Ellie Nova Ottati - First Birthday!

Ellie is one year old today! We had her birthday party a day early so my mom, my brother and my sister in law could come over. It was so fun to see how happy she was when I gave her the smash cake I made. She would look at it and touch it carefully, poking it with one finger. Then she would smear some of the icing off. Then she would squish the cake in her hands and dig into the middle of it. Finally she started smacking it and dumping the cake everywhere and smearing it all over her face and dress! I loved it. 

Me in my jammies getting everything ready.

Murray is a love bug.

Uncle Will and Aunt Cyndel in the morning playing with Ellie, and Murray's doofy face.

I made cake pops, a heart cake and a smash cake. 

Happy birthday!

What is it?

 

My little chunky monkey!

All cleaned up.

This was actually from the week before but they were too cute to leave out. She was pooped from her party though!

Ellie Nova Ottati - 11 Months!

Growing? Her molars are coming in and she probably has 10 teeth total now. 

New and Exciting? She can walk along furniture and can go from sitting to standing up by herself without holding on to anything.

Loves? She loves music and dancing to all kinds of stuff like Mozart, Rancid, Sublime, Sade, Goldfrapp, The Black Keys and many others. Ellie's favorite items to play with (or try to) are her play house, her books, anyone'e cell phone or ipad, the computer mouse, my laptop, nail polish bottles, coasters and power tools. She is always trying to get her hands on a wrench or a hammer.

Hates? She doesn't like being stuck behind the baby gate very much unless Murray is there with her for entertainment.

Looking Forward to? Her first birthday.

We've been behind on the updates since we moved and got a little too busy for it. I also just found the quilt I've been taking photos of her on. 

BTW, Happy Ultimate Pi Day everyone!

Ellie Nova Ottati - 8 Months!

Growing? She now has 8 teeth!

New and Exciting? She figured out how to crawl and loves going after the cat. She can also go from her belly to sitting.

Loves? For some reason she loves to flip her bottle around and suck on the bottom of it. Then she gets mad because no milk is coming out! Her favorite food is green beans or peas. She is very interested in the dog food, electrical cords and the sharp corners of tables. Basically anything dangerous.

Hates? She doesn't like fruits that much and still hates waking up from naps.

Looking Forward to? Getting baby gates! 

Ellie Nova Ottati - 7 Months!

I totally fail this month because her monthly update is 9 days late. This week was a busy one. The following months are going to be pretty crazy around here so I'm hoping I can keep up!

Growing? She is 15 pounds and has 7 teeth! Four on top and three on the bottom.

New and Exciting? She can get up on her knees and rock back and fourth. I think she might start crawling backwards soon. She loves to roll all over the place and still likes to hold herself up with her arms most of the time. She can say "mama" now, though it's more like "mamamamamaaaaa" which I don't think qualifies as saying an actual word. Her dad is still jealous though.

Loves? She seems to enjoy her green beans and sitting in her high chair. She bangs her hand on the tray like a drum and throws things on the ground. For some reason she loves to roll under the bureau in the living room to kick it. It must be a blast because she is always going for it. She also loves my phone. She will do everything she can to grab it away from me, look at it, and then throw it on the ground. 

Hates? She hates getting her mouth wiped off while she eats her baby food. I don't know why but she starts crying every time. She must like getting messy! Obviously, as the picture illustrates, she does not like to stay in one place. 

Looking Forward to? When she learns to crawl. Or maybe I shouldn't be looking forward to that?

Home Movies

I don't think I ever posted links to Ellie's home movies! I put together some iPhone videos that I took during the past 6 months and put them together to make a little progress video. It seems like a waste to take so many little videos and not have a good way to watch them all. I put them together every three months. 

I'm not a video editing expert at all, but it makes me happy to see all the little moments we had. Anyone have any tips?

Ellie Nova Ottati - 6 Months!

Growing? She weighs about 15 pounds.

New and Exciting? She can stand up if we hold her hands for balance and she got her top two teeth in! Her uncle Will is here to visit her and he can make her laugh and smile.

Loves? Her feet and hands are extremely interesting. She loves her bananas and carrots. She also loves to scream as loud as she can when the dog or cat are playing or running around. 

Hates? She hates waking up from naps, just like her mom. 

Looking Forward to? Going back to New York so she can see the snow. 

Ellie Nova Ottati - 5 Months!

Growing? At her 4 month check up she was 12 lbs, so I bet she's gotten bigger since then.  

New and Exciting? Her doctor was surprised that she's been turning over from her back to her front for a month now. She's been rolling around to get her toys and spinning in all directions to try to get to Murray and Kitty. Last night she figured out how to put her foot in her mouth.

Loves? People say toddlers are like little drunk people. I think babies are like little people tripping on mushrooms. She will be holding her toy, intently trying to put it in her mouth, then all the sudden drops it to stare at her hand for five minutes.

Hates? She wasn't a big fan of eating rice cereal out of a spoon, though she didn't mind it from the bottle. She also gets upset that she hasn't figured out crawling yet and will fuss about it when she can't move.

Looking Forward to? Giving her a lemon slice to try.

Ellie Nova Ottati - 4 Months!

Growing? Two teeth! She got them shortly after she turned three months. She has only bitten me a couple times, thankfully. It doesn't hurt as much as it did when she bit me with her gums like she used to!

New and Exciting? She squeals and giggles sometimes when we play with her and continues to smile all the time. She gets super excited and kicks and waves her arms around. She has also discovered her feet and sticks them up in the air a lot. After her teething started she became an absolute DROOL MACHINE. I swear she drools so much it's hard to tell if it's spit up or not. She gets better and better every day at coordinating her hands and holding toys.

Loves? She loves the dog and squeals in delight when he comes over to sniff her. She will stare it him all day. She loves getting her diaper changed, taking a bath, and likes to spend a lot of time on her play mat making "Eh" noises.

Hates? She gets very upset when Joe takes the dog out and starts to cry until they come back. For some reason she gets very upset whenever her nighttime bottles go empty and screams VERY loudly until she gets burped. It doesn't help me sleep, that's for sure!

Looking Forward to? I can't wait until says "Dada!"

Ellie, One Month Update

Ellie turned one month old almost two weeks ago, but I thought I should try to do some official updates! This will be a short one since I did an unofficial one already.

What has she been up to this month? 

She has been able to lift her head up since she was born and can turn her head around really well. She grew from 6lbs 4oz to 6lbs 12oz in two weeks. She had her first bath, met her grandparents on her mamas side and spent lots of time sleeping. 

First Outing? Her two day appointment was technically her first outing. I was so worried about getting there on time that she didn't get enough to eat and cried a ton until I found the lactation room! Then as soon as I got her back into the carseat she spit up. It was pretty silly. Her second outing was with her proud papa when he took her in a front carrier to the Post Exchange and Commissary. She loves being with her papa and slept the whole time.

Maybe I can manage a clearer photo at the two month update! :)