Almost 6 months

Six months. Half a year. And so hard to believe. Ellen turns six months next week, and I remember her being six WEEKS like it was yesterday.
I got mixed reviews on my last post...some people liked it, some people thought it was overload on the sap and under-delivery on the photos/videos/general Ellen-ness. So, we'll switch gears back to updates, photos, and videos (which I'll upload separately from this entry).
Although it was only a couple of months ago, it seems like so much has happened since Christmas! We had a wonderful extended visit with Jim, Robin and Grandma Joy and couldn't have asked for a better first Christmas for Ellen. Activities included an evening luminaria tour through the Desert Botanical Garden, meals at some favorite restaurants and the luxury of having Ellen at home for a week with her grandparents instead of having to do the daycare drop-off routine. Pictures are posted on my Facebook account for those of you who are my "friends" on there.
January seems to have completely flown by, as it's now basically mid-February! It would truly be a shame for too much time to pass between visitors for Ellen, so we are very excited to welcome Katie and Adam this coming weekend as we celebrate Ellen being baptized and Sean's birthday--both on Valentine's Day! We asked Katie and Adam to be godparents way back in November, so we're thankful they cleared their calendars when a baptism date was finally (and quickly!) set. Although we won't have a ton of family down, we know you'll all be with us in spirit.
Every day I'm so happy and feel so fortunate that Ellen is so healthy. She's changing all the time and is such a happy baby. Over the holidays she mastered rolling from her back to her stomach (although has yet to demonstrate the stomach-to-back roll). Her neck is still really strong and she's always so curious about what's going on around her, always craning her neck to take in the view. She has also started to grow back more hair and, interestingly, when in direct sunlight, it shows hints of red.
We've also started taking more "family outings" on the weekends lately. Robin and Jim got us a membership to the Phoenix Zoo for Christmas, so we've made a few trips with Ellen. We think she likes the monkey village the most, as you can go directly in the enclosure with the squirrel monkeys and watch them leap around. Recently, we've also taken Ellen to a couple ASU sporting events--basketball and baseball. And of course, it wouldn't be the weekend without a trip to Costco. Now she's big enough and strong enough to sit in the little seat at the front of the cart, with a much better view for her curiosity.
I'll leave you with a photo of Ellen at the ASU baseball game. I just got her sunglasses last week in anticipation of future baseball outings. So far, she tolerates them. I think it's only a matter of time before she discovers she can pull them off and shove them into her mouth.