Ella's First Steps!

Ella took her first steps today!!! She took 2 steps at once and then she took another one a little later. She also stood by herself in her pack-n-play without holding on to the sides!! So exciting!!

Ella will be 11 months old on Thursday. I can't believe how fast this year has gone by. This time last year I was so big that I was waddleing...I was 34 weeks pregnant. It was also this time last year that I ended up in the hospital for gallstones and a 9mm kidney stone. Whew, boy was that fun!!

On another note, I think that Jon and I may join the YMCA gym. Our friend Jason joined and said that it's really nice. Jon and I both need to get in shape, me more than him. He's thin, but he wants to build more muscle and I really really need to lose some weight and strengthen my core before we have another baby. Because when I get pregnant again, not only will I be carrying the weight of the baby around but I'll also be toting Ella as well. We're going to the beach in the middle of November and I would love to lose a little weight before we go and tone my arms up some.

My best friend Amy and I have been talking about opening a little online boutique to sell some cloth diaper covers, hairbow, and some other crafts that we like to make. Nothing big, just something we can mainly do for fun and to get to spend more time together. We made the girls some hairbows the other night and we had so much fun. It's nice to get together because Ella and Hannah adore each other. Ella is completely mezmerized by everything that Hannah does. It's so cute! It's so much fun to watch them together. I hope that they are always good friends.

We went to Mom and Dad's for the family reunion last weekend. It was nice to see the family and everyone got to see Ella. She fell asleep not long after we got there and slept the rest of the time that we were there. Mom and Dad's new house is beautiful. They have done an amazing job decorating and fixing up the yard. It was nice to see them and for them to get to spend time with Ella.

Here are a few pictures of Ella that I've taken recently.

It's been a while.....

I can't believe it's been as long as it has since I've updated my blog. Things have been busy and I've just put it off. Well, I'm back and I'm not going to neglect it anymore.

So much has happened since I updated. Ella has 4 teeth now and she's crawling all over the place. She's started pulling up on the edge of whatever she can grab ahold of. We're getting a crib thing to go over the rails so she doesn't chew on them tomorrow. She's so much fun and she's into everything. She claps when you say, "Yay Ella" and she's all smiles and laughs.

I wanted to post about a recent loss of a dear friend. His name is Pat McAdams and he is probably the coolest person I have ever known. He was talented, incredibly smart, hilarious, generous, and extremely caring. I met him when I was working at Zero Gravity and we stayed friends. He moved to Florida last year and I didn't get to see him as much, but when I did it was like he never left. We talked on the phone, through the internet, and he would send me funny text messages. He was an amazing friend and we will always have a hole in our hearts that no one can fill. There has never been anyone like Pat and there never will be. He was the definition of unique. He will be greatly missed and my heart is broken at this loss. Someone at his memorial said something that rang very true with me. As sorry as we feel about his loss, I feel sorrier for the people who never knew him at all. We love you Pat!

I'll put some pictures of the Ella Boo up tomorrow.

The Perfect Day

Wow, it's been a while. I can't believe it's been so long since I updated the blog. To bring things up to date, Ella is sitting up and she is saying "Dada" all the time. It is the sweetest thing I've ever heard. She is the funniest, sweetest, and silliest baby ever.

Today was the most perfect day ever. Jon, Ella, and I slept in until about 10:30. Then we got up and got ready and went and ate brunch at Main Street Cafe. We went to Babies-R-Us and looked at car seats and then went to Rack Room Shoes and Jon got a pair of really nice brown shoes for his new job. Then we went to Bridgestreet and walked around. Jon found another pair of really nice more casual shoes. Ella got to ride in the big girl part of the stroller for the first time. She LOVED it!! She had so much fun looking around at everyone. It was a beautiful sunny day. Then we went home and Jon and I got cleaned up. We took Ella to Auntie Ambers house at about 5:15 and went to Carraba's to eat. While we were waiting for a table Jon and I went in the Gap and got him several shirts on sale. Then we ate and it was so yummy! We even ordered Tirimisu to bring home for later! Then we went to Ross to look around and then we went to the book store and looked at magazines and books for a while. We went and picked Ella up, loved on her for a while, and then put her to bed. We sat on the couch and watched Saturday Night LIve and ate our dessert then went to bed. It was a wonderful family day. Jon and I had a wonderful date and Ella had a great time with Auntie Amber, Auntie Regina, and Uncle Tom.

I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful husband and such a precious daughter. Spending the day together, just the 3 of us, was so great. Jon and I are going to try to do the "date night" thing once a month. Even if it's just to go to the bookstore and have a cup of coffee together. It was really fun!!!

I'll post some pics of Ella Boo tomorrow.

Ella's Sitting Up!!!

Ella starting sitting up on her own this weekend while we were in TN. She's pretty good at it as long as she doesn't get to much to one side or the other or too much to the back. She's very proud of herself. She's a monkey. Here's a little video of her sitting up tonight after her bath. She's does pretty well and she's enjoying chewing on her brush. It looks like she's propped up against the pillow, but she's not. She's sitting up on her own. Hope you enjoy.

6 Months Old!!

So I'm a terrible mother. I didn't post on her 6 month birthday. I think I'm in denial that she's 6 months old. Half a year has gone by since she came into our lives and I can barely remember what it was like before she was here. She can roll over both ways now and is trying to sit up on her own. She eating baby food now and her favorite is carrots and sweet potatoes. She's the light of our lives. I'll post some pictures at the end of the post.


We're going to TN next weekend to see Jon's parents. We were going to go this weekend, but the threat of snow and dangerous weather scared us away. They were supposed to get about 6 inches.....they got 1/4 of an inch. Isn't that always the way!! I'm excited to go. It's always nice to get up there to see everyone.


Here are some pictures of the bug!! Happy Half Birthday Baby Girl!!!


Ella 1 Hour Old


Ella 6 Months Old

It's Been a While

It's been a while since I posted. Lots of stuff going on. We went to Kelley's for Christmas. We had so much fun. Ella's Christmas was wonderful and we all really enjoyed being together. Right now I'm sick. Thankfully Jon and Ella haven't contracted whatever virus I have and I hope that they don't because I feel terrible. Ella is growing like a weed. She's getting bigger every day. She's rolling over all the time, just from her back to her stomach. She's only gone from her belly to her back once. Now when she gets on her stomach she gets really mad. Whenever you lay her down on her back she immediantly flips over. It's so cute.

When I put her down for her nap today I layed her on her tummy for the first time to sleep. It made me a nervous wreck and I checked on her every 5 minutes, but she seemed to really like it. She slept for about 3 1/2 hours straight for her nap. Amazing! We may be doing the tummy sleeping for every nap.

I'm going to try to get better about posting more regularly. Things have just been so hectic. I don't even know if anyone reads this. That's ok if no one does. I really do this more for me, so I can remember what goes on in our lives. If you read the blog, leave a comment for me so I know you're reading. It's nice to know if someone's out there.