A few of Ellie's favorite things

• Looking out our storm door at all the doggies walking by our house
• Dancing...every time she hears music now she starts swaying and waving her arms all crazy in the air!
• Playing with a golf ball...to her it's quite entertaining. It is so cute to see her crouching down low to the ground when it rolls under a piece of furniture.
• Paper. As in coupons, napkins, tissue, etc. She likes to rip it and carry small pieces around the house in her hand.
• School Buses. When Ellie hears them drive by our house each morning and afternoon she makes a beeline for the window to catch a glimpse.
• Balloons. Every time she sees one anywhere it makes her so happy and she wants it! Lucky for her we typically visit Harris Teeter once a week so she can get her fix.
• Riding her horsey. For a while she could only go backwards on it, but now she has mastered going forwards too.
• Food. Our girl loves to eat! It's hard to believe one day she won't be so interested in eating. Some new favorites are blueberries and strawberries.
• "Wresting" with daddy on the bed. He throws her around and she loves every second of it!

Ellie's First Snow

Ellie after putting on mittens for the first time

First sled ride with daddy

This is more like it!

We took Ellie out for the first time on Saturday afternoon while it was still sleeting. She never cracked a smile once and just had a look on her face that said "Why are we out here in the freezing cold?" After about 15 minutes we came in. I had unrealistic visions of her loving the snow and us taking turns sledding with her...maybe next year!

On Sunday we tried again...this time we just put Ellie in the wagon and walked around the neighborhood for a while. She was much happier this time around and enjoyed watching the other kids playing and sledding in the snow.

All in all we had a nice weekend together as a family! The question is how old will Ellie be before we get another good snow? I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

11 Months

So, I started this post a few days after Ellie turned 11 months old and now it's 2 weeks later. Just in these last few weeks she has started doing so many new things it's hard to rewind back to 2 weeks ago in my head. One thing to celebrate is that her top 2 front teeth FINALLY came in this past Saturday. We were beginning to think it would never happen. Her comprehension of what we are saying has taken off as well lately. It's so neat to watch her respond according to what we say or do now.

She is eating all table foods now and loving it! Her only dislike so far has been green beans. She spits them out every single time. I have begun weaning her down to 3 nursings a day now and have begun introducing a little cows milk in the afternoons. So far she doesn't seem to mind it, which is good. I never thought that I would be one of those sad moms who didn't want to stop nursing her baby at 12 months, but I am! I love those sweet times with her and will miss them so much.

As far as sleeping goes she is still taking 2 naps, but her morning one is not very long these days. The most I can get out of her is 45 minutes, but she falls asleep most days without a fight so I know she still needs this sleep. Afternoon naps are around an hour most days. Because she isn't sleeping much during the day she has been going to bed right at 7 lately, which has been nice for Brad and I.

Plans are well under way for Ellie's first birthday party. I can't believe how quickly it has come!

A Trip to Charleston

Ellie petting Sassy
Outside the Charleston Aquarium

Time with Aunt Leah

GiGi & PaPa

Walking to the beach with daddy

Checking the ocean out

A few weekends ago we traveled to Charleston for a long weekend with Brad's grandparents. They rented a house on Sullivan's Island for the whole month of January and we decided it would be a good opportunity to visit with them as well as Brad's sister Leah, who also lives in the area. While we were there we enjoyed lots of good food (thanks to Brad's grandma and Charleston's wide array of amazing restaurants) as well as great time with family. Here are a few of our personal highlights of the trip;

Brad got to eat at Kickin Chicken on Saturday for lunch, his favorite place to eat in Charleston! They have this Buffalo Chicken Sandwich that he loves. These days he loves anything with hot sauce and frequently grabs the Frank's to put on whatever we are eating for dinner. He's even made wings a few times with the fryer Leah got him for Christmas...yummy!

Ellie loved watching and living with Sassy, Grandma & Papa's dog for a few days. She really liked Sassy more from a distance rather than close up, but she never got too upset. One night while eating dinner Ellie figured out that if she dropped food on the floor Sassy would stay close by to eat it. Needless to say, Sassy had quite a feast that night. Ellie also loved spending time playing with her Aunt Leah and Gi Gi too!

My personal highlight was not having to plan, cook, or clean our meals. I offered to help but Grandma told me to rest, and I gratefully obliged.

Grandma and Papa, thank you for a fun and relaxing weekend!

Giggly Girl

Please excuse the shaky video...it's hard to keep the camera still while trying to make Ellie laugh!

On The Move

Pony Ride

Ellie got a pony from her Great Granny & Paw for Christmas and she is too cute for words on it! Here she is riding it for the very first time...