Happy St. Patrick's Day!

We had a great St. Patrick's day and enjoyed a festive get together at Blackhawk Plaza with Irish Dancers, music and a giant Leprechaun!  Ella also enjoyed watching the ducks being feed.  Here are a couple of pics from Ella's first Irish Celebration!





Mimi's Visit...

This past week Mimi came to visit Ella, Lexi and Mommy while Daddy was in Atlanta. We had a great week and kept Mimi busy with all kinds of activities.  Here are a few pictures from her visit. 

We went to music class at Music Together!

Ate lots of good food!

Enjoyed the beautiful weather!

Loved the swing at the park!

9 months old

Ella turned 9 months old last week.  This past month has been a very busy and active one!  She is officially crawling EVERYWHERE and her favorite thing is to chase Lexi around the house - poor Lexi!  She is really coming into her personality and so far we can tell that she is going to be sweet, sensitive and she knows how to get something when she wants it!  She is also eating a lot more finger foods and her favorites are blueberry waffles, chicken, cheerios and avocado!

Here are a few other milestones from this past month:

• She got her second tooth on the bottom, so she has two full teeth on the bottom and we think the top two may be coming in soon.  She will definitely need more teeth for all the food she is eating!
• She ate her first teething biscuit - what a mess! She also loves Baby Mum Mum's which are a little less messy.
• She started eating a ton of new foods - cantaloupe, waffles, tofu (not her favorite), asparagus, cheese, turkey, yogurt, pineapple, cream cheese and many others!  She wants everything we are eating so she has tried just about everything.
• She had a little "accident" in the tub for the first time – what an experience! We knew it was going to happen sooner or later but when it did we were not as prepared - gross!  We are hoping that will be the last time that happens :-)
• She loves being outdoors, either in her exersaucer or in the stroller.  Usually she helps Lexi “hunt” for squirrels. Basically Lexi spots them and chases them out of the yard or up on the house! She also loves picnics where she shares all her food with Lexi. 
• She also got her first cold/flu which was so sad.  It lasted an entire week and she was absolutely pitiful (see picture below).  We are so glad that it's behind us!  

Here are a few pictures from this past month.



Pictures are getting a little harder to take...she does everything possible to NOT look at the camera!

One of the only ones where she is actually looking.

"What are you waiting for mommy...take the picture!"

She was about to crawl out the door!

They are becoming buddies! So sweet!

She loves playing in her room.

Enjoying the beautiful day

Eathing her first teething biscuit

Enjoying Lexi's food - she almost got some in her mouth!

Exploring...

Playing in her princess castle!

Riding in her stroller.

Picnic with Lexi

Sick baby :-(

Happy girl!

Happy Valentines Day!

Happy Valentines Day! 

We wanted to wish everyone a wonderful Valentine's Day!  We are so blessed to have such sweet and loving family and friends.

(Here is mommy's attempt at a "photo shoot" - she needs a little more practice)



8 months old

Ella turned 8 months old on February 2nd and what a month of milestones!   She is so much more active and so much louder which is funny at times and challenging during others - like when you are trying to have a conversation with someone and she wants to be the center of attention!  She also loves playing with her toys and watching Baby Einstein and her favorite song is the Mickey Mouse Hot Dog Dance! Here are a few of her many milestones this past month:

• She got her first tooth the day before her 8 month birthday and we think she is working on tooth number 2! She has done really well with teething and has not been really fussy - we think she is going to be a tough cookie!
• She kind of starting "crawling" but it's more like scooting everywhere.  She can get around in a complete circle, move herself backwards, but can not figure out how to move forward! We have a feeling she will master this before her 9 month birthday!
• She also started waving "hello" and "bye-bye".  She does it all the time now and even does it to herself in the mirror every morning when she wakes up.  It is so cute!
• She loves napping on her tummy now and has become really found of her bunny lovey when she sleeps.  She is always holding it in her crib and grabs it to snuggle as soon as we put her down.  We need to figure out a name for it, but for now we call her "Lovey".
• She started Music Together Class and loves it! We go every Wednesday morning and she loves the music and watching the other kids.  All the instruments go straight to her mouth but she kicks her little leg with the beat of the music and sometimes even tries to sing her own tune!
• She had her first experience with snow during our trip to Tahoe.  Of course she put it right in her mouth but it kept her entertained for awhile and it was fun watching her explore!  She also loved sledding and laughed every time she went down the hill (in mommy and daddy's lap of course)!
• And of course we can not forget that she experienced her first National Championship win!  War Eagle! We are hoping for an NCAA Championship win to make her daddy happy as well - fingers crossed!

Here are a few pictures from this past month:

A little harder to take the pictures now....

She is laughing at Lexi - she LOVES her!

Just hangin with her bunny friend!

Uh Oh....time to move the crib down!

All bundled up and ready to go for a walk when it was really cold out!

Playing with her many toys!

Starting to "crawl" while watching Baby Einstein

Crawling towards the camera

Still practicing....not quite to a full crawl yet....