Game On!

It's time for the 1st Annual - Guess what Ella is going to be for Halloween - Contest!!

Just post your comment/guess below and you could be

the lucky winner of one of a few excellent prizes:

*a night of Ella babysitting*

*Ella selected gift in the mail*

*care package of yummy candy*

All entries must be received by October 30th!

Guess often!! You can guess as many times as you want!

**If you are among the select few we told prior to the contest, you are not eligible but you can always guess to throw others off :)

Another first coming soon....

Ella up close with the candidates...

Mom and Dad talk about and like politics for different reasons. Dad loves the history of it, the implications, the global and local scale. Mom is concerned about its impact on people, families, and little babies with lots of hair and big brown eyes. When you talk with us it is not hard to decide which side we lean, and lean hard.

We hope that one day Ella will be a concerned, active citizen too. Looks like she is off to a good start.

Ella's New Toys

Ella and Mom have been getting a little bored with Ella's current toy selection. So we spiced it up a bit. We went to some old standards... and boy did we have fun.

First there was the banging... (you can see Ella's audience in the background)



Then the drumming...



And a little singing too...



Ella is her own one-baby-band!!

Chicken tonight, chicken tonight...

Our baby's vegetarian days have come to an end. Ella ate meat, pan seared chicken to be specific. And much to her dad's delight - she loved it. She had a gourmet meal of chicken and broccoli and finished the meal off with many orzo from mom's homemade chicken soup.

Here was our happy customer on Friday night.

Mama and Papa

Mama and Papa celebrated their 4th wedding anniversary on the 24th. We celebrated by taking a little family vacation west to the hills. We started out our trip with a stop at the BIG E. For those of you not familiar - it is a crazy place of fun, livestock, and carnival rides. The fair celebrates the many temptations of New England. Mama and Papa enjoyed their Maine baked potatoes and Ella got to meet a new hairy friend...



Then it was off to the lovely little town of Greenfield. We checked into a elegantly extravant bed and breakfast. It was a huge home built in 1890 and with all the charm. It can accomodate up to 9 suites of guests - but there was only one room booked! Ours! We had the house all to ourselves. It was perfect. We spent time enjoying the pergola out back, enjoying their fresh baked coffee cake, and of course laughing a lot. It was nice to have all three of us together.

Ella enjoyed playing with her dad...



We took a little trip shopping downtown...



After some shopping and a yummy dinner we were off to bed...



The next day we had some plans in Deerfield. We visited the Magic Wings butterfly conservatory. Ella was fascinated by all of the fluttering above our heads...



We took some quiet bench breaks and enjoyed the lush greens and fluttering friends...



Then it was off to Yankee Candle - which didn't sound too exciting, but had lots of suprises... for example, she said hello to Santa in his workshop, saw some Halloween ghouls, and even had her first zebra ride...



Some more bench time with Mom...



And (although a bit red-eyed) Ella's first snow fall! (Mom spent much time trying to convince Dad that a snow machine was a must-have - with no such luck.)



It really was a happy anniversary... looking forward to another wonderful year.

The Big Plunge

It has come time... we had to face it eventually, Ella has outgrown her baby bathtub. We figured it out as she kept twisting to try and escape. Plus she is sitting up really well on her own now - so it only made sense for her to take the big plunge...



She loved every minute of it!



She tried crawling in the tub, sitting up, rolling over. And boy was there splashing!



Mom was kept very busy watching the little mermaid enjoy herself, and get at least a little cleaner in the process.

Our little activist

Ella joined Mom on a community walk for the homeless in our little town. The walk raised money for our local homeless shelter. It took place around the dam near our house - the trails were beautiful and the people all very friendly.



But truth be told, it was more of a nap for the homeless for little Ella.

And a carosel too!

Ella went to her first wedding reception - and we have to say it was perfectly suited to her love of lights, sounds, and sunshine. Mom's friend Matt was married a year ago and last week was the big reception. It was right on the water, had a big playground, and a carosel!! Needless to say, we all had a blast!



Look at that blue sky!


Ella rode the carosel three times, and seemed to love it more each time!


It was a perfect night. Lots of smiling, eating, and good memories. Ella as you know, has many nicknames - one of our favorites is sunshine - each morning we say "Good morning Sunshine" and it was perfectly fitting that Ella's first carosel horse bore the same name. After lots of fun, exhaustion set in, and it was a very quiet ride back to Massachusetts.

Where are we going?

Ella always needs to have her eyes on everything. She follows people as they pass, she chases after the dogs, and now when we go grocery shopping, this is what we see...

Our Babbling Babyski

Ella's Stats

Nearly 9 Months

(will be on the 18th):



18 lbs. 4 oz. - 50th percentile
28 inches. - 70th pencentile

Dr. Gentile says that Ella is perfect. (and there weren't any shots to get either!) He said she looks good, sounds good, has lots of hair, and is growing right along the growth chart. He was super sweet with her - it was less like an office visit, and more like a small play session. Ella played with the stethescope, followed the shining light, and even got to play in her tug boat.



Ella also got the green light for meats - Dad is very happy about that. Ella's vegetarian days are numbered.

We have not visited Dr. Gentile in 3 months, and hopefully we won't be back until the big 1 year check-up - which is scheduled on her birthday. We can't wait.

A Gated Community

Parenthood is all about providing, protecting, and nurturing... and arming your house with baby gates, plug covers, drawer latches, and many other things you didn't think you'd ever need. We have a little baby who is trying to do this...



She was so proud of herself - as were we. She is such a strong little girl, and fast too!



So we started Ella-proofing by doing this... (sadly our littlest dog Mae will now not venture up the stairs anymore and needs to be carried to bed, poodles...)



Plus we needed to turn a lovely crib into a little baby alcatraz... who knew the mattress could be lowered so much?



But at least it's still comfy!



Ella is a lucky girl. She gets plenty of good naps... and she needs them for all of the exploring she does. This week she made it into the refridgerator for the first time. She reached in to feel to cold shelves, and even tried to grab at a few bottles. (She even made it into her favorite drawer too!)



This week there was also a lot of yummy dinner. Blueberries and zucchini were added to her daily menu. Ella loves to eat. She really enjoys eating out - the fun of a high chair and all of the admirers she meets too.



But there is no more fun that just hanging out with her parents...



She is still absolutely perfect.

Happy Grandparents Day?!

Although we didn't realize that this holiday existed, we did an excellent job planning for and celebrating it on Sunday. We took the ride to Connecticut, which conveniently is about one long nap away. First we stopped for a light lunch with Great Grandma...




We said our good-byes in the car as someone was ready for a quick nap...



Then we were off to cousin Grace's house for Nana's retirement dinner. Ella played with Grace and Auntie Kris...



Had a lot of fun with Uncle Greg...



Even enjoyed a nice dinner too!



After such a busy day, it was a quiet ride home.

Boy, are we in trouble...

So, there Mom was washing the dishes at the sink. Cleaning up from making some more baby food for Miss Ella. The house was quiet, the dogs were sleeping, and the dishwasher was open awaiting another bowl or spoon... Ella was quietly crawling around the kitchen and staying close to Mom... and then it happened...



Ella pulled herself to stand up on the dishwasher door. She is now standing up!? What? Our little baby, it doesn't seem to make sense to us. Mom called Dad at work to let him know the new milestone - and he did a doubletake too. She did what? Above all else, Ella is inquisitive. She is constantly on the move and looking to see what she can find next.

So we take lots of strolls to get some air and explore the neighborhood. Most of them look like this...



Yesterday it looked like this, with little Ella trying to see what was happening behind the wheel...



Last night, when we went out to dinner, she needed to see what was happening in all directions...


She is an active baby, sometimes so much that she doesn't seem to know when sleep is right around the corner.

Go Sox!

Yesterday was Ella's first Red Sox game, and boy was she ready! She got decked out in her official Red Sox outfit and hat and got ready for the trip into the Big City. We thought Boston would love their (in our opinion) cutest new fan.



Mom and Dad stopped along the way for hot dogs to get them in the right mood for the game, then it was on to Fenway.

Ella had a ball at the game.



She met Wally the Green Monster.





She even has her picture taken with Jason Varitek (sort of).



She had a great view of the game and kept herself busy for a while watching all the people both on the field, and off. As usual, she made a lot of new friends. And while she's too young yet to enjoy a lot of what Fenway has to offer (no Fenway Franks this time!), it was quite an exciting day for her.



Ella was about ready to fall asleep by the sixth innning (with the Sox down 4-o), so we decided to make our way back to the car. We took a bike taxi ride to the garage where we parked, which I think was Mom's favorite part of the day.



Then, we listened to the rest of the game on the radio (of course, right after we left, the Sox rallied to win 5-4). On the way home we stopped for dinner with Mike and Lisa.



We had yummy Indian food, and Ella had squash, green beans, eggplant, cataloupe, Cheerios, rice, and, or course, milk. This kid sure loves to eat!

It was a long day, but a fun one for all of us. We can't wait for Ella's second Red Sox game!