Merry Christmas?

Much delayed Halloween pics!

I realize I am long past due for these Halloween and birthday pics but I am going to go ahead and post them so I can post thanksgiving pics next! This is Nellie on her actual birthday.
See just how excited she is?!
And here is a look back at the past year. Newborn little Nellie. Just laying there so sweet and innocent.
6 months and sitting up! Now she can crawl and eat food!
And here's a few takes of her one year pics. Standing up and walking!
Love her eyebrows and expression in this one.
Nellie's one year check up was a few weeks late but she weighed 19 pounds 4 oz which put her in the 20%. That's up from the 10% at her 9 month check up! She was %40 for height. We did get her a new carseat but those pics are still on my camera.
Just doing a little yoga.
What a silly baby! Nellie can't walk super fast now and she says "ball" and when I point to something and ask her "what's this?" she responds "dis" (this) or "dat" (that).
Carving pumpkins at a friend's house.
This is a cat. See the pointy ears? the triangles are suppose to be his whiskers but I made them a little too big.
Sweet friends!
And here's all our pumpkins. Yes...I am a little embarrassed of mine.
I went to Explora, the children's museum with a friend and her little boy Keenan. most of the experiments were way over our head but we found some fun things for the kids to play with.
Keenan and Nellie playing in the water.
Nellie is "coloring"

So for Halloween, we took Nellie to the Zoo Boo. They had the exhibits decorated and were handing out candy. All the candy was the cheap kind but it was fun!
Her expression is so funny in this one.
Sweet little ladybug.
Poor Nellie, we were totally pimpin' her out to get candy but she didn't get to eat any of it. We brought a picnic to eat in the grass.
And then our friends Gabe and Gelaine joined us. Lucy is also a ladybug and Oliver is a super buff superman.
This was the first time is saw the hippos get out of the water. It was so cool!
Then on Halloween night we went to our friend's Quinn and Morgan's house to hand out candy and take Nellie trick or treating.
This was Nellie's practice house. You can see what Quinn is greeting her with!
We only went to a few houses but we did get some play-doh and goldfish.
Nellie went to Keenan's 2nd birthday party and it was a baseball theme. I put a temporary tattoo of a baseball on her face.

So proper.
Her cute new jammies.
Nellie got this turtle for her birthday and she loves to climb on and press the buttons.
That's about it for now. I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving!!!

First Birthday!

Well, it's done. Nellie is officially 1. She is walking everywhere and an official "toddler." In fact my babycenter updates now say "Toddler Bulletin." I broke all the rules when it comes to first birthday parties. According to babycenter 1st birthday parties are suppose to be

1)Small

2)Simple

3)Short

Nellie's Party:

1) 35 people

2) Full meal, crafts, pinata, 3 cakes

3) 2 1/2 hours

Thankfully our parents were in town to help us with the whole thing. Next year, Nellie is celebrating with us at Outback Steakhouse with a cupcake.
If you are wondering why my two cakes looks so different, that is a good question. Nellie's little cake (click to enlarge) is all organic made with natural sugars. I had a big two layer one of those to cut up. Not surprisingly, most people wanted the confetti cake with cream cheese icing on the right. :)
We had the party at a park right by our condo, which was nice just to be able to walk right over.

Bren and Andy and Macey came from LC to celebrate with us. So sweet.
The pinata.
Nellie loved playing with her balloons.
See how her shirt says "happy birthday." Well by 30 minutes into the party she was peeling the letters off. And if you notice the big bow in the first picture, she lost that about 10 minutes into the party. Surprisingly the tutu stayed on!
Those are our gift bags the kids took home.
Dragging that bag around.
This is the only picture Nellie and I got together at the party. Sadly, we never got a family pic. :(
We decorated little pumpkins. Some people carved them but the kids could paint them or attach buttons to them.
Here is Nellie's cake. Surprisingly, she didn't get into it that much. She hasn't eat breads so I think the texture was really strange for her.

She toppled the top layer off.

Hmmm....this isn't bad!
Each kid got a chance to hit at the pinata. Must have been a tough one cause no one could break it. (the oldest kid was only 5)
So, we blindfolded Cody and let him swing around awhile until he busted it.
Toys and candy!
Nellie and Macey chillin' after the party.
Momma's and babies.
Here we are watching some of the party video afterward. Notice Nellie's shirt now just says "happ" with happy face with no smile.
Opening presents. Nellie is trying on her new winter coat. I exchanged it for a 9 months instead of 12 so she can wear it this winter. Nellie got lots of cute clothes and fun new toys!
On to some recent pictures. Nellie is enjoying some play time at the park. Unfortunately she was eating the wood chips. I kept wondering why she didn't want to drink any water and it's b/c her mouth was full of a wood chip.
Nellie's new thing is walking around with this lego in her mouth. She hums around the house with it in there.
We went to a two year old boys birthday party and I put a tattoo of a baseball on Nellie's cheek.
Nellie doesn't watch any programs on TV (for her anyway :) but tomorrow I am going to pick up some baby einstein moves that someone was selling on craigslist for $5 each. They have videos for all ages of babies. My goal (ahem...read goal) is to not just prop her in front of the TV but to watch it with her and talk about what she's learning and practice new words. Not sure if she'll even be able to sit through a whole episode but we'll see.

This is her new ball machine. It plays music and shoots out balls. Every morning she forgets what it does and it scares her. She'll turn it on and then will scurry over to me to sit in my lap. Then she gets used to it and loves it again.
Having a little lunch with her aunties Ali and Lauren before heading to the aquarium.
Check out that fish behind us!
little cutie pie.
awww, good times.
funny face!
Nellie got these boots and hat for her birthday. The hat fits her perfect and is so cute!
Nellie enjoys shower/baths. It's both because she sits under the shower stream while the tub fills up with water. Look how long her hair is getting.
A little sneak preview of Nellie's Halloween costume. I was trying it on her this day but I haven't downloaded my pics yet. Stay tuned for Halloween adventures at the zoo and trick or treating! I also have a lot of new videos to post. Nellie is only walking everywhere now. She looks so cute with her little booty popped out and her hands up (usually with a toy in each hand.) Also, she is now 19 pounds so will outgrow her carseat in three pounds. So last night I ordered her new carseat. Although she still has tons of room in her infant one I think I'll go ahead and switch her out but she has to stay rear facing for awhile. Her one year check up was delayed because of all the flu cases but we are finally going in on Wednesday. Not sure if she'll get her regular flu booster or the swine flu shot. They have been out at her pediatricians office. Until next time... have a great week!