Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree...

We *tried* to decorate the Christmas tree on Sunday night as a family, but before we started, Ella had to change into the proper attire...her reindeer Christmas pajamas and reindeer ears!


We then unloaded the ornament box, which was just WAY too much fun for Ella...





I say *tried* because Ella kept going for the glass ornaments, which meant daddy had to take her into the family room, which meant she screamed and banged on the gate until I came back into the family room and bribed her with crackers, which meant mama had to decorate the tree alone. Maybe next year.

Thanksgiving Week

Ella was excited because daddy took the whole week off so they got to spend lots of time together.  Mama got in there a bit too on Tuesday when, despite many of our friends being away for Thanksgiving week, we went to lunch with Kaitlyn and Ryan (that's a toothbrush Ryan is holding- he is very into oral hygiene!)...

Logan was supposed to meet us there too, but they accidentally went to the wrong CB...we missed you Logan!

On Tuesday night Ella had her very FIRST kid's meal when we went to dinner at BJs!  Kraft macaroni and cheese and steamed broccoli.

We had a wonderful turkey day!  I forgot to take any 'after' photos of the food, but I did get a 'before' of my second turkey ever (it turned out great!) and Gary's favorite rolls...


Ella wore her adorable brown Thanksgiving dress...


She cuddled with great-grandpa and for some reason had fun IN her toy basket...


She had so much fun with grammy, pop-pop, grandma, grandpa, cousin Brett, cousin Brice, Auntie Katie and Uncle Bryan...




We all gorged ourselves on turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, carrot souffle, sweet potato casserole, rolls and pumpkin pie!


Some family pics...




On Sunday, Ella went to church for the first time as a toddler (her nap schedule didn't coordinate with the mass schedule previously).

I learned a few things about church with a toddler:

(1) Only bring soft toys...so that when she throws them two rows in front of you on the concrete floor, the toy doesn't go BANG, BOOM, CLUNK, etc. as it bounces along the floor and you turn bright red, and then have to ask a random stranger to please pick it up for you.

(2) Sit in the area that has the most kids so that she enjoys watching them...and then gets jealous of all the toys that they have neatly lined up on the seats and attempts to crawl over her seat to get them. (This is also good so that when she yells "DA-DEE" at the top of her lungs during silent prayer, no one can identify that it's your child).

(3) Come with her favorite snack STOCKED. You know, the one that's like crack to her. Then keep them from her as long as possible so you don't run out in the middle of mass.

After church, Ella went to lunch with grandma and grandpa, and we went to pick out our Christmas tree!

She made a bee line for the Christmas trees, and then posed by the tree we picked with daddy...

HOLIDAY BAAZAR- Please Come Join Little Chicken!

Hi Everyone!  For those of you that read along and live in Southern California, please come stop by the Granola Babies Holiday Baazar on December 4th from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.  Little Chicken Baby Boutique will have a table at the baazar so you can see everything in person!  I have lots of *NEW* things that aren't listed on Etsy...loveys, blankets, diaper clutches, hair clips, etc. 

There will be other mom-owned boutiques featuring their products so please come and support local business and local moms!  Granola Babies is also owned by a great local mom.

The address is 2346 Newport Blvd. in Costa Mesa.  Click on link HERE .

I can't wait to see you!

It's Christmas in Newport Beach!

On Friday night we met up with a bunch of friends to watch the annual tree lighting at Fashion Island.  They even had snow!  Ok, I think it was bubble-ish stuff, but it looked like snow. :)

There was basically a mini-Broadway show before the lighting, and this was Ella's face the whole time they were singing and dancing...

Here she is with her friends Kaitlyn, Reagan and Logan...Ryan was there too, but he was getting his diaper changed during the picture!




She danced with Kaitlyn and even gave her a kiss goodbye. :)

She didn't want to leave, but she agreed to walk with daddy...


On Sunday, we went out for Japanese food for great-grandpa's 92nd birthday!

Sticky rice is really sticky...

It Finally Happened...

We knew it would happen, we just didn't know when.  Rylee finally decided to defend herself against her 2 1/2 foot tormentor.

It was actually completely by accident, as Rylee is the sweetest puppy ever and never so much as nips at Ella despite repeated hair pulling, hitting and chasing, but I bet Rylee got a little satisfaction after the fact. ;)

No Photo Weekend

I didn't take any photos this weekend, even though we did a lot of fun things!  Boo.  On Saturday we went to Mason's first birthday party- it was The Very Hungry Caterpillar theme, and his mama did such a good job!  I have one photo that I copied from their FB page...

On Saturday night, we went to grandma and grandpa's house for dinner and to spend time with family from Arizona who were in town.  On Sunday we went to the dog park (it was the first time Ella has gone since she could walk, so she had lots of fun, although I wasn't too jazzed about her falling all over the pee and poo infested grass.  Oh well.) and then to lunch at the Spectrum.  Ella played in the fountain by Target that spurts up water...next time we need to bring a bathing suit!  The weather was perfect.

Next big thing on the agenda is Thanksgiving at our house...I can't wait! 

Ella is 13 Months!

Ella turned 13 months yesterday...remember when you were little, and a month seemed like it took a year?  Then you have kids, and a month seems like it lasts an hour!

Officially, Ella still isn't talking (besides "nananana" and "dada"), however, unofficially, I think she's really trying.  She screeches and babbles all the time, and I think she tries to mimic us every once in a while but then won't say it again.  Like 2-3 weeks ago, my mom and I kept saying "pumpkin" to her, and she said "pump".  Was is a coincidence?  Maybe.  But she'd never said that before.  Two days ago, I said "where is Rylee?" and she said, "dom".  Or what sounded like it.  Then today, I said "where is the dog?" and she said "dog" and pointed at Rylee!  Sometimes when you say "hi" it sounds like she says "hello" or "hi" back to you.  But most of the time I think I'm just imagining it. ;)

We call her our little tornado because she is so destructive!  She's ripped the pages out of half of her books.  She makes a complete mess everywhere she goes...just like mommy!

We made the mistake of trying to change her milk/bottle schedule the day after the daylight savings change (stupid!).  We figured we may as well start weaning her off the bottle and not giving her milk before bed so her teeth don't rot.  So we tried her regular 7 a.m. bottle, then gave her milk in a sippy cup with her lunch at noon and then a bottle when she woke up from her afternoon nap.  Besides the fact that she didn't even finish 5 oz. of her lunch milk (she usually eats 8oz.) despite trying FOUR different cups, and that she clearly really wanted her bottle at bedtime, she woke up at 4:30 (which was 5:30 to her) for a bit and then woke up at 5:30 for the day because she was hungry!  We are back to the regular schedule and all bottles...whatever, I've never seen a teenager drinking milk from a bottle. ;)~

We recently moved her up to a size 4 diaper, but they are a little big.  She still loves broccoli and meat but will sometimes decide after a few bites she doesn't feel like it that day.  Her favorite food right now are those Trader Joes whole grain crackers...if she sees them or the box and you don't give her one, she'll cry!

Her personality is coming out more each day and is beyond adorable.  She is WAY more affectionate (so don't despair if you have one of those totally unaffectionate babies!).  She hugs us all the time, and she will give kisses sometimes without even being asked!  It melts my heart.  She also wants to be held a lot.  She still has not one bit of stranger anxiety and now that she's walking, she constantly walks up to people while they are eating and stares at them or takes things off their tables (or flirts with the boys!).  She makes lots of friends. :)

I have to go...Ella is literally biting the side of my computer as I type...

Weekend with Friends...

Ella got to spend lots of time with her friends this weekend.  On Friday, we went to lunch at Corner Bakery with a bunch of friends...Ella LOVED walking around the fountain, taking people's drinks off their tables and flirting with all the men!

On Saturday, Ella went to Chuck E. Cheese's for her friend Grace's 3rd birthday!  It was a little overstimulating for her at this age, but she still had a great time because lots of her friends were there.

First she rode with Stuart Little and played a hitting game with daddy...



Then she went down the slide.
This is how she started...and ended (she hasn't quite mastered the concept)...


She rode in Clifford with her BFF Olivia...


She wondered why all her tokens were disappearing...


She took pictures with her friends Paige and Olivia...


And was very interested when Chuck E. Cheese himself came out to say hi!


She watched Grace blow out her candles...


I couldn't get her to stand still long enough to get a photo, but here is a full length action shot (she's really walking!) of the dress grandma got her to wear to all the birthday parties she has coming up!