Time to catch up!

Keeping up with the blog the last few months has been just about impossible, not unlike keeping up with our active, amazing 15-month old! Ella is growing every day, learning so many new things, and amazing us with her never-ending sweetness and energy.

While walking around the house Ella loves to say tons of words, show off her knowledge of animal sounds, and wave to every object (and person) she passes.

Time flies!

This video is from a few months ago when Ella was finishing her final days of crawling. She certainly mastered that quickly! Ella was also showing off her ability to say some very important words.

She crawls!!

Ella has had a big couple of months with lots of milestones occurring. She has had 2 pearly white bottom teeth for a few months now, and all of a sudden at least 4 teeth have decided to make their appearance together. We were pretty certain that Ella was going to skip crawling all together and go straight to walking. She would sit up on her own, drop to her tummy and do a crazy fast turn/flip, and then sit right back up in a new location. It was quite amazing to watch. She eventually started to consider crawling by doing more of a slither on the ground, and virtually overnight that slither turned into a very fast, coordinated crawl.

Niagara was a-fallin'

Before school started in August we took the opportunity to drive to upstate New York. We had never been up that direction, but always wanted to plan a trip there. It was a long drive, but Ella was a trooper! Our first stop was Niagara Falls. It was incredibly impressive to see! We decided to take a ride on the Maid of the Mist. We weren't sure how Ella was going to do with the sound of the roaring rapids, since a month prior to our trip she started to not enjoy the sound of the faucet filling up the bathtub. Thankfully, she had no problems. I carried her in the Bjorn and she was content to simply gnaw on my finger.

Ella had on her own baby poncho, but was also covered up by mine. She was able to stay completely dry. I can't say the same for Skyler and me. 

We took out Ella's binky since we were convinced she'd throw it overboard. My finger had teeth marks in it for a few hours after. :) 

Months 7 and 8

It's crazy to look at Ella everyday and see just how much she has changed and how much she has grown! After going back and looking at all these pictures it's even more apparent! Ella now has 2 little chompers and we know a few more are on their way. She has the biggest, brightest smile, and the realization that her tongue is very fun to stick out of her mouth. Ella has also mastered the art of taking off her socks, and still has the flexibility to stick those bare little piggies directly into her mouth. She is now 8 months old and is more fun than ever!!

 Ella is wearing the dress that my great-aunt Dot made for me when I was a baby. 

Ella decided to add her own signature touch to the dress (the drool down the front).

Testing out her new winter hat to prepare for the "cold" Virginia winters. 

This is almost always how we find Ella sleeping. It reminds me of the 

how the stepsisters in CINDERELLA sleep.  

Ella loves when Daddy works from home, and even offers to help. 

Ella is a very good reader, and she always has a very captive audience.