Merry Christmas, Baby!

Ella stacking her first set of blocks!

Taking a peek at her Dora playhut...

Opening some gifts with Aunt Joy :)

"Enjoying" the presents from her first stocking at Nana and Grandpa's house :)

Testing out her new tubby toys :)

12/25/08 - This year Ella celebrated her first Christmas! Of course, she was a good girl and slept in until 8:30am, which made her Mommy and Daddy VERY happy :)

She was a little sleepy at first and not too interested in much of anything except her breakfast puffs, but as time went by, she got a little more excited about the wrapping paper and boxes :) Maybe next year she'll be interested in the actual presents :)

Her first present was a new can of puffs, then a book, some new tubby toys, blocks, a Carebear, a chatterphone, her own cellphone and keys, and then of course her Dora Play Hut!

After opening presents at our house, we headed over to Grandma and Grandpa Mokwa's for more presents, including her own lawnmower and a talking remote control :)

By 10am she was little miss grumpy pants because she hadn't eaten her bottle and hadn't taken her morning nap, so we headed over to Nana and Grandpa Moase's. She took a nice nap on the way over and then we spent the rest of the day there, opening all kinds of presents, visiting, playing in water, and eventually taking a nap. All in all it was a good day :o)

Christmas Eve

Ella's very first Christmas Eve present!
A babydoll from Aunt Jessie and Uncle Dave!

She really loved this dolly :)

Cousin Lydia with her very first Christmas Eve present!

12/24/08 - We all spent Christmas Eve at Dan's parents house with the whole family. Each year we all get together, have a big Christmas Eve Dinner, play games and open a few presents :) Ella had a wonderful time with the family and loved opening the presents :) I can't wait for next year when she actually knows what's going on :)

Ella also had a good time "sharing" food with her cousin Lydia :) Maybe it was more taken by force than shared, but that's Ella for you :) She loves her food!

Early Christmas with Amelia!

Earlier in the day, after learning that she was going to be able to open a present early!!

Ella's fancy new shirt

Not sure if she wanted her picture taken...

Amelia was a pro at unwrapping!

Mia and her ladybug :)

12/23/08 - Ella celebrated Christmas a little early with her friend Amelia this year. Josh, Shonna and Amelia came over to exchange gifts and visit the day before Christmas Eve, so Ella was pretty psyched about opening a present early :)

She got a cute little fleece outfit from Old Navy that she proudly wore the next night over Gramma and Grandpa's house :)

10 Months Old!!

12/21/08 - Ella turned 10 months old today! I never thought she would be doing the things she is doing by now, but she never ceases to amaze me! She crawls lightning fast now where-ever she goes. She pulls up on just about anything she can, and walks sideways to get to where she wants to go (as long as she can hold onto something). She eats all kinds of puffs, little Gerber crunchies and Cherrios for snack and we've just been letting her eat some of the steamed veggies we have at dinnertime to help her learn what each kind is. Her favorite so far has been peas :)

She is now into 2T size clothes and wears a size 6 shoe, but she still weighs 24.5lbs (like she has for the past 3 months or so). She's super healthy and hasn't even gotten a sniffle yet, so hopefully she'll stay healthy throughout the cold winter months :)

She's been saying all sorts of things too... I think she said "foot" and "goat" this morning, but I'm not sure. She says "ticka-ticka-ticka" ALOT, because whenever we change her diaper we always tickle her belly and say "tickle-tickle-tickle!!" She has been very well behaved, even through her 6th tooth coming through and the last growth spurt she went through and we thank God everyday for such a wonderful little girl!

A Visit to Nana & Grandpa's!

Peek-a-boo with Grandpa!

Nana showing Ellie how the camera works :)

Snacktime!

12/20/08 - Well, with Christmas right around the corner, I thought I should probably post a few pictures before I flood you all with Christmas shots. This particular day, we all went over to see Nana and Grandpa Moase, which is always a good time. Ella had fun playing peek-a-boo with Grandpa and dancing around with Nana. I think Ella's favorite thing to do right now, is be carried around by Grandpa. He'll pick her up and walk her all around the house, opening cabinets and pointing at different things... showing her all around. :) She really likes seeing and touching new things with her Grampie :)

Ella's First Thanksgiving

Little Lydia and Ella AKA Santa's Helpers :)
Ella and Grandma Mokwa

Shyla, Ella and Aunt Joy :)

11/27/08 - Ella enjoyed her first Thanksgiving with the whole Mokwa Family out in Bradford PA. Aunt Maria, Uncle Chad and Cousin Lydia hosted this year and it was just such a wonderful time. Even though Ella didn't get to try any of the Thanksgiving day foods, she enjoyed being with the whole family at the dinner table chowing down on her crunchy wheels and puffs. She got reaquainted with her cousin Lydia and spend most of the time being passed around from family member to family member enjoying every minute of it!

Maybe at Christmastime Ella will try some new "people" food :)