January pictures

Ellie thinks she just another one of the cats:

Here I am after blowing out the candles for my birthday. Good thing there weren't 36 of them.

Here is Ellie at the duckpond. She loves watching mommy feed the ducks!

Ellie wore a ladybug dress to church today, so I had to get a picture with her ladybug pillowpet.

We are doing well, except that Ellie just can't seem to shake this ear infection. She's been on antibiotics almost constantly for the last month and a half. I am ready to go over my doctor's head and find someone who will put some tubes in her ears. Poor kid.

Birthday!

I had a nice birthday yesterday. I had cake and presents from Krista waiting for me when I got home from school. Then I was treated to a massage at the local spa. Then I had dinner with Dave and Ellie We stopped by Susan's for a nice visit and more gifts! Ellie has slept through the night for the last 3 nights in a row, so that was my favorite gift of all!

Happy New Year!

Dave and the girls went skiing on New Year's Eve.  The temperature was below 10 degrees, and they froze their tails off.  I stayed home and snuggled with my baby.

Yesterday, I was thinking back over this past year.  It started out with a colicky baby and two very sleepy parents.  It ended with a ear-infection prone baby and two very sleepy parents.  But at least she is happy while she's awake, now.  Maybe 2011 will be a year with less sickness and more sleep.  Here's hoping!

I'm also looking forward to toddlerhood!  I can't wait to see Ellie take her first steps!  (She's standing for up to 10 seconds at a time, so I'm hoping she'll take off soon.)  I also can't wait for her to start talking more!  I love her little personality already, and can't wait to see it develop.  Being a mom is way, way, way more challenging than I thought it would be.  But I am totally smitten with my little cutie. 

December so far

We celebrated Eliana's first birthday on Sunday, Dec. 5th.  We had Grandma Bennett, Mike & Krista, and our three girls there at the party. 

Susan ordered the cutest cake!  Ellie had her own mini-cake to destroy all by herself.

She mainly dug a hole in the side and seemed to like the taste.  She ended up with quite a bit of frosting in her hair--so she went right into the bathtub before opening her presents.
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Here is Ellie in her PJs playing with her loot!

We don't get many chances to take a full family photo these days--so I was thrilled to get this one!

And here's a random shot of Ellie asleep in her jumparoo.  (She fell asleep while I was right next to her, taking a bath.  I promise I don't just l leave her in there for hours at a time!)

I'm pretty sure that Ellie will be scarred for life. The Santa at our ward Christmas party was a little too scary, I guess.

Ellie participated in her daycare center's Christmas program.  (Well, as much as 1 year old can participate anyway.):

I was so excited to have my mom and grandma come to visit this past weekend.  Here is a 4 generation photo for Ellie's scrapbook!

We are excited for Christmas to come!  Now if it would just stop raining before half of Mesquite washes away...

Ellie's 1 !!!

Eliana Susan,

You're 19 lbs

& cute as can be.

You make funny sounds

& cuddle with me.

You love other kids

& think daycare's a blast.

You occasionally throws fits

& crawl pretty fast.

You say dada lots

& say mama less.

You twirl my hair in knots.

It's annoying, I confess.

You like to laugh and giggle

& make funny faces.

You like to dance and wiggle

& explore new spaces.

You're cute, sweet, & funny,

curious, & smart.

You've taken over our home

& stolen your mommy's heart.

Happy Birthday, Ellie!

You're my favorite baby 
in the whole world!

Love,

Mom

November News

So here's what we've been up to:

My elementary school choir sang a Veteran's Day concert for our school which turned out really nice!  They also sang at the Festival of Trees.  Susan and Krista decorated a darling tree for Ellie this year.  (She had one in the festival last year too!  She was born the day it opened last year.  Since I was still in the hospital, my choir sang without me last year.  Kind of a neat memory.)

Ellie has been doing "Sooooooo big!" a lot this month.  Here is a picture!

Dave and I celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary on November 24th.  Dave sent me flowers at work. That evening we got a couple's massage and went out for a very nice dinner.  This would count as our 3rd official date night of the year.  Let's hope we can our dating stats up this next year.  To Dave: You are my favorite person in the world! I love you!

For Thanksgiving, Dave, Ellie, Susan and I went to Joan's house (my sis-in-law).  We had the yummiest food I've eaten in a very long time!  (Thanks Jim, et al)  Here is a picture of  Dave and Ellie on Thanksgiving.

Here is a random picture of me and Ellie:

And here is one of Ellie after our Black Friday excursion:

She nodded off while eating in her high chair a couple of days ago.  I guess I throw that one in here too.

And that has been our November thus far.

Veteran's Day Parade 11/6/10

Brianna got to ride with Dave on the city's antique fire truck during the Veteran's Day Parade.  She had fun throwing candy to the crowd!

Ellie had fun hanging out with her aunts and cousins at Grandma Bennett's house.