Trick-or-treat!

Happy Halloween!

Ellie's first halloween was a big success. She dressed up as a flower princess.

Halloween was always one of my favorite holidays . . . getting dressed up . . . going out at night . . . and, of course, candy!

One of the biggest bummers of growing up is getting too old to do these childhood traditions.

So I've decided this is one of the biggest perks of parenting . . . trick-or-treating here we come!

50 ways to maim your baby!

You know that Paul Simon song "50 ways to leave your lover", well, in the span of 24 hours Drew and I have rewritten that song to . . . . "50 ways to maim your baby!"

This morning when Ellie was woke up Drew was surprised by the fact that she was all wet. She never leaks through her diaper. Upon changing her he realized he forgot to put on a diaper last night. So our poor little girl slept all night diaperless and in a soaking wet sleeper!

#1: Neglect . . . check!

Then this morning, as I was making my breakfast, I was surprised by how quiet Ellie was playing in the living room. That should have been a big red flag because as I went over to her I realized she had got a hold of her liquid vitamin D supplement and was drinking it. Ahhh, I called poison control immediately with my heart pounding. Luckily, they said it's impossible to acutely overdose on vitamin D because it is water soluble.

#2: Attempted poisoning . . . check!

So after a strange morning Drew and I decided to meet for lunch at my favorite new hangout, The Tot Spot Cafe in Woodinville. It's a cute cafe with a huge playarea for kids. Ellie was standing in the big firetruck play toy when another little girl decided she was finished sharing and proceeded to push Ellie out. Ellie landed hard on her head. Her first big fall.

#3: Battery . . . check!

The scary thing is . . . it's only 2pm. So like I said we are well on our way to completing the lyrics to the new song . . . "50 ways to maim your baby!"

Squishy . . messy . . goodness!

Today, we carved pumpkins with the grandparents.

Love the possible captions on this series of photos . . .

Ooo, a pumpkin.

Looks tasty.

I think I'll give it a try.

Well, that's . . . different.

But next year I think I'll try carving instead of taste testing!

Pucker up!

A few weeks ago, at Drew's birthday dinner, Ellie got ahold of a lemon. The face she made upon her first taste was just priceless. Some families might take it away to save her from another puckering moment. But the Nobles, no we grabbed the camera!

Three cheers for Ferber!

Why didn't we do this sooner??!! That is the question bouncing around in our minds this week!

As you know, Ellie has never been a sleeper. At nearly 1 year she was still sleeping like a newborn at night, waking 2-4 (or more) times a night and requiring that she be nursed or rocked back down to sleep.

Drew and I havn't had a good nights sleep soo long that it was beginning to affect nearly every part of our life! I wasn't even excited to see Ellie in the morning because I felt like I had been parenting her all night.

That was final straw for me . . . if I'm not enjoying motherhood . .. something drastic has got to change!

I had always been afraid of Dr. Ferber (the Director of the sleep center at Boston's Children's Hospital and author of Solve you child's sleep problems. Dr. Sears, attachment parenting guru, has berated Dr. Ferber's methods as unsympathetic to children and negativly coined the term "ferberizing."

Well, I am surprised to say Dr. Sears was wrong.

Yes, ferberizing Ellie did come with some of crying but I really don't think it was more crying than before. Plus, after 3 nights she fell asleep, by herself, in her crib after 30 minutes and slept for 10 hours straight!!!

As I sit here and write this post she is currently screaming in her room because it is nap time . . . naps still need major work.

But, overall, Ferbers methods have led to huge improvements with sleep!

Here is Ellie attempting to stay in the loop by skimming though the book.

Fall hike to 'Lake No-where'

The weather was beautiful this last weekend so we decided to head up to the mountains for a hike. Well, actually Drew wanted to go hiking and threatened (I mean, asked) me to come along.

I don't exactly love hiking. I would much rather go 'hiking' in the city, along with some window-shopping and a yummy lunch.

Ellie, though, seems to take after her dad and happily hung out in the ergo, falling asleep for most of it.

Yes, that's me looking very disgruntled at the fact that I have to wear the backpack. Before Ellie, Drew would pack all the gear by himself. And I wasn't too happy when I found he had hidden 2 beers in the backpack to have with lunch. But the return trip was much lighter with the beer in our bellies instead of on my back.

We never did find the lake we were headed to, apparently some bushwhacking had to be done in order to find it. With Ellie on Drew's back, bushwhacking was strictly prohibited.

It would be quite funny if someone was observing us hike . . . Drew is in his element . . . breathing the mountain air with a spring in his step. And I'm counting the minutes till we get to return to the heated car and later a warm bath.

Oh well, opposites attract right . . .?

It's Official . . .

Ellie is a walker! Friday, October 17th is officially the day she started walking. She's been "wobbling" her way between furniture but hadn't taken off by herself until Friday. It seems as though, all of a sudden she realized she has been walking and she seems to have gained balance overnight!

As you can see, we had a very busy weekend!

Happy Birthday Mini-Break!

Saturday was Drew's birthday and I surprised him with a trip to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. We dropped Ellie off at Ma-Pops and Ba-Pops early Saturday morning and headed to the island. We spent the day exploring, wine tasting and visiting the resident camel (yes, I said camel) named Mona.

Drew was especially drawn to a little town on the island called Roche Harbor. It's an old lime mining town owned by the McMillin family. They were so rich they built a mausoleum to preserve their families ashes. I can't believe Drew actually got me to walk a half mile through the woods, through a graveyard, to see it! It was pretty creepy.

After missing a ferry on Sunday morning, we didn't arrive home to pick up Ellie until nearly 6pm. But since she had such a good time without us all weekend, we decided next time we take a mini-break, we'll stay for 2 nights!

Tiny Twinkle Toes

Ellie and I started a baby "dance" class a few weeks ago. It's more like a movement/music class, since she first needs to take her first real steps before we can progress to actual dancing.

But it's fun, nonetheless.

What a difference a skill makes!

The last while Ellie has seemed frustrated! She seems to want more independence but hasn't fiqured out how to get it yet.

Until, now . . . she has just blossomed with new and refined skills this last week.

Climbing . . .

I think we have my Auntie Dena to blame for this one. While we were up in Canada, Auntie Dena showed Ellie how to climb up a foot stool and ever since she can't get enough of climbing. Even one step is a big accomplishment. But the stairs at Ma-Pops and Ba-Pops are endless fun for Ellie and exhaustion for us who have to catch her when she undoubtedly falls.

Chillin' . . .

This is just such a toddler moment. Standing in her crib, post-nap, waiting to play.

Walking . . .

She walks between furniture and has even discovered how to "crab" crawl around the room. Babyproofing is the priority of the week. Good-bye cute home decor . . . hello plastic baby gates.

Eating . . .

With a new suction cup plate, Ellie is able to feed herself her entire snack!

Everyday, our 11 month old girl seems to move further and further from being a helpless baby and closer to being an independent toddler!

Future Bunka?

Many members of my family may remember my infamous Bunka. My little pink bunny/blanket, with soft silk edges, rarely left my side (and was frequently up my nose). Family lore even goes, that one time I left it on a park bench in Las Vegas but didn't realize it until we were half way home to LA. My dad turned the car around and drove back to find Bunka!

I have been eagerly awaiting Ellie's choice for her own personal lovey. It seems we may have a winner!