You are my Sunshine

The weather has been amazing the  past two days in Texas, so we have been taking advantage of the park by our house.  We made the mistake of going when the middle school let out on Tuesday.  There were teenagers perched all over the playground and I had to ask them to get off the baby swings so that Ella could play.  They also smeared nasty pizza slices all over the dino slide.  I was pissed.

E loves, loves, loves the slide now that she can climb on the sides.  I know she looks silly in this hat, but it was super sunny when we left the house and it was in her eyes.  Plus, I love how her cheeks hang over the little strap.

and my absolute favorite...

Vacation = No Baby!

I was dreading leaving Ella since we bought our plane tickets to Breckenridge months ago, but I knew I had to put my big girl panties on and let E spend the weekend with Grammie.  Turns out, I had nothing to worry about.  Bobby and I had a great time with our friends and Grammie taught Ella how to sleep in her pack and play for nap time - no more swing for Miss E!

A blizzard hit Denver the morning of our flight, but luckily we made it with no delays.  We had our first wildlife sighting within the first hour that we were there.

A momma and baby moose!!  We have been looking for these guys for years and they just wandered through the back yard looking for a snack.  They do not like Wheat Thins.

We went skiing, shopped in town and ate way too much.  Simon taught us how to do the Bernie and Brittnee curled my hair!  Successful weekend.

It was actually nice to have a little break from mommy duty, but I was dying to get back to the bug.  Look what I found when I woke up the next morning!  SO happy to be home!!

ELLA GROWS!! 9 Months!!

Ella's Stats:

Height:  28 inches     65th percentile
Weight:  17.3 lbs       36th percentile
Head:  17.7 inches    83rd percentile

Ella did a great job at her appointment and didn't even make a peep when they pricked her toe to check her iron levels.  Can you believe how huge her head is?!  Dr. Terry say that she was verbally advanced based on how chatty she was during the appointment.  I think that means that I am going to be in big trouble when she really starts talking.

Teeth:
TWO!  Her two little bunny teeth are so cute!  She has figured out how to bite when she is done eating and I really don't appreciate it. I think she is teething again because the drool monster is back.

Food:
She likes everything and is exploring lots of new foods.  Some new favorites are cheese, noodles, black beans, broccoli, pancakes and canadian bacon.  It is so much easier feeding her real food rather than purees and I think she likes it a lot better too.  She has started to self wean after our trip to Breckenridge, so she has been having 1-2 formula bottles a day.  Grammie taught her how to hold her bottle and she hangs out and watches Sesame Street while eating.

Awesome Stuff She is Doing:

Ella is standing with support and climbing all over things. Scooting/army crawling is her preferred method of transportation, but I think normal crawling will come very soon. She loves playing with her stacking cups and Scout puppy the most.  Clapping at everything is really fun too. 

She is always chatting and examining the world around her. Ella loves to repeat sounds like "oooh",  "ahh" and of course "dada". I will tell her to say "mama" and she immediately yells "dada"...not cool Ella.  She is obsessed with bath time and can empty her tub by splashing all of the water out.

Her little pointer finger kills me.  Busy, busy, busy.  Pointing at Chloe's ear, a speck of dirt on the ground, a freckle on my arm, all of the buttons on the remote.  I pinched that little pointer in her carseat buckle and she lost it.  I injured her favorite exploration tool - it broke my heart.  She has a little blister on it now :(

We finally cleared out the office to make room for all of her toys.  We painted and replaced the carpet and I think she likes it already.  I have grand plans for this room but a tiny budget, so we will see what we end up with over the next couple months.  

We are crazy in love with this little nugget and I am so thankful that I get to spend my days with her.  She is growing so quickly and becoming more and more independent.  I don't like it. 

3 more months until the big ONE!!

Crazy Lady

Girlfriend has been extra funny the past couple of days...

She Speaks!

Ella says Mama Dada now... so annoying.  She likes cheese too.

Christmas in Breckenridge!

Ella woke up with a fever the day before we were supposed to leave for Breckenridge. It was her first time to be sick and I might have overreacted a bit. She has a stuffy nose and was in a grumpy mood, but her fever never got about 101. I took her to the doctor just to make sure she would be ok to fly. I didn't want her eardrums to explode on the plane!

Dr. Terry gave the the OK to fly and said she just had a little virus.  Broke my heart.

Traveling with Ella is always an adventure. We learned a lot on her first plane ride and timed things much better the trip. Bottle during takeoff = passed out baby for most of the flight. She even got some compliments from our fellow passengers!  Go Ella! We also won't be taking her stroller to the gate anymore because wearing her in the Bjorn was so much easier and she loved checking out all the Christmas travel craziness at the airport. We always arrive super early to allow time to hand check the stroller and Ella's milk at security. They completely ignored her milk so good thing I wasn't carrying on explosives...

I love renting cars through National - you get off the bus and get to pick any car you want in the lot!  I had lots of fun walking up and down the aisles. Bobby wanted a Dodge Charger and I wanted a cute little Volvo thing but neither one would fit all of our luggage. I am amazed by the amount of crap a 16lb baby needs. We settled for the family Ford Taurus and it was actually really nice. Unfortunately, the drive to mountains was a bit disappointing due to the lack of snow.  

We arrived and Ella got some snuggle time with Grandma and Grandpa. We ate a ton of food, shopped around town and waited for Santa to come.

This is Fred.

Fred drove Jake and Biz nuts. Fred likes PowerBars. 

Christmas morning arrived and Santa Grandpa and Santa Grandma came!!  

Ella started opening her presents.  She got a new baby doll, sparkle Toms and an activity table!  

Can you say spoiled?! 

Such a happy girl!

We bundled up the bug and took her on her first walk in the mountains. 

We spent the rest of the day hanging out and eating an enormous amount of food.  

We woke up the next day and hit the slopes. I haven't skied in two years because of that whole pregnancy thing and I was treated with my kind of ski day - sunny and warm! I busted my butt on the last run of the day and jacked my knee a little.  

Ella was the cutest baby ever in her fur hat!! Jake likes it too!

This is the face she makes when she is yelling for attention.  Kills me every time. 

Our trip home was pretty uneventful. Ella was a little fussy on the plane but fell asleep after take off. I forgot to pack her vegetable for dinner so I think she was a little hungry - ooops!  

Ella had a wonderful first Christmas - Santa Grandpa and Grandma must have thought we were all very good last year! I think I gained 5 lbs, but it was totally worth it. We hope you all had the best Christmas and Happy New Year!  We can't what to see what 2012 has in store for Miss E!  

Ella Grows!! 8 Months!!

Baby girl is 8 months old!!  I can't even believe how fast time is flying.  I wish I could press pause and keep her tiny forever, but I am obsessed with the little person she is becoming.  She is hilarious with a spunky personality and is laughing most of the day. She has sweet snuggle moments and adores her daddy. 

Taking her monthly picture is getting more and more difficult.  Proof:

Teeth:
ONE!!! and one more on the way. I feel like this little tooth tried to pop through for weeks and I am so glad it finally cut through. The drool has almost stopped, but I know it will pick back up as soon as the next one is ready.

Mommy and Ella at Zoe's 4th birthday party

Food:
She is still loving almost everything except for avocado and peas. She is doing a great job with her sippy cup and we are starting cheerios and tiny vegetables next week!

Ella has been making this funny face when she eats the past couple days. She also does it when looking in the car seat mirror in the back of the car. Weirdo.

Awesome Stuff Ella is Doing:
E went to her first bar to see Uncle Mike. She is such a daddy's girl and has even started to say dada. I am pretending that she doesn't really know what it means, but she always says it a lot when Bobby gets home from work. Ugh.

Happy Hour at Red's and Top Golf! 

    

Monkey is a master sitter now! She finally decided that sitting is fun and has stopped lunging forward the moment her booty hit the ground. She is scooting all over the place and I think she will start crawling super soon.

My sweet face lovie bug

Oh my how she's grown!!

I have already started planning Ella's birthday party...is that weird?