Happy Birthday Elliotte! Friends Party

My baby is one year old!!! Last Tuesday, we had a few friends over for a small birthday party. Lu, Callie and Austin, and Curry and Neelley came over to help Elliotte celebrate her first birthday. We missed Eli, Montgomery and Leah! E had a great time smashing her cake and opening presents. We had spinach quiche, fruit and cinnamon rolls for lunch and cake for dessert, of course. This was kind of a trial run for her bigger family party that was on her real birthday.

New lion toy from mommy and daddy. She bounces up and down when the music comes on.

Curry, Neelley and Austin eating lunch. I didn't get Lu in a pic b/c she was doing the videoing.

The table

Sweet Callie brought E two of her balloons from her b'day party.

The cake from Publix.

Going in head first. She loved it!

Making some progress...

Getting full

The damage! She did pretty well for her first cake!

The "Furminator"

I am in Heaven!! I have found something to take care of all the shedding that comes from my dogs! I had seen The Furminator advertised, but it was always about $40. Well, I found it online through Amazon for $15 and bought it immediately! I used it for the first time tonight and am a true believer. Both the dogs were a little skeptical at first, but then they laid down and let me brush them like crazy. The brush removes the thick undercoat of fur. Both dogs look thinner and their coat feels great! If you have dogs that shed, get this brush!!

Too bad pug hair isn't in demand somewhere...

This is Hoover's hair after just one side! It was too dark when I got done to see all the hair. Just picture twice as much!

Elliotte 11 Months

I cannot believe I am writing the post before my baby's 1st Birthday! Where has the time gone?Elliotte can be summed up in one word...BUSY! She never sits still. She is going, going, going until I put her in the bed. I've had several moms tell me that she is way more active than most 11 month olds. Really? They aren't all this insane?! Mom has nicknamed her Scooter which is very fitting. Elliotte is so much fun and has a great personality. She is happy, determined, independent and fun.

At 11 months, Elliotte:
is off the bottle
is drinking whole milk, YAY!
is eating 3 meals & 2 snacks
is going to MDO 1 day and loving it
laughs when she sneezes
is taking 2 naps a day
recognizes the dogs' names (looks at Buster when you ask "Where's Bubba?")
loves to be "chased"
loves to play peek-a-boo
is getting one tooth on top
is in love with her Pops (my dad)

11 Months!

Loves her pugs, stuffed and real!

Hard to get these two to cooperate!

E and Montgomery "sharing" my keys at Austin's party.

Buddies at Austin's 1st B'day party. E, Austin, Montgomery

Chewing on the baby gate that once was a dog gate.

Even chews on the baby jail at my parent's house.

Holding her own bottle. Actually playing with it. That's when I realized I could take it away. And yes, she is laying on a pug pillow. She looks so big in this picture. :(

Destin

Two weeks ago, we took a week of work and headed South to Destin! It was a long awaited break for all of us. We were so excited to have Spud, Jennifer and baby Emily (8mo.) meet us there for a few days. They dropped the twins off in MS and met us there on Monday. I haven't seen Jenn in a year and was so excited to meet Emily and for her to meet Elliotte. We had a blast as usual and the girls were so good. They didn't really care that the other was there though. Elliotte loved the pool and the ocean. I think we'll have a beach bum in the future!

We had such a good time and can't wait to see y'all again! Love you Jenn and Spud!

Dinner the first night at the Whale's Tail. This was the first time E had seen the beach and ocean and she was so intrigued!

Sweet, innocent face!

Toes in the water for the first time.

She liked it so much I let her get in with her clothes on!

Walking in the water

Nekkid baby!

Pool time!

Swimming with daddy on Father's Day

Taking it all in...

Dinner at the Crab Trap

Hey, that's my toy!

The only pic I got of me and Jenn

We settled for dinner at Johnny Rockets after we tried Red Bar, Pandora and Hartsell's. We just couldn't wait with the babies. We did get fabulous milk shakes and burgers though!

Day at the beach when the tarballs rolled in...

I love that their hands are in the exact same position. Curious about the sand.

Elliotte 10 Months

Now that E is almost 11 months old, I decided I better go ahead and get her 10 month pics on here. I still can't believe how fast time is flying. I better start thinking about her first birthday party soon, or it will be gone! I'm thinking a pug theme...

At 10 months Elliotte:
Eats 3 big girl meals, never refuses anything
Loves Cheerios and yogurt
Drinks 2 bottles, one mid morning and one before bed
Sleeps about 11 hours at night
Takes 2 naps
Is all over the place!
Is cruising on the furniture & starting to climb
Has 2 bottom teeth
Is learning to give kisses
Is going to MDO on Thursdays and loves it
Is getting long and thin

Happy 10 month old baby girl!

Loves all her pug animals. They make her smile every time.

Still loves her Bubba brother

Curious about the dishwasher

Going for a stroll around the neighborhood

9 month pics

I had E's 9 month pics taken at almost 10 months b/c I was a huge slacker in getting them scheduled. We met Katie at Ellington and had a great session! She captured all of E's best expressions. I'm so happy with them and can't wait to see the rest!

I think this one was right before her face plant! We've had all kinds of injuries lately...

Such a big girl!

Love this pic!

Clapping with mommy

Pure Joy!

Elliotte 9 Months!

I'm a little late with this post, but E is 9 months old! She is such a happy baby and is doing so many "big girl" things. It's fun to watch her pick up on things. She claps and waves bye bye! She's learning to make different sounds too. I love to listen to her in the car and on the monitor. I can't believe she's so close to 1 year old! I'll be planning her first birthday in no time!

9 month stats:
Weight: 20# 5oz (75%)
Length: 29 inches (92%)

At 9 months Elliotte is:
eating 3 meals a day (still loves veggies)
eating lots of finger foods
drinking 2 bottles a day
taking 2 naps a day
crawling all over the place
pulling up on furniture
sleeping 11-12 hours at night
into everything (had her first fistfull of dirt)
obsessed with the dogs (loves their feet)

Hard to get a great shot b/c she wouldn't sit still! But she's still happy!

Loves her Bubba and is always patting him

It got quiet the other day and she had found her basket of animals and of course pulled the pug out!

How do I get our from under here?

Why isn't this pug moving? She finally found it and was so confused at first!

Found the cable cord too. She loves all cords and crawls faster to get to them than anything else.

Loves to look outside