Josie is goofing around on a rocking chair and laughing hysterically.

Me:  ”Josie, you’re silly.”

Josie (stops rocking and gets serious):  ”I not silly.  I happy.”

Me:  ”Oh yeah?  Why are you so happy?:

Josie:  ”I have friends.”

Me:  ”Who are your friends?”

Josie:  ”Daddy my friend!  Mommy my friend!  Ellie my friend!”

My heart just melted.  Josie will turn two on Saturday.

UPDATE (6/30/2009): More pictures added… including a pony party!

And, perhaps more exciting, I’ve put several new videos on YouTube.  Watch them on my channel page.  You’ll witness a live baby burping demonstration performed by a three year old.

UPDATE (6/30/2009): More video added, too!

So far Josie is very even tempered.  She rarely cries for more than a minute or two and she has been sleeping very well.  She’ll conk out for hours at a time during the day if we let her.  But we’re worried that sleeping all day means being awake all night.  So we’ve been trying to wake her up and keep her engaged.  The coolest thing however is how Josie (even at this early stage) really watches whatever Ellie does.

And Ellie, for her part,  has been a wonderful big sister.  She is eager to help out with bottle feedings, diaper changes, and all the other little baby tasks.  (Her favorite is burping the baby… and she’s good at it!)  Obviously this is a big adjustment for Ellie, and there have been a few moments when she’s acted out.  But overall she seems very happy about the changes to her world.  We are trying to stay very attentive to her needs and feelings.

Oh hey, another thing.  I added a few more pictures to the gallery in the post below this one.  New ones start here.  They are as cute and precious as you might expect.  There are a number of adorable videos that I will get online in the near future, as well.

I’m going to sleep now.

We’re going to have another baby!  Another girl!  And she is due any day now.  No promises, but there’s a decent chance I’ll have the requisite motivation to begin updating again.  I have to admit that this blog was a fantastic way to keep our family and well-wishers up to date about Ellie’s early days.

If you are one of the handful of people that have ONLY been following this blog, then you have missed a lot of pictures and other goodies.  You may want to start with the new Galleries page.  Or just take some time to enjoy some recent Ellie pictures:

For the truly dedicated… here is some video footage clocking in at over 10 minutes: Ellie_in_the_Catskills.wmv (76MB)

And here are some pictures:

It’s been wonderful watching her transform from a baby into a toddler… and we are now bordering on “little kid” territory. She is active, playful, and imaginative. She is also quite silly and enjoys laughing heartily with very slight provocation.

Her vocabulary has absolutely exploded over the past few weeks. It’s gotten to the point that I’m not even surprised anymore when she correctly uses a new word. She mostly uses English, but she’ll throw in a few words in Spanish for spice. She consistently speaks in two or three word sentences, too. It is a very strange feeling to have a rudimentary conversation for the first with someone you’ve known for two years.

Here are your long overdue links to gallery pictures: May through August and Septmeber through January. We hope you enjoy.

And you may well have already seen this… but if not, it’s sure to impress. Here’s Ellie counting to ten from a couple months ago. (These days she can count all the way to sixteen! Why sixteen? I have no idea.)

My next project – if I can find the time somewhere between chasing after Ellie all day and collapsing at night – is to create a sequel to last year’s critically acclaimed Ellie’s First Year video. Hopefully I can have it ready in time for her birthday!

Today is Eleanor’s first birthday! We simply cannot believe how fast this year has gone by, nor can we believe how much our lives have changed. Thanks to everyone that sent along birthday wishes and/or attended her super-fun birthday party two weeks ago. Our family is lucky to have so many loving people in our lives.

Ellie is such a pure joy. She is almost always happy and calm, and loves to play with anyone and everyone. These days she is always on the move. She chooses not to crawl, but instead scoots all over the place on her rump. It’s adorable. She can stand up, too, and likes to cruise around coffee tables, book shelves, the cats… She also has a lot to say.

Although I have not updated the official picture gallery in a while, I have compiled the absolute best hundred-or-so photos from Ellie’s first year in one, easily digestible gallery. You may view them here:

There is also a 14-minute long video version that contains a number of added video snippets and sentimental music accompaniment. I hope you enjoy!

P.S. Ellie really, really loves cake.

Ellie seemed to have a great time. She was really relaxed, very sociable with everyone she met, and slept better than she ever does at home. We don’t know if it was the fresh air, the peace and quiet, or something else. She also enjoyed spending lots of time with her far-flung relatives. And I got the sneaking impression that they enjoyed spending time with her, too.

I’ve posted a large batch of pictures from the trip taken both my myself and my Mom. You can view them here.

I’d write more, but we’re rather disjointed at the moment. Although we’ve just returned, most of our extra time is occupied by getting ready for my next trip. I leave for Dallas on Tuesday to attend QuakeCon 2006. This will be my 7th year in a row. I’m really looking forward to it, but it’s making everything hectic at the moment.

I am not, however, looking forward to being separated from Tara and Ellie. I’ll be gone 7 days and 6 nights. I think the longest I’ve ever been away from Ellie is about 16 hours… and it was hard! This trip will be quite a bit longer. I’m going to be sad. :(