Tufts Tidbits

Santa Visit

2011-12-11T08:40:00.000-08:00

Ella didn't care much for Santa this year. As sad as it was to watch, it was also a little funny.

My Santa pics at this age looked very similar, as I'm sure many toddler Santa encounters are...

We went to visit Santa with our friends Julee & Joy. We tried to get a good picture of the girls together, but none of them turned out great...2 toddlers don't like to stay still and pose for long.

Ella is tattling on Joy because she is trying to stand up when we told the girls to sit down the whole time on the train...notice the pointed finger (no, no, no)

Halloween with Pebbles

2011-11-04T12:53:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Halloween with a bunch of friends again this year. We had a blast last year when everyone came over, but this year was even more fun because all the kiddos were on the move and excited! We had 7 kiddos to take around the neighborhood trick or treating and they all did great (we only made it to 4 houses)! Ella was dressed as Pebbles Flintstone and looked precious! I was just excited that the costume I made her stayed sewn together and actually looked somewhat like the Pebbles images :) Here's some fun shots of the night...

Ella practicing her Thriller moves :)

All 3 of my babies posing for the camera

Sweet little girl!

I can't get enough of her smile!!!

Ella and her sweet friend Joy (aka: BumbleBirdie)

Ella, Olivia, & Joy

The whole crew walking up to a neighbor's house

The whole gang...We are blessed with some great friends!

Daddies & their babes

Mommies & their angels

Ella refused to look at the camera...too interested in figuring out how to get that package open

Ella checking out Roman's wheels...she was a bit envious :)

Blurry attempt at capturing Ella eating candy through the wrapper

Proudly wearing Mommy's shoes-not her mommy's shoes, but her BFF's momma's shoes :)

Halloween Fun at "My Gym"

2011-10-25T15:34:00.000-07:00

We went to "My Gym" last night for a Halloween Party. It was a little chaotic with all the kids and parents running around in costume, but we had a blast! Ella was dressed up as a cowgirl because her real costume isn't finished yet. I'm in the process of sewing (for the 1st time) a Pebbles Flintstone costume, so cross your fingers I get it done and it stays sewn together when she wears it on Halloween :) However, the fun part about her wearing the cowgirl outfit, was that it was the same one I wore for Halloween right before I turned 2 :)

Ella-20 Months Old

Me-19 Months Old

Back to Cowgirl Ella...

The fringe on the bottom of the skirt was hurting her (it was so old & crinkly)

So, I'm cutting it off and she's unhappy that she can't help :(

Sweet Berry Farm

2011-10-20T13:34:00.000-07:00

We went to Sweet Berry Farm last weekend to get a few pictures amongst the pumpkins. Even though it's finally fall, it still felt like summer here, so most of the pictures are of us with squinty eyes and sweaty faces :) Despite the heat, Ella had a great time running around, petting the horses, seeing chickens, goats, & donkeys, picking flowers, and going on her first hayride.

Ella thought she could pick the pumpkin up and move it...

Ella These Days

2011-10-11T17:34:00.000-07:00

Life has been crazy these past few months and has flown by so quickly! Ella is now 20.5 months old and is absolutely hilarious! We can't get enough of her! She's finally starting to say some words instead of just using sign language and her little personality is shining through. Here's some pictures of her over the last few months.

Ella relaxing in her easy chair :)

Reading with Daddy! She still loves books and sitting in our laps to read them!

She thought it was funny to climb into the toy box, but couldn't get back out on her own.

Riding her horse through the house. She hasn't figured out how to go forward on it, so she just rides around backwards. She also loves to go on pony rides in our arms. She says "neigh neigh" and jumps up and down to tell us that's what she wants.

Playing hide-n-seek in the house

Reading books with her BFF, Joy

She loves her baby doll

And her bear (growls when referring to it)

She hates to wear a bow or headband, but thinks it's funny to put all her bows in her hair at the same time (and some in the dogs hair too).

I love this sweet face!

Doing art: She loves fingerpainting...

...but hates to have dirty hands!

Playing with her Uncle Jayce! Ella adores him!

She wanted to hold Myles...poor little guy looks like he's getting choked!

Ella is so proud of herself when she gets my shoes on to her little feet! She puts on a pair just about everyday and walks around the house. It's precious!

We finally got a little ponytail (one day she'll have some hair!)

So proud!

Ella loves to play with her new kitchen. She pretends to make us coffee!

She also loves to push her babies in the shopping cart

She just started liking headbands again last week and I'm thrilled! I think she likes to look pretty when she looks in the mirror and it matches her dress. Usually, we have to put a headband on her baby too :)

We try to do fun crafts or activities of some sort each week, and she loved this one...puff balls inside a baking tin.

So proud to get them all in!

Posing with Daddy in her dress from Nonee! So cute!

A mini tantrum...she just started these recently. She will stamp her feet, cry, and then come running over to me to get hugs. It's actually precious to watch, but a little scary to know what's coming in the future....

Precious little face

There's that smile that I can't get enough of :) Please ignore the momma with no make-up on

"I want outside!!!!"

This one cracks me up! She is telling us she wants to watch Baby Signing Time by signing baby, but it looks like she's just being prissy :)

Happy girl!

17 Months

2011-07-04T14:40:00.000-07:00

This post is more for me than anyone else reading it, but I've realized that I haven't been very good about recording what Ella can do at different stages. She's changing so much all the time! I thought there were lots of changes going on when she was a baby, but now, it's even happening faster and it's so cool to watch because most of it's mental and physical. I can't believe she will be an official toddler next month!!!

Here's what Ella's doing at 17 months!

Ella can say:

ball, puppy, mama, dada, grandpa, papa, granna, macie, myles, aaa for apple, banana, cracker, baba for sheep, neigh neigh for horse, water, no no no, aaa for avocado, bubbles, bird, yum yum yum, ssss for snack, monkey sounds for monkey, roars for lion, growls for bears, pants for dog, Dora

***side note: I can tell the difference between all of these words, but a lot of them sound alike to others :)

***She's also trying to say a lot more recently. She will repeat what we say even though it sounds nothing like it. She's always been pretty quiet, so it's nice to hear her trying to talk more.

Ella knows the signs for:

water, food, please, thank you, more, sleep, cereal, bird, frog, cat, here, help me, cracker, hat, bath, clothes, shoes, baby, milk, bubbles, book, car, airplane, all done, fish, tree, outside

Ella can identify these body parts (on her, other people & dolls, and in books):

ears, eyes, nose, cheeks, head, hair, feet, toes, hands, fingers, tummy, knees, chin, elbows, arm, leg, mouth, belly button

Ella loves to:

read books, play peek-a-boo, play chase around the house, push her doll stroller, pull us around by a finger, sing and dance to her Heartsong Music, try to make us laugh, throw the ball for the dogs, carry things around the house that are a big as her :) , clap my hands together, swim

Ella's favorite books right now:

Time for Bed, Goodnight Moon, Where is Baby's Belly Button & the other Karen Katz books like it, How Many Kisses Do You Want Tonight?, all of her alphabet books (3 page books for each letter of the alphabet), Growl Goes the Lion, Roar Goes the Bear

Ella's favorite toys right now:

baby dolls, stuffed bear, baby stroller, Fisher Price Learning Home, balls, ball popper, shaker eggs, BOOKS, BOOKS, & more BOOKS!

Temperment & Personality:

She loves to make us laugh and has a super cute pretend laugh of her own. She's a pretty happy baby most of the time. She loves to be around people and waves at everyone!!! She uses signs pretty regularly to communicate with us and others. I think "thank you", "please", "help me", and "food" are the ones she uses most! She pretty much carries a doll or stuffed animal around with her most of the time :)

Ella is starting to test limits a little bit. She will throw food off her high chair and look straight at me because I've told her many times not to do it. She will climb up on her chair and jump off and giggle because again, I've told her no. She occasionally will bite me and smile afterwards-it's a super soft bite but she's totally doing it to get a reaction.

She's also throwing mini-tantrums/melt-downs occasionally when things don't go her way. She will just start crying and the tears start flowing. She comes over to me and puts her head on my shoulder. It's so sad to watch.

She loves to grab our fingers and lead us where she wants us to go. When we are there, she will push against my legs to tell me to sit down. She loves to be independent, but wants me there with her at the same time.

Our Schedule:

6-6:30 Wake Up & drink 3 oz of milk out of a sippy cup (She's usually awake when I look at the monitor, but rarely makes a sound)
7:00 Breakfast with the family-she usually eats eggs, avocado, fruit, and an english muffin half with peanut butter (plays with it more than eats it) and sometimes some Cheerios. If it's a morning that I'm working out, she will have a second round of breakfast with me when I get home around 8.
7:30 Play downstairs together or watch a few minutes of Baby Signing Time together.
8:30 Nap
10:00 or 10:30 Wake Up & drink 3 oz of milk w/snack (fruit, crackers, squeeze pouch or yogurt)
10:30-1:00 We usually have some sort of activity going on during this wake time

Monday-Children's Museum

Tuesday-Gymboree

Wednesday-Music Class

Thursday-My Gym

Friday-we try to schedule play dates or we just run errands together

1:oo or 1:30 Nap
3:00 Wake Up & 3 oz milk & snack
3:30-6:00 Family Time Activities and Playing

Wednesdays we go to swim class at 4:30-Ella loves swimming!!!

Some Thursdays, Omi comes over to hang out with Ella :)

6:ooish Dinner (sometimes together as a family or sometimes just Ella) We try to give her what we are eating, but a lot of times she won't eat it. She loves soy hot dogs, chicken, turkey, brisket, peas, bread, & fruit. Everything else is hit or miss.
6:30 Bath and Bedtime Routine --pajamas, milk, teeth brushing (such a battle to get those teeth brushed cuz she wants to do it on her own), read 2 stories, 3 or 4 songs while rocking
7:00 Bedtime

Easter 2011

2011-06-25T07:17:00.001-07:00

We had an incredible Easter! We got to spend time with both of our families and Ella had a blast looking for Easter eggs all weekend long!

Looking cute Easter weekend :)

Ella is wearing a dress that was mine when I was little.

It looked so cute on her and she knew it!

Ella's 1st Easter Egg Hunt (with Mark's parents)

So proud!!!

Trying to take another little girls basket :(

Showing off her loot on the way home

Ella played with real pots & pans for the first time at her Granna's house. She had a blast!

Ella got to try cream cheese on an english muffin for the first time and loved it! She smiled so big for the pictures with her cream cheese mustache :)

Ella found the pile of eggs my mom was going to hide and helped herself to them...easiest egg hunting ever!!!

Sneaky, sneaky!

Looking cute

Smelling the flowers

The ladies!

Love this little face!

Don't know what Mark was thinking in this picture!

Take 2

Aunt Laci, Ella, & Bella (the dog)

Uncle Jayce & Ella

Papa & Ella

She found a cracker in her egg and thought it was the greatest!

Ella's 2nd Easter Egg Hunt (at my parents house)

More crackers found!

My dad pulled out an old croquet set because my mom loves to play. So, we had family croquet time throughout the weekend :)

Shara swinging high

Mom/Omi waiting patiently for her turn

Mark & Shara

Jayce

Shara concentrating hard on the game

My pathetic attempt

Aaron & Mom

Aunt Shara & Ella

My favorite little girl!!!

Ella decided to steal one of the balls while we were playing :)

I love my little family!

She decided to get all cuddly with us; I loved it!

Sweet angel!

San Diego Preview

2011-06-23T07:47:00.000-07:00

We spent a little over a week in the San Diego area. Mark's family does a family reunion every other year, and this year it was in Valley Center, California. I've only been to Cali once, back a couple years ago when Mark took me to LA for our anniversary. San Diego was beautiful and we had an amazing trip. Ella proved to be an awesome traveler and totally went with the flow, which was a pleasant surprise because we are typically on a fairly rigid schedule :) Here's a couple collages of our trip...more pics to come as I weed through them...

These are some pics from our time at the Zoo, Wild Animal Safari, and other sightseeing locations :)

These pictures are from our various beach trips. We tried out the beach 3 separate times and Ella HATED it all 3 times :) She couldn't stand the sand and would fuss anytime it got on her. She was ok if I was holding her, but still wasn't the happiest of children. We found it hilarious!

Sick Ella

2011-04-19T06:55:00.001-07:00

Ella started running fever last Wednesday afternoon. She started getting fussy, clingy, & hard to please and acted like that all week. We couldn't get her fever to go away, so we finally took her to the doctor on Friday. Other than the fever and a leftover runny nose from a cold she had the week before, she seemed fine (except for the fussiness and need to be held close). She was sad to watch all weekend because she didn't want to do anything. She literally laid around in my arms all weekend long and would just start crying out of the blue. It broke my heart!!! Finally, on Sunday morning, her fever broke and she was covered in a rash. According to the doctor and the research I did online, she had Roseola. It's a virus that is pretty common in childhood and is characterized by 3-7 days of fever followed by a rash. She's finally starting to feel more like herself again. It's taken her a few days to get back to walking well independently (since she didn't use her legs much while sick, they needed some warming up again I guess). We also think her 1 year molars are coming in, so she's still not completely her normal self and will occasionally start crying out of the blue or get super cranky for no reason (which is not characteristic of Ella). Even though I hated how bad she felt all week, it was kind of nice to get some cuddle time in and have her sit in my lap and let me hold her a lot. I already miss that!

Snuggled up with Daddy

We tried doing things when she seemed to be feeling better,

but she still wanted to be held and cuddled.

She would have bursts of feeling ok, but they were short lived.

Here, she thought it was funny to stuff my salad into her mouth.

Here's the rash. It didn't seem to bother her at all though :)

Play Date Fun

2011-04-11T15:37:00.001-07:00

Some of us ladies met up at Zilker Park to ride the train together last week.

All the kids seemed to have fun (and so did their mammas)!

Looking forward to our next play date!

Sarah & Olivia, Julee & Joy, Tiffany & Caleb, Me & Ella

(my sweet sister Shara met us too and took the picture, so sadly she's not in it)

Ella & Liam collecting rocks together before the train ride :)

Ella is Walking!

2011-03-26T07:34:00.000-07:00

Ella is officially walking! She's been walking really well holding on to our hand the last couple weeks, but got brave on Wednesday and let go to start walking on her own. She now wants to walk everywhere all the time!!!!

Choo-Choo

2011-03-23T07:29:00.001-07:00

We got the opportunity to hang out with Aunt Shara & Liam a couple times last week and on one of our play dates, we went up to Zilker to ride the train. It was crazy because it was Spring Break, but luckily we got tickets and Ella loved the train ride so much! We had taken her once before when she was a lot younger (last summer sometime) and she wasn't all that impressed. This time, she just sat back and took it all in! I don't think I've ever seen her sit so still! She loved watching the other people, the birds, the dogs, and Liam! We had so much fun and will be visiting the train often!

Ella sitting back and enjoying the ride!

Aunt Shara, Liam, & Ella

Ella held on to those rocks the entire train ride :)

Ella talking

After the train ride, we walked over to the picnic tables and had a little lunch. Then, we went on a short walk around the park area before heading home.

Ella is pretty much walking by herself these day (still a bit unstead), but still likes to hold on to my hand, so Liam grabbed the other hand to help her along. It was too cute!

My Little Leprechaun

2011-03-23T07:26:00.000-07:00

Ella & I went to the Children's Museum with Shara & Liam (the sweet 2 year old she nannies for) on St. Patrick's Day. We had a blast as you can tell from Ella face :)

She Said Yes!

2011-03-16T19:50:00.000-07:00

My sister Shara recently got engaged (well over New Years) and is getting married in October She recently asked Ella to be one of her flower girls in a super cute way. Ella said yes!!!!

Checking out her present

Look what I got!

Aunt Shara helping Ella unroll her gift...

What does it say?

Yes!!! I'll be your flower girl!

We are so happy and can't wait for the wedding to get here!

Friends

2011-03-16T19:44:00.001-07:00

Ella & Joy trying to get outside to play

Joy, Ella, & Olivia checking themselves out in the mirror

Looking good girls!

The Month of February

2011-03-16T18:55:00.001-07:00

Ella has had a great 13th month and seems to be changing each week.

At the end of February, she took a couple steps at Gymboree by herself (with the help of the soft padded floor) and has since been getting a little braver each day. She can take between 10 and 20 steps on her own now, but prefers to be holding on to my finger as she walks along even though I'm barely helping her. She's getting better at letting go and standing on her own, but is still a bit timid about it all. Now that she realizes how fast she can get places by walking, she doesn't want to be carried much or in the stroller anymore. She just comes and grabs my finger and starts pulling me along. She has a mind of her own on where she wants to go and what she wants to do and gets super frustrated at me when I don't follow along :)

Ella is also getting more vocal and expressive. She loves to yell out to get our attention and is quite the ham. She loves to do things to make us laugh at her, like hide and pop out to surprise you, play peek-a-boo by covering her face, start clapping her hands and stomping her feet, play chase, and so many other things I can't think of at the moment.

She's likes to be tickled and throws her body back after our story at night to get her tummy and arms tickled. She just giggles and giggles!

Ella loves to go to the park and be outside more than anything, and is starting to be able to do more at the park which makes it more fun for her Daddy who takes her almost every day :)

Ella & Daddy playing at the park

Ella loves pulling up on everything!

Sweet angel baby

Ella playing at Gymboree

This was the day she took her first steps (March 1, 2011)

We went to dinner and Seinfeld with the Guinns and had so much fun!!!

A few shots of Ella being silly! She loves to make funny faces and stick out her tongue

Drinking from her big girl straw sippy cup...

most of the water comes back out after she pulls the cup away, but she loves drinking from it :)

Totally forgot about our Snow Day!

Last year, we also had a snow day and Ella was just a couple weeks old. This year, she got to go outside and "play" in the snow. She insisted on sitting in the snow and threw a fit when it was time to come in.

Ella on Snow Day 2010 (her 1st month of life)

Snow Day 2011

Daddy built Ella a snowman (his first snowman to ever build!)

Ella wanted to taste her snowball

My Little Valentine

2011-03-16T18:52:00.000-07:00

Growing...What Can She Do at 12 Months?

2011-03-04T17:19:00.001-08:00

12 Month Stats:

Weighs 18 lbs 3 ounces (3-10%)
28.5 inches tall (25%)
Head measures 44.2 (25-50%)

At 12 Months, Ella:

has 8 teeth (4 on top and 4 on bottom)
is climbing, climbing, climbing!
is crawling all over the place
is cruising around on furniture, shelves, and toys
can mimic our actions (sticking out tongue, putting hands over eyes, clapping, etc)
loves to dance to music (flaps her arms or moves her bootie up & down)
says "mama" and "dada" sounds, but we aren't 100% sure she knows what they mean. She also says "bye-bye", "ba" for book and balloon, "ma" for Myles & Macie, and "mo" for more
often "screams" in excitement or to get our attention and laughs a lot
loves to be tickled and read to
can throw things and even play "catch" by throwing a little ball back and forth
plays peek-a-boo to us by putting her hands over her eyes, and then revealing herself or she will turn her face away and then turn back real quick to look at you and "surprise" us
has light brown-dark blondish hair, and is growing longer very slowly! It's almost a mullet in the back because the front is taking forever to grow!
loves to take things off shelves, pull things out of the cabinet, take magazines off of the coffee table, and look inside everything
is doing great eating "grown up" food and loves it! She really wants to eat what we are eating, but some of her favorites include plain pasta, avocados, chicken, yogurt, Cheerios, and bananas
can stand for extended periods of time on her own. Just last week she started taking a few steps on her own. This week, she can go 10-20 steps before falling- going to be mobile anytime now! Although, she really prefers to walk holding onto one of our fingers.
loves playing with Macie & Myles
is into everything she is not supposed to be and gets quite the attitude when you tell her NO...she shakes her head at you and then continues to do it :)
loves going to the park or doing anything outside.

Here is a run-through of our approximate daily schedule (you may not be interested...this is more for me to be able to remember later!):

6:00 or 6:30am-- wakes up, nurses (this is our only nursing session of the day-it's been super hard to let go of and weaning has been harder than I expected)

7:30am--feeds herself eggs, toast, and fruit in the highchair while we eat breakfast; then we head into the play room to play (or practice walking around the house until my back can't take it anymore)

8:30am--nap for about an hour and a half to two hours

10:30am--bottle of whole milk, then about an hour later has lunch (her favs at the moment are avocado, chicken, pasta, and bananas, but we try lots of different things-unfortunately most of it she's not interested in)

1:00 or 1:30pm--naps for 45 minutes to an hour and a half

3:00--sippy cup of milk, small snack of cheerios, fruit, oatmeal or yogurt

5:15--dinner, usually whatever we can get her to eat (sometimes what we're eating)

6:30pm--bottle, story, snuggles, songs, teethbrushing and bed

In between eating and sleeping, we keep busy by playing in the playroom, hosting or going to playgroups, attending My Gym & Gymboree, running errands, going for walks, meeting up with friends, going to the park, and chasing her around the house.

Mother's Heart

2011-03-04T16:50:00.000-08:00

I came across this poem and thought it encompassed so much of what I'm feeling as a mom. I find myself stuck in the middle of so many emotions as Ella gets older. I'm loving each day with her and can't wait for the next one, but also mourn a bit over the days that have past and the fact that she's not a little baby anymore. I can't put into words how much I love and cherish her. I'm so blessed that God put this little person into my life. What a precious gift she is!

Mother's Heart

I loved you from the very start,
You stole my breath, embraced my heart.
Our life together has just begun
You're part of me my little one.
As mother with child, each day I grew,
My mind was filled with thoughts of you.

I'd daydream of the things we'd share,
Like late-night bottles and Teddy bears.
Like first steps and skinned knees,
Like bedtime stories and ABC's.
I thought of things you'd want to know,
Like how birds fly and flowers grow.

I thought of lessons I'd need to share,
Like standing tall and playing fair.
When I first saw your precious face,
I prayed your life be touched with grace.
I thanked the angels from above,
And promised you unending love.

Each night I lay you down to sleep,
I gently kiss your head and cheek.
I count your little fingers and toes;
I memorize your eyes and nose.
I linger at your nursery door,
Awed each day I love you more.

Through misty eyes, I dim the light,
I whisper, "I love you" every night.
I loved you from the very start,
You stole my breath, embraced my heart.
As mother and child our journeys begin,
My heart's yours forever little one.

My Baby Girl Turned ONE!

2011-03-02T07:33:00.001-08:00

Oh how time flies when you're having fun and when you're the mother of a baby! My sweet baby girl is moving on to toddlerhood and for me, it's a mixture of emotions. It's so exciting to watch her grow and change each day, but it's sad that her babyhood is behind us. Ella turned 1 on January 31st. Her birthday party was so much fun! We had some close friends and family come over to celebrate with us. Here's some pictures from the celebration...

Holding on to Mommy tight cuz she didn't like all the people showing up. Every time someone new showed up, she would burst into tears. It was sad, but cute. After everyone was here, she had a blast and was all smiles the rest of the day.

Pushing her baby around the house for everyone to see her skills

Waving hi!

Cutest little tushy ever!

She's ok in this picture, but she was about to get real mad cuz others wanted to push the stroller too. Guess we need to work on our sharing skills.

Ella & Olivia looking cute in their tutus

Taking her headband off

Waiting for her birthday cake :)

All our friends and their babies

The whole group of friends and family :)

Happy Birthday to you....

She doesn't know what to think

I'm one!

What is this stuff?

Looks like it might be fun to play with

Good stuff

How big is Ella? So big....

Sharing her cake with Mommy

So big!!!

Sweet little hands

She got the hang of it real fast

All done!

I chose an owl theme of "Guess Whoo's Turning 1?"

Here's some pictures of the party decorations.

Candy Bar

Mark putting together all her toys after the party

Everyone watching Ella

Party Invitation

Ella's party was on Sunday, but her actual birthday was on Monday.

Ella & Mommy at My Gym in her birthday outfit

On the Move

2011-03-01T06:45:00.000-08:00

She's on the move with the help of her baby stroller.

Ella is super close to being able to walk on her own, but prefers the comfort of walking behind something or holding on to our fingers. I think her first real steps on her own are soon to come :)

January Fun

2011-02-26T06:33:00.000-08:00

She is just growing up too fast! Here's some pics to recap the month of January...

Our friends, The Guinns, spent New Year's Eve with us and we had a little slumber party at our house. We ate dinner, put the girls down for the night, and played games while enjoying a glass of wine. It was so fun! We forgot to take pictures on New Year's Eve, but we captured our fun at the park the next day :)

Daddy & Ella bouncing

The 3 of us :)

Ella & Joy

Mommy & Ella

Daddies & Daughters

Mommies & Daughters

Ella loves to ride her tricycle (inside or out)

Showing off her toothy grin :)

Acting silly while we play

Playing with her nativity scene (she likes it too much to put it up with the other Christmas stuff)

Making funny faces

Ella loves to pull up the edges of the foam padding in her playroom...I know; not the most sanitary of things to do. I usually stop her, but had to snap a picture first :)

Super cute grin showing off her bottom 4 teeth

She has 4 on top too

Posing with Olive the Owl

Daddy-Daughter Bath Time

Ella & Joy are enjoying their bath with Trey & Mark

Hanging out with the Guinns at the pool at Lifetime

Julee & Joy with Ella & Me

Daddy & Ella walking in the water

"This is so fun!!!"

Family pic in the water

Joy & Ella napping in different rooms after our play date

Ella, Joy, & Olivia playing together at the music table

Group Play Date

Harding, Joy, Olivia, Ella, & Caleb

Best Buddies :)

Ella playing ball

She loves to crawl up to me when I have the camera out

Ella at Gymboree

Her after nap face :)

Christmas...Better Late Than Never :)

2011-02-16T16:39:00.001-08:00

We spent Christmas at my parents this year. Mark's parents went to Indianapolis to visit his sister's family, so we celebrated with them the week after Christmas. It was a special time because we ended up spending the entire weekend at my parents, which allowed the whole family an opportunity to hang out and spend some quality time together (which we don't get to do very often). It was also special because my grandparents were there and got to spend a lot of time with Ella. She enjoyed her time in P-ville and bonded with everyone :)

Christmas Eve

Christmas Morning

Matching pajamas for the boys :)

Jayce hated this idea!

Patiently waiting for breakfast

We love you Nonee & Papa!

Before we started...

Ella wasn't quite sure what was going on

But it looked like fun :)

Loving on her new sock monkey from Omi

Unwrapping other people's gifts...

Mommy got a sewing machine...now I just have to learn how to sew ;)

Ella loved the paper!

She also loved this little box and crawled around with it ALL morning.

Sporting her Christmas tutu

More unwrapping

Pops got her a Tickle Me Elmo...she was highly amused by it

Love at first sight :)

She enjoys chewing on the stick more than playing the xylophone

Practicing her climbing skills on the many boxes

I love presents!

My dad got all of his girls "Snuggies". We look like a large piece of bubble gum.

Hate to admit it, but I actually use mine most evenings :)

Matching pajamas

The Rest of Christmas Weekend

Hanging out playing games...

Jayce misses his big sister

Christmas with the Tufts

She just loves that paper

And bows...

And climbing on the gifts...

Thanks Grandma & Grandpa for my great gifts! I love my music table!

December

2011-02-09T07:31:00.000-08:00

December was a fun month full of play dates, holiday parties, Christmas celebrations, and Ella moving & grooving :) She changes so much each month and December was no exception. She really started speed crawling and walking holding onto our hands. She has been more verbally expressive and says "mama", "dada", "bye-bye" and I'm pretty sure "ma" for Macie (one of our Yorkie's that she adores). She loves to wave and raise her arms up high when we say "how big is Ella?" She enjoys clapping, although she does it by sliding her hands back and forth against each other because her grandpa taught her that and she thinks it's funny. She enjoys being around people and has to be the center of attention. We joined a couple different Mommy & Me programs (My Gym & Gymboree) and she enjoys them but is still shy at class and prefers to watch the other kids play. She loves dancing, bouncing, & banging on things. I can't believe how independent she is (or wants to be). We've moved to 3 nursings a day (and a bottle before bed) and 3 solid meals a day. She enjoys finger foods and tolerates purees every now and then. Wow; she's growing up so fast!!!!

Enjoying a cool winter day at my parents house

Omi & Ella playing peek a boo

Being silly and crinkling her nose when she giggles

Learning to drink from a cup

Just being silly :)

And mad...

And just plain cute...

Play Date w/ Joy & Jules

Group Play Date

Waiting in line to meet Santa

"I can't wait to pull that white hair :)"

"I like your dress Olivia"

Mommy & Me Christmas Party

My Gym

Joy & Ella

Peek a boo!

Look at those hanging skills!

Friends Get Together

Just a crawlin'

She loves to peek outside throughout the day

Loved the ornaments on the tree

"I got one"

"Look Mom!"

She loves to crawl up me when I have the camera out

Brrr...it's cold outside (and inside)

Playtime in our jammies before bed

Ella got to feed herself with a spoon for the first time

She used her hands way more than the spoon :)

She LOVES HappyBaby food squeezable pouches

Practicing her walking in her Christmas tutu

I love this little face!

Playing at the park

Ella's 1st cold...still a happy girl even though she feels terrible!

Pictures from our Family Christmas Pictures Photo Session w/ Lea Ciceraro

Ella was 10 Months Old

More Catching Up...Moving on to November

2011-01-09T13:07:00.000-08:00

So much happened during the month of November...

Ella became even more of a real little person with a shining personality. She began really getting around with perfecting her crawling and pulling up on things. She started eating more grown up foods since more teeth were in. She started talking so much more and waving and enjoys being the center of attention :)

Had to get a pic of her sleeping in the car because it doesn't happen very often

Drinking from her sippy cup

Ella keeps scratching her nose when she is sucking her thumb...this is one of the red spots that she occasionally wakes up with after scratching herself :(

So precious!

Ella thinks it's so funny to suck on her toes and does it to make me laugh :)

Looking cute before swim class

We traveled to Bracketville for a funeral in early November. It was our longest car ride so far (4 hours). My wonderful great grandfather, Francis Larson (Opa), passed away after 93 amazing years of life. He is missed so much!

Pops & Ella at the hotel before Opa's funeral

Candice, Shara, Me & Ella

Ella practicing her walking

I love Doreen!!!

The whole gang of cousins (well, most of us)

I participated in the Race for the Cure with some friends...even ran half of it---or I should say jogged at a super slow pace that even some walkers were passing me--- :)

We decorated our house for Christmas (even before Thanksgiving this year because I wanted to enjoy the tree and all the decor for longer this year).

We played in the yard and enjoyed the beautiful fall weather.

***Warning...many pictures to follow of us playing outside. I couldn't decide which ones I like the most, so I included all of them!!!

We celebrated Thanksgiving with our families. Sadly, I forgot to take pictures...

Hanging out with Grandpa (Mark's Dad)

We celebrated my birthday and other fun occasions with good friends!

The whole gang...Mark, Trey, Jules, Me, Rach, & Richmond

Love these guys & girls!

Navigating through life and parenthood wouldn't be as great without them by our sides :)

Happy Birthday kisses

The girls (including Macie)

XOXO

Jules & me celebrating Guinn's school accomplishments

The boys :)

Working Backwards...Starting with October

2010-12-30T07:30:00.000-08:00

Here's a recap of the last few months that I never got around to blogging about...

Working backwards...starting with the month of October...

My Little Pumpkin

She's crawling!

Determination

Happy Girl!

Just a jumpin'

Who's this guy?

Practicing standing with Daddy's help

Crawling gets me there faster

On to walking with some help from Daddy

Eating finger foods

"mmmmmm"

Looking so cute during her nap that I had to take a picture of the monitor :)

Mommy & Ella on Halloween morning

Helping Mommy make a tutu

Holding onto the tulle and measuring tape

Playdate with my friends

Mommy & Julee making tutus for Ella & Joy

Modeling the finished product (before the trimming took place)

Watching the other babies at our playdate

Halloween was a lot of fun this year. Last year, we didn't do anything because I felt huge and wanted to be in bed early :) This year, we had a precious little bug to dress up, so we had some friends come over who have little ones close to Ella's age and we all went trick or treating together. We only went to 2 houses because the kids were ready to be out of their costumes, but we had a blast (or at least all of us parents did)!

A cute little ladybug

Our first house for trick or treating

Mommy & Ella and Julee & Joy

Momma's & Babies

Hitting the streets

The Tufts family

Daddies & Babies

The whole gang :)

(minus Richmond who was kicking for the Bears)

Can't forget Myles & Macie in their bumblebee costumes :)

So Far Behind

2010-12-21T13:24:00.000-08:00

I am so far behind on blogging! I can't believe my last post was back in October :( Where does the time go??? I am going to get better at keeping my blog up to date in 2011. I'm going to start with this post and then work backwards with some posts I've been meaning to get around to such as Halloween pics, Thanksgiving, Ella's 9 month stats and photos, Getting Ready for Christmas, and some great times with friends and family. All these and more to come soon (blog overload headed your way). For now, here's our family Christmas card :)

Merry Christmas from our family to yours...

Pumpkin Patch Part 1

2010-10-28T17:24:00.000-07:00

We met up with the Guinns at the Pumpkin Patch for some fall photos. We had a great time despite the October heat and the girls did great posing for pictures in the tutus. Ella wanted to put all the pumpkins in her mouth, along with her tutu. I can't believe she will be 9 months old on Halloween. Time is going by way too fast. She is just blossoming before our eyes and growing up so much. I'm impressed we got so many great pictures, because she doesn't want to sit still too much now that she can crawl around. Thanks Trey, Julee, & baby Joy for joining us in the pumpkin patch; it was a lot of fun! Looking forward to Halloween and dressing the girls up again for trick or treating :)

More pumpkin pics coming soon...still filtering through the hundreds we took...

Go Aggies!

2010-09-04T17:13:00.000-07:00

Playing With Picasa

2010-09-02T18:29:00.000-07:00

I was told about Picasa by a friend who loves it! I'm totally addicted!!! It's so fun to play with your pictures and create collages and put frames around them and add text and....I could go on and on. Here's a fun little collage I created this evening with some of Ella's best black & white photos from her 6 month photo shoot. So fun!!!

8 Questions

2010-08-31T07:09:00.001-07:00

Allena, one of my blogging friends (and friend from high school), tagged me for a game of 8 Questions. Thought it might be fun to participate even though I'm not very good at answering questions and even worse at coming up with my own to ask, but here goes...

The rules are simple: Answer the 8 questions, come up with 8 new questions, tag 8 people. Easy. And here are her eight questions:

1. If you could go on a trip right now, where would you go? This is hard because I would want Ella to go with me because I can't bear the thought of being without her for more than a couple hours, but wouldn't want her to have to endure an extra long plane ride to any of the places I would really want to go, like Greece or Spain. So, I guess I'd say I'd go on a trip to Colorado to get a little bit of cooler weather and to see my sister because I know she's getting tired of being away from home.

2. What is your favorite baby name? (and you can't name your own children) Adalyn and Ryker

3. What is your favorite website? I absolutely love Etsy.com

4. What is one thing you're embarrassed that you bought? I can't think of anything particular; but I"m embarrassed at how many similar items I buy for Ella. i.e...She really only needs one chair to sit in to eat, but she has 3 different ones-only 2 I bought her though; the other was given to us if that makes it any better :0

5. Where do you see yourself in 5 years? hopefully a stay at home mom with 2 little ones enjoying life with my husband and little family

6. Are you a wine or beer drinker? I would normally say a wine drinker, but lately, I've been enjoying beer like Micolob Ultra

7. If you didn't have to work, what would you do? Luckily, I'm blessed to not have to work right now, so I'm getting to stay home and spend all my time with little Ella (it's the best job in the entire world)!

8. What is your favorite blog? I'm a big fan of Chronicles of a Babywise Mom even though I don't really follow BW completely. It's got so many great parenting ideas from a mother of 3. I also love to read about all my friends through their blogs. I wish I was half the creative writer that they all are :)

And now I tag the following...

Courtney W.

Questions:

What do you do in your free time?
If you could give the world one piece of advice, what would it be?
What is your favorite website or blog?
What scares you the most and why?
What is the hardest thing you ever had to do?
What is the weirdest thing you will ever admit to having done in the past?
What is your favorite book you read as a child?
What sound or noise do you love?

Reality Has Set In

2010-08-27T13:39:00.000-07:00

My knee has made 1/2 Marathon training difficult! It's only been 2 weeks of training (and by training, I mean trying really hard to not pass out while jogging 2-3 miles at a ridiculously slow 15 minute/mile pace). After making it through the run, my knee is swollen and sore and pretty useless the rest of the day. When I told my Physical Therapist that I was planning to run a 1/2 marathon, he practically laughed in my face :) So, after many sessions with him, talking with Mark, and really thinking through things, I've decided that the reality of the situation is that I'm taking on too much and dealing with too much pain, so I'm no longer taking on the 1/2 Marathon!

I first need to work on regaining strength in my leg and building the supporting muscles around my knee. Hopefully after I'm stronger, the pain won't be so intense when I run, and then won't be so horribly painful after my run. So, I'm going to continue training and running (with some walking thrown in there), but I'm aiming to complete a couple 5K's in September and October and a 10K in mid-October instead of the 1/2 Marathon. Then, if my running ability improves and my knee starts to hold up better, I'll try to do the 1/2 Marathon in February.

Good News :)

2010-08-25T15:50:00.000-07:00

We met with a dermatologic surgeon today for a second opinion. She made me feel so much better about the situation and I am no longer overly worried. She felt that the mole area was definitely larger than she would like to see and it should be removed, but that it didn't look like melanoma. We will have to wait for the biopsy following surgery to be 100% sure, but she was comfortable saying that it seemed fine to wait a while (until at least the 1/2 marathon I'm training for is over) to have the surgery because even if it were melanoma (which she is pretty confident it isn't), it wouldn't spread that fast to be a real concern. So, we scheduled surgery for November and now feel very good about the situation.

I think it helps that her specialty is cancer related surgery unlike the previous surgeon we saw who was just a general surgeon. It's also great that she understood how important continuing breastfeeding was and reassured me that it won't be an issue (maybe more pain than normal due to the stitches, but it should be fine to resume our normal nursing schedule within a few hours after surgery). It was also a relief to hear that she will only be using local anesthetics unlike the other surgeon who intended to put me under for a 30 minute surgery. The last thing that was reassuring was that she said the recovery time would be about a week or less which sounds much better than the 3-4 week recovery the general surgeon discussed. It will still be a 4 centimeter incision (kind of shaped like an eye), but she suspects that will take care of any abnormal cells. If not, she may have to go back in to remove more, but that's worse case scenario.

Overall, we were very comfortable with my new surgeon and feel like she's a good match and is very knowledgeable about what I'm dealing with. I know it was in God's plan to find her and for her to decide to see us because she usually only deals with people who have actual cancerous lesions to be removed, but she made an exception to meet with me. Thank you for your prayers; I also know they were part of the great news and the sense of relief I'm feeling.

Now, on to the 1/2 marathon training and hoping I can make it past the 3 mile run I'm tackling tomorrow. Baby steps...

Prayers Needed

2010-08-25T08:59:00.000-07:00

I wasn't sure I wanted to post this, but I know the power of prayer and need it right now :) A couple years ago, I had some moles removed from various places on my body. They were all shaved or scraped and biopsied, but one of them came back as being moderately dysplastic and I needed to go back and get more of it removed. Well, I was pregnant when that appointment rolled around and didn't want to mess with it because it was on the lower part of my breast and they were just too sore due to pregnancy.

Long story short, I didn't get around to going back to the dermatologist until a few weeks ago. After looking at the mole again, she decided it had grown quite a bit and because another scraping wouldn't get enough of it, she sent me to see a surgeon. He agreed that it needed to be taken care of fast (which is just a scary thing to hear when dealing with something that could be melanoma). Hopefully, once it's removed, the biopsy will come back clean and I will have worried over nothing. However, the other chance is that it is melanoma and we will have to take another path if they didn't get it all.

So, please pray that God will heal me and that it is something small (and hopefully benign) that will be taken care of with the complete removal of the mole. Please also pray that this breast surgery will not impede nursing Ella because I really want to continue breastfeeding her until she is a year old, but am worried about the placement of the stitches because they are planning to make a 4-5 centimeter wide incision.

The surgery is scheduled for this Friday afternoon. I'm meeting with one more surgeon this afternoon to get another opinion because surgeries scare me (my last surgery on my knee didn't end so good if you remember), so I'll know even more later today.

I tend to have an overactive mind too, which has made this all worse because I naturally start to assume the worst. I'm trying to take one day at a time and think positive, but it's hard to do and I've become an emotional mess. So, I'm praying for peace and comfort during this time along with healing.

Love to you all!

What Am I Thinking???

2010-08-17T07:34:00.000-07:00

I've decided to run in a 1/2 Marathon in October! Yes, you heard me right! The person who doesn't run much anymore has signed up to run 13 miles!!!!

Sounds great, right? Yet, I only have less than 10 weeks to train for it. Yes, you heard that right...the same girl who is more out of shape than she's ever been in her life is running a half marathon in 68 days!!!

Between problems following knee surgery, post-pregnancy out of shapeness, and just all around laziness, I don't know how I'm going to do it. What was I thinking when I signed up for this???

Despite it all, I'm actually excited about challenging myself in a whole new way. My friend Julee (an amazing athlete) has set up a schedule to get me trained and ready for the 13 mile run in less than 10 weeks...she has more faith in me than I do ;)

So, I got new running shoes and I accomplished my first attempt at running yesterday with a 1 mile run around our neighborhood. I'm so sore!!! I will be running 1.5 miles tomorrow and then my first long run of 3 miles on Saturday. I know that sounds like it should be a piece of cake (some people run this amount on a daily basis), but it might be the end of me {grin}! Hopefully, my knee will hold up, my heart and lungs will get into shape again, and the rest of my body will cooperate with me as I embark on this new and scary running journey. Luckily, Mark is doing it with me, so it's now a family thing which makes it more fun :)

Ella went along for the ride yesterday in her jogging stroller and seemed to enjoy getting outside early in the morning before the ridiculous Texas heat got to us too bad.

I'll keep you updated on my progress as I learn to be a runner (hopefully).

6 Months and Growing TOO Fast

2010-08-17T06:37:00.000-07:00

Ella turned 6 months old a couple weekends ago (July 31st). It's sad that I'm this far behind on blogging, but now that she's doing so much more, it's hard to find time to sit down and blog :) So, now she's 6 and a half months old and changing so much each day. Here's what's been going on in the life of little miss Ella...

6 Month Check-up Stats:

Weight: 14 pounds 2.5 ounces-25th percentile (she finally bumped up out of the 10%)

Height: 24.5 inches-25 percentile

Head Circumference: 40.7-10 percentile

6 Months Old

She's so much bigger than her bunny now!

Things Ella is doing at 6 Months:

~Sitting up all on her own (only falls when she gets super distracted)

~Sticks her tongue out when she smiles of laughs

~Brings her hands together

~Holds her arms out for the person she wants

~Belly laughs (mostly in the evenings)

~Started eating solids: she's loving every second of it! We've tried rice cereal, oatmeal, sweet potatoes, squash, and started carrots yesterday :)

~Testing out drinking water from a sippy cup...she chokes from time to time but loves it! She also enjoys trying to drink from my cup and makes a funny sound and face as the water gets close to her lips

~Pushing up all the way on her arms when she's on her tummy

~Chews and sucks on EVERYthing!!!

~Loves to read...smiles every time we bring a book out to read together

~Sleeps 12 hours at night (goes to bed around 6:30 and sleeps until 6:00 or 6:30 the next morning) and naps 3-4.5 hours per day....she loves her sleep!!! and so do I :)

Her new favorite way to smile :)

I cried when we put her in the booster seat high chair thing because she looks like such a big girl...where has my tiny baby gone???

She loves her paci but usually uses it as more of a chew toy instead of sucking on it, but she scratched her face with a book and needed a soothing device :)

Watching us cook dinner from her bumbo perched on the bar

Sitting up on her own (a little scary since the chair was rocking)

I just LOVE this little face!!!!

Since I'm so far behind on blogging, I thought I'd post a couple pictures of Ella at 5 months too :)

Red, White & Blue

2010-07-05T13:20:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th of July!

Ella just turned 5 months old!

We were all wearing red, white, & blue to celebrate

Looking cute @ 19 Weeks

2010-06-25T07:39:00.001-07:00

Memorial Day-17 Weeks

2010-06-08T09:02:00.000-07:00

Ella officially turned 4 months old on Memorial Day! A post is coming soon about her 4 month wellness check, but here are some pictures of her at 17 weeks over the Memorial Day weekend :)

Ella & Papa Ken

Trying out the swimming pool for the first time. She enjoyed it :)

17 Weeks

She's getting so big!!!

Not too excited about sitting with the bunny this time

17 Weeks and hanging off the chair

4 Months and Growing...

2010-06-08T07:39:00.001-07:00

Wow! Time sure flies by. I'm watching Ella grow right before my very eyes. She's getting bigger, finally growing some hair (well, more like dark peach fuzz), getting more coordinated and interested in things, and letting her personality shine through. It's crazy that's she already almost through her 4th month of life. She's growing so fast and each day is even more fun than the last! She had her 4 month wellness visit with Dr. Hamilton a few weeks ago and here's how she's growing...

Stats:

Weight: 11 pounds 13.5 ounces-10th percentile

Height: 23.5 inches-25th percentile

Head Circumference: 39-10th percentile

Overall, she's still a tiny girl, but is growing correctly on her own growth curve, so nothing to worry about.

Here's what she can do at 4 months:

can grasp almost any object (including my hair)

sucking on her hands all the time-has just recently mastered getting her thumb in her mouth when she wants to instead of her whole hand :) so cute!!!

can fully hold her head up, so she can play in the jumper and the exersaucer with blankets supporting her torso

focuses on her toys in her exersaucer

loves to jump

smiles for me all the time

loves to play with toys and can get them to her mouth now

"got it Mom"

she loves to put everything into her mouth :)

can grab her toes and get them into her mouth

loves to play with her feet

smiling, cooing, and giggling

tolerates tummy time more now-can push up on her arms and rolls from back to tummy

prefers to sleep on her side or tummy and gets herself there at some point during her naps and at night (this scares me, but she loves it and sleeps so good)

sleeps in her crib instead of the bassinet (this was a hard adjustment for me, not her) and now she sleeps 11-12 hours at night with only 1 feeding and entertains herself when she wakes up :)

can roll over when trying to get her glow worm-rolls from her back to her tummy in bed all the time, but still not mastered tummy to back yet

hates lying down; wants to sit up all the time

loves to stand up on her legs-she's so strong!

sits up so big and tall when she's in her Bumbo

Pure JOY

2010-05-23T11:38:00.001-07:00

Some of our dearest friends, the Guinn's, had their little bundle of "joy" last week. It was fun going through part of my pregnancy with Julee and exciting to have a girlfriend to talk baby stuff with. Trey & Julee welcomed Joy Avery into the world this past Wednesday. We went up to the hospital to see this precious little family and to introduce Ella and Joy (since they are required by their mammas to like each other and be best friends). Joy is absolutely adorable and Julee looked amazing! Here's a couple pics of our visit to meet baby Joy...

So tiny!!!!

Best friends meeting for the first time :)

Ella looks so big next to Joy

Us at the same hospital almost 4 months after Ella's birth

It was funny to see Joy and think how tiny she was, but not be able to remember Ella being that small (even though they were about the same size at birth). It's crazy how fast they grow up and how easily we forget. As I reflected upon my own experience with those first few weeks and life over these last 3 1/2 months, I thought about things I miss about Ella being a newborn, things I'm glad we don't have to deal with anymore, and things that I love about the place she is in now.

Things I miss about Ella being a newborn...

~her being so tiny (even though I can't remember how small she actually was)

~her ability to sleep anywhere at any time

~the smile that came across her face while falling asleep (still happens sometimes)

~just having a newborn baby girl

~the sounds she would make while nursing (they were hilarious and so loud)

~rocking her

~just holding her for hours and watching her

~cuddling with such a tiny baby

~her newborn smell

~the way she fit in the sling; so tiny and curled up

~the sounds she made while sleeping (overwhelming at the time & caused me to miss out on sleep, but I miss them now)

~trying out all the firsts with her (bouncer, swing, stroller, tummy time, sling, etc.)

~how easy it was to swaddle her so snugly and how that soothed her

Things I'm glad we are done with...

~dealing with jaundice

~the constant fear of SIDS or her not breathing at night (this hasn't completely gone away, but has lessened)

~waking up to feed every 2 hours

~the uncontrollable crying and emotional roller coaster I was on (due to hormones or baby blues or whatever caused me to be an emotional wreck for many weeks)

~the sleep deprivation

~the feelings of not knowing what to do as a mother (still feel this at times though)

~the first few weeks of breastfeeding (they were so hard)

~recovery from childbirth

~the consuming worry, fear, & guilt

~meconium

Things I love now about the stage Ella is in...

~cooing & babbling

~smiling

~laughing & giggling

~how observant and alert she is

~experiencing all the new things with her

~reaching and grabbing for things

~cuddling with her (it's different than it was when she was a newborn, but it's still my favorite thing to do)

~rocking her (she fights it now, but I manage to rock her every now and then)

~how she turns to look at me when she hears my voice

~the smile that comes across her face when I come to get her out of bed

~how excited she gets

~her holding her head up on her own

~being able to go places with her

~a more scheduled life (naps, feeding times, bedtime are all somewhat consistent)

~being able to read her more and know what she wants or needs (at least most of the time)

~watching the excitement on her face

~watching her discover new things on her own (so much more of this to come)

~bath time and playtime are so much fun!

~how she starts to "talk" when I sing to her like she's singing along with me

~knowing that each day will bring even more changes in our little girl

~that my milk has been sufficient for her and helped her continue to grow and be strong

~that she doesn't want to lay down; she wants to sit up at all times and be a part of things

It's so fun to watch Ella grow and change and mature and learn new things :) Each day is better than the one before, but all of them have been special and true blessings. I can't get enough of her! I want to hold her and kiss her and love on her all day long!!! Joy is such a perfect word to describe what Ella is in my life.

15 weeks old

Just The Beginning

2010-05-22T10:37:00.000-07:00

Ella is growing so fast each week! Within about a week, she started cooing, giggling, and grabbing for things. It's so much fun to watch her change. We know it's just the beginning of all the fun times to come as Ella's personality continues to grow and she learns more new things.

She loves her bumbo! The only problem with the bumbo is that every time she's in it, she violently spits up a ton!!! She just loves sitting up like a big girl and smiles and giggles for us the whole time she's in it.

Trying out her sunhat to block the dreaded sun! She's not too big of a fan.

Had to capture one of the many feeding blisters she's had on her top lip. This girl loves to eat!

We got to have a date night a couple weeks ago. Thanks Mom & Dad for babysitting Ella so we could have a night out.

She has started to notice and reach out for the toys in her activity mat.

...but let's me know when she's had enough by turning her head and staring off.

14 weeks old

14 weeks old-all stretched out

not too happy about another picture

Ella, Macie, & Myles

Macie loves Ella's toes

My First Mother's Day

2010-05-10T14:12:00.000-07:00

I celebrated my first Mother's Day on Sunday! It was such a wonderful day and I'm so blessed to finally be a mom! Thanks Mark & Ella for all the great Mother's Day gifts and our time together yesterday. It was a very special day! We also got to have brunch with Mark's parents on Saturday and my mom spent the evening with us on Thursday to celebrate each of them as well. Then on Sunday, we randomly ran into my mom and siblings at the Domain, so that was special to actually get to give my mom a hug on Mother's Day and for Ella to see her Omi. It was a great weekend and a fabulous Mother's Day! Ella was 14 weeks old on Mother's Day :)

Being a Mom

2010-05-05T08:36:00.000-07:00

I get to celebrate my first Mother's Day on Sunday. What a blessing to finally be a mom! There is something so special and almost indescribable about being a mother and the love you feel for your child. I came across this poem and thought it described my feelings on being a mom and captured the essence of motherhood pretty well. Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful moms out there, including my amazing mom! What a blessing it is to be Ella's mom.

Before I Was a Mom

Before I was a Mom I made and ate hot meals.
I had unstained clothing.
I had quiet conversations on the phone.

Before I was a Mom I slept as late as I wanted.
And never worried about how late I got into bed.
I brushed my hair and my teeth everyday.

Before I was Mom I cleaned my house each day.
I never tripped over toys or forgot words to lullabies.

Before I was a Mom I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom I had never been puked on, pooped on, spit on, peed on, or pinched by tiny fingers.
Before I was a Mom I had complete control of my mind, my thoughts, my body and all my feelings.
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom I never held down a screaming child so that doctors could do tests or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put it down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond between a Mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important.

Before I was a Mom I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was OK.
I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache or the satisfaction of being a Mom.

I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much......
......before I was a Mom.

...Author Unknown