Ella has been a ham lately and is starting to know when she is being funny. One of her favorite things right now is to wear her winter hats while in the house. She can even put some of them on herself! Here are a couple of pictures.
So close!This past weekend we had Christmas with the Brash's (Marc's dad and stepmom). We had a good weekend, a little chaotic, but nice. Eric and Susan got in on Friday afternoon and Marc's brother, John, picked them up from the airport and they came on over to the house. That night we did dinner at Goose Island and everyone was good, for the most part. Ella learned how to "dip" at dinner! She had a couple of fries and Uncle John gave her a ramekin of ketchup and she was dipping!! She loved it.
Saturday we did Christmas and it was a busy day. Katie, Johnathon, and I made a gingerbread house, and I think we did a pretty good job.
We even made a big dinner and it was great once it finally cooked. We only had a 7.5lb turkey breast and it ended up taking almost 4 hours to cook, it postponed us a little bit. But once everything was done, Eric cut the turkey and we were finally able to eat.
Then after dinner it was time for presents. The time that our nephew, Johnathon, had been waiting for all day!!! Ella was so tired by that time that we weren't sure she was going to make it though. Once we started with the presents though she was asking for more (with her signs). Here are some pictures from the whole process.
All in all it was a good first Christmas celebration. The next Christmas, real Christmas, is just around the corner and we'll be in Missouri to celebrate with my family. Then we'll be home for a day and then head out to Ohio to do Christmas with the Keyes, Marc's mom and stepdad. It's going to be a very busy week and a half, but I'm looking forward to it.
It has been a busy week and we are just getting started. This weekend is our first Christmas with Marc's Dad and Stepmom. We are looking forward to it, but it's going to be busy having extra people in the house. I have been baking for the last three nights and it has been exhausting!! We made treats for Marc to bring in for his assistants and we also brought treats to all the ladies who work in the daycare at the gym. They all got their treats today and everyone had rave reviews, so all the work payed off!
I am started to get really excited for Christmas and seeing my family. Having Christmas this weekend with Eric and Susan will really kick off the holiday and make it real. I can't wait to see how Ella reacts to all the festivities. She is just growing up so much lately and acting like a toddler more and more each day. She understands almost everything we say and knows exactly what she wants and does her best to communicate it to us. She is also very into her winter hats now and wants to wear them all the time, even in the house. I don't have a picture yet, but I'll post one soon. She has so many of them that I let her pick out which one she wants to wear when we leave the house, it's pretty cute.
Of course December has been busy already as expected. Ella has been a trooper so far and is trying to roll with the punches. Last Friday I took Ella to an indoor play area in Skokie and she had a ton of fun. Here she is riding on the fish rocker.
Ella and I have been running a bunch of errands to try and get ready for the holidays and keep the house running at the same time. The other day we went downtown and met Marc for lunch and went to see Santa. I have to say the Santa was a little disappointing, not as cute as I was hoping for. I didn't think Ella would be afraid of him, but she was. She didn't cry, but would not go to him or even sit on his lap. So this was the only picture we got!
We have our Christmas tree up and Ella is very interested in it. She has been really good about not pulling on it or the decorations, however we still put up a baby gate around the tree. Here she is examining the tree.
With our new snowfall this past week Marc wanted to take Ella out into the snow. She spent about five minutes outside compared to the 15 minutes it took to get her all dressed for going outside. She wasn't a big fan of sitting in the snow, or even being outside in it at all. We got some really cute pictures though!
We are getting ready to do our three Christmas' with our families and a very busy next few weeks. I'm looking forward to it and seeing our families. I haven't seen my siblings and nieces and nephews in a long time and the kids are growing so fast!
Even though we had a great Thanksgiving, we are glad that it's over. It's hard traveling with Ella and trying to get her to sleep well at other houses. We traveled to Ohio to spend Thanksgiving at Marc's sister's house with his family. Actually it ended up being about 34 people for Thanksgiving dinner!!! It was a full house to say the least.
Ella had a great time though, sans sleep. She is on the move constantly now, that's right she is walking. Here is a video of her walking right before we left for Thanksgiving.
At Aunt Rachael's house Ella discovered the hearth to the fireplace and thought that it was a great place to take a seat. Whenever mommy and daddy were sitting there she wanted to sit up there too.
Ella also enjoyed playing with Grandpa Keyes a lot, he was always on the floor with her.
All in all it was a great Thanksgiving, we just had to deal with a crabby Ella for a couple of days after we got home.
We also went out this past weekend and got our Christmas tree! We got it up and decorated. Ella has been really good with it so far, not touching too much. We just ordered a baby gate to go around it though, just in case. Pictures to come of the tree.
That's right everyone, Ella is walking. Well, not as her primary mode of transportation yet, but she is definitely on her way. She started taking steps on Sunday and has been going strong ever since. At home we can get her to take about 4-10 steps at a time. The ladies at the daycare told me that yesterday she walked halfway across the room, of course she did that there and not at home! Here is a video we took of her walking the other day. It's not the best, but we'll get some more.
Besides walking, she is getting much more verbal. No words yet, but lots and lots of sounds. She is also using her signs really well lately, she knows: eat, please, more and dog. When she wants her milk she says "maa". It's amazing what she understands even though she can't talk back yet.
Right now we are getting ready for a visit from my parents this weekend. We are looking forward to a fun weekend and to be able to get out of the house and do some things. I'm sure I'll have lots more to write about after this weekend and the upcoming holidays.
Well, we just took a trip to NC to visit Marc's mom and stepdad, for Ella and me it was our first trip out there. We had a lot of fun out there and enjoyed the time away. We drove up to the mountains one day and spent the day in a cute little town called Bowling Rock, it was beautiful.
It was fun to spend time with Alice and Mitch and Marc's sisters as well. While we were there Ella started getting more adventurous with her trying to walk. She was taking laps around the kitchen with Grandpa Keyes help. She also was standing up all over the place, without holding on for help. Here is another picture of her doing one of her favorite things, swinging!
Ella had her first Halloween party last Thursday at the daycare at the gym. She is a skunk this year and wore her costume the whole time she was at daycare, mommy got to go workout.
Then on Saturday we went to Spooky Zoo at the Lincoln Park Zoo and she had a blast. She dressed up again and got to go around and see all the animals and all the other kids. She loved having her pumpkin bucket to put any treats in.
Ella was such a good girl the whole day. I can't believe how big she is getting, she is definitely not a baby anymore! I think that she enjoyed the whole experience of Spooky Zoo. Here is a video of her dancing to a band at the zoo.
Lately Ella wants to do everything by herself, including getting into and onto things she shouldn't. We have been having fun with her new found adventurous side. Here she is standing on her train (daddy was watching her).
She has also been climbing into the cabinets whenever she can and into the bin we have by the front door (we keep shoes in it). Today I caught her in the shoe bin, she was in there face first, with the shoes still in there too. She wasn't fussing so I let her figure it out by herself and in a second she was sitting up and so proud of herself.
We have a busy few days coming up here. Tomorrow is Ella's Halloween party at the gym daycare. She gets to dress up for it and everything. I'll have pictures soon. Then Friday is Daddy's birthday and Adam will be babysitting her for a little while while we go out to a bar. On Saturday is the Spooky Zoo at Lincoln Park Zoo, we are looking forward to that if the weather stays decent.
Well, yesterday Ella learned how to get on her train by herself! All she wants to do is ride the train now. She can even push by herself, but just with one leg (that is all that can touch). She sits on the train a little crooked so that one foot can touch the floor. At the daycare at the gym they have a little red ride-on car that I guess she has been riding on the last couple days as well. What a big girl she is getting to be. Today she even tried to take a step on her own and has been standing on her own more and more. Here is a video of her riding on her train!
Ella is so busy lately! She is so close to walking, it's going to happen any day now. She is starting to get more adventurous and walking along everything, as long as she can hold on with one hand. The last few days she has been into her baby doll and likes to carry her around with her.
We went to one of her friends b-day parties this weekend (the girls are two weeks apart from each other). Ella had a great time! They had hired a lady from Wiggleworms to come and entertain the kids, they all loved the songs. Ella really got into it when the lady pulled out the shakers to use. Here is a video of her dancing with the shakers and having a great time.
Tomorrow Ella and I are going in to get our flu shots, I hope it goes ok. Poor girl though, she just had her 12 month shots a week and a half ago and now I'm making her get another one! At least she doesn't associate the doctors office with getting shots yet!!! So we don't actually have a breakdown until the shot is given. I'm sure it'll be fine about 15 min after we leave the office.
Well today we went in for Ella's 12month check up, and everything is great. The doctor says that she is perfect, but of course we already knew that. She has to get a new prescription for her eczema, it has been acting up again. She also got three shots today which did not make her happy at all. She had to get her shots in her arms this time instead of her legs. She cried for a good 10 min at least and wouldn't let daddy hold her, only mommy. She is growing well, she is 28 1/4 in long and 20lb 7oz, getting to be such a big girl! The doctor must have made her really tired because she is now taking a nap and has already been sleeping for 2 hours.
On another note, we bought Ella's Halloween costume the other day. She is going to be a skunk! It is so cute, but you'll all have to wait until 10/27 to see pics (that is the day of Spooky Zoo at Lincoln Park Zoo).
Yesterday was Ella's first birthday and I think that she had a good day. I made her waffles for breakfast, her first time having them, and she liked them. I even gave her a little syrup for dipping! Then after her nap, we went downtown to have lunch with daddy and then we did a little shopping. She wore her birthday onsie and looked like such a big girl. She likes to be out and about and look at all the people and other things on the street. She is pointing at everything now, and Marc and I just try to name things she is pointing at. She missed her afternoon nap, but was still a good girl, and managed to stay up all the way home on the train.
We still can't believe that she is already one, but now we are looking forward to the next great year. So many new things for her to learn and do, and soon she'll be walking!
