Child care playtime

Snoozing with the pup

Party girl

Buckethead

Yesterday Ellie was rolling around on the floor when she spied the pail from our dramatic play housekeeping set. In her attempt to put the pail in her mouth, she accidentally pulled it onto her head! What amazed me most was that she never panicked; she worked it off all by herself using patience and determination. What a kid!

Our trendy daughter

She wears capris and a shrug. (And look how well she's sitting up, too!) Many thanks to Grammy and Grandpa and Auntie Heidi and Uncle Chris for the cute clothes!

At Art Beat with Kate & Jess

A summer meal with Meredith, Jimmy, & Rachel

At the farm

Ellie meets Stephanie's kitten!

First foods

First yogurt

First sushi...just kidding!

Relaxing outside

A new/old sock monkey from Aunt Donna!

Can you believe this wonderfully thoughtful gift? My Aunt Donna made this sock monkey when she was in school nearly 50 years ago. She just sent it to Ellie this week. Ellie loves it, and Annette and I love that Aunt Donna made it. Thank you so much, Aunt Donna!

Play time

It's shocking how much Ellie changes each day. Today she reached for a toy on the floor and accidentally pushed herself backwards with her hands. She thought that was neat, so she did it again on purpose. I took this picture just after one of her backwards scoots. She looks pretty pleased with herself, no?

Ellie really likes playing with her child care friends, too. It works out well most of the time: the big kids learn about babies and Ellie sees the big kids in action. In this photo, all the kids are playing with Fisher Price Little People. They're fun for dramatic play as well as sensory exploration! Do note that Ellie's bringing her knees up underneath her in an attempt to reach a toy that's just out of her grasp. Holy moly--she'll be crawling before we know it.

Update

Ellie went to the doctor today for her 6-month check-up. The verdict: She's doing great! She's small but mighty, coming in at 13 lbs. 11 oz. and 26.5 inches long. Way to go, baby Ellie! Big news in the food department, too--she's allowed to start baby yogurt and eat regular table food, as long as it isn't too spicy. Tonight she had peas, apples/plums, a couple bites of Annette's potatoes, and a few sucks of my tomato. She seems to be enjoying the variety, at least so far.

First friends

Here's another photo from brunch at Ellie's friend N.'s house. Aren't these 3 adorable?

Ellie sits in a big girl highchair at brunch!

At the drive-in

Annette and I just couldn't miss the new Harry Potter movie; however, we also weren't ready to leave Ellie with a babysitter. We ended up taking her to a local drive-in, which worked beautifully--she had fun playing with us before the movie and she fell asleep within the first 10 minutes of the show.

Holding her own bottle!