She eats better than her mom!!

Ellie has been eating solid food for about a month now. Luckily, she takes after her dad and likes everything! I have been buying organic produce, steaming or stewing it, pureeing it, then freezing it in little heart shaped ice cube trays. I just pop out 1 or 2 "hearts" and that's lunch!

Here I am pureeing carrots.
Yumm, prunes!

So far Ellie eats . . . applesauce, sweet potatoes, yams, butternut squash, pears, avacado, brown rice cereal, prunes, bananas and carrots.

See I told you she eats better than me!

Playdates

Ellie has had some fun hanging out with her friends lately. Last week we met my friend Karen and her 19 month old daughter Alister at the park. Ellie sat in a swing for the first time!
I think Ellie is trying to figure out how Ali is making that thing move!!
Then we went and visited our "band" friends. The wifes of Drew's old band-mates have started having babies. It's so fun to sit around and play with babies while the boys sit around and play with instruments :)
Esther with Ellie, me with Esther's 3-week old baby Rowen and Alisa.

This week we also went swimming with my friend Darcy and her daughter, Lucy, who is 2 months older than Ellie. We had a blast. Ellie loved the water, which was a surprise since she hates her baths! The leisure pool had a "lazy river" and little floating baby rafts. She was so relaxed in her floating toy. Next time we'll take some photos.

Let's hear it for the boys!

Ellie has been going through a fussy stage lately. Teething? . . . New foods? . . . Exercising her temper? . . . Who knows!!

But luckily our neighbor brought her two little boys over for a visit. Ellie was happily entertained by their bounding energy.

Aren't they so cute boys!? Boon is 5 and Hudson is almost 3.

Hudson decided to give Ellie a little show and sing her a song. I LOVE the dramatic ending!

New Saucer

OK, I'm biting my tongue again! I always said . . . "When we have a baby, we're not going to have all that CRAP in our living room. Babies don't need all that stuff!"

Well, I was wrong! Ellie loves hanging out in different places. Like her play mat with toys hanging abover her, in her bumbo chair, in her high-chair and now in her new exer-saucer. Ma-Pop picked this up at a yard sale this weekend.

Pretty sure she likes it!

The Bluest Skies you've ever seen are in Seattle

The song is true!!! Since we mostly see grey skies, when they are blue, they are really BLUE!!

Today, we headed up to Deception Pass and spent the day at the beach and on a little hike.

We dug out a little hole in the sand so Ellie had her own seat. Looks like she's going to love the beach as much as her mum and dad.



Very cool!
Her first time FEELING that salty water on her toes. She didn't like that too much.

The beach barka lounger.

Love the Ergo carrier for hikes.

She was a great little traveller. All tuckered out!

1st Mothers Day

Yesterday was my very first mother's day. Drew did a great job helping Ellie make it a fun day. He made breakfast, bought me a scrapbooking tool I had been wanting and changed every diaper all day long (he does that most days anyway :)

I think the title for these series of photos should be "I love Ellie, Ellie loves cats"


She is just enthralled with Omar, Chewy and Smitty. She loves to pet them (or grab a handful of fur) and eat their ears (which we try to help her refrain from doing :)

Naps are Great!

Ellie has been doing better with sleeping this week. We haven't really done much with our sleep plan yet but I think the solid foods may be helping her sleep longer.

Doesn't she look cute after a walk. Look at that little foot peeking out.

We love our new joggin stroller I bought from a neighbor with money from my cousins in Campbell River! Thanks Dena, Theresa, Lorren & Auntie M!

Gag me!!!

Yes, gag me with a spoon. I just read my last post and my last line of "we're enjoying every minute" and I almost puked. I don't know how such a sugary sweet line was typed from these fingers.

Now don't get me wrong, Drew and I love parenthood and Ellie is wonderful BUT this girl never sleeps. Yep, the dark truth revealed.

I've realized blogging is sort of like my old journals. When I look back and read them I wonder, wow everything in my life then sounds so perfect, did anything ever go wrong??

So today is all about reality. Many of you who read this knew me as a child and know I didn't sleep either (still don't) and I guess this is my penance (at least that's what my mum says).

Ellie doesn't nap easily and when she does it's only for 20 minutes. Sometimes she will take a 2 hour nap in the morning (sheer bliss). At night our routine starts at about 7 when she nurses and kicks and flails to keep herself from falling asleep. When she finally goes down to bed she up again most every hour till morning.

Drew and I are exhausted zombies.

So the plan . . . I went to a sleep seminar and they recommended the book The No Cry Sleep Solution. (My dad went and bought it for me THAT day :) Drew and I have been reading and taking notes. The interventions start soon. All very gentle but the goal is to wean Ellie from ONLY falling asleep on the breast or being walked and rocked by her daddy and learn to put herself back to sleep when she wakes at night. This is going to be a difficult road because we are starting this new routine when we're at our wits end but hopefully in a month or two I will be posting that I am REALLY enjoying every minute, even 5 hours of uninterrupted sleep!!!

Oh, how fleeting these moments are.

Happy 1/2 Birthday to Ellie!

Can you believe it?? Ellie is 6 months old TODAY!

She's growing and changing so much. I bet she weighs nearly 17 pounds now (close to tripling her birth weight! Wow)

She rolls over easily from her back to stomach and occasionally from her stomach to her back. We don't think it will be long 'till she crawls or walks because she's so interested in everything. Once she figures out she can motor herself, she will be off!

She is just starting to sit up all by herself.

And today, she had her first solid foods!!!!

We gave her a few spoonfuls of Great-Auntie Marilyn's homemade apple sauce.

She absolutely loved it. She reached for the spoon and even opened her mouth wide.


This is going to be a fun new stage.

I can't believe we have a 6 month old baby. I know it's such a cliche but time really does go SO fast! Good thing we are enjoying every minute.

She's sure cute, eh?

Ellie and I just got back from a visit up in Canada. All her aunties and cousins just couldn't get enough.

Ellie had tea with her great-GREAT Auntie Lois.

Ellie thought Auntie Reen was SO funny. She laughed and laughed.

Auntie Betty taught Ellie how to play PattyCake.

Amie came over to give Ellie a snuggle too.

Miss you too, Daddy!

Ellie and I are up in Canada visiting family this week.

And we miss you too, Daddy!