Haircut!

After some deliberation I decided Ellie needed a haircut last Semptember.

{wispy crazy}

{we did pigtails before the big chop}

So, I cut it. Yup, me! Came out pretty cute, too, if I do say so myself.

{we miss Grandma}

I've since trimmed it up a couple of times, and taken her to a real hairstylist to fix my mistakes a couple of times. Sometimes I wonder if she'll want to grow it out or if I made the right choice, but I like her little bob and it sure is easy to keep combed out!

It's kind of funny doing this almost a year later because her hair is so much fuller now. You'll see. I'll get there eventually.

Baby Jameson

Pete's cousin had a baby boy at the end of May, and they brought him down to visit Grandma as soon as possible. And who can pass up a visit with a tiny baby? Ellie was pretty fascinated. She was just learning how keys worked, so she tried to start Jameson with Aunt Susu's car key. Other than that relatively mild incident she was very gentle with him.

She wasn't even jealous about sharing Grandma's lap with her new second cousin.

And, by the way, babies grow fast. You'd think that'd be obvious but I'm still amazed when I see recent pictures of him. You will be to, if I get that far.

Summer

I realized that I missed an entire 6 months of Ellie's life on this here blog *shock*. And it was a busy 6 months. And these were an important 6 months for many reasons, but one really important reason. Pete's grandmother passed away a few weeks ago, making our visits with her over the last 6 months some of our last. And they were great visits. So, I'm going to catch up on the missed months as best I can.

Starting with our visit with Grandma in June. It was a gorgeous weekend so we sat on the front porch at the home and just enjoyed the weather. Aunt SuSu brought yummy strawberries, which Ellie LOVED (as did I).

I, being the brilliant and awesome mom that I am, let Ellie play in a mud puddle. She fell down. Pete was not surprised, nor was he particularly impressed.

And of course we had Ellie sit on Grandma's lap, a ritual that I had them repeat knowing we'd cherish the photos some day.

Grandma Gets A Visit

We try to make it up to see Pete's Grandma about once a month. These visits have been a fun way to track Ellie's growth since Grandma moved down by us about 2 days before Ellie was born. In the month since we last saw her Ellie has gotten really good at both walking and communicating. She doesn't have a lot of words, but she points and has a few signs, and definitely has a way of getting her point across. It made this visit particularly fun.

She played peekaboo and touched pointer fingers for a bit, then sat down and rolled the exercise balls around with Scruncle.

And she practiced the piano. Got to get her started early.

She also noticed some birds hanging out in the trees by the feeder (this was our first measurable snowfall of the year, by the way). She called them "kitty" as she does with all animals except dogs which she calls "woof".

We usually stop by Starbucks on the way and pick up Grandma's favorite treat...and we might as well get something for us while we're there, you know.

{Grandma sneaks a frappuchino break}

Ellie didn't really want to sit on Grandma's lap for the obligatory "sit on Grandma's lap" shot. This isn't saying much because she doesn't like sitting anywhere for long. I got one tolerant picture of them.

And then it was time to say good bye until next time.

The Day After

The day after Christmas is always cause for big celebration as it is Grandma's birthday! She turned 92 this year. We all got together for brunch at this very nice converted farm house/inn that had the perfect set-up for a large group of people.

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After that we hung out and enjoyed our new gifties. Ellie enjoyed her new chair and her little hippo family while looking particularly adorable in this beautiful sweater my dad and step-mom sent.

We watched some of our new movies while eating popcorn and drinking beer from our new mugs.

{Ilow does not like beer}

Ilow guarded her new bones, Dragnet wrestled with his new fox squeaky. And Sammy finally got a new dangly toy since Dragnet ate her last one, and a moth!

Oh joy!

Christmas Part 2

The symphony I'm playing with uses a local church for their performances, and as a trade they ask for a couple of musicians to perform during their larger Christmas and Easter masses. This works out really well for us because Pete is Catholic and I'm not and this gives us a good reason to all go to Mass together. So, after opening gifts at home we all headed out for Christmas Mass.

After that it was off to Scruncle and J's house for Second Christmas. One of Pete's other aunts and her 3 kids came down as well. And of course Grandma (a.k.a. Queen Dorothy) was able to come over. One of Pete's cousins is expecting her first baby in May! So, she was excited to get some practice at the whole "Mom" thing.

Grandma picked this outfit out special for Ellie and she looked adorable in it. Again, I think the hat makes the outfit. She also spent a lot of time showing off her newly honed walking skills. Everyone was very impressed.

Santa had come to Scruncle's too! So, another round of gifts to be opened.

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All the grown-up women got fuzzy socks.

After gifts, we had a marvelous dinner that Ellie napped through, and really enjoyed a wonderful evening with family.

Regularly Scheduled Programing

Okay, most of my holiday shopping is done, most of the decorations are set out, the tree is up, and now I'm ready to start blogging again. I think I'll have to divide this into several sections.

1. Grandma and Grandpa Come to Visit

My mom and step-dad made their second annual Thanksgiving trip out from Iowa. It was a wonderful visit. We made the trip down to DC to check out a new ocean exhibit at the Natural History museum and see the newly revamped American History museum.

My step-dad made an amazing Thanksgiving spread.

And otherwise we pretty much just hung out.

2. Grandma Comes to Visit

Pete's mom came out for a quick visit shortly after that. She happened to time her visit to coincide with a concert by the symphony I'm playing with, so we got all dressed up for that.

We also got to visit Great-Grandma again briefly, and Ellie got to meet Pete's mom's cousin and his wife. It was so nice to catch up with them.

3. Ellie Learns to Explore

Ellie is probably the most cautious baby I've ever seen, not that I've been around a lot of babies. Generally, she spends more time watching than trying new things. I'm more than fine with that. Recently, however, she's getting more daring. She's discovered, for example, she can actually climb into the cabinets. So, she spends quite a bit of time going between her two favorites.

{here....there.....back again}

She's also learned to climb the stairs.

And, most exciting of all, she's taken the plunge and starting to walk! It started with a single tentative step while my parents were here. Then she started walking between two people while Pete's mom was here.

And over the last couple of days she's really started taking off and just walking whenever she feels like it. I wouldn't call her a walker yet, but she's getting dangerously close. It occurred to me the other day that, while I'm very excited for this milestone, it means she's turning into a more independent person who will soon be wandering off while our backs are turned. I'm not sure I'm ready for that, but there's no stopping her now.

4. Beauty

Finally, I just can't help showing off my beautiful little girl.

Her personality is really starting to shine, her laugh is horribly contagious, and best of all, she thinks her dad and I are hysterically funny. I've heard that doesn't last, so we're getting in as many bad jokes as possible.

{Three men walk into a bar. The fourth one ducks.}