The year in review...

...and, oh, what a year it was! Here are just some of the highlights:

January: EM could feel Ellie kick;
February: I could feel Ellie kick;
March: We began birthing classes;
April: AK threw EM a baby shower;
May: Co-workers threw EM a baby shower, and birthing classes ended;
June: This blog goes live, and two weeks later Ellie makes her big arrival on Father's Day;
July: Ellie is christened, and I go back to work;
August: I came up with "Ellie's song" (a seemingly unimportant matter, except that I used it with much success, once again, just a few minutes ago to help Ellie go down for her nap);
September: Daddy daycare opens;
October: We go on our first family vacation;
November: Ellie starts solids, NC State beats UNC, and EM makes her first contribution to this blog;
December: I am deprived of Ellie's company for one long weekend, Ellie takes on an alter ego, and she finally rolls over.

Whew! I'm wiped out. With that said, I just know that 2008 will be even more compelling. So tune in from time to time, and I'll do my best to keep you up to date.

-ED

Xmas recap

Our Christmas celebration was essentially a three day affair. The highlights include: a gathering at aunt Brandi's house with my side of the family; a Christmas Eve brunch with aunt Katie, nanny and grandpa; Christmas Eve mass; and, Christmas day at nanny and grandpa's house. Missing: my dad and stepmom in Las Vegas and uncle Bill and aunt Dani in Philadelphia (in both cases, recent moves/home purchases ate into vacation times and budgets for travel). Ellie was lavished with cool new toys and plenty of clothes. Our gift from Ellie: after weeks of anticipation, she rolled over - on her own - not once but twice (followed up with another roll over this morning). As good as all this was, I can't wait for next year!

-ED

Merry Christmas!

Lots of love to everyone from Ellie, EM and ED!

7's are wild

On Wednesday we went to see Dr. Betsy for Ellie's six month check-up and immunizations. If you'll recall, our last such visit did not have the best of results. Anyhow, Ellie was wonderfully well-behaved as usual. Her crying during/after the shots was a little more pronounced but we expected that due to her increased awareness (and it still wasn't that bad to be honest). Her stats: 17lbs, 7oz.; 27in long; and, her head circumference is 17in - all of these put her in the 75th percentile or higher. However, the best thing about the visit (and aftermath): 48 hours later and there is no fever or other concerns. Hooray!

-ED

A message from Ellie....

"Hi! I'm Ellie PantHead. I like to wear pants on my head. My nanny taught me how to do this. But, enough about me. Today my mommy is 30. That's old in case you didn't know. It's ok, though, because I love her very much. Happy Birthday, mommy. I love you! Oh, and daddy says he loves you, too."

6M

Getting better

We've had Ellie practice sitting and standing for some time now. But, it seems that just in the last couple of days she has gotten much better at both. I'm not saying she can do either on her own right now, however, the improvement is evident nonetheless.

-ED