Happy Halloween!!

Ella's first Halloween was all the fun it could possibly bee...

Halloween day started out early - with a quick breakfast and a nice bath....



Then Dad helped Ella with her hair.



And finally, the big moment, her costume. Our little bumble bee had a lot of things to do. We first stopped at Mommy's work to visit Ella's friends. Lucky for Ella there are always toys close by.



(Big congratualtions to our THREE costume contest winners - Uncle Dave, Karen from Mommy's work, and Nana Barbara - who mailed a card with a picture of a baby in a bumble bee costume!)

Then it was time for a little lunch, we decided Indian buffet sounded yummy. Ella enjoyed some rice, peas, chick peas, chicken and cucumbers.



She also enjoyed her spoon.


Then we headed for a little shopping. We stopped by Babies R Us for a few quick things. Ella spent some time in her stroller looking up at all of the ceiling fans.



Od course, Ella didn't want to stay put. She is a baby on the move, so shehopped out of the stroller and buzzed around for a little while.



Then it was over to Dad's work to say hello and explore a little.



We grabbed a coffee and sat for a little while as Ella tried a little taste of chocolate as her first Halloween treat.



But we had to rush home, we had preparing to do. We still had to carve pumpkins! Let us introduce you to the Reed-o-lanterns.



We didn't forget Joe and Mae's pumpkin...



After all the carving it was time for a little snack and to get ready to hit the road.



We loaded up our little wagon and put the plastic to the pavement.





And finally the moment came... Ella's first time trick or treating!! We stopped at our neighbor, Mrs. Hart's house. She let Ella pick a cookie, candy, and lolli pop!!



We went around the corner and picked up Ella's friend Max for a bit more trick or treating..



Finally we were off to the Horribles parade - a big Halloween parade hosted by the Fire Department and led by a big fire truck - lights, sirens, and everything. Grandpa Pete would have had a lot of fun with us. Ella could not take her eyes off of the lights. Mom and Dad even got to enjoy some hot chocolate and cookies.



We wound around the long parade route and finally our night came to an end... a sleeping bumble bee in hand, and many many great memories.



Oh, and a lot of candy for Dad!

Now for something completely different...

Here we are, the day before Halloween, and everyone is asking the same question: What's Ella going to be? It was even the subject of last night's Top 10 List on Letterman! (Favorite responses: "Joe the Plumber" and "Cute!")

And, of course, everyone wants to know who won the "Guess Ella's Costume" contest!

So, given that everyone is so interested in these burning questions, Dad has decided to completey change the subject!

I'm sure you've heard (or said) the words, "They grow up so fast!" It's a cliche. As a rule, I don't like cliches, but lately this one has really gotten to me, because it is so true. How much have I grown in the past ten months? Not much. I'm still the same height I've been for the past 15 to 20 years. But Ella has managed to go from a tiny baby, who looked around herself with huge eyes but was mostly interested in eating and sleeping to this:



She's become a little person, with more than a little personality.

Suddenly, she likes to play outside.



She likes to feed the dogs.



She can do a mean Cindy Crawford impersonation.



She likes to shop, and most of all, she likes to laugh.



Yes, she did grow up fast. She's probably going to keep growing up too fast for her old man. And I don't want to miss a minute of it.

Oh yeah, and tomorrow we'll announce the REAL winner.

'Scuse Me!

10 Months Old!!

I've always understood that times passes, we age, and life changes... but having a little baby growing at this pace is just plain amazing. Ella has reached another important milestone - she has been alive longer than she was in my belly.


(Mom at 6 months pregnant)

But Ella is quickly moving on to other milestones. Ella is nearly walking. She spends most of the day pulling herself up on things, even the wall. She cruises along the couch, lower kitchen cabinets, ottoman, anything. So, to celebrate the big 1-0 we hit the town - we went to a Mom's Club tag sale, the Sturbridge Harvest fest and out for a nice walk. In our travels we inherited this super cool Ella toy. It plays music, counts, and sings the alphabet song (Ella's favorite part.) If you look really carefully too - you can see Ella's first pair of sneakers.



Then it was back home for a nice warm home cooked meal to end the day. Ella had her first taste of Mom's homemade beef stew. We'll let the pictures tell you how she liked it...

9 Month Portraits

Here are Ella's perfectly fall pictures:

Pumpkins and more pumpkins

Our weekend was filled with all things Fall. Ella started her Saturday trying a new food- homemade baby pumpkin mush (thanks Mom!). Ella was not quite convinced.



Then we took a trip to the portrait studio to get our pictures taken for Ella's big 9 month milestone. She had a great time playing with make believe leaves (and sticking her toungue out at the photographer) and even got to play a bit in the waiting room too.



Then it was off to the farm. It was a really big farm with an even bigger pumpkin patch. We picked out a daddy and Ella pumpkin and enjoyed some yummy ice cream.



Then on Sunday it was off to the farm store to decorate the house... Ella hung inside with the puppies and supervised.



It was another perfect weekend.

A Baby of Habit

Ella is getting into our little routine. She knows what happens when we eat - bib, cup, tray, food, wipey. She has fully mastered a sippy cup! She can try to pick up and eat anything that is placed in front of her (and unfortunately any tiny little bit of something she finds on the floor). She knows when it is diaper change time, and sometimes doesn't even try to leap off the table.

But by far her favorite part of the day is bath time. Mom is trying to get a bit faster at filling the tub as there is always a waiting baby...



...lucky for Mom, Ella helps by slowly adding in all of her toys. What a thoughtful kid!

Stand by Me

Ella is a standing machine! She pulls herself up on absolutely everything. Last week, when some small whines came from the baby monitor I went into Ella's room to find this...



I couldn't help but to smile knowing that my baby is growing up and is already such a big girl.

Our Literary Baby

Ella, without any doubt, resembles her father. Moments after her birth the nurses in the room all exclaimed "she looks just like her dad." Despite many many months of pregnancy, Mom still gets many exclamations about Ella's good Dad looks.

Well, it is also safe to say that the similarity doesn't end there. Dad loves books, loves writing, reading, and enjoys playing so much. Ella has many toys - blocks, balls, cars, puzzles, and yet this is what she chose to play with...



And of course, there are the magazines...



Ella is perfect... just like her dad.