Bath time fun!

Ella loves splashing around in the big tub! She was starting to make way too much of a mess in the kitchen sink!

Ella, who's your friend on your head? :)


Gotta have the naked bum shot. ;)

:) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

The verdict is in

Yogurt is GOOD! Seriously though, I think Ella loves everything. (Well, except for green beans. They are a definate no.)



She's been eating some more finger foods, though she still prefers mommy or daddy to put it in her mouth for her. :) So far she's tried:
puffs
rice
rotini
toast
crackers
soft fruits (she ate almost an entire pear this morning in fact. She's crazy for pears.)
cheese
I think that's it so far. We're going to try blueberries and cottage cheese this week. We're taking our time trying new things. Hopefully she'll continue to be such an easy eater!

We went to mass tonight and honestly, going to church every week is becoming one of my favorite things to do with Ella. As I've mentioned before, she absolutely loves it there. Just so happy!! She is all eyes looking all around. There's just so much to take in for her. And she is all smiles at EVERYONE. I watch her smile at people and they all seem so thrilled to have Ella smile and throw her head back at them. She seems to make everyone smile. While we were singing, Ella seemed to join in as well. Even after the hymn ended Ella was still "singing." People couldn't help but turn around and smile at her. It was so cute. She doesn't cry or whine and anything in church. She truly seems very content and happy to be there. What a sweetie.

Tooth #4 has arrived

Ella's top left tooth is poking through. She has four teeth already. She's started grinding her teeth even and the sound is just atrocious. Poor little thing, she must be hurting. :(

We've been very cautious about feeding Ella finger foods since she choked on that puff a few weeks ago. She's been eating crackers though and soft, ripe fruit pieces and even a piece of pasta and doing very well with them. I gave her more puffs today and this time without soaking them down in water first. (Though I still cut them in half to make them even smaller. ;)) It was exciting that she actually picked a piece of it up and brought it to her mouth and ate it! Prior to this she's been just picking pieces of food up, squishing it in her hand, then throwing it on the floor. So, she's making progress! She also started yogurt yesterday and really seemed to enjoy it. This is such a fun and exciting time.

Where has the time gone?

Ella's now been out in the world as long as she was "in." She turned 9 months old today. It amazes me. I still sometimes wonder where she came from.

Ella spent most of the day walking back and forth between her tables and to me. It was funny watching her go back and forth. You can see her so thoughtfully and carefully pick up each foot and pull it in to take each step. I can't believe she's taking steps! She kept walking to me too and I have to say, it was wonderful! She would walk to me, wrap her arms around me, then walk back to her table. So amazing.

On a side note, another tooth must be on its way in. She seems to get a new tooth at the beginning of each month. She was not in much of a mood to get her picture taken today, but she's still my sweet little angel.



Ella in the big tub having fun!

Happy Easter!!

Ella had a wonderful first Easter. Her grandpa and grandma from NY came to visit and they just couldn't get enough of her. Of course, they hated to leave, and we hated to see them go. Ella's got this new laugh thing going on too, and she was full of smiles and laughter all weekend long. She throws her head back and laughs--much like how mommy laughs with her. It's absolutely adorable and wonderful. She also never wants to sit anymore. She looooves to stand...and walk!! I hold her hands and she actually takes steps to me! So exciting!! We're so surprised that Ella can take actual steps and "walk," but just seems to have skipped over crawling. She is such a joy, the sweetest little thing.

We went to church this morning and that is just one of her favorite places. She was smiling at everyone! She was very tired though, and eventually conked out on grandma's shoulder. After mass Ella got a blessing from the priest which was beautiful. We had a great roast dinner later and Ella enjoyed sweet potatoes, some turkey and some *real* beef! She wasn't that excited about it at first but kept opening her mouth for more. It was so cute. She has such an appetite! She sure loves to eat! As soon as she goes into her highchair she starts smiling and flapping her arms, clearly getting excited to eat. Awww...

Here's my little cutie!! She's got the biggest smile!

Mmm...easter eggs! Yum, yum!



My little bunny. Could she be any cuter? :)



Happy Easter from us all!

She's moving!

No pictures to post today, but I wanted to write that Ella took some steps tonight! Her grandma and grandpa M brought her a table to play with. She "walked" a few steps from one table to the next! (All that work that daddy makes her do in "walking" to me every night is paying off! :)) It was very cool. She did it a few times holding on to the tables. So very exciting! So perhaps Ella will skip crawling all together and just go to walking. I can't wait until she really gets cruising around! Yay for Ella! :)

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Ella says "May the Luck 'o the Irish be with ya!"

Little Bunny

Little Ella has a third tooth coming through. It's on the bottom left. No top teeth yet to be seen or felt. Here's what Ella thinks of this tooth getting through!

Check out my new hat!

Ella was grumpy for a couple days and not the gentlest nursing baby. I think we've figured out why! Now that it's on its way through, Ella's back to her smiley, cheerful self and is nursing like a nice little baby. :)

We love our little bunny sooooo much!!

Did you say sippy cup??

What for?? I don't need a sippy cup! I'll show you!

Mmmm...water in a glass without a lid! Lemme at it!!

See mom?? Told you I could do it!

Dad can I get some more please?? Fill 'er up!

In honor of our favorite author....

And... I really enjoyed my sweet potatoes and turkey dinner even though my face says otherwise! The camera sometimes has a way of turning me into a deer in headlights! Don't let the look on my face fool you. It was DEEE-licious!!

It's almost St. Patty's Day!?

Who is this card from mommy?? Grandma and grandpa M sent me a St. Patty's day card??

Hmm... let's see what they have to say...

I like the leprechan on the front...

Thanks grandma and grandpa M! I love you too!

I can't wait for St. Patty's day! I have a neat shirt to wear that day. Can't wait to show everyone!

Smiley, Happy girl

Ella can really be tons of fun. She's gotten really, really into a good game of peek-a-boo with her mommy. She lets out these loud squeals of laughter - it's the greatest sound! She loves to read too - she's really becoming a voracious reader. I think all that practice turning the page on her leapfrog table is paying off. When we read board books she turns all the pages, which is pretty cool. She definitely has her favorite books, but I'm happy to report she's branching out to other books besides those just by our beloved Dr. Seuss. ;)

Ella apparently found something really, really funny!

Almost kind of crawling

I can tell Ella is really wanting to get moving, but I don't think she trusts her legs enough yet, though she does do some backwards scooting. She tends to get very frustrated when her toys are just out of her reach. Here she is going for her magnet toy today. She has great balance - Check her out!

Almost there...

Gotcha!

I did it!

This is what happens...

when daddy feeds Ella dinner. :)

Just because

I love my happy little girl so much.

You want me to what??

Mommy thinks that if she sets up my CD player out of my reach, that'll get me to crawl to it.
I'm thinking about doing it....

Getting excited! I really want to play with it. I love hearing the cow moo.

I decided I just wanted to be on my tummy instead. I'm not really into this crawling thing. Mommy says I'm content just sitting and playing with my toys and that I get this from my daddy. He's really laid back like I am!


I sure do like this plastic ball!