Ella's First Beach Trip!

We had an amazing time on Ella's first beach trip! Of course we booked a condo at the Polynesian in Ocean City. It was so awesome! I would have sworn that Ella would have eaten the sand, but she didn't! She loved the sand, ocean, relaxing, pool, and spending time with family. It was so great having family around because they all helped out and gave Brian and I the chance to do some things on our own. Most of the pictures below explain how much of a great time we had all together. We stayed from July 10-17. I was so upset about coming home and definitely wanted to stay longer.

I noticed some new things she does. The trip was long therefore we had to keep her occupied in the car. She watched some Little Einsteins, but the girl loves crackers. If I said, "Ella, do you want a cracker?", she would stick her hand out (her car seat still has to face backwards and I was sitting in the front seat). She also loves the Justin Beiber song "Baby." She will sing it by saying "baby baby ooooooo." I will post a video. Some of her newer words are "baby, Ella, yeah and Pepper."

This was the first day we were there. The porch was like a play area for Ella. She loved it. There was so much going on that she could watch. I think she looks happy!!!!

This was probably Ella's favorite thing to do while we were there. That was just relaxing and chilling in the beach chair. She just hung out and ate a lot while she was sitting there.

It was a little cloudy earlier that morning. Ella loved just being out. She enjoyed a lot of the action especially at the games and the arcade.

This is probably one of my favorite pictures ever. Ella loved the sand and water. It was a beautiful morning and we got down to the beach early to take some pictures before the crowd got there.

I think she might be used to the camera.

She loved her sand toys! She liked playing with the water in the bucket.

Ella loved hanging out with Ryan.

........and Angela

This is Ella people watching from our patio. We glued down a couple of quarters to the boardwalk so we loved watching all of the people try picking them up.

I had to do this!

Brian and Ryan rented boogie boards and she became a little surfer girl!

We love this place!

Ella met a friend named Emily!

Ella's One Year Check-Up!

Ella had her one year check-up today. I know I'm a little late, but I wanted to wait until I was off for the summer.

Her percentiles: Head:50%, Weight 10%, Height 75%

She is still growing on the same scale and the same rate. She now weighs 18 lbs. 6 oz. I was thinking she was around 19 or 20 lbs. and thinking that I would be able to turn her car seat around, but nope. I have a tiny little girl!

Her new things include walking all over the place, loving Little Einsteins, saying: mama, dada, hi, byebye and pepper, and sleeping great. She's been sleeping from about 8-8 and taking a 3 hour nap in the afternoon. I know I'm super blessed. She is also eating a lot of table food. She likes our food (last night was chicken parmesan) better than her baby food. What can I say, I'm a good cook!

I am really enjoying being home with her. We play all morning and in the afternoons she naps. It's such a joy being able to watch her grow up.

Ella is Walking! (in her brace)

This is Ella walking at one year and one day!!!!

Ella is a YEAR old!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My little girl is 1!!! What a great and fun birthday party! She had a lot of friends there and all of her family came. Below are some pictures of all of the fun!

This is her cake that she completely demolished! She loved it. She ate it for about 15 minutes. I didn't want her to get a stomach ache!

Our happy family. Everyday Ella gets more fun and lovable!

Ella with her Patterson Grandparents!

Ella with her Ward Grandparents!

All of this kids except one that had to leave early (Riley). Ryker in car, then Tyson, Andy, Casey, Roman, Jasmine with Ella on her lap, Jackson, Nathan and Roman, Sarah and Linleigh.

Lauren got her a bean bag! She loves it.

Daddy put her on the slide. She liked it.

In the little tykes car. She had such a great day :)

A little fun with her dress and mother nature!

Oh my, where has the time gone? I can remember like it was yesterday that Ella was about to arrive! One vivid memory of the night before I was supposed to go to the hospital to be induced (Saturday night, the 6th), I went to cold stone and loaded up on some ice cream anxiously waiting for the next day to come. It's amazing how much about her has changed in the last year. She started out sleeping most of the time and now she is all over the place. I never imagined that being a mom would be so rewarding. Everyday I thank God for her. She's my little blessing.

I'm so glad to be Ella's mom!

Well, today was my first Mother's Day. It could not have been a better day. Brian let me sleep in. I only slept until 8, but it seemed like so much later than her normal 6:45. Look at the pictures below and it will tell you about my day!

It's so crazy because I came downstairs to this! Brian wrapped these. Crazy! I don't think he's wrapped a present for me since we were dating. I didn't care if they had empty boxes inside the wrapping because it meant so much that he put so much thought into everything. I'm sure you're wondering what is in these packages. Really, it doesn't matter. I guess for memory sake I will share it though. In the balloon bag (that he found in the basement closet, I love how he knew I had a stash down there) was an FBI water bottle and coffee mug. In the box on the bottom, was definitely the most special, was a picture frame that had her picture on one side and a clay mold of her foot on the other. In the bigger box on top of this one was a flash for my camera.... woohoo! Then, in the other small package is an extra piece (difuser) for the flash. There is also a card there and in the card Brian schedule me an 80 minute Swedish massage next Saturday! Oh my dear, this is AMAZING! He wouldn't let me open them until after he made me a bacon and egg sandwich and after we both finished eating breakfast.

Of course Ella did not want to eat her oatmeal so I gave her some cheerios. She seemed to enjoy these. I really think it's because she is teething and needs something good for her gums.

This was just after I put my new flash on my camera. I LOVE IT :) I just love this picture of her. It really shows how beautiful she is!

So, we went to visit my mom also. We put each baby in the chair to take pictures. This is my cute little chic.

The three babies together. They actually sat there for a couple of minutes while I took about 25 or so pictures. I love this one because Ella is leaning on Nathan. It's so fun watching those three grow up together. They see each other at least twice a month to play.

Here's another one. My mom asked if I could get one without Nathan's hands in his mouth. I think it's hard enough getting an 11 month old and 2 14 month olds to even sit in the chair together!

I might just be the most proud mom ever. This was after a long day for her. She's such a little trooper.

She definitely loves her dad too!

My 1st Mother's Day was amazing. Life has changed so much, but in the most amazing way. Brian didn't realize she got changed and fed so much. He gave me a break, but it was definitely an eye opener for him too!!!!

Getting in the habit of keeping up with posts!!!

Wow, three times in one month. I might become solid at this one day! Sorry Ella, I just have SO much fun playing with you :).

Not a lot has changed since the last time I blogged. I did take her to the doctor on Friday and the doctor said she was still improving. It breaks my heart not know when she'll be able to move around like children her age actually should without a brace. It doesn't bother her one bit. She is so upbeat, always happy and quite a poop machine! I actually just mentioned to my babysitter tonight that she is going to keep baby wipes in business. I'm tempted to take a picture of her poop just so she can see what she put me (and Jamie) through an average of three times per day. Today, it was four!!!!

Ella likes being entertained while she eats baby food. Her most favorite thing to do is watch Little Einsteins. Usually for dinner, I allow her to watch it. It helps her eat and I don't want dinner to be a bad experience for her.

She has four teeth now and she is definitely a talker! In the morning, she will babble and talk. Her words consists of "dada, mama and nana."

I'm getting so excited for her 1st birthday! I'm beginning to plan a lot. I purchased her dress, bib and hat today. It's such a shock that she in turning a year old. Where has the time gone? Oh Ella, you are one loved girl!!

What a GREAT Family Day!!!

I've really began to notice how much our lives revolve around doing fun things for Ella. Before I had her, I never imagined that I would be this crazy over finding the best places to take her by making family memories. Of course I know that she won't remember these memories, but it sure does make some awesome pictures!

These pictures were taken on Sunday April 18th, making Ella 10 months and 10 days old! The White House had an open garden tour so we decided to make a fun family day out of it. Ella was great! She loves being outside especially when there is a lot of action. Below are some pictures!

This is while we were in line waiting for our ticket time.

It was exciting to be this close to the White House.

This might go down as one of my favorite pictures ever. Ella is just so sweet.

In front of the Monument

I love her even more than this picture shows.

This is in front of the Obama girls' play set.