Investigating
Reaching
Hugging
Snoozing
Packing
Posing
Monday, September 28, 2009
Thursday, September 24, 2009
The Artist Explains her Work
One of Ella's favorite new activities is to sit up on the stool at the breakfast counter to color. She LOVES it and feels so important sitting up there (what she does NOT like however is my feet on her chair and hand on her back to keep her from falling - oh well!)
The artist creating
The artist explains her work (and is then overcome by an insatiable thirst)
The artist creating
The artist explains her work (and is then overcome by an insatiable thirst)
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Check out my Mom on TV!
As you may know, my mom is a breast cancer survivor, and has been cancer free since 2005. We lost Steve’s mom after a 14-year battle with breast cancer in 2002, Steve’s aunt Thelma has had breast cancer, and his aunt Margaret recently passed away from colon cancer. Needless to say, cancer has affected our lives and our families in such a negative way, and it's close to all of our hearts.
Mom is active with the Susan Komen foundation, and the past few years we have walked the Race for the Cure; mom is also a phone mentor for women going through treatment. This week, she was selected to go with a group of women from the Komen foundation to be in the audience of Good Morning America as a group to raise awareness.
So she got up bright and early this morning and drove into the city to meet her group and get to taping of the show. We were hoping for a few small glimpses of her -but wouldn't you know, not only can we very easily see her, she's practically the star of the clip!
In case you don't know what my mom looks like, she is the one on the far right of this group with the short gray hair in the black "include cancer" t-shirt. Steve gave her his dog tags right before she started going throug chemo and she wore them today...you can see them around her neck. You can also see her give a discreet wave :) (at which point the camera quickly pans to the left!).
I thought it was so cool I had to post - enjoy!
Link: Chatting With the Stars of 'Modern...
And, here is a picture of the group at the studio
Mom is active with the Susan Komen foundation, and the past few years we have walked the Race for the Cure; mom is also a phone mentor for women going through treatment. This week, she was selected to go with a group of women from the Komen foundation to be in the audience of Good Morning America as a group to raise awareness.
So she got up bright and early this morning and drove into the city to meet her group and get to taping of the show. We were hoping for a few small glimpses of her -but wouldn't you know, not only can we very easily see her, she's practically the star of the clip!
In case you don't know what my mom looks like, she is the one on the far right of this group with the short gray hair in the black "include cancer" t-shirt. Steve gave her his dog tags right before she started going throug chemo and she wore them today...you can see them around her neck. You can also see her give a discreet wave :) (at which point the camera quickly pans to the left!).
I thought it was so cool I had to post - enjoy!
Link: Chatting With the Stars of 'Modern...
And, here is a picture of the group at the studio
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Catching up
I haven't had a chance to post in a while, it's been a really busy few weeks. Of course my photo-taking never stops :). Here are several photos from the past week or so to get me caught up!
Ella lounging in her rocking chair - she loves sitting in this chair (a birthday present from Grammy, it was my rocking chair when I was a little girl) and watching parts of the movie Tinkerbell. See how she crosses her legs like such a dainty little lady?
At the playground, she put our cooler on the slide and attempted to direct the child above her who actually had the audacity to want to slide down!
Playing with a puzzle on Steve
Just woke up, and all prepared to leave her crib (notice the binkie, blankie and bunny in hand?)
Having a tea party. She takes the tea set (which, incidentally, is not a toy - it's real silver that belonged to my mom's mother and is special to me, but she has found it and is very pleased with it, and really can't do any damage to it under supervision. But, it definitely makes me think it's time for a toy tea set) and if I pretend to pour tea in, then she does too, she'll clink our glasses for 'cheers', and pretend to drink out of it. She makes sound effects as she pours too, it is just precious.
This is a big water bottle that I drink during the day at work. Ella got a hold of it last weekend and thought it was the best thing around. What a very thirsty girl!
Having fun with Steve
In a hood!
In other news, I finished Ella's first baby book! It goes from her birth through month 4 - I started in April and finally finished on Sunday at my scrapbook group. I had intended her baby book to cover her whole first year but there is just way too much to include so I've got to break it into sections. I'm really happy to have finished this one and hope that one day Ella will treasure it as much as I do!
Ella lounging in her rocking chair - she loves sitting in this chair (a birthday present from Grammy, it was my rocking chair when I was a little girl) and watching parts of the movie Tinkerbell. See how she crosses her legs like such a dainty little lady?
At the playground, she put our cooler on the slide and attempted to direct the child above her who actually had the audacity to want to slide down!
Playing with a puzzle on Steve
Just woke up, and all prepared to leave her crib (notice the binkie, blankie and bunny in hand?)
Having a tea party. She takes the tea set (which, incidentally, is not a toy - it's real silver that belonged to my mom's mother and is special to me, but she has found it and is very pleased with it, and really can't do any damage to it under supervision. But, it definitely makes me think it's time for a toy tea set) and if I pretend to pour tea in, then she does too, she'll clink our glasses for 'cheers', and pretend to drink out of it. She makes sound effects as she pours too, it is just precious.
This is a big water bottle that I drink during the day at work. Ella got a hold of it last weekend and thought it was the best thing around. What a very thirsty girl!
Having fun with Steve
In a hood!
In other news, I finished Ella's first baby book! It goes from her birth through month 4 - I started in April and finally finished on Sunday at my scrapbook group. I had intended her baby book to cover her whole first year but there is just way too much to include so I've got to break it into sections. I'm really happy to have finished this one and hope that one day Ella will treasure it as much as I do!
Monday, September 14, 2009
The Dog Whisperer
Look out Cesar, here comes the newest Dog Whisperer!
Notice the animals fleeing from Ella in all directions??
Ahhh, I don't think my enjoyment of these video clips of Ella being silly with the dogs will ever end - it just brings me endless amusement!!
Notice the animals fleeing from Ella in all directions??
Ahhh, I don't think my enjoyment of these video clips of Ella being silly with the dogs will ever end - it just brings me endless amusement!!
Ella is 20 Months
Ella turned 20 months on September 5 - here are 20 notes about my sweet pumpkin this month!
1 - She now has 10 teeth - 6 in front (4 on top, 2 on the bottom), and 2 molars on each side (one top and one bottom). The molars have each taken about a full month to come in! It looks like she's getting close to some more front teeth coming in as well.
2 - Her favorite word is, without question, 'no' - she says it all the time, primarily to mean "YES"!! She has all different tones of saying it too, and she's very animated with her 'no's.
3 - Instead of calling Nomar "cat", she now calls him by his full name, or as close as she can get - a drawn out NO-MAH followed by hysterical laughter when he actually comes to his name being called.
4 - She frequently goes up to Nomar and says "ow, ow, ow"...she knows cats say meow and so she is communicating with him!
5 - It amazes me how much she picks up and how I can say something as simple as "ready to go?" and she heads right for the door, knowing exactly what I mean. She'll laugh when we laugh and seems to understand so much.
6 - Ella loves when she has something 'to do' and feels very important. She acts immediately with top urgency and hustles right over with lots of flourish!
7 - She's decided she no longer wants to attempt to walk down the stairs by herself and so I have to carry her down the stairs every time. When it's time to walk up the stairs, she is so easily distracted it can take 2 minutes to climb the stairs...no kidding.
8 - I don't think there is anything better IN THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE than when I crouch down on the ground and put my arms out and she runs into my arms for a big hug and kiss...not exaggerating, I could do that 200 times a day if she'd go for it (and I frequently try!)
9 - She loves her books! She'll open one up in the car and point and look at it and carries them with her from room to room, and loves reading before bed.
10 - She's in a size 4 in diapers, size 4 in shoes, and 18 months for clothes.
11 - Her sleep overnight is really good - she sleeps from about 9 pm - 7:15 am, and is down to one nap during the day for about 2 hours.
12 - She loves, loves, loves bathtime and would probably stay in for an hour if we'd let her. She plays with her trains and cups, and fills and dumps them out, over and over, and over. She does not, however, like her hair getting washed and even after doing it for so long, still protests every night when it's time to lean back and wash her hair.
13 - She's a creature of habit and likes her routines - she gets in her crib and wants her binky and blankie; when I wake her up in the morning, she roots around in her crib until she finds her binkie, pops it in her mouth, grabs her blankie, then we snuggle for a bit. She has them both while she gets her diaper changed, then excitedly throws them into her crib. After bath time she likes to watch all of the water to drain and isn't ready to brush teeth until all of the water is gone.
14 - She thinks she is in charge of the dogs. She tells them to get into their crate, shakes her finger at them and says "no" (where did she get that one?! :)), likes to supervise while they eat and drink, and reports to me and Steve on their whereabouts and happenings.
15 - Ella's personality is so awesome - she is happy, cheerful, sweet, funny, and has fun almost all the time. She just runs around, carrying on, talking and laughing, playing all day long. She has her moods where she is quite unhappy and is only content if she's being held, but overall she is just so happy and content.
16 - She is so expressive. She has many facial expressions, talks with her hands, lots of gestures, and of course her impressive command of the Ellanese language...I'm imaging an equal command of the English language will follow at some point!
17 - Her eating is going pretty well and right now her favorite foods are pizza, cottage cheese, cheese, blueberries, grapes, yogurt, bananas, kix cereal, rice, and bread. We've even had some successful restaurant nights lately, including 2 at the beach, and even managed a night out with friends last weekend!
18 - She has discovered the joy of writing with crayons on places other than paper...uggg. And she LOVES coloring.
19 - She has started calling me 'mom'...no mommy, just mom! I'll take it though b/c anything that she says in her little voice, especially while reaching out for me, is just priceless. She reserves "memmy" for times of intense distress and malcontent.
20 - Ella is truly a gift beyond my wildest dreams. The other day at church a woman said to me 'she is really precious, I hope you enjoy her'...sheesh, what an understatement! I thank God every day for this amazing little girl that he has given to us and marvel at how special she is just as often. She is so full of sweetness, silliness, and love, just an absolute blessing, and I am so lucky to be her "Memmy".
Some 20 month photos:
1 - She now has 10 teeth - 6 in front (4 on top, 2 on the bottom), and 2 molars on each side (one top and one bottom). The molars have each taken about a full month to come in! It looks like she's getting close to some more front teeth coming in as well.
2 - Her favorite word is, without question, 'no' - she says it all the time, primarily to mean "YES"!! She has all different tones of saying it too, and she's very animated with her 'no's.
3 - Instead of calling Nomar "cat", she now calls him by his full name, or as close as she can get - a drawn out NO-MAH followed by hysterical laughter when he actually comes to his name being called.
4 - She frequently goes up to Nomar and says "ow, ow, ow"...she knows cats say meow and so she is communicating with him!
5 - It amazes me how much she picks up and how I can say something as simple as "ready to go?" and she heads right for the door, knowing exactly what I mean. She'll laugh when we laugh and seems to understand so much.
6 - Ella loves when she has something 'to do' and feels very important. She acts immediately with top urgency and hustles right over with lots of flourish!
7 - She's decided she no longer wants to attempt to walk down the stairs by herself and so I have to carry her down the stairs every time. When it's time to walk up the stairs, she is so easily distracted it can take 2 minutes to climb the stairs...no kidding.
8 - I don't think there is anything better IN THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE than when I crouch down on the ground and put my arms out and she runs into my arms for a big hug and kiss...not exaggerating, I could do that 200 times a day if she'd go for it (and I frequently try!)
9 - She loves her books! She'll open one up in the car and point and look at it and carries them with her from room to room, and loves reading before bed.
10 - She's in a size 4 in diapers, size 4 in shoes, and 18 months for clothes.
11 - Her sleep overnight is really good - she sleeps from about 9 pm - 7:15 am, and is down to one nap during the day for about 2 hours.
12 - She loves, loves, loves bathtime and would probably stay in for an hour if we'd let her. She plays with her trains and cups, and fills and dumps them out, over and over, and over. She does not, however, like her hair getting washed and even after doing it for so long, still protests every night when it's time to lean back and wash her hair.
13 - She's a creature of habit and likes her routines - she gets in her crib and wants her binky and blankie; when I wake her up in the morning, she roots around in her crib until she finds her binkie, pops it in her mouth, grabs her blankie, then we snuggle for a bit. She has them both while she gets her diaper changed, then excitedly throws them into her crib. After bath time she likes to watch all of the water to drain and isn't ready to brush teeth until all of the water is gone.
14 - She thinks she is in charge of the dogs. She tells them to get into their crate, shakes her finger at them and says "no" (where did she get that one?! :)), likes to supervise while they eat and drink, and reports to me and Steve on their whereabouts and happenings.
15 - Ella's personality is so awesome - she is happy, cheerful, sweet, funny, and has fun almost all the time. She just runs around, carrying on, talking and laughing, playing all day long. She has her moods where she is quite unhappy and is only content if she's being held, but overall she is just so happy and content.
16 - She is so expressive. She has many facial expressions, talks with her hands, lots of gestures, and of course her impressive command of the Ellanese language...I'm imaging an equal command of the English language will follow at some point!
17 - Her eating is going pretty well and right now her favorite foods are pizza, cottage cheese, cheese, blueberries, grapes, yogurt, bananas, kix cereal, rice, and bread. We've even had some successful restaurant nights lately, including 2 at the beach, and even managed a night out with friends last weekend!
18 - She has discovered the joy of writing with crayons on places other than paper...uggg. And she LOVES coloring.
19 - She has started calling me 'mom'...no mommy, just mom! I'll take it though b/c anything that she says in her little voice, especially while reaching out for me, is just priceless. She reserves "memmy" for times of intense distress and malcontent.
20 - Ella is truly a gift beyond my wildest dreams. The other day at church a woman said to me 'she is really precious, I hope you enjoy her'...sheesh, what an understatement! I thank God every day for this amazing little girl that he has given to us and marvel at how special she is just as often. She is so full of sweetness, silliness, and love, just an absolute blessing, and I am so lucky to be her "Memmy".
Some 20 month photos:
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Labor Day at the Beach
We went to North Myrtle Beach for Labor Day weekend from Saturday to Tuesday for our final beach trip of the summer. Mom rented a condo right on the beach, and it was us, Mom & Glenn, and Erin & Josh.
Of course I took many, many pictures, and here are a few of my favorites :)
Ella on the trip there - NOT in a mood for smiling!
This wedding was right on the beach the first night we were there, and me and Erin watched from the balcony.
Really pretty sky
All set, let's go
Ready to swim!
On her turbo boat from Glenn - lots of fun
Being silly with Steve
When we took Ella to the beach earlier this summer, it was always hot and sunny and she had limited tolerance for being on the beach. This weekend was overcast most of the time and a lot cooler, and she had such a great time playing in the sand. We were able to stay out on the beach for several hours each day because she was enjoying herself so much (of course with several snack and drink breaks!).
With Grammy
Hmmm, must check out this giant hole!
Glenn took me, Steve, Erin & Josh jetskiing one morning while Mom watched Ella, and we went in the intercoastal waterway.
It was really cool, we got to go pretty far up the waterway and saw some incredible houses along the way.
Laughing with Grammy
Erin was CRAZY ABOUT NOLA (as expected) and the 2 of them had so much fun together.
Heyyy, enough pictures already, give me that camera!
It was such a good trip and a really nice end to the summer!
Of course I took many, many pictures, and here are a few of my favorites :)
Ella on the trip there - NOT in a mood for smiling!
This wedding was right on the beach the first night we were there, and me and Erin watched from the balcony.
Really pretty sky
All set, let's go
Ready to swim!
On her turbo boat from Glenn - lots of fun
Being silly with Steve
When we took Ella to the beach earlier this summer, it was always hot and sunny and she had limited tolerance for being on the beach. This weekend was overcast most of the time and a lot cooler, and she had such a great time playing in the sand. We were able to stay out on the beach for several hours each day because she was enjoying herself so much (of course with several snack and drink breaks!).
With Grammy
Hmmm, must check out this giant hole!
Glenn took me, Steve, Erin & Josh jetskiing one morning while Mom watched Ella, and we went in the intercoastal waterway.
It was really cool, we got to go pretty far up the waterway and saw some incredible houses along the way.
Laughing with Grammy
Erin was CRAZY ABOUT NOLA (as expected) and the 2 of them had so much fun together.
Heyyy, enough pictures already, give me that camera!
It was such a good trip and a really nice end to the summer!
Friday, September 4, 2009
At Dad and Donna's
We went to Dad and Donna's house last weekend to celebrate our August happenings - our anniversary, Josh's birthday, and Dad & Donna's 20th anniversary! It was a really fun afternoon and we all had a great time. Here are some pics from our visit.
Ella pushing an antique stroller
Ge in there, bunny!
Ella and Aunt Erin
All of us
Ella pushing an antique stroller
Ge in there, bunny!
Ella and Aunt Erin
All of us
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Such a Big Girl
As I look at some of my August photos, it really strikes me how much of a little girl Ella is, and so far from a baby.
This August...
Eating a cupcake at a kids table (no high chair!!) with a pal
Last August...
Eating solids for the first time from a bumbo seat on the kitchen table
_______________
This August...
Rocking an awesome ponytail, compliments of Daddy
Last August...
Pretty low maintenance hairstyle, wouldn't you say?
_______________
This August...
All ready for the pool - and yes, she put the towel around her shoulders and picked up her raft ALL BY HERSELF
Last August...
All ready for the pool (she just didn't know it!)
_______________
This August...
Me and my babydoll - sigh, yes, she IS trying to propel herself away from me...
Last August...
This little nuggie would never have pushed her mommy away!!
________________
Concentrating this August...
Taking a break from the million things on her agenda
Concentrating last August...
She could sit for up to 30 minutes at one time, in place, playing with these fish cards
I love looking back on these old pictures and I remember how tiny she was last year and although she is definitely a lot more challenging these days, I wouldn't trade it for anything because her personality is just so incredible and she is more fun than anything I would've imagined last August!
This August...
Eating a cupcake at a kids table (no high chair!!) with a pal
Last August...
Eating solids for the first time from a bumbo seat on the kitchen table
_______________
This August...
Rocking an awesome ponytail, compliments of Daddy
Last August...
Pretty low maintenance hairstyle, wouldn't you say?
_______________
This August...
All ready for the pool - and yes, she put the towel around her shoulders and picked up her raft ALL BY HERSELF
Last August...
All ready for the pool (she just didn't know it!)
_______________
This August...
Me and my babydoll - sigh, yes, she IS trying to propel herself away from me...
Last August...
This little nuggie would never have pushed her mommy away!!
________________
Concentrating this August...
Taking a break from the million things on her agenda
Concentrating last August...
She could sit for up to 30 minutes at one time, in place, playing with these fish cards
I love looking back on these old pictures and I remember how tiny she was last year and although she is definitely a lot more challenging these days, I wouldn't trade it for anything because her personality is just so incredible and she is more fun than anything I would've imagined last August!
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