great-grandparents and grandparents are in unique positions, especially when grandchildren get introduced into the family. they have the opportunity to shape the memories and experiences of the kids with their extensive knowledge and life experiences, as well as their love.
i’m glad that ellie has people around her, like my grandmother, who seem determined to leave an impression, even if it isn’t understood or appreciated until long after they’re gone.
grandma sent ellie some really nice gifts for christmas and her first birthday, but we just received them yesterday. it’s like christmas all over! she also sent a really cute and thoughtful poem along with the gifts.
these are the things that ellie will discover later in life and hopefully they will make her realize how much she was loved, even by people she didn’t get to see very often.
ellie dear, it’s your special day
12 whole months have flown away
you’re not a little baby anymore
but a sweet little girl for us to adore
we eagerly await your first baby word
will it be mama or dada we hear?
whichever it is will be sweet to our ear
your future awaits you to enjoy your life through
together we send all our love to you
the world awaits you with open arms
you’ll take it by storm with all your charms
just remember, dear, our dreams go with you
we know you’ll protect them
and make them come true
not even a month past her first birthday and ellie has already developed a mind of her own. the simple tricks that a dad has at his disposal for entertainment and play are quickly becoming relics in the repertoire.
this video serves as visual evidence of my dying ability to influence her actions. turns our we’re raising an independent young lady with a mind of her own, who does things on her own timeline.
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
ellie and i attended our first gymboree class last tuesday, her first birthday, and we had SO MUCH FUN! mr. rob was so nice and paid special attention to ellie to make her feel comfortable, and she really seemed to enjoy herself.
she would scoot over to me for comfort every now and then, but she was intrigued and involved with the other babies the whole time. i was so proud of her.
special thanks to pop for joining us and taking pictures!
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
note: this slideshow is 30 minutes long. if you are coming over on saturday, i ask that you please not watch it here as we are planning to show it at ellie’s birthday celebration. thank you!
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!
a stomach bug has infiltrated the lack/williamson home. first i got it. then i passed it to ellie who passed it to ryan who passed it to robert who passed it to shirley. everyone.
i’m all better, ryan and robert are just barely out of the woods, shirley’s in the thick of it, and ellie had it for two days, seemed to get better, and now has it worse :( my poor little one. we had to reschedule our first gymboree class today due to diarrhea. so sad :( i hope it ends soon.
"what greater thing is there for human souls than to feel that they are joined for life - to be with each other in silent unspeakable memories." - george eliot
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