Baby got going...

Well, my little baby girl is on the move. Ellie started her escapades with tummy time. This led to continual rollovers. Back and forth and back and forth...then came the rotation. She spins on her belly...but wait there's more!!!

When you remove her socks her little teensy weensy toes get some grip, then you couple those with her strong back, neck, and hands...and you've got lunging. I mean real pouncing. She throws herself forward...backward...sideways... SHE EVEN FLIPS IN THE AIR!!! Ok, she doesn't - but she could.

Portraits

We got some portraits done today at Portrait Innovations. The girls did well - much better than expected.

And we got a CD of the photos...here's the photos album...

Our trip to New England - Part III

So...here's the rest of the trip in "cliff notes":

Saturday afternoon some of our couple friends came to visit for dinner.

Sunday the girls spent all day with Babci and Papa while Joe, Cindy, and I went to Joe's cousin Curt's wedding in NJ. What a fabulous time! Here's a pic of some of their gorgeous flowers. I especially loved the sushi bar and I think Joe'd give kudos to whomever had the great idea to have a caviar bar, as well! Nancy was a gorgeous bride and everyone had a wonderful time.

Our girls were gorgeous...we swear...

...but unfortunately, we don't have many pictures to prove it. Gabby was a fabulous flower girl at Auntie Rae and Uncle Yaneev's wedding last Sunday, but since Joe, Ellie, and I were also involved in the ceremony, we didn't get any pictures of any of us. I snapped these two during the reception, but hopefully we'll find someone who got some better shots of Gabby and any shots of Ellie!

Gabby loved hanging out with her new friend Lyora, one of Rae's bridesmaids.

One last dance with Daddy before bedtime.

Ellie Milestones

Since this is the closest thing to a babybook I've got for Ellie these days, here's an update on her milestones as of late.

1. Sleeping through the night! Ellie started soothing herself to sleep two weeks ago (with a little impetus from mom and dad), and now she's been consistently sleeping through the night...11 to 12+ hours at a time! Woo hoo! (If only Gabby would go back to sleeping through the night, we'd be a well-rested family again)!

2. Rolling. Ellie can now roll from her back to her tummy. She did it yesterday at the playground (on a blanket on the ground with me), and this morning, I left her on her back on her playmat, and a minute later she was fussing...turns out she had rolled onto her tummy and wasn't very happy about it. She started rolling from tummy to back around 4 months, but hasn't yet figured out that she can roll back and forth at her convenience.

3. Moving/Scooting. Where we put Ellie to sleep in her crib and where we pick her up in the morning have been quite different since we stopped using the Miracle Blanket two weeks ago. The other day I watched her do a 180-degree turn on her back, and then another 180 on her tummy. I tried unsuccessfully to get it on video, so you'll have to trust me that it was super cute.

4. Sitting. She'll "tripod sit" for a while now, as you've probably witnessed in our recent video, and yesterday, she went from a tripod sit, to lifting up her arms and she actually sat up unassisted for about 10 seconds before beginning to topple. She prefers to be standing whenever possible, and only requires minor balancing support from her mom or dad.

5. Daycare. Since I'll hopefully be starting work in the near future, Ellie began daycare last week. We've started her a couple hours at a time, and each day it gets better and better. Her wonderful teachers have managed to coax her to sleep in this new bright and sometimes loud environment, and she's been eating for them like a champ so far. Hopefully each day will continue to get better with less crying and more happy times!

Pictures to come soon...I haven't yet figured out how to do that on this new site!

The Girls and their Mom

It's been a little bit, since we posted some pics of B and the girls...so here you go...

Gabby's Special Special Treats

A few months back, B had a great idea about incentive-alignment... She created a sticker chart to track Gabby's achievements. Specifically, G gets to place a sticker on the chart for either going potty (#1 or #2), staying in bed without making a peep until it's "time to wake-up," or going to sleep at night without making a request or crying (after her full bedtime routine).

At the end of each row of stickers, Gabby receives a "special special treat." One time it was a set of three new books. One time she got to make cookies with Momma. This time she got what she refers to as "cooking things."



I'd be interested in hearing some of your ideas for "special special treats..."