Today is my Nana & Papa's Anna-Verse-Ah-Ree!

I am really happy that they married each other because if it weren't for their love, I wouldn't be here. And I really, really like being here. They've been sharing the same toothpaste for 33 years. And not to bring this back to me, but I am also officially 9 months old today. Yea, me!

Things I Help Mommy With...

I help Mommy load the dishwasher.

I help Mommy find higher places for books & magazines.

I help Mommy cook dinner!

(Hmmm... I wonder why she put me in my crate? Could it be because I like to spill Toby's water? Or is it because she doesn't like it when I rearrange the contents of the kitchen cabinets? Nah... I'm pretty organized, so it couldn't be that. I wonder if it has something to do with all those cookbooks I like to throw on the floor? Or because the oven is hot? Might be on account of that table that I broke. Ahh.. all in a days work!)

Remember... I AM FAST!

First Father's Day

As Daddy picked me up out of my crib on Sunday morning, I shouted, "Happy Father's Day!" which sounded more like, "Iddle diddle diddle, sphghthth!"

I bought Daddy a hat & a fishing license because he promised to take me fishin' at the lake. Just FYI, Daddy -- you probably shouldn't let me touch the bait because I'll probably try to eat it.

After my nap, we went out to the boat. I love being out on the water -- I am JUST like Daddy.

Take a guess at who I look like! Do you like our matching dimples?

We even have the same hands & feet.

"Is now a good time to talk about that pony?"

I love you, Daddy!

When Babies Attack!

Never underestimate this species of baby. While we may look friendly, we often attack without warning. Our ability to move quickly and climb aids us in our quest to dominate your lap.

What did I tell you? Never turn your back for a second.

Gotcha!

Freedom!

Dear Diary,

You should see me now! With one knee down & a heel to propel me forward, there is nothing outside my grasp. Crawling = freedom. The freedom to pull baskets of magazines off of coffee tables & baskets of files off of desk shelves. The freedom to find every cord attached to every lamp in the house. The freedom to pull myself up to standing wherever I choose.


Daddy is away in Floor-i-duh, but he comes home today. So, this morning Mommy & I read the newspaper all by ourselves. I especially enjoyed the classifieds -- they are a lil' bit slippery if you crawl on them.


Now that I have crawling crossed off my "to-do" list, I've been working on some other tricks. I will keep you in suspense and post about those later with pictures included, so STAY TUNED!


Here is the latest photo montage:

Hugs & Kisses,

Baby Ellie

Inspiration

Eight & a half months, 27 crackers, 96 Kix, & a visit from the Landis Family gave me

the Inspiration to...

Danger Baby: Episode 3

On today's episode of Danger Baby, you will learn the importance of never turning your back on someone small. I understand that you needed to chop the broccoli for dinner. And I understand that you had only turned your back to me for a few seconds.

But understand THIS...

I AM FAST!

I am... Danger Baby!

I think I'm gonna need a cape...

Diary of a Baby

Dear Diary,

Check me out! I am really growing! My hair is getting fuller, my legs are getting plumper, & my feet are getting big. I'm still not crawling and it's really beginning to disappoint me. Just when I think I'm going to go, my feet get caught. I really need to stop sitting criss-cross-applesauce.

Last Wednesday, Mommy & I flew to Pennsylvania again. Flying is so cool & the boarding pass is so fun to chew on. Mommy brought me some new books to look at on the plane, but I felt like being squirrely instead. I wanted to get down & play, but she kept making me sit there. So, I pulled her hair, stole her sunglasses, climbed her torso, & put my fingers in her diet coke. She didn't like that too much.

Uncle Joe graduated from high school this past weekend & they let me go to the ceremony! I loved the orchestra, but I jumped everytime the people clapped. The program was pretty good to chew on & Aunt JuJu let me drool on her calculator, too. I hope it still works. Mommy was so proud of her little brother and Nana took lots & lots of pictures. I will be sure to borrow some pictures of the evening from Nana's Facebook page soon!

I had a really fun time playing with my cousin Emily & today I feel cranky because I miss her. She & I played all kinds of games, like jump on the air mattress (FYI - she jumped, which made me bounce -- FUN!) & we read stories and shared cereal puffs. Emily is so funny -- one day, she dressed like Tinkerbell & did a little dance in her tap shoes. She is like Elmo & Zoey but BETTER!

We are back home today. We had lunch with Daddy & when we were done, he bought me a football jersey at the bookstore. It's never too early to be thinking about football season. I am learning this early.

I will close for now. I am off to find Toby to see if he wants a belly rub.

Hugs & Kisses!

Baby Ellie

Food, Glorious Food!

Whoa! Where did you come from? You snuck up on me!

Is it just me? Or am I always covered in food?

Who wants a sweet potato kiss?

I'm coming to get you! You better watch out!

Oh, and by the way... I love strange foods. You know, the kind of food that grown-ups give babies so that we make a nutty face and you can snap the moment with your camera?

Go ahead... give me a lemon! Yum!

A Pickle...

YUM!

8 Months Old

Can you believe that I'm 8 months old already?

It feels like it was just yesterday that I was swimmin' around in my mom's tummy. Here I am sucking on my toes. I only weighed 1 pound in this picture.

Here's a picture from the outside. Mommy's "got back" & "front". Heehee! She said if I post how much she weighed in this picture, that I could never have the pony -- no matter how many people voted yes.

What a difference a year makes, huh? What did these people do without me?

Catching the Culprit

Bonjour, Vaches!

Little cows you are so sweet

I like your face, your coat, your feet

Your milk makes tasty creamy treats

But of these things I can not eat

Please don't be offended

But until my skin is mended

I'll be holding off on dairy!

Sleeping

Look at my teeny-tiny self.

I bet Mommy looked at my sweet sleeping self and thought, "Oh, good. This girl loves some shut-eye." I sure fooled her! Eight whole months of waking up ALL NIGHT LONG -- give me my binky, feed me some milk, hold me, let me sleep with you, let's play!

HOWEVER...

Just this past week, I realized that sleeping is a beautiful thing. I have more energy in the morning to play and roll around. Last night, I slept from 7:45pm. - 5:45 am.

THREE CHEERS FOR BABY ELLIE!

Danger Baby: Episode 2

On this episode of Danger Baby, you will spy with your little eye

someone who is as snug as a bug in a...

crib bumper!


Here I am LMDO -- that's "laughing my diaper off" to all of you non-texters.


STAY TUNED for more thrills & stunts on next week's episode of...

Danger Baby

On the Move...

Don't get too excited... I still can't crawl, but I can flippity-flop my way around a room. In the mornings, Mommy puts me on the floor to play while she pours coffee only to return and find me five feet away from where she left me. I like making grown-ups scratch their head.

I'm an elusive chunk of love.

Yesterday, I pulled Toby's hair. HARD. And he cried. And he hid. I'm sorry, Fur Brother. I think he forgave me because this morning, he was kissing my hands. I was also in my high chair and covered in toast & apricots. I wonder if that had something to do with his renewed interest in me? No matter what, I like that he gives me such loving attention.

But look what he did when he thought we weren't looking:

BUSTED, Cheerio Eater!

The Interview

Full Name: Eleanor Grace, but everyone calls me "Ellie"
Height: 16 o'clock -- numbers confuse me, but I am bigger than my dog
Hometown: Davidson, NC

Hobbies: teething, rolling, & eating Cheerios
Favorite Reads: Mommy Hugs, Baby Animals, & The Charlotte Observer
Favorite Toys: Shape Sorting Bucket & Puppets
What I'm eating: sweet potatoes, green beans, peas, dog hair, pears, applesauce, bananas, crackers, biscuits, seriously... I'll eat anything.

Career Ambition: to be in the Sesame Street segment where "Elmo asks a baby..." I will show Dorothy all my tricks.

Favorite Quote:

"And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet

and the winds long to play with your hair.

-- Kahlil Gibran

A baby in need, deserves Puffs indeed...

Tunnel of Love

Mommy thought learning to crawl would be more fun with a tunnel.

This is me after a playful "try to crawl" session.

Rolling back & forth in the tunnel makes me giggle.

First Mother's Day

Dear Diary,

Sunday was Mother's Day. Well, at least that's what Toby Dog told me. He came to my crib really late on Saturday night and said, "Hey, did you get anything for Mommy?" I said, "No." because I wasn't aware that there was such a thing as Mother's Day. So, he said, "Come on. Climb on my back. Harris Teeter is open 24 hours." We bought some flowers for Mommy & then came home and got online. Toby wanted to type, but he doesn't have thumbs so I let him move the mouse. He is right-pawed. Anyway, we bought Mommy a massage & she loved it. Babies and dogs have such great ideas.

We went to church & then out for lunch. I was a good girl even though my second tooth is starting to make an appearance. After my nap, Mommy & Daddy took me to the playground. I think Mother's Day must be for children, too. Mommy didn't do any cleaning & Daddy didn't do anything with his black rectangle with numbers on it-- they just played with me.

Hoping today is just like Mother's Day, too!

Much love,
Baby Ellie

p.s. Please don't tell Mommy & Daddy that Toby drove the Jeep.

p.p.s. And don't tell them that I pushed the pedals.

Danger Baby: Episode 1

Part of being a good parent is keeping little babies like me safe. On Thursday evening, while Mommy cooked dinner & Daddy made recruiting calls, I showed off my clever skill of leaping from the Bumbo. Here's how to do it:

Reach back, lift the leg, and VOILA! You'll be on your way to a noggin stand.

Mommy wasn't as impressed with my acrobatics & declared that "someone" was going to get a new chair. That "someone" is me, Baby Ellie. On Friday, Mommy & I went to Ikea to test out highchairs. Here is a picture of me at the store:

This is the chair that we bought. My only complaint is that it has straps. How am I supposed to do cartwheels now?

Sea Legs

Are those sweet potatoes on my nose or just a bad camera angle? Or perhaps while the rest of you were drinking diet cokes and swimming, someone very small & cute opened up a bag of Doritos. Either way, I'm not telling.

We had a fun time on the lake with our new friends on Saturday. Do you like this picture that I took of myself? My lips are missing from the photo, best rest assured that I was smiling.

Grounded...

Dear Loyal Readers,

I apologize for not writing for quite sometime. My affinity for pulling hair got me, consequently, grounded from the computer.

Being a baby still rocks. I am SO close to learning this whole crawling thing. I can sit up on my own, rock bath & forth on my hands and knees, but when I try to make a move, I just topple over. I'll be on the move soon. I am really looking forward to unraveling the toilet paper and seeing what will fit into the electrical sockets.

I recently traveled on an airplane to visit my family in Pennsylvania. All the grown-ups on the plane commented, "Oh, what a good baby." As if I would be any other type? Here's a picture of me in Newark waiting to board a plane for Harrisburg. Our next plane was so teeny tiny, but it allowed me to pet the nice boy next to me. What? His shirt had a nice texture & his skin was so smooth.

I had a great time with the humans, but what really made me laugh this past week was this big lug they call "Abbey". I rode her bareback & let her clean me off after meals. My Papa isn't a big fan of her & I can't figure this out. Please, Papa... love Abbey. It's not everyday that you find a creature that will let you pull its ears and stick your fingers in her eyeballs. Hugs to you, my furry friend.

I just recharged my batteries with a TWO hour morning nap. Where's my bass drum because I'm ready to keep going and going and going and going...

Much love & happy to be blogging again,

Baby Ellie

A Tisket, A Tasket...

...a baby in a basket!

Rain, Rain, Go Away...

...and it finally did. Mommy took me out to play!

In Your Easter Bonnet...

Dear Diary,

I bet you thought that there would be pictures of me in my Easter dress, right? This is a sore topic for me. You see, I was napping peacefully yesterday morning when Mommy suddenly appeared at my crib with a (gasp!) dress. A pink dress with little white buttons & a matching bonnet.

First, she changed my diaper. That was okay. I like being fresh. Next, came a pink onesie & then fancy white tights. I made her work hard to get those on. I am pretty talented with my "kicky legs". Next came little bloomers & the dress. Mommy eventually got it buttoned in the back -- you have to at least give her an A for effort. That woman does not give up. Then... came... the... bonnet.

I thrashed from the left to the right, I screamed, I scratched, I poked, we wrestled, until finally, defeated, we went to church with the bonnet on my head.

"You WILL wear this bonnet. It looks cute!!" Mommy said through clenched teeth.

Due to the wrestling, there was limited time for pictures. However, I have heard rumors that today just might be a "dress up the baby & take pictures" kind of day. Great. I can't wait.

Dear Diary,

Yesterday, I had a playdate with my friend Marin. Her mommy & my mommy are friends and that works out well for us. While they talk and drink coffee, we discover new uses for ordinary things. Did you know that toilet paper makes great confetti? Or that buttons make good chew toys?

We had so much fun, that we all decided to continue the fun by going out for dinner. The restaurant gave us a big booth with two highchairs, which was fun because Marin and I could sit next to each other. Here is Marin...

Here is Marin with her Mommy...

See that cup of milk? Right after this picture was taken, she dropped it and her Daddy had a wet, milky bottom. That's when the Daddies voted to put us in our chairs, but Marin knocked a container of salsa all over Mommy. Wow! That got everyone's attention -- note to self, remember the salsa trick.

I happily ate some rice cereal, veggies, and peaches because it was obvious that my parents weren't sharing their enchiladas! I chewed on the menus, entertained folks with my dinosaur growl, and not to be out done by Marin, I spilled a glass of water into Daddy's lap.

At about that time, the owner of El Paraiso escorted us out and suggested babysitters.