Ella (14 months old)

Just had to share how much she is changing. Ella is 14 months old and loves to get into everything.

Happy Birthday Unckie Dave

We want to wish Andrew's brother, David, a happy birthday. He is 23 today! The picture above was taken on his wedding day this past August.

Swing Smiles

Ella loves the swing, the higher you pusher the more she laughs. A little daredevil in the making, yikes!

Labor Day Swim

Hello! I apologize for being so behind on my blog. Going from PC to Mac is harder than I thought. Old habits really die hard. Add the fact that I using software with icons so different than what I am used to and you can imagine that this is a slow going process. It took me longer than I should to figure out how to save my photos to a web-friendly format with my new software, whew. I love it all though.

Look for a big post from me on Sunday about my first adventure with OAMC. If you don't know what OAMC stands for, you will have to read my blog to find out.

In the meantime, here are some pics from Labor Day. We spend the day at the beach on the lake, it was wonderful. Perfect weather too. Click on the photo to see it bigger.



I love this photo!

Happy 1st Birthday Ella!

Yesterday Ella 'celebrated' her first birthday. The poor little bugger has a cold and wasn't feeling so great, that is why she isn't smiling in the photo. She did manage to enjoy the cake though as you can see in the picture below.

It is amazing so me how much Ella has changed in the last month. She is saying the words: mum, dada or daddy, hi, ooooh, uh-oh. She is also trying to say the words Nana (for Brianna), Arick, yum, and more. She can mimic the tone correctly but does not enunciate. She can wave hi and blow kisses which is just so cute! She is eating more and more solid food and is not picky about what we give her. She will drink juice from a bottle, but refuses to drink formula or milk. She has 2 teeth with 4 more on top coming through. She is getting more confidant with her walking as well and can stand alone for few minutes before sitting down. She is growing up too fast!

This news just can't wait until Sunday!

When Ella achieves milestones she likes to bundle them together. For example, in a period of 7 days, she learned to crawl, sit, and she got her first tooth. Well this week has been another week like that. We discovered that Ella is getting her two front teeth on the top, she has learned to say the word "Hi" while waving her hand(so cute!) , last night she said "Daddy", and the biggest news . . . . she took her first steps!! And it wasn't just one or two steps, it was SEVEN! Apparently she has been holding out on us, the little stinker. Andrew held her and she walked to me, she was so proud of herself, delighted in giggles. We did this a few times and then she saw a toy and walked to it. There was no fear, no hesitation, just a 'get up and go' attitude. Yeah Ella!

Sigh . . .

Then there is the part of me that is screaming, "Noooooooo!" I can't let Ella walk yet, she is my baby. I am not ready for this. She turns 1 on Sunday and just thinking about it makes me a little weepy. Ella is becoming a toddler, oh wo is me!

Ooooooh, should she get a haircut?

I just can't decide if I should have Ella'a haircut. It does looks pretty cute in bows, that is if you can find them, but it is uncontrollable without one. What do you think, should I get her hair cut? Please leave a comment and let me know yes or no.

Ella is saying 'oooooh' in this picture isn't she cute? Love it!

Ella Bella

Here is Ella Bella (this is my favorite nickname for her) on the morning we left to come home. She was finally feeling better, which of course would be the day that we left, after her bout with roseola. This was my biggest disappointment about our trip. I really wanted everyone to meet the happy Ella but instead they got a clingy, sick, miserable Ella. Oh well. I am sure the next time will be much better, unless she takes after her Dad and gets sick on almost every family vacation. Let's hope not.

Ella and Ella

One of the most important things on my to-do list while here in Utah was to visit my Grandma Ella D. Our baby Ella is named after her and with good reason. Grandma is an incredible lady full of love for everyone and a zest for life. Grandma has been there for me during some of the most special moments of my life. I love her dearly. It was wonderful to see her holding my daughter Ella. Of course, Ella was still cranky from her illness which is not how I pictured it. Grandma ignored the crankiness and adored her anyway. I am so grateful to have such a wonderful grandmother.

11 months old

Oh my goodness! I can't believe that my baby is 11 months old now. The change in her this last month has been incredible, and part of me is really not liking it. Here is a list of the changes that Ella has gone through this last month:

• She uses sign language to ask for for milk and a diaper change.
• She has started to wave hello.
• She absolutely loves saying Uh-oh.
• She can say mama, dada and nana with some frequency and sometimes saying it to the right person.
• She can climb the entire stairs (I am not liking this at all).
• She loves to pull things off of the shelves.
• She loves to watch the Baby Einstein videos, it calms her down like nothing else.
• She is getting better at sleeping through the night.
• She can stand on her own for almost a minute now and has even attempted to take a first step.
• She loves to eat food and lots of it. There isn't one food we have given her that she won't eat. Her favorites? Mac and Cheese, Noodles, Spaghetti and Meatballs, sausage, melon, mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, applesauce, carrots and more. I have never had a kid eat as well as she does.
• She will drink diluted juice from a bottle (she won't drink anything else from a bottle/sippy cup, and although I hate juice for kids, I am at my wits end)
• She has not graduated to 6-9 month clothing. She can still wear quite a few 3-6 month outfits. Apparently all of this food has done nothing for her waistline.

Amazing huh? This is one of my favorite stages in a little one's life, but with Ella being our last baby, it is slightly bittersweet. I am trying to enjoy her babyness all I can and wish that I could keep her little for longer. I am totally going to bawl on her birthday.

A bow in her hair

I am sorry that it took longer to get these pics up than I said. I had lots to do to get ready for my family's visit. Enjoy!