Ellie's First Steps!

Ellie took her first steps at Grammy & Grandpa's house (L & K Bretz in FL) on Labor Day weekend. Great-Grandpa and G. Aunt Dawn and G. Uncle Greg were there, too, to witness this fun event. She took maybe 3 or 4 steps and then rested for a while. Then a day or two later, she'd practice a few more. She was very proficient at walking with assistance (a hand, a table, Buzz Lightyear) but not totally on her own.

 This video was taken two weeks later on Sunday Sept, 19. She was practicing her couple of steps (showing off for her boyfriend Finn) when something clicked and she just got it: "Oh! This is how you walk! Of course." And she was off! Hasn't stopped walking since. Take a look at her first 5 minutes of real walking....

End of September

 Here are some random shots of Ellie at the end of Sept. She loves to push her Buzz Lightyear rocket in the street in front of the house.

Our last pool day of the summer. Ellie is getting in the cooler before we hit the water.

Ellie was enjoying the park in our neighborhood: Midwood Park.

One of Ellie's last times in the Bjorn with Daddy. She's just a tad too big for this now. Sad! She used to LOVE being in this. Now she and Thomas have graduated to the backpack. More pics on that to come.

One last pic from our Buzz walks. In this pic, she was walking by herself for quite some time. Back and forth, up and down the street as I walked beside her. Here, she reached out her hand as she was walking and said, "Uh, uh, uh". She wanted to hold hands while she walked! We walked this way for a while down the street. :)

My angel.

Fall is here!

Ellie is one, she's walking, and she's excited about fall. Just a few shots from our days out and about.

Grandpa got this chair for Ellie for the beach. She tried to get in it today on her own. First time, didn't work so I helped her. Second time, I looked over and she was sitting in it! I wanted to take a picture with the camera (not my phone) but Ellie wanted to try it out, too.

What? I've been getting in and out of chairs for weeks now...

Swinging!

Here's another fun laughing video. At around 10.5 or 11 months, Ellie learned the art of the fake laugh. She generally pulls this laugh out when the adults are laughing or if adults are chatting and no one is paying attention to her. She throws her head back, opens her mouth wide, and closes her eyes a little bit while doing the laugh. It's too much...and it gets the reaction she was going for!
This isn't the greatest video capture of the laugh (this would get a "C" rating as far as Ellie fake laughs go), but it's the only one I've got on tape and you'll get the point. It's at the very beginning of the video...so pay attention!

Notice also in the video: newer skill of walking around the table, new emotion called frustration and clenched fist when Mom won't pick her up, and that Mom attachment I referred to in the Hilton Head post..."I must have you, Mommy!"

Enjoy!

I'm One!!!

Ellie had her first birthday last weekend on 8.8.10.

Wow! It's really ridiculous that it's already been a year. It feels like it actually only took 3 or 4 months for this year to pass by. It was a great year and this birthday was very special. Here are some great pics of the party:

Ellie and Daddy have an amazing bond. I'm so lucky, as Mom, to witness it every day. Such a great Dad.

Cupcake time! She is always smiling. :)

Balloons were a hit with Ellie.

"Family hug!" This "family hug" Thomas has created and Ellie squeals when he comes over to do it. I'll be holding Ellie and he'll come over and yell, "family hug" and squeeze us. Too cute.

My first cake!!!

And afterwards. She was a mess! She loves her clapping trick and will do it on cue if anyone says "yay" or often times when someone just laughs. Can you see her two bottom teeth? Her top "fangs" area also in and her two middle top are on the way. Thomas says if the two middle top don't come in soon, she'll have to be Dracula for Halloween. :)

Happy Birthday, Ellie. We love you!!!

Hilton Head Trip

Hi, everyone! We had a great time in Hilton Head...Ellie's first beach trip!
These were all of the fun family folks we went with:

Sarah, Thomas, Ellie, Emily, Larry, Katy, Loredana, Lucia, Matt

Thomas brought the surfboard for the HUGE East Coast waves...wink wink.

Ellie liked sitting on it and even floated on the board in the water. She had a great time at the beach, as long as there was some sort of game or activity going on! She's not quite old enough for just enjoying the people-watching. :)

Ellie is doing great at walking...as long as she's got your hand to hold on to. Should be another few weeks before she's on her own!

Surfing!

This is her, "Mommy, please pick me up" face and gesture. She is attached to Mommy at the moment. :)

Hey, Dad: Do you need help with that hole?

Yay! I love this hole!

Umm..please don't kiss me, I'm working on this camera. Ok? Geez, Grandpa.

Those waves are cool.

But time to scoot away...note: scoot, not crawl. :)

This pool kept Ellie cool without all of the sand and the waves. Again, here is the "Mom!" plea.

Grandpa!!! I told you about the kissing!

Sharing cherries with Grammy.

See you next year, Hilton Head!

Waterfall in SC

We had a great time with Grammy at these falls in SC. We visited West Minster, SC in June for a few days and toured the falls, did some hiking, and visited the Highlands. Thomas and I even went rafting for Father's Day! More pics to come when I locate my camera. :(