11 months old!

September 3 marked 11 months since Ella was born. She is such an amazing gift to us. Every month has brought new experiences and joys with her and although it is bittersweet that time has gone by so fast, we are so thankful for our little girl and treasure these past 11 months. Her little personality is really shining through - very strongwilled (definately knows what she wants) but is very cuddly and playful. She is walking now which is so exciting! Although she can be wobbly and falls often, she is a determined little one and prefers to walk around whenever she can. To me there is nothing cuter than seeing such a tiny little person walking around like a little old lady. She is always full of smiles and continues her passion for squealing...very loudly:) Brad and I are convinced she is going to be quite a social butterfly someday because she is not totally content unless she can be in the midst of all the action, especially where other children are concerned. Her favorite things continue to be watching cars & people from the window, playing with toys (especially hitting things together), walking around the house behind her car/bike, being chased around the house by Brad & I, taking walks, squealing at dogs, waving at everything in sight and eating anything as long as she can feed herself and make a mess:). At this point she tends to be a mama's girl, but no one can make her smile and laugh like her daddy! This past month she was at the Dr's for some "poopy problems" so these are her stats as of 2 weeks ago: 22.2lbs (80th percentile) and 30 3/4 in (off the charts). Here are some pictures of her throughout the past month ...

Ella stuffing her face full of rice when we went to Kobe Steakhouse with Betsy, Jake & Lily. The Japanese restaurant was perfect for a night out with her b/c it was loud, there was entertainment (the chef) and food was great even for her!

"Uh-oh Cheerio!"

"I can do it myself!"

My sunscreen baby Einstein look:)

Duck watching at the park
Looking pretty with Daddy!

I love blueberries!

Playing in the sand at the beach

Watching Daddy mow...it was so funny...she would yell and giggle whenever he went by the window and break into tears when she couldn't see him...the cycle continued long enough so that I ended up just going outside the rest of the time he mowed to make her happy:)

"I think I can, I think I can!"
She loves to pick up every little thing she sees on the ground, especially in the driveway...we spend the whole time making sure she doesn't eat it all...woodchips, dead bees, bugs, stones - yuck!

Ella and Daddy
Lately she loves to play with hangers...gotta love the cheap toys:)

"I'm a big kid now!"Bye Bye!