Walking and Ice Cream

Ellie took her first steps a few weeks ago and has been practicing since. She still hasn't taken more than a few steps unassisted, but she practically runs when she's walking along the couch or holding our hands. She's also mastered her push and walk toy. I LOVE the face she makes when she's pushing it. You can see it in the pictures and the video.

"Let's see . . ." "Okay, Mom. I've got my game face on."

"Man, that's hard work, but I'm gettin' good at it!"

After all that practice, we went out to the backyard for Ellie's

favorite thing: pickin' grass. I also shared a push up popsicle with

her in hopes of getting a cute pic for her birthday invitation.

Let's just say . . . I got a lot of cute ones!

"Hmmmm . . . what is this???"

"It tastes good . . . "

"OMG! It's really cold!"

"I'd rather pick grass . . . "

(Notice the popsicle laying next to her where she threw it down.

Maybe she'll take after Kyle and not like sweets. I hope!)

Sunday Funday

Sunday was a beautiful day, except for the wind, of course! We took Elliott for some ice cream (well, Mom and Dad had some and she got a few licks of Mom's orange sherbet). Then we went to the park. I couldn't believe how many kids were there! We barely found a parking spot. There isn't a whole lot for Ellie to do at the park yet, but she enjoys people watching and there were tons of people to watch.

Swinging

Sliding

Playing with wood chips . . . probably her favorite activity.

Riding on the car

Playing the piano- she's really into pushing buttons right

now so she liked this.

We will probably be visiting the park a lot this spring and summer!

Ellie turns 10 months and Jenny turns 30 (years, not months)

Elliott turned 10 months on Monday and I turned 30 on Tuesday. I was way more excited about Elliott's milestone than mine . . . to say the least. However, I did have a great birthday and I am thankful to be alive and healthy so I can be the best mom possible for Ellie and the the best wife possible for Kyle. Bye-bye 20s! Hello 30s! (I'm secretly crying now).

Anyway, Ellie has been doing lots of fun things lately and getting to be such a big girl! Everyone tells me how fast it goes, but I CAN NOT BELIEVE she is 10 months old already. In a few short months she will be a year old. I'm trying to savor every minute with this precious little girl. Here is what she is doing at 10 months old:

-She weighs 20 pounds and is wearing mostly 12 month clothes and size 2 shoes (size 3 in the pictures which is why they're too big!)

-She shakes her head no, nods yes, and shrugs her shoulders up and down all the time.

-She tried some new foods and loves them all: scrambled eggs, whole wheat waffles, tilapia, spaghetti, fettucine, chicken noodle and vegetable beef soup (just the veggies/meat), and cheerios. We still haven't met a food she doesn't like besides cottage cheese. She loves oatmeal, yogurt, bread, and cheese the best!

-She loves to pretend and imitate us. She talks on the phone, turns the channel with the remote, tickles us, and so on.

-She loves to give hugs and kisses, especially to Wylie. *See picture below.

-She went to her first friend birthday party.

-She loves to stand at the glass door and look outside.

-She really loves to climb up in her Elliott chair and watch tv. She also stands up in it and has learned to scoot to the edge and stand up to get out of it.

-She took her first 3 steps on the last day she was 9 months old. She walked from the coffee table to the couch. She took 3 more steps on my birthday!

-She cut her first top tooth on my birthday, as well!

-She likes to put on bracelets and watches and show them off.

-She says Dada all the time and is starting to say Momma a lot, too.

-She is down to one bottle a day (sometimes two) and drinks her formula in a sippy any other time.

-She REFUSES to wear a headband anymore which causes me much frustration. I can usually snap one or two pictures with the headband and then the third is a picture of her pulling it off. Oh, well . . . I'm sure I'm not the only mom that feels this way!

-She will point out Kyle and/or me in a picture with lots of people in it.

Here is Ellie at her friend Jake's 1st birthday.

They had a little swing and slide that she loved!

In her Elliott chair

Woo hoo! A bow pic for mom!

And another!

Giving Wylie a hug . . . so sweet!

This picture is a little blurry, but I love it!

Hi Mom!

Should I take a step and thrill my mom

to death on her birthday?

Nah . . . I better play it safe while I'm on the phone.

Mom's favorite . . . Zio's!

The family

Happy 10 months Elliott Rose!

Your mom and dad are so proud of you!

Best Buds

Wylie + Ellie = BFF

Cake Class

Kyle's mom, Rita, and I have been taking a cake decorating class every Tuesday from 6-9 p.m. We thought it would be fun, and although I'm not a natural by any means, I've learned a lot. And I figure I'll have plenty of opportunities to use my newly acquired skills as Ellie gets older. For now I've been taking the cakes over to my Papa. Kyle doesn't really like sweets, Ellie can't eat sweets, and I'll eat the whole thing . . . not good.

Here are 4 of the 5 cakes we've done so far. I'm not including week 2 because it slid all around in my car on the way home. Not a pretty sight!

Week 1 Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

Next week we're making roses!

Can't wait to see how that goes!