it was about two months ago that i decided we should throw my dad a party for his 60th birthday. he doesn’t actually TURN 60 until march 24th, but there are tons of things going on in the next few weeks that prevented us from planning the party then, so we had it this past saturday, the 13th.

ellie and i both came home from texas with bad coughs, so i was stressed to the MAX about the pending celebration with all there was to prepare. luckily my mom came out on wednesday and made a great big costco run with me where we took care of most of the food and drinks. the next day i ordered the cake and the balloons, and after that pretty much everything was … done! imagine that.

saturday morning came quickly and both ellie and i were feeling MUCH better. everything was ready by the time guests started arriving at 3 o’clock and the only thing i continued to stress about was not having enough food for everyone (or enough beer)! turns out we had plenty of everything and even have leftovers upon leftovers still in the fridge. score.

besides the good conversation and seeing all the wonderful people who showed up to celebrate my dad, the best part of saturday was seeing him so happy. a celebration in honor of him was a long, long time coming, and he deserved it more than anyone. happy 60th, daddy-o!

we’re baaaaaack! our big texas trip came and went and we had an incredible time. i was really anxious over the weekend leading up to the day we left because we’d never taken ellie on an airplane before and we had no idea how she’d behave. turns out she was a nearly perfect angel and the flight to austin couldn’t have gone any smoother.

we spent three nights in austin with the seiler family: jeff, denise and their 2-year-old son jaden. ellie was enamored with jaden from the moment she saw him. it was adorable just watching her watch him. oh, and the kisses. there were lots of kisses.

we spent tuesday and wednesday sightseeing in austin. on tuesday we had lunch with jeff and his dad at a restaurant downtown called texas chili parlor. mmm, chili. then we were given a drive-by tour of the university of texas, which reminded me a lot of uc berkeley.

on wednesday jeff took us to zilker park where we saw the barton springs pool, a three-acre swimming area fed from underground spring water. we enjoyed the scenery, and ellie enjoyed getting out of the car and picking up rocks!

from there we went to lunch at a restaurant on lake austin called the hula hut. ryan had fish tacos, i had a grilled chicken sandwich and ellie had her signature favorite, a cheese quesadilla. it was all delicious. i especially enjoyed the “texas martini” jeff recommended … which is actually the same thing as a margarita. silly texas.

after lunch we went to “the last of true texas dance halls,” the broken spoke. i think we we would have sat down for lunch if we hadn’t just stuffed ourselves at the hula hut. instead we looked at all the cool photos and mementos from their famous customers, and ellie had more fun walking around, which, btw, she is getting VERY good at.

we did a little more driving around after that. we did the tourist thing as we drove by the capital building and along the city skyline before we headed over to scholz garten so the boys could enjoy a beer. once again, ellie worked off lots of energy by marching around the backyard picnic area. she also tried to eat a nickel she found on the ground. thankfully, daddy caught her before she could.

we spent our last evening in austin with another night of home cookin’ by jeff, the greatest preparer of meat in all of texas (and side dishes by denise, who ain’t so bad herself).

in all seriousness, though, the seilers are two of the warmest, most welcoming and hospitable people we’re privileged to know. i’m certain we wouldn’t have slept so comfortably or enjoyed such a stress-free time in austin had we not stayed in their lovely home with lovely them. thank you, jeff, denise and jaden. we love you!

there’s no stopping her now :)

saturday, january 16th, was ellie’s first birthday party ever, and it went off without a hitch :)

we started the morning off with errands to pick up the cake (winnie the pooh themed), the balloons (two dozen of them with helium and about 30 with air from my LUNGS), and the fruit bouquet (which was beautiful, albeit expensive, and totally worth the money).

we wanted it to be a big celebration, but we didn’t want there to be so many people that ellie (or we) felt overwhelmed, so the guest list included only family, close friends and a few of ellie’s favorite fellow babies.

…but it still turned out to be quite a packed house!

so many people contributed such wonderful food, too. grandma shirley made her delicious deviled eggs, auntie lolo made the coveted cheeseball, auntie margie brought taquitos and homemade salsa (ryan’s favorite!), grandma rodi brought meatballs and bacon-wrapped chicken, and my mom brought the best homemade guacamole i’ve ever tasted. we also had the fruit bouquet from edible arrangements and, of course, cake and ice cream!

and despite the fact that it was *just* christmas a few weeks ago, the birthday girl was showered in presents yet again :) i don’t want to hear any complaints when she’s older about her birthday and christmas being so close together – she has enough new toys to last year the whole year!

cake time was also nap time, so ellie was a little grumpy when we brought her to the table. the ice cream was enough to keep her going, though! she listened intently as everyone gathered around and sang to her, and sat perfectly still as we helped her blow out the candle. i think she made a wish :)

it really was a perfect afternoon. thank you to everyone who came to celebrate with us, and extra special thanks to our good friend jon, who so generously took the photographs we’ll cherish for a lifetime. we are so very lucky to know all of you <3

dear ellie,

today you turn one year old. that means one year of your life is already behind you, and that is even more amazing to me than when you turned three months, six months, even nine months old. so often lately i’ve found myself wondering where the time goes, marveling at how fast a year has flown by. what a joyous milestone you’ve reached today.

i can remember this day one year ago. i woke up on a monday morning with plans to organize all the gifts and baby gear we received at the shower just two days before, to put everything in its place and have your nursery ready for you to come home to. i was going to be prepared – as i am for most things – and you, my gorgeous bundle of joy, weren’t due to arrive for another four weeks.

but arrive you did, just four hours after i checked into the hospital. arrive you did into a fluorescent light-filled operation room surrounded by the kindest of doctors and nurses, into the arms of the happiest mommy and the proudest daddy in the whole wide world, welcomed by one great big family who could not possibly love you more.

this year i’ve watched you evolve from a mostly stationary, bald pooping machine to a nearly-walking little princess with a sparkling personality all your own. hair covers (most of) your head, your neck is finally visible and seven of your teeth have emerged. you have the longest lashes and the most piercing blue eyes of anyone i know. in fact, your eyes are the feature you receive the most compliments on … well, those and your chubby cheeks.

you’re still on a solid sleep schedule of twelve hours a night and you take two naps during the day – one in the morning and one in the afternoon – for approximately an hour each. in general you’re a happy baby. you’re far less serious than you were in the early months of your life, and much, much sillier. your laugh is music to my ears.

you understand a lot more than we sometimes give you credit for, too, which has become especially apparent over the last week. when i say “where’s daddy?” you look toward the door in anticipation of seeing him walk through it. when i say “go kiss bunny,” you hustle over to your pink bunny chair and plow into it face-first. that is how you kiss stuffed animals, but you are much more gentle when giving kisses to mommy and daddy. you lower your eyes and slowly bend your face toward ours, simultaneously melting our hearts with each kiss.

and today? today i asked you where your bellybutton is, and you lifted your shirt to show me. then i asked you where mine is, and you did the same to me. this is only one of many reasons i am convinced that you are a genius.

i will never be able to express in words the depth of my love for you, miss elinor isabel. i love you to the moon and back – every hair on your head, every expression you make, every tear you cry. i love you in a way you won’t understand until you have a child of your own. i hope you feel the love i have for you every day of your life.

happy 1st birthday, my little lady <3

love,
mommy

ugh, what a horrible bug it was that hit our home. but! almost all of us are good as new, and ellie is right behind us. we think it hit her especially hard (lasting an entire week, give or take) because she’s never really been sick before and her little body has to work extra hard to boot it from her system. she threw up again last night, but she had a solid poop this morning, and we haven’t seen one of those in a WEEK! trust me, it’s a joyous occasion :)

in other news, ryan went back to work last week after two weeks (and a few extra sick days) of vacation. it was wonderful to have him around so often, especially when i felt like i had been run over by a bus from the stomach flu. luckily i felt 100 percent better by the time he started feeling sick, so we could juggle parenting duties between us without having to expose ellie to our germs … even though she caught them anyway :\

last night we went to dinner with matt & alyssa at macaroni grill (mmm!) and then to see avatar in 3D. it was a sold-out show so the line went on forever and the theater was packed, but sneaky matt broke the rules and snuck in ahead of us so we’d have four wonderful seats :) it took a few minutes for our eyes to adjust to the whole 3D thing, but it was a really cool experience. visually, the movie was BEAUTIFUL. if you know james cameron’s work you expect the special effects to be pretty amazing. it was a long movie, 3+ hours, but it didn’t feel that long because it was so good. five stars!

mad stylin’ in our 3D shades

it was nice to get out and do something with friends after feeling icky for so long :P thanks, guys!

oh, and i mustn’t neglect to mention that ellie turns one year old in TWO DAYS! we have plans to attend our first gymboree class that day, and to shower her in plenty of first birthday love and affection <3 next saturday we’re having a little party with a few family members and close friends, just a small two-hour event for cake and ice cream and mingling with the birthday girl. i can’t wait to debut the slideshow i put together of photos and video clips from her first year. it’s about 30 minutes long, so hopefully it holds everyone’s attention! most importantly, i know ellie will cherish it when she’s all grown up :)

we hope all is well with you and yours, and that your new year is already off to a great start!

so, i’m a little late.

january : joy!

february : adjustment

march : getting comfy

april : remembering ourselves

may : new friends

june : outdoor adventures

july : reconnecting

august : summer fun!

september : harvest time

october : pumpkin family

november : new car!

december : contentment

welcome, 2010 <3