Party Planning

With Ella's first birthday just a month or so away, I've started the planning process.  I love getting inspired, and thanks to my sis-in-law Kathie, I've settled on the perfect theme.  (I've probably ran through five themes already, and Adam has pretty much just resorted to nodding in agreement whenever I bring up more ideas.)  

I've started to collect little items as I see them to add to Ella's party decor.  I love setting a scene, and truly believe ambience and decor add a lot to a party.  We're keeping the event pretty short and simple, but I couldn't resist these items I found at Home Goods that were super inexpensive.

One can never have enough vintage-y birdcages and bird houses. Adam says I'll be so out of luck if we have a son because I can't indulge in these girly parties anymore.

I can't believe Ella will be turning one so soon!  The planning will hopefully distract me from the fact that my little baby will be graduating to toddlerhood.  Sigh.

These Days

We have fallen into quite a comfortable pattern around here.  It's nice, and Ella definitely thrives on routine (extra plus for me!).  Her new-found mobility gives her lots of independence and opportunities to explore.  And she's gotten to be quite a social butterfly and loves going out to see friends and having people over to visit.

Another play date with her BBF (Best Baby Friend), Madelyn.  It's so neat seeing them interact more and more each time we get together.

Having discovered the pugs' gate, Ella likes to plan her prison break on a daily basis.

Sigh, my baby loves hugging furniture.

Helping me organize our cookbooks one Sunday afternoon.

Time with Grandma.  Ella LOVES her Grandma, and reading books is on of their favorite pastimes. 

More Garden Pictures

These photos come courtesy of Kathie Tran.  I took her and my mom to the Huntington with Ella.  We wanted to show her the children's garden, as a possible site to take Ella's one year pictures.  I can't believe how unbelievably hot it was that day!  Ella was sweating just having me hold her.  We lasted all of 15 minutes there before calling it a day.  The sun was so strong, we resorted to standing under an umbrella to show Kathie around the garden.  It was definitely a glimpse into how difficult it will be to keep Ella's fair skin shaded from the sun.

The sweetest little door and entryway to the garden.  I want a grown-up version of this.

Seeking shade.

Cute as a button despite the sweltering heat.

Auntie Kathie calls this her Queen Amidala look.

Secret Garden

Sometimes I forget (and take for granted) that we live in an area that offers a lot of beautiful places to visit that are rich in history.  A few days ago, Ella and I went with Grandma Donna and Auntie Sharon to the Descanso Gardens.  I had taken Ella there when she was 2 1/2 months old on an attempted mommy-date, but it was so scorching hot that I quickly regretted it.  It was also in the early days of taking her out by myself, and having to nurse her in the gardens in the summer heat while being self-conscious about breastfeeding in public made it an unfortunate experience.  But I did make a mental note to visit again.

So I was really happy when Donna bought us a membership (which also gives us entrance into other botanical gardens around here).  I love botanical gardens.  One of my favorite books as a child was "The Secret Garden" and despite the slight creepiness of the story, I wanted my own secret garden.  And every time I visit a botanical garden, I fantasize about how cool it would be to have something like that in my own backyard.  It's an unrealistic fantasy, but a girl can dream, right?

Roses in bloom.  

I love wisteria.  I'd love to have it grow along our pergola in our backyard, but the upkeep would be crazy.

A branchy archway.  I covet this. 

In my idyllic fantasies, I have a house like this where I can plant herbs and make tea. 

Ella has taken a liking to visiting these gardens as well.  She loves being outdoors, hearing the birds and rustling  of leaves, and reaching out her little hand and touching the different plants that stick out along the paths we are walking on.  She especially loves seeing the water fountains and (occasionally) being able to splash in them on a sunny day.

Squirrel Rodeo.

An Ella-sized chair.

Ella loves grandmas.  

 Needless to say, we really enjoyed this past visit.  While it was a little too warm (sun + a fair-skinned baby = struggling to slather sunblock on and a constant search for shade), we all appreciated the fresh air and blooming flowers of spring.  My favorite part of the day was seeing the Boddy house, which gave me  lots of inspiration for the Pinterest board inside my head.  We look forward to taking Adam along on one of our excursions, if not only to motivate him to make me a rose garden in our backyard.

Ten Months Old

Happy 10 Months!

Getting a good picture has become increasingly difficult.  This month's shoot lasted all of 4 shots before she crawled away.

You are now crawling your way into your first birthday.  How did everything change so suddenly?  Every month you blossom into a new baby--like a more advanced version of yourself.  It's amazing to watch.  This month has been filled with so many milestones and developments.

There is crawling and dancing and hand clapping.  You are clearly understanding more and more words.  Daddy, Remy, dog, ni-ni, who's here, where's Ella?, come here, yay!, cheers!, share with __, Grandma, hi!, bye-bye!, peek-a-boo, soft touch... the list goes on and on.  You have started communicating with us more deliberately now that you can sign "milk," "come here" and "hi/bye!"  Your babbling has become more articulate, and we are pretty sure you are trying to say "dog," "Remy" and "Daddy."  Watching you make those connections on a daily basis, absorbing all that the world can teach you, is so fascinating and rewarding.  Your confidence continues to grow as you experience new situations, people, and environments.  

Your love for animals is apparent as you squeal every time Remy, Mia, or Augie comes by.  You love to dance and clap your hands when music plays or when we sing a happy tune.  Whenever we chase you around, you let out that infectious laugh that makes us feel like everything is right in this world.  You love to get comfy-cozy on the couch while we read your new favorite book, "Heads," and any blanket or scarf is an opportunity to play peek-a-boo.  You still love feet and toes, picking up fuzzies and Remy's fur (and "pretending" to eat them), and chewing on blocks.  You have learned to laugh when we find something funny, and sticking out your tongue will usually get you a silly reaction.  You have a new-found love of cylinders and we can barely tear you away from the legs and sides of furniture (especially the coffee table).  We're working on your boundaries and how it's not okay to lick kitchen appliances and splash in Remy's water bowl.    

I love watching you watch the world around us.  Wherever we go, you are more than happy to just sit in your stroller, holding on to the sides, and take everything in.  You are just so happy and content, it's hard not to feel the same way.       

If You're Happy and You Know It

As you can see, I'm finally getting around to posting some videos.  Here is Ella's most recent one.  She loves music and now she can dance and clap to songs.  (Note her new dance move: The Spin Cycle.)

Vroom

This post is a little late in coming, but it was too cute to not write about.  While watching Ella for me one evening, Grandma Donna discovered a new way to play with a rolling bin that houses Ella's blocks in her playroom.  Adam quickly joined in on the fun.

I love how she instinctively knows to hold on (she does that while riding in her stroller, too).  And every time we tried putting something in there with her, she'd push it back out (including Remy--because you know we tried throwing him into the mix).  She had a blast and still hints at getting back in for a ride every now and then.

I Like to Move It Move It

One week shy of turning ten months, Ella started crawling.  She'd been working up to it for a while now, and we even though she may not crawl and just go straight to walking.  But one day, while Adam watched her after work, she made her first movements toward a new puzzle I had bought her.  I was definitely thrilled, since I still harbor guilt from her broken leg a few months ago, and how that might have  inhibited her gross motor skills development.

But now she's all over the place.  As she becomes more confident with her new skill, she's crawling faster and faster, and becoming more adventurous.  Which means gone are the days where I can plop her down and do some things around the house, knowing she won't be moving very far from where I left her.  Now she's trying to open drawers, licking the refrigerator, and testing out Remy's water bowl.  I'm definitely getting my workout chasing after her and stopping herself from getting into trouble.  I can only imagine what it will be like when she starts walking.

Remy is clearly the victim of Ella's new-found mobility.

Now she can get to the toys she wants to play with.

I turn my back for a second... (I swear, she's turning into a pug more and more each day.)

Helping me open up boxes.  She dug into her new toys right away.

Easter

(I got into an argument with our Internet connection, and I obviously lost, which is why this post is late in coming.  But I am finally connected now, thanks to a very helpful Time Warner Cable service tech.  And all is right with the world again.)

We had quite an eventful Easter, celebrating with friends and family (both from here and out of town).  We wanted Ella to learn early on that East is more than a bunny, eggs, and pastel colors.  So while we did the requisite "Easter-y" stuff, we also tried to show her the real meaning by reading her books about Jesus' life, singing children's hymns and giving thanks for the most amazing gift that God gave us.  Unfortunately, we didn't make Easter mass with her (the times and length of the service just made it unrealistic), but we hope that she will come to know the miracle, grace, and love that Easter represents.

That being said, we celebrated Easter sunday with a low-key brunch at Grandma Donna's house with our immediate family and Ella's godparents.  It was quite a little feast and we definitely enjoyed the sunshine and company.

Food coma strikes again...this time, strawberries were the culprits.

Her Easter egg hunting consisted of sitting on Grandma's lap and me handing eggs to her.

We realized we haven't taken a picture of just the two of us in a long time. 

Ella's first Easter basket--filled with goodies she would enjoy: puffs-filled eggs, MumMum crackers, clementines and stuffed toys.

After brunch, Adam's cousin and her family made a trip out to see us and stayed with us for the remainder of the weekend.  Ella had a wonderful time seeing her cousins, Sydney and Samantha, again.  This time around, she was able to interact with them more.

For Easter, Ella received a new dress to match her cousins.  While it's a bit big, we couldn't resist taking a picture of the three girls.

The warm weather made poolside lounging inevitable.

And for her first birthday, Ella received an American Girl baby doll.  She loved it right away and appreciated the care that her cousins took in choosing one for her.

We love that Ella got to experience such a warm Easter holiday filled with family and friends.  We definitely look forward to her learning more about the significance of why we celebrate it and all the festivities that will come with it.

playful

I know I shouldn't be encouraging this behavior, but I think it's super cute when Ella sticks her tongue out.  We had some mommy-daughter fun with the camera to capture her silliness.

Play time has also become much more active, with toys strewn everywhere and Ella all over the place.  Even Remy realizes how differently she plays now and how he, too, is a victim of "Hurrican Ella."

She now claps after she throws things behind her.

Remy the Victim.

sweater

I was going through my camera, trying to delete some pictures, and I quickly realized how much I like to dress Ella in cardigan sweaters.  I blame it on the California weather where sweaters are the perfect outerwear for a day that can be mild to hot even in the middle of February.  That, and I just really like cardigans (I've been known to own a few myself).  I like to think of her style as "grandma chic."

A cardigan collage

Barefoot in the Grass

This weather just lends itself to an afternoon outdoors.  I love picnics, and happily, so does Ella.  So we invited the grandmothers along for another impromptu picnic.  Ashley was even able to join us, having gotten out of class early.  It was a lovely day all around.  And by the time we got home, we were all ready for a nap.

 

Ella learned to clap, and loved showing off to her grandmothers.

I've been holding off introducing citrus fruits, but when she got a taste of an orange she was playing with, I had no choice but to peel it and let her try it.  Of course, she loved it.

apart

(Let me preface this post with the fact that Adam and I basically do everything together.  We're that couple that goes to bed together at the same time, who like to be in the same room of the house whenever we're home, etcetera, etcetera.  It's gross and a little nauseating, but it's the truth.  So when one of us goes on vacation leaving the other alone, it's usually filled with lots of "I miss you"'s and "thinking of you"'s.)

Last week, Adam went to our cabin with a couple buddies of his for a guys' trip.  He doesn't often get to get away with his friends, so I knew it was a special and important trip for him.  But this is the first time that he's been gone while I have Ella here.  And lots of people do it all the time, but I've definitely realized how challenging it is to be by myself with a nine-month-old.  And while I stay home with her normally, it's still a big difference to be the only parent 24/7.  (My second preface should be that I am incredibly blessed to live near family, and am always just a phone call away from back up.  In fact, my mother-in-law was over every day to just give me a break and give Ella a change of scenery.  It's just... different.)

We started going out for breakfast.  Ella's new favorite activity is eating a blueberry bagel while people watching.

The weather finally warmed up, and the sunshine brought us to Grandma's where we enjoyed the beautiful weather in her new backyard.

So with Adam gone, everything just happened.  (Of course it did!)  Ella caught my cold and it soon became the battle against the nose (of course).  I swear I felt like I was just constantly covered in her snot.  Not pretty, but the poor thing got really congested and would just wake up every morning crusty.  Then I got food poisoning, which struck me at two in the morning (of course), and left me about to pass out in my bathroom.  And then Ella decided to start waking up at three or four in the morning in want of a snuggle (of course), and without someone to keep me sane from trying to let her soothe herself to sleep, I caved (of course) and brought her into bed with me.

Nursing her cold, Ella tried to nap as much as possible.

Snuggling on the couch is an excellent cold remedy.

Not the best picture, but here she is bright-eyed one morning after crying her way into bed with me.

I think what we missed most was having Adam home during bath time and bed time.  We have a little ritual we do as a family, and it just wasn't the same without him (plus, Dad gives way better baths than Mom does).

I don't "play" as much with her during bath time as Adam does.  But she was pretty content with her toys.

While it wasn't my favorite time having Adam gone, I think we fared pretty well.  I tried to keep us busy and fill Ella's day with different activities and made sure she got to see different faces.  Despite her cold, she was hamming it up and just being her wonderful, silly self--which definitely filled my days with joy and smiles.  We are definitely happy to have Adam home again, though we're glad he got a have a good trip with the guys!

She's gotten into putting things over her head and playing peek-a-boo with them.  She also loves being able to make you laugh.  We had a ball during this exchange.

Then she decided she was going to try to share Remy's bone.

Ella has learned to share, and will often offer you her food or toys (whether or not she actually gives them to you is another story).  We think it's sweet.

She fell asleep eating, and I couldn't resist another picture.  She actually kept opening her mouth of me to put food in, even though she was asleep.  My kind of girl!

Again, enjoying her bagel during breakfast at Grandma's one morning.  She ate the whole chunk (much to Remy's chagrin)!