Ella's Happenings

Ella knocked out from the Halloween festivities...


Ella and friends....she was gunning for the bee's wings..

My happy little pumpkin...

Thumb suckin' pumpkin

First Halloween family picture!

hello!

checking out the babies...really, the toys...

Ella is doing a good job at sitting!

Mommy and Ella...

Erica, Ella and me...

Ella looking pretty happy!

The girls and baby Ryan!

Babies close up...

Ella and her great grandmother! Such a sweet picture...

Sweet cousins....

Ella and her pal, Savannah.....

Aunt Becky and Ella's new pink uggs!!

Uncle Keith and E!

She has had a lot of stuff going on lately! We have loved traveling and having our families in town. Starting in late September, we had family in town and we have also been out of town and are finally in town this weekend. It has been really nice to get back to our routines and relax...a little.

Aunt Becky and Uncle Keith came to meet Ella and we had a blast! Our sitter watched Ella for a few horus while we all went out in Bucktown. By the time 11 rolled around, I was exhausted! It was so nice to get out and spend time with Becky and Keith! They got married in late April and I wasn't allowed to go to the wedding because I was only a month away from having our little Ella. Becky and Keith seemed to be glowing and so happy! We loved having them here. We can't wait to see them in November when we travel out to SF for Thanksgiving!

We also went to Atlanta a couple of weekends ago. We had such a good time with family. Ella did amazing on her flight to/from Atlanta. We had not been back to Atlanta since our baby shower in March when I was 6.5 months. I couldn't believe I hadn't been back in that long. Honestly, there was no way we could have put our little nugget on a flight and subjected 100 other passengers to a wailing baby for 1.5 hours. Wow, what a difference a couple of months make! She was a trooper in Atlanta. She loved hanging with her E-Pa, Gram, Auntie Ash and cousin Grayce. She watches her cousin's every move; it is the cutest thing. I don't think that the south's allergy infested air was very kind to Ella or to us. We came back congested and feeling a little gross. Daddy is fighting a sinus infection and we are keeping a watchful eye on Ella's stuffy nose.

This past weekend, we were on the G-O. We finally got to meet Kristen and Joe's little one, Ryan! He is just 8 weeks old and is the cutest thing. He already has killer dimples and his mother's style as he was all decked out in his polo onesie! We will definently have to get them together again soon (along with the parents!). Kristen hosted such a fun night at her beautiful home with appetizers and drinks (did I mention she has an 8 week old baby?!). We can't wait to meet up again really soon. Auntie Beth was also there and Ella just LOVES Beth. Beth has such a natural ability with babies. Good thing she will be teaching littles in the fall =)

We were also able to meet up with Erica and Ryan for dinner on Saturday night! Ella was such a good baby while we all had dinner! She loved watching all of us talk. I wonder what she is thinking as we smile and coo at her? She is probably thinking, "when can we start some solids up in this joint?". We all had such a good time! We can't wait to see Erica and Ryan again soon...

On Sunday, Ella got all dolled up in her Halloween costume. Miss E was a pumpkin. Yes, a pumpkin. I was really hoping for a more original costume but Daddy was pretty adament about his little one being a pumpkin for her first Halloween. I think you'd agree that she was the cutest pumpkin ever. She loved seeing all of the babies dressed up. Check out our the photos- she kept gunning for the bumble bee's wings. She was truly fascinated by them! She was tuckerd out by the end of the party. A girl's gotta get her beauty sleep, I suppose...

She doesn't get to see her friends from a moms playgroup much b/c I am back to work full time.....it is very sad and we feel like we have missed a ton of the babies growing up! It is really hard being a working mom! Ella loves her friends at Alex's. They are so cute when we come to get her at the end of the day. Ella has a friend named Beatrix who looks so much like my best friend's baby, Kendall! And wouldn't you know, Beatrix and Ella love each other. Hmmm...I wonder why? We will have to get a picture of Beatrix for Sara.

There is another new addition in our building! There was definently something in the water this past year in our building. Our friends, Lori and Tim, welcomed Reagan a couple of weeks ago and we were able to go up and meet the little one and to also drop off some dinner for the new mom and dad. We can't believe that we were just "those parents" just 4.5 months ago. It has really flown. All of the changes that Ella has gone through is just amazing....

We truly feel like the luckiest people. Ella is the sweetest, happiest baby. We had quite a tough start. There were days when I didn't even know how I was going to muster the strength to get through another day of screaming. She was in such pain. Our lives have changed so much for the better in the past 1.5 months! She is laughing all of the time and smiles for just about everyone. She never cries anymore unless she is hungry or a little tired. She wakes up cooing and talking to her mobile every day. It is the best way to start my day! That is the sweetest sound in the monitor first thing in the morning....

We have a little less to do this weekend which will be very nice! There are a ton of things to do before the holidays. Can you believe that it is almost Thanksgiving? It is a little bittersweet for me that it is almost November. I was 3 1/2 months pregnant and had no idea what was ahead of me! It is amazing how fast your life speeds up when you have a little one.

We hope that everyone has a great week!