Cereal = Success

After a week of practically forcing cereal into baby girl's mouth, all I got was a half hearted opening of the mouth when she saw the spoon....SOMETIMES. But today we had real, honest to goodness big girl eating!! Sassy had to do it because apparently she has the magic touch. Ella must know that I am a terrible cook and wants nothing to do with food made by my untalented hands.

Maybe Sassy's trick was that she wasn't so concerned with the mess. I'm always wiping Ella's mouth after every bite, trying not to get her precious outfit-of-the-day dirty. The OCD in me comes out and that child is spic and span no matter where there's food splattage. Sassy took a different approach. Food was EVERYWHERE...her clothes, her bib, the Bumbo, mommy, Sassy...innocent fur babies caught in the carnage. But hey it worked!

Hmm...hmmm...this is good stuff!

This baby was hungry!! Maybe that's the trick?? Starve her until she would eat dirt?? (which is what Daddy often refers to Mommy's cooking as)

Perhaps this is the reason why she was covered in cereal...

When all was said and done, Ella had eaten the whole bowl of cereal!! And I'm happy to report that we had a repeat performance today. Minus the sneezing and face plant. Sweet potatoes and avocado here we come!

Oh A Day!

We had such a big afternoon around here! Shaun was off today so he got to hang with his little girl.

Daddy and Ella took a little afternoon nap. Baby girl rockin the post-nap hairdo.

Ella and her dada. Yes, her bangs really are that long now! Bows and headbands have become more than an accessory and help to keep that hair out of her eyes. I can't imagine cutting it just yet.

We then ventured over to Sassy and Poppy's house to greet Poppy with a kiss after a long day at work.

Sassy and Tia are working on flowers for this weekend's wedding so the kitchen was filled with beautiful flowers. I love the smell of the kitchen with all the fresh blooms. Especially roses. I thought we'd see if Ella enjoyed them as much.

Oooohhh...pretty flowers

Ring around the rosie, Pocket full of posies!!

Posing with the roses (don't worry, they don't have any thorns!)

Well, rose petals ARE edible aren't they?!?!

Pretty in Pink Coxcomb

Love the fiddle fern!!

Beautiful orchids

And bright ranunculus

Since Ella LOVES being outside, Daddy decided to take her on a walk around the yard. My grandmother had a love for all manners of flowers, trees and birds that she passed down to my mom. I remember being a little girl and walking around her yard while she explained the different flowers. She knew them all! While there was no method to how she planted things (she just threw seeds and seedlings wherever), her yard was beautiful and always filled with pretty birds enjoying the wonderful garden. My mom has the same love for greens and blossoms. My sister also got the gift and is wonderfully talented at putting flowers together to form stunning arrangements. My hope is that Ella will get this amazing talent and love. So almost every morning I take her outside and we walk around exploring and talking about all we see. I point out to her colors and shapes and let her feel the leaves and flowers. She gets a kick out of it. I can't remember all the names of things like Sassy or Tia, but I try!

We have even decided to plant a garden in our backyard. We'll grow veggies and flowers. I can just picture Ella out there in a few years learning to pick weeds the same way my grandmother taught me. There is a correct way, ya know!!

Hangin in the yard






Stopping to smell the pretty flowers






A true Southern home must have Magnolias ya'll! This tree was one of my favorites as a child. It was always so tall with huge white blooms. I wonder what Ella's favorite will be??







Playing around with Dada















Before we knew it it was time to go to bed. Back to the house we went. While I was getting Ella's bath stuff together I found Shaun and baby girl playing in the mirror. She has started to recognize herself in the mirror lately and Daddy got her to laugh at herself tonight.





Who's that silly girl??

Today, We Try Cereal

A wedding down and we are exhausted!! The event was wonderful and lots of people had lots of fun. Their band, Top Choice had almost all the guests on the dance floor shakin their groove thing.

So today was the big day and Ella tried big girl food!! Rice cereal it is. I didn't know that you aren't supposed to give babies cereal in their bottles anymore. You start with the cereal straight out of a spoon. So I had given her some in her bottle last week. She seemed to love it! I waited until Shaun got back from gambling in Coushatta over the weekend so he could feed her from a spoon for the first time.

I can't say it was exactly a success, but I wasn't expecting much. She sure did like playing with the spoon though!

Smiling at her Daddy

What is this?!?! Dog food?!?!?!

Why, oh why are you doing this to me???

And how it all went down....or rather in and right back out actually!!

Happy 4 Months Ella!

Sweet Pea is 4 months old today!! What a gift to have been able to see all the things she can do now. I swear they happened over night. I put to bed an infant and woke up to a little girl. Ella weighs 12 lbs 13 oz and is 2 feet long. She's gonna be a tall gal. At her appointment yesterday she even started laughing at her pedi!! It was the first time Shaun got to hear her. She just kept babbling, smiling and laughing at her doc.

At 4 months Ella:

Laughed for the first time and is starting to laugh a little bit every day

Smiles at herself in the mirror

Watches Mommy when I move around the room

Will act shy when I tell her to say hello, she'll bury her head in my shoulder

Deliberately grabs things to put in her mouth

Grabs her feet and tries to put it in her mouth

Says 'maaaaaaa, maaaaaa' from her crib in the morning

Talks to herself ALL.THE.TIME with coo, ahh, baa, maa and who

Can stand up while leaning against something

Sits up for a few seconds

Recognizes family and friends with a smile

I'm already starting to miss the anticipation of all the firsts. The first coo, first smile, first laugh. But I know there are many around the corner. I can enjoy the excitement of her first tooth, word, first time she crawls and walks. But one first I don't have to wait too long for is solids!! Yayyy!! She has been very interested in me eating and drinking and had a strange obsession for bottles...including Diet Coke bottles. She chews when I chew and doesn't really suck on things anymore. There's lots of chompin' goin on over here. At her doctor's appointment yesterday, I told the pedi that she seemed ready to eat solids. Well we got the go ahead to start with rice cereal for a bit and then go to pureed foods! I'm so excited and I think Ella is too. She hasn't had much interest in her bottle lately. She actually grabs for my food sometimes!!

So here is the big girl...showing off her smiles and standing for the camera.

Big hugs for the frog

Well, my, don't you look tasty my friend

Yes, I will have a bite, thank you

Look at me mom!!




This butterfly tastes mighty delicious too!

Summer girl

If I could only get these toes into my chomper

Playing with Dada in the grass

Best Mother's Day Ever!!

I absolutely can't believe that one year ago today, I found out I was going to be a mom! At the time it seemed like this day would never come. And now, like all moms say, where has the time gone? I remember on Mother's Day last year, I was soooo very tired, like nothing I've ever felt before. I even fell asleep in my old bedroom at my parents house. Well 24 hours later, I discovered why...I was going to have a baby! I had to wait for Shaun to get home from golf and I couldn't wait to tell him. As hard as motherhood sometimes is, I am so thankful I get the chance to raise a little person and watch her grow into an amazing woman.

And I find it sweetly funny that on the anniversary of finding out I was pregnant I got one of the best gifts a mom could get today...See the video below.

I LOVE MOMMY

Whoops!! Down we go!

Ella is 4 months old and growing like a weed. I have done my best to cherish every little part of her because of that. I never want to forget the little smiles when I pick her up first thing in the morning, the giggles when I tell her she is my sweet girl and how she reaches out to grab my hand when I change her diaper.

And now....first laughs!!!

Chiquita Bonita

Feliz Cinco de Mayo!! Our little senorita donned her festive dress from Tia to celebrate Mexico's victory at the Battle of Puebla. Mommy will have a margarita to commemorate the occasion.

I feel like dancing!!

Twirling in my skirt!

Doin the chacha!!

Small Paul Sweetie

We had to run a few errands and wore an outfit that Sassy bought at Nordies. With little pink sneakers and a monkey with a crown, she was so cute, I could have died!!

Our little Small Paul (Paul Frank for Kids).

Ella can completely hold herself up now. Since she's not a big fan of being on her tummy, I have a feeling she may skip crawling and go straight to walking. She LOVES to stand and kick her legs!

The Flower Girl

Our good friends Lacey and Mike got married on May 1st and they asked if Ella could be the flower girl. So we found the perfect dress and Shaun and I walked our little flower down the aisle and took our places as Maid of Honor and Best Man. We are so happy to have such wonderful people in our lives and grateful for how much they love Ella!

The day before the wedding, we were running around getting things setup. Since it was so warm, Ella busted out her first halter top of the season. While Aunt Lacey and I talked, she played on the floor.

Whhhoooo's the cutest?!?!

Look at that cute little back!! It got all wrinkly when she lifted her head up.

All this wedding planning has worn me out!!

Ella's sweet flower girl outfit from Janie and Jack with matching socks. The flower headband is courtesy of Sassy from a new baby boutique in Austin called Ga Ga that carries super cute clothes and accessories.

The Best Man with his flower girl

We should get the professional pics in a week, so stay tuned!! Thanks Lacey and Mike for allowing us to be a part of your special day! We love ya!