Work Hard, Play Harder

Ellie loves to use the dumbbells she got for her birthday.
She does it with us most nights.... pushups, weights, etc.
She grunts and works as hard as she can.

Then she does some laps with Dad and Tucker.

And takes a rest afterward with Grandpa and her dolly. I
think she thought it was cool to have her shirt off like grandpa.
Even the doll got into the workout, apparently.

In this picture, she had finished breakfast a few minutes before,
and would normally be begging me to get her out of the chair...
but since Imagination Movers was on, she just sat there... entranced.
They are her FAVORITE!

Hanging out with Dad... and reaching for the camera, of course.

We were trying to take pictures to send with a card to
her Great Grandma Roggia, and Ellie decided to put this
pumpkin bucket on her head... strange child.

Blowing kisses.

This is a very "Adam" face. It made me laugh.

Chillin on the trampoline outside.

"Uh-oh". Anytime Ellie drops things or thinks something is wrong,
she immediately puts her hands up on her head like this. Sometimes
I turn around in the car to ask her where her toy is that she had
(and of course threw down), and this sign is the instant
answer... she's funny.

Being silly... on the trampoline still... it is, after all, her all-time
favorite place to be.

Ellie, Tucker, and I go to the parks around here a lot.
I'm not sure what she's doing, but Tucker is very good at
following her around and staying close. Good guard dog.... till
he spazzes at the sight of another dog.

I feel like she's plotting something evil....

Walking tall... she pretty much walks ALL the time now.

Tucker had fun playing some fetch. I wanted to get better
shots of him, but it's hard to be the one throwing the ball AND
taking the pictures.

Ellie likes to play with Tucker's tongue when he's tired and panting.
Good thing they are so patient with each other (even if they
are not patient with anyone else).

Silly poses.

Ellie then decided that all she wanted to do was push the
stroller in circles. Tucker tried to do his duty and stay near her
and the stroller...

Even thought it meant he had to keep moving around...

But then she would crash into him and CRACK UP!...
so he eventually gave up and came over to sit by me instead.

She thought pushing the stroller was hilarious.

I couldn't get enough of her silly faces. Note the leash around her
neck. That's one of her favorite games lately. Anything long and thin
goes over her head and around her neck, then she takes it off, then
puts it on, and does it over and over... or just likes walking around
with it on....... who knows what how her mind works.

Too cute.

And too busy to stop for a pic with mom.... she's never been
one for kisses, but she is a good hugger, so at least we get
those frequently. Crazy child. We love her to death. She
is ALWAYS making us laugh.

Ellie updates and shenanigans

Ellie is 13 months old... but seems to think that
she's an adult. Maybe because she lives in a house
surrounded by adults who she thinks she controls.
Anyway, she's doing really well.... still has the same
hilarious and spicy personality she was born with,
and keeps us working hard to keep up.

She loves to rock. She stops and bangs her
head or dances to almost all music. She loves
to wear guitars. There was a rock concert on TV
the other night, and she immediate grabbed a
guitar and made me help her put it on.

Talking with Tucker. She talks ALL THE TIME. Sometimes
it's just jibjab, but she actually knows a lot of words anymore.
she knows mama, dada, grandpa, grandma, tucker, tank,
this (or deese! to get things), thank you (says it all the time...
so cute!), drink, all done, night-night, bye-bye, good job,
uh-oh, ooooh wow, and countless others that she will
say or repeat for me when she's in the right mood.
It's crazy! (I know that was long, but it's more
for me to keep record better).

She likes playing with full-size basketballs and footballs
a lot lately.

Ellie is a water addict. The sprinkler was on, and
it took her all of about 20 seconds of freedom to end
up completely soaked.

And she walks! She started really walking a lot
right before Jake left. She doesn't do it all the time
yet, but gets better and better. She can stand up
and walk across the whole room if there aren't
too many dogs and things to trip over.

Uncle Jakey

I'm a little behind, but Uncle Jacob left us on the 6th to
enter the Missionary Training Center and prepare
to serve a two year mission for the LDS church in
El Salvador. He is working hard and doing really well!
We are very proud of him!

Before he left, we got to attend a Washington Nat's game
with him.... he got us free tickets to the last home game
with his active duty military ID. It was Ellie's first professional
sporting event. We had a good time.

He also got a chance to say goodbye to Phil, Paula,
Izzie, and William when they came through town!

Showing off his packing skills... or lack thereof. Good
thing he has nice, helpful parents.

Ellie was glad the cousins came to say goodbye to Jake, cause
she always loves playing with her big girl cousin. She also took
right to her Uncle Phil while he was here. Impressive for her.

Momma Garner with her fourth and final missionary son.

Then the whole clan. We love our Jake!

Heeee is the champion, my friend.

This past Saturday, Ellie and I got to watch Adam race in a
5k up at his Marymount University Campus.

It wasn't a huge race, but as you can see, everyone had a lot
of fun. It helps that most of them are the grad students who
all know each other from their programs and classes.

Adam took a good lead right from the start... which is good,
but sad because he had to run the whole thing alone.

Ellie had fun playing while we waited at the finish line.

Coming in for the finish... did it in 18:50. A very good run,
especially considering he was all hopped up on cold medicine.

He took first place overall and got a cool Marymount
Saints mug that even says "Male Champion" on it, plus a
$50 gift cert to Dick's Sporting Goods (which was quickly
used to expand our dumbell options for P90X, of course!). It
was a fun day. Every time someone from the physical therapy
program would get a prize, you could hear the rest cheer,
"yeah, go PT!" Adam made them proud (and me too)!

The Temple.... and Indulgences

We were able to go through the Temple with Jacob for
the first time as he prepares to leave for his mission to
El Salvador. It was beautiful, and we loved experiencing
that with him. Adam couldn't get off of work, but has
since gone and done another session with Jake.

Some good friends from the ward were also there, and
we had a great day. Ellie even did wonderfully with her first
non-relative baby-sitter while we were gone!

I've been taking requests from Jake for foods he wants to
enjoy before he heads back to third-world-eatism. He saw
a recipe for this Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake, so I made it
for him.... and IT. WAS. DEADLY.

We also got some chocolates from someone at church as a
thanks for substitute teaching their class. I tried to let Ellie
take a bite of mine, but she kept leaning forward, forcing
me to let her eat the entire thing at once! She had cute chubby
cheeks and a chocolate face... poor girl is going to grow up
with a major sweet tooth.

Some Final Cousin Pics

We took a lot of pictures while Ellie had cousins visiting,
so here is my attempt at finishing them off. We loved having
them and can't wait to see them again at Christmas!

Ellie's first experience with Rice Krispy Treats... they were
a success.... and super warm and delicious, if you ask me.

A trip to the zoo. Heather and I were planning to just brave
it on our own with the kids, metro and all... but much to our
relief, the boys were able to come along in the end. They
were a huge help, and we had lots of fun.

Grandma decided the kids all needed awesome sunglasses.
Que cool, no?

Lots of craziness.

All the action wore Ellie out sometimes. One night, she
just went limp in my arms like this and stayed there for
a few minutes... not very Ellie-like, but cute.

I forgot....

How could I have forgotten the super cute
group-shot of the cousins. We were sad that
Jensen wasn't there, but here you see
Max, Ezra, Ellie, Isabella, and William. ADORABLE!