The definitive answer on who she takes after. . .

Ho, Ho, Ho

Ellie and I went to "look" at Santa today.  She really doesn't know who the "Big Guy" is yet, nor does she probably care.  I would imagine that he would be pretty scary though.  A strange person, dressed in very odd looking clothing and wanting to hold children.  Aren't these all things we teach our children not to be attracted to? :)

So any how, went ventured early this morning to the local mall, followed the arrows pointing towards the Santa area, and found ol' Saint Nick.  He was amongst a briar patch of big, stuffed animals.  I took Ellie out of the stroller and pointed towards the jolly fellow.  Her reaction?

She looked every which way except his.  She was far more excited about all the animals.  "Duck, duck" she kept squealing while looking at the life sized stuffed swans.

Although her world doesn't include the man in the red suit, I was excited for her.  Soon enough, she'll come to see him as the bringer of good, magical things.  And we'll have a renewed sense of all the goodness in the world.

So, this Mom, is looking forward to next year...already!

15 Months

Another month went zooming by.  I wish I posted more.  I think about it almost all the time.  Like "oh that would be good to post" or "that's a great video for the blog".  I guess being an engineer at heart, I can't say writing is my most favorite thing to do. :)

Let's see...some of the fun things this past month.  For Thanksgiving we headed to Philadelphia to visit the Hartman's.  In California, they were our Thanksgiving family.  Then we moved and then they moved.  But traditions seem to continue on and we traveled over the holiday weekend to spend time with them and all our wonderful friends (Russ, Sean, Mary, David and Rachel).

Maybe it was being around big kids or that we finally got rid of a long standing ear infection.  What ever it was, Ellie's words blossomed over that weekend.  She started to say "Hi" to everyone.  And was clearly saying "steps" (there were many in the house).

Ever since, she's been on a word kick.  Although they aren't perfectly clear, she says: hide, off, hat, hear, whoa, help, eggs, hot, more.  And she tries repeating lots of other words.  And she hears everything.  Even when you don't think she's listening, she is.

She's also mastered stairs.  In previous months, going up was the easy part.  Going down was often sketchy.  She always seemed like she was on a tightrope just about to tip over.  In the last week, she's mastered the ability to slither down stars on her belly.  It's with much confidence and speed.

We also had our first snowfall.  Ellie happily played in the white stuff.  She just likes being outdoors really.  So she doesn't seem to mind the change of seasons.  She seems to appreciate the "new stuff" that comes along with each one.

Daycare/Preschool is another joy in Ellie's expanding universe.  She's now flowing with their established routines and seeming to enjoy the structure.  She only goes 2 days/week so it's taken awhile for all of us to get settled.  Their day goes something like: large group time, snack, outside, family group time, lunch, nap, snack, and outside.  This helps me too.  I've been trying to be more structured about our days together too.

We love her school.  The teachers are wonderful and sooo patient.  Everyday she's there, they do something fun and messy.  I'm so grateful for their explorations.  I don't think I'm be brave enough to do some of the things they do in a home environment.  Like food colored ice cub painting.  Playing with oatmeal, rice, beans, etc. Fingerpainting that ends up everywhere.    

Well it's almost bath/bed time.  To part, here's a fun video of the first snow last week.

Stationery card

Calendar Year New Year's Card

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Movie Monday - Happy 14 months

Ellie's a very active 14 months (today!).  Here's a sneak peak of how our mornings go.

Ain't fall great

Today mom and dad took on the leaves.  It is great living in a wooded area but every fall we literally get buried. 

This is my first year as part of the clean-up crew. . . And I have to say, it is pretty fun.

Movie Monday - Progress Check

October 2011

October 2010

The Best Part of Fall

Today I got to go to the cider mill. Dad tells me it is a right of passage for anyone who lives in michigan. I have to say that Cider and Doughnuts may be my new favorite meal.

I have to say though that I like being outside as much as the doughnuts ~ which is a lot!!!!  Did you see how pretty the leaves are?

Ellie's Pumpkin

Ellie's awareness and ability continue to be shocking/fun/awesome to watch grow. I think this video is particulary fun because you can see the growth in dexterity.
Setting the stage for the video. Ellie's school/daycare invited us to join them on Monday for their pumpkin day. They dotted the garden with pumpkins (think easter eggs but using pumpkins instead) that the kids then could go find. Once chosen, said pumpkin was painted a rainbow of colors.
Also attached is the finished product proudly displayed on the porch ready for Halloween.

Nom, Nom, Nom

This is Ellie's first full apple. Looks a beaver was munching on it. But impressive given she only has 7 teeth...3 on top and 4 on the bottom!

Walking Legs

The video says it all.  Ellie decided it was time to walk over the weekend.  Saturday we were at cousin Cecelia's first birthday and Ellie started to walk.  Like let go of my hand and started to move herself forward and then turned a corner to see what was on the other side.  I was in absolute shock.

The next day in the kitchen, I was busy doing something and turned around to see a little person walking towards me.  So this is the first video of Ellie pulling herself up and walking all on her own.

A Sign - Eat More

Yesterday, we received Ellie's first message.  We've been working on basic hand signing for the last 4-5 months.  But very little came of it until yesterday.  I was feeding her some dinner when as clear as she's even done them, she "signed"  EAT MORE.  As I've mentioned in other posts, food and eating often is of paramount importance to our little (or not so little) Ellie.  She learned to crawl using cheerios.  So I should not be surprised that the first message from her little brain would be food related as well. 

I've gone out to the local library to get more videos on baby signing.  It's sooo nice to finally understand what she is thinking.  We'll keep working on the verbal words, but if sign language is available too, I'm all for it!

Side note on verbal words, the week of her birthday she started to say her first sound...woof.  I'll see if I can post a video of it.  But of course, being the only sound word she can say...most animals now say woof when asked.  Although she does know it's the sound that belongs to dogs.  But what can you do if you only have one word in the toolbox? :)

Sent from my Samsung Epic™ 4G

Today's the Day! Happy First Birthday

Dear Ellie,

You've officially been part of our crew for a year.  A lot has changed for you in that time.  And a lot has changed for us too.  If you would've known me before you, the thought of being a SAHM (I think that's the acronym that everyone uses these days for stay at home mom) would have been funny.  But I didn't want to miss anything.  The chance to watch you grow was too good to pass up.  And grow you have.  You joined this world at 8lbs and 21.5ins and have tripled to 25lbs and 31ins.  You followed your growth curve the entire year bouncing between 90 and 100th percentile the whole time.  But that's the genes at work.

The real work was in the brain space.  The ability to gain functioning intelligence to feed, propel and communicate was all you (with some help from God of course).  You are a happy person.  You want to be happy and make others happy.  We saw this skill blossom in London when you would reach out to anyone and everyone on the "Tube" with a smile.  And make others smile you have.

You're a thinker.  You don't really run off and tackle things.  You take time to observe and analyze.  Then your little pointer finger pops up and you start to explore, first, with that little finger and then with your whole self.

You're generally up for an adventure.  You have traveled about the circumference of the world (~25,000 miles) with 2 trips to California, a trip to Utah and then over the pond to London.  You're pretty happy with speed and fast things.  You've spent many hours in our BOB stroller and bike trailer as we run and bike around Ann Arbor.  You even glided over the hills of Alta Ski resort with Dad at six months (we hope this is a good sign of ski legs yet to come).  And you're a swimmer too!  You and Dad also share a love of water.  You had fun at swim class from the first dip in the water. 

I imagine you are going to become some kind of chef.  You LOVE food.  From day 1, food has been very important to your sense of well being.  You cried and cried your second night at the hospital because you were so hungry.  And that has been the M.O. ever since.  When you are most upset, it's generally because you are hungry or thirsty.  We started solids at 4 months because milk just wasn't enough.  And you've rarely been picky about the foods we feed you.  You've liked them all at one point or another.  Your favorite is probably yogurt/cottage cheese with any kind of berry.

You also like sleep and quiet time.  We would swaddle you like a burrito and pop a pacifier in and you were out for the count.  You finally started to sleep thru the night in June.  It was sweet relief to Dad and I because we like sleep too.

We've classed out this first year.  You have been to 2 Baby & Me classes, 2 Music Together classes, Swim Class and Curious Wiggle Worms.  I think they were more for me then you but it was good fun for you too.

You like all the animals that roam around our house but your favorite are the dogs.  You squeal with great joy when you see a dog walk by.

Can't forget to talk about family.  You are VERY blessed to have a really wonderful family.  Starting with the blessing of a cousin that's only 36hrs older than you.  You and Maddy have been together from your first day.  We have pictures of you both in the hospital hours after you were born.  It's as close to having a twin without having a twin.  It's been neat to watch you both grow into your little selves.

Speaking of cousins, in total the "Class of 2010/2011" includes:  Riley, Maddy, Caden, Cecelia, Alex, Jacob, Addison, and Brendan.  You will never be bored at family events.

Your second year promises to be just as eventful as the first.  You have become a toddler in every way these last few weeks with tantrums, communication frustrations, and demands.  But you also have a sense of humor and can make us laugh for hours.  So here's to our next year together...may it be graced with patience, faith and love.

Love Always and Forever, Mom

Movie Monday - More Flashback

We're continuing to visit the archive of  videos.  This one goes way back to October of last year.  As the countdown to Ellie's first birthday continues (just one more week), it's fun to recall where the year started and how far she has come.

Just to note, Ellie was never big on tummy time.  Maybe why she didn't start crawling until month 9.  So we don't have many pictures or videos of her on the belly which is why I chose this one for today's post.

Tough Love

Living with a growing human being isn't always the joy I write about. Recently Ellie has discovered the emotions of frustration and anger. And what does a non-verbal person do to express themselves when they don't have the words? Fling their little arm into your general direction. When holding little frustrated person this means putting your precious head in harms way. As poor Grandma found out (Ellie just received holes in her ears... I decided to go for it and have her ears pierced so she was sensitive about those earlobes.  The cute picture of Grandma and Ellie is found in the post below).

So work has begun to teach that striking people is not the most effective long term solution to communicating. But until her words come, I'd suggest everyone keep their heads at a distance.

Bling Bling

Today was a big day - I got my ears pierced!!!
Don't the look pretty?  I feel like a big girl now.

Movie Monday Flashback

 

Per Fan request, I'll be working to add more video.  There's lots of old footage (smile) I have't posted.  This clip takes us back to January 30.  Ellie is almost 5 months old.

Car Sleep Gene

This weekend we had to drive up to Boyne, Mi for a family event on Braden's side.  It's a 4 hour drive one way. That's a loonnnggg time for a 11 month old.  Fortunately Ellie appears to have gotten the car sleeping gene.  But you gotta admit the chair rivals an adult Lazyboy (big smiles).

Baby No More

Something changed for Ellie last week.  Thursday was different than all her previous days.  Her actions were very intentional and she was aware of herself and surroundings in a way I have never seen before.  She knew what things (food, toys) she wanted and which ones she didn't.  She explored the household landscape and picked up non-toys that she never noticed to that point.

I say it's the day she left babyhood.  She looks, acts the part of a toddler now. 

I see the walking legs coming online.  Yesterday she stood unsupported and balanced for at least 20 seconds.  So I know the skill is there.  But Ellie is not someone to be rushed.  She likes to do things on her own timeline.  And shows quite a bit of resistance to being pushed.

Only one more month until the big ONE (haha, the first birthday that is)!

Movie Monday

I've been meaning to capture the advancements of Ellie's mobility.  She's cruising using things like walkers and push toys.  Balancing on two feet isn't there but otherwise all other elements of walking are ready to go!  The countdown to the big birthday is starting...only 5 more weeks.

I understand!

I get it!  I understand what you're trying to tell me.  You tell me to sit and I sit down.  You tell me to open the lid on my toy box and I open the lid.  This learning a language stuff isn't easy but I'm starting to understand more and more words every day.  I've also started to call for Mama when I need something and Dada when I want to play.  Or I choose to use those words when one parent isn't doing something I like and I want the other parent to "do something" about it.  I'm smart like that you know ;)

Other words that I can understand include "down, up, open, close, sit down, fan, ball".  I'm sure there are more but I can't think of the others just now.  I'll save those for another post.

More fun with JD, Kim and Maddy

Everybody is getting so big!!!

Huron River Day

Gotta love summer!
Today was a day in Gallup Park. Picnic and sun. Doesn't get any better.

Kisses...Sweet Kisses

I received my first Ellie smooch on Tuesday.  Although it was the baby kind (open mouth and licking you kind), it was such a nice reciprocation of love.  After all these months (10 today to be exact), you wonder if they have any kind of affection for you as much as you have for them.

And the best part, was that it was at our last minute doctors appointment to check out a potential ear infection.  It almost felt like she was saying "Thanks Mom for taking me to the dr's because I'm not feeling well."  I think this because we've been trying to get kisses from her for awhile to no avail (remember the crawling thing... same deal).  But out of no where, while waiting to be seen by the dr, I asked for a kiss... and got one!!!!

We're behind in our monthly pictures.  We did take the 9 month ones.  So this month with hopefully be a double feature and we'll post both sets.

Mobility!

As previously posted, Ellie has had little interest in crawling until the trail of Cheerios was laid a few weeks back.  In the continuing saga, we have a fully functional crawler sans-Cheerios.  Within the last few days she is up on the hands and knees motoring around, then sitting on her butt and then back on the hands and knees for more exploring.  She's even pulling herself up to standing.  That's where she really wants to be...you can tell that if her little being could, she'd be walking.

Other skills acquired this week.  She is now actively associating words with actions.  She had a rattle in her hand and I said to shake it... and she did!  She also waved bye-bye when asked to (although this is still an only when Ellie wants to action).

Poor thing isn't feeling great this morning so we're waiting for the Dr to call back.  But it won't spoil the long weekend.  It's family play time!  Happy 4th of July everyone!!

We have contact

Ellie has officially been out in the world (41 weeks) longer than she was in her human incubator (40 weeks exactly).  It does give you a whole new appreciation for the process of life.  Having always liked science, it's the ultimate experiment.  To witness and the experience the transformation from incapable to pretty functional in months (which to this old soul is like nothing as far as timelines go) has been scientifically impressive.

This week in particular has been staggering. 

Last Tues (June 14) - Aunt Kim noticed another 2 lower teeth coming in (for a total of 6)
Last Fri (June 17) - Ellie crawls for the first time.  I did have to bribe her with a trail of cheerios but she crawled to get them.
Sun June 19 - She started babbling more and by Wed she was saying Dadada and by Fri it was mamama (She doesn't associate them with us yet but her vocal range is really expanding)
Tues June 21 - I took out of her protective bath gear and she's now taking baths like a normal kid.  Just hanging out and sitting in the bath tub.

In addition, there have been little victories towards walking.  We got her a new walking toy and she mastered late last week.  As a result, she's starting to try to balance standing. 

But all this "growth" also comes with a renewed love for eating lots and also sleeping lots.  She's been taking about 3-4hrs of naps daily plus another 11 hrs of sleep at night.

It's amazing, amazing stuff.

Super Mother's Day

We've been a "super" busy family over the last couple of months.  Mom was wrapping up her job at Oracle, Dad has been working on business deals for Stryker and I've been well..."super"!

I'm behind in my updates so with Mommy and Daddy's help, I'll be catching up on my blogging.

This picture is from Mom's first Mother's Day.  We went to the family cottage near Lexington, MI.  We had fun playing for the day.  Here I am in my new sunglasses looking like a super hero... Call me Wonder Ellie.

Peony Festival

Did you know the Arb had a Peony Festival? I didn't either.


Mom and Grandma took me there today and it was beautiful. So much to touch and see. I am sad the blooms don't last long but I am already looking forward to next year.

Jump-a-roo

I don't think my jumper has made the list yet.  I mean check this thing out - it makes noise, it rattles, it flashes and I even get to stand up.

Mom and dad like it because their arms get a break and I get exercise  I like it because it makes noise. . . . For  now, it is one of my favorite toys.

Happy Birthday to ME!!

OK so 7 months isn't exactly a celebrated birthday but I think it is pretty cool.  A lot has happened for me this last month.  I am sitting up without any real assistance.  If you hold my hands, I'll pull myself up to my feet.  I much more curious, using my hands independent of each other and my two lower teeth are displaying themselves proudly.  Most of all I like to taste things.  If I can pick it up, it is going in my mouth.  Hey -  taste is one of the senses - I want to make sure I am experiencing them all.

Books are cool!!!

Both Ann Marie and I love books and reading so we have tried to make them a part of Ellie's life.

Today Ann Marie was making Ellie's dinner and gave her a book to keep her busy.  We looked over after a few minutes and this was the scene.

We often wonder if hard-copy books will disappear in her lifetime but for now, she seems to enjoy the old-fashioned kind.  Hopefully a sign of things to come.

What is better than a big family????

Me and Baby Brendan snuggling

. . . a bigger family  :-)

Today I got to meet my newest cousin - Baby Brendan.  I suppose when he grows up we will just call him Brendan but for now I like the alliteration.

Brendan was born on March 28th to Mom's sister Rose (and of course Mike).

He is such a little peanut - so crazy to think that just 6 months ago, I was that small.  Mom and Dad kept looking back and forth saying "I can't believe it".

I can't wait for everyone to be big enough to play together - with the weather getting warmer, I am sure it will be soon.

Look what came from Amazon.com today

all those toys and she loves a box???

So with the addition of a baby comes two challenges to shopping (1) the need for more stuff - diapers, bibs, sippy cups you name it (2) less time and mobility - There is no more casually wandering in and out of stores. Taking time to think about purchases - coming back later if you don't find a better price somewhere.  Time is precious - we want to spend it together, not in stores.

So we have been doing a lot more shopping online. While we feel bad about not supporting local businesses, it is just so much more convenient. . . And it is not like buying a box of 200 pampers is the thing helping to keep the mom-and-pop businesses open.

All that to say that while we find our joy in being done with our shopping and with the family - Ellie finds hers in - well - the boxes.

A special gift

Uncle Jeff and Aunt Jess live in North Carolina but somehow they make time for me when the come to town.  They came by to see how I was doing and to bring me a special gift.

Jess is a VERY talented artist and she brought me this hand painted chair. . . check this out:

My own special chair - hand painted By Jess

I actually feel extra special because on this visit - it was a whole crew of Hrivnaks (do you call that a gaggle? a flock? ah no matter). . . Aunt Di, Uncle Scott and Aunt Liz came too - It was like a party!!!  Thank you all for making my Sunday so special.

Uncle Jeff and Aunt Jess

Aunt Diane

I only got a shot with Uncle Scott.  Aunt Lizzy has to come back

Happy St Patrick's Day

Not only is today special because it the lucky St Paddy's day but it's also Aunt Amber's birthday.  Ellie wanted to recognize her Aunt by sending a special shout out.  Happy Birthday Aunt Amber!

Skiing - Take 2

 A little while ago, I got to try on dad's ski boots.  That was great and all but I wanted a taste of the real thing.  Today I got my big shot.

In the morning I stayed in mountain-side day care and in the afternoon - Mom and Dad sprang me from the "joint".  Dad strapped me to his chest and away we went.  The chair ride up was fun. I have never been so high up but I think my favorite was the ride down the hill!!  Dad was careful but man we went fast.  I loved the wind in my face - I was laughing and swinging my legs the whole time.  Even when Dad and Cortny went so fast, they broke away from the pack!!!

Then it was beer and nachos at the Goldminer's Saloon.  I think I could really get into skiing.


I'll keep up with dryland training this summer - trying to strengthen my legs and core. . . .all with the goal of beating my old man down the mountain.

Until next year Alta!!!!

6 months old. .

This weekend marked Ellie's 3rd flight - this time to Utah.  We all got a chance to ski and spend time with family.   One of the other benefits is that Aunt Amber is a photographer. . . and I am not talking aobut a point and shoot camera kind - I am talking real photographer!!  Check out the shots she got:

Well needless to say, Ann Marie and I love the pictures.  If you want to see more of her work you can find her at http://schiavonephotography.blogspot.com/ or www.SchiavonePhotography.com

A weekend of firsts

Man, what a weekend. Ellie sat up for the first time and G-Pa sent his first successful picture through text. As a result of the cooperation of the triad (technology, Ellie and Grandpa) we are all able to witness the event.
Enjoy!!!

Crazy Hair

Karen. . . .you wanted crazy hair - well you got it. :-)