I Am Thankful For...

For being able to still go "home" to a warm, loud, beautiful house, courtesy of my mama

For keeping everything you've ever had...in a massive storage unit...outside in the cold. Because one day, you just might pull it out again for your grandaughter.

For a silly daddy

For Miss E not throwing up while eating dinner

For the silly pictures that make you realize you just need to give up getting the little to smile AT the camera

For the furry poodle always willing to get in your lap

For the groomers at Exmoor who allow Boo to see again

For the Smurf 'n' Turf...just cuz

For the sweet baby girl who has brought a whole new joy to my life

For Tia Santa, who lets E drag her around every morning by the hand

For the poodle-horsie

For a mother in law who did a fabulous job raising her son

For the most amazing hubs a girl could ask for, who works extra hard so I can spend precious time with my girl

For every little moment that I wish away, counting the minutes until she can crawl, walk, talk, be in a room without constant supervision.

For my family

Turkey Day Eve

Tutu cute!

Cutest little pants eva!! From Gapbaby, they are little leggings (with a reinforced knee for crawlers, how genius!) that have a tutu attached.

Trying to eat the knob after I repeatedly told her no. She continues to go for things that are off limits and watches me as I tell her no, just in case I decide to change my mind or something.

Walkin on over

And then just one piggy...

After a nap and a wardrobe change we headed outside to enjoy the beautiful weather before the freeze sets in. Miss E loooves to be outside. At Sassy and Poppy's house she constantly walks to the front door and then cries to get out in the yard.

I just love that Ella is in school. When I picked her up this week, I got a little treat....

Her very first artwork!! I can only imagine how much fun she had doing this little project. She loves to put her hands in things and splash around. I had kept meaning to let her play with finger paint here at home but never got the time to do it. Can't wait to see what's next!

Love you my little da Vinci!

Two Piggys, One Pony

Holy piggys, E's hair is long enough to pull back into one ponytail!!

10 Months!

Just getting cuter and sweeter by the day!

It has gotten difficult to take pictures of Miss E. Well, ones that are actually of her face anyways. And a smile while she's facing the camera? Pretty much unheard of. No matter how many crazy sounds I make or toys I tempt her with, she's just too distracted. She doesn't want to stand still. No, she wants to walk over and get the camera that is in front of my face.

Going, going...

Baby girl has done so much over the last couple of months. From crawling to walking to talking. She still wants to crawl a lot of the time, but is walking between things and making it look easy peasy. Always on the go, snuggling has taken a back seat lately, which makes this mama a little sad.

She now completely understands the word no and usually listens. And she is starting to remember things I have told her not to do, like stand up in the bathtub.

She can say most of the sounds of the letters of the alphabet. She can even say her "S's". Kinda crazy, right? I think it's because she hears "Sassy" all the time. She will say "Sa" and Si" And it's a bit hard to tell, but she can also say her "T's". Though not as much as the "S". The other day, she threw in the "C" or "K" sound. Tia nailed it when she said Ella sounded like the sucky-wand-thingy (the scientific name you know) at the dentist's office! There is also lots of shrieking and screaming. You think she's upset but it will end with a smile. I'm going with she's just trying out her vocal chords...right??

She also imitates noises and motions, like coughing, clapping and meows. When we picked her up from school Friday her teacher asked if we say "Yayyy!" to her alot. I just replied, "Oh she clapped for you huh? Yeah, she's just as proud of herself as we are."

E is also really enjoying books these days. Whenever I start Brown Bear, Brown Bear, that little girl's face lights up! And it's now usually followed by a little clapping. She studies the cover, then slowly turns the pages, intensely looking at every detail. And when I finish, I usually put the book down on the nightstand. Well she loves it so much that she will shimmy her way out of my arms to the table, grab the book and bring it back to my face. Sooo, we read it again...and again....and again until it's way past her naptime.

And school? L-o-v-i-n it! I can't help but worry that will change. I know she will have good days and bad days. But when we picked her up last week her teacher asked if she had ever been in daycare because she was so happy! No crying whatsoever. And she is already attached to her teachers, which I am very grateful for. From what I hear from other moms, it won't be too long before she's asking me to take her to school everyday. ::Tear::

Miss E is really good at manipulating toys and objects, but hadn't yet done the following repeatedly. While playing the other day, I showed her how the toy worked a few times and Bam! she started doing it herself. What a smart cookie! Thanks Uncle Bob and Aunt Ruth for E's new favorite toy!

Blankie

Somebody sure loves her blankie. Miss E pulled it out of her night bag that was packed for a stay with Sassy and Poppy. She likes to rub her face in it, as well as her lovey at night. Hmmm..sounds oddly like her mama. Well, I mean, uhh, I don't do that now as an adult. That I know of! But as a child I loved rubbing soft things on my face. So when she's older she can say, "Well I got my stubborness from my Dad and I got my strange love to rub blankets on my face from my Mom." Yeah, that has therapy written all over it.

Schoolgirl

I can't believe it, but we officially have a school girl, or baby rather. Yup, Miss E attended her first day of school today! Although we were going to wait until after she turned 1, this mama can't get any work done what will all the walking, opening cabinets, eating dogs, etc.

And I hate to say it, but I think E is flat out bored with me. Once she masters a toy, it becomes so last year. And as much as I'd love to keep showering her with new shiny toys, I kinda like our house the way it is with the sparkles and shapes and noise makers confined to certain spaces. And Ella loves to be outside. And I love to take her outside, except for the dog bombs and those delicious looking acorns that she can't stop wanting to eat. And other babies? Totally adored by E. At Old Navy the other day she got all excited, preparing her in depth convo with the mannequin girl at the front of the store. A sure sign she needs to have her first "girl talk".

There is a reason there are people paid to teach littles. And I am not one of those people. As much as it scares me to think of someone outside of my family loving and hugging that sweet face with the fountain piggys, I know Ella will thrive at school. And it's only twice a week from 9a-2:30p. I think I can manage.

Pictures?? Who has time for pictures?? Not this baby-a-go-go.

No way, no how am I standing still for this Mom.

The only way to keep her from walking, er...running off was to pick her up

And no smiles, no matter how much of an idiot I made of myself with all the "Boo!"s and singing Hokey Pokey.

And we were right, Ella loves school. When we dropped her off I was prepared to hear the screaming as we walked down the hall. But nope, nothing. Not a peep. We put her on the floor to play and she took off, clearly more interested in the table with all the shiny new toys. As we left, I told hubs that surely she would realize in about 30 minutes or so that Mama wasn't there when she looked up. That when she got hungry, Mama wasn't there to make her bottle. That when she was tired, Mama wasn't there to cuddle her and get her lovey. And the screaming little would be released.

But when we went to pick her up, we watched her from the door to her classroom. She was playing on the floor with a shape. Happy as can be. It warmed my heart to see her so content, so focused on the toy. I could see her little wheels spinning, preparing to study all the curiosities of the world. She then turned around, recognized us and smiled...and turned right back to the toy. For just a second though, then she turned around and with that big open mouthed grin, crawled over to her waiting mommy and daddy.

Even though it was earlier than expected, my mommy heart told me that Miss E was ready. She was ready to learn and explore and become a little girl. And I was right.

You Make Me Feel Like Dancing

A super cute little trick Aunt Lyndsey taught E.

Now, she puts on her dancing shoes and does a good 'ol rendition of Flashdance at least 40 times a day. You go girl!

So Proud

E is just so darn proud of herself! All that she's doing makes her want to give herself a pat on the back, a thumbs up, a clap even.

I guess we celebrate all her little accomplishments so much that she picked up on it. Last night she started clapping and I thought she was just banging her hands together. Well, did she prove me wrong! All day I've been telling her to clap and that's exactly what she does! Yayyy Ella!