Loves Socks!

So as I stated yesterday Ella loved those two socks she grabbed ahold of while I was folding laundry...she found them again tonight...and as you can see...refused to give them up (she held them while drinking her bottle!)

Let's try this video again... :( it said there is an error every time I try it...I'll have to have Josh take a look at it when he's home again!

Busy Weekend...

Thursday Ella went to the sitters and I worked....another "routine" day for us!

Friday - Josh came home in the morning after working all night...so he went to bed...Ella and I played for a while and I put her down for an early nap (she was cranky and it was early in the day!) Once she got up we played some more, had lunch, and then I decided it was time to get out of the house...Ella only wanted to crawl...crawl into the kitchen and check out the cabinets, pull on the stove, head to the stairs...oh it was a long morning! So...I packed her up and off to Target we went...one of my favorite stores to browse in...and that is just what we did...after an hour of browsing...I picked up a few things I needed and called it a day! We came home and played some more :)

Saturday - it's our Romp N' Roll day! Ella and I bundled up (it was cold out!) and headed to Romp N' Roll...she had so much fun!! Last week she enjoyed it...but this week she REALLY enjoyed it...she was crawling all over and going right up to the other kids...playing on everything...it was fun! After that I ran a few errands and then we came home...woke Josh up...gave Ella some lunch...and then headed out to Home Depot to shop around...it was POURING rain...we were going to go to the "Chocolate Festival"...we did a drive by (the rain had stopped but it had been pouring for over an hour)...and almost every single vendor had packed up...so we didn't stop...instead we went to "Cook Out"....it's this new place in town...and they have amazing milkshakes...I know...just what I need to stay away from to lose these last 10 pounds...but it was amazing :) We came home and all sat on the floor and played...here's a little video of the girl watching "Veggie Tales" again...she wasn't as in to it...as I didn't record it the first few times...this was her 3rd time in a row watching it...so it had lost some of its appeal....

(I will insert it into another post...it won't load!)

Today we went to church...and then to the grocery store...we came home and Ella had some lunch and a bottle...then it was nap time! She slept from about 2-4...yay! Unfortunately I also fell asleep from about 2:30-4 :( I woke up in the middle of the night due to a nasty thunderstorm and couldn't go back to sleep. So that was our day...oh she did climb some stairs today under the watch of her daddy...she did good! I was sitting on the floor folding laundry and she crawled over and grabbed two socks...she would not let go of those socks! She carried them everywhere for the rest of the afternoon :)

Few Videos

A few video's of Ella's crawling...

Today was a pretty low key day...I actually had "vertigo" all day...I don't really know if that's what it is or not...I mentioned it the other week at my physical and my Doctor was like well it's probably not vertigo...it could be you are low in iron, etc....and I really don't get it all that often...and when I do...the dizziness usually lasts about 20 minutes and then its gone...but lucky me got to have it all day today...and it doesn't bother me if I am sitting still...just when I move my head fast...so the trick tonight...is sleep with two pillows and pray it's gone in the morning! That's the other thing...I get it when I lay flat...so if I sleep with two pillows then I don't get it...I instead just get a "neck-ache!" So...anyway...I was glad when Josh got up...so he could watch Ella for a bit and I could just sit still....the dizziness is actually a lot better tonight..so I should be good to go for tomorrow!

We did run out and do a few errands this afternoon (with Josh driving!)...and that was really it...a low key day...tonight I got everything ready for tomorrow...it's much easier to pack bags and lunches the night before...less stress in the morning :)

11 months

11 months old today....wow! I can't believe how fast time is going! I do miss those days of laying her on the floor and being able to walk away...there is no doing that anymore!

Saturday - Ella went to her first "Babies" class at Romp N' Roll...she had a great time...there was lots of singing and playing. Her favorite thing was the "stairs"...they had these big cushions that were stairs..and she climbed them all by herself...with my hand behind her to catch her if needed...she would climb up one stair and stand up and clap for herself...and then go up another stair and stand up and clap....it was quite cute! She got tired out and immediately fell asleep when we went out to the car. I then decided to go to Kohls and do a little shopping...and Ella stayed asleep in her car seat almost the entire time...I couldn't believe it...she woke up right at the end....after Kohl's we stopped over at our friends house as they were having a yard sale to say "hi"...and then home we went. We got home and I put Ella in her high chair with some "puffs" to eat while I got her lunch ready...

Shoving them in! I'm not sure how many she actually ate...as I saw a few hit the floor and the dogs took care of those!

Just love this sweet girls face!!

Sunday Ella and I went to church...I was going to stop at the grocery store on the way home...but it was raining...and I was not about to lug that heavy car seat in heels through the rain...so we came home instead. Josh woke up in the late afternoon...and then we went to the grocery store :) The rain had slowed to a drizzle...annnnd when Josh goes I don't have to carry the car seat! :)

Monday I was off as my sitter had taken a personal day...I didn't have anyone lined up to watch Ella...so it was her and I again all day...4 days straight with an 11 month old is tiring! I was looking forward to going to work again! Josh woke up in the afternoon...and I said.."lets go for a ride"...I was a little anxious just to get out of the house...Josh had a few stops he wanted to make...so Ella and I just went along for the ride!

Today I was back at work...and Ella back at the sitters. Josh picked her up and brought her by my work for a quick visit...when I came home she had learned two "new" things...she was clicking her tongue...so it made a noise....which she thought was great...and her new way to scoot...it's not really a crawl...it's both hands on the ground, one leg in a crawling position and the other leg is almost in a walking position and she pulls herself forward and can go pretty fast...I'll have to see if I can catch it on video...she was all over the place tonight!

I was told this weekend by a few people, "Ella looks sooo much like Josh." Haha...that is for sure...there is no denying that...we looked at baby pictures a few weeks ago...and for sure...she doesn't look like me...but just like Josh!

Well that seems to have been our weekend...oh and just in case you were wondering...I got a new pair of shoes at Kohls :) I did good and walked right past the baby clothes and didn't even look...if I did...Ella would have another outfit (and she has plenty!) This time it was shopping for mom!

Dislike Change

I am such a creature of habit...and I log onto this blogging website and everything is all different...so I think I have figured it out...and hopefully this will post normal!

Our week started out warm...in the 80's on Monday! So Ella got to wear a super cute summer outfit to the sitters...and by Wednesday I had to go into her closet and unpack her fleece winter outfit it was only in the 50s! Our Monday and Tuesday were the same...Ella went to the sitters, I went to work, and Josh went to work! Ella has been doing really well eating...she doesn't turn her nose up at really anything. We're still working on textures...she still doesn't have any teeth...so it's making it a little hard to introduce any table foods (she's had mashed bananas, mashed sweet potatoes, and mashed potatoes....none that she really loves...she'll eat it...but it will take some getting used to)...she eats applesauce just fine and her "yo baby" yogurt she gobbles up...and still her baby food.

On Wednesday Ella and I met my parents for lunch. Josh was sleeping (as he worked Tuesday night)...Ella was a good girl at lunch...after lunch Ella and I went and walked through Target...and of course Ella got a new outfit...I just need to stay away from the baby section...every time I go I find something new for her!

Ella is really developing a personality...every morning I take her into the bathroom so she can see herself in the big mirror...and the first thing she does is look at herself and break into a big smile...and then sticks her tongue out....it's soooo funny...and then she laughs and laughs at herself.

I have yet to capture it on camera....but here is a blurred shot (it's next to impossible to get her to sit still) of Ella sticking her tongue out....

Ella has all kinds of toys to play with...yet what seems to be her favorite...a ramp...yes that's right....a ramp. Now some of you know...Bella (our little white Chihuahua) just can't jump...(she's a little special!)...Josh got sick of always having to pick her up to put her on the couch...so he built a ramp for her...so she could just run up the ramp and get on the couch...well Ella has chosen that to be her favorite toy. She loves to stand or sit next to it and just hit it and laugh....here is a little video of her this afternoon playing with the ramp... (sorry for the blurry parts...I was sitting really close to her so the camera was refocusing...)

Today I called and enrolled Ella at Romp N Roll...so she is going to her first class tomorrow morning...I'm very excited...I think she will have lots of fun!

Oh yes...Ella got called a boy for the second time in 2 weeks....at the same place...at Krogers! She had on the outfit that she is wearing in that video above...I guess the purple looks too much like blue...and they couldn't see the butterfly on her shirt :) I need some bows to start putting in her hair! :)

Well I think that has been all the excitement from our week! :)

Family Weekend

We did have a busy weekend! Thursday night Josh actually got off about 4 hours early...so he didn't sleep his whole Friday away! I woke him up around 9:30...we had an appointment to drop the car off at Auto-Trim...one of the deals was when we got our car...we told them that we wanted the windows tinted and for Mazda to pay for it...so they did! :) The sun comes right into the back seat and right on Ella...now it doesn't! So we dropped the car off...and then we had the Xterra for a few hours...so we went to Jiffy Lube to get a quick oil change...it was overdue...and then headed home for a few hours...we got the call that the car was done...so we went and picked it up...and then stopped at Josh's old work...and stayed there for almost an hour...then we went out to dinner with some friends and Sweet Frog! Ella was a trooper and did great...by the end of Sweet Frog she was done :) She fell asleep right away once in the car!

Saturday - I woke Josh up at 10...and we got ready to head over to the lake. We dropped Ella off with Grandma and Grandpa for the afternoon while Josh and I headed to Roanoke. We went to a movie, stopped at TJ Maxx, and then out to dinner...and on the way back to my parents house...what do you know...they have a Sweet Frog...so we stopped and got a quick treat (good thing it's frozen yogurt!) Ella had a great time playing all afternoon and was tired! She fell asleep on the way home.

Sunday - Ella was up earlier than what I expected...I thought it would be 7-7:30 since she had a later evening....but no....6:30am - time to rise and shine! :) So I got up with her and we got ready for church. We all went to church and on the way home...of course she falls asleep - I wanted to stop at the store to run in and get a few groceries for the week...Josh stayed out in the car with her as I didn't want to disturb her...I knew she was tired. We came home and it was lunch time. Josh did a good job of entertaining her for most of the afternoon so I could do load after load of laundry, and clean the floors, and vacuum, and pack the bags for tomorrow (for her and me!)...she did take another good nap in the afternoon.

She's crawling all over. She loves to look in the mirror and see herself...she makes faces and laughs! She's getting quite talkative...and just babbles on and on. And she still loves her Veggie Tales show! :) I didn't get any pictures this weekend...so I will be sure to get some this week!

Fast Week...

The days just go by so fast lately! Monday was a good day...Josh slept (he got home at 6am)...Ella went to the sitters, and I went to work. What has been even better this week is that most schools are on spring break...which means a light morning commute...which I love...I do not like traffic! I came home Monday night and Josh had picked Ella up and she was just finishing her bedtime bottle when I walked in. I took her from Josh and finished getting her ready for bed. She has started yet another thing (it's something new every week!) I got her all ready for bed, zipped her up in her sleep sack and picked her up to hold her to do bedtime prayers and she laid her head down on my shoulder and put her arm around my neck and snuggled in really close and just stayed there...I stood there holding her for a few minutes - soaking it up...then I walked into the living room still holding her...and Josh said, "why haven't you put her down yet?" My reply, "I just don't want to put her down - I am enjoying every second of this." So that is her new thing now...every night since Monday night she puts her head down on my shoulder and snuggles right in before bed. It's probably a good thing we don't have a recliner...or else I would be sleeping in it every night holding her all snuggled up :)

Tuesday was just a repeat of Monday.

Wednesday I was off and Josh didn't work Tuesday night - so he didn't sleep all day. We met my Mom and Dad for lunch at Red Lobster - a belated birthday lunch for Josh and our Easter lunch since we didn't do anything for Easter. It was yummy as always...and Ella was very well behaved! After lunch I wanted to run to TJ Maxx - one of my favorites! I saw a dress in there on Saturday...but I had Ella with me so I didn't try it on...but I just kept thinking about it...so I wanted to see if it was still there...it was! So I tried it on and I liked it...so I got it! For the rest of the afternoon - Josh got ready for work and Ella and I had some play time...she was sacked out by 6:30!

A few of Ella's adventures this week...well she got her first bruise on her face...she took two good face plants on Monday morning :( I was getting ready for work and Ella was playing on the floor...next thing I know...I hear a thump followed by a cry and a very red cheek which quickly started to turn purple/blue! Here she is doing "tricks"....

She refuses to sit and play...no instead she wants to stand! And next thing you know...she's doing flips over the table...well thankfully that only has happened once! (about 15 minutes after the face plant!)

Here she is being told "No"...(and she's finding it amusing...)

She's not allowed by the TV/Cords, etc...but she sneaked over. There is that one little cord that dangles down...it looked too enticing...(that cord no longer dangles down!)

Josh is off this weekend and it's supposed to be nice...so hopefully we will get out and be able to do something fun!

Happy Easter!

So I desperately tried to get a picture of Ella dressed up....after 20 tries...I did get a semi-smile....

She wore her sweater made by her Great Grandma (my Grandma) and a little pink dress...and posing with her Easter Bunny (from Auntie BB!)

The problem I had is...now that she can move...who wants to sit still for a picture?? A few of my attempts...

Now that I look at these pictures again...looks like she had bags under her eyes?? Maybe allergy related? All 3 of us are sneezing away...the pollen down here is nasty!

Ella and I went to church...poor Josh had worked Saturday night (6pm-6am) and had a crazzzy night - so he was exhausted...came home and went right to bed...so Ella and I headed to church. All these pictures were done before church...then we came home and I tried for a few more...I didn't get very far...the puppies were wired...and were running around...here is Bella playing with Ella...

Ella was fast asleep by 6:15pm tonight...she didn't take much of a nap at all today...she just played in her crib instead...so she was whipped by 5:30...I dragged it out til 6:15pm and that's it...she was just done!

Well just wanted to share those pictures...I have to pack Ella's bag for tomorrow, along with my bag, and make dinner for tomorrow night. I work until 7...so I get home around 7:30...who wants to start dinner then....so I making it tonight so all I will have to do is heat it up tomorrow night.

Busy Bee!

Now that Ella has learned to crawl forward...what do you think her favorite game is...crawling everywhere! :)

A little blurry....but here she is in action coming towards me!

The good thing about all this moving around is lots of good sleep (naps and at night!)....

So maybe not every night...Wednesday night was a little rough...I'm not sure why...she woke up around 12 and just was NOT happy for a few hours...would cry, then calm down, then start crying again....Josh was up as he is still on night-shift hours...so he was the one with her...but I of course woke up and couldn't sleep because I could hear her...I finally came up a little after 2...I held her and rocked her for a few minutes...in under 2 minutes she was snoring...her little arms wrapped right around my neck...I stayed like that for a few more minutes and then tried to lay her down...but noooo the minute I put her down she sat right up and started screaming crying again...so I picked her back up and she instantly stopped...so I held her for a while longer...and Josh said that he would take her again...as I needed to sleep since I had to work all day Thursday...so he laid down with her on the guest bed until she fell asleep and let her stay asleep for bit...when he picked her up and put her in her crib he laid her on her tummy and she did much better...whimpered for a few minutes but went back to sleep...so needless to say...that was a night of not much sleep! (glad they are few and far between!)

Today Ella and I did a mini shopping trip...just went and window-shopped at TJ Maxx...and then hit the grocery store...wasn't as bad as I thought it would be the day before Easter...busy but not bad...

Bananas...Take 2!

Take 2 on bananas...went a little better this time around...

She put it in her mouth a few times on her own this time around...then as you can see in the last picture it quickly became a paint brush...and then soon hit the floor...banana time was over! I then however took the other part of the banana and mashed it up really well and mixed it with some rice cereal...so look at that...she ate bananas that were NOT pureed! She did well with that...ate it right up!

Ella is CRAWLING now! She had gotten pretty good at scooting around on her belly and pushing herself backwards...on Sunday we had just gotten home from church and I took her out of her car seat and set her on the floor while I went and got lunch for her ready...while in the kitchen I grabbed the dog food and brought it out to the living room and set it on their plates....I started to walk away and I stopped and watched Ella pop up on her knees and start crawling! It was either the dog food or the dogs that enticed her! She either thought that the dogs food looked good or was just going after her dogs (she does love those dogs)! Today Josh and I had her in our bedroom on the floor and we sat apart and she crawled back and forth between us...she's not speedy...but she's getting the hang of it!

Ella had a fun game today that kept her amused for about 20 minutes...I had her sitting on my lap facing me (and I was just now getting a chance to look through the Sunday paper)...she grabbed one of the flyers out of the paper....and ripped a large piece off of it...and she held it in her hand...and kept trying to put it in MY mouth...so I pretended to take a bite out of it and made a big noise like I was getting ready to eat it...she laughed and laughed and laughed....she just thought that was the best game ever!

Ella is really enjoying her books right now....she actually likes to look at them instead of trying to eat them! :) She often will sit right in my lap and we'll read some books...as she turns the pages.

This was a cute story...I dropped Ella off at the sitters on Tuesday morning...and the kids just love Ella...they always yell ELLA when we walk in. I set her car seat down and this one little boy (probably right about 2 years old) comes running over. He brings his face down by hers and rests his head against hers...and then sits up and says, "ouch" and is pointing at Ella's hair...Beth and I start laughing...he was saying Ella's crazy hair got him! It was cute...Beth laughed and told him that Ella's hair didn't hurt him :)