10/7/09 Happy Birthday Sweet Face!

This is it. I have to somehow write an ode that is worthy of the anniversary of Ellie’s birth. It’s so wonderful to have these chronicles of Ellie’s development, but every time I sit down to write one, I wonder how I can possibly try to get my clumsy words to capture her essence. Here goes.

9/23/09

She has become quite a handful. She makes her opinion known with a loud squawk, whether she’s mad about going inside, sitting still for a diaper change, or being told not to investigate the garbage. She’s perfected the limp noodle body to keep from being picked up, and the fast retreat when we’re trying to take away an item she shouldn’t be playing with.

10/1/09 (Can is empty, of course)

10/4/09 Naptime

But as increasingly opinionated as she is, she is even more increasingly sweet. She now hugs us with as much of a reach as her little arms have and rests her head on our shoulder. She reaches up to be held and holds on like a monkey when she doesn’t want to go down. She loves to sit in my arms and watch me baking, refusing to go down until I’m done. She hates it when either of us leaves the house or goes in a room and closes the door.

10/7/09 Carrots I was grating for her cake

10/7/09

She loves peek-a-boo and (as Jesse said a few days ago) will play it as a dog plays fetch, basically until we’ve had enough. She still loves to play with books best of all, but as a second favorite past-time, she can take everything out of the cupboards. She has started dancing anytime she hears music. It’s a dainty, arrhythmic knee bounce with her arms bent at the elbow and her hands flopping up and down. It’s quite possibly the cutest thing I have ever seen. The other cutest thing is her little pointer finger, now extended in every direction. She especially loves pointing at noses.

10/7/09 Birthday cake!

10/8/09

She can run on her little feet, though they sometimes still get a little ahead or behind her. She can climb up on the couch and occasionally get back down safely. Her talking has changed from repetitive babbling (dadada) to what is obviously her own little language. Jesse’s pretty sure she calls him Dada, Dad is certain he was called Grandpa (anda) and I think she may be saying “that” (dah), but I’m not sure about any of it yet. She seems to learn everything so quickly now. She sees Grandpa comb his hair, then when handed the comb, reaches up to comb the hair as well.

10/8/09

10/8/09

She is only ever more beautiful. Her hair is long enough to start curling in back and still golden blond. Her eyes are a deep emerald green, a seemingly impossible color for eyes. She has three teeth and seems in no hurry to get any more. She still has a delicate double chin that I would hate to see go. She is longer and leaner the older she gets and I’m stunned sometimes to see the length of her now, though it’s still a length that is small for her age.

10/8/09

She hates to be told “no” and scrinches up her eyes and whines. We’ve decided to stop using “no” and instead save it for situations where we really mean it. I find myself saying “oops” and “uh oh” (don’t get into that, don’t eat that, please don’t climb that, etc).

10/11/09

She loves to be chased and tickled and hugged and danced around the room. She loves to go outside and watch the big kids. She’s stopped trying to eat the bark chips and instead carries them around in her fists. She loves meeting new people and charms them with her shy smile. She has so much personality for such a little thing.

10/8/09

As the day has gone by, I find myself savoring again each moment from a year ago:

5am: At this time last year, my water broke (Ellie woke up this morning at 4:30 and took an hour to go back to sleep so we were both awake and grumpy for this momentous hour).

8am: This is when I put a towel under my feet and did the dishes

10am: This is when we went to the hospital

11am: This is when we left the hospital

1pm: This is when I realized that I was really having contractions and Jesse called Mom

4pm: This is when we went to the hospital

6:55pm: This is when I met Elena Mae!

8pm: but this is when we chose her name!

Ellie’s monthly to come later…

To be fair, I thought I should list the good stuff in Berkeley. I think if I could not be living in Oregon or Washington, the Bay Area would be next on the list.

Here goes, what Berkeley has and Portland does not:

1. Fantastic weather! Though, I never minded Portland’s.

2. Diversity! Resulting in fantastic restaurants and the possibility for Ellie to take a “Baby Mandarin” class. Though I’m not spending $30 for Ellie to walk around putting everything in her mouth while the adults recite single words in Chinese.

3. A good school where Jesse can get a PhD in Chinese languages and literature. He said today that a prof (from another university) told him that Berkeley was the only place Jesse could really study what he’s studying.

4. Good donuts

5. Close enough to drive to Parents, Grandparents and Cayucos without Ellie getting pissed off (as much)

6. Year-round farmer’s markets (ie, year round local produce)

7. The Sea

8. San Francisco nearby! (and even just looking at the cityscape from the East Bay)

9. New friends

10. Good, small, local markets for produce and meats and fishes

…and that’s it for now. I’m sure I’ll miss it here when we move to Minnesota for Jesse’s first teaching position.

I’ve been terribly cranky ever since coming back from Portland a week ago. Darn you Portland! I almost think I should stay away so I don’t get grumpy about what I’m missing.

Here is the short list of what Portland has and Berkeley does not:

1. A sister, her husband, their gestating child, their cat and comfortable house.

2. A brother, a sister-in-law who is also a good friend, their fun kids and a comfortable house.

3. Coffee shops with good coffee

4. Coffee shops with good food

5. Coffee shops with places for kids to play!

6. Easy(er) access to good friends.

7. High Chairs and changing tables in every establishment.

8. Nicholas’ and Saburos

9. Good parks

10. Nice little neighborhoods to walk around (Sellwood, Multnomah Village, Mississippi, etc, ad nauseum)

11. A recently transplanted aunt who had lived nearby and was very helpful

I’d better stop. I think I could be writing this list for hours. The point is Portland is better and I know it and I know I will not get to move there for at least 6 years, if ever. Humph.