New Milestones Caught on Video

I mentioned last week that Ella laughed out loud for the first time. She hadn't done it again since that first time until yesterday. I had Tom grab my Blackberry so I could catch it on video. Again, not the best quality, but really cute!



She has been cooing for quite some time now, but Friday night, started to really talk up a storm. I had to get this on film, too! Tom took out the real video camera last night to charge the battery, so hopefully, we'll be able to get some better quality videos up here soon!

Ella is Three Months Old Already!

Tom got the best Father's Day gift ever yesterday - his baby turned three months old! Neither of us can believe that she came into our lives a whole 3 months ago. The last 3 months really have flown by! We cheated a little and took her official Gator chair picture on Saturday since she was all dressed up for Temple.

What a Weekend!

We had a very eventful weekend with lots of family visiting. On Friday, we met up with my Mom, Robin, Debbie, Mark, Stacey, and Danielle at the bowling alley. The kids had a great time, Ella slept most of the time we were there.





That evening, we had dinner at Robin and Mike's house. The kids made the brownies. Surprisingly, they were pretty yummy.


Saturday was Ella's big day. We went to synagogue where she received her Hebrew name. Ella's Hebrew name is Chavah Shoshanah after my Grandma Eva (Chavah is Eve in Hebrew) and my Great Gram Sadie. We sponsored the kiddush luncheon at the temple following the morning service. The food was really good and the cake I ordered from Kelly Kakes in Roswell was fantastic! My Aunt Barbara took some pictures of the family, the food, and the cake so I'll post those once I get them. Here are a few that we took ourselves and one that our friend Lauren took of Tom and Ella.




Saturday night we grilled out at Robin and Mike's house. We didn't take a whole lot of pictures, but I did manage to get one of Ella with her Uncle Brian.


Sunday, we had brunch at our house. Everyone came over to celebrate Father's Day and say goodbye to the family members that were heading home to Florida. Mark really enjoyed playing our Wii games and even got on the Playstation 2 for a bit to try Guitar Hero Aerosmith. Aunt Barb took some pictures of Ella and of Mark and me playing Guitar Hero. I don't have those pictures yet, either, but Tom did take some pictures of Ella in the bumbo seat. She's not quite ready for it yet (notice my hand holding her head up), but she is almost there!

This IS a Laughing Matter!

Tom and I always put the bear sponge on top of our bathroom vanity while getting Ella ready for her bath. She loves to stare at herself in our mirror when she's up there. Last night, we put her up there and proceeded to play with her, as we often do. She started to smile up a storm and the next thing we knew, she was giggling. The giggles turned into a full on laugh. We were so excited for this milestone! She is a laughing cutie!

I have taken some new photos, but haven't had a chance to post them. Ella and I have been busy with Debbie, Mark, and Stacey (my sister, nephew, and niece from Florida) the last few days. Once the weekend passes, and the rest of the family goes home, I should have time to catch up on the last few days!

Ella's First Pool Party

Our subdivision had their annual pool party tonight. Ella started out in a party mood, but eventually, the noise got the best of her. She cried for about 10 minutes before we calmed her down and she fell asleep.

I'm ready to party, Mom!

Oh, so sleepy!

You'll find a few more great shots from the pool, here.

Catching Up

My friend Kim came over last Friday with her son Nate. I got a few decent pictures of their visit. Nate was more interested in Mom's cell phone than Ella, but, hey, he's 1 - we'll forgive him this time!
Doesn't Nate have the most gorgeous blue eyes?

Also, I took a few cute shots of Ella the night before that I just had to share! I can't get enough of her adorable face! You can see the whole album here.


Ella's new favorite place to hang out is on her tummy on her Boppy.

Ella Smiles for the Camera

Ella was all smiles earlier today so I decided to get it on video. How cute is this?



Also, I took out a whole bunch of toys that have been sitting in her closet so that she could have something to play with. There is one toy that she absolutely loves. It is a dragonfly that makes sounds and lights up when you pull on it. We were playing with it this afternoon and she reached out to try to grab it. It's a little big for her hands so I helped her out by placing her hands on the dragonfly's wings. She proceeded to pull it towards her and attempt to eat it! I had my Blackberry nearby, so I snapped a quick photo. While the quality isn't that great, it's still really cute to see her trying to eat the dragonfly.

Ella Finds Her Voice

At about 3:30 AM on Saturday morning Ella scared the crap out of us. She screamed so loud that I shot out of bed and ran into her room (keep in mind that I was only 14 days post op at the time). When I got into her room, I found her fast asleep and smiling in her sleep. She had apparently had some crazy dream that made her scream. I think it took about 30 minutes for my heart rate to return to normal. Tom said he was up for at least an hour after that. Talk about scary!

On a happy note, Ella is cooing up a storm these days. She loves to lie on her play mat and talk to the animals. She also loves to talk to the froggy and monkey on her bouncer. She even talks to us when she's in a really good mood. We try to have a conversation with her in coos. It's quite amusing!

Ella Loves Her Grandma Peggy and Grandpa Andy

Since I am still recovering from my surgery, Grandma Peggy (aka Aunt Peggy to me and Tom) is staying with us this week. Grandpa/Uncle Andy joined us for dinner on Tuesday night and spent a lot of time with Ella. You can see how enamored they are with Ella in these pictures! Ella thinks they're pretty neat, too! Of course, you can see the rest of the pictures here.