well, another birthday has come and gone and the biggest difference is that i am no longer a twentysomething. it’s ok, though. i’m not freaking out. everyone says their 30s were some of the best years of their lives, so i’m actually kind of excited to have entered this period. i’m anticipating things to come, and it feels really good <3
being celebrated also feels really good! which is why i’m still basking in the glow of the weekend on monday morning. so much time and effort was put forth by so many people to ensure i had a wonderful, memorable weekend. i would be remiss if i didn’t mention shirley and the two days she took off work to prep for the big party on saturday. hours and hours of cooking and cleaning and errand-running, all for me. do i have a wonderful mother-in-law or what?
not to mention the other amazing women in my family (my mom, rodi, tai, auntie margie and auntie loretta) who brought all kinds of homemade deliciousness for my guests to enjoy. and antonella, a wonderful friend with a talent for baking, who made 70 of the most adorable cupcakes i’ve ever seen.
and, of course, my parents. not only did they CREATE me (haha), but they also treated us to a very enjoyable birthday dinner on friday night at quinn’s lighthouse, a restaurant of my choice. in addition to all that, my mom took ellie for a walk during my party when i needed a break, and my dad manned the video camera all night. i cannot wait to see the ridiculousness he caught on tape :)
thank you, also, to brianne for wiping my tears and calming my nerves during a moment of extreme stress (and for taking pictures when i realized i hadn’t been taking any – oops!), and to alyssa’s dear husband matt for lighting my candles when ryan was off dealing with ellie <3
and to all the other friends and family who joined in the celebration on saturday, especially josh who made the eight-hour drive from san diego just to be there; flo & brian, who are surely the busiest couple of all with their wedding coming up in less than a WEEK; and all the rest of you amazing people. each one of you made it an event i will always remember, one of the best nights of my life.
and finally, to ryan, the love of my life, the single most selfless person i know, the one who makes everything possible. thank you for my party, thank you for my daughter, thank you for giving me all that i could ever want. i love you so much.
“happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.”
.aristotle.
dear ellie,
tomorrow you turn 18 months old, which means you are a mere six months away from being TWO! i shake my head at the thought, because how can time go by so fast? how can you be one-and-a-half already? my sense of time escapes me, because even after knowing you for nearly two years, i still feel like i just saw you smile and heard you laugh for the first time. and something tells me no matter how old you get, i’ll always see you this way.
in the past six months your vocabulary has expanded from a few words i could count on one hand to more than i can list off the top of my head. i sometimes feel as though we’re having extensive conversations, although i know full sentences are still a few months away. you’re already speaking phrases from “it’s ok” and “he’s so nice” to “i love you” and “there it is!” … of course your enunciation could use some polishing, but your daddy and i usually know what you’re trying to say :) you name body parts, point out household appliances, and you can make almost any animal noise in the book.
you love to climb and you’re beginning to run. you march in place and spin around in circles until you fall down. if you could spend all day upside down, you would. you’ve become miss independent at gymboree, not wanting much to do with me unless another kid makes you feel uneasy. you love playing catch, and the force behind your throw is getting stronger and stronger. you ADORE being outdoors. you get tired of being in the car after a very short time, but you love going places. you have two flower girl titles under your belt and you are the bell of every ball <3
you favorite foods include yogurt, watermelon, popsicles, macaroni & cheese, carrots and french fries. you gave up bottles months ago and you drink milk from your sippy cup like a champ. your self-soothing method is not using a pacifier or sucking your thumb, but chewing on the tail of your beloved baby bear.
you transitioned to a one-nap schedule a few months ago, and it’s working well for all of us. you take a nap after lunch and you sleep a good twelve hours each night. we don’t sneak into your room to check on you very often anymore, as just a creak of the floor can stir you from your sleep.
in the six months since your first birthday you have learned to walk, learned to talk, flown in an airplane, been to another state, watched the rain, visited a national park, seen a waterfall, attended weddings, made new friends, been to the beach and gone to the fair. you have discovered balloons, airplanes, flowers and crayons, play-doh, sesame street, bubbles and rocks, mirrors, bugs, sprinklers and smoothies. when music comes on, you dance. every time.
i love everything about you, miss bells. i love that you say “GO!” before running from the couch to the door, and i love the uncontrollable laughter i elicit when i stop you in your tracks. i love walking into your room in the morning to find you standing in your crib, your hair all disheveled and a silly grin on your face. i love every day of my life because i get to spend them with you.
happy half-birthday, my darling girl <3
love,
mommy
ten years ago we met, went on our first date and shared our first kiss. three years ago we walked down the aisle, made a promise and shared another kiss. today we sometimes forget to kiss, but we do when we remember! :)
happy anniversary(ies) to us <3
i suppose ellie reached a hand-eye coordination milestone recently: throwing. things never go very far, but she’s definitely throwing. and i use the term “things” very generally because she doesn’t seem to discriminate when she throws. if it’s small and close by, it’s flying through the air in no time. this includes such things as pieces of quesadilla, raviolis, and a variety of toys, to name a few.
ellie put on a recent display of this new talent while tossing around the new sesame street figurines we bought her. she loves them, but it’s really hard to tell from watching this.
in other news, today marked a huge milestone for her: she went the entire day without a bottle. zero. zilch. nada. nothing. she drank all of her milk from a sippy, and ate her raviolis with a fork.
our little baby is growing up!
she also had her 15 month well baby check-up where we found out that her height is in the 50th percentile (a whole 2 ft. 6.5 in.!), her weight is still in the 95th percentile (25 lbs. 8 oz.) and her head circumference is … off the charts, but there’s no cause for concern since the rest of her is so big. our baby is just proportionate.
go ellie!
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
