Well ... It has been awhile!

Wow, has it really been over a year? How is that even possible? Something interesting happened to me last night. A friend of mine knew of someone in need of some baby clothes. I eagerly jumped on the opportunity to help. So, I pulled out some of Ella's baby clothes, the really cute 0-3 & 3-6 month stuff. What I wasn't expecting is the attachment I felt to those clothes. Each outfit had a specific memory ... the trip home from the hospital ... a sunny day in Hawaii ... first pictures with Alyse ... the list went on and on. All the sudden the thought of getting rid of them created a large aching pit in my stomach. How could I part with all these clothes ... and why would I keep them when someone else could use them in the moment. Through some good conversation with my cousin and a close friend I realized it wasn't the clothes I was attached to it was the memories ... and the realization that my baby girl isn't a baby anymore. Those precious little outfits that once filled her drawers are not going to leave a void in my heart, because my heart is filled everyday with the love of someone who now wears 3T's! This morning I eagerly filled a tub full of stuff for someone who can use it. It felt wonderful. I have been keeping that stuff all along to pass it on to some other little girl.

After my 'mommy' moment last night, I realized that I have majorly been lacking in the memory creating area of my daughters life. I have slacked off on the blog, slacked off on pictures, and most importantly ... don't take the time to write down the most precious innocent words that come out of Ella's mouth daily. So I am challenging myself to charge the camera again ... open the blog more recently and document more of our 'moments' together. Unlike the clothes ... pictures and written memories will be something I can keep forever!

So here it goes ... Ella's current world in a nutshell.

-She is one precious, stubborn, independent, smart two and a half year old. She is currently about 30 lbs and measuring in at 37in tall. She seems to outgrow her clothes about as fast as I buy them.

-She continues to go next door for daycare 4 days a week. We are so blessed to have a family that loves her during the day while we work like she was their own. She loves them back equally ... in all honesty, some days when I am home with her I think she would prefer to go next door!

-She is 100% potty trained during the day and about 95% dry during the nights now. She is so proud of herself. A little history on the potty training story ... for about six + months I have been talking to her about going on the potty, putting her on the potty if she wanted, letting her come into the bathroom with me etc, bought cute underwear ... never really pushing, but a lot of talking about it. Then for Christmas 'santa' brought her some 'days of the week' panties. They were a big hit. My parents also mentioned that they wanted to take her to Disneyland but she needed to be potty trained first. Well about a week or so after Christmas, she woke up one morning and decided she wanted to wear her new panties from santa ... and that was pretty much it. I know some mothers out there will hate me, but we really haven't had an accident or issue since. She is a bit afraid of public potties, but we are working on that. The priceless thing is ... after her first day of wearing panties, I picked her up from next door and the first thing she said was, 'I went potty in the potty, I am ready to go to Disneyland'! Grandpa and Grandma can't resist that ... we are going this May!

-She is now sleeping in a big girl bed. I took her rail off of her crib awhile ago. She was excited about that. Then last weekend we decided to put a double bed in her room and take the crib out all together. She was soooo excited. She had papa and grandma come over to check it out. Our first night started with a spilled glass of water and new sheets and Pj's ... but since then, she has been sleeping great. She even stopped her 1:30am call out for her dad to come 'cover her up'.

-She loves to fly! A couple weekends ago Ella and I flew to Spokane to visit. She was excited to see her papa and grandma price (aunts, uncles and cousins too) ... but I think she was even more excited to fly. It was the first time she had her own seat. She loved that. She walked on the plane, climbed in her seat, buckled her safety belt, grabbed my hand and waited patiently for her snack. It was a special moment for me ... it was the first time I felt like I had a little travel buddy to go and do stuff with. She seemed so grown up. I loved sitting with her, holding her hand and talking.

-Speaking of talking ... she talks A LOT ... and for weeks now ... the infamous WHY has found itself at the end of everything I say. And even when I take the response ten layers deep, she wants more! It is fun and challenging all at the same time.

-Some of her favorite things to do: puzzles, read books, bake cookies, watch 'shows', play dough, stickers.

-If you ask her, her best friend is Alyse, and her buddies are Morgan and Livie. We are working hard on learning how to share and have fun play dates. We have some work in this area ... I wont lie, she loves to do things her way ... not sure where she gets that one from! :-)

-She is fascinated with garbage trucks. She absolutely loves going out to my work and waiting for the garbage truck to show up in the morning on garbage day. Pretty funny really.

Well it is getting late and I could realistically go on and on ... but overall, she is pretty much your typical two and a half year old. We have the normal meltdowns, control struggles, picky eating, etc .. but what is the most important is that God has blessed us with a little girl that adds so much to our life.

Stay tuned ...

Love Brenda, Andy and Ella

SANTA

We visited Santa on Monday. Ella was not a fan! She would not let me set her on his lap. She tolertated sitting with Dylan, Darin and Alivia ... but even then she was not really a fan. Too cute.

Time Flies!

It has been so long that I don't even know where to start! Ella is 15months old. Here is a little recap of the past four and a half months. Enjoy!

August was a very busy month for us. It started with a trip to Spokane to spend some time with Andy's family. Once again Ella was a champ flying. It is def becoming a little more challenging as she is now mobile, and sitting on mom and dads lap is not as fun as 'moving'. The end of the month marked Ella's first birthday. Wow ... can she really be one! Andy's parents drove down for her birthday. We enjoyed Britt together on Friday, then our Company picnic on Saturday and topped off the weekend with a birthday party on Sunday. We invited close family and friends to come celebrate. Ella did wonderful at her party. Her cake was an absolute bust. She was not at all interested in eating it. This does not surprise me ... as she has never been one to devour any type of food, even if it is sweet. Her one month checkup went very well. Her doctor gave her a clean bill of heath and said she looks like one happy little girl. Her stats were as follows - weight 22.3lbs ~ 50% - height 32" ~ 97+%.

Playing in the water at Lake of the Woods - she loved the cold water!

Playing with Grandma Cheryl in Spokane.

Happy Birthday to my sweet girl!

September came and went about fast as they can go. Over Labor Day we went to the cabin. Steve, Debbie and Alyse joined us. Andy was unable to join us because he was working ... we missed him ... but Ella very much enjoyed having 'mom' to herself in bed! The cabin was wonderful. We took long walks and even ventured out for a short hike. She loves being in her backpack. Both girls were very good. The following weekend we headed to Gold Beach and stayed at my parents house. My mom and dad, sister, the Sorenson's, Allen (Debbie's dad) and Glenda were all there. The girls loved the beach. It was the first time Ella really got to run and play in the sand. Ella's daycare changed during September. We were blessed with some answered prayers. About 10 months ago the house next to ours sold. This amazing family moved in. We slowly got to know them. They have two wonderful girls who are 14 & 16. Both girls love to watch Ella and actually did so quit often during the summer. It turns out their mother wanted to take on the task of watching Ella and one other little girl. Ella goes next door three days a week. She LOVES it, and so do Andy and I. We feel truly blessed to have them in our life and know that Ella is in wonderful hands during the day getting all the love and attention we would otherwise be giving her. September 30, Andy and I celebrated our 3rd Anniversary and it also marked my last day at Moss Adams. Through a sequence of events ... that I truly believe God had a hand in ... I was offered a job by a Company that I have know for several years through my work at Moss Adams. Walking away from Moss Adams and my 'work family' was a very tough decision for me, I had been there for 7+ years. However, it allowed me the best gift ... and that is more time with Ella. My new job includes working for a great family owed Company, it is only three days a week and it is very close to home (only a 9 minute drive).
Breakfast at the cabin with Alyse - Labor Day '09
Hiking with dad - uncle Steve and Alyse - Gold Beach Sept 09

October was a transition month for us. I was able to take two weeks off before starting my new job. What a change for me to stay home and be a full time mom. I wont lie, working is sometimes a lot easier! Ella enjoyed every minute of it. :-) Debbie and I left the girls with their dads for the first time. We flew to Scottsdale AZ for a long girls weekend. The trip was very relaxing and the girls did great at home with their dads. Andy said it was 'easy'... not sure how much of that I believe. :-) Ella loved Halloween. Her and Alyse were cheerleaders. Ella a Duck and Alyse a Cougar. Steve was out of town so Debbie and Alyse came and hung out with us for the night as well as my parents. The first hour of trick or treaters that came to the house really upset Ella. Every time the doorbell would ring she would run to the door with great excitement ... However, she would get so upset every time they left so quickly. She wanted them all the come in and stay for awhile. After about an hour, she was okay with them leaving. Every once in a while we would have to follow them outside, but she knew there would be more so she was okay with it. Very cute and fun to watch as a parent. It is so heartfelt to watch your child experience new things and have such an innocent perspective.

Our little cheerleaders! At least Ella knows what team to root for! Alyse will catch on sooner than later. My little duck!

November is over! Yikes ... we just spent Thanksgiving with my parents and my dads side of the family. Ella was not 100% sure about all the 'strangers' in my parents house at first. She soon warmed up to the idea and enjoyed the house full. Last weekend Alyse had her first sleep over with us. It went great. The girls fight like siblings already! Alyse was an absolute angel and I cant wait to get her again. The rest of the weekend we just hung out and decorated for Christmas. Ella LOVED the decorations. It started with one box at my parents and her excitement was teh same ten boxes later. He favorite 'touchable' toy in our house is her little people nativity scene. We have so much to be thankful for ... and having Ella in our life tops the list.

Ella had so much fun pushing Alyse on the train!

It is the first weekend in December. Ella had a sleepover at my parents while Andy and I attended my Christmas party for work. She enjoys sleeping over. She has been doing it about once a month since she was six months old. She has my parents tricked into thinking she needs to get into bed with them at 3am. Mom and dad figured and cured that one a long time ago! Her new favorite thing at my parents is taking a bath. My mom lets her run around the bathroom naked ... I cannot describe how funny she is but she loves it! Too funny. We spent today Christmas tree hunting with the Sorensons. Ella and Alyse had fun, but they were not 100% sure about how to manuver in all of their snow gear! Steve and Debbie got a very pretty tree and the rest of us just enjoyed hanging out. Good times. The rest of December will be busy for us. We are planning on staying home through Christmas and then we will drive to Spokane and spend a week with Andy's family. I know Ella will enjoy all the time with her cousins. Playing in a sleigh at Grandma's
I was boxing up some of her old baby stuff. She had so much fun sitting in her infant seat. Makes me sad how big she is getting.

Christmas tree hunting 2009!

This blog is Ella's baby book ... so here are a few fun facts about our little girl!
-We continually teach and use sign language with her. She has mastered - more, all done, thank you, please, eat, milk and help. Sign language has been very fun to use and teach her. It amazes me how fast she can pick it up and use it. We may regret teaching her 'help' though ... because now she will sign for help when she wants a toy that is literally two inches from her!
-Her verbal vocabulary is expanding daily ... yes you still have to use a little bit of imagination while translating ... but she tries very hard! She currently says - mom, dad, bapa, grandma, grandpa, dark, bob, fish, uh oh, ella, alivia, gobble..gobble..gobble, up, down, off, on, hat, hot I love you (translation required :-)). She uses some of the listed words in the correct context and she will use all of them when you ask her to say them. Actually, she will repeat just about anything you ask her to say. Very fun and cute.
-She amazes Andy and I daily with her ability to comprehend what we say. She will do just about anything you ask her to do. She is a great little helper!
-Her two favorite toys right now are Mr. Potato Head and her Noah's Ark animals. She is fascinated with the Mr Potato arms, if she is playing with it ... she always has one or two hands in her hand. She is getting pretty good at building her own potato as well. With a little help she can place the correct parts in the correct place. She knows almost all of the basic animals and loves to bring them to you when you ask for a specific one.
-Ella is not an eater ... I have yet to find anything that she will devour a lot of at one time. She likes her standards, string cheese, grapes, banana, cheerios (with milk). She will eat just about anything ... but it is normally only a couple bites at a time. We are still trying to completely ween her off a bottle. I will admit, she would probably do just fine without it ... but mom enjoys snuggling her still while she drinks it! We had to switch her to Soy Milk, after a long stretch of 'diarea' i finally figured out that it may be the milk causing it. So far so good on the soy.
-Ella has ~ 9 teeth, four top front teeth, 1.5 top molars, two bottom front teeth and one bottom molar. I think she is constantly teething. It does not seem to bother her significantly. We do notice that it will disrupt her sleeping pattern every once in a while. As for sleeping ... she does not get an A+, but we cant really complain. She has done pretty well ever since she was little. She currently goes down around 9 or 9:30 and sleeps routinely until 6:30. At 6:30 she gets in bed with us. Most of the time she will go back to sleep until 8 or so, of course this never happens on the days that I don't work. I do enjoy the snuggle time.
-As for her personality ... all I can say is it makes us laugh continuously. She is def naughty at times and I fear we will have our hands full ... but on the flip side she is very easy to negotiate with!
-She has a small obsession with the Backyadigans! I made the mistake of letting her watch a DVD on the way to the cabin over labor day. Well, now every time we are in the car before I can buckle her in she is signing 'more' and pointing to the DVD player. Additionally, in our house and at my parents if the TV is on and it is not the Backyardigans ... she grabs the remote and brings it to you to turn them on. I guess it is slightly educational ... for weeks she would do this 'sneaking' walk where she would bend over and hunch down while walking and take short little steps ... Andy and I would just laugh ... we finally realized that she was copying the show. So now if you ask her to sneak up on something she does it. Of course if the video camera is on there is not even a chance that she will perform!
-Beware if you are sitting on the floor ... Ella thinks it is the funniest thing to pull up your shirt and tickle your stomach or back. I am sure this did not come from 15months of everyone doing it to her!
-I think Ella is going to permanetly beleive that her Grandma and Grandpa Price live in the computer. We use Skype to talk to them as often as we can. Ella loves seeing them on the computer and will show off for them as if they were sitting here .... However, she does NOT understand why they disapear from the screen or are not on there at all times. She always motions 'where did they go' which consists of her shrugging her head and holding her hands up. Very cute. We are looking forward to seeing them in person over the upcoming holidays.

Well ... I think that sums it up. Ella is an amazing wonderful little girl. Everyday she brings joy to our life. Take care and enjoy the Holidays.

I love to play in the frig!

Love, Brenda

A month of fun!

Ella is officially walking ... we call her the little Frankenstein! Pictures don't do it justice ... but she walks with her arms out in front of her and makes the cutest little sound to do with it! She has been walking for about a month now. She started getting the hang of it around 10 mnths. She turned 11 mnths yesterday and is starting to master it. She still has some balancing issues when she is tired ... but she can walk unassisted all over our house! I need to baby proof ASAP!

We went to the cabin over July 4th. Had a great time. Ella loved the 'cold' lake and hanging out in a little wading pool on the dock. She also enjoyed getting to sleep with her mom! I am not a fan ... it is amazing how much space one small child can take in a queen bed.

Ella looking cute at the cabin!

We then visited Andy's family the following weekend. Ella and I flew over on Friday and Andy met us there later that evening. I was a little concerned traveling with her on the plane by myself, but she did great. She enjoyed the weekend swimming and playing with all her cousins, aunts, uncles, grandma, grandpa and great grandma and grandpa Walker. Grandma Cheryl taught her what a snake 'says' ... so now when you ask her in a little whisper she goes ...ssssss! Very cute. She also experienced her first carousel ride ... lets just say they may have had to stop it early and let us off! :-)

Grandma Cheryl and her grandkids! Faith, Halle, Ella, Abby, Walker

Andy and I babysat Alyse for the first time ... wow ... we now understand what Christine and Christopher experience daily (Christine is Andys sister ... she has three and a half year old twins!) The girls had a great time playing. Alyse was an angel.

Ella and Alyse playing ... notice their matching outfits and pigtail!

Uncle Paul and Aunt Laura visited last week. Ella played hard to get with Uncle Paul ... However somehow over the course of the week he and Ella came up with their own language ... so now she goes around the house, store or anywhere that is quiet saying ....uuuuuuwhoooooooooo!

Ella new favorite place to feed herself a bottle ... Notice piglet! Uncle Paul and Aunt Laura brought it for her ... she loves it.

So my dad refused to get the boat out this summer because he said we would not use it... Well I had to play the Ella card! Lets just say his granddaughter in her cute little pink life jacket did the trick! My dad got the boat ready last weekend and Ella got her first lake experience last night. She loved swimming in the lake. It was about the cutest thing ever. Unfortunately Grandpa was working so he will have to go next time.

Ella swimming in the lake for the first time! 11 months old.

I think that sums up the last month for us! We are off to Spokane next weekend and Ella's 1st b-day is coming soon.

Stay tuned! Love the Price family.

Sorry ....

Wow ... what can I say ... I am sorry for not posting an update before now. So much has happened in the past three months ... Here is a little recap:

My precious girl - June 2009!

April - Ella turned 8 months old. Andy and I finished our 8th & 7th busy season, respectively. Andy's parents came to visit at the end of the month. Ella enjoyed seeing them. However, her two bottom teeth made their appearance on April 17th ... Needless to say she was slightly cranky over the weekend. We still had a great time.

Thing 1 & 2 - Alyse and Ella April 2009!

May - Ella turned 9 months old. I celebrated my 30th birthday. Andy and I and a few close friends went to Las Vegas. This was the first time we left her for an extended period. Of course she did great. She stayed with grandma and grandpa. They had a great time. She kept them busy walking all over. We also had our first pool party with Alyse. Debbie brought over a little blow up pool. Alyse jumped right in ... Ella was a little reserved at first but soon enjoyed the water for a few minutes. Ella had her 9mnth check up. She checked out healthy. She was 20.5lbs, 29.5 inches long. She is still in the 95+% for her height and around 65% for her weight.

My first pool party with Alyse! - May 2009

Check out my Teeth ... I still only have these two ... but my top 'fangs' are coming in now! I will be a little vampire! - May 2009

June - Ella turned 10 months old. June was a busy month for us. Andy and my dad built our fence in the backyard. Andy built a garden box for Ella and I. She enjoys going out to water it with mom or dad. We went camping at Lake of the Woods ... she loved it. She got her first taste of dirt and could care less that it was freezing. Ella and I also spent a couple days at the Coast with my mom, aunt Carol, Stacey and Alivia. We spent last weekend in the Bay area in California with Andy's parents, brother and sister. Ella did amazing. Normally she hates riding in the car ... She was seriously an angel. She either slept or played the entire way. She went swimming for the first time in a big pool with mom. She attended her first wedding ... of course in my opinion she was the cutest one there! She thoroughly enjoyed spending time with her Aunt Christine, Uncle Jeff and Grandma and Grandpa Price. We are headed to the cabin over the 4th and then to Spokane ... our lives are constantly busy.

Camping ... I loved the dirt - June 2009


My first real swiming Experience - June 2009

A few more fun facts ....

1) Ella has been walking since she was 6 months old holding onto your hands... For about three weeks she has been walking by herself. She takes 4-5 steps at a time ... she is very proud of herself. She now only wants one hand when you are helping her unless she is in a hurry ... she then wants two so she can run!

2) about a month ago she finally figured out how to crawl ... it is still not pretty though! She looks like a worm ... half the time her face is in the carpet and the other time her belly is dragging ... it is very cute. She def prefers to walk ... but is slowly learning that crawling will get her places!

3) she will eat anything off my plate ... but refuses to eat baby food ... how I got a child who will not eat baby food when I don't cook ... i will never know ... I think it is Gods way of telling me something!

4) Ella is very expressive and tries very hard to communicate. She clearly understands what she wants and she tries very hard to let you know ... however ... it ends up sounding like she is whining. We are working on expanding out sign language. She has mastered 'more' ... and uses ... uh, uh, uh for everything else right now.

5) she continues to be a decent sleeper ... however, during our recent travels she has gotten to sleep with mom ... she seems to like this and thinks that her crib is overrated. She also figured out she can easily stand up in her crib!

6) she continues to spend her days with family. Aunt Jennifer typically has her once a week. Aunt Michelle and her hang out for a couple days a week. I also found someone new for once a week. Ella loves her. It is the first time I have left her with non family. It took her a couple weeks to adjust ... but now I can tell they have a great time. Thank you Larissa!

7) Ella loves balls ... my mom got her large bouncy ball awhile ago. She loves kicking it all over the place. She will also sit and play ball by rolling it back and forth.

8) she thinks NO is funny ... in fact I think she does things just so I tell her NO!

Ella is truly and absolute joy. We laugh at her daily and are amazed at how fast she learns something. He little personality is very funny. She is still high maintenance ... but incredibly good at the same time. We are blessed to have such a wonderful little girl to call ours!

Thanks for checking in. I will try and update more timely in the future.

My first swing ride - April 2009 - Thanks Aunt Debbie!

My First Easter ... Mom was trying to pose me for a picture!

Six + Months!

Well ... six months has almost come and gone! Sorry for not updating sooner. Make sure you scroll down as I added a few other posts/pics as well.

Ella had her six month check up (about 3.5 weeks ago :-)). The doctor said she looked great. She weighed 17lbs 15oz (90-95%) and was 27.5inches long (97%). She is still well above average for her height and weight. However, she is very well proportioned. She tolerated her shots well. We went to the beach house that night. She def was a little more fussy ... but hey I would be as well so I cant blame her. She also got her first cold ... it was actually good timing as we had the doctors appt anyway. She weathered it well. Actually funny story - I took her in to have her ears checked about a week after she first got the cold ... her ears looked fine - mine were infected. Her doctor was kind enough to look at mine too!

It is amazing how fast she is growing up. She will be seven months old in a week. Her latest accomplishment is finally rolling over. She is very proud of herself when she does it as well. She looks around for someone to clap and make a big deal about it ... very cute. She also loves to walk everywhere she goes. I predict she might skip crawling and go straight to walking. She will stand up (assisted of course) and play with all her toys. She continues to eat very well. We introduce new things all the time so far I think she has had the following: peas, green beans, carrots, squash, sweet potatoes, peaches, bananas, pears, applesauce, oranges ... and avocado! However, she was not a fan of the avocado ... it went in her mouth ... she looked at my like what in the heck is this ... she gaged once then gagged again ... this time it was accompanied with the pears and cereal she had eaten 5 minutes earlier! We may wait awhile to try that again. :-)

We hope everyone is doing well. We would love to hear from you. You can email us at brenda.ayers@mossadams.com or we recently signed up for Skype. This is an Internet service (free) that allows you to use a video cam and talk over the Internet. It is a fun way to see each other in real time. If you are interested in looking us up, our account name is ella.price.

Take care, Love Brenda and Ella.

Best Friends

Debbie and I try to get the girls together as much as possible. Ella and Alyse are beginning to interact with one another more and more. Is it really cute watching them. I think there are times Alyse wishes Ella would just leave her alone... :-) Ella def wants to 'attack' her! Here are a couple pics of them over the past month.