Wednesday, March 17, 2010

The Great Communicator

We think its official, Ellie has her first word. Drumroll please...duck. Pretty exciting huh? Well, for her, the sight of a rubber duck whether it is green, yellow, pink or orange, (we don't discriminate in our household) gets the biggest smile and her saying duck over and over.

However, although Nick and I may not fully understand her, she has developed a language all to herself. The other day apparently we had a coversation that lasted 10 minutes. It ended when I didn't react or say what she was expecting and she got angry with me. However she does communicate with a couple sign language signs. She knows milk/juice and uses that to ask for something to drink. And she has her own sign for duck. Not technically ASL, but if it works for her...
Ellie really does understand English though. She knows the following body parts: ear, head, nose, toes/feet and belly (we don't do that one in public as she will lift up her dress/shirt and show off her stomach). She also is fully aware how big she is (see photo below). She knows the names of her toys, ball, block, "baby", etc. She also follows our instructions such as, Ellie can you drink some more milk, or Ellie, please hand me the phone. Its really amazing to me how much she comprehends.

And now some photos of our rapidly growing, toddling, communicating little girl:

The photos above are from Ellie's birthday party with some family and friends. She was angry Nick wouldn't let her touch the flame. And then she was pretty sly about eating the frosting from her cake!

Grandparentals V visited last week (Happy 60th Birthday Mom!) and to celebrate we went to the all-chocolate-buffet brunch at a hotel in Boston. I am such a great mom, I shared my chocolate covered strawberries! See here for more info.

"Don't think about touching my baby!"
Most adorable sweater and hat courtesy of Grandma V's knitting talents.

"Mom, I found where you keep my favorite food...black beans" Weird kid.

"How big is Ellie?" "soooo big"

And our messy eater. yummmm...pasta with red sauce, black beans and asparagus!  (really, she LOVES black beans, she will pick them out and eat them first)

Friday, March 5, 2010

Ellie Walks!

She had been capable, but afraid of walking for more than 1-2 steps unsupported for a while (holding a hand, or a piece of furniture). However, this week, she overcame her fear and started walking all by herself. She's a little wobbly and still a little tentative, but she's walking! At daycare I found her chasing a classmate who had a toy she wanted to play with. At home she likes to follow Mallie.

This video is from the first day she started walking. Enjoy!



We also had her 1 year well visit. The doctor was very impressed with her capacity to understand and her curiousity. She is in the 10% percentile for height, and the 50% for weight (good to know she's related to me and Nick!). Ellie also had her first dentist appointment this week, for a cleaning of her two teeth. That was exciting, she screamed the whole time!

Friday, February 19, 2010

Happy Birthday Ellen!!


For breakfast Ellie had some chcolate cake (her first taste of chocolate!). She went to daycare and shared some cupcakes with her classmates and teachers at lunch. She came home and after dinner got to open some presents!

Happy Birthday Ellen! 
We love you!!

Sunday, February 14, 2010

A full decade...Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day! It occurred to us this week, that this Valentine's Day will mark the 10th one Nick and I have spent together! Who knew that when we celebrated Valentine's Day in 2000 by walking up to the Dairy Queen in Urbana, Illinois for blizzards, that it would be the beginning of many celebrations together. So far, Nick and I have spent over 1/3 of our lives together; we have travelled the world, been to the World Series, graduated college, moved to Boston, bought and sold and bought a house, and become parents.

Without further ado, I present 10 years of photos (I think they are pretty much in chronological order).

Ellie on the Move

She's not quite ready to walk on her own, but put a laundry basket (or one of her toy baskets) in front of her.. and she's off to the races -- until she runs into a door or a wall, of course.


Sunday, January 24, 2010

What Ellie learns...

In he past few days Ellie has really picked up some new abilities and gained some real-life knowledge including:

How to put on socks...


The mystery of magnets...


How to hear the beat in your head...


And stairs are for climbing...

Tuesday, January 19, 2010