Ella's 8-Month Photos

Ella and I made it into the photo studio this morning for a quick photo shoot for her 8-month pictures.  Normally a super happy and smiley baby whenever attention is directed her way, Ella was very reserved today and barely cracked a smile.  I think this was largely due to the fact that I accidentally scheduled the appointment during her morning nap.  And although she wasn't cranky or fussy at all, she only smiled for the first few pictures and then promptly stopped.  No matter what the photographer or I did, we couldn't get her to smile again.  Oh well.  I'll just be grateful for the first few that we got--after all, I only need one to enlarge and frame!

Attacking the Dishwasher

Just like her older siblings, Ella discovered the dishwasher a few months ago when she started crawling.  Whenever Ella sees the door is down, she seriously makes a beeline for it with turbo-crawling speed.  She goes straight for the large handled silverware in the basket which is normally the knives and has recently learned how to pull out plates, too.  I must admit that this is one of my least favorite activities of my babies (especially when the dishes are dirty), but we always seem to get through it unscathed...so far.  So, here are a few pictures of my dishwasher-diving baby that I took of her this morning.  Isn't she so cute?

Fantasy Lights for FHE

Tonight we went and did the perfect Family Home Evening activity with little children while it is cold and rainy outside--the Fantasy Lights at Spanaway Park.  We get to stay all toasty and dry inside our car while driving around the park oohing and aaawing at the Christmas Lights!  The kids stay warm and happy which keeps Ron and me happy.  This is the first year that Logan has been old enough to really appreciate it.  His excitement is so contagious!  And Lia enjoyed it from her backseat in the van and Ella tolerated the event.  Overall, I'd say it was a success!  Here are a few pics of our outing.

Ella checking my camera and me out from her car seat.

Logan (covering his eyes from the camera's flash) and Ella as we head into the park.

Lia from her perch in the back.

Some of our favorite lights included the guitar-playing dinosaur,

the Santa pirate ship,

the choo choo train,

and OF COURSE the dump truck!

Here is a blow-by-blow of Logan pointing out some of the lights.  First he points at the lights out the window,

then he turns to me to point them out,

then he realizes that I am taking pictures of him and tries to grab the camera,

and finishes off with that darling smile!

Some more favorites--the lady watering the flowers 

and the gingerbread house!

A Weekend of Santa Claus!

Lia had a busy weekend full of some fun Christmas activities that included Santa.  On Friday evening, she was invited to a little Christmas party hosted by one of the girls in her first grade class.  The kids decorated sugar cookies and sipped hot cocoa while watching a holiday movie before being surprised by a visit from Santa!  They couldn't believe it.  Santa came in and told some stories before giving them the chance to sit on his lap and tell him their Christmas gift wishes.  What fun.

Here is Lia and her friend, Addyson, decorating their cookies.  

Lia sitting on Santa's lap.

Tonight Lia got to be in the Santa Parade for a second year in a row with her new Girl Scout troop.  Her leaders decorated the float in a Winter Wonderland theme and did an amazing job.  Lia dressed up in her snow gear with antlers and a flashing snowflake necklace and had a great time with her friends while I walked along side the float.

A close up of my snow bunny.

The float in all its glory.

Lia waiting for the parade to start with Sienna and Addyson.

These girls love posing for silly pictures!

When we were first moving to the starting line of the parade, we passed one of my favorite parts of the Santa parade--Mr. and Mrs. Claus riding in an old fashioned fire truck.  Since we no longer get to watch the parade from the sidelines, we didn't get to see them last year, so it was a treat to spot the two of them on our way out!

Mr. and Mrs. Claus all decked out in their finest!

Decorating the Tree!

Although we went out and bought our Christmas tree as a family on Friday night, we didn't get around to decorating it until yesterday morning.  Both Lia and Logan were so excited and waited so patiently until the moment arrive to "dress the tree!"  Lia was a huge help and put up all of her ornaments and helped me with many of the family ornaments.  Logan narrowed in on three specific ornaments at the very beginning and proceeded to hang them up and then take them down to play with over and over again.  In fact, these three ornaments have since gone to bed with him and joined him on his high chair tray during every meal since their discovery.  So, needless to say, he wasn't much help, but it sure has been cute to watch his enthusiasm for Christmas this past weekend.  I just love it when our kids get old enough to finally enjoy all of the magic and excitement of the holiday season.  And the season has officially begun!  Here's to many more fun and festive activities in the weeks to come!

Lia hanging another ornament with her crazy brother in the background.

Logan carrying two of his three favorite ornaments--a jingle bell Christmas tree and a stuffed, snowman riding on a sleigh.

8 Months Old Today!

My baby girl turned eight months old today!  It's hard to believe that she is officially two-thirds done with her first year of life.  The time is sure flying.  Ella is such a busy baby--I just can't believe it.  She is nonstop.  Ella crawls everywhere.  She pulls herself up onto everything.  And she walks along furniture all the time.  Ron even found her sitting on the landing of our stairs (six steps up) the other day when he was working on his Sunday school lesson in the other room.  Ella loves getting into the dishwasher whenever it is open, digging through the recycle bin, and chewing on shoes.  She also makes a mad dash for the basement stairs whenever the door is left open.  It's amazing that one of us has been able to stop her from tumbling down them every single time this has happened.  Ella is still one happy, bubbly baby who thrives on attention from anyone--especially her sister, daddy, and me.  She is doing a good job eating any kind of baby food we feed her and has also been introduced to baby puffs, tiny pieces of bread, and pear slices.  She hasn't really gotten the hang of eating these more solid foods and will typically spit them out unless we place them inside her cheek.  The big news of the month is that Ella just popped her two front, bottom teeth this weekend.  After feeling them for a week or so, I just noticed that they had actually broken through today.  Feeeyoooh!  We made it over this first hurdle.  And the sad news of this past month is that Ella caught her second and third cold back to back.  She has been as healthy as can be since her first cold which she caught from Lia and Logan when she was only three weeks old.  So, we had a good, healthy run while it lasted.  But unfortunately Lia got a really bad cold from the girl we carpool with to school and then she passed it onto me and then to Logan and then to Ella.  The poor, little baby has been so congested and has slept horribly for the past two weeks with only a three day break in between colds.  As a result, I am exhausted.  I hate how the common cold totally wreaks havoc on a baby's sleep AND mine, too!  Oh well.  We'll get through this.  Until next month!

First Snow Day of the Season!

It was so fun to look out the window this morning to see snow flakes falling!  What a fun treat to have this happen over the Thanksgiving holiday.  Although less than an inch fell before it stopped snowing after breakfast, Lia and Logan bundled up and headed out this morning before it started to melt away.  They had a fun time climbing around on the play set, building a ramp at the bottom of the slide, and being pulled around in the sled by papa.  I just love snow days and I hope that there are more to come this winter!

Climbing up the ladder!

Lia sliding down onto the snow ramp they built.

Logan's turn!

Logan's "graceful" finish on the snow ramp.  This kid just cracks me up.

Another graceful landing by Lia.

Pig pile!

The little "Olaf" that the kids built with papa's help.