"sneeze links"

I was googling ideas for Ellee's blog and I came across the idea called a "sneeze page".  It's a weird name but, the idea is to get your blog readers to re-visit old posts.  So, instead of a sneeze page I decided to add "sneeze links" :)  I wanted to re-cap all my favorite posts from 2009.
You can find Ellee's "sneeze links" on the right hand side! :) Have fun!

I have also added what the blog world calls a mini poll to the bottom of each new post.  I thought it would be a fun way for people to show us what they thought of each post! :)

Christmas!

We had such an awesome Christmas!!  We spent Christmas day at Shayne's parent's house, where we exchanged gifts and spent endless hours playing our wii!  We had so much fun watching each other try to figure out the different games.  It was pretty comical!!  Ellee had a great time playing with her cousin Nadya. For Christmas dinner the great grandparents were able to join us.  Ellee got her 2nd taste of sweet potatoes. :)  All in all it was a great day!

Yesterday, we went to my Mom and Greg's house to exchange gifts and spend some time with them.  The best part is when Shayne sent Sarah out to get another gift (it was for her).  When she opened our car door and saw what it was all we could hear was screaming!  (I wish we had gotten it on video!) She was so excited!  She could cross off the last item on her list: a basketball arcade game!  She is so fun to watch on Christmas!!  And she is always so greatful!  Shayne and Greg spent most of the evening putting together her new game!  She LOVED it. 
What a wonderful Christmas we had this year!!!

Follow the link below to find all the snapshots from both days! :)

Ellee's 1st Christmas!

We hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas!
Love you all!!

our tree.

Here are a few shots of our Christmas tree!

This is the ornament I made at Java Clay Cafe'

Ellee's Christmas handprint

Ellee's snowman handprint :)

Ellee 365: days 154 - 160

154 days old.

155 days old.

156 days old.

157 days old.

158 days old.

159 days old.

160 days old.

sitting up.

Ellee has started sitting up!  She doesn't do it by herself yet but, if you sit her down she will stay up for a few seconds at a time.  She is getting better at it by the day!  In this photo she is balancing herself by holding on to the rings....she is pretty smart! :)

Mommy's little deer!

playtime.

funny string.

I had Ellee with me at work today and my co-worker was making Ellee giggle! It was so funny....she thought the string to her sweatshirt was just the funniest thing! :)

vrooom vroooom!

We decided to give Ellee her Christmas present early. I think this may be the only year that we will be able to do this. So, we figured why not...plus we really wanted to see her use it!! We found this very cute walker on craigslist for over half the listed retail price. And just in time for Christmas..how perfect!  Shayne had found this particular walker online a couple months ago and we had decided to hold off...and I am glad we did!    The previous owner took excellent care of it and we are so excited with our find!

Checking out the bells and whistles!

**HONK HONK**

She is already figuring out how to move the car around.  I have to say we have one smart kid.  As much as I want her to stay my little baby forever it is also fun to watch her grow into each new step of life!!  Life is AMAZING!! :)

sweet potatoes.

Ellee got her first taste of sweet potatoes on Thanksgiving. She LOVED them!! I haven't been giving her baby food yet but, her first Thanksgiving had to include tasting something out of our wonderful feast!

I'm just now posting the video because it was on my sister's camera. She has been in the process of moving so was just able to send it to me. Enjoy! :)

Merry Christmas!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

cutest giraffe ever!

For some reason I am obsessed with giraffes..not sure why but, it all started after Ellee was born.  Here are a few photos of Ellee in her giraffe outfit.  I think she makes the most ADORABLE giraffe!  We were at Forza coffee in Gig Harbor waiting for new tires at Les Schwab.  Auntie Sarah decided to tag along with us. :)

5 months!

Santa!

Every year my work throws a big Christmas party for all the employees and their families, along with a lot of the special needs kids and adults in the community.  Santa comes to visit all the kids and hands out presents.  I was curious to see how Ellee would react to Santa...she did great!!  No crying whatsoever!!  She had the cutest puzzled look..."who is this guy in the funny suite??" :)

Lily & Ellee.

Ellee had another playdate with Lily where they exchanged their Christmas gifts.  Lily is only 5 days younger than Ellee.  It has been so much fun watching them grow together...I think they will be life long friends!

Ellee got Lily an oufit just like the one she is wearing..bow and everything. :)  Lily got Ellee the cutest Seahorse stuffed animal...the belly lights up and plays music.  Kind of like the glow worm from when I was a kid...so cute and Ellee LOVES it!! :)

Two cute babies posing for a picture!!

tree hunt.

We went to our local tree farm and picked out Ellee's first tree!  It was so much more fun this year because we have Ellee.  Not like she really knows what its all about yet...she did have a funny look on her face when she saw a tree in our house...hahaha!!! :)

The perfect tree!!

Uncle Eric & Ellee.

Loading up the tree in Dad's monster truck! :)

Ellee 365: days 147 - 153

147 days old.

148 days old.

149 days old.

150 days old.

151 days old.

152 days old.

153 days old.

Sleep update :)

I can officially say Ellee is sleeping through the night!!  She has been doing very well the last few weeks.  She is even starting to put herself to sleep with out much fussing and she is sleeping 8 to 12 hours a night. I am still trying to get used to this...Some nights I wake up at 4am wondering why Ellee hasn't woken up yet.  I have found that she likes to be swaddled.  When she is swaddled she will sleep longer.  We are feeling much more rested in this house! Ellee has also become much more predictable during the day now that she is on a feeding schedule.  It is like clockwork!  Her daily routine is to eat every 3-4 hours with her last feeding no later than 9pm.  After she is done eating she will play for about and hour then she is ready for a nap.  We are now working on getting her to nap longer.  She will take three to four 30-45 minute naps but, wont sleep any longer than 45 minutes.  Hopefully as she gets a little older she will start to take longer naps so she doesn't have to take as many during the day.
The book On Becoming Babywise has been a great tool.  I'm so glad that it was recommended to me!

Ellee was playing on her mat and all of a sudden she was out like a light! :)

Ellee 365: days 140 - 146

140 days old.

141 days old.

142 days old.

143 days old.

144 days old.

145 days old.

146 days old.