a few weeks ago we bought ellie one of those little plastic swimming pools for the backyard, but it hadn’t been warm enough to use it until this past weekend. sunday was the most beautiful day of the spring so far, so we decided to put ellie in her bathing suit and break out the pool.

unfortunately, she wasn’t really into it. she wasn’t into it at all. it may have had something to do with the fact that water from the hose is pretty darn cold, even on a warm day. or maybe it was because a vast and unfamiliar body of water is just plain intimidating. who knows?

but she did enjoy sitting next to it and splashing the water around!

next time we’ll leave the pool in the sun for awhile before we attempt taking a dip :)

ryan took friday off, so we decided to check out pixieland amusement park in concord. growing up in the bay area, it’s a wonder neither of us had heard of it before. tilden park, yes. fairyland, yes. but pixieland? what was this … pixieland?

loving her new gap shirt dress

funny enough, my parents HAD taken me when i was younger, but only once because they weren’t very impressed. still, it looked cute online and we wanted to see for ourselves.

truth be told, it wasn’t bad at all. it was small, clean, safe and uncrowded. we were able to take ellie on several rides including the train, the merry-go-round and the teacups, although her favorite part was being able to toddle around ahead of us most of the time. we didn’t stay long but we took some cute pictures, which is usually the case when ellie is the subject :)

after pixieland we went out to lunch, and on the way home we stopped by grandma’s work to say hi. ellie went in with nothing and came out with a toy truck and someone’s banana. people are suckers for cute kids!

looking forward to our next family outing <3

today ellie ate with a fork for the first time. i know, i know, she’s 15 months old and it’s about time. still, it’s a milestone. therefore, it had to be captured on tape.

(note: this was the best recording of several, and it happens to be the only time she tried using her left hand. no sign of a right or left hand preference yet)

today ellie turned fifteen months old. according to the fine people at baby center, “the 15th month is one that pediatricians and developmental experts consider a ‘milestone’ period,” and this is very apparent to us in ellie’s actions. she’s walking like a pro, getting into everything, learning new words every day and turning into a full-blown social butterfly.

at fifteen months, words she can pronounce almost perfectly include: mama, dada, hi, bye, bubble, ice, up and “ooh yeah.” her “baby” words (or those she says that only a parent would understand) include: nyny (goodnight), bah (ball and/or bird), ower (flower), ruh-ruh-ruh (dog bark), oo-oo-ah (monkey noise), muuuh (cow moo), neh (no), ahh duuuh (all done and/or gone) and a “ch” sound for cheese.

what’s even more amazing is that she understands a thousand more things than she can put into words. we beam with pride when she brings us items we ask her for, when we ask her to sit and she does, when we tell her it’s time for a bath and she heads to the bathroom herself. the other day i told her we were going to gymboree and she immediately went to get her shoes. she hugs and kisses the things she loves, whether it be me, ryan, her stuffed bunny or her uncle danny. she waves and blows kisses, often without any prompting from us. when i tell her it’s raining outside, she goes to the window to see for herself.

and much to our pleasure, she is warming up to other people in less time than ever before. the timid baby who used to cling to my leg at the sight of an unfamiliar face is now the little girl who checks that person out from a distance for a minute or two and then initiates play. she never sits still; she must be walking, exploring, on-the-go at all times. she’s a little lady in a tiny toddler’s body and the older she gets, the more our hearts swell with love for her.

happy, happy 15 months, miss ells! <3

“april showers bring may … babies!”

this afternoon ellie, shirley and i attended a baby shower for our lovely friend alicia. ryan and alicia’s husband eric have been friends since elementary school, and eric and alicia have been together even longer than ryan and i have, so … they’re having a baby! little miss brylie mckenna is due in a little less than a month, so we were looking forward to “showering” alicia in lots of love (and pink stuff!) before she joins club mommy.

the food was delicious, the decorations were beautiful and so was the mommy-to-be. ellie was extremely pleasant (as usual of late), toddling and babbling to everyone she encountered like the social butterfly she has recently blossomed into.

happy shower day, alicia!

while neither ryan nor i are very religious (ok, we’re not religious AT ALL), we look forward to holidays like easter and christmas because of the candy and presents … just kidding! we look forward to them nowadays because we have ellie, of course, and such holidays are soooooo much more exciting when you have a kiddo.

last easter ellie was a mere three months old, so coloring eggs and hunting for them in the morning would have been silly, but THIS year we did it all! saturday morning consisted of a family dance party in the kitchen while we colored eggs, all 12 of which turned out beautifully.

my mom and dad came out early sunday morning to have breakfast and watch ellie do her first egg hunt. it was pretty cold outside, so i – i mean, the easter bunny – hid the eggs around the warm, cozy living room :) we gave her a little basket and demonstrated that she should put the eggs inside, and off she went! she got the hang of it instantly, and once she found all the eggs, she wanted to do it all over again.

sunday afternoon we met everyone at giuseppe’s, an italian restaurant in san ramon where we’ve had easter dinner for the past few years. ellie was a social butterfly and got to spend a little quality time with her extended family. well, everyone but her great-grandpa alex, of whom she seems to be semi-terrified. poor grandpa! he just wants his great-grandchild to love him :(

happy belated bunny day, from our family to yours <3 GO JESUS.