Happy Thanksgiving and other things...

Since Ellis sleeps so much, Vimal and I are always joking about getting in the crib with her. Vimal finally did it.
Ellis wasn't quite sure what to do with daddy in her crib...
...but she thought it was hilarious.
Ellis is standing up and pulling up on everything now...
...so we got her this new toy, but she's still figuring it out. (Look how she's standing on her tiptoes.)
I loved this shirt because it is so true! It says, "Everyone is thankful for me."
Ellis and her Uncle Bro were dancing to Lou Reed when I took this pic. As you can tell by her eyes, she's still sick from the croup.
"WAKE UP UNCLE BRO!" Erick was on L.A. time, but Ellis kept wanting to wake him up to play.
"Okay, if you won't wake up I'll just snuggle while you're sleeping!"

Thanksgiving week came and went in a flash because Ellis was sick most of it. Her Uncle Bro (that's our name for my brother Erick, since I call him Bro, he's now known as Uncle Bro) came from L.A. but unfortunately Ellis was still feeling the effects of her severe cold/croup. We were supposed to have Thanksgiving dinner with a bunch of friends, but since Ellis was still highly contagious and a lot of children were going to be there, Vimal stayed home with her. She is definitely feeling better now, though not 100% herself yet. Anyways, we had a nice time with Erick even if we couldn't do all of our normal things.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. More soon...

She's feeling like croup :(

We took Ellis to the emergency on-call pediatrician on Sunday morning and they diagnosed her with croup. I guess that croup is an inflammation of the airway that is common in infants. It all started on Saturday when Ellis started coughing and wheezing a little bit during and after her naps. Then, about 15 minutes after we had put her down for the night, she woke up crying and threw up. We finally managed to get her cleaned up and back to sleep, but about 2 hours later it all happened again. I knew at this point that it was going to be a long night and I was right. Ellis would only sleep if I was holding her and even then she woke up every 30 minutes to cough. The coughing sounded like nothing I've ever heard before. The pediatrician described it as a "barking seal" kind of noise. Anyways, the coughing made her cry because it hurt, so I'd have to console her back to sleep.

For those of you who have spent any time around Ellis, you know that she is not a cuddler. She wants to crawl and do and get into things. In fact, she hasn't fallen asleep on me since she was 3 months old. She needs/wants her own crib, her own space, her own independence (hmmmm, wonder where she gets that from?). So, even though I was exhausted, I knew she had to be really sick to want to be held all night. As much as possible, I just tried to enjoy the snuggles and, thankfully, she is feeling better now. The pediatrician put her on a mild steroid to reopen the airway and her breathing sounds better. Plus, she slept her normal 12 hours in her crib last night. But, needless to say, I don't have any pictures of this weekend to post.

Hopefully soon though. Her "Uncle Bro" arrives from L.A. in 3 hours to spend Thanksgiving with us. YAY!

Ten Months Old

Her ten month close-up! It kind of looks like she's posing in this picture.
She's pulling up on EVERYTHING now.
Ellis was swallowed by a pink marshmallow...what can I say, it's cold here!
In this picture, she's rocking her head back and forth while I sing. (Just be glad it's not a video so you aren't forced to hear that.)
Bathtime beauty
Ellis turned ten months old today. We went to an indoor playground (because it was freezing outside and Boston is equipped for such occasions with indoor playgrounds) and she was pulling up on everything and crawling everywhere. This woman came in with her two children, one of whom was only a few weeks old. I looked at that baby and I couldn't imagine Ellis that small. I mean, I know it happened, but it just seems so distant. When I go into her room at night and I see that she's too long to sleep diagonally in her crib anymore, it's hard to believe she was ever the peanut that we brought home from the hospital ten short months ago.

To celebrate, we're counting down the top 10 things we love about Ellis. Here they are:

10. They way she sleeps with her tushie in the air and her arms tucked under her
9. Her sweet little voice asking "MamamaDadada?" when she wants one of us to come and get her in the morning
8. How when we get her out of her car seat she looks around at the new surroundings like "Who needs to see me?"
7. The way she drools in anticipation when Vimal is sharing his fruit with her
6. How she rocks her head from side to side when she hears music or wants us to sing for her
5. Her uninhibited, contagious laugh
4. The way she dances when her toys make music
3. The smell of her hair after a bath
2. How she stares at the CD player THE WHOLE TIME music is playing, as if she's looking for the people who are singing inside it to come out.
1. The way her eyes light up when we come into the room

Nashville and Beyond...

Before we left for Nashville, we had to go vote. We had to wait for an hour, and Ellis was so patient!
In Nonna's living room with mommy and Pop.
Pop and Jack. Two of her favorite things.
With her great-Mamaw.
Playing on the rug in Nonna's kitchen.
I love this picture of Dada (Vimal's dad) and Bah (Vimal's mom) because they both look so happy.
Ellis with Dallan and Lexxus (two of her cousins).
Having lunch at Bah's house. I think it is sweet how Dada and Ellis are looking at each other in this picture.
Playing with Auntie Asha.
With her great-grandmother..
Yes, that is a swing in the family room. And yes, Ellis was queen of it. She looks like she needs someone to fan her and bring her grapes.
We took Ellis to the church where we got married and took this picture at the same place where one of our wedding photos was taken.
About half of our Cambridge 1999 group. This is the only picture Vimal took, but you can't see me in it.

Well, as you can tell from the pictures, we went to Nashville last weekend. I had a reunion at my college to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of my semester abroad in Cambridge England. It was nice to reconnect with some of the people that went on that trip, but I was a little bummed because a few of my closest friends weren't able to make it. But, Ellis was a champ. We had to fly to Nashville, drive 3 hours to Cleveland, drive back to Nashville, then fly home...all in 4 days! And though we felt bad for leaving Ellis in her car seat for extended periods of time, she did really well and didn't even get off her sleep schedule!

Anyways, the trip was good too because she got to see all her grandparents, most of her cousins, and two of her great-grandparents. Of course everyone is smitten with her, and she eats it up. So, while I don't have to get her back on her sleep schedule, I do have to readjust her to life in Boston.

Enjoy the pics.

Snuggle Puppy

Here is a video of Ellis turning the pages of her book while I read her a story. She's been doing this for a few weeks now. I think it's so sweet. Enjoy...