The Laundry Maid

Our little girl has a fascination with the dryer (yea!). She loves to watch the clothes tumble around inside & simultaneously see her reflection. Here, she's especially content since she's without her clothes. Now if only we could get her to actually switch the clothes and operate the machine...

Standing Tall

Just when we think we've succeeded in babyproofing the house, Ellison quickly brings us back to reality. She's really starting to feel like a big girl now and stands up to everything she's able to get her hands on. After repeated "no"s, Ellison looked back at me with defiance written all over her face. :)

Daddy's Groupie

Ellison had a fun time playing around in her dad's guitar case and touching all the interesting little strings & knobs. Hopefully she'll be a little more musical than her parents!

Ell's Little Sneaks

OK, we know we're cheesy, but we get such a kick out of Ellison's little mini-shoes. She finally fits into the little pair of Sketchers I bought for her shortly after she was born. We thought they were so darn cute we had to take advantage of the photo op. She was all dressed and ready to cruise! But in true female style, she had to talk on the phone first. We walked her all the way to the end of the driveway and back. Whew! Those little puppies got broken in!

The Buddies

After her dad fed her dinner, he faced her to look out the window where Bo was peeking in. Ellison thought it was so cool. She kept looking at Bo, then her dad, and just smiling and flapping her arms. She just started to take an interest in her two furry brothers. I've caught her on a few occasions about to stick her little index finger in Bo's nostrils.

Ellison's Playground

Ellison's favorite spot to play right now is at the foot of the stairs where her dad installed a safety gate. I guess that's what put her over the edge. She loves to walk back and forth using the bars, and try to reach various objects through the bars that are placed on the steps. We keep telling her this better be the only time we ever see her through bars!

Daddy's Mini-Me

Due to the chilly morning (yea!), Ellison got to finally wear her sweater from Uncle Josh & Aunt Andrea, much to Daddy's pleasure (he loves the preppy look). Ellison was trying to break in her new shoes on the driveway, too. She kept walking toward the dried leaves laying in her path, and would carefully and precisely stomp her foot on one to hear the crunching, then would continue on to the next one. She did this over and over and over...

Ellison wondered how far her jeans would go if she tried to do the splits.

Does this child look like her father, or what?

Let's Get Her Used to the Kitchen!

After all the yummy Greek pastries we ate at the Greek Festival, Mommy thought it would be a good idea to introduce the mini-bakeware to Ellison, who thought it was delicious. She was occupied for quite some time.

Getting ready to wrap pasteles, Abuela!

The Halloween Preview

Ellison thought it would be nice to see what it felt like to have lots of hair. :) It felt so natural to her - she immediately put a strand of locks in between her fingers and started twirling it around. Though this will be her Halloween wig (now that we know she will keep it on maybe for a short while) it's got lots of work left to go on it. It will not be blonde for the event. Hmmm...
I must note that Ellison had her first in-store little tantrum today while shopping for the wig. I'm being a little dramatic - it only lasted about 30 seconds & it wasn't blood-curdling. But she was having so much fun grabbing at shelf items, and was so excited when she succeeded in grabbing a bag of cotton balls. When I took them away, she let out the most dramatic squeal and immediately starting sobbing with HUGE tears and a red face while kicking her legs. I had to hold back the snicker (it was kinda cute). Alas, she was quickly distracted and had sudden amnesia the next aisle over when she spotted the deoderant selection. I'm sure this was the first of many more tantrums we'll experience throughout her young childhood. Somehow I don't think I'll find it cute then...

Ow!: The Sequel

Here's this week's strange (and seemingly uncomfortable) sleep position. I'm finding she gets into these funny spots if she falls asleep after sitting up in her crib for a little while.

10 Months Old

(Sigh)... She's growing up too fast. Though each new day is exciting to look forward to, the whole newborn stage just seems like it was a dream. But what a joy she is to watch grow up! We just can't believe God gave her to US - how incredibly grateful we are!
She loves shaking her head "no" to everything, she's becoming a little more vocal (though usually in a very sweet way), and she's cruising around & getting into EVERYTHING she's not supposed to. She thinks she's a big kid, always trying to play with big kid toys, like cell phones, electronics, DVD players, telephones, computers, etc. Why aren't her blocks quite as fun?! On the off chance that Ellison catches Barney on TV (which isn't often), she becomes hilariously excited. And we're raising quite the carnivore - this girl LOVES meat! She's very independent (as long as I'm around :)) & won't allow me to show her how to clap or do things with her hands - she pulls them away; she will learn something by example, but no one will show her how. My mom said it sounded like she was taking after someone quite strongly. She must mean Jonathan. Other than her little stubborn streak, Ellison is a very happy little 10 month old, who loves to giggle and smile. She's SUCH a good little girl! Perhaps we better make her an only child - God knows we won't be this lucky again...

Bath Baby

Ellison is so much fun immediately after her bath. She squeals and giggles with us on her changing table. And you can see she's getting a mouthful - she busted through with tooth #5 yesterday. Believe it or not, #6, 7, 8 are all about to pop through too! This chickie's ready for steak!

Ow!

We couldn't believe our eyes. I walked in to cover up Ellison after she finally fell asleep for her nap, and found her asleep in this position! Though she was obviously comfortable, I couldn't resist the need to reposition her.

Non-Labor Day

Just back from a lovely walk we had at the Guilford Courthouse Military Park (a really beautiful park with Revolutionary War monuments) near our house, Ellison was relaxing on the deck with Daddy before her nap and trying to rehydrate.

Happy Baby

She always wakes up SO happy from her naps, and thinks it's the greatest thing to stand up in her crib and hang out. She and her mommy were making faces at each other here, and Mommy was trying to get some kisses.

Just playin'

Ellison and Daddy were monkeying around, as usual. Ellison gives Hi-Fives now on command... er, should I say, request.

On the Go

Our little girl is all over the place now that she's more mobile. Though she crawls very well, she much prefers practicing walking. Here, she was trying to stand up using the high chair, but the wheels weren't locked. She lets her Mommy know when she's failing in the housekeeping department - this girl finds the tiniest little speck of dirt on the floor, picks it up, and tries to eat it. The vacuum has become a permanent fixture in the living room now.

Mookie Zombie

Ellison, tired as she was, didn't want to stop playing with Noah's Ark with her dad. She's always a dead give-a-way when she's sleepy. Her little tongue sticks out and puffs out her lips, and she keeps it that way. It's the cutest thing.

North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro

We had a fun visit to the zoo with Bing, Denise, & Brandon. Well, we can't really say that Ellison did. It was super hot and humid, and little Mookie could not fall asleep in her stroller for her afternoon nap, so she was overly tired. Come to find out, she was running a fever, too; but we didn't know it because we were all so hot & sweaty. Ellison ended up with a viral illness. Since we were trying to get her to sleep for much of the excursion, there aren't really any photos of her with any animals. She was a trooper, as always, though.

This was on the bus heading back to the parking lot. It's a nice-size zoo!

The Gang

Allie & Ellison being silly

Ellison loved looking out Grammy & Pappy's picture window. She thought it was kinda cool when I went outside and played with her through the window.

Grammy was in heaven when Ellison fell asleep in her arms. Ellison was still as could be watching the birds out the window while Grammy rocked her and held her hand until she feel asleep.

Ellison felt like one of the big kids here. This is Andy, Isaac, and Allie - my cousin Shawn's kids. Allie and Ellison share the same birthday, just one year apart. We're hoping to have a joint party for them this year.

Kissy, Kissy

Ellison's trip to Michigan involved lots of little milestones. She had her first swing ride, she walked barefoot in the grass for the first time, and here is a photo of her giving kisses to Grammy. (The other photo is of Aunt Carrie. Ellison got her evening bottle outside 'cause it was so nice out.) Grammy taught her how to give kisses while we were there. Ellison would only do it for Grammy (much to Grammy's pleasure). But now she gives kisses a lot more and includes Mommy & Daddy. Ellison also broke through with tooth #4 and learned how to crawl while we were in MI. We got to celebrate Pappy's 60th birthday, too, though Ellison was asleep for the low-key festivities. Whew!

Strolling Along

Pappy took Ellison on a little walk down to her Great Aunt Geri & Uncle Dick's house. She loves to go on walks.

Playing in the Grass

Ellison went barefoot in the grass at Grammy & Pappy's, which she was unsure about. She has recently started noticing her tummy more and more, which is too cute, especially when she does it in the bathtub. And our ever-teething girl kept trying to bite the swing rope while swinging. The things this girl puts in her mouth...