Emerson Update and Big Girl Furniture!

What has Miss Emerson been up to this month?

How your baby's growing:

By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds and measures 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can blink her eyes, which now sport lashes. With her eyesight developing, she may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. She's also developing billions of neurons in her brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.
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We are anticipating a VERY busy holiday season like every year, so preparations are in full swing for the upcoming arrival of Emerson Lane. Ella's big girl furniture was delivered today, and it is so sweet! I have been "talking it up" for a few days now with her and she has been walking around saying "new room!" over and over. I am going to start gradually making the transition by letting her nap in her new bed for a while until she gets used to it and then move her to nights when she seems ready. Knowing her, she will be so excited and WANT to sleep in there. :) Emmy won't need the nursery for a while after she is here, so I am glad we have lots of time for a smooth transition.

I'll post room pictures as soon as it is completely finished, but until then I will leave you with a few pics of Ella's first impression of her big girl furniture...




We are going to have to break this habit very quickly...
No more monkeys jumpin' on the bed! :)


Hope everyone is having a great week!

Precious Piggies

Woohoo! Ella finally has enough hair to try out new 'dos! The other day after we got home from the fair Zach picked up some rubber bands for me at the store, so of course I had to fix her hair immediately! Worked out nicely because we had friends coming over to watch football, and she got to prance around showing off her new piggies. :) {Instead of her usual awesome "duck tail" Ha!} Let me just tell you, they are so cute in person! It changes her whole look completely. Our baby now looks like a little girl. I LOVE it though...so much fun!!!

Surprisingly she let me do this without even a little whimper or complaint. Although, I did give her her toothbrush to play with, which she is obsessed with. Hey, whatever works, right?!?!

The next day we tried them out again for church. She looked precious in her new boots and new 'do!

Miss E has to kiss the pumpkin every time she walks by it. Here she is with her lips puckered and ready...



Maybe next we will try the side pony that I used to sport as a little girl. Haha!

18 Months...Oh my!

Sweet Ella Grace,

Where has the time gone? Today you are 18 months old...a year and a half! You continue to amaze us everyday and remind us of how blessed we are to have you as our daughter. Here are 18 things we love about you at 18 months...

1. You are such a little talker! I cannot even begin to count all the words you say or the sounds you make. Sometimes we forget how old you are because you are able to carry on a little conversation with us. You also repeat everything we say. New words come out of your mouth everyday. I never dreamed you would be able to talk so much at this age, but we love it!!!

2. Singing and dancing are some of your favorite things to do right now. You entertain us all the time dancing around and clapping. We love to hear you try to sing the songs you know that we sing together, and when you don't know a word, you hum...precious! You also like to fill in the blank as we sing and stop at different parts.

3. Books are still your biggest obsession. I love to watch you sit in your chair and read through your books. Sometimes I hear you "making up your own story" (talking away) or naming everything you see on the page.

4. You are a little lover! Hugs and kisses are your favorite and it always puts a smile on my face when you come over and hug me or kiss me while saying "mo-mmmyyy" in the sweetest little voice. :)

5. You can count to 10 and sometimes beyond like a pro! The alphabet is also something you have gotten really good at recognizing. You know your letters and love for us to sing the ABC's song to you over and over again. Colors are another one of your favorites!

6. Watching t.v. or videos was something that you were never interested in until the past few months. Now you LOVE watching Sesame Street, Barney, Wonder Pets, and Dora. You know all the characters and get so excited to see them each day. I love to hear the excitement in your voice and see your face light up when they come on. :)

7. You are a wonderful eater and sleeper. Typically you sleep from about 8:00-7:30. Your naps have grown to be about 2.5 - 3 hours at a time in the afternoon.

8. You get so excited when you go tee tee on the potty and love to flush too! You have shown interest in using the potty a lot these past few months and have actually gone on there a few times. Official potty training is going to have to wait, but it won't hurt to get a head start now!

9. Playing dress up and putting on shoes, jewelery, and clothes from your drawers is an everyday thing. It makes us laugh that you call necklaces and bracelets, "pretties". You typically wear at least 1 shoe around the house all the time. So funny!

10. Daddy and you have the most special bond. You truly are a daddy's girl in many ways, but tend to cling to us both the same. Going to the park together almost every afternoon is definitely a favorite of yours to do with daddy.

11. You are such a little joker! You know exactly what to do or say to make us laugh. We are constantly cracking up at you and your silly little quirks!

12. Lately you have been naming everything you see when you enter a room. Whatever is in your sight is named. Sometimes you shock me when you know what something is called!

13. You actually like to help mommy pick up your toys. We sing the clean-up song and you pick up your things and put them back where they go. If I stop singing you quickly get me going again. :)

14. Pretending is something you also enjoy. You like to act like you are talking on the phone and actually put it between your shoulder and chin! You also "change you babies diapers", feed them, and put them to sleep. It is always fun to see you put on your "pretties", grab your purse, and look at us and say "bye".

15. Somehow daddy and I have become just mom and dad at times. We laugh every time you look at one of us and say "hi mom" or "hi dad". Really?!?! Are you a teenager already? :)

16. You are my little helper when things need to be done. Putting laundry in the washer and dryer are some of your favorites. Although I think you like to push the buttons more than anything!

17. Miss Independent is should be your nickname. You are very strong willed and like to do things on your own. At the park you can climb on the equipment and slide all by yourself. Guess that comes from lots of practice since we are there a lot!

18. Manners are something that are very important to us and you do so well at saying "please", "thank you", and even "bless you". It makes my heart happy to know that you understand when and how these are used...even without us having to tell you all the time. So sweet. :)

Thank you for bringing so much joy to our lives and being all that we had hoped you would be. Happy half birthday baby girl! We love you!

13 Months

Little Miss Ella is 13 months old today! It's truly amazing how much changes in only a months time. This girl is so much fun, and I always look forward to seeing what each new day will bring!



Wonderful Things We Love About Ella Grace at 13 Months:
* Little miss loves to read her books! She will bring me books all day and back her little booty up to sit in my lap. I love it!
*Dancing is also a favorite of E's. She will dance to any music, singing, or commercial she hears. Sometimes she even dances when I read a book. :)
*It amazes me how she understands her toys. She is able to put things where they need to go, feed her baby a bottle, turn things on and off, etc.
*She is able to recognize pictures and pick things out. If she sees a picture of one of us she will say "daddy", "mommy", or "baby" for her. :) She can also pick out a picture in a book. {i.e. If I ask her where the cup is she will point to it.}
*Ella is really into animals these days. She has some animal picture cards with the sound they make, so she loves to look through those and make the sounds that she knows. Her favorites are a dog, cow, sheep, and tiger.
*Her vocabulary is developing more and more each day. These are the words we know so far:
mama
dada

daddy
baby
dog
ball
no-no
hi {wave}
bye-bye {wave}
yay
eyes
wah sat? {what's that?}
*She will also try to repeat things we say. This has to be the most amazing thing that has happened in the past month. It seems like she has really started understanding what we say so much more too.

*She is also learning to say her name, but can't quite pronounce her l's yet, so it sounds more like the Spanish version of the spelling of her name. :)
*Patty cake is one of her favorites to do the hand motions to. She loves the "roll it" part the best!
*She can point to where your eyes, nose, mouth, and ears are.
*Can tell you how old she is by putting one finger up. She tries to say "one", but only the "ne" sound comes out.
*You LOVE your daddy! It is so fun to see your face light up when he gets home from work or hear the giggles when the two of you play together. Z has also taught her something that he is super proud of. He always asks her who's girl she is and she promptly responds, "daddy's". So cute!
*She is becoming so much more cuddly these days. I love it when she climbs into my lap to give me a kiss, or just sits with me and pats my arm, face, or leg.
*We have these made up songs that we sing to her and she has started filling in the blanks when we stop at certain points in the song. With her own version of the pronunciation of course!
*The girly side is definitely coming out in Ella Grace. She likes to carry her purse/bag around the house and brush her own hair. :)
*Loves to climb stairs; especially at Aunt Sissy's house.
*Eats anything and everything we put in front of her; or at least tries it. She is loving her milk too!
*Still loves to be outside.




Whew! There is just so much I want to remember about each stage in her life. Wonder what next month will bring???

Ella's 1st Birthday Party

Wow! We had such an amazing time today! All of our friends and family came out to celebrate Ella's big day, and it was a blast. We decided to have the party at our local park so we would have plenty of room to relax and lots entertainment for the kids. This could not have been a better decision! There was plenty of fun things to do and room to run around!

The Invite...

Since the party was cupcake themed, I decided to make it all about the cupcakes! Ella's dress was made from cupcake material, we had chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry cupcakes, and I also made these adorable cupcake pops. I found this recipe from Bakerella's blog and just had to include them! Not only did they serve as the decor, but they were also edible and so cute. For lunch we had Chiloso cater fajitas and as usual, they did not disappoint.

The Decor/Food...

The Party People...

(click on each to make bigger)

Almost all of the people invited were able to attend. It was so nice to eat, relax, and enjoy each other's conversation on such a gorgeous day! The playground was definitely used by all the kids and the adults enjoyed playing washers on the lawn beside the gazebo. The babies had a great time sitting on the blanket, walking around in the grass, and playing with their pinwheels from their favor bags.

The Giant Cupcake!...
I made a huge strawberry cupcake for Ella's smash cake. At first she was not sure what to do with it, but soon got the hang of it! She licked the icing off her hands, then straight off the cake, and finally dug right in with both hands. Everyone was laughing and she took that as a cue to smile and clap for herself! It was too cute...and messy! :)



"This is just too much!"














The Presents...
Ella was having way too much fun walking around and enjoying her time outside that she was not the least bit interested in opening gifts. We wanted her to enjoy that time tearing through all the paper and looking at her presents, so we waited to open them until we got home. We are overwhelmed and truly thankful at how generous our friends and family are! Ella Grace got so many wonderful things. We appreciate it more than you will ever know!

We could not have asked for a better 1st birthday celebration for Ella Grace. This will definitely be a wonderful memory for our family.