Snuggling

Looking at our photo stash on the computer I can see the downward trend in our picture-taking of late. Have we gotten lazy? Is the shine wearing off our new toy- er, I mean baby? Does Ellery need to learn some new tricks? Well, we know it's not #2, and most of the Portland crowd will attest to the constant presence of new moves on Ellery's part, so I guess we'll need to be better about dragging out the camera.

For now, a short video of the Peanut and her parents.

Bath time

Enjoying bath time- it's a whole new game now, where we get to pull all the bits of banana and such that find their way into Ellery's various neck and leg folds.

videos

I'm posting some little snippets of video today- exciting bits where we see Ellery perform a variety of feats such as eating, making funny noises, etc. Enjoy.

Video 1
In which Ellery demolishes a teething biscuit. This video also features Aunt Lauren's favorite facial expression, "menomena".


Video 2
In which our heroine finds a tasty snack.

Yeah!

Cold but sunny

Looking for a fun hobby? Try applying for jobs in the current economy. In between nudging Ellery away from the dog bowl, staircase and various electrical outlets I spend a good part of the day writing cover letters to Craiglist posters, using words like "maintain", "ability" and "strong professional ethics" (stop laughing, Megan Dugger.)

As fun and emotionally uplifting as that is, I think I'll take a break today and post pictures of Ell instead. As many times as I have heard people say that everything changes when the crawling stars, I still wasn't prepared. This child is not stopped by baby gates, doors, or any other physical barrier I try to create. She's extremely dextrous for a baby; maybe they are all like that, but I had no idea. So I watch her wrap her fat little fingers around the gate to the kitchen, move it just an inch or two away from the wall, and then snake her hand around to grab a fistful of dog food. Then she makes her first mistake- goes silent. If ever there was a warning sign that something is either about to be shoved in her mouth or shredded in her hands it is silence. As soon as she stops the cooing and chatting and heavy breathing I know to rush over and pry her hands open and take her newest treasure away.

Anyway...some photos of a hike that the family attempted at Powell Butte last weekend. It was extremely windy, and after about 30 minutes Ell decided she was done and cried most of the way back. It's rare for her to cry that long, so it was hard to hear, and her little hands were cold and she was just miserable. But once we were cuddling in the warm car she perked up and we had a picnic.

Below is last Sunday at Mt Hood Meadows, when Scott loucked out with a sunny day of skiing.

video

Ellery loves that Johnny Jump Up, and it shows. Her calves are the best developed in the house by far, and we love it because it keeps her more or less in one place. I will try to keep the videos around 30 seconds, because that's about as long as anyone wants to look at someone else's kid, right? So much for the 24/7 EllCam I was hoping to set up ....

It's a great day to be me. Or you. Or any of us.

Welcome

This is a bittersweet moment. We are blogging. I am blogging. I have just used the word "blog", which has only recently even become a word, as a verb. Somewhere in Florida my high school creative writing teacher just got a mysterious head ache. Sorry, June.

But we have a baby and this is what you do when you have a baby. Especially when that baby lives in one place and almost everyone else lives far far away in other places. We can't fault you all for choosing to live on that other coast, so instead we will try to be good blo- no, let's just say we will do our best to keep in touch and share all the amazing miraculous moments brought to us by the genius and perfection that is Ellery Lauren Love.

Stay tuned....