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