Ella Bella

Now that Ella is on the move so much more, pictures don't always do her justice. We also wanted to share all the entertainment that we've been experiencing lately; she is turning into such the little girl. Watching her play really suggests that she's using her own imagination but mimicking what she sees in the world around her. For example, she picked up Erika's cell phone today and immediately placed it her ear and said "hi!". She also loves a gold bangle bracelet of Erika's which she'll place on her wrist and show it off. In fact, she'll restrict herself from crawling around just to keep the bangle on her tiny little wrist. It's pretty remarkable. Oh, and to see her give Cooper hugs! But did we mention hugs for mommy and daddy? Those just melt our hearts.

Here's a few clips of Ella......

Ruby Red:




Who Needs a Sippy Cup? Water from the faucet works just fine!





Oh, and when Ella doesn't get what she wants....here's a nice sequence of pictures:

Reaching the breaking point - notice how she's strategically placed herself on her tummy in preparation of the next move. Can't tell, but toys have been pushed out of the way. Very effective.

Breaking Point. Butt up in air and planting face into carpet really captures the moment nicely.

And not more than 2 minutes, all is forgotten and she's on to bigger and better things.....

Happy Birthday To Me!

The birthday girl in her birthday dress

We've been doing a whole lot of reflecting this past week and reminiscing about the end of Erika's pregnancy and the whole delivery process of little Ella. It's hard to imagine that it's been a whole year so far; it sometimes just feels like yesterday that Erika went into labor. But the incredible experience of meeting our daughter for the first time has only led into greater and more incredible experiences of raising our little girl. It's sometimes hard to imagine that we could love her anymore but sure enough, each day she just brings us so much joy that we seem to be falling in love with her even more. So, we can only imagine what the next year will bring!

Ella had her first birthday party on Saturday and was certainly the belle of the ball. While the adults quenched their thirst on a keg, the little ones enjoyed some time outside and some rides in Ella's new wagon that her mommy and daddy bought her for her birthday. It was quite the site to see and amazingly, all the babies seemed to enjoy the ride!

Interested in seeing some par-tay pictures? Click here.

Happy Birthday, Ella!