Home Alone

Who wouldn't trust this baby to be left in Princeton without Mom and Dad? :) Ellie told us she was ready for a week with us because she wanted a visit with her grandparents all to herself. Nannie, Gung, and Grandma came to Princeton and stayed with Ellie while Phil and I went to Europe. Phil had a conference in Croatia, and we added on a few more days in Slovenia. Ellie loved every minute of her special week with three people who adore her (and spoil her rotten!)

Uncle Jonathan and Aunt Katherine came for a few days to help out. Uncle Jonathan was extra good at spoiling Ellie with her favorite snacks: Mum-Mum rice crackers. Delicious!


Grandma Connie went to swim class with Ellie - this is one of her favorite weekly activities! She loves the water and is starting to learn the basics of blowing bubbles, reaching her arms out in the water, and kicking.

The Waldrons came to visit one day so Ellie could spend time with her Great Aunt Catherine, Great Uncle Pat, and Great Aunt Judy.

Kisses for Grandma Connie all the time!

Gung is BIG fun on the playmat. They like to growl together;)

A very special thank you to Nannie for all the countless hours holding Ellie, singing to her, and playing. You are the best! Phil and I enjoyed our vacation more than we ever thought possible because we knew Ellie was so happy at home with her three grandparents. Thank you for everything!

Lost on Campus

Happy Easter!

Ellie's first Easter was a glorious day in Princeton - 70's and sunny with blue skies, just perfect! We went to church together and spent the day with Nannie and Gung. The highlight of Ellie's day was her first taste of lamb for dinner (she loved it, as she loves almost all food so far). A quiet day at home with family was just what we needed.

Nannie and Gung brought Ellie a new baby lamb stuffed animal...and she wanted to share it with Daddy, too!

Omnivore's Dilemma

Ellie finally met a food she didn't like: curried butternut squash. At nine months old, she's a non-discriminating omnivore: most food is delicious or at least palatable. (I guess this is sort of like me;) But not this time. I thought that the spices in this squash might be a little bit of a stretch, and I was right. Her facial expressions were so out of the ordinary for her that I had to capture them on camera. I guess it's a little underhanded of me to purposely give her a few more bites of something she didn't like, but hey, you gotta find laughs where you can...

Great-Grandma Tota visits Princeton

Phil's paternal grandma, Carlota, just celebrated her 93rd birthday and is one of the most incredible women I have ever met. She flew up to see us from North Carolina to spend some time with her first great-granddaughter.

She spent a couple of days in Long Island with her son and his family, and we spent Saturday with the Manhasset Haberkerns. Ellie is lucky enough to have two wonderful cousins, Nathaniel and India (who is only a few months older, but a lot more mobile than Ellie;) It was particularly fun to see them together, not just for Grandma To but for us, too!

Nathaniel and Ellie - he was being very sweet and sharing some of India's toys with Ellie

India cruising all around

Ellie and India hanging on the lawn

We brought Grandma To back to Princeton after our visit to LI. It was fun for all of us to spend time together eating breakfast and relaxing at home.

On Sunday, my parents came down for the day and we all had brunch together. We spent the afternoon walking around Princeton and basking in the glorious spring day - 70's and sunny was a welcome change in central Jerz! Grandma To remembered Princeton fondly after visiting years ago and we were happy that we could continue creating happy memories.

The best wakeup ever

Almost everyday when Ellie wakes up from her afternoon nap, she plays peekaboo with her blanket. She covers her eyes and then pulls the blanket down so you can see her face. She thinks she's hilarious and I can't lie, I agree...

When Mexichirish eyes are smiling

For Ellie's first Saint Patrick's Day, Nannie and Gung celebrated by coming for their weekly visit decked out in green and bearing gifts of balloons. Ellie has fallen in love with balloons, and Gung bought her bright green ones for this special day. Yay for being a proud 1/4 Irish!

Ellie was given a beautiful green dress by her little friend Nora (thanks Matt and Crissie!). It was perfect for St. Patrick's Day and we had a little photo session with Nannie.

A whole day playing with Nannie and Gung, watching the parade on TV, singing Irish songs, ending with Gung's corned beef and cabbage (Ellie was unsure about this as an important part of her culinary repertoire)...what a way to celebrate.