The Changing of the Guard

Well, I've been putting off this post for a while, but I guess it's about time.  This will be the last post in the Messmer Baby Blog.  Ellie, it has been so fun for Mommy to use this as a journal of your first year of life (and the 9 months before it too).  I can't wait to continue to watch you grow up as you become a big sister in April!

This blog is officially done, but since Messmer Baby 2.0 is on it's way, a new blog is up and running!  To keep up on our life happenings, check out the Messmer Baby 2.0 Blog.  :o)

(I just couldn't resist adding a few more photos of you!)

It's Official!

Look out world, because here comes Ellie!  You are now officially walking!  Daddy captured you toddling to him last night with his iPad.  All of a sudden you love walking and do it every chance you get!  From the couch to the coffee table, from the coffee table to your toys, from your toys to Mommy; you're non-stop!  My favorite part is how proud of yourself you are, and you should be Ellie Belle.  We're proud of you too; what a big girl you are.  :o)

Your Birthday Celebration

Well, today was a VERY busy day.  Not only did you turn one-year-old, but you also shared the news about being a big sister with all of your aunts and uncles.  That was a lot of Skyping!  By the time we were finished, it was almost your bed time.  We still had enough time to sing happy birthday and give you your very special ladybug cake made and decorated especially for you by your mommy and Grandma.

Even though you were tired, you had enough energy to dig into your cake!  You couldn't quite reach it to sink your face in, so you had to settle for small bites.

You made out like a bandit with gifts too!  Everyone thought of you on your special day.  :o)  You got all kinds of cute outfits, and there were toys galore too!  You've definitely got lots of thank you cards to write.  :o)

You Are 365 Days Old!

 I can't believe my beautiful Ellie Belle is one-year-old today!  Time has flown by, and your Daddy and I have enjoyed every minute of it.

 Your incredible smile and infectious laugh lights up our days.  You are such a happy little girl!

 You always have plenty to say and are not afraid to share it.  I can't wait until those sounds turn into words.  We're going to have such fun conversations.  :o)

You definitely know how to have fun too!  And with all of the fun toys you got for your birthday, you're never going to have to worry about being bored.

Celebrating with Nonna & Ga

I know it's a few weeks early, but Nonna and Ga wanted to celebrate your first birthday with you while they were here. You weren't too sure about the Happy Birthday song we sang...

...but as soon as you got a taste of that icing, you were singing a different tune.  Nonna made you two very special birthday cakes.  One was a pretty pink bear that stood up on your plate.

 The other one was a beautiful butterfly.  Once you tasted the bear, you knew just what to do with the butterfly!

Mommy and Daddy had to take the cake away from you or I'm pretty sure you would have devoured all of the icing.

 You had a lot of fun opening up your present from your Aunt Melinda, Uncle Sam, Benjamin and Christian.

 I can tell that you are going to have a blast with your new music table they gave you; you already love music so much!

 Next was your gift from Uncle Mark, Aunt Jess and Ari.  After that first one, you tore right into this one yourself.

The dress-me monkey got a big hug right away.  Nonna and Ga arrived with presents for you too, but were too excited to wait to give them to you.  You have already been playing with them all week.  I know that you are so happy with your new toys, but I think your favorite gift was being able to play with Nonna and Ga in person!

Your First Surgery

 Mommy was more nervous than you were this morning as we walked into the pre-operation room at the hospital.  Thank goodness Daddy came too.  You have been pulling on your ears for as long as I remember, so today we were finally able to do something about it; Dr. Hirschi put tubes in your ears.  You looked so cute in your little hospital gown!

Daddy and I had to give you some medicine to get you ready and calm you down.  It definitely did what it was supposed to do, you were out of it.  I watched as the male nurse walked away with you in his arms, staring at him and slowly patting his nose.  I can only imagine what you would have been saying had you been able to talk.

It seemed like we had just sat down in the waiting room when they were calling us back to talk to the doctor.  Everything went well!  As soon as you woke up, they took me back to see you.  You weren't crying (thank goodness).  In fact, the nurse had to call your name to wake you up because you were just sleeping away.

So, Mommy can relax now.  The surgery's over and you have tubes in your ears.  Let's hope this leads to more sleep-filled nights!

One Month To Go!

 You are 11-months-old and so full of laughter and learning.  You've been practicing your walking all over the house and are getting pretty good!  I have a feeling you're going to take off on your own any day now.

You're ears have been bothering you a lot lately, but you're such a trooper and handle it as best you can.  You still dazzle us with your beautiful, toothy smile - you sure know how to win us over!

 Daddy was very happy that Mommy dressed you in your Irish outfit for these pictures.  We watched our first Notre Dame football game of the season this past weekend and we were all decked out for the occasion. 

You're Going to Be a Big Sister!

Eleanore Marie, today Mommy found out that she's got another beautiful baby growing inside of her.  That means you are going to be a big sister!  I know you're going to be a big helper for Mommy as we get ready for Messmer Baby 2.0 to arrive.  We've got lots of preparing to do!  It'll be a big change for you since you won't be the only baby in the house anymore, but I know you'll love your new sibling as soon as you lay eyes on him/her!

Bruthuh

You have been chattering so much for so long that your first word came and went before I even documented it!  Oh well, let's see...you can say Mama and Dada (although Dada often sounds a lot like Gaga), but Monday a very new sound came from your lips: Bruthuh!  Your little face is so adorable as you focus and attempt to make those sounds.  It's no mistake because you've been saying it over and over for the past few days.  That "th" sound is giving you trouble, but that's not stopping you.

Talking is one of your favorite activities these days.  Whether you're reading a book to yourself, playing with your toys, or trying to get Brother Rockne's attention, your voice is getting lots of practice.  It's always fun having conversations with you, although I do most of the listening.  I can't wait for the day when you can string a few words together - although I am definitely NOT wishing away this time that I have to simply sit and listen to you babble  :o)

The Best Sound In The World

We made a new discovery today, Ellie - you are ticklish!  If you can see past my big fingers getting in the way, you will see yourself squealing with glee as Daddy tickles your sides.  Our favorite part (aside from everything about this) is the way you bring your hand up to your mouth every time you laugh.  I would do this all day long if I could!

Up, Down, Touch the Ground...

You have gotten so good at getting yourself up and down!  Your Daddy introduced you to this game, and now it's one of your favorite games to play.  You're Grandma & Grandpa, Nonna & Ga love playing it with you on Skype.  Keep learning Ellie, we love watching you grow into an independent little lady!

T Minus Two Months

I can't believe you're only two months from being one-year-old!  I have loved these past ten months with you Ellie Belle.  Your smile brings sunshine to my days and your laughter fills my heart to the brim.  Your Daddy and I are so proud of the independent little girl you are becoming.

Stats for the month:

• Tooth Count - You've got eight teeth now, four on top and four on the bottom
• Movement - You're crawling all over the place, pulling yourself up and cruising around the furniture
• Favorite Destinations - our bathroom to turn the faucet on and off, and Rockne's water dish
• Food - Your current favorite treat is wheat bread (I feel like I'm feeding a bird)
• Talking - You can say Mama and Dada and Gaga and Baba, usually indiscriminately at this point.
• Listening - You know what "No" means, but don't usually listen (uh-oh), you also understand when Mama wants you to come get your bottle

A Week in the Woods and Goodbye to an Old Friend

Our final destination this summer was Grandma and Grandpa's cottage on Sapphire Lake in Lake City, Michigan.  So we hopped on a plane yet again and headed north.  Grandma and Grandpa were extremely excited to see you!  It looks like the feeling was mutual.

We already knew you loved the water, and you wasted no time getting into it either.  Whether you were in the sand, the water, your floatie, or the boat you were enjoying yourself, which of course means that I was too.  My new favorite hobby is watching you have a good time.  :o)

 You had a lot of visitors while we were there!  Great Aunt Mart came to spend time with you and your second cousin Emmeline Grunder.  Great Grandpa Briggs and GG came up to visit with the two of you, and your Great Aunt Susie was up spending time with her granddaughter and you as well.  Aunt Dayna and Uncle Lucas made a special trip to the cottage to see you, but we forgot to get pictures.  (Sorry)

You two are pretty popular! You and Emme seemed to put a smile one everyone's face.  :o)

 Your Nonna and Ga came up for the day to visit with you too.  I'm so glad we've had lots of time to spend with all four of your grandparents this summer!  I know you love seeing them in person.

 While we were up there you got to spend a lot of time with your second cousin Emme.  It was always fun to watch the two of you interact, you both seemed to have a good time together.

You also got to meet your Aunt Mocha.  It was so nice spending the whole week with her.  We love you Jamocha Sprinkles Briggs, you are missed.

The Pittsburgh Wedding

We had three days at home before we were on a plane again, this time headed to Pittsburgh for Uncle Lucas and Aunt Dayna's wedding.  And what an event it was!  Where do I even begin?  First of all, you loved walking around the University of Pittsburgh.  It may have had something to do with the attention you were getting from Grandpa.

The craziness, though, began on Saturday morning at about 10:00am, two and a half hours before the ceremony.  Thank you, by the way, for taking a three hour nap that morning...I don't know what I would have done otherwise!  I walked out of our hotel room to find Uncle Lucas splayed across the hallway floor.  He had tripped down the stairs (walking barefoot - who does that?), dropped a bottle and landed on the broken pieces with his left foot.

Aaron Brinklow and I had to dig a large piece of glass out of his heel and I had to keep pressure on the ball of his foot where another large gash was bleeding.  Long story short, Urgent Care stitched your Uncle Lucas up with ten minutes to spare before the ceremony started.  Other almost disasters: late groomsmen, forgotten ring, forgotten dress, forgotten tie, missing pants.  After all of that though, the ceremony was beautiful and the rest of the day went without incident.

You, by the way, looked absolutely adorable in your little flower girl dress made especially for you by Grandma! 

You made Mommy and Daddy laugh as we walked down the aisle when you decided to whack your little flower bouquet out of Daddy's hand.  I think the audience got a kick out of it though.

Aunt Dayna and Uncle Lucas were so happy that you were able to be a part of their very special day.  I think the feeling was mutual.  :o)

P.S. A special thank you to Nonna and Ga for watching you so Mommy and Daddy could have a couple of dances together!

Adirondack Introductions

Eleanore, you have now officially made your first of many trips up to the Adirondack Mountains in New York.  This year's trip was extra special because so many events took place while we were up there.  You, Christian and Ari were finally all together in one place!  And the three of you were baptized.  You were introduced to your Great Grandpa Messmer and saw your Great Nana in Buffalo on the way up. 

You got to meet your Uncle Daniel, Uncle Sam, and cousin Benjamin for the first time too.  You and Benjamin got along right from the start, you loved the big hug he gave you.  I think you had a good time hanging out with Uncle Daniel too, based on the huge smiles he got from you.  Uncle Sam is going to make an excellent godfather (along with Aunt Melinda) I can tell already.  And a whole lot more of the Piciulo and Messmer families were there to share in the craziness as well! 

 We celebrated the Fourth of July as a family and introduced you to the lake and mountains where you got your first boat ride and first feel of real lake water.  You loved the boat even though your life jacket didn't appear to be very comfortable for you.  You had lots of fun riding the waves in your floating raft too.  Your daddy is very excited that you liked the water so much!

Wait, there's more!  Your Nonna (Mimi, or whatever you're going to call her!) had a surprise 60th birthday party.  Cousin Christian had his first birthday party with the family too.  AND Uncle Sam, Aunt Megan and Uncle Daniel celebrated their birthdays too.  Whew!  There was plenty of cake to go around!

It was so fun for the whole family to be together up there.  I envision lots of great memories together in the future.  Just imagine what the four of you are going to get up to together!

The Final Four

At your baptism on July 1st, 2012 we were finally able to get the last "four generation" picture with you, Daddy, Ga and Great Grandpa Messmer. 

I think Great Grandpa was pretty smitten with you Ellie, out of 17 great grandchildren you're only his 2nd great granddaughter!

Three Quarters of a Year Already!

 

You celebrated your 9 month birthday up in the Adirondacks on the 4th of July!

 


I think I say this every month, but I can't believe you're this old already.  You can slow down any time you want to.  It doesn't look like you're planning to though.  You like that you're "Soooo big!"

You've got at least 6 teeth that Mama can see (2 front bottom, 2 front top, and canines), you're already crawling all over the place, you're pulling yourself up to stand and you're trying to walk while holding our hands.  What's next?!  (Should I even ask?)

Beautiful Baptism

July 1, 2012

So many people came St Anthony's of Padau Church in Inlet, NY to witness you, Christian and Ari all becoming members of the Christian faith Eleanore.  It was quite an event!  You weren't too happy to be awakened to be there though, and that long dress didn't cool you off very well in the heat.

You were very calm as the priest was pouring the baptismal water over your head, though, with your godparents Aunt Melinda and Uncle Sam watching close by.

All three of you were so cute in your white outfits!

We had a big celebration too, with lots of food, lots of cake, and lots of people!