Music to My Ears

Ellie loves her new xylophone from Great Grandma Grose....Ellie the musician:

12 months!

Tuesday Ellie had her 12 month check-up, and today she went to the hospital to have an ultrasound and some other procedure to test for urine reflux. Praise the Lord that the results came back all clear, so she does not have reflux! It was definitely a lonnng morning because Ellie did terrible during the ultrasound and the other procedure. She screamed the whole time. I think now that she's walking, she hates staying still. It took an emotional tole on mommy, and I'm glad daddy wasn't there because he is much weaker when it comes to her in pain or uncomfortableness.

So you might be wondering what all Ellie can do?? It's amazing to see how fast they grow and what they learn, and it's so much fun to see how much she enjoys every new moment!

Ellie weighed 19lbs. 5oz. at the doctor, so still not ready to face forward (sad, I like her facing forward). She measured 28 inches long... glad she is at least still growing! So that makes her in the 25 percentile for height and weight, but she is in the 75 percentile for head circumference. Therefore I can still say my little girl is a smart little one! ha!
This is all what Ellie can do:
-WALKS
-stands up by herself
-walks while holding objects
-say mama, dada, hey, uh-oh, no, yea, open, up, all done
-point at objects and also points to identify objects you ask her about
-kiss (making the pucker sound... she's so good at this one!)
-won't eat any vegetables without squeezing them in with something else she likes
-I think she is going to be a picky eater because she really only wants fruit to eat!
-she has officially weaned herself (we're on the 2nd day without any feedings, she hasn't asked one bit.... this is such a blessing to know she was ready as much as I was)
-drinks whole milk... not as much as she needs, but we're getting there
-stands on her tip toes to reach for objects on table
-opens cabinet doors
-uses sign language for eat, more, all done
-waves hi and bye (done this for 3 months now!)

Here is a video of her walking (She is just the cutest ever walking!):

Weekend Celebration

This weekend was very eventful! Ellie had her first birthday on Saturday and her first Easter on Sunday! She's a little too young to understand the meaning of Easter, but we cannot wait for the day that she can celebrate the resurrection of our Lord! We hope she will be as excited as us to say "Jesus has risen!"
Ellie was the cutest little birthday girl. Her party went extremely well, she was in a good mood most of the time and I think she really enjoyed all the attention :) She had a great turn out with all the family driving from Kernersville, and she got so many presents! Zach and I spent Saturday night opening the boxes and getting the toys out. She has played with every single one of them and is loving trying to figure out what all they can do.



The morning of her birthday, she really decided that she has this walking thing down. So she is rarely crawling anymore! We hope we've gotten most of the bruises out of the way too, but I have a feeling there are many more to come. Her doctor's appointment is tomorrow, so I'll update you with all the stats and all that she can do sometime later this week.

Airport Fun

On Sundays we usually go to the airport to watch the planes while Ellie sleeps. It was a beautiful Sunday, so we actually got to enjoy the park there. They have a little play area for kids that is full of sand. Ellie loved playing in it and surprisingly didn't eat it! Here are some beautiful shots:

Duck, Duck, Goose

This weekend we went to Lake Johnson to enjoy the beautiful weather. This was Ellie's first time noticing the ducks and geese. She was fascinated and so intrigued.

Mac & Cheese

Since Ellie is almost a year old, we have been trying to feed her what we have been eating every night. Well, the only thing she has eaten is chili and bojangles. We were very shocked to find that she did not like macaroni and cheese, although she has eaten a little bit of it before. We thought the experience was hilarious so we took a video and a few pictures.

Bubbles

We bought a bubble machine for Ellie's birthday party (really cheap at Target). We wanted to try it out to see how well it worked, it worked great! I'm super excited about using it Saturday and throughout the summer. However, I think I am even more excited I have something to blow the bubbles for me!
I just really like this shot...

Birthday Project

For Ellie's first birthday, I wanted to make her a birthday banner that we can use every year for the rest of her life (if she so chooses). It took a while to finally finish it, but really I have only worked on it 2 days (did not require a lot of time, especially considering it was the first time I have ever done something like this). I think it turned out quite well!

Beginning:


Middle:End:

This wasn't my first time using a sewing machine, I did make our curtains for the living room in February:

So Tired

Sundays are a long day for us, we leave around 8:30am and don't get back home until 8:00pm. Ellie always falls asleep on the way home, so when we get home we put her pjs on and put her straight to bed. This Sunday she was so tired she fell asleep while we were changing her! We thought it was so cute, we took a picture:

Stuck

So since Ellie has been walking she has gotten herself into a few predicaments. I was able to capture one, where she got stuck behind the trashcan in the kitchen. She had so much fun squeezing her way into the corner, but then soon got really upset she couldn't get out!

All by Herself!

Ellie has been taken many more steps all by herself! She still isn't wanting to walk everywhere, but she is much more confident. We took a new video of her progress :)

Sleeping Beauty

So she doesn't exactly look beautiful... more like silly. It's so funny the positions you find little ones in!

Sunny Day

yea those are my sunglasses...

Walking

Ellie has been walking up a storm this past week! She loves walking with her walker and is taking steps on her own now. So I must show you the moments we have captured:

Ellie walking with the walker (notice how serious her face is):


Ellie taking steps on her own:

Gummy Song

Here is a video I have been meaning to post with Ellie and the Gummy Bear Song. She absolutely LOVES it, I was just playing the video and she heard it and started dancing. You can check out what she is watching/listening to at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z47EUaIFrdQ (it's hilarious, we love how the gummy bear shakes his booty and crip walks)

Step by Step

Ellie is getting closer and closer to walking on her own! She has actually tried to take a few steps on her own, but has failed. Other times we have encouraged her to take a few steps toward us and she makes it! We are so excited because she looks absolutely adorable! Check it out:

First Blooms

It seems like spring is already here... if only it really was. But at least for now I get to see the beautiful flowers that are blooming! Some were even blooming two weeks ago, but they died when it snowed. I hope the new blooms won't wilt with the cold weather and rain coming... Here are some shots I got:

Weekend Fun

Since it was such a beautiful weekend, we definitely took advantage of it! On Saturday there was a Garden Party with pony rides and free hotdogs... yum yum. We also went to get some icecream and cruised in this beautiful weather. I LOVE days like these!

Grumpy Baker Hanlon

Yes this should be her new name... grumpy. You might be wondering where I have been this past week, well I've been trying to de-stress during my free time. We're not sure why Ellie has been so fussy, but she is definitely not her happy self. Last night she woke up 4 times, and we have no idea what was wrong (she hasn't woken up more than once since she was 6 weeks old)! Here is a little slice of the not so happy Ellie:



Ellie is always happy when we are outside, so we are super excited about this beautiful weather... we tend to be outside most of the day. I got a little pink today from being out there so long, but don't worry Ellie was slathered in sunscreen :)

Ellie has been doing so much recently, so hopefully I will get you updated this week with all her new moves! We thought we had lost our camera (in our house) which is yet another reason why the blog is so behind, but found it today! I hope to catch you up this week! Be on the look out :)

Happy Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to my twin sister Ashlei, my mother-in-law Tone, and me! On February 24th, we all shared the same birthday! Ashlei came up from Florida to celebrate our 24 years of life!


(Ashlei and I being goofy)

Birthdays are one of my favorite holidays. I feel that we don't cherish each other enough, and a birthday is a day to remind me how much I am glad you are alive. So Ashlei coming to Raleigh to celebrate our birthday together was something extra special.


(flowers my mom got us)

This year I made a little book for Ashlei that shared some memories and reasons why I love her. Ashlei is the sweetest person I know, each year my love for her grows more and more. Putting together this book made me realize how special sisters are. Sisters know where you come from, every step of your life, and because of that they share something so special, a love that is deep and unconditional. Every year the bond between my sisters and I grow. I know that my sisters will always be there. Thanks for the memories, I love you sissies!


(Carla, me, Ashlei)