13 Months Old

Ellen turned 13 months old Nov. 27 and She is a very busy and very happy little toddler. Ellen's walking skills continue to improve and it is now her preferred method of mobility. Ellen has also fully converted to sippy cups (woohoo!). She's still wearing size 3 diapers, but wears a size 4 at night. She wears a size 4 shoe and mostly 12-18 month- sized clothing. She's still taking two two-hour naps a day, but is showing signs that she may be ready to alter this schedule. In other sleep news, Ellen has been waking up in the middle of night for the past week or so ... This is very uncharacteristic considering EVB has slept straight through the night since she was just a few weeks old. Could it be that our luck is finally running out?! I hope this is just a phase!

EVB showing off her five chompers!

Getting ready for the holidays by reading her reindeer book ...

More reading - this time after finishing a yummy breakfast at Capital View Cafe

Tired Turkey

Ellen had a very busy Thanksgiving. She was lucky enough to spend time with both sides of her family. EVB sampled some mashed potatoes, stuffing and turkey, but didn't seem all that impressed with the yummy spread ... Hopefully she'll enjoy it more next year. We didn't have a chance to snap a picture during any of the festivities, but managed to get a photo of EVB all tuckered out on the drive home!

Walkin' & Talkin'

Over the past few days, Ellen's walking skills have improved drastically. She can now take about 5-8 steps unassisted and she's getting even better at standing and walking while holding onto furniture with just a finger or two. EVB's vocabulary is also improving ... Here's a list of the words she says that we can actually make out:

• gock (duck)
• qwa qwa (quack quack)
• woof (puppy)
• moo (as in "what does the cow say?")
• jeez (cheese)
• ha (hi)
• baby
• pee (peek-a-boo)

Ellen's 1st Birthday Party

We celebrated Ellen's birthday with a small gathering of family at our house. Ellen had a great time playing with her cousins and, of course, eating cake. EVB was the gracious recipient of many lovely gifts ... she is a very lucky (and very loved) little girl!

EVB showing off her party dress. (Ellen borrowed this dress from her cousin Sophia who wore it on her 1st birthday!)

Cake for Ellen's guests. (Ellen had her own personal cake to dig into.)

EVB trying to figure out why everyone is singing to her ...

After a brief lesson from mommy about eating frosting ...

EVB definitely got the hang of it.

Messy Ellen!

Despite having a head caked in frosting, it was time to open presents!

As was expected, Ellen liked the ribbons and bows best (and had fun wearing Sophia's headband).

Mom and Dad and a tuckered out birthday girl!

Happy Halloween!

Ellen had a super-fun Halloween. She dressed up as a spider and went trick-or-treating to one house (our next door neighbors'). EVB is still too little for candy, but maybe next year!

Ooh ... spooky spider!

EVB humoring Mom & Dad by posing for pictures.

After a while, Ellen realized how ridiculous she looked.

EVB was very intrigued by the lighted jack-o-lanterns!

Our family of pumpkins (Ellen, Mom & Dad).