17 months old; Ella stands; general cuteness; catching up with Dave and Karin

Hello everyone and hope you are well. Nate and Ella turned 17 months old today and seemed to be fine moods. Nate has been waking up often at night, so we're working on that. They got their first juice boxes today and Ella in particular loved it. Here are a few recent family shots:

Ella stands up! She now gets up on her feet on her own, without pulling up on anything. And she loves it! Those first steps can't be too far away:



















Nate peruses "Good Night Gorilla," one of his favorite books. He also really likes "I Am a Bunny" and "Big Red Barn":



















Here's a shot of Karin and I before heading out to a great party our friends Kym and Aaron throw every January:

Ella Tries Out Family Names

Not bad for a little Roo not quite 17 months old:

January stuff

Hello again after a couple of weeks off the grid. We are all doing well and hope you are, too.

Ella is getting closer and closer to walking, standing up by herself and pushing a large toy car while walking behind. As you'll see from the videos below, she's a good talker. Nate is practically running now, is a bit more shy than Ella but is cute as ever.

We're just now getting them off bottles (a bit later than recommended). Last night was pretty rough for both and we're thinking that is why; they just aren't big fans of milk from sippy cups. But we are getting them milk/calcium in other ways, and they are drinking lots of water.

Here are some recent pictures and a series of short videos, shot by Karin in a somewhat "Blair Witch Project" style ...

Getting tickled on the couch:














Ella puts her baby to bed (Daddy finally had a moment to put the crib together):














Video vignettes:

Kids Think the Darndest Things Are Funny ...

Hope everyone had a happy New Year's! Nate continues to hone his walking skills. Ella stood up by herself without pulling on anything the other day. But the biggest Ella news is that she strung a couple of words together into her first sentence today, while looking up at the sky: "Bye bye plane."

Here, Nate enjoys a laugh during supper:


And here's a shot of Ella with her good buddy Lila: