Where's Nana & Papa?

8/26/09 - Ever since Ella's Nana and Papa Moase left for vacation, she's been going through Nana/Papa withdrawl and now since it's been over a month, she's starting to go a little crazy... Every time the phone rings, she says "Nana? Nana?... Papa?" Every time someone comes to the door, she says "Nana? Nana?... Papa?" And now, this morning when she woke up, she usually just yells "Mama!" until I come and get her, but this morning was "Nana?... Nana?..."

She has also tried to call her Nana, but hasn't had any luck... Hopefully Nana and Papa will come home soon because there is a little girl here who misses them very much!

Splish-Splash!

Ellie in her new pool with her Dora swimsuit on :)

Getting a drink my from hose

Splash! Splash! Splash!

Ella had her first dip in the kiddie pool and as you can imagine, she loved it! We eventually had to take her out because the water was getting cold and she was shivering, but she still didn't want to stop playing :)

Inky Ella

8/15/09 - Ella found my stamping supplies, opened the tote, found the black ink pad and the rest is history. Luckily it was non-toxic and washable :)

Hangin' with her Little Sis

8/12/09 - In this particular picture, Ella is explaining to Anna how a rattle works. As you can see, Anna is amazed at Ella's rattle-expertise :)

These are a Few of My Favorite Things...

Ella & Anna :)

Giving her little sister a hug

This is Ella telling me about how she's going to kick the butt of anyone who messes with Anna when she gets a little bigger. Also, she's "#1" and don't forget it!

8/5/09 - To list a few of Ella's favorite things would be easy; popcicles, playing outside, bathtime, books... the list goes on and on... but I'm happy to announce a new addition to the list... Anna! Ella finally took a liking to her little sister and now all she wants is "baby! baby! baby!". And it only took a month! (One very LONG month).

Potty Training 101

8/3/09 - Who would have thought that potty training would be so easy?

So, what was the first thing I did when I found Ella in the toilet, you ask? Well I ran to get my camera, of course! Immediately followed by updating my Facebook status to: "just fished her daughter out of the toilet. Yes, I said "out" of the toilet. Sitting indian-style, right in the bowl, facing the tank, splashing in the water... Guess what time it is? Bathtime. Followed by a quick lesson on the difference between "ON the potty" and "IN the potty"

What else would a good mother do?

Splashing... and a big snake

7/30/09 - Here Ella is enjoying the great outdoors with her Aunt Joy, Mommy, Daddy, Papa, Uncle Dave and "Aunt" Pickett :) Also, notice the HUGE dead snake her Papa is holding near the end of the video - I thought I would include that since it's the first snake Ella has ever seen and obviously she finds the kiddie pool more interesting.

Little Miss Piggy

With our local produce stand opening up for the season, this has bought on all sorts of new food opportunities for Ella... and she's not complaining! I think her favorite new snack items are the blueberries from her Papa Moase, but she had fun with the corn on the cob and wouldn't share one bit of her plum :)

Hippy Baby

7/19/09 - I saw this dress yesterday and couldn't resist buying it. I love little sundresses, especially on my cutiepie :)

Crazy Hair

7/14/09 - So I thought I would share with all of you what Ella's hair looks like before we pull it up into a pony tail or put barretts in it. I wish she could wear it down all the time; I really love how crazy it gets :)

Winking ;)

7/10/09 - Ella's new found talent is "winking". Well, not really, but she likes to think so.
She's been doing it for about a month now, and I finally was able to catch her in the act ;)

Adjusting to Anna

7/9/09 - After a week with Anna, Ella is finally adjusting to having a new little sister. She's been a big help to Mommy, fetching diapers, throwing away poopy ones, giving Anna her binky and even helping burp the baby. She's a very good big sister :)

Cool Big Sister

Ella became a big sister Wednesday, July 1st at 9:44pm. Ella's new little sister, Anna Grace, will have her own little blog, but Mommy is still working on it. As for now, here are some pictures of the proud big sister :)

Running with Daddy

This was taken last month, but I just found it on our camera and I couldn't help but post it. Ella is getting so big, it really makes me sad to see pictures like this of her. She looks so grown up :'( At least to me... I guess I'll have all the "new little baby" I can handle, in just a few days, but seeing my first little baby growing up so fast still makes me emotional :(

Fun Times with Daddy

6/14/09 - Just when we thought that Ella was running out of "firsts" to record, she surprised us with her newly found love for the lawnmower. She used to be afraid of the loud noise, but this evening she kept pointing at Daddy mowing the lawn through the window and when I took her out to see him, she wanted nothing more than to sit on his lap. At first he just rode around the yard with her really slow, then picked up the pace, turned the blades back on and finished mowing the lawn. She LOVED every minute of it. He said she was actually starting to get a little sleepy, until he hit a rock :) She also waved pretty much the entire time she was riding on there. I think she was having a pretty good time :)

Memorial Day Camping Trip

Relaxing in the pack & play while Mommy and Daddy packed everything up the last day.

Hanging out with (super pregnant) Mommy and Aunt Helen in the field

Some of Ella's "toys" she played with over the weekend

the beautiful lake...

Waiting for Mommy to come out of the bathroom... yet again.

5/24/09 - Ella went on her first camping trip over Memorial Day weekend. Joining her was Mommy, Daddy, Aunt Helen, Uncle Dave, Aunt Maria, Uncle Chad and Cousin Lydia as well as a few family friends :) We thought that she might be hesitant about playing in the new surroundings, but not to fear! As soon as we parked the truck she was off and running, right into the woods. So needless to say, we spend a good portion of the weekend chasing our little girl around. Other than that, it was a wonderful weekend spent with family and we couldn't have asked for more :)

Ella vs. the Screen Door

5/14/09 - We like to think that all of the pictures we take of Ella are beautiful. I sit back and look through them from time to time and think "Wow, she never takes a bad picture; What a pretty little girl she is..."
Well, after today's little photo shoot at the screen door, I think I'll have to change my tune. Ella is human. Behold.... her glamour shots. (aka: blackmail pictures for when she gets a little older)

Incase you were wondering what she was so interested in that was outside... Well, Daddy went out and was riding around on his bike... I guess she wanted to join him :)

Lydia's 1st Birthday!

Beautiful Birthday Girl, Lydia!

Almost touching her candle...

Ella playing with Aunt Jessie under the piano :)

Lydia and all her friends playing after opening some presents :)

5/11/09 - This past weekend, we spent some time with our little niece Lydia celebrating her 1st birthday! We had a wonderful time visiting with family and watching the birthday girl cover herself from head to toe with cake :) Unlike Ella, she wasn't at all afraid of getting a little dirty :) We're so proud of our beautiful little niece - She's grown into such a big girl; super smiley, super happy and just an amazing little girl! Happy 1st Birthday Lydia!!!

Sunny Bunny

4/26/09 - For the past few days, it's been in the 80's here and Ella has loved being outside! She enjoys picking flowers, pointing out birds, watching the trees, eating dirt and feeling the grass between her toes :) This morning, right before church, she and Daddy were out in the yard picking flowers for Grandma :)

Rockin' Out with Daddy

4/18/09 - Today Dan baby-sat. This isn't the first time, by any means, but I always wonder what he and Ella are up to when I'm not around. On this particular day, I happened to look at the pictures on the camera when I got home and look what I found....

Apparently Ella and Daddy played Guitar Hero and Ella is quite the rocker :)

Happy Bunny Day!

Some goodies from the Easter Bunny

Discovering the goodies and only really caring about the book :)

Ella, Grandpa, Cousin Lydia & Grandma Mokwa

Another basket from Aunt Maria, Uncle Chad & Lyddie!

4/12/09 - Ella celebrated her second Easter this year! Last year she was only 1 month old, so it wasn't quite as eventful, but this year she was actually able to "search" for her Easter basket! (It was cleverly hidden in broad daylight on one of the chairs in the living room). Anyways, after her bath, it was off to find the basket... unfortunately she was off and running before we were able to get her dressed.

Luckily, she allowed us to stop her playtime momentarily and get her all dressed up for church, a visit to Grandma & Grandpa Mokwa's house and another Easter basket from Aunt Maria! :)