Again

Well it's been a while and I wonder if everyone has given up, but here is some new stuff anyway :)

A lot has been going on. Ella is talking up a storm and we lose ourselves sometimes in the time that flies by. It's hard to believe that she's going to be 2 in August!!

Dan and I survived our 30th birthdays. We actually got to get out while Grandma and Grandpa babysat. We had a wonderful, long dinner at Rick's Prime Rib and then followed the evening with a little bowling. We used to love to go bowling. And we had a great time just laughing at ourselves.

Then at the end of May we went to Massachusetts to visit friends and Ella got to go to the beach for the first time, as seen here:

June was a busy month. Every weekend we had something planned and the month went by very quickly. This month Ella learned how to moonwalk. We still haven't caught it on video, but it's pretty darn cute. I know everyone is probably sick of hearing about Michael Jackson but I know that I was very sad. I grew up listening to his music and loving him like the rest of the world. I will make sure that Ella knows his music. She already claps her hands when she hears him :)

July started out with the lack of a bang. Ella ended up with strep throat just before the holiday weekend. I spent all day with her Thursday because she woke up with a high fever. I took her to the doctor's in the afternoon and not long after she was on antibiotics. Here's her looking sick:

But by Friday afternoon her fever was gone and she was getting antsy. So she got to go visit Lollypop Farm to see the animals. On the 4th we went to my Dad's for a BBQ. Here she is in her new dress mommy bought her:

She also had her first swim in Grandma and Grandpa's pool on Sunday. Those pictures are yet to come because the battery in my camera went dead. I have to get those pictures from others who were there with batteries that weren't dead :)

Well that's all for now. Like I said, I hope at least one person still reads this. Until next time.......

Enough already

Ok......................so I'm a slacker of epic proportions. How did it get this bad? How did it go this long? Well, busy I guess. But here's what we've been up to. I'll let the pictures do the talking:

Ella at work

Jump Club

Helping Daddy plant

Easter Sunday

1st Pony Ride

It can be done

This is proof that I might be able to handle 2. Our friends Keith and Sonja were here this weekend with their new baby girl Aida. After sniffin' the baby the whole weekend I got the bug so I wanted to see if I could do it


What do you think?

Are you there?

I can't believe how fast the holiday season just flew by. I'm working on a post to show everyone how Ella's Christmas went. Here's a sample:

The things we say.....

It's just so amazing to me how fast things move with "the wee one's". I swear this weekend Ella learned 10 new words. Well maybe she didn't learn them cold but she certainly had no problem repeating the things we said to her. Here are the things we say:

Momma(given), DaDa(finally), Hi, Bye, Kitty, Bubble, Duck, Two, Clara(her friend), Elmo(but it comes out just 'Mo'), Night Night, Uh oh(over and over and over.......), No No, No No Kitty(apparently I yell at the cat a lot), Poke, Milk, More, Poop(great), Booby(even better), Shoes, Hat, Puppy(Pupa), Nose, Snow, Eye, Ball, and Tickle Tickle(a lot of these she says in two's).

These are all I can think of right now but I can't help but laugh when she says some of them. She's just so darn cute. Here is a sample:

Because it's been a while.......

Here are some new pictures.................well some not so new but anyway

What's Up!

Things have been pretty busy around here. But I guess that's nothing new. Last weekend was a really long weekend for me. I didn't have to go back to work until Wednesday this week so I really can't believe that it's Friday already. I LOVE THOSE KIND OF WEEKS :)

So we've been really busy with little Miss Ella. Just after her birthday, I started to notice a disturbing little trend with her. She was hitting. At first I told myself that she didn't know what she was doing. Then it was because she was tired. Then it was because she was teething. Then it was because she doesn't see us much during the week. Then it was because she was frustrated. I'm sure that you get the picture. I was coming up with every excuse in the book as to why she was hitting and before I knew she was taking cracks at us every chance that she got. Mostly in the face. I'm not sure about anyone else, but when I get hit in the face it's enough to get my blood boiling.

So I ran through the gamut of options of how to take care of this "temporary situation" (temporary because if I got hit in the face one more time I thought I was going to lose my marbles) She just seemed so mean. Nothing was good enough. She always seemed to be agitated and I was thinking, "What happened to my sweet, happy little 12 month old?". This often left my crying on the couch after I put her to bed at night. One night we were trying to run through our bedtime routine as usual and we were reading a story. She threw the book she was holding onto (yes, we're having a little issue with throwing when we're frustrated too, oh and screaming, but I'll get to that later). So I said, "Ella, we don't throw." Before I could get the word throw out, I got a 12 month sized patty upside the face. Oh I don't think so! Dan shut the book he was reading, told Ella "We don't hit Mommy!", laid her down and left the room. Never had we ever left the room that abruptly for bedtime. It was the first time she had cried in about a month after we put her to bed. IT BROKE MY HEART. I hated it. And I'm sure she did too.

I talked to a lot of people and read a lot of stuff on the Internet (which is something that Ella's doctor wished I wouldn't do). I must admit that some things really scared me because when you start reading about behavioral issues, the first thing they say is if it becomes a recurring problem that a professional should be contacted. So I drove myself crazy and then I thought, "THAT'S IT!!!". So I started just setting her down when she would hit me and walking away from her, which at first she didn't like. It seemed to work for about a couple days. Then she figured out that she could just crawl away and find something to occupy herself. So that stopped working really quick. And then the screaming, oh the screaming. After a while of setting her down she would just look at me and scream or hit my feet or throw something.

So on Tuesday while I was home with her I started something new. Every time Ella would get the nerve to hit me I would march her upstairs, put her in an empty crib, leave the room, go downstairs and start the stove timer for 1 minute. Then after the timer would go off and I would go upstairs and tell her again "We don't hit Mommy". She would lift her little arms up and when I would pick her up she would lay her head on my shoulder and say "Momma?". It made me feel bad but in 3 days I'm noticing a difference in her. Tonight I didn't have to take her upstairs at all.

Now I realize it's far from over. If it isn't hitting I'm sure that it will be something else. But at least I finally feel like I'm doing something that she understands that if I do this mommy goes away.

That really seems like that has been our life. I really don't know where September went.

The only other thing that I have been doing lately that has been taking up my time is craigslist. Dan and I cleaned out the house this past weekend and we're not even close to being finished. But I put a few things up for sale and some of them have sold which is really nice. However the other night I was looking at the stuff for sale and I found a lady in Geneseo who was selling a Little Tikes ladybug sandbox and playhouse. She was selling them for $45 for both. I thought that it might be a good deal and it sounded like she was really eager to get rid of them. So I looked up the sandbox and I found it on Amazon on sale for $30. Now the playhouses a ridiculously expensive like anywhere from $199 to $450 depending on the model. Dan went to look at it tonight and called me and said that they both looked to be in good shape and we decided to buy them. When her got home I couldn't believe it. For being out in the weather like they were they were in great condition. And not only that but when Dan asked her how much again she lowered it to $30!!!! Ella played with the house for 45 mins. tonight! It was great and she seemed so happy. Here are some pictures:

She also figured out how to do this:



Probably should have been telling her not to climb on the chest instead of capturing it with the camera but she was so darn proud of herself. Pick your battles right. At least she wasn't hitting me :)

Well I should give it up for the night and let you go (if you haven't gotten bored already and ditched) Thanks for hanging in there. Stay healthy and happy.

More stuff

Ella has kind of stalled on the walking thing but her babbling has picked up twofold. She seems to have little conversations with us and I know she's telling me something very important but I just don't know what it is. I can't wait to find out though. It's almost like waiting to meet your newborn. You wonder what they'll look like. Now I wonder how she will sound when she actually is understandable :) She's getting two more teeth at the same time. This kid gets teeth like rapid fire. She got all four of her one year molars at 11 months. Makes for an unhappy child sometimes but she still manages to smile in between. Here are some new pictures. Have a great rest of the week.

And she's off

As you can see, she's very excited. We are too!!

Here..............and gone.....

Well everyone it's official, Ella is ONE!!! What an eventful birthday she had. Her birthday was officially last Thursday but because I took off of work Thursday and Friday they celebrated her birthday at daycare on Wednesday. Jenn (her daycare provider) made her ice cream cone cupcakes that Ella just loved. Here's the proof:

Mmmmmm eating in the car is great (except when you have to clean it up the next day) Smart move Kim :)

Ella received a cold for her birthday that she so nicely shared with mommy. So on Thursday we slept in a little. I was going to take her to The Sandbox Indoor Playground however RG&E was at our house doing some work and they didn't get done until the place closed, so change of plans and we went here instead. She had a blast and so did I for that matter. She loved the Clifford area. Here are some shots of little monster at play:

Friday I took her to her 12 month Dr's appointment. She is a healthy 25lbs 14oz. She is off the charts on everything as usual. The Dr says that she's very proportionate. She's very tall for her age (go figure). She wouldn't give her the shots though because of her cold. Better safe then sorry. That's my little? girl :)

So.........because I'm crazy I decided that we were going to have 2 parties, one friend party on Saturday, and one family party on Sunday. And because I'm double crazy I decided that I was going to make both cakes.

This is what up until 3am Saturday looks like:

And this is what it looks like on Ella:

And this is what up until 2am Sunday looks like:

And this is what it looks like on Ella:

She had a wonderful time both days and we enjoyed having our friends and family share in what she's accomplished in a year. Here's a few more pictures:

Reading her new Olivia book

Playing with her new piggy

Her new camo hat (which matches the pink camo shirts and pants)

Playing with her new wagon

Playing with her new alphabet magnets

If a year can go by this fast I'm scared to find out how fast this next year will go. But I will focus on cherishing every little moment and new accoplishment. I almost can't wait to find out what she'll do next. Walk perhaps..........? I'll let you know :