February 14, 2012: Valentine's Day

Ellie enjoyed her first Valentines Day! We got her all dressed up, and she gave Valentine cards and bath toys to all of her little friends at our Day One Mom's Group. Life with little Ellie Rose certainly makes for Grant and my sweetest Valentine's Day ever!

February 9-12, 2011: Ellie's First Trip to Far Outlook

Grant, Ellie and I were lucky once again to have the opportunity to join our friends Nick, Hannah and Landon for a wonderful long weekend in Lake Tahoe at Hannah's Grandma's beautiful home on the lake, Far Outlook. We ate yummy food, watched golf, relaxed, played with the kiddos, and just had a great time. On Friday night, Nick and Hannah watched Ellie and allowed Grant and I to have an amazing date night at the Lone Eagle Grill in Incline Village. We loved getting to celebrate our 13-year dating anniversary and an early Valentine's Day. On Saturday, the boys took kid-duty while Hannah and I got massages at the Lighthouse Spa.

Grant and I truly value the time we get to spend with the Serrano Family! We wish we all lived closer together!

February 3-5, 2012: A Visit from Grammy and Grandpa!

Grammy's teacher conference in San Jose provided the perfect excuse for a weekend visit and some good bonding time with Ellie. Grammy even got her first chance to read Ellie a family favorite book: The Little Mouse, The Red-Ripe Strawberry, and The Big Hungry Bear. This was one of Grant's favorite books as a little boy, and he gave it to me (Ellie) as a gift when I was pregnant. It is clear that Grammy read this book to Grant many, many times, as she can still recite the words to the book without looking!

Thank you, Grammy and Grandpa, for the wonderful visit! We hope to see you guys again soon!

February 4, 2012: We have a 4 month old!

It's unbelievable, but true -- Ellie is 4 months old. Weighing in at 14 lbs., 4 oz. and measuring an official 23.5 inches in length*, Ellie is certainly a growing girl.


*She is actually slightly longer, but the technician at the doctor's office had a hard time getting an accurate measurement with all of her wiggling and arching her back. Grant measured her at 25 inches.

Ellie's "bag of tricks" continues to grow. She is using her hands to grab toys, hair, jewelry, etc. and is curious about everything. She does a great job with tummy time, pushing herself up high, and she recently learned to roll over from front to back! I caught her third roll on video!



Ellie is starting to experiment with sitting up, and she is just too adorable when she does.


She also likes to hold conversations by cooing with Mommy and Daddy. It is so much fun to listen to her talk all day.



Now that February is here, I'm starting to see the end of my maternity leave in sight. It has been such a joy to spend my days with our little Ellie Bean; it's hard to imagine being away from her. Grant and I have been looking at daycare facilities and we interviewed a nanny. We know we'll find a perfect spot for Ellie to spend her days playing.

January 21-27: Grandma's Visit

Grant had a business trip to Colorado Tuesday-Friday, and I had a work event in San Francisco to attend on Thursday, so we were so lucky to have Grandma spend a week with us to help out and hang out. Ellie was in heaven spending so much time with Grandma, and I was thrilled to have the company to enjoy my time off. Grandma spoiled Ellie by holding her every second she got, including nap times! They giggled together, coo'ed together, and had some great bonding time.


We took advantage of the beautiful winter weather by walking the Dish, hitting up the mall, and spending a day in the City going to the Japanese Tea Gardens and touring China Town, including the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory (quite the tourist scam, but the cookies were still good).





Thank you, Mom (Grandma), for spending this special time with us!

January 4, 2012: Ellie is 3 Months Old!

Our little Ellie Bean is a growing girl! At 3 months old, she is interacting with us more and more -- grabbing toys, shaking rattles, smiling and giggling. She is still sleeping through the night, too! We're becoming pros at taking her on little day trips, and have recently visited the California Academy of Sciences and De Young Museum in San Francisco. We took our first music class together this week, and have been taking a lot of walks in town. Ellie is an absolute joy to be around! We are so thankful for this blessing in our lives. Here are some photos and videos of Ellie's latest look and newest "tricks":

Our Giggly Girl


Tummy Time

Shaking Her Rattle


Pink Cadillac

Ellie's First Christmas

Ellie's first Christmas was all that we dreamed it would be . . . and more! We had an amazing holiday down in Pacific Grove with Grandma and Grandpa. Since I'm still on maternity leave, it was wonderful to be able to spend an entire week together with family. We started the week off on Tuesday night by picking up Uncle John from the airport. It was fun to have Grandma and Grandpa, Heather, Jeremias and Betinho, and Grant, Ellie and me all together to greet John when he arrived at SFO. This was Uncle John's first time meeting Ellie, and it was love at first sight.


After that, it was family time all the time, and we enjoyed every minute of it!




Grandma and Santa really outdid themselves this year to make it a holiday to remember. We woke up early Christmas morning and opened stockings in our pajamas. Santa even remembered Harry & Ginny!




Grandma made a yummy Portuguese breakfast for us all, and then we went to church as a family. After church, we came home to open presents. Cousin Betinho was absolutely adorable to watch. He was so excited not just for his own presents, but for everyone's. When Grandpa and Grant opened socks, Betinho would excitedly yell, "SOCKS!" And when he and Ellie opened diapers, he let out an enthusiastic, "A diaper change!" Santa got a big thumbs up for getting Betinho a Hot Wheels garage and several new cars. And Ellie was all smiles at all of the attention! After presents, the boys headed down to the putting green at Pacific Grove Golf Links to test out Betinho's new putter.






As usual, Grandma outdid herself with an amazing Christmas dinner. Everything tasted so delicious!


Thank you all for a truly terrific holiday! We'll never forget it!