Christmahanakwanzakkah 2008

Another Christmas has come and gone, and this year's was great. DRL and I got to enjoy watching Elena open gifts on her own, and actually get excited for what was inside the fancy packaging. She received many extraordinary gifts (especially the fairy ride on car from Great Grandpa Beaver that is soooo very verrrrry verrrrrrrrrrry loud), and DRL and I enjoyed every moment that we spent with family and friends. Thanks to all for making the holiday so warm and special this year. We love you bunches!

And I'll post more photos soon, I promise!! Santa brought me a FABULOUS new camera.....and I've already taken nearly a hundred photos - just of Christmas - so I have to weed through them and find out which I like best.

Love to all and have a safe New Year.

More Hats

Here are photos of the last four hats that I made. The two gorgeous girls are the daughter and grand-daughter of a co-worker of mine. She asked for matching hats for them as a Christmas gift becuase her daughter was deeply in love with the hat I made for Maren. I think they look great.

This is my Cousin April's (of Mrs. Mills fame) daughter Helen.

And her son Teddy (with his grandma and my Aunt Kristy)

Maren's Hat

For those of you who don't know, I've been busy making hats for friends and family this winter. So far, my hat count is up to 16!! A co-worker of mine was blessed with a baby girl, Maren, in April, and asked for a hat to help keep her ears warm this winter. They then won a free photo shoot with an amazing photographer, and were kind enough to showcase my hat in their photos. I thought I'd post them here and let you all enjoy. She's just tooooo cute....

Photographic Evidence

Daddy put her coat and hat on her, and she sat down and pouted. Is she my daughter or what?!?!

DRL put my snowboard goggles on her face tonight, and she thought seeing the world through amber colored lenses was fantastic!!

She didn't want to take them off...

Playing at the dinner table.

I turned the camera on, and pointed at her, and she actually smiled and made a noise that eerily resembled "Cheeeeeeeeeeeese."

We bought my step-nephew this Tractor for Christmas, and still haven't wrapped it. Elena was pretty sure if she climbed on top of it and bounced up and down it would move.

Turns out, she was wrong. But she still had fun. And she still climbs on it. Maybe she needs a tractor, too.

Oreo Face

She really likes to go into Belle's kennel. Especially when she can shut the door and pretend to hide. Notice the book she brought in there with her...

She loves to eat Provolone Cheese.
Exhibit A:

This was her first time "playing" in the snow.

She didn't really know what to make of it.

She really likes popsicles.

Trouble is, she has to hold them herself. And then she drops pieces on the floor....

Sometimes she just lets them melt there. Or Belle comes and cleans them up.

She thought the cone was the best thing ever. For two minutes anyway.
She likes to bounce on Logan's Zebra

The Christmas Card photo
And another cute one...

Upwardly Mobile

It's official -- Elena is walking. It all started over the long holiday weekend. Her courage kept building and building, and now she rarely chooses crawling over her newfound bipedalism. I think that once in a while she goes so far as to actually try and run which is really quite funny to watch. I'll try to capture some video and figure out how to post it so you can all experience the chicken madness that is Elena's walk.

In other news, Elena started sleeping in her crib on Wednesday night. For those of you who didn't know, we had been co-sleeping with her since about, oh, I'd say, The Day She Was Born. And we've been trying to get up the courage and MEANNESS to crib train her for about six months now. Finally, the weekend arrived. I thought I was going to be in for hours of screaming and kicking and crying -- but it turns out, I was wrong. I laid her down in her crib on Wednesday night, she cried for about 3 minutes, and then she was quiet. Now, after nearly a week, she cries until I leave the room and she's silent. I don't think she's getting the same quality of sleep as before, but I'm hoping that will come in time. And I'm also PRAYING that the screaming will stop eventually, and that she'll be happy to go into her bed.

So now it's Christmastime. We've got the tree up, and Elena thinks it's pretty great. She likes to make bee noises, and cow noises, and squeal at the top of her lungs when she does anything that she thinks is fun. I'm excited for the first real snowfall of the season so that we can dress her up in her snowsuit and take her sledding. That reminds me....I should probably buy a sled...

That's the news for now.

Happy (December 1st) Birthday to "Gramma" Carol and "Cousin" Audrey, and Happy (December 7th) Birthday to Uncle Tony.

Baby in A Basket!

One of Elena's favorite things to do is to crawl into the laundry basket. When she does it, we sing out, "Baby in a Basket!" and she get a big smile on her face. Here's an ADORABLE photo of her enjoying her new pastime...

She's been getting quite good at feeding herself with a fork .... we tried to capture it on film, but she decided she'd rather play with fork, instead....

She spent Sunday cruising around the yard while Daddy and Grandpa Mac put in a new back door. The Packer outfit is a gift from Grandma K and is being worn in honor of Grandpa's love for the team. And, we really needed them to win on Sunday so DRL and I could win my office football pool. No such luck....

And here are some more photos of her standing, and trying to walk, and just being cute!

Some Knits

"Mr. Bear"

Another Photo of "Mr. Bear."

A Cute Beanie w/Flower

Me wearing it...

A Right or a Duty?

For the past few weeks I've been urging everyone I know to vote, just vote, regardless of what you know or who you vote for. After reading the latest post over on BMSB I've come to realize that maybe it is better to not vote if the only reason you're voting because you feel you should, or that it's somehow your duty as an American. As Bull Moose points out, the right to vote is just that, a right -- it's is not a duty. And is it really socially responsible to vote so that you can get that free cup of coffee, or the "I Voted" sticker, or announce your voting abilities on the status feed on your facebook page, when you know nothing about who's running and what their being elected would actually mean for you or your family? Or for me and mine?

I think it's amazing that we live in a country where we are each provided the right to vote - the right to have our voice heard by our government - but I think it might be equally important for us all to realize that we have just as much right to not vote. I think it's important that each of us realizes that we do have a voice, and that we can use that voice -- but we need to think about whether or not we even know what we're saying, before we stand to speak.

Happy Voting to All -- or Some.

Birthday Photos

Grandma Kay

Sneaking into the present pile....

Opening the gift from the Pounds clan- Leap Frog Fridge Farm - her favorite birthday toy!!

A nice farm animal puzzle set from the Weber's. Another favorite!

A singing card from Gramma. "Play it again, please!"

I'm pretty sure I like cake....

Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand Six Hundred Minutes

It's official. Elena no longer xWeeks old or xMonths old. When people ask how old she is, I can just say a simple, sweet, "One." I'm so excited about it. And I'd like it to go on record that she will be One until she is one and a half, and she'll be one and a half until she is Two.

I'd like to take this blog posting to thank everyone who was kind enough to share Elena's party with her, and even kinder to bring her such lovely gifts. She had fun playing with her new toys through the evening on Sunday and all day Monday. I can't wait for her to get the chance to watch all of her great new movies!!

Yesterday she had her 1 year well baby visit with Auntie Jane (aka Dr Hess). All went well. She got four shots (ouch), and was cleared to eat all kinds of foods (except peanut butter), and drink whole milk -- and she got her first glass of ice cold whole milk as soon as we got home!! I'm pretty sure she thought it was great, maybe even the best ever. Though, she did sign for milk later in the night, and when given a nice cold cup of the creamy goodness, she pushed it away and pointed to her bottles. A new battle has begun.

Her stats for those interested: 18lbs 6ounces (10th percentile), 27.5" tall (10th percentile), 18.5" head circumference (90th percentile).

(P.S. I'm going to put her pictures on a disk tonight and upload them to the web from work tomorrow. )