Your New Friend

Your new friend...

An unlikely source? Yes, but a new pal for you. So, I was cleaning off the dining room table, and I have a bunch of items from Mammy and Paw Paw's house that I need to put in a safe place. One of the things is my old stuffed snowman. My mom made it for me (its basically like a pillow cut-out of a snowman, but did I love that thing when I was a kid?? It has the drool marks all over it to prove it.

Anyway, you found it before I could send it upstairs. You picked that snowman up, and immeditaely you started carrying it all over the house. You would not put it down!! You gave it kisses and hugged it. You are in love with that thing! You finally let it go, but if we wave it in front of you, you fall in love with it all over again. Pretty funny.

Love, Mommy

Your First Trip to the Beach!!

Well, Ella my little beach bunny, I was very reluctant to take a 10-month-old to the beach, but boy was I surprised at the outcome!

Somewhat last minute, your daddy and I decided to join our good friends Tyler, Veronica and our godchild Breanna at Perdido Key, Florida. We all stayed in a two bedroom condo called the Windemere. It was really nice with a beautiful long balcony view of the Gulf. The water was crystal clear, the waves were big, and the weather was GORGEOUS.

This was your daddy and my first real vacation with you, which is always a learning experience. We bought some speakers for your carseat so we wouldn't have to listen to kid's videos the WHOLE way there. They worked like a charm once we got the extension for the cord...but your daddy is quite the technical guru! One thing we DID forget was to bring the rest of your DVDs, so unfortunately we listened to the Wiggles the WHOLE way there and the WHOLE way back. Your daddy and I know ALL the words to every song....

Thinking all you would want to do is eat the sand, I borrowed a neat sheet from your Aunt Shelly and we hauled the play yard all the way to Fl. Your first morning on the beach, we just plopped you on the sand to see what you would do. You LOVED the sand. You just kept looking at it so intently, running it through your hands. It was sooo funny to look at because you were concentrating so hard on it. You did that for a LOOONG time too. After that, we went into the water. I was so afraid you'd get saltwater in your mouth or eyes and start screaming. But daddy brought you out in that water, and you loved it. You splashed it around, and daddy always found a way to get those waves to splash you in the face. You just smiled or sat there with no expression at all...as if you were trying to figure out where the heck we were and what this was!! You sucked your thumb a lot, I guess to suck the saltwater off. Gross.

You also loved the pool, which mommy enjoyed a lot too. It was very refreshing, and with the weather being so nice, it was just sooo relaxing. We spent almost every morning on the beach, and our afternoons in the pool or napping. It was great.

You and Breanna had a blast too. Breanna was 2 and a half, and I thought the age difference might keep yall from having fun. But she treated you like a little sister...yall would run up and down the condo screaming at the top of yall lungs. I am sure our neighbors loooved that. At night, we would all get dolled up and go out to eat. One night, at Cottons, you were so tired! You were in your high chair eating baked potato pieces, and you started crying. I picked you up, and you immediately fell asleep on my shoulder. You slept there the rest of the meal. You are so funny.

One night we decided to take family pictures, which really came out great. How can you go wrong with a background like that??

On fourth of July we got some other great shots of you. You looked so cute in your little patriotic dress. And of course, daddy couldn't help but put you in the water, which resulted in you tumbling around in the waves IN your pretty dress. Oh well.

It was a great trip, and I think you really enjoyed your first visit to the beach.

Love,

Mommy

Nine Month Pictures!

Ella Pearl-
Here are some of your nine-month pictures. We really weren't going to take nine-month pics, but one day when we were at Sam's, there was a company setting up appointments for these old-time photos. We thought it would be something different, so we scheduled you up. On picture day, you were not your normal smiley self. Mommy and Daddy kept trying to make you smile, but the photographer politely told me "I got it, Mom." Well, apparently she DIDN'T have it with her feather duster and lame noises because she never got you to smile one time. Oh well. You still look adorable, even when you're not smiling.
These are sooo much your 9 month faces...
Love, Mommy

I've been an awful Mommy

Ella Pearl,
I know it's been a whole month since Mommy has posted anything on your blog. Yesterday was your 10-month mark, and I have been horrible. Between school ending and our trip to Minnesota, I have TOTALLY been slacking. Not to mention Mommy's laptop is on the fritz! Regardless, thats mo reason to slack on my beautiful little girl, so I promise to do better!
Your Aunt Mary has a new baby blog for her baby (check it out at http://babyutz.blogspot.com/), and she has totally inspired me to get my booty moving!

So, at 10 months you've had sooo many milestones! I'll put pics and videos of all of them, but I'll just say that you've been taking your first steps, singing, dancing, and saying Ma Ma Ma and Da Da Da. It's been quite a monumental month!

I love you sooo much, and you are growing up too fast!! I can't believe you're going to be a year in just two short months. I love you, my sweet pea.

Mommy

Big Girl Car Seat

Ella

Here's a quick pic of you in your new big girl car seat. So far so good. You LOVE being able to see yourself in the mirror and out the window, and it looks sooo comfy!!

Love,
Mommy

More Milestones

Hey baby girl,

We had quite a busy week! Wednesday night, the three of us went to Buffalo Wild Wings to meet some teacher friends for the Astros game. The girls gooed and gahed over you the whole time. I was so glad you got to meet Crystal and Eric, because they were planning to babysit you this Friday night.

You really bonded with your Aunt Crystal.

And you seemed to make a good impression on Aunt Alex too!

And Aunt Christine never wanted to put you down!!

You had a blast! You even got to gnaw on some celery, just like the Wonder Pets!!

Oh, and you've got two bruises on your face!! One on each cheek! Now that you're pulling up on anything and everything, you fall just as easily! The other day, daddy and I heard when you fell in your playpen onto your music vanity...it was a hard hit, and it probably contributed to one of your bruises. Poor baby...everyone says its just the beginning too!

Friday night, Crystal and Christine (both teachers from Arnold) came to babysit you so Mommy and Daddy could have a date night. Eric had a late flight (he's a pilot), and he was sooo disappointed he missed the poo poo diapers! But Aunt Crystal and Aunt Christine took charge and had a great time babysitting you. You were soooo good for them too (great job, by the way...our plan is working!!), and you made a great impression. Ha ha.

Mommy and Daddy had dinner and saw a movie (17 Again, it was sooooo very funny!). It was a great night, and it was probably the latest we've stayed out in a looong time.

Another thing you do right now, besides the clapping and shaking your head NO, is putting your hands above your head. Not sure what you're doing there. Dancing? You love to dance with Elmo, so maybe that's just a new dance move!

Today, when we all woke up, your second tooth has broken the surface of your gums!! It looks sooo cool. Later that day, we all three went to my school's teacher crawfish boil. I was so impressed by the spicy crawfish and cajun setup, and it was nice to meet some new friends. When we left there, we shopped for a new car seat for our little big girl. After much shopping and travelling, we FINALLY found one we liked. I think you're going to love it too. After Daddy installs it tomorrow, we'll have to take some pics of you in it. Sooo cool.

Well, we're all pooped! I hope you had as good of a weekend as we did! I love you, my little angel.

Love, Mommy

Stormy Weather means No School!

Little Ella,

We all got a treat today! Last night it rained and stormed and lightning-ed and thundered...so much, that today Mommy didn't have any school and Daddy didn't have work! It was bad for Houston because it was really bad weather, but it was good for us because we got to spend the whole day with you!! We lost power off and on, and the rain in the pond in the back got really high. The highest we've ever seen it. Northwest Houston saw 11 inches of rain! Crazy!

Fortunately, we found lots of things to do around the house with our favorite little girl!

Love, Mommy