Happy First Birthday Ellen!

I can't believe the day is finally here...Ellen turned one this weekend. How long ago it seems that she came into our lives and how much things have changed. We held a "carnival" themed party on Saturday with lots of family and friends (see some pictures below). We had games, food, music, pictures and lots of fun. I'm also including a link to a video/photo montage that I created, which reminds me how much she has changed. Thank you sweet Ellen for coming into our lives!You are a true joy and gift to everyone who meets you. We love you very much.

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See full video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKaQTzSAHZg

Dancing Queen

Ellen's latest thing is dancing and making funny faces. Here you can see her moves in a video captured by Lily. She will now "dance" on command, which makes for a lot of fun during mealtimes! I can't wait to see what else she has in store :)

Joint Family Mountain Trip

Last weekend we went spent a great time with three other couples in the Shenandoah region of VA. It was so nice to let the kids hang out and entertain each other while we enjoyed the scenery. Although my pregnant friend and her husband left wondering how they got roped into this "vacation," it was a fun adventure and nice to get away from the hustle and bustle of D.C. for some fresh air and open space.

Owen showing his baby brother how to attempt a head lock

Why does everyone look so concerned except John?

Ellen and John enjoy a good read

Dedicated to Aunt Meggers

I wanted to share a cute picture of Ellen taken by my sister, Aunt Meggers. She does a far better job taking pictures of Ellen than we do sometimes! The picture below was taken with Megan's new iPhone, which apparently has some fancy photo finishing capability. Here she captures Ellen's growing spunk and personalty. Thanks Aunter Meggers for being a wonderful Aunt and sister!!

Hot Hot Hot in the City!

We are definitely in the dog days of summer here in D.C. They are saying it's the hottest summer on record--yikes! Ellen doesn't seem to mind it though. As she quickly nears her first birthday, she can be found crawling all over the place, hanging out in the park, and beating the heat indoors by enjoying the "jumperoo"; check out the videos below. Here's hoping that August is cooler than July (wink, wink)!

Ellen loves to jump!!

Ellen gets familiar with the letter "b"

Ellen Crawls!

Ellen hit a major milestone this week...she learned how to crawl (pictures to come)! She is now a mobile baby exploring every nook of our townhouse. The other exciting news is that we are in the process of buying our first house (pictured below) in N. Arlington! So, Ellen will have much more room to spread out later this year. In the meantime, she's staying cool by hanging out at the pool until the warmest DC June on record subsides. Also pictured below, Ellen hanging with Aunt Meggers at a cookout.

Aunt Meggers and Ellen

Hanging in the Sun

New House!

Ellen's New Look

So I finally caved...I put a bow in Ellen's hair, see below. I have never been a proponent of making Ellen look very "frilly". My mom even gives me a hard time for not putting Ellen in more dresses. Now that I've gotten over that hump and put a bow in Ellen's hair (yes, she has a lot of it) I have become a convert...she does look pretty cute!