Ella {13 months}

I feel like I've been M.I.A. for a while. Did you notice?     [you didn't?  ok then....]

We have had quite the busy, fun month since Ella turned one! We've been soaking up a lot of fall weather and making some new friends. Now that Ella is walking, interacting, and really able to hold her own when playing with other kids, we've been getting out and socializing a lot more. Here are some fun pictures to document our adventures of the past month.

Hockey Games

We have gone to several hockey games, and the season is only beginning! Ella is much more active than she was last season, so we don't always last the entire game. But she seems to enjoy going, and she's even starting to not hate the goal horn!

Ice Skating Show

We were fortunate enough to go to the Musselman's Family Skating Tribute again this year. It was a great show with former Olympic and world champions, and Amy Grant performed live. It will be broadcast around Thanksgiving -- you should tune in!

Arboretum

On one of the super-nice October days, our friend Carrie asked us to join us at the Penn State Arboretum. Neither of us had been there before, but it was a great place to walk around and enjoy the weather. They had a fun kids' area that Ella loved, and they had fun pumpkin displays all around.

Library Storytime

The local downtown library has a great storytime that meets weekly for a chunk of time in the fall. The registration fills up ridiculously fast, but we were fortunate enough to get in this year. We go a little early so that Ella can play with some of the fun library toys, then we enjoy the half-hour of stories, songs, and rhymes. Kids' librarians are so fun!

Playgroup

I found three playgroups for us to go to this fall and winter. The weather is getting chilly, and Ella and I both need to socialize -- and this is the perfect solution! We've met some very nice people already, and Ella has a blast every time we go.

Pumpkin Farm

A few weeks before Halloween, we went to one of the local farms for their fall festival. They had hayrack rides, a corn maze, farm animals, baked goods and soups, and loads of pumpkins! 

Halloween

Last year's Halloween was pretty low-key, but this year was so fun! Ella was a ladybug, and she got to dress up five days that week! There were Halloween parties for playgroups, hockey games, and of course our own with friends. We didn't go trick-or-treating [let's be real... i didn't need the candy], but we went to my friend Kristi's house to hand out candy with her.

Hangin' at Home

Here are some random photos from when we were just hanging out and playing at home. Just a few cute & fun moments I thought you might enjoy!

Man oh man, we've had a fun month! Ella is learning so much and growing so quickly. 

She is starting to eat many of the same things we eat for dinner, but we're taking things slowly. She enjoys fruits & veggies, pasta, soup, grilled cheese, and pancakes. 

She babbles all the time, but she still isn't really saying any purposeful words. We're working on it! The pediatrician says she should have five purposeful words (or partial words) by her 18-month check up. 

That's about it for this month.

Happy Fall, Y'all!

Ella Turns ONE!

It's been a fun couple of weeks around here! We had some great company (thanks, grandmas & grandpa for coming to visit!), and one fun birthday party! We're just getting things back in order, so I'll finally get you a recap of Ella's birthday party...

[obviously] The table of yummy party food!

Yes, there was real food for the party. It was just in the fridge at this point. 

[no food poisoning here.]

Cupcakes with swirled frosting and sprinkles!

The smash cake... pre-smash.

Not really sure about this... it sure doesn't look like my usual lunch.

[we maybe had a candle mishap. if you didn't witness it, don't ask. if you did witness it, shhh.]

It took her a while to decide, but she loves the cake!

Opening presents. She loved ripping the wrapping paper.

Playing with a singing & dancing dog from Mike's Grandma & Grandpa Dee

Taking a ride on her elephant from Grandpa Dave & Grandma Deb. 

They really know how to pick out toys.. she loves this thing!

Taking her bubble-blowing mower for a test drive. Thanks, Keith & Kristi!

Basketball hoop.. totally not surprising that this was Mike's idea.

  

We have a ONE YEAR OLD!

Happy, Happy Birthday, Gabriella Marie! We love you!

Ella {51 Weeks}

Only one more week until our little Ella is one!

This week, Ella decided crawling is for the birds. About mid-week, she started walking more than crawling. She had previously crawled when she was tired, or after she fell she would just crawl to wherever she was going. But in the last few days, she has been walking nearly everywhere. She loses her balance and falls quite often, but she hops right back up and starts walking again. I have a feeling it won't be long and she'll be running!

We've been working on getting her to eat more real, solid foods rather than mashed or pureed baby foods. She's been eating a variety of soft fruits, cooked vegetables, and some bread and crackers. She seems to be enjoying it too; she is refusing to eat much baby food but gladly eats small chunks. I guess finger food is more fun! Yogurt is another new favorite food. When she sees the yogurt cup come out of the fridge, she knows what's coming!

One morning this week, we had a play date with two new friends. They each have a little boy about a year and a half old, so we got the three of them together to play. Even though she's just learning to do some of the things they're doing, she kept right up!

Despite trying to cut three teeth right now, Ella has been sleeping pretty well at night. But of course that means she only takes one nap during the day!

And now for some photos of the week...

we watched the psu homecoming parade with some friends, and ella loved watching everyone go by!

showing off her walking skills during the parade, with a little break by the bench

playing at the park!

enjoying the beautiful fall weather and playing a little sunday football

[i used the photo filter by accident.. woops]

Ella {50 Weeks}

As the weeks tick on, I just can't get over how close Ella is to being a year old! She has grown, changed, and learned so much in the last [nearly] twelve months. I keep looking forward to the twelve-month-old changes that we're told to expect, as well. Whole milk. Yogurt. Eggs. Peanut butter. Real food! Blankets. Stuffed animals. Reduced SIDS risk!

On the food front, Ella has been trying a few new things recently. She has been pretty reluctant to try new textures [as i'm sure i've mentioned before], but we're still pushing them. Her regular foods [sweet potatoes, squash, apples, etc] have been more coarse and she does great with that. We tried small chunks of soft pears last week, but that didn't go all that well. In the last few days we tried small chunks of banana, and she did great! She even had some bread and pancake and did really well. I think we're finally onto something!

Ella has been walking more each day, and she's getting better at it - and quicker!

She still loves her push-cart. I think it's safe to say it's a favorite toy. At least once a day, she does laps around the kitchen island. If she had anyone to race, she would definitely win!

[yes, that's mike's blockade to keep her in one part of the house. it worked for about two days.. then she figured out how to get through.]

We took a fun trip to Baltimore this week for Mike's birthday. It was a very quick trip because of work [hockey and football rule the fall], but we were able to see some friends, eat some Maryland crab, and go to an Orioles game!

Ella is still cutting two teeth. They're taking a while to come in, but they don't seem to be bothering her as much as the last one [at least not yet!].

We're having so much fun each day, and we're looking forward to having some family in town for her birthday! And of course we're looking forward to the party :)

Ella {49 Weeks}

Holy moley, how are we only three weeks away from having a birthday bash??? That's just crazy!

It's been a fun week around here, but pretty low-key. We took a few walks around the neighborhood, a few trips to the park, and one fun walk around campus and downtown with a friend and her tiny baby. It was fun to see some new sights with someone who knows the area!

We were finally able to go visit Mike at work and have lunch with him. His days are so busy right now and he's rarely available for lunch, so it was a special treat! Ella and Mike watched hockey practice after we ate.

Ella has been working cutting some teeth this week too, it seems. She has had two teeth on the bottom since about January, and she cut a third a few weeks ago. Now there are two more that look like they're just about to cut through, but nothing yet officially. She hasn't slept well for the past few days, and we think it's probably because her teeth are hurting. Maybe she'll have a couple more before her birthday!

She's getting much better at walking, and she can now make it all the way across the living room without falling! She still prefers crawling or walking with her push-cart because they're faster and more reliable, but she's making progress!

Have a great week -- Happy Fall!

Ella {48 Weeks}

This was a big week for Ella.... She started walking! She had been taking one or two steps for the past week or so, but on Tuesday this week [the day after we got back from our Midwest trip] she started taking five to eight steps on her own! She's still really wobbly and can't go very fast, but sometimes she can take about a dozen steps without falling. She still favors crawling and using her push-cart since it's so much faster, but she's walking better every day. 

It's hard to believe, but Ella turned 11 months this week! Less than a month til we have a birthday party for this little girl!

 

On Friday morning, Ella and I got to play with her new friend Baby Anna. Our friends Keith and Kristi were busy, so they asked us to come watch Anna for a bit. She's barely a month old, and she's still so itty bitty! Ella wasn't really sure what to think, but she sure loved playing with her toys!

Saturday we went to the Penn State football game with our friend Carrie. Mike [and carrie's fiance, chris] had to work at the game, so it was a girls' trip. We got to sit in the press box, which was great because it was supposed to rain. It didn't though--it was a perfect day for football! Ella was so well behaved, we got many compliments from other people in the press box. She played really well in her seat, didn't screech, and even ate some ice cream! She finally fell asleep in the fourth quarter once she knew we were going to win.

Ella {47 Weeks}

We just returned last night from another wonderful trip to the Midwest. It was a quick trip; we visited three states in four days, but we were able to pack in some fun with a lot of friends and family.

Ella did great on the flights again. They were her 14th, 15th, 16th & 17th flights! 

She's sporting her new set of  wings the flight attendant gave her.

While we were in Kansas City, we got to spend a little time with my good friend from college, Sasha. She has two kiddos, Jakob and Lauren. 

Ella just loved playing with Jakob! He was great at sharing his toys.

And of course Charlie wanted to play too!

While we were in Omaha, Penn State was playing in Ireland so it was being televised at 8am. Mike watched the game in the hotel lobby, and Ella joined him in her jammies!

Our friend from college, JoePapa, got married to Calli, which is what took us to Omaha. Such a beautiful wedding!

Tearing up the dance floor with Kate!

[i'll add a video of mike and ella tearing up the dance floor shortly!]

While we were in Omaha, we got to meet up with my good friend from work, Kayla, and her family. Ella was a little crabby at dinner that night, so the Navin girls entertained her for a while.

We went to Corning for a quick 24 hours for the annual Bickford Family Fish Fry! Such a fun tradition. We look forward to it every summer. Unfortunately I didn't get many pictures, but I did get one of my dad, Ella and I!