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!