Ella and Daddy

Ella has not always been the most friendly to her Daddy. After she was born, she would just scream at him if Mom left. Not much has changed in that department, so I always love catching the moments showing that she is connecting with Daddy more and more! Here are a few from the last few months and how I imagine Ella would tell you about them.

Wearing his shoe:
I love wearing parent shoes. I can put my foot, shoe and all, inside Daddy's shoes!

Snuggling daddy:
Sometimes I will snuggle up on Daddy's lap to read a story or some scriptures from his phone. Just sometimes so it is still a special treat.

Bed Time:
Daddy may be the best bedtime story teller. I'm always handing him more books at bedtime

Animal Train:
Daddy's always have the most fun games like putting all of the animal friends on the stacking train for a ride.

Day letter:
Mom loves Daddy too. We wrote him a note telling him how awesome we think he is!

"Tummy Time"
I never liked tummy time as a newborn. I would just scream and cry. I do love sitting on Daddy's tummy and doing the "people on the bus go up
and down." I also like playing his tummy like a drum. Tummy time has grown on me.

Pillow Talk:
Sometimes I'll lay my head on a pillow and insist that Daddy lay his head on the other pillow. It is lots of fun for a few minutes, anyway.

Christmas Time!

I probably should have written this post a long time ago.  Unfortunately life gets busy, and it's hard to keep up with everything -- and I don't even seem to be all that busy compared to other people.

Ella was surprised by all the extra things in the room on Christmas morning, but she was most intrigued by the raisins she found in her stocking.  First, she just thought they were fun to shake.  She the realized that it could be opened, and she spent what seemed like an hour up on her activity tower playing with her raisins (note that she didn't seem at all interested in eating them, even though we showed her that's what they were for).  After she got tired of the raisins, we finally started opening our presents.

We got lots of presents from people (thank you everyone!) and a few generous people even gave us lots of what we gave Ella this year.  She got a set of stacking blocks, a Mega Blocks set, a bunch of books, a set of tea cups, a Winnie the Pooh bear, and even a set of musical instruments.  While everything was a hit (even the Ritz crackers), I think that Pooh bear was more like infatuation.  She clung to Pooh even more than she does with mommy.  Luckily, she got a little less attached and still likes to play with him.

December Fun

I know you can't all drop by and see little pieces of our lives.This post is going to be a few of vignettes from the month of December so you can feel like you just dropped in a few times and caught us being absolutely normal.

Ella the Mail Carrier

I'm pretty sure Ella considered mail delivery as a career for at least a day. We went to the mailbox cluster and she opened and closed the unlocked package lockers for at least 10 minutes.

Walking with Friends

Our friends Miss Anah and Ollie come over to walk and talk with us. We all love to get out and see friends! This day was a little wet and cool, but we had fun seeing each other anyway.

Learning to Color

Ella has been working on her coloring skills for a while. If you consider pulling crayons out of the box and then putting them back in coloring skills. This month she finally started to actually try drawing on paper. It might have helped that I taped a piece of paper to a box.

Playing In the Activity Tower

Ella can't wait to get into her activity tower. She jumps in before breakfast clad in her footie pajamas. She jumps in wanting a standing snack. She plays while I make dinner. She is up and down and up and down all day -- dropping things for someone to pick up.

Friends in the Car seat

Daniel took the infant car seat out of storage in order to get to our Christmas decorations. Ella promptly started putting stuffed friends (and a few unstuffed ones as well) in the car seat to be buckled and unbuckled!

Daddy is So Fun!

Ella has started to warm up to Daddy. She likes to take him by the hand and show him things. She'll follow him up the stairs, and she'll even hang out with him when I'm not there!

Choose Your Own Adventure: A Day With Ella

Surely you remember the 'Choose Your Own Adventure' books, where choices seem to not only have logical consequences, but they change the very fabric of reality (my memory is foggy, but I seem to remember that depending on if you pry a number pad off of a phone with a screwdriver in one of them, the house is either haunted or it's not).  I hope to take you on a brand new, but nostalgic journey through a day with Ella.  This story is written in the perspective of you being her parent, although, obviously, WE are her parents ;).

It's 5:45 AM, you hear Ella start to call out for you.  "Not until 6:00," you think to yourself, "not that it'll help me get more sleep."  Fifteen minutes later, a cry jerks you back to consciousness and you slowly get out of bed and get Ella from her crib.  You're half-conscious as Ella plays with toys and drags you around the house until it's breakfast time; oatmeal, as usual.  After breakfast, Ella runs immediately toward the stairs.

Help her put her shoes on so she can go outside.

or

Help her climb up the stairs.

Fall Weather

This fall weather has been great for playing!

Some of it was good for playing inside because it was cold. One day Ella and I went to an indoor play area just to get out of the house. Sometimes we go a little crazy if we stay in the house too long! Since Ella was under two, she got in for free. My entrance fee was a dollar, and it was worth every penny to get out of the house! They had lots of fun new toys to play with.

Some days were cold, but lots of days were good for playing outside. Ella loves to get out and about. She'll grab her shoes and then walk to the door to let us know that she is ready to go! (Even when it is cold and she has short pants on)
Sometimes we just play in our yard. (Front and back are fun!) Ella likes to play with rocks, bricks, mulch and dirt the most.
Sometimes we head to the park. Especially when Daddy can come too. Ella is learning to play on the equipment now.

Apple Tasting

I decided to put together a fancy date for Daniel and I one weekend. (This is a shock for anyone who knows us, I know.) I decided that it would be a great time to do a fancy apple tasting.

"Why an apple tasting?" you ask. We aren't allowed to go to some tastings (beer, wine, other things not Word of Wisdom approved). Some tastings can be expensive (fancy cheese, fancy food, fancy desserts). Finally, the real reason, because apples were on sale.

We tried 12 kinds of apples. Two varieties per plate. I tried to keep it as anonymous as possible by cutting up the apples, putting them on a plate with their identifying sticker on the bottom. Daniel kept them anonymous by mixing up the plates and having us sample them out of order. (Numbers 1 and 2 were not on the same plate) It was a very official anonymizing system.

We even downloaded fancy score cards so we could keep track of our opinions.

Winners: Jazz, Pink Lady and Empire. (Just in case you were wondering.)

Activity tower

When your baby does this: then you need to do read this post, stat! If you don't have this problem, just enjoy all the cute pictures.

I'm no fancy mom/craft/anything fancy blogger, so my pictures aren't the best, but if I were to pretend to be a fancy blogger this is how my post would go: (The reader is required to use their imagination for the high quality pictures with a clean house in the background).

Hey all! I'm back again with another post from my happy, pristine homestead! I NEVER have an issue with getting dinner done on time since having a baby(wait... I think it might be more like the opposite of that going on around here.) Anyway, if you do have the afternoon fussies problem, I have (with the help of a couple of other blogs: prestonandkate, inthehollowheart, and Jules on ikeahacker) come up with a solution for a toddler wanting to be held from 4-6pm keeping you from getting anywhere near a kitchen.

Stuff you'll need: Shopping List
(1)1x2x96 (or so) board
(1)1x3x96 board
(1) dowel (atleast 18" something like a 3/8 to 5/8in) optional
(1) Ikea BEKVA„M step stool
(1) Box 2" wood screws

Steps:
One: If you can, draft a good handyman. Today I've got my Handsome Helpful Husband! (HHH, for short :P )

Two: Get your shopping list together and head out to your favorite hardware store. Bonus tip: bring your toddler a carrier so they don't escape and try to climb up one of those moving stair cases!

Three: But your sweet Toddler in bed! Bonus: Have your HHH play cute bedtime games with said Toddler!

Four: Have your HHH (or substitute) ready to do some cutting! (Mine also had to take apart the Ikea step stool that is the base of this project)
Strait Cut list: (If you trust the boys at your local hardware/box store they might do these cuts for you. If you are too lazy to find a meticulous HHH to do it for you)

• You'll need four tall pieces (To figure out how tall subtract the height of your stool from the close to the height of your counter top) we used 1x2 furring strips for this part 
• (optional, sort of) You need to cut your dowel down to size.
• From 1x3 board you'll need a piece to go on the front of your tower. (MY HHH assured me that this is important for stability or something) it should be the length of your step stool

Five: Now THIS little tool is going to become your best friend. You are going to make some 45 degree cuts to top off your tower in a cute frame. two should be the width and one should be the length of the tower. We did ours in 1x3

Six: Assembly. You can start this earlier as you cut, if you want to. That might be good, because you might need to go back to the hardware store for a whole box of 2" wood screws at 8:45 at night. You never know. 

• Screw the legs (the long 1x2's) into the removed top step of the stool
• Screw the dowel into the top of the legs on the side with the step
• Optional: Go back to the hardware store for more screws
• Screw the strait piece on the front of the legs
• Screw down the 45 degree angles to make a frame!  
• Reassamble Stool

Seven: In the morning:

Get your cute morning toddler to model your creation and vow to never ever get down.

In the afternoon: Enjoy having your hands free to make dinner, or your favorite delicious Mommy snack because you deserve it!

Warnings: 

Your baby may quickly learn how to move their tower around the kitchen! They also may run to it every morning before you can even give them breakfast.

Ella the Smarty Pants

Ella has started learning to use her toys! It makes me so amazed how fast she is learning and understanding things.

She puts blocks in the holes of her sorting toy. She puts blocks on her stacking train and even has it make noises! She plays with her doll and her animals. She loves any game that means putting one little thing in a bigger thing. (My impromptu toy.)

When we go out, she loves to figure out new things as well. (Sometimes it takes more time than others.)

Lazy Halloween

I'm kind of a Halloween downer. I'm way too old to ask other people for candy. I don't like to dress up. My baby has a 6:30 bedtime.

This year my excuse was that my baby shouldn't even eat candy, and I don't want to worry about it. Don't worry though we still gave out 3 bags of candy. We made it to just after 8pm.

If anyone asks, my baby was dressed as a "sleeping baby" and I was a "relaxing Momma"

(Alternatively, we caught Ella dressed like the cutest world dictator ever?)

Sick Ella

Sometimes babies get really sick. Sometimes it feels like this. Sometimes it lasts a long time and you have to go to the doctor. Sometimes the doctor calls after a stool test and tells you that your baby has Salmonella. Most of the time, your baby gets better and then feels like this.

Ella the Climber!

Ella is learning how to climb. She is mastering how to go up the stairs (going down is definitely still a ways away). She is working on climbing on other things too (like the guest bed.)

I've also started to get into things. This is Ella being really sad that "somebody" pulled out of the towels. (This is Ella  5 seconds before that sad face)

Ella Goes to the Park

Ella loves to play outside and she loves people. This makes it no suprise that we spend lots of time at the park! There are a couple of near by parks and on special occasions we'll go find new parks to explore.

Ella especially likes mulch and rocks. She is finally getting the hang of the equipment now that she can climb some. She enjoys going down the slide with help from a grown up, but she is not so sure about the swings.

As a mom, I especially live that she is super independent at the park. I can be yards away and she will enjoy playing with Dad.

Dad is great at teaching us new games and new equipment!

Ella the Dancer

I'm not a particularly graceful duckling, so I never put much thought into the fact that my baby girl might want to be a dancer. Her opinions on lots of things (including this one) are likely to change, but for now I like to capture Ella's "dancer moments"

Ballet Positions in the Window
With a Partner
With a Partner the Right Side Up
Interpretive Dance on Video
Dancing with Props

New Table

At our house, we have a running list of things we want to buy at some point once we save some extra money to get them. This list grows and shrinks; it can be pretty fluid in fact. If you asked to see it, I would tell you that it is more of an ethereal list than a real one. On this list, especially since we bought our house, was a dining room table that could seat more than four and was big enough to play board games without having to hold your pieces on your lap!

One morning while browsing craigslist, I found a table that I thought would work pretty well, especially for the price. So, we set up an appointment to go see it. Upon inspection, we decided that would buy it and take it home!

One item down checked off our ethereal list.

Service and the Symphony

Our stake did a service project to help beautify a neighborhood elementary school near the stake center. Someone must have prayed really hard that it wouldn't be super hot (like it had been for weeks), and their prayers were answered. It was was rainy and cool. It was so cool that we had to pull out jackets! (They had all kinds of ice cream, shaved ice, and popsicles thinking it was going to be in the 90's, and we enjoyed the treats even though it was cool outside)

Ella and I ended up helping in a kindergarten class room. (They had lots of Ella sized things!) Ella even got to wear my helping hands vest for a while! We cut out lots of stuff that had been laminated for the teacher. Ella helped by throwing the scraps in the trash; she is a big helper!

As for Daniel, he worked really hard outside helping to beautify the front of the school! (He was even on TV!)

In the evening, Daniel and I went on a date to the symphony! I got dressed up and everything! We had a good time.

Visitors!

This last week we had some special visitors! Grandma and Grandpa Call!

We had lots of fun getting to play with Grandma and Grandpa everyday. We went out to eat yummy food one night, but we ate nilla wafers, water melon and other yummy treats all the other days!

Playing with Grandma: Grandma was sharing pictures on her phone!

Playing with Grandpa : Grandpa helped Ella play with her sorting blocks!

Ella Being a Helper!

Splash Pad and Other Adventures

It was the end of the summer, and we had yet to take Ella to a pool or splash pad. "It was too hot, it was too much work, what if we did all that and she didn't like it," we said to ourselves.

If it hadn't been for play group it would have stayed that way. I finally got Ella to the splash pad! She had lots of fun (which doesn't seem true from the few pictures I got. She is just sad because we had to leave!)

I was sure she wouldn't really like it so, needless to say, I was dragged around the splash pad wearing jeans! (I was smart enough to bring a towel and leave my phone out of my pockets!)

Ella's Cute Faces

Sometimes Ella makes really cute faces for the Camera. Often she makes cute faces when she sees herself in the camera. Here are a few of my recent random favorites.

Ella with her book
"Look, I've got a tongue!"
Playing "I'm gonna get you!"
"Sometimes I wake up happy!"
"I found Mom!"
"That baby is me!"

I don't have a great picture, but she is getting great at blowing Daddy kisses!

5th Anniversary

Daniel and I have been married for five years! Enjoy Marriage Timeline!
Wedding Day (2009):

Year 1 (2010)

Year 2 (2011)

Year 3 (2012)

Year 4 (2013)

Year 5 (2014)

Ella at a Year

Physical Stats:
Weight: 20 lbs 15.8 oz  (I've gained 13 lbs 8.8 oz gained since I was born!)
Height: 28 inches (I've grown 10 inches since I was born!)
Teeth: Still 7

Things I've done in the last month:
Learning to walk (I started the month like this and ended it like this!)
Drinking out of a cup
I love to tote around plastic cards. (Daddy better watch out!)
I like music. (Drums, Piano, Singing and Dancing)
Decided my favorite colors are Purple and Yellow
Sometimes I feed Mommy!
I got a tooth brush!
Started playing "Daddy's Going to Get You!" (It makes me Smile!)
Sometimes I'm a Sweet Face, sometimes I'm a Silly Face, and I sometimes I'm a Goose Face! (and sometimes I'm all three in two minutes!)
The other day Mommy caught me jabbering away at my Dolly while she wasn't looking.
I love my Family!

Ella's First Birthday

Ella turned one year old on August 2nd!  Here are some of the highlights:

Daddy made her some special smash cakes!

We had lots of fun eating the cake.

Ella didn't smash her cake, though, just ate little pieces.

Ella got some fun toys for presents: a doll, sorting blocks (her favorite block is a purple plus sign), a ball, bubbles, stacking rings, a book from the library, and a stroller (which came with a card that Ella proudly carried around the house!)

Stroller Walk

Elissa's parents decided to get Ella an early birthday present -- a fancy stroller!  I'm pretty sure this stroller was designed to go off-roading*.  We didn't want to wait to try it out, so we took a walk with it.  Here are some pictures:

Strapping her in.  "What did I get myself into?"  "Thanks Grandma & Grandpa, that was fun!"


*Elissa assures me this stroller is probably designed for sidewalks and mostly-flat trails, but it will tell you the temperature and the time.

First Steps

Ella has started taking steps on her own! Usually it is just one or two, but sometimes she will get excited and take 7 or more without realizing it. She mostly uses this skill to walk to something to balance with (couches, tables, pianos (and piano benches), baby gates, chairs, walls, shelves, and especially grown ups!)so that, ironically, she can walk!  Also notable, she has started "coloring" with crayons and paper.

More of Elissa's Projects

I've been working on my bench project lately. If you all remember from a few weeks ago, I got a $5 bench at the Goodwill. I figured for $5 we could use the wood for making a project if we decided the bench wouldn't work.

I had a curtain panel I got from a garage sale that I was going to use for my last project which ended up blue and in my living room instead of the piano room. I had enough of that fabric to go around the whole bench, and I decided that I would get some fabric from Joann's to do the lid. I went to the remnant bin and ended up getting two kinds of fabric because I couldn't decide. (I ended up saving $50 on a $20 purchase.)

Long story short, here are the results of my project.

Ella at 11 months

I've been practicing walking and standing.

• I can stand up on my own if there is something to pull up on. 
• I love to walk with Mommy or Daddy holding my hands. Sometimes I practically run down the hall with them in tow.
• Sometimes Mom thinks I look like a ballerina

I'm learning to use my fingers: I can turn off a light switch as well as feed myself.

I like to talk more and more. I am learning to say all kinds of sounds.

I know that  parent noses make sounds, and if they don't, I sometimes make noises for them

I got a couple more teeth this month.

I love reading books (or trying to read books as the case may be)

We visited the children's museum for the first time and had a good time

I may be getting big but not too big for an occasional snuggly church nap

A Trip to the Thinkery

Here in Austin we've got a place called the 'Thinkery'.  It's a children's museum, but it's different.  The only way I can think to describe it is that they seem to have taken the montessori idea to the extreme in a children's science museum.  I don't recall seeing any signs or plaques with information about displays on them.  In fact, the displays we saw were more like playgrounds than the typical museum display.

On Wednesday, we decided to meet up for cookie time (at my work cafeteria, they start serving freshly baked cookies at 3:00 most days), then spend the afternoon hanging out as a family.  We decided to go to the Thinkery.  We also ate out at Verts, by the way, which was a tad expensive, but very tasty food.  I approve.

Ella found the Thinkery to be really fun.  They've got a couple of areas that are appropriate for kids her age, and we started with the 'sprouts' area (it's themed about growing food or something, I think).  Here she discovered the wall of mirrors and the tunnel of mirrors.  I'm not sure why mirrors and growing stuff go together, but she thought these were awesome.  I couldn't resist getting this picture.  See if you can decide which Ella is the non-reflection Ella.  I have it narrowed down to 2, but I can't decide between them.

They also had a ridiculously large water toy.  It had waterfalls, buckets that would tip over when they were filled, and generally anything else which would help illustrate water current.  ('Currents' happened to be the name of the area, I think).  Ella was a little young for this room, but we found some spots (here, and here) where she just had a blast.  If you're curious about why her hands are moving so furiously, so are we, but this video may help (it starts a little slow, but the end is worth it).

Daniel's First Father's Day

This is Daniel's first Father's Day. We started the weekend by giving him a project to do. We finally got around to putting up a baby gate. (and an unspecified me didn't think to measure stairwell wall) Daniel got a saw, and Ella was his little helper on the project!

While some people remembered to get cute "Daddy's 1st Father's Day!" pictures, others of us got "Daddy is Really Patient!" pictures instead.

Sometimes Daddy has clever ways of playing with Ella. (also, Ella Fishing)

We look like this when Daddy comes home because we love him so much.

She gets excited every time we call someone on the phone because she thinks that it will be Daddy (or a Grandparent)

Ella just loves her Daddy.

Projects

This year for my birthday I got a staple gun. I've been wanting to do projects around the house, and I finally decided that I would upholster a table we got from our neighbor down the street. The top had scratches and a dog bite out of the corner, but it was made of good sturdy wood. I decided that made it a perfect candidate for an upholstered coffee table that would also work for "emergency" seating. (For that one time we have more than two or three people over). The plan was to cover it with a red curtain that I had gotten for a steal at a garage sale to put in our library/piano room.

I got some compacted batting at the craft store while it was on sale at the craft store. I was going to use all of it for my project to make the bench seating, but then after stapling on the batting I remembered that I had a blue curtain panel that would look great on the bench  in our living room. 

After careful consideration, I decided to put the bench in the living room (picture of "in progress") with the blue cover, but I would use half of the batting and use the other half to make another bench for the piano room. (I found this bench at the thrift store for $5, and I'm trying to decide if we are going to gel stain it, cover it all in the red stripe fabric, OR cover the bottom in the red stripe fabric and the top seating in coordinating fabric.) 

Ella News:

Ella has been busy working on learning to stand and walk. I found her like this after waking from her nap one afternoon.

Ella at 10 Months

Learning to Do New Things:
Learning to pull herself up and sit up in her own. Daddy found her sitting in her crib one morning!
She is also walking around furniture!
Going on adventures by rolling around. Sometimes she even finds treasures!
Takes things out of boxes and down from shelves
Taking toys down from her playmat bar
Trying to figure out waving

Favorite Things to Say: (now that she talks more)
Dada
scream then giggle when you look
growl/roar
excited squeals
Clicking her tongue. (Daniel didn't believe it was her until he saw it for himself.)

Favorite Things:
She also loves her little cougar. She will get really excited when the cougar comes to say "Roar!" ( Ella even roars back sometimes.)
Eating more solid foods.
She has really gotten into all her toys recently.
Also loves playing outside! (especially trying to eat outside)
Daddy and Momma

Tooth Count
Five: two on the top and three on the bottom (Three more teeth this month!)

Daddy-Daughter Activities

Lately Ella has taken a liking to hanging out with her dad (that's me!).  It's been really fun to have some games to play with her.  I've got some pictures of a few of the highlights:

• We call this activity Ella Fishing.  As you can see, the object is to use my work access badge as bait, and she can't resist it.  Sometimes she wins.
• Sometimes we play 'dress up'.  (Though it's really just Ella that wears stuff).
• She's learning to stand up so I'll spot Ella while she sidles along tables, couches, etc.
• It's really fun to play with Ella while she practices standing and holding herself up in her crib.  Sometimes she even gives an 'I love you' smile.

This doesn't really have anything to do with my blog post, but Ella did this with her hair, and we couldn't pass up a picture.  We think it might be because of some sunscreen that got in her hair.

So there's an episode of Doctor Who, where they try to get Queen Victoria to say "I am NOT amused" for the whole episode.  Since seeing the episode, I've thrown the quote out a few times.  We're pretty sure Ella must have heard.  But she was just playing.

Also, an update for me -- I have started playing organ for the congregational singing in my ward (and pre-/post-lude), my project finally shipped, and I think that must have been the last requirement before they gave me a promotion to 'Staff Hardware Engineer'.  'Cause they promoted me.

Getting Ella to Smile

Some of you might wonder my method for getting cute Ella pictures. Here is my secret: pull out my camera phone. Ella knows when she is getting her picture taken and smiles for the pictures. (No wonder I have over 900 Ella pictures on my phone!)

Here is my evidence:
1. Doesn't know Momma has out her Camera
2. Sees Momma
3. Immediately after seeing Momma with her Camera

This is super convenient 95% of the time. Sometimes I want to catch her doing something, but she sees the camera and stops what she is doing to smile! Here is me trying to get her to click on video.

This phenomenon is not limited to just Momma's camera. The same thing happens when Daddy comes home or sometimes even when he just walks in the room! She loves to smile for her cougar and her bear. She sometimes even gets excited because Mom came back from the other room!

Contrary to popular belief this smile isn't her only look. It is just really close! (This week was an off week so some of her smiles were a little less sparkly than usual.)

Ella the Explorer

This last week Ella has become an explorer. She still doesn't crawl, but she rolls! I look away and she is across the room! She also loves to stand and is learning to scoot around furniture. She hasn't quite figured out standing on her own, but she is getting close. Mom helps her to stand, and sometimes Mom helps her "find" things.

One day Ella found our trash box in our family room. It was full of papers that she wanted to eat. I stopped her from eating the trash and put our disposable storage ware in the the box for her to find and play with.

Ella: Secret Disney Princess?

Sometimes we wonder around here if our baby is secretly a Disney princess. Here are some of the reasons we suspect this might be so.

1. She is cute in regular clothes and fancy "ball attire"
2. Birds don't get startled and fly away when we walk past.
3. Woodland creatures ask to see her during her nap.
4. She is strong willed and passionate.
5. She looks pretty with flowers and enjoys nature.
6. She already "sings" songs. 
7. She has personality!(Cute and Quirky!)
8. She would even look cute in "prison."
9. She looks cute even when she has a cold while teething! (Fluids and all)
10. She would have a great blooper reel! 

Ella at 9 Months

Ella is 9 Months Old! This Month at a glance:

Ella has been working on her standing
She loves to pick things little things out of the carpet to try and eat
Flew on an Airplane
Visited Utah
Visited Idaho
Met lots of Cousins
Started sleeping on her tummy
Discovered a love of Grass
Talks with Mommy and Daddy

Vacation Part 2

We spent the next week of our vacation in Idaho.

The first night we played with Jay and Amber's family
We got to play with Grandma and Grandpa (and Great-Grandma Call)
Ella had a jumper off with Ellie (and just played too)
We played the piano and looked cute doing it.
Ella learned how to high five.
Daniel helped set up the car track.
We flew some fancy kites. (And I managed to get it stuck in a tree)

We even had a nice, uneventful flight home, but after all that travel Ella was glad to be home!

Vacation Part 1

So, we spend some time on vacation to see our families and our friends back in Idaho and Utah. Ella did pretty well on all the flights. On our flight into Salt Lake someone had a medical incident in the last few moments of the flight. We were already late arriving and we all had to wait on the plane for an extra hour. Poor baby didn't get to bed until 9:30pm!

Early in the trip we went to Emily's and Joseph's wedding and luncheon.

At Grandma Larsen's house we had lots of fun!
We played with Grandma
We played with Noah's ark and Grandma's Bells
We rolled around on the floor
Played on Grandma's soft grass
We went to the family reunion with an Easter egg hunt

General Conference Weekend

So, we are little behind posting our blog! For all our friends who don't know about General Conference, here is the low down: Every six months everyone in our world wide church gets together (sometimes figuratively) to hear from real Prophets and Apostles! ( Yes, we believe they are real prophets and apostles just like in the Bible). They give talks on topics of their choosing lasting 15-20 minutes over the course of several hours over the assigned weekend. (You can see or read what they said here!) We watched at home through the internet, but some people watch a live broadcast from the church buildings (where they usually go to church on Sunday), and some even literally gather by going to Utah to see the events in person.

Anyway, this conference comes in 4 two hour sessions (5 sessions for the men during the weekend. The women have a meeting the Saturday before instead of during the conference weekend.) This is a long time to sit and listen, and we found we have the most cute, distracting toy ever! (Daddy says that it isn't his fault because he was captured to be used as entertainment) But, she was the only one who fell asleep during the conference, which is probably a record or something for us grown ups!

Ella's 8 Month Update

Even Ella has a hard time believing that she is 8 months old!

I decided that a water bottle was my favorite toy for a few weeks.
I started practicing my puppy dog eyes.
I have become an expert sitter.
I can pick up finger foods and put them in my mouth. (Other things too!)
I love outside! (Even just looking outside makes me smile!)
I can roll over both ways!
I have two teeth!
I show more of my happy personality every day.
I love to smile for Daddy!(when he plays with me in the morning, when he comes home from work, and when he helps me stand up!)
I have been working on making my sounds. Sometimes I scream, and sometimes I 'talk' for fun.

Little Miss Tummy Sleeper

Ella has learned to roll to her tummy, finally. She mostly only does it when we aren't looking though. (Like at night, in her bed.) For a week or more when we come to get her from her crib, she is on her tummy! The only downside is that we haven't figured out how to stop tummy sleeper diaper leaks. (No huge explosions or anything, but we're working on figuring it out.)

We go to ward choir at 1:00 on Sunday afternoons. This is great for a lot of people, but this is just about Ella's naptime. If she doesn't need to nap as soon as we get home from church at 12:30, she comes to choir and sits in the baby carrier. AND if we are lucky, she falls asleep. The duck rattle/pillow is an optional accessory.

We've been working on finger foods around here as well. Ella is getting very proficient at picking up cheerios now. Sometimes they even make it in her mouth, but sometimes they just get really close!

Just Keep Swimming

This week Ella has been working on her skills. One is what I like to call "swimming" (kicking her legs and arms while she is on her tummy). The last few days she has been a little fussy the last few days so every time she manages to get from sitting to her tummy we hear an angry cry!

She has also been working on her fine motor skills by picking up food to eat. (We still have some practicing to do on that one!) We've been practicing with some NumNums we go from a lady from the ward. They probably shouldn't become her whole diet, but they are good for practicing eating. Today we used them to distract little hands while we were at the restaurant. I managed to eat my whole meal with my baby on my lap, and not make a big mess.  (A first for me since Ella was born!)

Our "Ella Monthly Update" is coming soon I'm trying to save a few of our cute pictures for that post. Make sure to keep checking back!

First Cake

Okay, this is not about Ella's first cake.  Nor is it about anyone's first cake (made or eaten).  This is, in fact, mostly not about cake.  However, I was in need of a title, and I did do my first cake for an online cake decorating class.  It wasn't anything fancy; the cake was just a practice of a few of the basics -- mostly the part where you actually make a cake and do the boring coat of frosting.  I decided to share it with my coworkers since neither of us were particularly craving cake.

And now for everything else...

Ella decided to veto my decision to merely shift everything we do by one hour on the clock (we wanted it to be as if daylight savings time never existed).  I hadn't realized that babies were even given the power to veto things with such authority, but hey, we all learn new things as parents.  As least she's usually happy about it.  Sometimes it's a little less clear though.

I think Elissa has figured out a little bit of a routine with Ella (but unfortunately it's 'good naps twice a day at the beginning of the week, then less sleep every day until Sunday comes' and she crashes and falls asleep early).  Oh, and I don't know if we told you about how this old root beer bottle seems to be her favorite toy right now.

We had some friends come visit us from the Dallas area.  We mostly played games, explored a local shop (where I got this new puzzle cube), and visited the Salt Lick for some good ole Texas barbecue.  Unfortunately we got distracted from making an excellent pie for pi day, so we just got to that last night instead.  I never turn down a really good excuse to make pie.

If all goes well tomorrow (keep your fingers crossed), I'll be done with everything I have to work on (until some other people get more stuff for me to work on) for my secret project that I've been working on since I got hired at National Instruments.  All you people who use test/measurement equipment should be excited for when it comes out (the rest of you probably couldn't care less).

Ella at 7 Months

Ella has been working hard to present a brand new set of skills for y'all:

• Sitting
• Teething
• Babbling
• Eating Solid Foods
• Giggling
• Being Cute
• Grabbing Faces (and other things)
• Reading (eating) Books
• Waking Up Happy

Also, we've been happy and healthy as well, but we didn't take any pictures about that for you, sorry.

Milestones: Ella Teeth and Daddy's Work

The biggest news around this house is our baby and her new tooth (and another on the way!) We've been seeing a lot of this, and this lately. I tried to get a picture of the new tooth, but she likes to keep it a secret. Here is cute proof of the attempt.

Ella captured Daddy and Mommy this week. She uses cute bait for her traps!

We let Ella pick out her Sunday dress this week from the closet. (Mommy took her to where the dresses were hanging and said,"Pick one!" Then Ella reached out and grabbed one!) She does seem to have an affinity for red, so it was no surprise that she picked the big, frilly, red dress in the closet!

This week Daniel's work group met an exciting milestone as well. They call it "dev exit" (development phase exit). We still can't tell you what his secret project is, but we are this much closer to being able to tell you what it is!

Valentines Day

Ella wanted to share this video with everyone for Valentine's Day!

This year for Valentine's Day Daniel made us special cookies! (In case you weren't sure, I'm big E, and Ella is little e :P ) We had a pretty low key day other than that.

Ella has now tried lots of solid foods: Applesauce, Squash, Banana, Avocado and Pear. It has gone pretty well. She doesn't eat a lot at a time, but, "food is for fun until one!", so we don't stress.

We have also been working on our sitting up skills!

Giggle Fest

Lately Ella has started to make really happy faces when I come home from work (and then act all grumpy because she refuses to take an afternoon nap).  Sometimes we get lucky and she just starts to giggle and smile and bounce up and down.  It's really cute.

The other interesting thing that happened this last week is that Ella has started tasting solid foods (solid, as in actually a liquid but not milk ... which I always thought was a funny way to refer to it).  She seems to think the applesauce we got is sort of sour, but seems to like squash (I don't get it, since I'd definitely prefer applesauce any day).  So far she may have actually eaten a spoonful or two, but she likes to bang her full spoon against things and make a mess more than actually eating, which I gather is probably typical.

Baby Skirt

So Saturday Daniel said he would watch Ella for the morning if I wanted to get out for a couple of hours and do something. Now, as it happens, I didn't have a couple of hours of "out of the house" things to do, BUT I did want to go to the craft store to get some things to make Ella a fancy circle skirt. (I used the directions on this website) I might try a different pattern next time, but the website was really helpful, and I got a cute skirt out of it!

I got really lucky and found a pink butterfly sale fabric in the remnant bin. I got enough to make a couple of skirts, it was on sale, and it was super cute! I got home to a happy husband and happy baby so I decided to use my free time to whip out this little skirt! It turned out pretty well and Ella wore it to church on Sunday!

Ella at 6 Months

It's my half birthday!

I'm getting big!
I'm learning how to sit up on my own
I've learned how to play with toys!
I love my fascinator on my high chair.
I love anything cloth-like that I can stuff into my mouth.
I play disc golf with Daddy and Mommy.
I saw snow for the first time.
I have the cutest giggle in the world!
I learned to play the piano! (look at my finger position!)
I recognize my Daddy, and give him smiles when he walks through the door!

Snow and Smiles

This week wasn't too exciting, but Ella got her first look at real snow today!

Ella has been working hard trying to learn to get around and roll over onto her tummy. She has yet to be successful with the rolling over, but I see her like this alot. (Or This, Or this) Thought I haven't seen it, she must push off with her feet and scoot on her back. I find her in the most odd positions when I get her from her crib in the morning!

She does a lot of twisting a turning on the changing table. She gives cute faces to make all the wrestling worthwhile.

I'm excited because when Daddy comes home at night she has started to look and give him a big Ella smile!

Thanks for being such devoted readers. Because you are so great here is a free desktop background image! (Also know as a bonus Ella picture!)

Ella Plays Piano

So I've had a busy couple of weeks at work and haven't gotten to spend as much time as I'd like at home.  Apparently Elissa taught Ella to play piano with all the time I was gone :p .

Video 1
Video 2

I did get to hang out for family home evening though :).

Dancing
Playing
Playing More

Silly Mommy! This is How That Works!

Lately Ella has been showing me how to "properly" use things around the house.

Books (for eating!) (More Book Food)
Tongues (For sticking out!)
Pacifiers (For playing)
Discs (Ella Sized and not just for throwing!)
High Chairs (for playing not eating!)
Mouths (for drools and smiles!)

Ella at 5 Months

Ella is growing up so fast.  Only a month or so ago, she was just born (oh, right, 5 months ... ).  Seriously though, this last month, Ella has grown and learned a lot of new things.  But don't take my word for it, just read what Ella has to say:

I love my jumper!

I play on the floor all by myself.

I make cute noises to get your attention.

I know when it's bedtime, even though I don't like it.

I am a big fan of grandparents!

I follow things with my eyes, a LOT.

I actually like my toys now.

I found my thumb, and my toes.

If you hold me up, I dance.

I always ask for sitting up/standing up time.

Remember how I rolled around like a clock before?  I achieved my goal of becoming a human alarm clock.  I'm set to 6:00 am.

Christmas 2013

This year we had a pretty quiet Christmas. Ella isn't big enough to be interested in opening presents or even really caring about other people opening gifts. Santa stopped by and brought cereal as well as some treats (homemade dairy free brownies for me, of course!)

We got some really fun things. Daniel got me a project (among other things). This may not sound good, but it reflects that he is a really good listener. If you lived at our house, on a regular basis, you would hear me say "Oh! come look at this cute project on pinterest; it uses chalkboard paint!" or "That would be so fun with chalkboard paint!" So Daniel saved up some of his present money to get me stuff to make chalkboard paint and buy supplies. He is such a good husband, that he is even willing to help me do the project (s).

After posting on facebook about how I had found the PERFECT gift, but I had missed the sale, the gift went back on sale! For anyone who was curious I ended up getting Daniel a craftsy.com class. They had several I thought he would like because he is crafty and skilled like that. I just had to pick one, and I think he is pretty excited!

Daniel bought us a taller Christmas tree and some LED Christmas lights on clearance the day after Christmas. We want to make sure everything was working so he set them all up.

Though she wasn't interested in Christmas stuff, Ella finally was seen putting a toy in her mouth (Captured in pictures, More pictures), and caught on tape making cute singing noises!