My 7 month old

Ella turned 7 months old yesterday! I know everyone says it, but I just can't believe how fast the past 7 months have gone. Ella's personality is coming out more and more every day. She babbles and "talks" constantly. I can't wait for her to actually start talking to see what she has to say! Sarah was telling me that at the school she teaches at, they have quiet time for 5 minutes in the morning. She said that as soon as the 5 minutes are up, a few of the kids just burst with all the things they've been holding in for the past 5 minutes. I think that's gonna be Ella :)

This past weekend was a baby shower for my good friend Jenny! I cannot wait for Jenny's baby girl to come so Ella can have another playmate! The theme for Jenny's shower was rubber duckies-Jenny loves them. I found an adorable 3D duck mold and decided to go for it. It was pretty tricky! I felt like I was on one of those cake challenges on the Food Network channel! (sidenote-is anyone else really into those cake decorating shows or is it just me??)

So, here's a picture of the duck cake when it was finished! I'm showing you the cake from its best angle. Looking at it straight on, it looked a bit "off". I had to decapitate it in order to slice it. Jenny ended up taking the duck head home and she's gonna freeze it and maybe have it at Kelsey's 1 year birthday party! How cute!

Ella LOVES to be outside. She just looks around and takes it all in. I love that she's big enough now to sit in her stroller and be happy in it. Here she is last weekend in her floppy sun hat.

So Ella's hair is finally long enough that I can clip bows in it! It looks a little funny since it takes pretty much all the hair she has to get the clip to stay. But I still think its pretty cute!

And finally, one of her in her swimsuit. She usually wears leggings with it when we head to the Y. Does anyone know if they make the little swimmers diapers in smaller than 16 lbs? That was the smallest I could find.

I haven't taken her official 7 month picture yet. Yesterday she came home from Rusty's mom with a really red swollen eye. She kept itching it and seemed really irritated. I was going to take her picture last night but she was just too fussy. This morning when she woke up it was fine, so I'm not sure what was up with that!

Baby food, yum yum

Who knew making homemade baby food could be so much fun? I've gotten really into it! I decided when I was still preggo that since I would be staying home with Ella 3 days a week, surely I had time to make babyfood. I imagined slaving over the stove, cooking up peas, carrots, green beans and squash. I had no idea how fun and easy it would be! I talked to a few girlfriends who did their own food to start off with. I looked at this website and got some great pointers. Ella's first food (after rice cereal) was avocado, which she hated. But I soon learned that she'll eat almost anything if I mix it with banana or applesauce. Except peas. So far, haven't found anything I can mix that with to make her eat it! Well, the other day I found this website and it opened up a whole new world! There are actual recipes, which I love. Before, it was just very basic to me (mush up a banana and add some applesauce). But this webiste shows how you can use spices and introduce lots of different flavors, I love it! At Ella's 6 month dr.'s appointment, her doctor told me not to be afraid to use spices in my babyfood but I wasn't really sure how to go about it. One recipe I really like (and tried yesterday) was the sweet 'toes recipe. It was really good! Ella hasn't had it yet. We just introduced peaches yesterday so I'm waiting a few days before trying something new. Another one I thought was really interesting was the Pork "Chops" and Applesauce recipe. I love how it gives the age range it's recommended for. I look forward to trying lots of fun recipes from this website!

Other than trying new foods, Ella has also started her swim "lessons" at the Y! We go with my friend Jen and her little boy Zane. Its not so much swim lessons as it is just singing songs and splashing around in the water. But I think Ella still enjoys it. I have some pics of her in her swimsuit but they're still on my camera so that will have to wait until the next post. But trust me. Adorable.

To tide you over, here are some more pics from over Easter weekend.

Ella with her cousins. I don't think they got the whole pinwheel concept but this one turned out pretty cute

At church

Ella givin a big smile for her great granny

He is Risen!

He is risen indeed! Praise God for an empty tomb and a risen Savior!
Happy Easter!

Well I am ashamed at my lack of posting and hope to not go that long again! I was so behind in uploading pics. I'm sure lots has happened since I last posted but now its all a blur! Ella had her 6 month dr's appt a few weeks ago. It went well! She's 15 lb 12 oz (44%) and 27 inches (84%). Looks like she's gonna be tall and skinny. Hmm, wonder who she gets that from? Not me!

Ella's first Easter was great! We had an awesome church service this morning and I really felt God's presence. I'm so thankful for a wonderful church, God is so good. After church we came home and ate and played lots of wii. I got a chance to take a nice long walk with Ella and my mom. Ella was such a happy girl all day. Her Oma and Opa were here and so was her Aunt Rachel so she got extra spoiled. She loved all the attention but after awhile I could tell it had just gotten a little too much! I took her upstairs for awhile and just had some Ella/Mommy time and she was all better. What a sweet little girl she is! Here are a few pics we took today:

Ella, Oma, me
the 3 of us :)

do you think this girl is gonna be spoiled??

Today I had nursery duty at church. Its weird being in the nursery now that I have one of my own in there! She's just now getting to the age where if I'm in the room she wants me to hold her. Our church nursery is so fun right now...we have quite a few babies around the same age. Here is a pic of Ella and her future BFF Kennedy! Kennedy is my friend Amber's baby and she is such a sweetie! I look forward to these girls growing up together!

One of the most exciting things that has happened in the past week is that I learned that Target sells BabyLegs leggings! Oh my they are the cutest thing ever!! They are definitely nice for having Ella wear around the house, they make changing diapers so much easier and keep her legs nice and warm!! I did have an embarrasing moment when trying to decide which ones to get. Rusty and Ella had come with me to Target. Rusty (unbeknownst to me) had wandered off with Ella to the toy section (shocker). So I walk over to the leggings section, thinking he's right behind me. I see a cart coming up right beside me so I assume its Rusty. You probably see where this is going. So remember, I am REALLY excited about these leggings. I see all of them before me and I say "OH MAN, OH MAN, HOW WILL I DECIDE WHICH ONES TO GET!?!!" I was purposefully being extra dramatic. So then I hear someone say "uhm, excuse me." Yeah. Not Rusty standing beside me. Just some lady who now thinks there's some legging-obsessed girl who talks to herself. heehee. Ok, all that to say, here is a picture of the leggings :)

I love this next pic of Rusty and I lovin on miss Ella! We went to a get together with Rusty's side of the family this weekend and had such a great time. Ella is the youngest of all the cousins so she got extra attention and loved it!! It was so great to see everyone!!

And finally, a few pics of Ella's 1st Easter dress. I love love love this dress! She will probably be wearing it every Sunday to church untill she grows out of it :) The photo shoot went pretty well until I brought out the Easter basket with the grass in it. The grass stayed in the basket for approximately 5 seconds. Now I'm finding it everywhere, including in Ella's diapers. I guess babies really like that stuff, who knew?

We may do another photo shoot in this dress this week. I keep timing these shoots wrong and Ella's not wanting to smile! Of course as soon as the camera gets put away, she's all smiles!

Big Day!

3.27.09

Today is a big day.

Today is Ella's half birthday! WOW! Can't believe my baby girl is 6 months old already. Its so fun watching her grow. She literally learns something new every day, its so amazing! Her personality is starting to show more and more and its so much fun to see. She makes me laugh every day-she is such a joy. Today, in honor of her half birthday, I did a little photo shoot. It definitely wasn't as good as the one Amber did, but I think it went pretty well for our first real photo shoot! Here are some of my favorites...

This one was taken last weekend at my Aunt's house. Ella was SO tired. Sunday's are hard days for us with schedule and this day was especially hard since we went out of town. Ella didn't sleep in the car for very long so she was getting super cranky. She fell asleep on her daddy...so sweet!

This one was taken today...I was trying to get her official 6 month pic with the sign. Its getting a lot harder to get her to sit still! I have about 10 pics of her eating the sign. So, this one will have to do!

And this is the sight that greets me almost every day after her nap. I'll hear her start babbling in her crib and when I go in to get her, she's always rolled over onto her belly and gets stuck and starts calling out for her mamma to rescue her :) Notice her fingers poking through her blanket. Its so funny! Her great grandma made her that blanket and she sleeps with it every night and always pokes her fingers through the holes. The only bad part is that I'm always pulling fuzz from between her fingers!

Today is also a big day because 10 years ago today was my first date with Rusty!! It was funny, last night we were laying in bed and I said - 10 years ago today, I was thinking, tomorrow I have a date with Rusty! haha! Tonight to celebrate, we ended up going to the Jazz Kitchen in broadripple. It was fun! We really wanted to do The Melting Pot but then decided to do this instead. Rusty always makes fun of me because I love the "smooth jazz" station on the radio. My only complaint was that it was pretty loud so we couldn't really talk. So afterwards we went for coffee and got a chance to talk. I love that after 10 years, we still have things to talk about besides work, Ella, etc. We can still talk about our hopes and dreams, about God and our walk with Christ, about anything really! I love that we can still laugh together. I love that after 10 years, there is no one else I would rather spend time with than my husband. How awesome of God to give me such a wonderful partner in life.

A Sampling

Here is a sampling of pics I got taken of Ella a few weeks ago! All in all it wasn't a great photo shoot. Ella just would not smile! She just seemed freaked out the whole time we were there. I might go do another photo shoot in a few months. It would help if she could sit up on her own. She just hated wearing that tutu! Guess it was too itchy!

We have been loving some awesome spring-like weather here! Ella loves going on walks so we've been doing that a lot. Next month we're starting mommy & baby swim lessons at the Y with my friend Jen and her baby Zane! Looking forward to that!

Ella and I are missing Rusty right now. He's in Atlanta for work. We dropped him off at the airport last night, it was so sad to see him walk away towards his terminal! Ella has been extra fussy since he left...I think she knows! Thankfully he will be home late Friday night so we will see him soon! He is the best husband and daddy ever and we love him!!

Finally!

Ella is finally rolling over! I seriously wondered if it would ever happen. She rolled over from belly to back when she was about 3 months old but she only did it 1 time! Since then I keep waiting and waiting for her to do it again....nothing. Finally yesterday she rolled over from back to belly. After she did it once, she just kept doing it over and over. I was so happy! I do have to give her a little push to get her on her side but from that point she does it all herself! So far she goes over her left shoulder more easily than her right shoulder so we'll have to work on that.

Mostly pics

Not much time to write but I wanted to share a few pics with you from this weekend. We had a great time celebrating Emma's 3rd bday! Happy Birthday Emma! And great job Lissa on a very fun and cute (ballerina themed!) party.

Getting ready for church

Ella with her flower headband (a party favor from Emma's party!)



Emma blowing out the candles

Me and Ella at the party

Just looking cute :)

Ella Laughing

Last night Ella was laughing and it was so funny!! Try to ignore me, I look hideous in this but I just had to share it! The funniest part is right before the camera goes sideways (sorry), you have to listen carefully but Ella does this really low laugh and its hilarious! Hope this makes you smile :)

5 months already!

Happy 5 month birthday to my sweet Ella Bella! Can't believe 5 months ago today she was born. Its amazing how much my life has changed-for the better-in 5 short months! Every day I feel like I just fall more in love with this little girl. Tonight I was putting her to bed and when I finally went downstairs I realized I'd been in her room for almost an hour-not because she was fussy, but just because I love spending time with her, rocking her, singing to her and just loving on her. I can't imagine a sweeter little girl! Here are some things about 5 month old Ella:

*I wake up most mornings to her sweet voice-little coo's, squeals and babbling
*She's rolled over once (about a month ago, from belly to back) but refuses to do it again
*Her favorite activity is definitely her jumparoo...she loves that thing!
*She's just recently started warming up to her bumbo seat but she doesn't like it for long
*She's had rice cereal 3 or 4 times but I'm not going to officially start her on it until next month
*Today, for the first time, she started to "fake cough". She did it all day long! At first I thought
she was actually coughing but then I realized she was just doing it because she figured out how
to!
*Her favorite book is Old MacDonald
*Her favorite songs are Twinke Twinkle and Jesus Loves Me (she just starts smiling SO big
whenever I sing either of these songs!)
*She is a big time Daddy's girl...she gets SO excited when he gets home from work
*She is very friendly and smiles at pretty much anyone who will pay attention to her

Ok, I better stop now...I could probably keep going but I'm sure this list is getting boring! Here are some pics from this past week.

These 2 were taken today in her Purdue t-shirt!

Tonight at Chik-fil-a

Getting dressed!

This week has been so hectic for us! We were out and about all day Wednesday and Thursday. Ella was so off her routine so today we just stayed in. Its amaizing how much better she did today. I think she's gonna be a homebody like her mamma. I love going out and doing things but really I'm happiest just hanging out at home! I can definitely tell that Ella knows when she is at home. She's just more herself. Wednesday we went visiting a lady from church. She was pretty good while we were there but I could just tell she was a little off. Thursday I went to get my license renewed. Did you know you can't show your teeth when you smile for your drivers license picture? How weird. I wonder if that's just in Indiana or everywhere?

Tomorrow night I'm making a Pioneer Woman favorite...Apple Dumplings. Oh my. If you haven't tried this recipe, TRY IT!! You won't be disappointed. And, for a simple recipe, I thought I'd pass along a "recipe" I have for a 1 minute apple dumpling dessert that I found in my Kraft Food magazine awhile ago. Its not like award winning or anything but I must say its pretty tasty!

-Put 5-6 vanilla wafers in the bottom of a bowl. Scoop some applesause on top. Add some cool whip and mix together with the applesause. Microwave for 1 minute. Put more cool whip on top.

I'm telling you-its good! The vanilla wafers get really soft and yummy and the cool whip tastes really good microwaved. Cool whip is always something I have in my fridge. In case you were wondering.

My little ballerina

The tutu I ordered for Ella finally came in the mail today! I love it! We tried it on tonight for size. Oh my goodness, she looked so adorable!! Can't wait to get her pics taken in this!!

Good mail day!!

I love love love getting good mail. I guess everyone does. So I was super excited over my good mail day and thought I'd share it with you all :) FIRST, when I open the mail box, I see 2 packages. yay!

I anxiously open package number 1.....its the wipe holder I ordered on etsy! I love it! The best part is that all the proceeds go to help build Cora's Playground. If you haven't read this story, it is so heartbreaking. It really touched my heart. There are a ton of things being sold on etsy right now to benefit Cora's Playground...check it out!!

Here is the front of the wipe holder..

And this is the back side. So pretty!

Next, I open an envelope and pull out this cute card from my good friend Marisa! Thanks girl, made my day! :)

Now, time to open the next package. Woohoo! A headband for Ella. She has so much pink and brown and had no headband to match!

And...last but not least...

I promised some Ella pics in my last post, so here they are!!

On Valentines Day

Gettin ready for a bath

Ella and mommy

Thanks so much to all of you who gave suggestions for our 10 year date anniversary! We haven't decided what we'll do yet but I'll let you know! Also, I opened up my comments to annonymous comments now. A few of my friends don't have google accounts and I want you to be able to post!