Elizabeth Rose

Moving On

2010-05-25T16:50:00.001-06:00

I've decided to leave Blogger for the more user-friendly WordPress. I've tried to update the blog several times lately, only to have Blogger get hung up inserting pictures. Hopefully after leaving Blogger and its difficulties behind you will get to see the blog updated more often.

You can now find Ellie's blog at the following location: TheyCallMeEllie.wordpress.com I had hoped to keep the "ellieroo" url and just move it to WordPress, but there is another ellieroo out there somewhere who already snagged it.

Ski Days

2010-03-28T16:06:00.007-06:00

We have had some late winter/early spring snow storms in the last month or so; perfect opportunities for fresh snow in the mountains along with spring skiing conditions. We took Ellie up skiing at the beginning of the season, but she wasn't quite ready. A few weeks ago we got her up to the local mountain twice in four days time - she really got it figured out! She was even able to ride the paddle-tow without help (just needing help with grabbing on). Here are a few pictures from her last day skiing. I had originally planned to put more on, but it has taken Blogger 45 minutes to let me get this far. I'm done fighting with it for the day!

Enjoy!

Happy girl just before heading back out after lunch.

Getting ready to head back out.

Heading down the bunny slope with Mommy.

At the start of the day. Our friends loaned us a "Kiddie Ski Bar" that was a lot of help moving Ellie up the slope before she was able to ride the paddle-tow.

Ellie and Kip Video

2010-02-12T14:54:00.003-07:00

So since I don't know how to make YouTube videos appear in my blog, you'll just have to follow this link to see Ellie hugging Kip. At the beginning of the video you can her her nasty cough. She has had RSV all week and a mild case of pneumonia. She is feeling much better, but still sounds terrible.

I'll post some birthday pictures later this week. Ellie had a nice party with some of her friends.

Oh, and if you are a Blogger, can you tell me how to insert the actual YouTube video here (instead of just a link)?

Early Birthday Present

2010-01-30T17:17:00.002-07:00

We decided that since this weekend's weather was supposed to be so beautiful we'd give Ellie an early present. Her birthday isn't until Thursday, but thought she would enjoy a few extra days with her new bicycle. The bike is a gift from Grandma Cheryl and Grandpa Bob as well as Tim and I. Ellie loves it!

This is also the post in which I learn how to embed video. Grandparents, enjoy!

Taking Flight

2010-01-29T10:46:00.005-07:00

Here are some pictures of Ellie with her friend Avery, who was over for a playdate this morning. They were breaking in the capes I made for Ellie's birthday party next weekend. I love that in order to "fly" the girls need their tongues sticking out!

And while they were flying through the kitchen, this was filling the air with yummy smells. Homemade granola:

US Virgin Islands

2009-12-18T16:14:00.008-07:00

Just before Thanksgiving we spent two weeks on St. John in the US Virgin Islands. We had an amazing trip, and while there were certain events we could have done without, overall it was just fantastic. Ellie is still talking about it daily, wondering when we can go snorkeling again.

Be warned that there are tons of pictures in this post. I thought I'd better make it worth the wait for them :)

Ellie at the beach for the first time.

Tim, Ellie, and Grandma W. at Maho Bay (Day 1)

The owner of our villa, Dr. Bob, was pruning the plants one day and gave Ellie this palm frond to play with. She was in heaven!

Ellie at the beach the first day.

View from Maho Bay.

In the ocean for the first time!

Ellie and Grandma W. at Trunk Bay.

We went out to dinner one night at "Miss Lucy's," a charming little place right on the beach. It also happened to be overrun by Miss Lucy's goats :) Ellie was thrilled. She fed them sea grapes and had a blast until a grumpy older goat got impatient and butted her, causing her to fall backwards, because she wasn't feeding him fast enough. A few tears were shed, but overall it was a nice evening.

Waterlemon Bay (yes, that is waterlemon, not watermelon). We saw lots of stingrays there, a couple of sea turtles, lots of fish and coral, and starfish. It was definitely the best snorkeling we had, although all of it was quite stunning.

Salt Pond Bay. This beach is at the end of a short trail. Ellie was pinched by a large hermit crab at the trail head. It was completely our fault, and we felt horrible about it. Having had hermit crabs as a child, I assured Ellie it was safe and fun to hold them. The first one she held was nice enough, but then I gave her a very large, old fellow. He was not so happy about being held and clamped on to the pad of her hand and held on for dear life (quite literally in his mind, I am sure). It took five minutes to convince him to let go. Ellie screamed the whole time, but was very cooperative about holding still so the crab would relax and let go. She had a couple of small lacerations on her hand and they finally just healed over a week or so ago.

After the crab pinching incident, but before she became covered with biting ants... Not the best beach experience for her, but the snorkeling was quite unique here with lots of colorful coral.

Vew from our villa.

The view.

Trunk Bay.

Trunk Bay

Potentilla bush flowers.

A Very Large seed pod.

The best way to get sand off a two-year-old? Dunk her in the ocean naked.

The owners of our villa had this great raft that had a window in it so that Ellie could "snorkel" too. She saw lots of coral, fish, a stingray, and a turtle this way. She loved it!

Salt Pond Bay

Annaberg Sugar Mill ruins

Windmill ruins at Annaberg.

Santa Claus

2009-12-05T15:04:00.003-07:00

We made our annual $25 donation to Santa today. We stood in line for at least 45 minutes (the Big Guy is quite in demand this year) and were rewarded with (and by "rewarded" I mean "shelled out lots of dough") these pictures.

Josh and Jordan: You may recognize the hair bow and shoes. :)

We got back from our trip to the Caribbean almost two weeks ago. I'll get pictures from the trip posted this week!

Snow and Halloween

2009-10-31T19:50:00.004-06:00

Well, Ellie is sacked out in bed after a successful evening of trick-or-treating. She wore a kitty costume my sister made for our niece 12 years ago. Brigette is trying to dig out a picture of Kieron wearing it for a side-by-side comparison. Ellie really wanted to wear her cousin Eddie's old lion costume, but it was too small. We had awesome Halloween weather, which was a nice change from the 15 inches of snow we had earlier this week.

Here are the pictures:

Look at the size of those snowflakes!

Halloween, reverse order (because that is just the way Blogger is being tonight...)

Enjoying her candy:

So tired by the end...

With Jamison the Dinosaur (who she refers to as her brother, by the way).

Playgroup

2009-10-16T14:12:00.004-06:00

Ellie had a couple of friends over this morning. We had a good time making "oobleck" and it entertained the little ones for over an hour. It did take me a good thirty minutes to clean my kitchen afterwords, but it was worth it! Avery and Jamison are both 3 (about 7 months older than Ellie) and it is so interesting to watch her learn things from them.

Hugs from Jamie:

All three of them watching the rocking Hallmark Christmas Dog bark Jingle Bells. Great-Grandma E. gave this to Ellie on her first Christmas and she still hasn't gotten enough of it (I may have though... :)

See the condition of my kitchen floors? What a teacher will do for "sensory experiences!"

Avery attempting to make hand prints.

Jamie is so excited!

If you have never made oobleck with kids before, and you have some to make it with, it is worth doing. Oobleck is not quite a liquid and not quite a solid. When compressed it will form a solid, but when let to sit it becomes a liquid and will pour. If you really want to add an educational connection, and your kids are about 4 or up, read Bartholomew and the Oobleck by Dr. Suess first.

The recipe:

It is basically equal parts cornstarch and water (colored water if you want to get creative). Add the water slowly; you might not need it all. If it gets too runny just stir in some more cornstarch. You can save it (uncovered, or it will get moldy) for a week. Just add more water to reconstitute it as needed. Have fun!

30 Days Hath September...

2009-09-25T13:53:00.002-06:00

...and you would think I would have found more time to blog! The last few weeks around here have been one illness after another, primarily confined to Ellie and me. We've all had colds, some of us two of them, and Ellie had a stomach and intestinal virus. It was as fun as it sounds. This was the first time that Ellie has ever come down with something that caused her to throw up (she's been carsick a time or two, though) and it was certainly not pretty. We are all recovered now, though, which is the important part.

In a few minutes Ellie and I will be heading to Build-A-Bear to "trade in" her pacifiers for a new toy. The time has come. She has only been allowed to have them in her crib for the last 6-9 months and we are ready to take the next step. I'm not really looking forward to the next few nights. This is going to be a big change for her, but I am hoping for the best.

I don't have any new pictures for this post, but hopefully I'll find time this weekend to add some shots of a Highlands Festival we went to a couple of weeks back. We are going to a festival tomorrow at a local Waldorf school. Hopefully Ellie will have fun with the pony rides and other activities they will have there!

Flower Girls

2009-08-31T16:29:00.004-06:00

Last weekend we were in Idaho to celebrate the marriage of Josh and Jordan. Jordan, my cousin, is one year younger than me and we spend a lot of time together growing up. She was our maid of honor 10 years ago. I was honored to be a bridesmaid in their wedding; Ellie was a flower girl. Here are a few pictures taken after the ceremony.

The happy couple.

Showing off her flowers.

The flower girls together: Ellie and her cousin Abby.

Ellie did very well at the wedding, when you take into account that she is two and has a mind of her own. She was fantastic during pictures and the hour or so waiting for the ceremony to start. She and Abby walked down the aisle together and were adorable. About two minutes into the ceremony Ellie started talking (telling Abby to stop holding her hand) and growling very loudly... After a few attempts at quieting her on my part, and a hand placed over her mouth by Abby, Tim sneaked to the front and removed her. Oh well, it could have been worse!

The wedding was beautiful. Jordan's dress was stunning and her choice of flower girl dresses made for a very simple and classic look. We bridesmaids all chose our own black cocktail dress and shoes. The guys were in black tuxes, but not matching. It all worked so well together. I am excited to see the professional photographs when Jordan and Josh return from their honeymoon.

Library Concert

2009-08-14T14:48:00.002-06:00

Ellie and I went to our local library a couple of weeks ago for a kid's concert. It just happened that the lady who taught her music class last winter was performing, so off we went. Ellie had a blast, even though it was hot on the concrete in the sun!

Singing "Old McDonald" - Ellie had a cow puppet.

After about 15 minutes we moved back to the shady trees. Not as good of a view, but much more comfortable. Ellie is holding an egg shaker.

Showing off her shaking abilities.

Sorry, No Pictures

2009-08-07T14:42:00.003-06:00

Well, I don't have any new pictures to post, but I thought I'd update the blog anyway.

Ellie and I have been keeping busy with swim lessons and park trips the last two weeks. She has one more week of lessons and then we will be getting ready to head to Idaho for Josh and Jordan's wedding! Ellie is going to be a flower girl and she is very excited about it. She may not have a clue what it means, but still she tells us every day, "I am a flower girl!" After hearing a description of the dresses from Jordan, I am sure that Abby and Ellie will look absolutely adorable!

We have a nice family weekend planned to celebrate my birthday on Sunday. I can't believe I am turning the big 3-0 this year. I suppose you can't believe it either, Mom! Tim, Ellie, and I are going to try and make it over to a working "kids" farm tomorrow morning. (We were supposed to go with Hailey, Berlin, and Jamison this morning but they were closed. Three little ones were very disappointed!) The farm has lots of animals to play with, eggs to gather from the hen house, a big sandbox, lots of trikes, and tons of other things to do. Tomorrow afternoon Hailey has graciously offered to watch Ellie while Tim and I go see Harry Potter at the theater. We still haven't left Ellie with a babysitter; tomorrow was supposed to be the first, but Tim backed out... :) Luckily, Hailey came to our rescue!

We told Ellie that it was going to be my birthday this weekend. Ellie replied with, "Oh Mommy! Can I come to your party?" I believe that she is picturing something involving a bounce house... She also pointed out that she would get to eat cake. I hadn't really planned on a cake, but I don't want to disappoint her. Any excuse for cake, right?

Hopefully I will have some new pictures next week. We went on a beautiful hike last weekend, but forgot the camera. Ellie hiked almost two miles, and would have gone more if we hadn't put her in the pack so that we could move a little faster. She is our active, outdoor girl!

Overdue

2009-07-17T13:48:00.005-06:00

I know that this post is long overdue. We have been so busy this summer that it seems like I never have time to sit down at the computer to update the blog. We spent the Fourth of July with Tim's folks (avoiding all the neighborhood fireworks here - maybe next year we'll stay home and let Ellie enjoy a sparkler or two). We've been spending a lot of time each day outside at the local parks, pools, and just playing in the front yard and alley. Ellie's big accomplishment is that she can pedal her trike by herself now. She figured it out last month while I was recovering from surgery and now it is hard to keep up with her!

I will be leaving Ellie overnight for the first time tonight. After Tim gets home from work I am heading south to go rafting tomorrow. Tim and Ellie will hold down the fort until I come home tomorrow night. I am halfway tempted to cancel my plans and stay home, but I am sure that they will be just fine without me!

Anyway, on the the pictures.

Ellie and Sebastian playing in the backyard:

Feeding the geese (4th of July):

At a wool market and llama, sheep,goat, etc show in a nearby mountain town:

Intentions...

2009-06-26T15:10:00.002-06:00

I had fully intended on sitting down to update the blog right about now; however, we are having one of the biggest thunderstorms I've ever been in. In fact, I am keeping an ear out for the tornado sirens to start! (Mom, Grandma, etc don't worry - they rarely mean anything around here. I know that all of you Kansas relatives are thinking, "They worry about tornadoes there? I'll tell them about tornadoes!")

So instead of blogging, I am going to turn off and unplug the computer until the storm passes!

Recovering

2009-06-19T15:39:00.003-06:00

It has been two weeks since my surgery and things went very well. I just got back all my biopsy results today and everything was good (no cancer, etc). My doctor did say that my uterus was not in very good shape and it was quite obvious that it was not functioning correctly. Based on what he told me I am glad we had decided not to have any more children after Ellie; I don't know if it would have been possible if we had wanted to, and quite possibly would have led to much disappointment. In the end, it seems as though surgery was the correct decision.

My recovery is going well and I just have a small amount of lingering tenderness. It was so nice to have my mom here to help out during my surgery and for a few days after. Tim's mom, Cheryl, came up and entertained Ellie for me when Tim went back to work. I had a few wonderful friends who brought us meals during the week after Cheryl went home. I've been so thankful for all the help!

Last Friday Tim and I celebrated our 10th anniversary. It is amazing to both of us that so much time has passed since we said our "I dos." Tim, Ellie, and I went out to a nice Japanese restaurant near our house to celebrate. Ellie tried sushi for the first time and was determined to use chopsticks instead of the silverware. We had a very nice time spending the evening as a family.

Here are a couple of quick pictures from a hike we took the weekend before my surgery. Ellie hiked the entire one mile loop on her own and just kept saying, "We're hiking in the for-ust (forest) Mommy and Daddy! I love the for-ust so much. It is my favorite." The pictures are in reverse order. As you can see, by the end of the hike we had to pull out the rain gear.

Countdown

2009-06-02T16:58:00.002-06:00

Well, I feel like the countdown to surgery day has begun. I spent all day today cleaning the house - I figure it will be a couple of weeks before I feel up to doing that again. Tomorrow morning I go to the doctor for my pre-op appointment. After that, over to the hospital for blood work and other pre-surgery tests. Thursday my mom flies in and Ellie and I make the drive to the airport to pick her up.

Then it is the big day... I have to be at the hospital at 10:30 Friday morning and my surgery is scheduled from noon until 4:00pm. Tim is going to stay home with Ellie and my mom will drive me to the hospital and back. We figured that would be the least disruptive to Ellie's schedule, since the following days are going to be a bit confusing to her.

My mom will stay until Monday, and then Tim's mom has kindly offered to come stay with us for a few days once Tim has gone back to work. I am hopeful that the recovery will only take a week or so. My doctor is using the Da Vinci Robot for the procedure (if you are a Grey's Anatomy fan, this is the robot they show in the season finale) and it is supposed to dramatically reduce recovery time from a standard hysterectomy.

I'm a bit nervous, but overall I am excited to finally be rid of the constant pain (and other things I won't go into detail about!).

I have some great pictures from our recent trip to Idaho and some of a hike Tim, Ellie, and I went on last weekend. I will do my best to get them up before Friday!

So Much To Post, So Little Time

2009-05-15T14:11:00.003-06:00

The blog has definitely gotten away from me the last few weeks. We have had so much going on here that I just haven't found the time to post! Sorry, no pictures yet again... the camera batteries were dead for awhile and now that they are charged I haven't taken any pictures! Here is the quick rundown of what we have been up to:

I've been super busy during Ellie's nap time making new baby products that are sold at a local store. They carry a bunch of items from local crafters and artists as a portion of their clothing and accessories store. I was their top seller last month and they cannot keep my items on the shelf! It was an exciting and busy month that left me with very little spare "down time" while Ellie napped. I rolled out my bib and burp cloth sets as well as ladies' headbands. It has been fun coming up with new designs and bringing out summer fabrics!
As a family we have gone on a crazy, tight budget. No more eating out on the weekends, Tim is taking lunch to work most, if not all, days, and I have cut our grocery bill by about 40%. All the extra cooking, lunch packing, and meal planning around sales/coupons has taken up a lot of free time as well. The reward for all the frugality is that we are taking a trip to the US Virgin Islands this November. It has actually been sort of fun to be on the budget, looking at it as a game to see how much we can save each week.
Ellie has temporarily quit going to speech therapy. We are very happy with the progress she has made, but have stopped while we wait for our insurance coverage to kick in and start paying. I finally got a statement today that the claim is pending (sent in over a month ago) but just noticed that they think I am the patient, not Ellie. Once insurance pays, Ellie will probably continue having sessions every other week until her stutter disappears completely.
Ellie and I are going to Idaho over Memorial Day weekend. It is a big "holiday" for my mom's side of the family and it is always nice to see all the cousins and second-cousins and their little ones. We all gather at various cemeteries throughout the day and it is a great time to learn new little bits of family history.
A week after we get back from Idaho my mom is coming here to help out while I recover from surgery. I am going to have a hysterectomy on June 5th after many, many months of various failed treatments and procedures. What can I say? Uteruses (uterusi?) just don't age well in my family. I told Tim that I was glad we had already decided that we wouldn't be having any more children; having made that choice already took the emotional aspect out of the decision to go ahead with the hysterectomy.
Our garden is in full swing with spring crops growing and the summer crops getting ready to be planted. My goal is to have everything in the ground before I leave for Idaho since I won't have a lot of time when I get back before going in for surgery. This year I built two new pea trellises and two new bean trellises. I'm going to grow cucumbers on an angled trellis this year for the first time. I have to get it constructed this weekend.

So, that is what has been going on here. Lots and lots of little things that have added up to no extra time! Between sewing, gardening, and talking to the insurance company every other day (about Ellie's speech and my medical issues) we have kept ourselves quite busy!

Potty Training 101

2009-04-24T14:21:00.004-06:00

I think that Ellie and I could both use a potty training class. We need a lesson on sticking with it. A couple of months ago I started working with her on it, but then the stuttering started. We were advised to back off until the stutter stabilized. Well, that has happened so I "officially" started potty training her yesterday (and it went well), but today both of us are feeling a bit yucky from colds and neither of us was in the mood to tackle it.

I had planned on continuing today despite my illness (isn't that what being a mom is all about??), but when she started feeling yucky and began crying and asking me to, "Just put on a diaper. No panties. No Pull-Up" I relented and switched back to diapers. She has not wanted to sit on the potty at all today. If we were both feeling well I wouldn't have let her have such a backslide, but I guess we'll try again in a few days.

Yesterday she always used the potty when I asked her to and even came to me once and said she needed to go. She was in panties for the evening (her idea, after spending the afternoon with Jamie who is also potty training right now) and stayed completely dry.

So far I can say that potty training a two year old is similar to potty training a puppy: take them to the potty (or yard) every 30 minutes and lavish praise when they go. Don't make a big deal out of accidents and watch for signs of needing to use the bathroom more closely next time. How is it different? Sebastian never yelled, "NO NO NO" at me when I told him we were going to go potty, never threw himself on the ground crying and kicking, and never wanted a sticker when he was done :) I will also say that Sebastian was house-broken in less than a week, and he was only 9 weeks old at the time, so I think it is safe to say that the puppy was easier!

Cute Pictures, Courtesy of Steve

2009-04-17T14:15:00.002-06:00

Our neighbor, Steve (Daddy of Ellie's best buddy, Jamison) has an awesome new digital SLR camera and he snapped these pictures of Ellie a couple of days ago. Thanks, Steve! They turned out awesome!

Easter Weekend

2009-04-17T14:02:00.005-06:00

Here are some pictures of the Easter egg hunt that we took Ellie to, as well as a couple of pictures from Easter morning.

Ellie really enjoyed the egg hunt, once she figured out what it was all about. Here are pictures, in reverse order:

No more candy to find - sad girl.

Waiting in the cold for the hunt to start.

Easter morning, after she found the basket the Easter Bunny left for her. She was a very excited girl and kept saying, "The Easter Bunny left presents just for me!"

Easter dress. She had to wear a turtle neck and long pants under it because of the very cold weather.

Look at the treats the Easter Bunny left me!

Coloring Eggs

2009-04-10T16:02:00.004-06:00

Last weekend Tim, Ellie, and I colored eggs. We didn't color eggs last year, so this was Ellie's first experience with egg coloring. She had a blast and really enjoyed watching the transformation. She was also really interested in the egg boiling process. I think Ellie's hands are finally dye-free as of a couple of days ago; they were fairly red, purple, blue, orange, and yellow for awhile!

Tomorrow we are hoping to go to a local Easter egg hunt. We tried to go last weekend, but it was either canceled because of the snow or I read the date wrong. Ellie was pretty disappointed that she didn't get to see the Easter bunny and "hold him in my's arms and pat him." She may be still disappointed tomorrow when she does actually see him - and he is just some random guy dressed up in a suit and not a real rabbit!

I have given up trying to figure out the order in which Blogger decides to insert my pictures, so these are ridiculously out of order, but you get the idea.

Spring Fun!

2009-03-27T16:10:00.008-06:00

We've been having some fantastic springtime fun lately, with temperatures in the 70's! It came as a complete shock to us when we got a foot (plus some) of snow yesterday. The nice thing about spring snow is that it melts quickly and is fun to play in since the temperatures climb right back up again! I haven't gotten any pictures of the snow, but here are some pictures of the weekend or two before.

Ellie started speech therapy and her stutter is really improving. We are very hopeful that it will pass quickly with all the support that we have lined up for her.

Some pictures of Ellie taken while Tim and I prepared the garden. Ellie "planted" some rocks.

These pictures were taken when I was attempting to photograph my new line of bibs and burp cloths. (They have been selling like hotcakes at the store in town!) Anyway, Ellie decided to help out!

Some Fun

2009-02-27T14:21:00.004-07:00

A couple of weekends ago we went and played at a nearby park. Ellie loves to throw rocks in the creek and could do it for hours on end if we let her!

It was hard to pass up taking a picture of Ellie with this Mastiff; it isn't everyday you find a dog that is *this* much bigger than you! (As you can clearly see, Ellie has absolutely no fear of dogs whatsoever!)

Playing in a "dinosaur egg" sculpture at the park:

Throwing rocks:

On the stuttering front things are okay in some ways, worse in others. Overall, the amount of stuttering has dropped from being 50% or more of her speech, to being only 10% or so. On the surface this is good; however, the drop has been accompanied by an increase in her secondary behaviors. She blinks hard, clears her throat, holds her breath, and restarts her sentences in order to get through a tough word. Her speech is better in the morning and when she is calm than in the evening or when she feels rushed. We are seeing Dr. R tomorrow at the local university to have her evaluated and possibly referred for speech therapy. We are very interested to hear what he has to say.

We'll keep you posted!

One More Thing

2009-02-20T16:43:00.002-07:00

After writing the post below, the phone rang and I spoke with "Dr. R." (Sorry, but I'm not going to use his real name, as he is very prominent in the country, and I still am not ready to give up our location in the "real" world!) He is the leading researcher at a university near us. He gave us a realistic view on Ellie's prognosis (75% chance of a full recovery before age 6) and also agreed to see her. Yay! I was ecstatic that someone was finally ready to give us a full evaluation. Based on the information I gave him on the phone, he agrees that she should probably start therapy ASAP for the best results.

We won't know exactly when her appointment is until Monday, but I am glad to go into the weekend knowing that we'll get some solid answers soon! (Even if we do have to pay out-of-pocket for those answers...)

Hanging In

2009-02-20T13:20:00.002-07:00

Ellie's stutter has worsened in the last week. She is holding her breath when she can't get a word out and then the word kind of "explodes" out of her. She also has started clearing her throat when she is stuck. This seems to help her get past the hard word. She had one episode last weekend where she stuttered so hard that she started crying. I was so glad Tim was here when it happened - I had to excuse myself quickly and go sob in our bedroom. I hate seeing her struggle like that. Overall, though, she is still her happy self :)

We had a screening with the school district today. They said that Ellie's secondary behaviors (the blinking, throat clearing, breath holding) are "very concerning" to them, but they won't refer her for services because of her age. They said they have never seen those behaviors in a child so young and aren't set up to begin treatment at this age. Their recommendations are for us to seek private therapy for now and begin building a case as to why Ellie should qualify for services. We are supposed to video her, log the progression of her stuttering, and basically convince them that Ellie needs help. I left feeling very frustrated. Basically they said, "Yes your kid needs help. Yes we are concerned and you should be too. But no, we are not going to help you."

The odds are still on our side. I have put in more phone calls today. We happen to live 15 minutes from a university with a large stuttering research center, as well as 5 minutes away from a leading practitioner.

I just wish people would quit telling us that Ellie is too young to be treated. The reasoning behind what they are saying is that kids her age aren't "true" stutterers because their language is still developing. When they stop and listen to her, though, they are all speechless and can't believe she has developed so many secondary conditions at her age. They just say that they don't know what to do about it, other than for us to wait. But the research says that if we wait, we jeopardize her recovery chances.

Sorry to vent with such a negative update, but I am feeling so down about the whole thing right now. All parents want the best for their children and don't want to see them suffer. Ellie overall is still very happy, but she is very aware of what is going on and gets very frustrated. I hate watching her work so hard to say things that 3 weeks ago came out so easily.

Struggling

2009-02-13T13:51:00.002-07:00

It has been kind of a tough week. I debated long and hard about blogging about it. Ellie received a diagnosis on Tuesday that I am not sure is really mine to talk about. If it clears up quickly, no big deal; but if it lingers into adolescence, then it is her choice what she wants out there.

I initially imagined a vague blog post just to ask for your thoughts and prayers. (See, now it is starting to sound like something much bigger than it really is...) But, I decided that this is something Ellie is dealing with right now, so I might as well document it on her blog. If the problem lingers I may reassess.

On to the diagnosis. When we got back from our trip to Idaho last week we began noticing that Ellie had started repeating phrases at the beginning of a sentence. Sort of like revving up, if you will. On the 4th, at her well-child check-up I talked to the doctor about it. I was assured that it was completely developmentally normal - especially given that Ellie talks in 7-9 word sentences. By last weekend her speech had deteriorated to the point that she was repeating single words and initial syllables at the beginning of a sentence. This was becoming more than 50% of her speech. She would turn red in the face and tense her entire body when she would try to talk. She also developed a hard blink to try and get past the hard word. I took her back to the doctor on the 10th and she was diagnosed as having a stutter.

Since then I have spent countless hours researching what our next steps should be. I spoke with a nationally-known specialist in the field of stuttering. Amazingly, her clinic is 5 miles from our house! I am meeting with another speech therapist this afternoon and Ellie has an appointment next week to begin the screening process to find out if she qualifies for (free!) therapy through the school district.

All-in-all, the odds of a full recovery are on Ellie's side. Because of her age, and the fact that she is a girl (boys have a harder time with language development), she has an 85% chance of spontaneous recovery within the next 6-12 months. That seems like an eternity to us.

The wonderful specialist I spoke with this week (Mary) has given us "assignments" to do at home and ways to modify Ellie's environment to give her the best chance of recovering on her own. We will be in contact with her weekly until we see a change (positive or negative) in Ellie's speech. If she takes a downward turn, or hasn't shown improvement within the next 6 months, we will start private therapy with Mary. We also have the school district screening that will match Ellie with a speech therapist who will come to our house for therapy, if she qualifies.

While we have been taken totally by surprise at the sudden onset of her stutter, we remain thankful that this is the only thing that Ellie has ever had "wrong" with her. She definately notices her stutter and gets frustrated at times. Overall though, she is her same, happy self - which we are also very thankful about!

Those of you that are relatives reading this: Please let me know if there is *anyone* in the family you can think of that had (or has) a stutter. This is an important component to Ellie's "recovery." Stuttering often skips generations, so even if it is a great aunt or uncle, or a great-grandparent, let me know! If we find a genetic link, it will change the intensity of Ellie's speech therapy.

Look Who's Two!

2009-02-08T14:20:00.006-07:00

Here are pictures from Ellie's birthday. We had a party with my side of the family in Idaho just before her birthday (one more free airline ticket before they start charging us!). The other pictures were taken when she was opening presents from Grandma Cheryl and Grandpa Bob on her actual birthday at home.

Blogger has (once again) changed the order the pictures upload in. Just when I thought I had it figured out... So sorry, they are in a bit of a random order!

Getting Caught Up

2009-02-06T08:37:00.003-07:00

We just got back from Boise to celebrate Ellie's 2nd birthday. I was given more than a subtle hint by Aunt Jan that she wants the blog updated - so this one is for you!

Things have been busy here. I usually use Ellie's nap time to update the blog, but I have been working like crazy on my sewing business during this time lately. I have a new website that will be open for business soon and I have expanded my line of products. I'll let you know when it is all ready so you can visit!

Ellie has been changing so much! She is very much a toddler and not a baby. I'll give you the "two-year-old" update when I get her birthday pictures up this weekend.

Meanwhile, here are pictures from Christmas. (Blogger uploaded them in a very strange order...)

Reading a new Christmas book from Aunt Ruth.

Playing at Grandma and Grandpa P's house the day after Christmas.

Family shot at Grandma and Grandpa P's house.
Grandma and Grandpa P's house. It is so beautiful, hard to believe Tim's dad built it himself!
View from their house.
Grandma Cheryl and Grandpa Bob's house on Christmas Eve.
Reading with Grandpa Bob Christmas afternoon.
Playing with Grandma Cheryl.
Opening presents. Wearing the hat her cousin Eddie made her and trying to put on pants from Grandma and Grandpa B.
Playing with her new gifts - stroller from Grandma Cheryl and Grandpa Bob, bear from Jordan and Josh, and hat from Eddie.

$400 and Counting

2008-12-30T09:03:00.002-07:00

Here is our patient post-op. He's not feeling so hot in this shot. He seems to be better this morning than he was yesterday morning. Which is good, since we dropped another $200 on him yesterday!

The injured foot. Be glad I have spared you the gore and chosen not to show a picture of it unwrapped! It is not for the faint-of-heart. If you want the gory details, keep reading, otherwise just skip to the picture! (For those of you who are curious about such medical things: The injury basically sliced the large section of his paw a third of the way across. The laceration is about two inches long and an 1 1/2 inches deep. It goes completely through the pad and reveals the tendons beneath it. Pretty yucky!)

Stitches and Super-Glue

2008-12-29T08:26:00.002-07:00

That is what is holding Kip's poor little paw together right now. And a large amount of bandaging. He isn't too happy right now, but the good news is that everything should heal up.

I will say that one nice thing about a small town, is that the cost of living is way lower than it is at home - which means much lower emergency vet bills. I think we paid the same amount we would have for a regular visit to our vet at home.

Kip has managed to get the wrapping off a couple of times, and the wound looks pretty nasty. I am going to try and get him in to see our vet this morning and make sure everything is looking okay.

When It Rains, It Pours

2008-12-27T19:45:00.002-07:00

Well, we had been having a great Christmas spent with Tim's family. But things have headed downhill...

Ellie swallowed a poisonous berry on Christmas afternoon. Tim called poison control (I was taking a nap) and found out that she would most likely be fine; just keep an eye on her.
Found out that the key we had made to leave with Hailey didn't work, so Moxie has been sans extra food and water.
Ellie got her fingers shut hard in the door this evening. We ended up in the ER. No broken bones, just bruising and soreness.
Tim and his step-dad are currently at the Veterinary Hospital with Kip, who managed to splice the pad of his foot to the tendon while we were at the ER with Ellie. Don't know the outcome of this one yet, stay tuned. (One outcome I am sure of: $$$ down the drain...)

A very merry Christmas indeed....

Mommy, No!

2008-12-19T12:19:00.002-07:00

Ellie's favorite thing to say these days is, "No Mommy, no!" At least she is cute.

Yes, I know...

2008-12-10T12:45:00.003-07:00

I can't really call myself a blogger if I never blog. But you see, it has been very busy around here. I've been busy with blanket selling and such, Tim has been putting in time on the weekends to make a big deadline at work, and then there is Ellie. Ellie never stops (not that we'd want her to ;). I kept telling myself that I would blog tomorrow, but tomorrow kept coming and no blogging occurred. Sorry about that. I will do better. I promise.

In the meantime, here are a couple of pictures:

Halloween 2008

2008-11-02T07:41:00.003-07:00

Ellie had a blast on Halloween, even if she was a little scared of the bigger kids and their often gross costumes. At the first few houses she tried to go inside when they answered the door (I mean, what else are you supposed to do after you knock on someone's door?) but then she realized that she was to stay outside and hold up her bucket. Slight political commentary: She got double candy at one house for yelling "Obama!"

As promised, here are the pictures.

The "alley kids" - our neighborhood crew keeps growing!

Ellie and Berlin, I mean Hannah Montana.

She's off!

Growing Up

2008-10-31T13:43:00.003-06:00

I'm not quite sure when it happened, but we are no longer "Mama" and "Dada" to Ellie. We are now "my Mommy" and "my Daddy." Yesterday Ellie even spent the entire afternoon calling me just "Mom." Time goes by, doesn't it?

I'll get Ellie's 20/21 month update done this weekend, but I'm sure I won't remember everything that has changed. Like the fact that she now uses 4-5 word sentences. And plurals. And possessives. And the past tense when she talks.

As a walk down memory lane, here is Ellie last Halloween. This year she is going to be a clown (the same costume that my mom made for me 27 years ago). I'll get this year's pics up this weekend also.

Will Get Caught Up... Someday

2008-10-13T20:36:00.003-06:00

Well, we are all sickos around here. Ellie and I are battling our second colds of the season. (Aside: Does it really count as my second cold if I never fully got rid of the first one???)

Tim is down with some kind of food poisoning. Or at least I hope it is food poisoning. The thoughts of the baby or the mama going through what he is dealing with is quite frightening to me... so we'll just keep hoping it is nothing contagious.

Those are the reasons that the blog is just not that spiffy right now. We are not feeling so spiffy ourselves. Once things get back on an even keel I will post Ellie's 20 month update. It might end up being a combined 20/21 months update depending on how long it takes me...

"Photo Shoot"

2008-10-06T09:11:00.002-06:00

I needed a few publicity photos for a local shop that is selling my Lovieroos, so we had a "photo shoot." I put it in quotes because neither Tim nor I have enough photography skills to pull off a real photo shoot; but, between the two of us, I think we did pretty well. I composed the shots and Tim operated the camera. Not too bad, if you ask me!

(You'd never know we were in the middle of a subdivision, thanks to our neighbors insanely tall native grass plants.)

This is the shot I went with for the shop. Ellie is holding her Lovieroo just right, waving to the camera, and I am actually smiling my natural, un-posed smile (tongue between the teeth and all...).

Check It Out

2008-10-03T12:23:00.002-06:00

My friend, Liz, is hosting an awesome give-away on her blog, The Tip Spot. She has three great prizes, including a custom-made Lovieroo of your very own! Be sure to stop by and enter the contest!

Liz and her sister, Christy, run The Tip Spot and it is an amazing source of money-saving, kid-raising, Eco-friendly ideas.

Trip Pictures - Finally!

2008-09-30T08:27:00.005-06:00

Okay, so I am more than a little bit slow... It seems like all of my free time (ha! what free time?) has been spent working on my Lovieroo business stuff. Anyway, here are the pictures from our trip a couple of weeks ago. Enjoy!

Ellie feeding the geese at a park near Grandma and Grandpa W's house.

Petting the horse near their house.

On a walk.

Came across this tarantula on the way back down the hill.

Ellie, Daddy and Grandpa P (with his awesome house in the background).

Grandpa Bob and Grandma Cheryl with Ellie.

Grandpa Bob's pond entertained Ellie for hours!

Kissing the rabbit statue.

We rented this yellow house to stay in for three nights. It was fantastic!

On a hike.

Back in the town, Ellie found a cat to terrorize.

Our last day was rainy, but it made for an amazing double rainbow!

Trying to Get Caught Up

2008-09-16T09:09:00.002-06:00

We are back from vacation! It was awesome, but now I feel like I'm running a bit behind on everything.... I'll get pictures posted in the next day or two.

An exciting (and unexpected) thing came out of our trip: One of the shops in the little mountain/ski town where we stayed is going to start carrying my Lovieroo blankets! I was so excited. The owner placed an initial order of eight blankets, so I have been rushing to get them finished so they can be delivered by the end of this week. Once that order is out I will have a better sense of how long it takes from beginning to shipping, as I get ready to market Lovieroos across the state! Yay!

Nineteen Months Old

2008-09-04T12:24:00.003-06:00

Another month has gone by already. This month has absolutely flown by! We began it by visiting family in Idaho (just Ellie and I) and we are ending it by taking off on our first family vacation since Ellie was born! We are heading out in the morning to drive to see Tim's folks for a few days, and then we are off to a little resort town to spend a few nights, just the three of us. We are very excited!

How Ellie has changed in the past month:

Ellie is back to sleeping well, after a looong rough patch when we got back from Idaho. She isn't napping great, but I'll take the nighttime sleep over a nap any day!
Ellie feeds herself now. She will no longer let us spoon anything into her mouth. This is very messy, but also frees up Mommy and Daddy to feed themselves at meals!
Ellie has added cereal to the list of foods she requests at breakfast. She became really interested in Daddy's cereal and now she gets a little bowl to eat all for herself!
Ellie talks in two and three word phrases now, including the occasional sentence. Her favorite things to say are: "I jump," "I walk," "I want Daddy," and "I go outside."
She said her first complete sentence the day after she turned 18 months old. Tim says her actual first sentence doesn't need to be recorded for posterity (let's just say it had to do with her diaper), and so we'll go with her second: At the airport flying home from Idaho she told a little baby, "Baby don't cry." It was very cute.

Events of the past month:

Idaho trip
Visit to the fair.
Visit to a carnival.
Lots and lots of playing with friends, especially Jamison.

Jamison

2008-08-25T13:34:00.003-06:00

Hailey asked to see some of the pictures of Jamison I've taken lately; so here they are!

Ells and James chillin' at the carnival.

Blowing bubbles.

Okay, so this one isn't Jamie, but rather his sister, Berlin.

Hailey and Jamison.

A not-so-happy Jamie at the end of a long day.

Ding!

2008-08-19T14:19:00.003-06:00

Ellie has been trying so hard to figure out how to ring the bell on Jamison's Radio Flyer tricycle. She finally did it!

Open For Business!

2008-08-18T14:28:00.002-06:00

My Etsy shop has officially "opened." Check it out at ellieroo.etsy.com. I only have a few items posted right now, but I have a lot of inventory that will be added as I get the time!

New Camera

2008-08-18T13:27:00.003-06:00

Tim and I (okay, really just me) got a new camera last week. It is a digital SLR and I've been saving up for one for awhile now. Over the past year I have had a real desire to go back to my old SLR days of high school photography and yearbook. The only catch is that I have forgotten all the F-stop and aperture setting information... I guess I have some (re)learning to do! For now though, the automatic mode is making me look like a better photographer than I really am!

Tim took this series of photos of Ellie wearing his "dasses."

A happy girl playing on Jamie and Berlin's slide (thanks for sharing!)

Eighteen Months Old

2008-08-11T12:39:00.002-06:00

Ellie and I spent the last week in Idaho, so this monthly update is a week late. We had a great time and I will post some pictures from that trip shortly.

Ellie is constantly making us crack up laughing and she is so much fun to parent right now. (Aside from the occasional temper tantrum...)

How Ellie has changed in the past month:

Ellie has added to her list of "What does the animal say?" responses. She will now moo like a cow, roar like a lion, say "ooo, ooo, ooo" for a monkey, meow like a cat, and woof like a dog.
She likes to tell us (and the animals) to "moose" which is her word for "move." She enjoys telling us where to go and pushing or pulling us along by our shorts if we don't move fast enough.
Ellie sleeps through the night about 50% of the time now. The other nights typically only have one or two wakings.
Ellie dropped to one nap. She sleeps for about two hours from 1pm to 3pm.
She is getting really good at feeding herself. She doesn't like us to feed her from a spoon anymore; she wants to do it herself.
Ellie wants to do everything her way, without help. She often gets frustrated because she can't do it herself, but if we try to help it usually ends with her throwing herself on the ground in a tantrum.
Continuing to talk up a storm. She puts two words together now and has figured out that if someone is far away you have to YELL for them to hear you.

Events of the past month:

Lots of trips to the pool, including the time Ellie decided to jump into the pool with no one there to catch her...
Trip to Idaho
Two trips to the zoo

The Zoo

2008-07-29T13:36:00.005-06:00

Here are a few pictures from our recent trip to the zoo with our friends Dan and Becca and their daughter, Eleora. Eleora is 3 1/2 and Ellie adored her!

Ellie chasing the geese - getting the zoo trip off to a good start!

Ellie and Eleora holding hands. Ellie wanted to hold Eleora's hand the entire time. Eleora wasn't too sure about that, but she was a good sport!

Walking to the giraffes and then looking at them together.

Riding in the wagon together.

Becca, Dan, Eleora, Ellie, and Tim.

Ellie was fixated on this water bottle that Dan and Becca were kind enough to share with Ellie.

Eleora holding a parakeet with Dan.

Fun For Mama

2008-07-28T14:16:00.004-06:00

Saturday afternoon and evening I was able to take a few hours for myself and get out with some friends. Tim was home with Ellie from nap time to bath time by himself. He did a great job (and appreciates even more what it is like to be an at-home Mama)!

My neighbors Hailey, Jenn, Rhea, and I, along with four other ladies went rafting. We had an amazing time and it was so much fun for all of us wives/moms to get out for a bit.

I feel so lucky to have such amazing neighbors, whom I count among my best friends. You gals rock!

Post rafting pics. We were split up in two rafts. The guide in front was ours (Rhea, Hailey, and I) and the one in back was Jenn's and the other ladies' guide. No, the dog didn't raft (but if you know me at all you would know that I wouldn't have complained if he had).

The First Fifty

2008-07-24T12:56:00.002-06:00

Ellie will imitate any word that we say now (not sure if that is a good thing...), but she also has a lot of words that she uses appropriately without prompting. I've been keeping a running record of her "everyday" words for her baby book. Yesterday she officially hit the fifty word mark. So, here they are, in the order of acquisition:

Mama
Dada
uh-oh
dog
rock
ball
hi
eye
wow!
whoa!
that
all done
Ellie
out dogs
upstairs
hot
rub, rub, rub (when washing hands)
hello
hat
sock
wa-wa (water)
owboo (owie + booboo = owboo)
bye-bye
nose
no
yes
go
bike
mo-mo (motorcycle)
well
I know (When we tell her what something is, this is her response!)
hi Dada!
juice
pool
nurse (as in breastfeeding)
hush (as in be quiet dogs!)
please
trash
mess
close
shoes
step
paci/pass (pacifier)
lovoo (lovie blanket)
yuck
up
ice
box
boobs (as in mine...)
bath tub

And then, here are the new ones since yesterday:

baby/babies
home
wash
mush (move)
Mox (Moxie)
Bast (Sebastian)

For those of you in Idaho, we are heading your way on the 4th. Grandma and Grandpa B. may want to be ready with earplugs!

Fearless

2008-07-21T13:43:00.010-06:00

Fearlessness is the character trait that landed Ellie (ever so briefly) at the bottom of the swimming pool on Friday. Ellie and I were playing in the shallow part of the pool when Ellie decided to get out. She started walking towards our towel, to get a new toy I assumed. At the last second she changed course and made a bee-line for the deep end of the pool. I immediately began "running" through the water to get to the pool edge before her, but failed. I saw she would get there before me, so I yelled for her to stop.

She looked at me, smiled, crouched down, yelled, "JUMP" and flew off the edge and sunk.

I was only about five feet away by that time and was able to scoop her off the bottom quickly, but those were the longest few seconds of my life. Ellie didn't seem fazed at all. The lifeguard arrived just as I pulled her out. He just shook his head and said he couldn't believe that she jumped. He saw her going toward the edge, saw me heading that way, and figured she'd wait for me.

Wait for me? Not my daughter....

Here are some pictures of a less eventful trip to the pool with our neighbors.

Ashlyn in the background.

All I can say is that I can predict Ellie and Jamison getting into trouble together in the future... Look at that smile! He's going to be a heart breaker for sure!

Lesson Learned

2008-07-19T15:17:00.002-06:00

Don't take clear plastic Tupperware containers to the pool.

Sure, they are great for your toddler to play with in the shallow end; but when an eight-year-old takes them to the deep end and sinks them, they are really hard to find again.

Could It Be...

2008-07-17T13:03:00.002-06:00

...that Ellie has slept through the night four nights in a row???

...that there is a light at the end of the tunnel???

...that my sanity is returning???

Seventeen Months Old

2008-07-07T08:33:00.005-06:00

The word to sum up this month: BUSY! As a family we have been busy outside enjoying the summer, and Ellie is always busy playing or making up "jobs" to do.

How Ellie has changed over the past month:

Ellie loves putting on shoes. Her shoes, our shoes, your shoes - she makes no distinction.
She does a great job picking up. She always tries to put away all of her toys before we leave the room for another activity. Who did she get that from?!?
Along with the picking up, she is constantly on the look out for "tash" so she can put it in the trash can. She will come running up to us, with something microscopic pinched between her thumb and forefinger, screaming, "Tash, tash, tash" at the top of her lungs until we open the lid on the trash can so she can throw it away.
Ellie loves going to the pool. We had a rocky start with lots of tears, but after a trip or two just to "look" at the pool she finally got in. Yay!
Still two naps, but looking forward to dropping to one a day in the next few weeks.
Talking a mile a minute. She uses so many words now. She'll also imitate about any word/sound you say, even if she doesn't know what it means.
I'm sure there is so much more, but I can't think right now. What hasn't changed is Ellie's horrible sleep patterns, so I'm a tired, brain-dead Mama at the moment....

Events of the past month:

A couple of fun hikes. Ellie enjoyed getting out of the pack and "hiking" a little herself.
We took a short trip to see Grandma Cheryl and Grandpa Bob over the 4th of July.
First haircut.

Where Have We Been?

2008-06-26T10:23:00.007-06:00

Well, nowhere in fact. We've just been so busy around here that the blog has been neglected - and all of you, too, who have been waiting anxiously for new pictures.

Summer is in full swing and it seems Ellie and I spend most weekdays out and about. She has decided that swimming isn't so scary after all and has really begun to love the pool. We've been spending lots of time at city parks and playing with the neighbors, as well. Tim, Ellie, and I have gone hiking twice in the past month and Ellie really enjoys being in the mountains. This year she is able to "hike" a little after we stop for lunch and she has a lot of fun picking up rocks, sticks, pine cones, etc.

We took Ellie for her first haircut last Sunday. She didn't cry at all and actually seemed to enjoy it. After that we went to a local flower shop that was hosting a petting zoo. She had a blast petting all the animals - and even "pet" a little girl who was there. Tim and I (and the little girl) laughed about that!

So, without further ado, the pictures that prove we've been having tons of summer fun!

Sixteen Months Old

2008-06-06T09:05:00.004-06:00

If I were to be brutally honest I would have to admit that the last month has been one of the hardest since Ellie was just a tiny baby. Fantastic, but hard nonetheless. Ellie now has all of her first molars - which hasn't been an easy feat for her. I spent one night laying on her floor for an hour, after she had been crying for two and a half, thinking to myself, "Why on Earth am I letting a toddler control my sleep like this..." During the daytime hours Ellie is most often wonderfully delightful but has started throwing tantrums. She definitely likes getting her way, and is not at all happy when she doesn't. Oh, the days of passive babyhood are behind us!

How Ellie has changed over the past month:

Ups and downs with sleep. Hmmm... is that really a "change?" We had gotten to the point where Ellie was sleeping through the night about 40% of the time, and then nights of long periods of wailing returned. She would really prefer if we would just sit in her room all night...
Jabbering up a storm. Ellie says 30+ words now. She also says the two word phrase, "Out dogs" when we get ready to leave.
Ellie can make several animal sounds: uff, uff, uff (dog), roar (lion), and moo (cow). Interestingly enough (since we have a cat) she still does not say "cat" or "meow."
Ellie loves giving the dogs treats and knows which cabinet they are stored in. She will stand there and pull and pull on the knob trying to open it (it has a child-lock).
Climbing on everything! She has figured out how to climb on the coffee table, guest bed, dining room chairs, and something new every day!
Climbing up the playground steps and going down the slide all on her own. I'm not sure if Mama and Daddy are ready for this yet!
Ellie recognizes Tim's car when he pulls on to our street after work and yells, "Dada! Dada!"
Giving hugs and kisses. She blows Daddy a kiss goodnight every night when she and I settle in to nurse. She also hugs so tightly now, wrapping her arms around our necks!
Ellie will bring us books to read. She has always liked books, but now is really showing an interest in sitting in our laps and being read to. In the past she has been too busy moving to sit still long enough for a story.
Tantrums. Not Mama's favorite new "skill."

Events of the past month:

We moved Ellie out of the baby tub and into the real bathtub. I know, I know... this was long overdue. What can I say? We liked being able to conserve the water!
Now that summer is almost here we are back to hiking. This past weekend we went on the first hike since Ellie has been walking well and she got to wander around in the woods and loved it!

I'll get some new pics uploaded later. I've got some of our recent hike as well as some day-to-day ones.

Odds and Ends

2008-06-04T14:20:00.004-06:00

Ellie is 16 months old today. I'll post her monthly update tomorrow (and try to remember ALL the new things she has done this month).

Today is my mom's last day of work. She is retiring after 30+ years working for the State of Idaho. Congratulations Mom!!!

Also, I have decided to put my craftiness to work for me. I'm opening an Etsy shop in the next few weeks after I build up some inventory. Here is a sneak peek at a couple of things I've been working on:

"Lovieroos"

14"x14"

Minky on one side and satin on the other, with satin trim.

Lots of new colors and fun satin prints on order! I can't wait!

Stole this idea from another blogger and decided to make a go of it.

Hand-dyed and hand appliqued embroidery on onesies and tees.

Lots of fun embroidered designs (cars, guitars, flowers, you name it)!

Bold colors (no more plain white or pastels!)

I'll let you know when the store launches. If you want more info between now and then, send me an email at the address on the right-hand-side of the blog.

A Few Park Pictures

2008-05-23T14:36:00.001-06:00

These are just a couple of pictures from a recent visit to the neighborhood sandbox. Yes, I know that Ellie needs a haircut...

The Art of Negotiation

2008-05-19T13:47:00.002-06:00

It is amazing how quickly Ellie has moved from an "infant" into a "toddler." She understands almost all of what we say now and we find ourselves spelling certain words in front of her.

She has really started fighting going down for nap or bedtime. I have found that it is very helpful if I tell her everything that is going to happen, in order, before putting her in the crib. This typically goes something like this: "Mama is going to give you your milk, then you can have your paci, and then Mama is going to put you in your crib. No crying. You'll sleep there all night, but Mama will come if you need me. Night-night." Amazingly she hardly ever cries after we have that little "discussion."

Ellie is beginning to grasp the concept of doing one thing before we can do another. She will stand at the door, crying to go outside. If I tell her, "We can go out later," she continues to cry. But, if I say, "First we have to put the laundry in the dryer and Mama has to put on shoes, then we can go out," she seems to get it. She runs to the laundry room to "help" with the laundry and will then bring me my shoes. After that she runs to the door - no use trying to distract her at that point - she remembers that all the other things on the list have been done!

Tall, Skinny Beanpole

2008-05-12T13:49:00.002-06:00

We just got back from Ellie's 15 month checkup. The doctor says she looks great and was impressed with the number of words she says (though she wouldn't say any of them to him) and also by her receptive language skills. I said to Ellie, "Will you give Dr. Cohen your sock?" and she picked it up off of the floor and handed it to him. It's the simple things that make a mama proud!

Here are her latest stats:

31 inches tall (70%) - a huge jump from being in the 20% at 12 months!
19lbs, 2.5 oz (5%) - technically she should still be facing backwards in the car seat...
45% for head circumference

So, she's getting tall and skinny. If it lasts, it will serve her well in life!

Pink Eye, Stink Eye

2008-05-11T09:36:00.003-06:00

Things have been pretty yucky around here, and I have definitely gotten the worst of it. I went to the ophthalmologist on Thursday thinking I might have pink eye in my right eye. Turns out that my right eye was inflamed from an allergic reaction, but lo and behold, I did have pink eye in my feeling-fine left eye!

Thursday night I came down with some kind of stomach and intestinal thing (I'll spare you the details) and was up all night. I spent most of Friday lying in bed while Tim chased after the little one. Saturday was more of the same, although I finally had enough strength back to be of some use. Tim had some great quality time with Ellie, though he did comment that he has no idea how I get anything done in the house during the day. Ellie definitely kept him on his toes!

On a brighter note: Ellie slept through the night three times last week! That is a new record.

Here's to a week of continued nighttime sleep and no more illness!

Fifteen Months Old

2008-05-05T13:06:00.004-06:00

Our baby is another month older, and boy does it show! Yes, she really does look as old as this picture makes her look:

How Ellie has changed in the past month:

Ellie seems to be shifting back to sleeping better, now that three of her four first molars are through.
Still taking two naps, though I expect her to drop to one by the end of the month.
Ellie has 11 teeth now, four front teeth (top and bottom) as well as both upper first molars and one lower first molar (her right one).
Vocabulary explosion!!!! Last month Ellie could only say a small handful of words, but this is her list now: Mama, Dada, Papa, dog, bird, ball, rock, wow!, whoa!, no, night-night, all done, uh-oh, eye, hi, and belt. She is literally adding a new word every day and it is truly amazing to see!
She signs/motions: up, all done, drink, more, waves hi and bye, points with one or both pointer fingers, motions "come here" at objects she wants.
Ellie drags us around by the hand or pant leg to get us where she wants us to go.
She can walk very long distances, like all the way to the park (a couple of blocks) and from there across the street to the nearby elementary school (another couple of blocks).
Ellie loves to give kisses. She reaches for our hands, arms, legs, whatever and pulls them to her mouth and says, "mmwaa." But watch out, if she is feeling feisty she will bite - which we strongly discourage.
Temper tantrums have started. I'm talking "throw yourself on the floor and scream like the world is coming to an end" kind of tantrums.
Ellie points out every single dog she sees driving in the car, riding in the stroller, playing outside, or looking out the window. This is one of her favorite past times (seriously...).

Events of the past month:

Ellie and Mama went to Idaho.
Ellie went to her first birthday parties, including Ashlyn's "princess party" where all the little girls dressed up!

Helping Mama unpack.

All dressed up for the princess party!

Playing outside.

We go to the doctor next week for her 15 month checkup and shots. I'll let you know the stats of our featherweight when we get them!

Idaho Trip Pictures

2008-04-30T14:05:00.004-06:00

Blogger is finally cooperating, so here are the promised pictures from our recent Idaho trip. We did so many things while we were there, so be warned this is a picture-laden post.

I realized as I looked through the pictures that I didn't manage to get any pictures of Ellie with my sister or her cousins. Did you get any, Brig?

My dad has this new motion-detecting camera mounted in the driveway, so Ellie and I thought we'd surprise him with this shot! (No, we were not out there late at night and it wasn't May, like the time/date stamp says...)

Grandma B. and I took Ellie on a walk. She really wanted to push her own stroller.

On our way back up the hill.

Giving Grandma and Grandpa's cat, Cooper loves. Cooper is my old cat from my teenage years and it is fun to see her when we visit Idaho.

Petting the dogs, Nick and Chance, with Grandma.

We went to a fantastic park while we were there. I used to play here as a kid, but they didn't have this fantastic playground then. It was very warm that day and the park was PACKED!

With Great Aunt Linda at the park.

Sliding.

More sliding. Have I mentioned before that Ellie LOVES to slide?

With Great Aunt Ruth at the park.

Here comes the meltdown. "PLEASE don't make us leave the park, Mommy!!!" Notice that tiny dog in the background above Ellie's head? She had just spent the last 5 minutes loving all over him.

Trying to get a good picture of Ellie and Grandpa. She kept bringing him rocks.

On our way to the airport we swung by Great Grandma E.'s for a visit.

Chasing ducks in the front yard.

On the swings in the backyard.

Phew! Now I feel like I've finally got the blog all caught up and can start posting about more current happenings!

Idaho Trip

2008-04-25T12:37:00.002-06:00

Well, I wanted to update the blog with some pictures from Idaho, but blogger isn't letting me upload pics right now....

Since we've been back Ellie has cut two molars and was finally back to sleeping well. This past Wednesday she came down with a fever and then yesterday broke out in a rash all over her body. We were a bit concerned it was a mild case of chicken pox (Ellie has only had one dose of the vaccination, so is not immune yet). The doctor said it might be hand, mouth, and foot disease, but her fever broke last night so it is unlikely.

Other than the fact that she is a bit polka-dotted, she is back to herself today.

I'll get new pictures up as soon as blogger lets me!

Pets

2008-04-09T13:12:00.008-06:00

Here are a few pictures of Ellie, most of them with her pets. She recently learned how to play fetch with Kip and he absolutely loves it!

Giving Kip "loves."

Getting "loves" back from Kip.

Basty stealing Ellie's bib.

Giving Moxie a little more love than she wanted...

Fourteen Months Old

2008-04-07T12:39:00.001-06:00

What a month this has been! Ellie is such a "toddler" now, and hardly a "baby" at all! Each month it gets harder and harder to remember all of the new things Ellie can do - there are so many of them!

How Ellie has changed in the past month:

Ellie still takes two naps a day, though it is getting harder and harder to get her down for them both. She is at that tricky age where one nap isn't enough, but (she thinks) two might be too many.
Sleeping well at night, except for when molars are pushing in.
Still eight teeth that are visible, although the two top first molars have broken through.
Favorite foods: Indian food (Ellie's absolute favorite), salmon, Goldfish crackers, any and all veggies or fruits.
Ellie can climb up her inside climber/slide and go down the slide all by herself!
She helps get dressed and undressed by pulling her shirt on/off and sticking her arms through the sleeves.
She knows so many words/directions. Here are just a few: Pat the dog/cat/Kip/Basty/Moxie; Give it to Mama/Daddy; Come here; Where's my nose, chin, cheeks, eyes, mouth, glasses; Go get your coat; Look out the window; Where's Jamison? (looks out front window at neighbor's house); Let's go outside (runs to front door).
She hasn't added many words to her spoken vocabulary, but she makes tons of new babbling sounds. She can now say Mama, Dada, ball (ba-ba), all done (ahh-unn), Ellie (ehh-yee), uh-oh.

Events of the past month:

First trip to the dentist. Everything looks great, though Ellie currently has a bit of a cross-bite.
Sliding on the big slide at the park all by herself!
Easter egg hunting.
Staying with Hailey and Jamison while Mama went to a doctor appointment.
Dance class!

Upcoming events:

Heading out to Idaho with Mama later this week.
Heading to Kansas the first weekend in May.

Molars

2008-04-01T12:54:00.002-06:00

Dear Ellie,

Molars are over-rated. It is fine with me if you decide not to have any. Tell them to quit moving in. Right now. You and I would both sleep so much better if they would go away. I can only imagine how much discomfort you must be in. Nighttime sleep has always been iffy with you, but this is bordering on ridiculous. You have always been a good napper, but not the past few days. Those blasted teeth are driving you crazy. Mommy and Daddy should have bought stock in the Motrin company weeks ago. I'm sure that you alone have made its value double.

So, if you don't want molars that is okay. I'm happy to serve you mushy food for the next 5, 10, or 15 years. Better yet, lets make it 17 years. Then you can wake up your college roommate and ask her for the Motrin.

Love,
Mama

Always Busy, Always Silly

2008-03-27T12:49:00.005-06:00

I found this climber/slide on craigslist for cheap, so we decided to get it for Ellie. Once the weather gets a little nicer I think we will move it outside; it takes up quite a bit of space in the living room.

Ellie didn't waste any time figuring out how to climb up and slide down. She absolutely loves it! I have been able to cook many dinners without "help" since we got it! Notice that Kip waits for her at the bottom of the slide...

Ellie has been really into trying to put hats on this last week. Here she kind of succeeded... the hat is on inside-out!

Another new skill - climbing onto the bed. She is very proud of herself.

For some reason Ellie decided to walk around holding the leg holes of her pants yesterday. She looks like she is ready to wade across a creek!

Buddies

2008-03-26T13:35:00.003-06:00

Ellie has had some wonderful times with friends this week. On Monday we went to a new park with Hailey, Berlin, and Jamison. Ellie enjoyed running around and swinging with Jamison.

What a silly giant frog!!!

Swinging with Jamison.

And then, yesterday, we broke out the sand and water tables. You may remember that I wanted to get Ellie one of these, but there was no way I was going to spend $100, so I decided to build one myself. Not too shabby, if I say so myself. I still need to get the blue/purple paint on it, but other than that it is done. It stood up to the neighbor kids quite well - a true test!

The aftermath. Ellie was covered head to toes (literally, thanks to Jamison :) with sand and water.

Some of the "alley kids."

Ellie and her buddy, Jamison.

I feel so lucky that we live in a neighborhood where Ellie has so many friends. Ellie especially loves when she gets to play with Jamison. We can see his front door and garage from our dining room window. I always know when their garage door goes up or someone walks out of the front door because Ellie starts pounding on the window, clapping, laughing, and saying, "Eeeee, eeeee!"

Easter Egg "Hunting"

2008-03-25T13:13:00.003-06:00

We had a little "Easter egg hunt" at home on Easter. Ellie had a little cloth "basket" (thank you, Target dollar bins) and a dozen bright plastic eggs. The eggs were empty, but Ellie didn't care. It seems that the Easter Bunny is smart enough to know that anything small enough to fit in an egg is small enough for a 1 year old to swallow.

A First Time For Everything

2008-03-17T12:29:00.002-06:00

Last week Ellie had two big "firsts."

On Wednesday I left Ellie with a "babysitter" for the first time - she went and played with Jamison and his mama Hailey (my awesome friend who, conveniently, also happens to be our neighbor). Ellie did fantastically - no tears - while I was at the dermatologist getting moles cut off... lots of fun. I think that leaving her for an hour and a half was much more difficult for me than it was for her. I was on edge the whole time, waiting for the cell phone to ring with wailing in the background... but Ellie never seemed to miss me. Sad for Mama, but good for Little One.

The next day Ellie went to the dentist for the first time. She had a fantastic time, looking at the fish tank, playing with toys, picking out a toothbrush, etc. However she didn't seem to understand why anyone would make her lay down on a table and look in her mouth, while a big light loomed above her. At that point the screaming began and it didn't stop until we were riding the elevator back down. The conversation with the dentist was a series of shouts over her tears:

"OH, SO EVERYTHING LOOKS GOOD?"
"NO, SHE DOESN'T SCREAM AT HOME WHEN WE BRUSH HER TEETH!"
"WE COME BACK IN SIX MONTHS?"
"GREAT, IT WAS NICE TO MEET YOU TOO!"

I was proud of her though. She did a really good job for her first visit in a strange place, with a strange man poking at her mouth. He pointed out that she is cutting no less than FOUR teeth on top right now (first molars on both sides and canines on both sides) and has both first molars on the bottom moving up. She has very tender gums...

How have your kiddos done at the dentist? How old were they when you took them for the first time?

Fun Times

2008-03-14T16:28:00.002-06:00

I try to "do" something with Ellie every day. We usually get out of the house in the mornings and go to the story time at the library, a playgroup, etc. Last week I signed Ellie up for a "dance" class (and I am using the word "dance" quite liberally). We have also been going to a large gym on Fridays that is filled with all kinds of toys (and kids). It is especially nice on the cold winter days. Here are some pictures of these recent adventures.

First, the dance class:

Catching bubbles on a feather.

Oops. Eating the ball.

"Dancing" with a scarf.

These next pictures are from the indoor play at the gymnasium:

Riding on a scooter-board.

Not too sure about the parachute.

"Look! I found a beanbag!"

More Zoo Pictures

2008-03-06T15:58:00.003-07:00

I thought I would post a few more zoo pictures. I love these shots of Ellie and Daddy looking at the Rhino!

After the rhino Ellie spent some time walking in the bark and shaking the branches of the bushes. I took pictures while Tim monitored nearby to make sure she didn't poke her eye out.

Yesterday and today I took Ellie to a free trial of a dance class at a local dance studio. It is just for babies and toddlers (and parents) and is education-based, paired with music and movement. Ellie really enjoyed it; in fact she let out a big squeal when we walked into the room today and then ran over to where the musical instruments are stored and began to help herself to them. I decided to sign her up for the class, so the lucky girl will get to go nine more times! Yay!

Thirteen Months Old

2008-03-04T13:09:00.004-07:00

We have spent most of this month wishing Ellie would stay this age forever! She is such a joy to spend each day with - always discovering something new and trying out new skills. But, don't get me wrong, she is definitely a handful!

How Ellie has changed over the past month:

Running, or pretty darn close to it.
Throwing her food... not the best skill.
Pulling the cat's tail... again, not the best skill.
Spitting... once more, not the best skill.
Still sleeping fairly well at night; sometimes she wakes up a time or two, but usually gets back to sleep with minimal help from us.
Two naps still, though I think the morning one is gradually fading out. She typically goes down in the morning at 8:45am and sleeps for 45 minutes; then goes down in the afternoon at 12:45pm and sleeps for an hour or so.
Favorite foods: Tomatoes (this should sound familiar to my parents), cucumbers, blue berries, black beans, salmon, avocado, and turkey or grilled cheese sandwiches. She pretty much eats anything that we give her, though she definitely prefers things that are colorful (fruits and veggies).

Events of the last month:

First trip to the zoo - Ellie's favorite parts were the geese that ran around on pathways and the strange looking teenagers that she saw. Gee... we could have saved $20 and done that at home...
Final (hopefully) visit to the Children's Hospital. Ellie got the a-okay on her hips after another round of x-rays. The doctor wants us to keep an eye on her out-turned right foot, but as long as it doesn't become worse over the next year, then we'll be in the clear on that one too. Yay!!!

Upcoming Events

Flying to Idaho in April
Her first trip to Kansas to meet her Great-Grandma P. in May. This will be Ellie's first long car trip - we are already praying for a contended baby during the ride there and back!

And finally, a couple of pictures. The first one is Ellie looking at the rhino at the zoo. The second one is getting ready to go down the slide with Daddy at our neighborhood playground.

Nice Almost-Spring Hike

2008-02-28T16:51:00.005-07:00

What do you do when you get a brand new car? Take it on a dirt road, of course!

We took Ellie on a short hike last Sunday at a spot not too far from our house. We are pretty coy about where we live, but if you live nearby us you may recognize the formation of the hills and figure out where we went!

New Wheels

2008-02-26T09:13:00.005-07:00

So if you read the last post you may have caught that I had to get the Subaru washed on Friday. The reason was that we had someone coming to buy it on Saturday.

We bought the Subaru new almost 9 years ago and it is sad to see it go. We bought it one week after our wedding and drove it through the Canadian Rockies on our honeymoon. I drove the Subaru from Idaho to our new home nearly six years ago and drove it on my long commutes to school and student teaching. Tim has driven it to work for the past year and a half. It is the car that we brought Ellie home from the hospital in. There are so many memories all wrapped up in our little car.

But the time has come. We can't justify spending any more money on it at the repair shop. It is time for the Subaru to find a new home with someone who knows how to repair and maintain it. The guy who bought it is a Subaru repair technician who is going to fix it all up and give it to his sister. He assured us that it still has a long life ahead of it.

And with that we say goodbye to the Subaru... and hello to our new Honda CR-V!

Not Really About Ellie

2008-02-21T13:38:00.002-07:00

If you read this blog just for the Ellie updates, you may want to stop reading now because this post is mainly going to be a rant and has very little to do with Little One.

So today Ellie and I went to get the Subaru washed. It was about thirty minutes until Ellie's naptime, but I figured that would be plenty of time to hit the gas station and car wash a mile from our house. We get to the gas station and top off the tank so that we get the car wash discount. I buy the wash, get in the car, and noticed that the car wash isn't working. I have to have the car washed today (more on that later) and go inside to get my money back.

We drive to the next gas station car wash, which has a huge line. The car has to be washed today, so we get in the line. I didn't have a prepaid "wash code" because I didn't get gas there, but I figure I'll pay with a credit card when I get to the front of the line. We wait for TWENTY-FIVE minutes only to realize that they don't take credit cards. Okay, I'll pay with a twenty then. Nope, they only take $1, $5, and $10 bills. Uh-oh...

I get out of the car (Ellie by now is out of her car seat and crawling around on the floor) and practically beg the woman in the car behind me for change. Miraculously she has exactly enough spare bills to make the trade. Whew!

Back to the car, feed the bills into the machine... and it spits them back out. Try another, same result. I hit the "help" button. Nothing. Push it again, harder. Nothing. Eventually it becomes painfully obvious that I am simply holding up the line. Since I haven't actually purchased a car wash (despite my best efforts) I can't go into the car wash. That means that everyone behind me has to back up so that I can get out of line. I would have been embarrassed if it weren't for the toddler in my lap (I know... not a safe choice) and my seething anger.

I pull in front of the gas station and go in to buy a "wash code." I have the following exchange with the barely English speaking fellow behind the counter:

Me: Do you know that your bill acceptor doesn't work on the car wash?
Him: Yeah, it only takes quarters.
Me: It would have been nice to know that before I sat in line for twenty five minutes (with this now-screaming-toddler).
Him: We have a sign.
Me: Where? I didn't see a sign.
Him: It is on the bill acceptor machine.
Me: How am I supposed to see that when I am seven cars back in line?
Him: I don't know. Well, actually I think someone took the sign.
Me: None of this is helping me. Why don't you respect your customers' time by either fixing it or putting up a large sign...
Him: I'm sorry? (I guess...?)

And then I took my code, got back in line, tortured the baby by taking her through the car wash, which is apparently the scariest thing ever if you are one year old, and got home and put her down for nap 45 minutes late.

There, I feel at least a little better now.

Look At Me!

2008-02-20T13:10:00.003-07:00

I know I keep saying it, but Ellie is one busy little girl! She sure keeps us on our toes.

She loves carrying things around, especially "kitchen things" when I am making dinner. She really enjoys this big spoon:

The other night Ellie figured out how to pull the cat's tail; and boy, does she think it is funny! I let her do it long enough to try and get a picture, but mainly I got shots of her chasing the kitty:

Ellie riding on her push toy/ride on lion. She doesn't know how to move it on her own when she is riding, so we have to push her.

Trying to scoot on her own:

Cousins

2008-02-19T09:08:00.004-07:00

My sister just sent me a picture of my niece, Kieron, when she was Ellie's age (12 whole YEARS ago!!!).

Kieron, then...

Ellie now...

Apparently carrying objects around in your mouth runs in the family!

Busy Girl

2008-02-15T09:29:00.006-07:00

I hope you like pictures, because you are about to get an "Ellie overload."

Ellie is always on the move! She is into creating "work" for herself, like moving a pile of items from one room of the house to another

She also enjoys making messes. Here she discovered a box of bandaids and a "Costco-sized" box of q-tips.

Wearing a hat Grandma B. bought her at Art in the Park two years ago (before we knew if we were having a boy or a girl...)

"Here I come!"

Loving on Sebastian.

Taunting Kipling with a Curious George book. "Chase me, chase me!"

Playing with blocks.

We have been preparing some of Ellie's baby stuff to sell, like her infant seat (We have decided that Ellie is going to be an only child). While I was getting ready to take pictures of it Ellie filled it up with blocks.

Running (and yes, I mean running) around the house with granola bars in her hands and mouth.

Twelve Months Old

2008-02-07T08:57:00.000-07:00

Ellie has changed so much this month; I hope that I can capture it all in this post. This has also been the month of illness and separation anxiety. Most of our days are spent either following Ellie from room-to-room or with her plastered to our legs. She has, however, learned to entertain herself for long stretches of time - provided she can see us and we periodically burst into silly songs and make her laugh.

Ellie had her 12-month well-baby checkup yesterday. She got no less than five shots in her little legs and that pretty much ruined the rest of the day. Today her legs are tender, but she is in a fantastic mood. Here are her stats from yesterday: 17lbs, 9oz (7th percentile; being an early walker has burned off lots of calories and slowed down her weight gain); 27 3/4 inches long (20th percentile).

How Ellie has changed over the last month:

Talking: Ellie now says "Mama," "Papa," "Dada," an attempt at "Meow," and her new favorite word, "uh-oh!"
Teeth: Ellie has seven teeth fully in and an eighth just popping through.
Naps: Ellie takes two naps, one at 9:00am for an hour and one at 1:00pm for an hour and a half.
Nighttime: Ellie is (finally!) sleeping through the night almost every night. She goes to bed at 7:15pm and sleeps until 6:30am or so.
Her favorite food right now is peas. She would eat an entire can of them if we let her.
Ellie blows kisses and gives kisses (when she wants to!).
She can flush the toilet.
She figured out how to open cabinets (until Mama installed locks on all of them).

Events of the last month:

The month of sleeping through the night!
Lots of playtime with Jamison and another little neighbor, Ian.
First taste of chocolate!

Can I Have Some More?

2008-02-04T09:43:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Ellie's birthday (early) yesterday with Grandma and Grandpa P. Ellie wasn't sure what to think of her cupcake when we set it in front of her - in fact she tried to feed it to the dogs - but she was hooked after the first bite!

If this isn't an expression of pure "birthday cake bliss" I don't know what is!

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

2008-02-04T09:31:00.001-07:00

Dear Ellie,

Today you turn one. One entire year old. What a joy the last 12 months with you have been. Even all those evenings and nights of seemingly endless screaming (reflux is a painful thing!) have become a blur. Our lives have changed dramatically since you were born, and it has been amazing. Because of you everything has more meaning. We see things through your eyes, which makes the sky seem more blue, the grass seem greener and each sunrise more beautiful than the one before. You truly are a gift.

Mama and Daddy love you to the moon and back.

The Artist Formerly Known As Ellie

2008-02-01T13:38:00.000-07:00

First, a quick update on how everyone around here is feeling. Tim doesn't seem to be getting hit too hard and I'm definitely on the mend. Ellie is holding her own but still coughing a lot and is congested.

On to the fun stuff... Awhile back I bought Ellie these new crayons from Crayola. They are made for toddlers and are supposed to be easy for them to grip, without snapping the crayon in half.

Ellie thought that the little crayon sticking out of the top looked like a fancy pacifier and mainly spent her time sucking and chewing on it...

She did do some coloring though.

Almost-one-year-olds don't understand that the crayon part has to make contact with the paper in order to do any actual "coloring."

And then, in true artistic form, she ripped up her work and threw it on the ground:

The crayons, after much chewing (and the taking of one bite - note the green crayon isn't quite so pointy anymore).

Illness Update

2008-01-31T09:26:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we took Ellie to the doctor. She probably didn't really need to go, but I was tired of panicking at 7pm each night wondering if Ellie needed to see a doctor right then. Everything seems worse at night, when the doctor's office is closed, doesn't it? Anyway, we took her in and the doctor said she has bronchiolits and "possibly a mild case of RSV." We have to watch for wheezing, a high temperature, and rapid breathing; however, the doctor thinks she'll be better in 5 or 6 days - just in time for her 12 month shots. Fun.

Tim started feeling a little yucky last night and woke up with a sore throat this morning. I am hoping that he doesn't get hit as hard as I was.

I am slowly recovering. I hope to be back to 100% in the next few days. Today marks day 10 of this crud for me.

It looks like things are shaping up for Ellie to have a fantastic first birthday on Monday - her sick, Daddy sick, and Mama recovering. Woohoo...

Not Slowing Her Down Any

2008-01-29T13:17:00.000-07:00

Over the past year Ellie has been a pretty healthy baby... until recently. She has had two colds in two weeks, the second far worse than the first. I have also had the worst cold I've had in years, and now have bronchitis. Daddy has thankfully managed to escape it so far, and has been pulling "night duty" for a week now while Mama sleeps in a NyQuil haze.

Ellie has had a low-grade fever, cough, and a ridiculous runny nose. She doesn't seem to feel too bad, though. She actually likes to have the saline squirted up her nose and will pick up the bottle, hold it near her face, and make the "swooshing" sound the spray makes when the bottle is squeezed. She's a silly girl, but I'm not going to complain - one less battle when cleaning the boogers out of her nose is a good thing!

As you can see in the pictures, though she is sick, she is keeping herself (and us) as busy as ever!

Reading the newspaper, a.k.a. pulling Mama's recycling pile onto the floor.

You can see how red her little nose is in this shot. Poor sweetie...

"Helping" Mama unload the dryer; she pulls the clothes out faster than I can fold them.

"Helping" Mama unfold all the nicely folded clothes and throwing them onto the floor.

Oops! Mama caught me! Ellie pulled all the the toilet paper off of the roll...

I have a friend (Hi Melissa!) who has pictures of both her girls, Becca and Sophie, doing the same thing when they were Ellie's age.

Fun down to the last bit of tissue...

At Least It's Not a Real Baby...

2008-01-24T09:29:00.000-07:00

Ellie received a baby doll for Christmas from Grandma and Grandpa B. She loves it! Although, as the pictures show, how she displays her "love" for the baby is a bit unique.

Don't all babies belong in pianos? Why won't she fit?

Maybe if I try to dangle her in from this end...

Giving the baby "pat, pats" and "loves." Typically this involves licking the baby's face, but I didn't capture that on camera (yet... I think it would be a great picture to pull out and show her first boyfriend...)

Let's see what sound it makes when I bang the ball on the baby's head.

This picture brings back memories of a certain niece of ours (Kieron....) doing something very similar with a kitten (a real kitten) when Kieron was about a year and a half old. Only Kieron dangled poor Cooper by her tail.

A blurry, but darn cute, picture of Ellie with "bed hair" after nap time.

Miscellaneous Pictures

2008-01-18T08:34:00.000-07:00

Ellie was sick with a high fever at the end of last week. We went to the doctor last Thursday and he said that she had a slight cold (which we knew) but he wasn't sure why her fever was spiking to 103.6. They ran a test or two and they came back negative. Eventually the fever went away and she was feeling okay on Saturday and back to her normal self by Sunday. The cold has now passed as well and she is back to our happy, clappy girl! Yay!

Here are some random pictures from the last few weeks. I'll add some pictures from our Idaho Christmas trip when I get them from my parents. (We only took a few with our camera...)

Christmas morning with Daddy at Grandma and Grandpa B.'s house.

Presents from Grandma and Grandpa.

These next pictures are of Ellie playing with uncooked rice I found in the pantry that was quite old. Rather than throw it away I thought we'd have some fun with it. Rice is a fantastic "manipulative" for little ones to play with (as long as they don't eat it!). We used to have it in the sensory table at our preschool and kids love to feel it, scoop it, dig in it, etc. What's even better is that you can nuke it in the microwave for 30 seconds and kill all the germs! I'm hoping to get Ellie a sand and water table this summer. I know that she would have a great time with it!

Moxie was helping...

Yes, that is a giant drool coming out of her mouth. This was the day before she went to the doctor. After we returned from the doctor I disinfected all that rice!

Throwing rice.

Look What I Found!

2008-01-09T13:50:00.001-07:00

Leave her alone for 30 seconds and Ellie will make her own fun. Yes, those are feminine hygiene products. Hey, at least they are "sanitary!"

Advise?

2008-01-07T14:45:00.000-07:00

Around the time Ellie was born the American Academy of Pediatrics came out with a study that said giving your baby a pacifier at nap time and bedtime for the first 12 months reduced the risk of SIDS. So, my "pacifier-free baby" vision ended, and she got to suck away to her heart's content. (While she does use a pacifier for more than just sleep, we've managed to limit its use to the crib, car, and stroller.)

Here's my question: Now that we are approaching the 12 month mark and she no longer "needs" the pacifier to prevent SIDS, how do we get rid of it? Or do we even worry? Should we ween her off of it slowly, go the cold-turkey route, or just let her take her time and decide on her own?

Any words of wisdom out there?

Eleven Months Old

2008-01-05T09:22:00.001-07:00

Where does the time go? Next month we'll be celebrating Ellie's first birthday! So much has happened in the last month; I'll try to remember it all.

How Ellie has changed over the past month:

Walking! Ellie cruises all over the place. She is getting more confident each day. She has been walking only when we stand her up first, but yesterday she pulled herself up at the coffee table and then let go to walk by herself. She is also trying to figure out how to stand up from a crawling position without grabbing anything to help her up.
Teeth: Ellie started this month with just two teeth, and now has six! She has three on the top and three on the bottom. A fourth on top is about to pop through.
She can now not only turn lights off, but also can turn them on.
Ellie knows lots of words/sentences that we say now. When asked, she can point to our nose, chin, and cheeks. If we ask, "Where's Mama/Daddy?" she looks at the correct person. She also seems to know the dogs' names. I'm not sure if she knows which one is which, but she definitely knows that "Kip" and "Sebastian" mean the dogs. She will turn on/off the lights when asked. She "gives love" to us, the animals, and her toys - this involves burying her head in said object.
She knows how to pat the animals. This is a big improvement from pulling their hair/tails/ears. We can say, "Pat-pat Moxie/Kip/Basty" and she pats them. This is usually followed by her "giving love" to them.
No more nursing at night. This is less of a change in Ellie and more of a change in Mama, but it affects her all the same. Ellie had really began seeing nursing as "Mom's all-night buffet" and it was affecting all of our sleep. Now if she wakes in the night we go in and "shh shh" at her, pat her back a time or two, and then sit in a chair in her room until she goes to sleep. As I said in a previous post, I'll write more about this process when we are through the "sleep training."
Ellie is all but through with jarred baby food. She has become very picky about being spoon fed, and is not quite ready to spoon feed herself (though we try), so she mainly enjoys eating finger foods that she can pick up and feed herself. The exception is yogurt, which she really enjoys eating for breakfast.
Two naps still. She naps at roughly 9:ooam for about an hour and again at 1:00pm for about 1 1/2 hours.
Bedtime is getting closer to 7:15pm instead of 7:45pm.

Events of the past month:

First Christmas. We spent five days in Idaho and had a wonderful time with family. Santa filled Ellie's stocking (which Grandma B. made) and also brought her some LittlePeople ark animals. She really had fun ripping open her presents.
Ellie slept through the night twice.

New Year, New Skills

2008-01-02T14:26:00.000-07:00

Ellie has two new skills for the new year.

First, she slept through the night last night! She slept from bedtime at 7:30pm until she woke up for the day at 6:15am. This is the first time in her entire life that she has slept the entire night. Tim and I have been working hard on intensive "sleep training" with her. If our good fortune continues, I will post exactly what we did for all you other sleep-deprived Mamas (and Daddies) out there.

Second, check out what Ellie started doing the day after Christmas. (I know the clip is short, and the quality terrible. The problem with having a fancy HD Camcorder is that you have to have fancy software to put the videos on your computer - which we don't have. So this was taken on the "movie" option of our digital camera. It is short because Ellie was about to walk down the stairs and I had to stop her...)

Mealtime

2007-12-20T15:00:00.000-07:00

So two posts in one day, how lucky are you? I figured I'd better post the promised pictures of Ellie before we head out for Christmas. These pictures are from a week or so ago because the camera battery is dead and I can't take any new ones at the moment.

Ellie doesn't really enjoy eating from a spoon these days. She would rather we throw whatever we are feeding her down on her tray and let her feed herself. She is pretty good at getting the food into her mouth using her hands; however, depending on what's for dinner, it can be a messy undertaking. See for yourself:

When we blow on Ellie's food to cool it down she tries to "blow" too - all she actually accomplishes is a bit of snorting, but it is cute!

Enough with the pictures already, Ma!

Why So Long Without A Post?

2007-12-20T08:37:00.001-07:00

Because our little cherub wouldn't sleep. I don't mean that she was waking up frequently (though she did that, too) I mean that she wouldn't sleep. Tim and I spent several nights, and many hours, this week with a wailing baby in our arms - rocking, bouncing, walking, anything we could think of to get Ellieroo to sleep, to no avail. She also was skipping her naps. It was a perpetual cycle of no sleep. In his book, Dr. Weissbluth says, "Sleep begets sleep" and it is quite true. The worse she slept during the day, the worse she slept at night; the worse she slept at night, well you get the picture.

But, I am posting today. We had a breakthrough of sorts. Ellie slept better last night than she has in her entire 10 1/2 months! She slept from 7pm until 2am and then she just needed a pacifier (no getting out of the crib, and more importantly, no nursing back to sleep!). She did get up at 5:30 this morning, but I will take what I can get! Right now Ellie is blissfully napping.

What a difference a good night's sleep can make!

The promised pictures will be posted (today I hope) so check back!

All I Want For Christmas...

2007-12-10T10:17:00.000-07:00

...are my two front teeth, my two front teeth, my two front teeth.

Ellie got her Christmas wish this weekend and her top two front teeth finally popped through. The poor baby is cutting five teeth at once (four up top, one on the bottom) and her upper gum line has been a swollen and bruised mess. These two teeth were by far more painful for her than the bottom two were.

Now we're just waiting for the teeth on either side of the center ones, and then I think her mouth will finally get a break.

Not that she is a good sleeper to begin with, but I am looking forward to getting back to our "normal" wakings at night (and being done with the disturbed sleep patterns from teething).

I'll get some new pictures posted soon.

Elfed

2007-12-07T10:25:00.001-07:00

This will take awhile to load, but it is pretty funny. Make sure you have your speakers turned on.

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1202452213

Enjoy!

How 'Bout the Doggies, Then?

2007-12-06T09:40:00.000-07:00

Yesterday afternoon our neighbor, Denali knocked at the door. Denali is the most self-assured three year old I have ever met. She is quite a character. When I answered the door, she asked to play with Ellie. I told her that Ellie was about to take a nap, but maybe another day. She said, "That's okay. I play with your doggies instead." She is the cutest thing, and full of the dickens! I think I may see a little of Denali in Ellie...

Ten Months Old

2007-12-05T14:14:00.000-07:00

Ellie turned ten months old yesterday. This month her personality has really continued to emerge. She is so much fun these days! She is close to walking and loves to chase us around.

How Ellie has changed over the past month:

She can climb the stairs.
She walks all around the house (and up and down the alley) pushing a little "walker" toy.
She walks holding our hands, as well.
She points at things, and pokes at them too. Her favorite things to poke at are eyes, mouths (teeth in particular), and ears. She likes to turn our heads sideways so that she can stick her finger in our ear.
She can turn the lights off (if we are holding her up so she can reach the switch of course).
She has started noticing things in the sky like birds and planes.
She eats a lot of the foods we eat. We chop stuff up in little pieces and she feeds herself. Favorites are: fish of any kind, bananas, black beans, peas, noodles, scrambled egg yolk, and cheerios.
She doesn't care much for jarred baby food anymore. She especially does not like us to spoon feed her. This can make breakfast difficult since a large part of breakfast is yogurt and pureed fruit.

Events of the past month:

She outgrew her first pair of walking shoes.
Second pair of shoes. See Kai Run shoes are absolutely the best!
Visiting Santa for the first time.
Big girl car seat! She still faces backwards, but she now is in the car seat that will last her a long, long, time.
First flu shot. She gets the second dose this Friday.

Doing Our Part To Keep Santa Off Welfare

2007-12-03T09:13:00.000-07:00

We took Ellie to see Santa at a local mall this weekend. Times must really be tough in the North Pole this year because Tim had to empty out his wallet in order to purchase the picture of her in Santa's lap.

We expected there to be some kind of inflated cost associated with buying the pic, so we were smart and brought our own camera. The elves were smarter. You can only take a picture with your own camera if you agree to purchase their picture also. Additionally, moms and dads can only snap a shot from the sidelines - not exactly the greatest angle. As you stand in the long line a "sales-elf" comes up and shows you their picture packages and tells you the prices. While she waits for you to pick your jaw up off the floor, she suggests that you take out a second mortgage on your house to pay for them (okay, so she didn't say that, but it might have been a helpful suggestion).

We listened to how we could purchase this great package (one 8x10 sheet) consisting of one 5x7, one 3x5, and two wallets for only ...drum roll... $22.00!!! Four pictures of the same shot for $22.00?!? We also were given the option of buying a CD with the (single) image so we could print as many as we wanted. This cost a mere $25.00 and is the choice we made.

Sorry Ellie, that will be a deduction from your college account; at least you'll have a great shot of you and Santa.

Here are the pictures:

Daddy and Ellie walking to kill time while we waited.

Still walking... and waiting...

Here's the picture from "the sidelines." Ellie had just noticed their camera and was pointing at it.

And here is the shot we paid for. Notice Santa had to hold her left hand down. She wouldn't stop pointing at the camera.

Quick Pictures

2007-11-30T16:26:00.001-07:00

I know that there are a couple of people that check this blog on Friday evenings (Hi Grandma and Aunt Jan!) and I don't want to disappoint them, so here are a few pictures of Ellie from this past week:

Hanging out at our friends' house with their daughter, Emily.

"Reading" Stephen Colbert's book I Am America (And So Can You). This was Daddy's idea...

At the park, with Daddy. Too bad this shot turned out blurry.

With Mommy at the park. Daddy did a better job taking pictures. His did not turn out blurry!

Ellie loves this slide. We sit on one side and let her sit on the other, then we go down together (with Mommy or Daddy hanging on tight, of course.)