The Pull-up

10/6/08 - You may be wondering why I posted such a sad looking picture of her in her crib. Well, in addition to "roll-scooting", she also pulled herself up for the first time today while in the crib. I heard her crying and went in to check on her... and there she was, hanging on for dear life. :)

Scootin' Along...

10/6/08 - Ella has mastered rolling over and we thought we had also figured out how to "scoot" properly... apparently we were wrong. I like to call this the "roll-scoot". She is lifting her left leg in an attempt to half roll over and shimmy herself closer to the magazine. She's pretty creative, and persistant... I'll give her that :)

Taking a Ride

9/23/08 - Ella has found a new mode of transportation.... her Daddy's head.

She holds onto the sides of his head with such a grip, Dan doesn't even need to hold onto her (but he does anyways!). She'll hang out in this position for as long as her Daddy will have her and she loves every minute of it.

We just need to keep our eyes peeled for low doorways and ceiling fans ;)

Lookin' Up

9/21/08 - 7 months old and things are starting to "look up" for Ella. Size 4 diapers, 18 month size clothes, 23.5lbs, 30 inches, crawls backwards, scoots forward, 1 and a half teeth and unbelievably crazy hair - that pretty much sums up our little Ella. :) She now says "Da-Da," "Mama," "Naa," "Baa," and a lot of other noises that we're not quite sure the meaning of. She clasps her hands together, kicks her legs and opens her mouth wide when she's thrilled, and she'll scratch the back of her head or growl at you if she's not having a good time :) Favorite foods include squash and ice pops; most hated foods are anything fruity (shocking, I know). She sits like a champ and will easily go from sitting to scooting on her belly, then onto her back, and then back to her belly.

On a side note, My favorite time of the day now is 6:00am. I wake up with Dan around 5:30am and by 6am I can hear her talking to herself and blowing mouth bubbles waiting for me to come and get her. After she eats, she'll sit on my lap for a little while and watch me work, then slowly drift back to sleep for her big morning nap until around 9 or 9:30am. I love how "lovey-dovey" she is in the mornings. Being a mom is truly the most amazing experience I've ever had.

The Tiger & The Tooth

9/17/08 - Ella's tooth has finally shown itself in a picture! For a while I was afraid I would never get a good shot of it, but today she was feeling especially playful on the floor and I was able to take a bunch of shots (including a picture or two of her in her tiger suit :) )

Tooth number 2 is on it's way, I have a feeling it will be poking through any day now. Ella is really getting big and as Aunt Reah pointed out, she's looking more and more like a little girl than a little baby. She still loves her "big bear" and won't sleep without him. She enjoys her morning naps and LOVES squash (just like her mommy). Oh, and she's also come to like baths (finally!). Once we added bubbles, it's like a whole new experience, and she loves it.

Amelia's 1st Birthday!

Beautiful Little Birthday Girl, Amelia!

Ella and one of her little party favors! :)
The cakes!

9/13/08 - Ella attended her first party today and it was for her friend Amelia! :) Amelia was celebrating her 1st birthday and Ella had a great time helping her enjoy her day and her presents! :) She slept through the present opening, but woke up just in time to test out some of Mia's gifts and get a little gift of her own from Amelia's Mommy :)

Sleepyhead Crazy-hair

9/5/08 - Ella is still working away at her first tooth (the second will be coming out soon I think!), and nothing really new has been going on... other than the extreme craziness of her hair on a daily basis. I really love her curls, but I'm starting to worry that when we need them to be tame (e.g. Christmas pictures, church, family get togethers, etc) that they will be untame-able. Here is an example of the craziness that is Ella's hair after a morning nap :) (also, a close-up of her pretty little eyes, because I couldn't resist!)