"Yuck! Broccoli!"

"It may look like I am smiling, but I can assure you: I AM NOT."

"Why...why did you do it, Mom??"

The Muppets at the Smithsonian

Last Saturday, we headed out to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History to check out the Muppets exhibit. It was fun to see all the old school muppets from our childhood (Go Fraggle Rock!), and watch excerpts from shows. Ellie cracked up watching some of the earlier commercials Jim Henson put on, and honestly so were Jeremy and I.

I wish we could have taken pictures there. At one point, Elinore was sitting on a bean bag next to a garantuan Kermit the Frog. I thought it might scare her (especially since Jeremy was putting her head in Kermit's huge mouth), but she was laughing and trying to grab onto his big, green...erm...hands?

Anyway, it was a great way to kill some time in the day, get out of the house but stay out of the dense humid heat, and have some fun family time.

Toothy Grin

I knew I would forget something in Elinore's 9 month update: She has teeth! Two little pearly whites on the bottom. We always loved her gummy smile, but her new toothy grin makes us smile every time.

Close up shot...

9 Month Update

Ellie had her 9 month appointment the other day, and here are the stats:

• 18 lbs., 12 oz. (50 percentile)
• 30.5 in. long (still off, OFF the charts!)
• head circumference 18 in. (93 percentile -- gotta love those big, Korean heads...)

Standard Milestones:

Okay, we have been really bad about posting her recent milestones. However it seems like in the last month, she has hit so many of them at rapid rate that it has been hard to keep up. Here are some of the ones that we can think of right now.

• Ellie is crawling around now...well, she is more like "horizontal rock climbing "around. But, hey, it gets her from Point A to Point B quite effectively.

• As of a few days ago, Ellie has mastered getting into the sitting position from her belly. Amazingly, she couldn't do this last week at all, and wasn't showing any signs of even trying to do so. Her PT was a little concerned about this, but randomly 5 days from her appointment, she can do it flawlessly.
• Ellie is just beginning to pull up in her crib and onto furniture. Yikes! We need to do some quick safety proofing of our apartment....
• About two weeks ago, she went on a baby food strike, and refused to open her mouth for pureed food. She was intent on living off bananas and puffs. That is, until Mom and Dad put the smack down....er, I mean...got smarter and began feeding her finger foods. She now enjoys a wide array of food from diced chicken to pasta to various fruits and veggies. However blueberries and bananas are her favorites. Also, Elinore is becoming quite proficient at drinking from her sippy cup -- I suspect soon we will be able to put more costly elixirs in her cup, such as her milk and juice, without it going to waste.
• And of course, she is still a Chatty Cathy. From the moment she wakes up in the morning, she is babbling almost non-stop. She also is saying "Dada" and "Mama," but we are not sure what her level of discrimination is at this point.

Fun Milestones:

• She now claps her hands, particularly to music. Ellie will often crawl over to her Fisher Price Music Player and push to play button, and sit and clap her hands with a huge grin on her face. It is so cute!
• Rolling a ball back and forth with someone is on her Top-10-fun-things-to-do.
• Elinore has begun to give me things, such as a ball or small toy. For instance, she was shaking a rattle today, and then looked at me, smiled and handed it to me.
• Daddy is the recipient of many kisses and snuggles -- Mommy, much to her annoyance, is not (What the heck?!).
• Last, but not least, Elinore has discovered the fun game of peek-a-boo. She will take a blanket or toy and put it over her face, then quickly jerk it down and laugh.
  

"Peek-a-boo!!"

Still a Book Junkie

Elinore's love for books has not diminished over these past months. In fact, it has grown at an exponential rate! Every day -- several times a day -- she crawls over to her personal library of beloved board and touch-and-feel books, and sits down with a look of expectation. She does this so often that Jeremy actually caught himself saying the other day, "No, Elinore, no more books," as if she was asking for something really forbidden...!



She not only loves having these books read to her over and over, she loves taking an active role in turning the pages for her storyteller. She has gotten quite good (and quick!) at doing this.

Reading her all-time favorite touch-and-feel book, I See a Monster, with Daddy (For the 4th time that day).

"I love the Sea Monster in the bathtub!"

Sun Valley

My parents have a condo in Sun Valley, Idaho, and so the last weekend we were in town we trekked out to the mountains to enjoy a change in beautiful scenery. While we were in SV, we visited my Aunt Sharon and Don, who are just down the road. We shared laughs and more laughs over mimosas and homemade fare ("homemade," at least, by Sharon's standards which means that she took the plastic wrap off the quiches and put them in the oven at home...). It was a lovely time...and did I mention that we shared laughs??

In classic form, Mom has her eyes closed for the picture.

"Hi!"

Sharon and Ellie.

Why is this pic BW? It has something to do with getting a tan but not new foundation... Read: I look like a geisha. Seth is taking his role as the only boy seriously.

A family pic where Maddie almost lost her hair clip...

More Idaho Pics

Here are more pics from our vacation in Idaho.

The Three Musketeers

Ellie with Ruth, a dear friend of the family.

Seth bearing the burden of Jeremy's gianormous shoes!

E and Grandpa

Bathtime helpers

Time Flies!

It had been 6 months from when my family had seen Elinore last. Time flies! Kids grow! ....



....And some things never change.

Watching golf with Grandpa.