Winter ONEderland!!

We can't believe it has been a whole year since Ellie joined our family.  I never thought it would fly by as fast as it has.  Just when we think she has reached the peak of cuteness and fun...she comes up with more silly tricks.  She seems to be attached to her "Sniffles Ernie" and has gotten pretty good at her pretend sneeze, "Aaachooo".  And with her Grover microphone, I see karaoke in her future.

The day before her birthday, they celebrated at school, crown and all!

 January seemed like a good time to go with the winter theme for Ellie's birthday.

Convincing her that cake is delicious...

...she didn't take too much convincing

\

And thanks to a very creative Grandma we had some fun taking pictures!!

 Auntie Annie made Ellie laugh!

 Ellie and Grandma has lots of fun playing and posing.

 Cousin Fun!!

 Silly Auntie Laura

 Big kisses for the big girl!

And the surprise guest from Alaska, Auntie Heidi!!!  Greg and Heidi surprised me the day before Ellie's birthday!  Made her birthday even more special!

 Mommy and Grandma

Time to open presents...

 "Ellie, let me help you."  

"Lukie, let me bite your arm."

Watch out Oregon football, you just got a new cheerleader!

And now the week of pink ruffles...she had quite a few new fashions for baby school the following week

 Oh weird, her microphone is in hand...nothing like dancing to Grover at 6:45 in the morning!!

 Who needs shoes on your feet, when you can just take them off and carry them around?!

Don't worry, we'll be having a talk with her about her midriff!

Ellie's 1st Christmas!

Ellie's 1st Christmas finally arrived!!  We were so excited to watch her open presents and sample her first Christmas crepe...a long standing Miller tradition!

Sandy knows her son all too well!

Oh the fun of opening presents!  And then eating the wrapping...must be breakfast time!

Just enjoying some reading while the crepe maker warms up!

Ellie learning the secrets to perfectly prepared Christmas crepes!

The discovery of Ellie's love for blueberries!

 Pajama change and nap time...the only nap she thought she needed that very long day :)

Christmas Fun Time!

The mall Santa didn't quite work out...the meeting of screaming face Ellie and a grumpy face Santa was less than adorable and didn't quite capture the holiday spirit.  So we headed to Alpenrose to visit the Christmas village and see Santa!  Ellie had a little bit of an entourage.  Grandma Cassandra, Great Aunt Cynthia, and Auntie Ann all joined in on the fun!!  Santa, sweet treats, and a stroll through the perfectly flocked farm animal winterland extravaganza made for a great morning!  We even ran into the Vandermeers on their way in!!

 Patiently waiting in line for Santa...

 Going for a ride in a one horse sleigh...well okay no horses.

 There was plenty of drizzle that morning, so it was great to walk around inside and see the goats, trees, and even the Ellie sized village!

 Ellie's first cow ride!

 Giggling with Auntie Ann...apparently she tells some pretty funny jokes!

And we even ran into Cousin Jane and Auntie Laura!!

At least Santa was jolly :-)

Preparing for Christmas

We had so many ideas to capture the perfect holiday photo...a drive up to Mt. Hood to frolic in the snow, maybe a snapshot in front of the perfect tree, or big smiles while sitting on Santa's lap (no smiles, more to come later on that subject!)  However we ended up at the park on a sunny afternoon playing in the leaves for a fun little photo session with Grandma.

 "Oh mom, you're embarrassing me!"

 Aaaah break time!

 Much happier..."let's do this!"

Deep thoughts, by Ellie Miller