A Lot Has Happened in the Last Two Months

I have not been a good blogger in the past two months. In part it is because I was busy with the holidays and all the changes with Ella and then the thought of updating the blog to contain everything in Ella's World became overwhelming. So now I will attempt a quick recap of the past two months. A lot has happened so it may take awhile.

During the "Arctic Blast" of 2008 we enjoyed a lot of family time at home with Auntie Sarah and her friend. Since it was so cold and snowy we thought a snow suit for Ella was in order. Ella seemed to enjoy the snow. She was nice and cozy as she laid in the snow. We definitely enjoyed the intense family time and looking out at the beautiful snowy landscape.

Our first Christmas with Ella was great. Due to the snow storm during Christmas we barely made it across the state to see part of our family at Christmas. Our original plan was to go to Spokane to see Grandma and Grandpa Moll and Aunt Heidi through Christmas Eve. We would then travel to Tri-Cities to see Grandma and Grandpa Whitney and Aunt Brooke and Uncle Travis. The snow made it only possible to go as far as Tri-Cities. The Gorge reopen just two days before Christmas and we just made it through. Spokane was not in our reach since they got over SIX feet of snow. I could not imagine so much snow. The holiday was great despite the changes in our plans. We had a lot of fun seeing family and friends in Tri-Cities. It was a very relaxing time.

Ella spent some good hanging out time with grandpa on the couch with Maddie and Abby!

Ella opened her Christmas presents with Grandpa Whitney and Uncle Travis. Here she is working on chewing on Uncle Travis' hand. Teeth were in her near future.

Since Ella was five months old on Christmas day we thought it would be appropriate for her to have rice cereal as her Christmas feast. I was surprised how runny "solid" food is for a baby. Ella liked it though and by the end she was really getting into eating solids.

Daddy held her while I feed her the rice cereal.

After breakfast.

Ella loves her solids. She even loves carrots. I was very surprised about that. She will follow you with her eyes as you walk around the kitchen with her food and eats it in no time. She is eating squash, carrots, pears, grape juice, and rice cereal. Next we are trying zucchini. I love zucchini but would not eat her pureed zucchini. I will be surprised if she likes it.

The day after Christmas Ella was playing with Grandma Whitney. She was chewing on her hands having a good time when Grandma said "I think I feel teeth here." She was right. Ella had cut her first two teeth. You can see them in the picture above. She is working on more teeth now. I think we will see top teeth next.

She is on the move now. For awhile now Ella has been able to roll over. Now she is able to get up on her knees. She is even able get up on her hands and toes with her butt up in the air. It is very cute. She hasn't mastered going forward yet but she is really good at going backwards. Below you can see her progress into the bathroom.

Almost in the bathroom.

In the bathroom.

Here she backed herself up under the cabinet.

Since her hair is getting longer I am able to put her hair up in a ponytail. It is so cute. She looks like a cupie doll with her hair up.

With all this hair sometimes it gets a little crazy.

Ella is sitting up so well she sits in her high chair all the time.

This was a great image to come back to after I got my hair cut. I love seeing Ella and Ben spending time together.

Sitting so pretty. She often sits and plays.

January 25th was Ella's half birthday. Ben decided a few months ago that he wanted to celebrate half birthdays. Since Ella is so young there is not much to do, so we had a little celebration with Auntie Sarah. We got cupcakes from St. Cupcakes and Sarah surprised her with a birthday crown. It was a lot of fun.

Thanks Aunt Sarah.

Ella loved the crown so much she pulled over her eyes.

Some times Ben likes to be goofy with Ella. This was one such morning. He decided Ella needed to help with the laundry so she pulled her weight.

One of Ella's favorite things to do is to bounce in her bouncy seat. She really gets going in the thing. It has definitely helped to strengthen her legs.

So Cute.

Ella loves to stick out her tongue. She does it all the time. People often comment on it.