Jumping bean

I have been wanting to get A something she could bounce around in for months now but I didn't think it could happen because we don't have the proper doorways of which to be able to use them!

The other day, one of my friends from Texas (who has a little girl almost exactly A's age) sent me a video of her little girl bouncing around in this thing called a "Jumperoo." It's a bouncer that is stationer and does not require a doorway! I showed D the video and we were both completely sold on getting one for A. Too bad they were nearly a hundred dollars!!! To say that we can't afford that would be a ridiculous understatement.

I, of course, couldn't take no for an answer on this one and dug into my bag of resources! Luckily one of them panned out and we were able to score one for only $35!!!! I *HEART* Craigslist!!!!!

Here are two little videos of A that I captured this morning bopping around in her new (old) jumperoo. Her coordination is improving even since last night and I won't be surprised if she is a pro at it by the end of the week!

She's a feisty one

I know... I know! I'm so far behind with updates. I don't even remember the last time I posted something here! It's not even that I'm lacking in things to post but more that I keep forgetting to. Please pardon my apathy. Perhaps some videos might make up for what I've been lacking? Amelia might be weentsy but she sure is feisty!!

Best. CHRISTMAS. EVER!!!!

What a wonderful Christmas!!! We went up to Pittsburgh this year since it was D's family's turn this year and we had such a great time.

We were greeted upon our arrival by Grammy and Grandpap who took A over as soon as they could. She, of course, was delighted to see them. Here she is with her Grammy...



We had a number of different Christmas outfits on hand but it was hard photographing them as A is exactly the age where she has a hard time sitting still if left to her own devices. Here she is on Christmas Eve just before we headed out to Granddad's. She was having a hard time sitting upright on the slippery leather recliner!



Grammy and Grandpap entertained A before Christmas Eve dinner or was it the other way around? She had everyone redfaced from laughing so hard. Grandpap's kisses on her neck with his tickly beard made it hard for her to not laugh.



Here is everyone at Christmas Eve dinner just before we dug in! I was able to set the camera up so that the timer went off immediately after Granddad's camera. I don't think I could do that again if I tried! See Aunt H on the right? Next year she'll be adding another little one to the bunch!




One of A's most favorite presents of all this year was actually a duplicate of something she already has. Her security blanket is a fluffy yellow thing from Target that I found on clearance a while back for $2 because it had lost it's original packaging. She attached herself to it IMMEDIATELY when I brought it home. D and I have both learned the incredible value of such a thing and were able to find them at another Target and bought one for A so that we always have an extra. Here is A opening it up and burying her face in it - what she ALWAYS does when she sees it.




A was charming everybody! Even cousins M and D couldn't resist her cuteness! They spent a ton of time playing with her after all of the presents were opened.




The next morning (Christmas day) Granddad stopped by Grammy and Grandpap's to say hi and we were able to get a much better picture of him and A together.





It's another of A's Christmas outfits! This one came from Grammy and Grandpap and was so comfy. It was like pajamas and came with the cutest matching headband.




A was AWESOME and enjoyed being passed around to each and every relative. Aunt T from Pensacola especially loved holding her.




Here was ALMOST everyone. Amazing that it was only almost because look how many people are squeezed in the picture!!! D's family is so huge!!!!




And, finally, here is little Miss A on Christmas morning with her Christmas stocking that Grammy made and filled with all kinds of goodies. A is wearing a little union suit pajama outfit that came complete a hat all the way from Canada!

Giving thanks, again, for the first time

Yesterday we were up bright and early to hit the road towards Richmond to spend Thanksgiving (our second - remember?) with my brother and his family...

I brought lots of toys and amusements for the ride and BabyA was all decked out in her elephant hat (that finally fits her). She actually slept for most of the way AND for during my attempt to tell her my "life story." <= Apparently, nobody in the car wanted to hear it as D turned up the music when I announced that I was going to tell it. We were greeted warmly with lots of excitement from our nieces especially and lots of yummy food from Aunt E, Uncle B, and Aunt E's mother who was in town for the festivities.




We also got to meet some neighbors/friends of Uncle B and Aunt E who came over for appetizers before the meal was served in the late afternoon. D was in heaven as they brought with them a gourmet cheese platter that was TO DIE FOR.




Despite the implication (that we don't feed our own child and force her to dine on whatever toy within arm's reach) of this picture, Amelia DID partake in the Thanksgiving meal! But she is still teething and insists on gumming on any and everything around her.




And, finally, all of the ladies together. There was quite a bit of estrogen in the house and we REALLY outnumbered the guys and they had no choice but to be banished out of the dining room when the feasting was over to do such dreadful things such as watching FOOTBALL.

The Thanksgiving before the Thanksgiving

In an effort to make things nice and fair, we alternate holidays so that nobody can fuss about anyone getting more time than anyone else. When one side of the family gets Thanksgiving and New Years, the other side will get Christmas and Easter. The following year each side will swap holidays and so on and so forth.

This year, my side of the family had Thanksgiving and New Years. The plan, was of course, to spend Thanksgiving with Nana and PopPop wherever they were planning on being but when we found out that GG was going to be down at Nana's house and that Thanksgiving was going to be up at the lake in PA, we decided to give Thanksgiving celebrations to another member of my side of the family - Uncle Brandon and his crew down in VA! Uncle Brandon and Aunt Elizabeth were so kind and invited us AND our dog down for dinner and we happily accepted the invitation. Trouble was, Nana really wanted us to be with her! So... we came up with a solution that solved all problems - we planned on TWO Thanksgivings!!!

It worked out nicely.

1. We got a chance to see Nana and PopPop AND GG while she was in town
2. We get to eat TWO delicious Thanksgiving feasts (and we didn't have to cook either one - HA!) (Well, we contributed side dishes but that hardly counts, right?)

Here are some lovely pictures that I took with PopPop's Nikon as I left my little rebel at home (stupidly) thinking that it was unncessary for me to bring it! It's hard to believe that I spend some of my time being a professional photographer. Seriously! I would have missed all of these great moments...

Tomorrow is our second Thanksgiving and despite the fact that we've definitely had our fill of feasting already - all of us Ellwoods are REALLY excited to eat again! We've got so much to be thankful for having enough family to be able to have two entirely separate Thanksgivings. :)

5 months, 2 weeks

Our little lady has discovered her own toes.

She can't seem to keep her hands off of them these days!

She is VERY giggly!

Her attention span has increased dramatically to the point where she actually has some interest in books!

Every time she smacks a different picture, I tell her what it is. Her favorite pictures seems to be that of cars and trucks. :)

To bed, I said, To bed!

Guess who is teething now? Guess won't sleep because of it?

We try very hard to strictly enforce a bedtime but sometimes rules are meant to be broken for more important reasons...

like so we can pretend to be the yellow Jedi....

or so we can lay the "smackdown" on Papa...

and also because singing "She'll be comin' round the mountain" while

pedaling your feet as fast as possible is VERY important...

but not nearly as important as singing a FIERCE rendition of the "Itsy-bitsy Spider"...

but what it really all boils down to is this...




When you are too adorable for words, you can pretty much get your parents to do
whatever you want - No matter what your bedtime actually is!

Our resident noise maker

The title of this posting might lead you to believe that we're talking about the dog but you are sorely mistaken. It's actually AMELIA who is the loudest of us all these days - and it's NOT her crying we are talking about either... (turn up your speakers to get the full effect and pardon the poor lighting)...

If you can believe it, this is completely normal for her these days. And YES, it really is that loud!!! But, no, it's not because she's fussing or angry. Is she talking to her "friends" (as we call them) dangling above her on her mobile? It's hard to say but it certainly does keep us very entertained.

Welcome to our new digs!

Hello family and friends! Now, I can't promise that I'll be able to update this all too often but I figured this would be a great way for you all to keep tabs on us and our everyday lives. The email distro has worked out well enough but if you bookmark this page this might give you access that is a lot more immediate!

Thanks for stopping by - and don't forget to bookmark this page before closing your browser!!!