Happy Birthday, Ella Kate!

And She's Off!!!

You ever hear about those kids who took their first step on their first birthday? Well now you can add Ella Kate to that list! We actually had to go out tonight and as we were getting her all set up with Kristine, our wonderful sitter, we set her on the ground and said, "show Kristine how you can almost walk!" So, we put her down and without hesitation, she just walked over to Kristine! It was great! Then she walked to Chris and then to me. When we got home Kristine said she walked all over the house. How Fun!!

Wow, what a Sunday!

Today was a really busy Sunday. First off, I have to say "Geaux Dawgs!" regarding our win over LSU yesterday, "Roll Tide" on their win over the Vols, and "Bummer to Buckeyes" on their loss over Penn. If you'd like to discuss NCAA football potential National Championship scenerios please contact me directly! ANYWAY......

This morning we woke up to a much happier baby, antibiotics are a many splendored thing! We are in the process of clearing up an ear infection and a bunch of congestion. So far things are looking good for Ella Kate's first birthday party scheduled for next Sunday.

First stop, well actually the second stop, was at West Park Baptist Church for Bree's dedication ceremony. It was our second stop b/c we accidentally went to the wrong church, Park West Church (see the confusion in the names!)-- we even got so far as to register EK at their nursery before we realized we were at the wrong place!

After the ceremony we went to lunch for a reception for Miss Bree. She got some lovely gifts and memories to last forever!

.

St. Mark's Methodist Fall Festival

After a quick nap and dinner we dressed up Ella Kate, aka Tinkerbell, and headed over to our church for the Fall Festival and Trunk or Treat. We threw together this decoration for our trunk quickly, so I say it looks pretty darn good for work done on the fly!

Tinkerbell even won an award in the costume contest, she was named the "sweetest," and we wholeheartedly agree :)

Here's the whole shot of St. Mark's kids (and a couple of moms). Notice Pastor Batman in the back next to Tinkerbell and me. What a great group we have!

Playing Catch-Up

Finally got some pictures uploaded from the last few weeks. About a month ago Mimi and Pops (aka Chris' parents) were so gracious to take Ella Kate for a weekend and give us a couple of baby free days! I was heading to Charlotte to visit with Amy-Chris and met Linda, and her sister Deanna, in Asheville where we traded off Ella Kate and a whole trunk load of her stuff!

Ella Kate did really well, and Chris and I were so grateful to have a weekend free of bottles, diapers, crying, and pureed food! We missed her, of course, but we knew she was in good hands, so we weren't worried. The only thing to worry about was whether or not Mimi and Pops would give her back!

Amy-Chris and I had a nice weekend husband, baby, and fiance free! It was nice to catch up and have some quality time. We spend most of that Saturday contemplating bridesmaids dresses, colors, fabrics, lengths, flowers, reception decorations, menus, and lots more wedding details. Of course, we had to take an obligatory self portrait-- just like the ones from college :)

Then at the beginning of the month was Shay's birthday and another fun girl's night. We had dinner at Bonefish and followed with drinks at Table 15. Happy Birthday, Shay! We all had a great time!

Thursday we did Boo at the Zoo and Ella Kate got to get dressed up in her very first Halloween costume. Those pictures are on the other camera, so I'll have to upload them later. This one is from the aftermath-- the fairy costume has been removed and our little pumpkin is now playing in a big pumpkin bowl. She loves all the little Halloween do-dads-- stickers, cups, mini pumpkins, and straws. Isn't it amazing the things they can be entertained by?

On Friday Ray, aka Pops, came by to do a little work on Chris' storage building/workshop. He got a few minutes of quality time with his favorite "Little Buddy" who was attempting to take some first steps.

I'll upload the ones from the other camera soon-- they are from the pumpkin patch, the hay ride and pumpkin patch with the Simpsons, and Boo at the Zoo.

Blogging catch up

So, again, I lost that stinking cord for the camera, but thanks to the wonders of ebay I have a new one! But, even though I have the capability of uploading photos, I thought I'd just give a quick update on what's going on in our lives here in Ella Kate's world. The main thing we've been working on is food. EK is in that in between place where she's past baby food puree and not quite to table food (only 2 teeth!). They provide lunch and snacks at her school and we've been happily taking advantage of it, but recently we've started to re-evaluate the menu options. Especially the day last week when her daily report said she had corn dogs for lunch and fruit loops for snack!!! Not my idea of health food! That's not to say that they don't offer veggies and fruit and some days the food is just fine, but the pizza, corn dogs, hamburgers, and bologna & cheese sandwiches just had to go. For one thing, EK was getting to be pretty picky about what she'd eat at home. She was pretty much down to cheese-- sure, it's dairy and protein, but a child can not survive on cheese alone! So after calling on my baby experts (Mom, Kristen, Leslie, Melissa, and Google) Chris and I made a list of possible healthy menu options (realistic ones that we knew we would actually make) and then made a big trip to Sams & the grocery store! Here are some of the fun and random items we bought: 5lbs of whole wheat spaghetti noodles, 6 lbs of tri-color spiral veggie pasta, spinach and ricotta raviolini, a case of diced fruit (in light syrup), a case of canned mushrooms, a 5lb block of sharp cheddar (we do love some cheese around this house!), 2 loaves of whole wheat bread, whole wheat tortillas, chicken breasts, a rotisserie chicken, broccoli, edamame, black beans, refried black beans, chopped spinach, ricotta cheese, corn, spaghetti sauce makings, and more and more. And, Mel, if you're reading this, yes, we even got humus. She loved it, but it did make her breath stink, which also prompted the purchase of toddler tooth paste!
The first day at school with her own lunch was not a huge success, but she's been getting better-- I think the weekend helped. Since a lot of what we're working on is finger food and possible introduction of utensils we started with things like the rotisserie chicken pieces and diced veggies followed by some fruit. We also had chicken, cheese, and broccoli quesadilla (with Kristen's suggestion of preparing it with butter in a skillet not just in the micro like we usually do!). She had humus mixed with chicken and veggies (stinky breath day), grilled cheese and broccoli on whole wheat, the veggie pasta and the raviolini, and we've done lots of cottage cheese with fruit, and yogurt (yo, Baby!). These have all been a hit, but the craziest one of all was what I made for dinner yesterday. I decided to crock pot some veggies in some frozen chicken stock we already had. Then I started looking through the pantry and freezer to see what else I could possibly add. When it was all said and done my creation included corn, black, northern, and green beans, carrots, and cod fillets. By the end of the day the house smelled like fish and I hate that smell! I thought this was gonna be a disastrously gourmet meal for the doggies. I offered a small bit to EK and..... to my surprise....she gobbled it up!!! She ate 2 helpings of the "stew" and seemed to enjoy the whole event! We even used forks and spoons (all moms will recognize the plural use of the utensils). I sent it to school today for her lunch and they said she did great with it! Yipee! Next creation: spinach and ricotta "pizza." Probably have to try that on Thursday as I'll be out of town for dinner tomorrow night.
So, anyway, that's what we've been up to. EK's been relatively illness free, although there was a slight stomach bug going around the school last week. Thanks, again, Kristen and Phil, for your advice on the BRATTY diet to use during a bout of any GI upset. And because we live in East TN it's a given that she'll wake up congested every morning. We love those flowers and trees, but it's hard raising a child who is already prone to allergies in the Asthma Capital of America. Since there's not a lot out there indicated for children under 2 we have done a whole lot with menthol and a humidifier.
Here are some handy websites I've discovered over the last week or so:
Motherhood Uncensored
Adventures in Babyfood
Wholesome Toddler Food
Heavenly Homemaker
Any good suggestions on foods that have worked well for your kids in this phase are very much welcomed!!!

PS To all you believers in the miracles of Vicks Vapor-Rub, check out the suggestion from motherhood uncensored about rubbing Vicks on baby's feet and covering them with socks to cure a cough. I have never been a big Vicks user myself, but I tried it on EK tonight, and so far not a single cough has come across the monitor!! Kristen, tell Tammie she's on to something with her Vicks addiction!

Ella Kate at the UT Gardens

We took advantage of the BEAUTIFUL weather this weekend and had a photo shoot with our favorite model at the UT gardens. She did SO well. We were there for almost 2 hours and she had 3 wardrobe changes! She really was perfect, just perfect, and the pictures were absolutely wonderful! Maybe if the government job doesn't work out Chris could have a second career as a photographer!