Holiday Weekend

We had a very busy and fun holiday weekend!

On Friday, Ella and I went to lunch with Holly and Quinn...E was all over Q trying to pull of his bib and socks.  Q is about 2 months younger than E so Gary says E is a "cougarette". ;)  I'm trying to teach her that she needs to be demure and make the boys chase HER!

On Saturday, we went to a bbq in Holly and Kristin's development, which is right by our house.  Ella didn't try to rip Quinn's clothes this time, but she did have quite a conversation with Audrey.

On Sunday, we went down to San Diego to visit Katie, Bryan and Brett and see their new house.  Katie is due in a few weeks so it's probably the last time we'll see her pregnant!

Brett was very nice and shared all his toys with Ella.

Including his Tickle Me Elmo, which Ella thought was hilarious at first...

But then she decided it was too much, and we got the infamous quivering lip...

Brett gave Uncle Gary a high five.

And Ella wore her cute Amy Coe bling sandals so she would look nice for her cousin. ;)

When we got home, she decided to take a dip in the pool because it was so nice out.

But quickly decided the water was too cold and wanted out.  Fast.

On Monday, we went to a bbq at my parents' house to celebrate Memorial Day.  When we got home, we hung out with the neighbors out front.  Ella was squealing watching the older kids play in the street...she loves our next door neighbors!

I love long weekends...especially when it's 80 degrees outside!!!

Teeth?

And the most important news of the day...ELLA HAS TEETH!...Alex said Ella was pretty fussy in between her two naps, which is unusual for her, she hasn't been eating today, and then at the end of the day, Alex thought she noticed something on her gums.  So I rubbed my finger along her bottom gums and felt what I think might be two little sharp teeth coming in!  We couldn't see them because she won't let us open her mouth or even keep her head still, but I definitely felt them!  My baby's growing up!

Friends and Blankets and Sewing, Oh My!

I finished Ella's blanket this weekend, and I think it turned out great! It's really big and cuddly, and when I wrapped Ella in it, she seemed to love cuddling with it.

The white minky dot.

And a bunch of my little chicken modeling for me.

On Saturday night we had Geoff, Michelle, Peyton & Logan over for dinner. Ella is in LOVE with the girls. She was mesmerized by them, and consequently, in the best mood ever! Even though she does like and is interested in other babies, I think the older girls were just too cool for school to her. ;)

I spent most of the rest of the weekend sewing and designing...the creative juices are flowing!

I Can Do It Myself!

We bought Ella a sippy cup with handles and a nipple (well I guess it's not really a sippy cup then!) a few months ago, but she wasn't having it.  I think partially (or mostly) because it has a 'no drip' nipple so she probably has to suck really hard to get the milk out.  Anyway, the girls in my infant group were talking about starting sippy cups so I thought I'd try again today, and look what happened...

Ok granted there was a continuous stream down the side of her face, but she did it!  She's well on her way to holding a beer bottle just like daddy (I kid, I kid). ;)

And this is what happens when you leave a baby on the floor next to your wrap shirt for about 2.1 seconds.

Bed Head?

How does someone with virtually no hair that sleeps on her stomach wake up with hair like this?

 I think you can see it better in this one...

Good Daddy

Look at those two.  Sweetness.  It's so easy to get caught up in the daily junk...take out the trash, make dinner, you need to do this, you need to that, that we don't always stop to appreciate the little things. 

I didn't have much doubt that Gary would be a great daddy because I don't think I've ever seen someone so hands on with and overprotective of a DOG, however, he has always been very awkward with children and freely admits that he had never changed a diaper or really even been around kids/babies. 

You always worry a little when you have a girl because so much of their confidence and self worth will come from their daddies.  Their heroes.  Their knights in shining armor.  And there is really nothing you can do about it...you can't force someone to be a good dad or *want* to spend time with their child.

Little did I know, I had zero to worry about.  Seeing how good he is with her, and how much he adores her melts my heart.  He loves being with her.  They are like little buddies.  He never complains when I go run errands for hours on end, or when I leave right when he gets home for a girl's night out.  And not just because he knows he 'has' to take care of her, but because he actually enjoys it.

It really is the little things in life.

First Angel Game

We took Ella to her first Angel game...sort of by default- we had no one to babysit!  It turned out much better than I had anticipated.  The only time she cried was after the first two big cheers because it scared her.  I guess she got used to it after that because she was perfect for the rest of game.  We even stayed for 7 1/2 innings, which shocked us because we didn't think we'd make it past 5!  We probably could have stayed longer, but she was really rubbing her eyes, and you know what sticklers we are when it comes to nap time. ;)

As usual, we could not get a picture of Ella and Olivia looking the same direction (or at the camera), so this the best we could do!

Our usher, James, finally got to meet what was in my belly all last season, and he gave her a "My 1st Angel Game" sticker.

This is how the day ended...

Ella Talks?

In more important news...we think Ella really started talk/babbling today!  While she was bouncing in her jumper, she kept saying "ba ba ba ba ba ba ba" and "ba ma ba ma ba ma".  We, of course, think she is trying to say "bounce bounce bounce" because whenever she is jumping we always say that over and over and over. 

All I have to say is that *I* think this means she said mama first.  Before dada.  That's my story, and I'm stickin' to it.

My Little Model

Here are some photos of Little Miss E modeling one of my creations. ;)

On an unrelated note, I'm doing a 7 day cleanse this week to rid my system of toxins (not the one where you only drink water with lemon and cayenne pepper- I couldn't do that one for an hour).  I don't know if I can last 7 days.  I was clearly not meant to only eat fruits, vegetables, grains and beans.  I want a cheeseburger.  I almost cried yesterday watching a Food TV show called, "Top 10 Best Bakeries"...what I wouldn't give for a cinnamon roll the size of my head.  I'm really trying though.  We even went on a walk yesterday with Holly and Quinn, and then went on ANOTHER walk in the afternoon with Rylee!

Don't be surprised if you see me alone in Taco Bell with enough food for ten.  Just pretend like you don't see me please.

7 Months Old

 Ella was 7 months old on Saturday, but I forgot to post her monthly update!  You'll notice the monthly sign isn't in either of the photos above...that's because this is what happened the second I set the sign down...

Ella weighs about 17 pounds now.  She eats 5 bottles a day, all about 6 oz. each except her 11 p.m. dream feed, where she will only take 1-3 oz.  We try to give her solids at least once a day- so far, she's had peas, green beans, squash, sweet potatoes, carrots and pears.

She wears a size 2 diaper and 6-9 month in most clothes (although she still easily fits into 3-6 month sizes in Gymboree and Naartjie).

She sleeps through night, 6:30 p.m. to 6 or 6:30 a.m.  No matter what time we put her to bed, we cannot seem to get her to sleep past 6:30 a.m.!  And at least once a week, she'll wake up at 5:30 a.m. for the day.  Luckily, she'll just quietly talk to herself in her crib until daddy gets her up around 6:15.

She loves dogs and loves to people watch.  Even when she's tired, if you walk her around somewhere like the Spectrum, she won't make a peep while she stares at all the people walking by.  She loves to laugh and is a truly happy baby.  She will let anyone hold her and remains calm and happy even if Gary and I leave the room.  Even though she doesn't have any sort of separation anxiety yet, I think she's a mama's girl right now because she gets exceptionally happy when I come into the room.

She 'talks' more and more each day, and I swear I heard her say 'mama' twice when we were in Vegas!  She is sitting up unassisted all the time now, and only tumbles over occasionally.  We wonder if she will ever crawl because she seems to use rolling as her mechanism of choice to get where she wants to be...she rolls all over the place!  Every time she gets up on her knees, she rolls over.

She brings so much happiness into our lives, and every single day is better than the last.  We feel so blessed to be the lucky ones that get to be her parents.  Life is good.

Happy Mother's Day Weekend!

Of course Sunday, the day we went to the beach for brunch, turned out to be sort of cloudy and windy! Nevertheless, we had a wonderful brunch at The Beachcomber, and Ella saw the beach for the first time (or at least the first time close-up since she's seen it lots of times while driving down PCH)!

View from our table...

Craftiness Part Deux- Flower Onesie

We saw these in a cute boutique in Vegas so I decided I'd make one...

It looks really cute on too, but I will say, it may be better suited for newborns who don't try to pull it off. ;)  Or photo shoots as opposed to all day wear!

Fun Day!

Julie and Ava came to play with us today, and it was so good to see them.  I'm used to seeing Julie everyday at work so I miss her!  Ava has the prettiest big blue eyes, and don't get me started on how good Julie looks only 3 months after giving birth!

This is Ella's "hey, wait a minute sucka" look...

The "HELLO lady, pay attention to me"...

Then she decided she wanted to hug her friend...

But then, she thought it would be a good idea to kick her in the face & head...and grab her pants?...is Gary teaching her mixed martial arts?

Before J & A came over, I let Ella go down with a lovey because she had been crying in her crib.  I went in to go get it out of the crib after she was asleep, and I found her smooshed against her bumper with her arm stuck up behind her back, yet still clutching onto her lovey!

After our visit from J & A, it was time for me to have a mom's night out with Molly and Jennifer...woot woot!  Ms. preggers even drove me so that I could drink...thanks Molly!

Cuteness & Photography

This post is partially a photo drop-off of the utter cuteness that is my little love bug, but also, to admit that I STILL shoot in "P" program mode 99.99% of the time and to beg for a photography intervention!

These were taken with my 35mm 1.8, but they still aren't sharp enough or bright enough (and the room was pretty well lit with natural light).  I wish someone would come into my room and say, you need to shoot with aperture 2.4 and shutter of 1/500 or whatever in this room.  I just can't figure it out!  Admittedly, it's hard to figure out when you a.l.w.a.y.s. shoot in P mode, but whenever I try to shoot in manual, I just get frustrated!  You'll notice these pictures are mostly too dark, and then also some sort of blurry (the feet shots). 

Ella is loving this position lately...halfway stuck under our bed...go figure.

These all turned out slight dark...

And then these are blurry-ish and the color is off or washed out? (But don't you just want to eat those little feet?!)

These two just constantly crack me up...such love.