Hello, this is 911

Ok. We are not making this up. What is the probability that the number combination of 9-1-1 is dialed by a one year old, and in that particular order? Oh, and on a locked blackberry of all things? With her quick like cat reflexes and superior dexterity, Ella grabs Tim's blackberry, disarms the security code, and makes the emergency call. What could have been the reason? Stinky diaper perhaps? Or because Cooper wouldn't share his dog food? Not enough morning kisses? Whatever the reason, all we hear on the phone as Ella holds it up to her head and smiles is "Hello, this is 911. What is your emergency?" CRAP! Panic by both of us. This can't be possible! Tim quickly grabs the phone and hangs up. Phew. Well, heed this warning all you 911 pranksters out there! 911 has caller ID! Not a mere 10 seconds later does the BlackBerry ring. Uh oh. Tim answers timidly (imagine what an adolescent boy would sound like calling a girl on the phone for the first time),
"Hello?"
Dispatch: Yes, this is 911 of Fairfax County. We just received a phone call from your home. Are you okay?

Tim: Oh yes! My daughter just dialed 911 by mistake.

Dispatch: Ok. So everyone is safe?

Tim: Yes, but Ella! Oh no! My daughter is swallowing dog food!

Dispatch: Sir, how old is your daugther?

Tim: She's one. Ella, nooooo!

Dispatch: Ok sir. Do you have everything under control?

Tim: Uh, yeah.

Dispatch: Very well, have a good day!

Would you like Alto, Soprano, or Cheerios?

Apparently Ella's got the groove. Not sure what her singing voice will sound like later on and given that fact that her mother can't carry a tune to save her life, she's got the odds against her. For now, however, she sounds so so sweet and we managed to catch her first sing along on video during breakfast. And to French nursery rhymes of all things! And one would think she's needs a seat belt for her sing-a-longs. Hold on tight, Ella!

Thanksgiving 2008

The holidays are officially here! Thanksgiving marked the beginning of the holiday cheer for us and we enjoyed Thursday night at the Buehrig's with the Carlson's and family friends. The food was some of the best yet and good times were had by all. It was also nice to take some time out from our busy schedules to enjoy family time and really reflect on all the wonderful things to be thankful for.

Ella's wondering where her turkey is.

Tim and his mom showing off their post turkey glow

Family Shot

Carving the 'ol Turkey

Erika and her look alike daughter - the resemblance is uncanny!

Family shot - Saturday night dinner

The 2 families

Ella is all smiles with her Aunt Monica!

Did You Know That Ducks Can Cry?

If I have to say "quack quack" one more time, you're really gonna see some tears

Although we were thoroughly entertained and thought that Ella was just too cute for words in her Halloween costume, she began to wear thin throughout the evening. Guess we can't blame her considering the costume probably added 5 pounds to her and definitely minimized her mobility and ability to snag toys and play with the other babies. Regardless, we all had fun getting together at Christi's and celebrating Ella's SECOND Halloween and SECOND Halloween as a duck! This year though, the costume fit a little better!

And two ducks are better than one! Ella and Ethan.

Do these slippers make my feet look big?

Monkeys and ducks and pigs and bees oh my!

Pre-evening stroll around the neighborhood


My have things changed! Ella when she was just a few weeks old and as a duck for the first time

Ella Bella

Now that Ella is on the move so much more, pictures don't always do her justice. We also wanted to share all the entertainment that we've been experiencing lately; she is turning into such the little girl. Watching her play really suggests that she's using her own imagination but mimicking what she sees in the world around her. For example, she picked up Erika's cell phone today and immediately placed it her ear and said "hi!". She also loves a gold bangle bracelet of Erika's which she'll place on her wrist and show it off. In fact, she'll restrict herself from crawling around just to keep the bangle on her tiny little wrist. It's pretty remarkable. Oh, and to see her give Cooper hugs! But did we mention hugs for mommy and daddy? Those just melt our hearts.

Here's a few clips of Ella......

Ruby Red:




Who Needs a Sippy Cup? Water from the faucet works just fine!





Oh, and when Ella doesn't get what she wants....here's a nice sequence of pictures:

Reaching the breaking point - notice how she's strategically placed herself on her tummy in preparation of the next move. Can't tell, but toys have been pushed out of the way. Very effective.

Breaking Point. Butt up in air and planting face into carpet really captures the moment nicely.

And not more than 2 minutes, all is forgotten and she's on to bigger and better things.....

Happy Birthday To Me!

The birthday girl in her birthday dress

We've been doing a whole lot of reflecting this past week and reminiscing about the end of Erika's pregnancy and the whole delivery process of little Ella. It's hard to imagine that it's been a whole year so far; it sometimes just feels like yesterday that Erika went into labor. But the incredible experience of meeting our daughter for the first time has only led into greater and more incredible experiences of raising our little girl. It's sometimes hard to imagine that we could love her anymore but sure enough, each day she just brings us so much joy that we seem to be falling in love with her even more. So, we can only imagine what the next year will bring!

Ella had her first birthday party on Saturday and was certainly the belle of the ball. While the adults quenched their thirst on a keg, the little ones enjoyed some time outside and some rides in Ella's new wagon that her mommy and daddy bought her for her birthday. It was quite the site to see and amazingly, all the babies seemed to enjoy the ride!

Interested in seeing some par-tay pictures? Click here.

Happy Birthday, Ella!

Ella Always Takes My Toys!

See! I DO share!

It's amazing how much you can learn about your child from OTHER children. It's a no brainer that Ella and Erika look nothing alike, but as we've said all along, Ella will undoubtedly take on her mommy's little attitude. So while the following conversation may disturb some moms out there, Erika found it thoroughly entertaining:

(Scenerio: After a long day of working as an intern, Erika arrives to Carla's house to pick up Ella. Carla, her son Matthew, Ella, and two other little ones are outside playing when Erika arrives. After the hellos and such, the following conversation begins to take place between Matthew and Carla:

Carla: Say bye-bye to Ella and Mrs. Erika. Cha Cha!
Matthew: Bye Mrs. Erika! Cha-Cha! Mommy, is Ella leaving too?
Carla: Yes, her mommy is taking her home now.
Matthew: Good. Ella is always taking my toys.
Carla: It's nice of you to share
(meanwhile, Ella is crawling towards Matthew who is riding is little tricycle)
Matthew: When Ella comes over, I have to take ALL my toys to my room and close the door. She is always taking my toys!
Carla: You must have some pretty neat toys, huh?
Matthew: I don't know. But I don't like it that she takes my toys. She's ALWAYS taking my toys, mommy! Why can't she just play with HER toys?
Carla: It's okay, Matthew. It's going to be alright.
Matthew: I just always have to put my toys in my room. I can't ever just play with them. Is she going home now?

Ah, the things kids say! Funny thing is that Ella shares all the time; we suppose she just expects the sharing to be recipricated on her own terms (sound familiar?).

So it's good to be back "blogging" again, considering it's been a good amount of time since the last update! Turns out that today is Tim's birthday (!!!) so we'll be celebrating tonight by going to dinner and enjoying a nice and relaxing meal while Ella enjoys some time with the grandparents. It'll be a treat to go to dinner and not request a highchair! Ha.

If you have a few minutes to spare, we consolidated some of our most recent pictures here and will attempt to be more on top of our bloggin! Oh! It's been so long since we've blogged that Ella hit a few major milestones....hello world, she's crawling! The morning after her first night of crawling was a big eye opening for her. After she woke up and we walked out into the living room, the look in her eyes gave it all away....you could just see it all coming together for her and if you could have read her mind, it was probably saying "Jeez! I've been missing out on all this for all these months? Well goody good for me because now I can go anywhere and get anything!" Whereas we were thinking "Oh boy. Bring out the gates."

Capturing Ella's first night of crawling...if only she moved this slow now!

Weekend at Smith Mountain Lake

The Carlson's joined the Reemsnyder's at Smith Mountain Lake this weekend for a little R&R and a chance to continue what's becoming a nice yearly tradition to visit with our good friends Shea and Jim. We could not have asked for better weather and had fun enjoying the lake and watching Ella and Brady play, er, dodge teh chaos of three dogs who expressed 24/7 excitement over teh opportunity to swim in the water. Cooper, forgetting his fear of heights, took his first dive off the dock and took his second ride on the jet-ski. While he had fun, Ella and Brady decided very quickly how much they dislike life jackets. By the looks of the pictures, you might feel sorry for them but don't let their pouting faces fool you - they had just as much fun as their parents did and even had a one-up on all of us with a boat-ride nap on the way home from the "lake" bar. It wasn't the beer, we promise....hahaa. Finally, this weekend marks a very important, yet exiting, milestone for Ella since she decided to take her first attempts at crawling. She's no speed racer yet (we'll leave that up to Brady!) but she had had enough of him taking full ownership over the floor so decided to exude some girl power. Video to come!


Erika and Shea pose for their traditional yearly photo...from bellies to babies!

Tim and Ella pose in front of Hickory Hill Winery. We all concluded that while the ambiance and hospitality were grade A, the wine was anything but. Nonetheless, we had a picnic outside with a complimentary glass of wine and best of all, we saw first hand how a small winery packs and labels their bottles! Tim even corked one himself!

Brady is all smiles while waiting for his lunch!

On the boat with Shea and Brady

Are we having fun yet!?!?

Actually, no.....not yet.

These life jackets aren't too manageable...Besides, talk about crazy tan lines!


How come mommy isn't wearing one of these stupid vests?

'Nuf said. Respectable sign posted at neighborhood watering hole.

Ah. And for one glorious moment, the world stops and life is good. If you've never seen two men get excited over a 3 pound large-mouth bass, contact Erika for the detailed slideshow. As you can imagine, the fish made their day and will go down as one of the best fishing stories of all time.

If Tim ever says that Cooper isn't spoiled, just remind him of this photo. Seriously. The funny thing is that Cooper totally expected this ride. He was a total natural. Born to ski? Hell yes. That's our little neady wheaty.

Our precious little E.

Back in Action

After a very busy few weeks, the Carlson's are "back" in Reston and ready to enjoy the last month or so of summer at home. Although circumstances around all our traveling have been less than fortunate, we've had extra opportunities to see our family members in Oklahoma and Connecticut and feel blessed for that time. Plus, Ella just received an award from the FAA as the most traveled baby in 2008. Can any 10 month old baby out there beat 8 plane trips since birth!?!

Despite all the recent traveling, we've squeezed in a few events here and there - most recently was the amazing wedding of our good friends Shaun and Sandra. It was such a wonderful celebration and so much fun! Also,Tim and Erika took some time out to visit a couple of wineries and were pleased that Ella didn't need a sip of wine to be her normal relaxed and happy little baby - certainly making our wine date so enjoyable! Below are some pictures from the past month or so....enjoy!

At the Wineries....

Enjoying some free time...

Ella wears her mommy's dress from some 30 years ago!!

Pool time - Ella can't get enough of the water

Family Time....

in Mystic:





In Oklahoma:
At the beach...

Sandra and Shaun get married! July 26th

Let's Get Professional....

We had a photographer come out and take pictures of Ella in July.