New TV - thanks Black Friday!

For those of you tech junkies, here is an update from Mike. Please direct any questions to him, Ella knows how to turn the setup on better than Renate does!



Here's a picture of the new TV setup.


Equipment:

Sharp 46" LCD TV LC-46D64U, 1080p, HDMI1.3
Mounted to a Z-Line Design Phantom Stand
Calvary 500 GB external HDD
Paradigm CC-350 (other speakers are crappy wall-mount little orb thingys)
Sony PS3-60GB
Onkyo TX-SR600
Cables from Monoprice :)

The cables on the right side on the ground are a VGA cable and an audio miniplug so i can plug the laptop into the TV.

Picture Updates!

Ella helping mommy wrap presents.
She just thinks she is a present too!

Ah, the fun of wrapping paper!

Our goodies under the tree...

still more goodies!

Ella found the candy necklace Santa left first.

Santa also brought cool interlocking building toys...

and crayons!
The BIGGEST hit this year.
Who knew $1.99 would have made the best X-mas ever?

Anything else?
I've been really good Santa...

Aunt Gabi reading Ella one of her new books.

The start of our white X-mas.

Ella X-mas night playing with her new toys before bed.

Preparing for bed with more reading with Aunt Gabi.

Our little reindeer, fresh from the bath.

One of our staged attempts for X-mas photos for holiday cards.

Christmas Updates

We had a great Christmas! I am looking forward to updating the site with pictures and video from the big day, but it is going to have to wait until this weekend when I get a little tech help from Mike. Until then, I will describe Ella's reaction...

She was so funny, hesitant to come out of her room either because we were all watching her so closely, or because there were lots of new things out in a room she had just left the night before. However, the candy necklace sticking out of the stocking got the better of her and she was very interested then. Opening her stocking was really cute, and she got hung up playing with the crayons, the biggest hit of the day. She would empty other gift bags with wonderful things in them only to take the bag to put her crayons into to carry. She also really enjoyed a new rocket toy that she loves to set off the noises for, and an animal train set that sings and propels itself. Ella has been reading her new books non-stop and with the extra attention that Aunt Gabi and Grandma are providing, she has plenty of willing readers.

Mike is enjoying his 4 day week very much. Ella and I had lunch with him on Monday to try to extend the family celebration and we are excited to have him home next Tuesday, too! It is good that he enjoys his job and doesn't mind going in on the days surrounding the holiday. There were so many things that Mike and I both received that were wonderful. I think we are thankful that we are almost completely ready for the new baby now. Well at least in terms of stuff. I know he won't have to wear the same thing ever for the first 6 months! haha!

My mom and sister leave tomorrow and then I swear I will devote a little more time to the blog updates. I have just been enjoying being spoiled with all the help. I really do think that for once, if the baby came now, we would be ok and set for him. The closets are sorted and organized and I have meal options ready to go. While we still hope he will wait until after the new year, so that we can use that FSA with our health insurance, whenever he decides he is ready, we will be ready too! I can't believe all my help is going home. Who will nap with Ella now to keep her from underfoot while I sort laundry? Thank goodness it is only 3 weeks until mom comes back again to help out with the new baby.

We hope your celebrations were as wonderful as ours and we will update with video or pictures soon!

Love,
The Seattle Salernos!

You can't take her anywhere!!!!

Ella and I were visiting friends yesterday and Ella decided it would be a great time to teach herself about toilet paper...

This was the result. She looked so guilty when she was discovered. Why couldn't it have been our house? At least it was a friend with kids too! I think we may have enough interest in potty training to really commit to it. She sometimes likes to sit and read books on the toilet. If only she would let us remove her pants! She hates that even for diaper changes. Ah, the modesty will be something we are grateful when she is 16, but now it makes for some wrestling moments for diapers.

Yesterday's Fun

Ella's Second Christmas Tree Ornament from Great Grandmama Bates.

The Christmas Tree Ornament poke game, where we don't take them off the tree,
but still touch them ALL!!!!

Jenn and a tired Layla...

Smile for the camera!

Seriously, the Ella Sq play so nicely together!

Ella climbing on the indoor playcube.

Yesterday we had Jenn and her girls over for an afternoon of fun! Ella Squared played the poke the christmas tree ornament game and I have some pictures of that to post. Then as Mike and I were preparing dinner, Ella was being silly and started spinning in place again. This is a new habit that is really funny. As you can see, she spins until she gets dizzy, then slows and says, "oh no!". Doesn't matter whether it is in the shower or loving room, it is funny to watch!

Thanksgiving Memories

Here is a new experiment, we are trying to add video to the blog! I hope this works, even though the quality is not the best, we hope you get the idea.

We just cleaned off some video from our camcorder. We hope you enjoy a piece we call, "Ella with Balloon". This footage was from our early celebration of Thanksgiving with Grandma Salerno on November 10th during her visit. Grandma Salerno and Renate were in the kitchen with the turkey, and the other turkeys (Ella and Mike) were in the living room playing with a balloon.

YEAH COLDS!!!

Never thought that I would be grateful for a cold, but when I am having trouble breathing and not feeling so good overall, then there are no contractions. A welcome break from the past couple of weeks! That also is why this blog has not been updated lately, I haven't been feeling up to taking photos, or much of anything. I am back though now, and hopefully, the new updates will keep family (and family by affection) interested and connected.

Everyone else seems to be doing well here! It is hard to keep in mind that Christmas is next week! My mom and Gabi fly in on Christmas Eve, so it should be a lot of fun to see them. Gabi hasn't seen Ella since this spring, and even though my mom was here in October, Ella has learned a lot of new tricks since then. While we are working on saying 'Aunt Gabi' and 'Grandma', I don't think that either will be successful for this visit.

Mike, the internet dealfinder, has had a good time today doing his online work training and trolling sites for entertainment. It is amazing how much information is available to us online. From work information to Cnn updates, to great prices for holiday gifts there is always something else to look at and catch up on. We are looking forward to tomorrow for a date night in with Ella going to bed early and then we get to watch the new Simpsons movie. That is the one thing that gets complicated with kids, is just having the option to go to a movie when you want. We were never big movie theater people, but having a kid adds another reason that we are grateful for home videos!

Today, Jenn and her girls are coming over to play so hopefully we will have some new pix to post tonight.

Eleanor Kathryn's 2nd Birthday Bash

What do you mean I am not supposed to pop this?

I am so cute, and I know it!

Ella giving Ella a thank-you hug!

The Ellas both LOVE reading, even if our Ella likes to read braille
(just kidding, caught blinking)!

Ella couldn't be away from daddy long,
even with cake and balloons to distract!

The Beautiful Brindisi's, our new friends.

Cassia and Phedora, 2 from another wonderful family from our mommy group.

Ella K rockin' out in her shades! We think she was channeling Elton John.

Ella was so sad when we decided to go, even a bottle for the road didn't help.
Daddy offering to hold her did the trick though!

Ella K opening the gift from Ella Marie, with some help from Dora.

Pretty Princess Dan!

It was so funny watching them all "cleanup" after the party.
The vacuum was a big hit with all the kids. So funny since our Ella still cries at the sound of ours!

Today the whole family went to Ella B's 2nd Birthday party. We had a great time with the usual suspects Renate, Ella Marie, Jenn (red stripe shirt), Ella Kathryn (birthday girl pink jumper), Layla (baby), Cassia (black sweater), Phedora (blond in xmas dress), Hayden (little man in tux), and we even got to include the dads Mike, Danny (blue striped sweater), and Dan (tiara)! BTW, Dan was definitely the prettiest princess there, other than the birthday girl. Here are a few of the pictures from the party, I will work on a slide show to add a few more, but this gives some images of the great time.

You know it is a good party when there are no tears until the kids (or just Ella M) are told its time to go home... Also, it is funny stuff when the birthday girl gets a cleaning set, and proceeds to clean up her own party mess. Pretty smart choice of gift Jenn!

Why we needed a new camera...

This post included photos from our trip to the Seattle Aquarium on Thanksgiving Day. We were using our cameras in our phones. While I will admit it was very poor lighting, it doesn't explain why these photos are so HORRIBLE. Anyway, you can at least see how much fun Ella had looking at all the fish, trying on the swim fins, and touching the octopus tentacles. Hope this makes you appreciate the new camera as much as we hope to!

Ella Squared

So here are some cute photos Jenn took of the girls playing at Jenn's apartment. We are still hoping to have the camera by this weekend so that we can take some photos at Ella K's 2nd Birthday Party this Sunday to return the favor.

Wednesday Ella and I ran some errands and met up with friends for a lunch date that almost turned into a dinner date the girls were having so much fun! Jenn, Rachelle, and I enjoy each others company so much that is is always a good time for us. The 2 Ellas play so well together and it seems to be a match made in heaven for Toby (Rachelle's cutie) and Layla. It also makes the day so much better just to have someone else to talk to, and with 2 other moms there it is always another set of eyes to offset a single tired set. Having good friends again has changed the last couple of weeks here, making it wonderful to be pregnant and exciting to share the new updates in person.

Yesterday Ella-Sq got into the wrapping stuff at Jenn's and stuck the bows all over their faces. These girls just get into everything and yet with a look will stop if it is something they aren't supposed to be into! Ella Kathryn (other Ella) is so protective of her baby sister Layla it will be interesting to see how our Ella Marie (our Ella) is with her baby brother when he arrives. The 2 girls now will play babies together, run in circles (because who doesn't love that?), and hug each other randomly. It is beyond cute to watch them giving competitive kisses to Layla who giggles and eats up the attention.

What a weird winter!

We have heard that Mike's family in Tulsa faired the ice storms as well as can be expected, but we are still hoping to hear from my Grandmother and Aunt's family. I am sure that no news is just good news that they are still working or home snuggling waiting for power to come back on. For those with loved ones effected by these storms, we hope that your families are fairing as well and that life will return to normal for everyone by the holidays.

I can take the blame for all the rain and mudslides for the Northwest, but I think someone else is going to have to take the responsibility for the crazy weather in the midwest. I haven't been to that area in at least 2 years!

Off to get some errands done today and hopefully see a couple of friends for a brief lunch date. We will see how I feel come lunchtime!

Reasons for all women to get to gym...

So while up at an ungodly hour last night, I saw a rerun of a show about the best jobs in Hollywood. This show should motivate any woman to get out to a gym immediately if she has any reasonable attractiveness about her because, good gracious, did you know that the Deal or No Deal girls make over 6 figures and only work 3-4 days a week for 5 months a YEAR!!!!! It isn't like the girls on that show are supermodels, yet they make more than people who go to school to educate our children, protect and serve us, or who can design or construct the buildings in which they work. It doesn't make sense to me sometimes.

I just talked to Sarah (my sister in law) on the phone, which I am sure will be the highlight of day since I will be going back to bed shortly to recover from the night. I love how she never gets mad when I bother her BRIEFLY at work. Actually she sounds happier to talk to me while at work than on the weekends. And really who can blame her, working for Uncle Sam while having great retirement benefits is not as glamorous as those spy movies would make you think! Although the thought of her having to read and approve patents in an evening gown and heels like a bond girl does make me smile...
She could totally pull it off, but people would surely stare at her on the subway commute!

On a silly note, I forgot to share the story about Ella in the shower yesterday...
Ella was waiting for mommy to get her out of the shower and dry her off, but wasn't content just to stand and wait. Oh No Way! She was spinning around, and around, and around, and around, etc until she would get dizzy, giggle at herself while bracing on the walls, then start again. She must have spun for at least 3 minutes cracking herself up all the time.
Who needs Christmas when you have a kid amused by a shower stall?!!!!

Lacking Sleep and a Creative Title...

Monday was rather slow around this house, which was welcome after a busy weekend. Ella slept late and spent the day being more cuddly than normal. Mommy loves that tendency, and appreciated all the more to start the week. She seems to be a little confused by all the packages under the tree right now. It is kind of funny to watch her point to the packages, say something deliberate (that we don't understand), gesture with her hands spread-palms up, and shrug her shoulders as if asking, "so what's in there?" and "Is it for me?"

I bet you are all thinking now, gosh, get her a camera soon so that we don't have to hear all these lengthy descriptions! Give it time, it should be here if not this weekend, early next week.

Mike had a regular day at work, doing more background research for a new project for CDM. He is loving the new gym as well. He can't seem to get enough! Haha!

We have had a tough night tonight, someone just seems to want to play! I guess Ella had too much cuddle time today because she wants nothing to do with bed tonight. Maybe we will have another low key day tomorrow (Tuesday)... The errands can get done on Wednesday, right?

Celebrate!!!!

(Picture of the 2 Ellas hugging)

So we should probably start from the beginning of the weekend to make sure we don't leave anything out...
Friday night was a wonderful relaxing time and just what we needed to recuperate from a long week. Mommy took a little nap when daddy got home and then we were all ready to relax. Time for the family together to eat and reconnect, that was wonderful for us all. Ella continues to amaze us with her fearlessness and ability to use new words, or ways to communicate. She told us both a story with her babble and hand motions that would have enthralled even the most staunch literary critic. Mike and I were laughing at the intensity and sincerity with which she talks sometimes, even if we don't understand it. The new motion of putting her hand in front of her little mouth and laughing when she says something she knows is wrong or funny only adds to the effect.

Saturday we spent the day gearing up for Mike's holiday office party. We joined a gym (that Ella and I will wait until after the new baby to use the gym), did some grocery shopping, and
napped. The party was nice, if a bit overwhelming! There was a lot of beautiful food, most of which was so gourmet that the pregnancy prevented me from tasting it, but man it looked lovely! We mingled with one of Mike's bosses and coworkers. The room that the party was in was decorated festively, but there was no place to stand and converse other than amongst the already tight tables. Overall it worked, but the situation didn't lend itself well to much interaction with a lot of people, just those within a close radius. Mike was recognized for joining the company and for newly entering the corporate world. He was asked to stand and did so sheepishly with the other new (and reluctant) recruits. We really love our daughter, but a night out alone is wonderful! The time alone also makes us appreciate the time with her that much more. When we get time together to nurture the relationship that created our family it is fantastic reminder of how amazing that love is. (cheesy I know, but true)

Sunday was a great day that included friends and fun! Jenn (and her girls) and Rachelle came over for an afternoon of gift wrapping and playing. Ella and Ella are too cute together! They are close enough in age be interested in similar things, yet there is enough of an age difference that they play nicely together. I love Jenn's nickname for the girls of Ella-squared. It seems fitting. The 2 older girls (Ella Sq) played on the Kangaroo climber, while Layla "helped" Jenn wrap presents. And the mommies got time to talk about our Christmas memories, and our anticipation for beginning new family traditions. It was a wonderful afternoon of girl time, younger and "older". I am constantly amazed at the patience and skill of Rachelle and her ability to knit without looking at her work while still knitting. If only I had that much skill at something! Mike spent part of the afternoon at our new gym, and the rest of the time reading and wrangling the Ellas so that the mommies could wrap more efficiently.

All in all a great weekend! Hard to believe that we are only 15 days from Christmas and that all of those gifts we wrapped today will be ripped open. We can't wait!

Lights, camera?

Great news! We ordered a new camera!!! I can't wait to get it so that I can take Christmas photos of Ella for holiday cards. And even if it doesn't get here in time for that chore, at least we should have it for Christmas. This is a dream camera and will allow me to take all the real estate photos I need to for clients and yet give me a great tool for our beautiful babies. You can all start to look forward to photos on the blog in the future too!

I know I am looking forward to having some more photos of our daughter and new friends. And maybe for those of you that keep asking, a few photos of the pregnancy. The baby we are waiting for has changed his movements yet again and now doesn't have enough room to do all the flips he used to. At least not without rearranging my organs at the same time! He does a lot more stretching and small jerky movements than the big windups he was doing even a week ago.

Today we are off to a playgroup in Bothell for an afternoon with Anthony, Kesi, and Toby. Should be a good time for a smaller controllable group and I am looking forward to seeing Stephanie and Rachelle.

I can't believe it is Friday already! We have such a busy weekend that I am sure that the baby will decide this is the weekend to show up. Saturday we are going to join a gym (well at least explore all options and make a decision), look for the baby room hardware again, and attend Mike's work Christmas party. And Sunday is another fun-filled day where I am hosting a mommy group for present wrapping away from little eyes. Which is another reason I think joining a gym on Saturday would be good, so that Mike has a place to go to get away if he wants to! Let's face it, a group of 4-6 women when you don't know any of them can be a little overwhelming!

We hope that all of you have a great weekend and we will let you know how the weekend went as it unfolds!

The Curse Lives on!

So, good people of the Northwest, we apologize for moving here and bringing you our weather curse. It never fails, the first year that we move someplace I do horrible things to the weather patterns and Mike curses their college football teams despite a hopeful season prediction. The year I moved to State College we had 3 blizzards and in AZ we went more than 6 months without any measurable rain. I hate to say it, but the curse holds true yet again!!! Anyone still want us to move back east? Haha! Arizona should be thanking us though because Mike's departure nearly always coincides with a wonderful year for college football in the place where we left. How else do you explain ASU being ranked?

That being said, we are safe, warm and dry. Our home is on a hill and we have a fireplace in the event of an emergency. So we are well prepared. Thank you to those of you who were concerned about our safety, but we are really doing well. Not that things aren't as bad as they are showing on the news, they are in some areas, but we are in a lucky patch. Most of the horrible situations are north or south.

We are looking forward to another quiet day in, with the exception of a lunch date with daddy. I wanted to go north for mall-walking, but with the contractions that I had again last night, I think it would be wiser to wait until I am more rested. No point in tempting fate since that the mall we walk at is 30 minutes north of Mike's job. Only a month left to our updated hypothetical due date of Jan. 7th, and only 6 weeks left until our original due date of Jan. 21st. That is a good thing for the baby because that means only another 10 days until he is considered full-term for the updated due date, and 25 days based on our original due date. At this point though, he stands a very good chance of being perfectly healthy! The doc isn't worried, so we choose not to be as well. Hard to believe only 6 more weeks of contractions tops!! THAT idea is bearable, although not appealing.

Ella and I will go to the park this afternoon if someone gets a nap in (I mean me of course) and it stays dry out today. Tonight is a Daddy and Ella date night as well since mommy will be going to a Mommy Night In with the play group north that I go to. Looking forward to a night of girl time and a little time not in the house.

Hope you all have a great day! We will update more soon.

Starting Something New!

It may not be the new year yet, but there is no slowing our adoption of new experiences! Mike and I both have new careers and Ella has made lots of new friends, and we are all anxiously awaiting our new addition. So I thought, why not try something else new? Like starting a blog to keep those of you close in heart, yet far geographically, updated on some of our daily events.

For now it will be without photos since we are without a camera, but hopefully this will help, and we will replace the camera shortly as well.

As for today, Ella and I just spent the day at home doing laundry, decorating a little more for Christmas, and preparing more for the new baby. I need to find the hardware fittings for the curtains so that I can get the valences up in the new baby room. I would love to have the room set before the baby arrives, but I have been searching for that hardware for 3 weeks with no success...so that may have to wait until my mom and Gabi are here for Xmas and can watch Ella while I really search the garage.

Life is really setting into a groove, mall walking with the girls once or twice a week depending on our schedule, various playgroups for Ella's socialization (and mommy's sanity), a lunch with daddy, educating myself for the new career (real estate), and prepping as much as we can for the new baby.

I hopefully will add a link soon to my friend's blog so that you can see Ella and some of her new friends (one also named Ella!) doing some of our fun outings.