Happy Thanksgiving - and Happy New Year

New year's resolution: post at least once a month. Sorry about the absence, folks! Here are some back photos from Ellie's trip to California for Thanksgving. I'll try to get some photos from Christmas up soon! Below is also a long update on what Ellie's doing lately.

At Santa Monica beach - Ellie got to wade in the water...

Ellie investigates the barnacles under the pier

At the gardens of the San Gabriel Mission. Unfortunately most of the plants were cacti, so Ellie couldn't get as close a look as she wanted.

This is the family at the Griffin Observatory in Los Angeles. Ellie enjoyed it all, but loved being outside on the grass the most, especially because there were dogs there.

"Cinder"-Ellie is learning to help out around the house, and loves playing with brooms!







Here are her current stats:

Weight: 26 pounds
Height: 29 inches
Teeth: Eight total - four on top, four on bottom. Very sharp - she only bites us occasionally, and usually by mistake. A few weeks ago she destroyed the back of the pew in church before we realized what was happening. Father said she didn't have to go to confession for it. :)
Hair: Brown and curly. Seems a bit lighter than at birth - I think it's more my color than Roger's now.
Skin: Tan - I'm often asked where her other genes come from!
Eyes: Dark brown and mischievous

Mobility: Ellie is on the run!!! She's totally steady on her feet, and is getting scarily fast. She goes up and down stairs climbing-style, but if she has someone or something to hold on to or the stairs are short she can do them upright. She loves getting on and off her kid-sized chairs, and also can get onto her table and the rocking-chair footrest. Ahhh!!! She'll be on adult-sized chairs very soon - already she can get onto the lower recliner we have upstairs. To Roger's delight she also has learned to dribble a soccer ball, and is now working on her throwing arm.

Words: mama, papa, dog! (always shouted, sometimes without the "g", and used for other animals/birds as well), gaga (Grandma), tata (Grandpa), baba (for baby or baby doll), juzzz (for "Jesus" - she really likes the statue of Jesus at the back of church), shhhh (snake sound), clicking her tongue (instead of snapping to songs); ahhh (whenever she hugs someone or something - sort of an "I love you")

Signs: music, food, please, more, pray (especially before meals to hurry the food along), bye-bye, drink, give me, no (very insistent head-shaking - a big favorite), nursing, hot (as in things too hot to eat or touch), all done, potty, book, ball, points to self (we're not sure what she means, but something like "I want" or "I like" or "mine" or "let me do it myself")

Likes: finding belly buttons, toes, noses, and tongues; dancing; playing with water; drawing; rearranging furniture; getting tickled and tickling us; bouncing on mom or papa's legs; babbling; putting on lotion; taking off her diaper; all animals, especially dogs (actually she seems to think they all are dogs); taking off her clothes (she can do socks by herself and helps with shirts and pants); exploring new places; chasing games; funny faces; "helping" us clean things around the house; giggling for no apparent reason; trying to drink out of a cup

Dislikes: diaper changes; going to sleep; Tickle Me Elmo (she gets really scared of him!); riding in the car; wearing socks; getting dressed; having Mama leave the room; being introduced too quickly to new people

Favorite Foods: rice and beans; tamales; malta (shocking, especially for those of you who've tasted this disgusting drink that Roger somehow likes); clementines; tomatoes; raspberries; hummus; hard-boiled eggs; anything that someone else is drinking (but she only gets water because she's very sloppy, except when Roger sneaks her tastes of juice and other staining sugar substances). She often will refuse to eat something unless she can feed it to herself. She's actually getting somewhat okay with a spoon, and with some guidance can scoop things out of a bowl. Very good at picking things apart and eating by hand, whether it's styrofoam, pieces of food she threw on the floor from her last meal, stones, leaves, or carpet lint.

Ninja Skills: Ellie is almost a full-fledged baby ninja on a mission to cause havoc. She can now open car doors, escape from her car seat straps if they're not down really tight, open and close doors with a doorknob, turn on and off lightswitches, unplug lights (uh oh...), turn on and off faucets, open the oven (aaaaahhhh!), close the dishwasher and switch it from heat dry to economy setting, open most containers with her teeth (even got a childproof screw-cap off once), dismount from our bed, scale the wall on a toy about half her height, head-butt her parents, open drawers and cupboard, and almost support her own weight hanging from a countertop. Is that the baby-poo-yellow belt or the banana-stain-brown belt?


As you can see by the imbalance of likes and dislikes, she's a pretty happy girl and we're all having a blast!