane joined us with his beautiful girlfriend, Colleen.

After all the company had left and we were left with an empty house and a depressed dog (who is never short on attention when my family visits) we rung in 2010 with good food, an ample amount of champagne, and wonderful friends.

Joys of a Toddler

This is what happens when you don't blog during nap time (see previous post). Lesson learned.

Tis the Season!

It's the most wonderful time of the year (and also the craziest). I need to remember to take a step back and breathe. There are so many precious moments when celebrating the holiday season with your 17-month-old (who is back to her normal, sweet self). Everything is "WOW." It's her new favorite word and I find it pretty fitting. Ellie is loving all the Christmas decorations, lights, and ornaments ("balls"). She has learned how to climb up on the dining room table to play with the decor. Unfortunately, the house may have to go a little more naked and child-proofed this year.

A few highlights (at least ones where I had my camera) of the last couple weeks:


Ellie and I flew to Dallas to visit "Geej" and Grandaddy at their new home. We took Ellie to and Ice Show where all the ice sculptures were of "The Grinch that Stole Christmas" theme. No, these are not our jackets. The room was only 9 degrees in order to keep the sculptures frozen. It was a little chilly.

We tried to snap a few photo opps for a Christmas Card, but there was little cooperation.




Uncle Dane came to visit us from LA over Thanksgiving weekend. We spent time eating, playing cards, watching a super depressing movie he made us see (Precious?), and spending Thanksgiving day at Nana and Grandpa's house with more eating and games of dominoes. I would have more pictures of the day, but someone doesn't like it when I post pictures of them on my blog.

"Nane"

The Little Turkey

We were thankful to spend our second Thanksgiving as a family of three.

Have You Seen my Daughter???

If you've seen my sweet Ellie, please send her back to me. The new Ellie tests my patience to the point that I have to practice deep breathing exercises several times throughout the day. The new Ellie screams at the top of her lungs for no apparent reason. I'm pretty sure that the new Ellie may cause my hair to fall out and my face to age prematurely.

A lot of people say that it just keeps getting better with age (the joy of parenthood). I find this to be true for the most part. Ellie gets more entertaining by the day. She has a funny and sweet personality that brings us endless delight. Our love for her is overwhelming.

With that being said, I thought we had some time before those "Terrible Twos" hit. She's not even 17 months yet. This weekend seemed to have no end in sight. It was one temper tantrum after the next. This involved screaming at the top of her lungs and kicking at the floor. Just when she would calm down and her mood would stabilize a bit, another tantrum would come on like a tornado for what seemed to be for no reason at all. I ran through my list of things that could be wrong. Was she thirsty, hungry, tired, bored, constipated, hot, cold, sick, teething, etc.? I tried to give her the benefit of the doubt, but I've come to the conclusion that it may be a nasty stage she's going through. I desperately need it to be short lived. If I put her shoes on, she wants them off. If she's inside, she wants to go out. If I feed her, she wants something else. If I pick her up, she wants down. If I read her one book, she wants a different one. I think you get the picture. Cry me a river you're thinking? I just might.

As I was rocking her to sleep tonight, I think I had glimpses of the old Ellie. She touched my eye and proudly said "eye." She gave me Eskimo kisses and snuggled into my arms. I hope my sweet, smiling Ellie greets me tomorrow morning (preferably after 6:30 am). I promise not to take her for granted.

Ellie-Funt

Meet Ellie-Funt. Isn't she cute? I figured I had at least one more year to make her dress up in a costume of my choice, with a hat she absolutely hated. Maybe next year some sort of pink fairy is in store. Or maybe she'll always want to go as an animal from the zoo? One never knows. By the end of the night she discovered a love for M&M's and Michael Jackson's "Thriller." I would consider it a successful Halloween by all accounts.

Her Ride

Trick-or-Treat

Knute's newest masterpiece. I would consider it a step up from last year's.

We hope everyone had a safe and Happy Halloween. xoxo