Dinner

....did not go well tonight, despite the smiles.

Food was everywhere.

Since Ella was covered in food, she got to enjoy a bath tonight.

Maybe that was her plan all along!

What could be sweeter?

The Children's Museum

Saturday was free day at the children's museum. We were glad we didn't have to pay for this. But Ella seemed to enjoy herself. She especially loved watching all the other kids run around.

Driving the bus!

Playing in the "bedroom." What do you know? The first thing she went for were the books!

Happy 15 months!

Holy moly, our baby is 15 months old! What a milestone! She is doing so much and having so much fun, it just amazes us. Here's a short list which I'll continue to add to in the next few days as I think of things. :)

1. Points at everything!
2. Loves to waves.
3. Now runs all over. Yes, runs!
4. Can follow lots of different directions. (Put the lid on the box, go get the duck and bring it to me, etc)
5. Blows kisses.
6. Constantly bringing books to us to read to her. (She loves to read!)
7. Stomps her feet at our feet when she wants to be picked up. (Doesn't say up though.)
8. Loves putting items into boxes, baskets, bins, etc.
9. Loves playing with her Little People.
10. Claps all the time.
11. Mimics almost everything we do. The way we dance, a funny face, etc.
12. Tucks food she doesn't want to eat on the side of her in her high chair or into the pocket of her bib. (She tries to be sneaky!)
13. Sticks out her tongue when we ask to see it. She loves doing this!
14. Loves grabbing everyone else's nose.
15. Walks up the stairs. Literally. Walks holding onto our hands, alternating feet on each step. She no longer crawls up steps and hasn't for a couple months now at least.
16. Uses her spoon to eat her oatmeal. (We put the food on the spoon, she does the rest.)
17. Loves being chased, flung up into the air, and occasionally hung upside down. :)
18. Often walks to the stairs and waits when she's tired and ready for a nap or bed.
19. Another way of her telling us she's tired and wants to go to sleep is pointing to her crib when we're reading to her in her room.
20. Playing peek-a-boo remains a favorite game. Behind couches, with a blanket, anything really!

Who doesn't enjoy a good apple?!

First trip to the Zoo

We took Ella to the zoo on Monday and she had a great day. She loved seeing all the animals and was pointing at everything. It was so much fun to see her take it all in. And she sure was exhausted after spending the afternoon taking in all the sights as she conked out right away on the car ride home. We'll definitely have to go back soon.

On the tram to see the primates!

Checking out a weird fish.

Looking at all the reindeer.

The camels were pretty neat!

Ella wanted to run all over the place so....this picture speaks for itself.


What a fun day!

Ribbon Fun

It's the simple things that we enjoy around here. :)

She's very serious working that ribbon! She studies everything so carefully.





:)

First popsicle!

Ella enjoyed a pinneapple popsicle today. :)



TGIF!!!! We've got a fun weekend planned!

Peek-a-boo!

Ella has many variations of this game. :)






What fun!

Duck!

For the past several months Ella's babbled all over the place. Mama, dada, hi... But lately we're able to distinguish more of what she's saying! It's so cute. Her new favorite word is "duck" and she says it all day long. When she's in the tub and picks up her rubber ducky she starts saying "duck, duck, duck, duck." When we read a book and she sees a duck in it, she points to it and says "duck, duck, duck, duck." She even pointed out the ducks when we were out for our walk today and we went by the pond where ducks usually hang out. She saw them before I did! Then when we were playing in the living room today she started saying "duck, duck, duck" and I looked to see what she was looking at, and sure enough! There was a toy duck laying on the floor! And she is so proud of herself. I'm betting her language is going to explode over the next couple months. What an exciting time!!!

My little blondie... :)

My Love

Every day is now Christmas in our house. Ella's new favorite book is a one about Christmas. She brings this book to me several times a day. We look at the pictures and I ask her to find the dog, the balloons, train, and other things. She's getting really good at it and really enjoys it. It's so awesome to watch her learning so much.

Here are just some recent pictures of her. Such a love!

Have I said how much this little face melts my heart?

Enjoying her lunch...where much laughter usually occurs. Check out her molar on her left side! It's all the way through and it's never seemed to bother her or make her even a little bit grumpy. Really, it's amazing how nothing seems to bother this little girl. (You can kind of see the other molar on her right side making its way through too.)

Her latest fun high chair activity is dropping her sippy cup over the side, and making sure I'm watching, of course. I've started catching it which just makes her laugh up a storm. She thinks it's hilarious when she doesn't hear it hit the ground and I place it back on her tray right after she's let go. What a hearty laugh she has!

A funny pic of Ella during lunch today....getting feisty! :)

Bath time. Another place sure to get laughs.

Attacking mommy!

Check out the crazy hair!

Time for bed.

The days are so much fun with this little sweetie. What a wonderful gift she is.