Developments

Ella had her 12-month well-baby doctor appt. on Wednesday. This visit marked many milestones for her. Most importantly, in her first 12 months she managed to have NO sick-baby doctor visits. For those of you who spent any time with her daddy when he was under 1 year old you'll especially recognize this as an accomplishment and possibly a minor medical miracle. The doc reports she's doing great and Mom and Dad seem to be OK at the parenting part as well. Phew!
Ella's Updated Specs:
20 pounds and 13 ounces--50th percentile (Here I come front-facing carseat).
29 inches tall--50th percentile (Notice the language shift from long to tall. That's what a lot of standing and walking does to your perception of baby height).
75th percentile in head size--to which I responded very sarcastically that I was worried about Ella's smarts since the percentile of her head size has gone from 90 to 75 in the past two months. To which our outstanding (no sarcasm intended) pediatrician, who happens to have no sarcasm radar and is comedically challenged, made sure I understood that head size does not in fact correlate to brain size and smarts. And, not to worry, her son has a small head but is 3 to 4 grade levels ahead in math. And again, not to worry, the chief of pediatrics where she studied also had a small head and he was totally brilliant. Thanks for the clarification. I was joking! In case you were wondering she has a small head too. That offers a curious perspective on this discussion, right?.
She assured that it is much more about genetics than head size. Hopefully she'll be smart anyway.

Here's our little 50th percentile grape!

Thanks Bubby and Zaida

Dear Bubby and Zaida,
Thank you so much for this wonderful chair. It was so nice of you to even put my name on it. I'm so grateful to have one more comfy place to rest my weary head. My bed, your bed, the couch, rug, brown cushion, and floor mats just don't offer me enough choices sometimes. This new chair is just perfect for me. Thanks for thinking of me, even though my birthday isn't even until May. I miss you and can't wait to see you again soon.
Lots of Love,
Dewey

(What? No! Really? That says Ella? Not Dewey? It just seemed so perfect, I thought it must be mine. What? I don't get presents on Ella's birthday? Really? Oh. You're right. I guess I don't always get presents on my birthday either. Ok. I'll ask nice and hopefully she won't mind if I share. Happy Birthday, Ella!)

Ella's 1st Birthday Party

Ella's first Birthday Party has come and gone. Here are some highlights: She had her first cake (sort of...thanks for the advanced treat with Anne's wonderful wedding cake). She smeared icing all over her face. She opened some presents but preferred to play with the wrapping and ribbons. She worked her way up to taking more and more steps and even fell on her head a few times. She learned two exciting birthday songs. She got some flashy, noisy toys that I can't seem to stop humming along to.
Thank you to everyone who joined the fun. She really appreciated her special day!
Happy Birthday Shorty! Welcome to the world of positive integer birthdays. It only gets better from here!

Blowing out candle(1) with Mommy.

Sharing cake with my Zaida.
Family birthday portrait.

Happy Birthday to ME!!!

A Guest Blog from "Aunt" Anna

(Anna spent all of Kelly's labor and Ella's delivery with us last year. She was a perfect help on that day(s). Thank you, Anna. And thank you for sharing your reflections.)

I first saw Ella's face during the final minutes of her birth. The catch in my throat was instant: she was so still, and so quiet, and absolutely perfect. I was stunned by her beauty, and by the fact that, in that moment, she was not yet her own person. Instead, she was still a part of her mom, caught between nine months of miracles and an entire life of them, waiting for her life to begin.

It is hard, in one way, to believe that Ella is a year old, and yet at the same time, it's difficult to believe that she has been in our lives for such a short time. I have so many memories of her that it seems that she must have been here longer than that. For example, as an infant, Ella was snuggly, burrowing down into her orange fleece pocket for a nap, warm and cozy and tucked into safety.

I also remember that, at first, she looked exactly like Kelly, and then one day, her face broke into a smile that precisely mirrored Zach's, wide and easy and natural, and now she looks like both her parents. She has spent the last year loving Dewey, knowing that he is as much a part of her family as anyone, and loves to share (kisses, lunch, secret plans, etc.) with him. And this weekend, she spent her days giggling, dancing, singing, playing, and talking, as happy a baby as I have ever seen.

Ella, to me, is simply love personified.

I remember last December 18th and the moment after I first saw her face, Ella took her first breath. And in that instant, in a darkened hosptial room high above the chilly city lights, the entire world changed. It has been a little better ever since.

Happy, Happy Birthday, sweet Ella.

7 Days to Go

It gets a lot harder to take these milestone pictures now that Ella is so much more mobile. I guess that's why we haven't done it in 40 weeks.
Happy one week before your 1st birthday big girl!

Real Snow

Friday brought our first real snow storm to the Boston area. Up until noon-time it looked like any old ambivalent Baltimore/Washington storm. It snowed in the morning and by lunch time it was raining.
Then at 1pm something strange happened to the sky. It totally blew up!
We had a thunder snow storm. We've never heard anything like it. For the next two hours we had an all-out blizzard. Luckily the heavy snow only lasted a few hours otherwise we'd be totally snowed in. We ended up with 6 or so really fun inches.
Ella and Dewey had lots of fun.

I'm wet. I'm cold. I want to go in. NOW!

I'm OK now. I've got my hat and boots on. Can we go back outside to play in the snow!

(Note: I fully realize that when the subject of this post hits her teen years I run the risk of being in a lot of trouble for this picture. I am prepared for this. I plan to teach her lots about humor and comedy so that maybe she'll understand my motives by then.)

Take Out

Thai? Chinese? Indian? Pizza? What do you guys think we should have for dinner tonight?

A December to Remember (so far)

December is our favorite month! Starting on December 18th the following incredibly fun things happen over a very short two weeks time:
1. Ella's 1st birthday
2. Christmas
3. Hanukah
4. Zachary's 30th Birthday
5. New Year's Eve (she might miss this one)

But instead of waiting until mid-month for the real fun, Ella decided to start now. On December 1st Ella Bean took her first unassisted steps (3 of them). By today she has taken 4. She's run into an odd twist where takes multiple steps with one foot before moving the other until she's doing a big split and topples over. We're working on that one. Look out Dewey, here she comes!

This morning Kelly brought Ella to bed to visit when she woke up. She sat up in our bed, grabbed my sleepy arm and said, "Dad-eee." It would have been a whole lot cooler if it weren't 90 minutes earlier than she normally wakes up and it weren't dark outside. Crack of dawn, middle of the night, during dinner. No matter the time, Ella's first word was Daddy and a really proud one of those is typing this sentence right now.

This will surely be a fun month. Keep up with our adventures. It'll be a good time.

Take Me to the Beach

Dewey was overheard saying, "Why is it so cold here in Boston? Why do these crazy people keep moving north? First D.C., then Baltimore and now the arctic--Cambridge, MA. It snowed here today. Only about an inch. On my second walk this morning I lost a foot to chilly toes. I walked home on 3 feet. It is always cold here. This may sound silly because I have a natural fur coat but I sure hope Santa or Hanukah Harry brings me a sweater for the holidays. And a hat and maybe some shoes. Then a trip to the beach please."

Ella's First Thanksgiving

Here are some highlights from Ella's first Thanksgiving in North Carolina. Thank you Uncle Joshua and Aunt Sharon!

You see Ella's tray tray is almost empty. And you see the sleepy turkey chemical is kicking in. But you should know that she kept going. "Must keep eating..." she muttered in baby speak as we hauled her off to bed. (Thanks for the cool bib Grammie)

Caleb and Ella welcome baby Ezra to the gang. Welcome aboard little guy!

Ella wasn't listening when we told her this was supposed to be the serious shot.

New Trick: Standing

Look world...No hands!

Sharing

DISCLAIMER: No babies ate dog food in the taking of these pictures. She did get licked real good though.

Ella is waiting her turn for dinner. Unfortunately Dewey isn't sharing and her dinner can be found a few feet away in her highchair. Nice try shorty!

Singing? Kissing? Yelling? Nose-eating? Who really wants to know?

Head Size Correlates to Smarts (we hope)

At a recent doctor's appointment Ella's 11 month measurements were taken:
25th percentile for height.
50th percentile for weight.
90th percentile for head size.
Now that's a noggin! If in fact head size correlates to brain size and brain size correlates to intelligience then our little big-headed baby is headed for greatness. It should be pointed out that someone in our family noted that the standard deviation for head size in 11 month old baby girls is probably really small so the 90th percentile is not all that big of a deal. That someone was not the member of our family who is currently taking a graduate course on statistics, testing, and measurement. It was the other member of our family for whom standard deviation is common language. This could also be another factor (genetics) in plotting the future of Ella's brain power. Or dorkiness. Only time will tell.

Look at the size of that HEAD!!!

A New Strategy

Andouille (Dewey) has made a change in his life. In the past few weeks Ella has become a speed crawler and a professional cruiser. All this makes Dewey much more vulnerable to her pats, pinches, tugs, and beautiful smiles. Just like the rest of us he can definitely handle the beautiful smiles. It is the pinches, tugs, and pats that he isn't so much into. Dewey has always been a couch dog. But recently his normal perches on the couch have not be quite so comfortable.
Enter the new strategy. The fort. Check out how Dewey has found his way in between the couch back and cushion. Out of reach of a mobile baby. Sorry Ella. I guess you'll need to learn how to walk and climb if you want to continue to eat Dewey's tail and pick his nose. Give it a few months (weeks).

A Visit from My Uncle B

Ella and Dewey (and Kelly and Zach) had a wonderful visit from Uncle Brendan this past weekend. We walked all over Boston, hung out at Harvard Square, ate a lot, and slept some. Follow our fun in pictures. Ella will tell you all about it.

Uncle B took me on my first Donkey ride.

I taught him how to feed me Cheerios. You see he looks shocked that I keep shoveling them down but it made me happy and that's what Uncles are all about.

We sang opera together at a tasty pizza place in Boston's North End neighborhood

Is it time? Can I wake him? I'm ready to play! Uncle B! UNCLE B! Time to get up!

The (baby) Human Vacuum

Ella has really found her groove in the eating department. Actually she's had her groove for a really long time but this is its first mention on the blog. The girl can eat!!! And now she's learning how to ask for food--ask makes it sound so much nicer than it is. And she's even learned how to find it when we're not fast enough on the draw. Follow this progression...
Good Eats!!!

I just took the Cheerios off the shelf myself. Opened the box, reached in, and started eating. This accomplishment has made me very happy!!!

"Either the box is empty or my very short arms can't reach anymore Os. I'm sad. And I'm still hungry."

"I give up. I give up. I'll just eat the floor."

Fall Leaves

Ella had to travel all the way to Indiana to find some good fall leaves to play in. So much for fall in New England.

Rolling in the leaves.

Falling in the leaves. Ooops!

Meditating in the leaves.

Thanks for showing me around the leaves, Grammie. Next fall we'll go jumping in the leaves.

Ellaphant

Ella's First Halloween!

Is that an Ellaphant walking across my kitchen floor?

That's a happy Ellaphant!

Ellaphants love to read!

The Ellaphant was overheard saying, "I don't know about this CANDY everyone keeps talking about but I love Halloween!"

And Halloween makes Ellaphants very tired.

Snow?

Welcome to Big Bad Boston, Ella. Its October 30th and it is snowing. Upon hearing the rumors that it might snow this week, Kelly and I debated who had the earliest snows of the season in our college days. Chicago and Upstate New York brought a heated rivalry for this award. But graduate school officially takes the cake as October 29th in Cambridge, MA brings us our first snow. Don't worry about us though. It was 65 and sunny today. Ella didn't have to wear that hat at all today.

Yup. That sure is snow flying by our chilly faces

Ella's first grab at a snowflake

Would you believe that is snow on our pumpkin?