The Princess and Her Bodyguard

Today was a lovely day to be outside. Ella enjoyed playing on a blanket. The princess (note her shirt - love it!) was carefully guarded by the forever loyal Bronte. The dog sat less than a metre away the whole time and was quick to ward off any wasps that got too close to her heiness. This furry bodyguard also made sure to let Mommy know if any out of the ordinary noise was made.

Oma and Papa Time!

Tonight, Oma and Papa came for dinner. They were at the Zoo earlier today with cousin Alex and Uncle Chris; they brought a surprise for Ella: a stuffed animal. It's a white horse with a pink mane. It was a nice gift!!! Ella loved playing with Oma before dinner and liked sitting with Papa afterwards (she didn't cry). In fact, she was quite the flirt tonight with her grandparents - lots of smiles and laughs. She seems to have a bit of a rash, however, perhaps from the new cereal she tried today. Ella was so active that she fell asleep 5 minutes after her grandparents left at 6:30. Everyone had such a good time this evening. Happy 1st Anniversary to Auntie Lisa and Uncle Andrew!

Gearing Up for Winter!

Ella has a new hat! She's getting ready for winter - it's a bit early, we know, but the winter gear is aleady in stores. Needless to say, Ella is not overly impressed with this hat. Mommy couldn't resist buying it today - she and Daddy were quite amused with how cute the Beaners looks. It was a whole lot of fun for $4.00!!

Bathtime and the Baby Burrito

Ella is starting to really enjoy bathtime. Here are some pics from tonight's bath. When she's wrapped up in her towel, we call her a baby burrito! She also kind of looks like Yoda! We love it!!!!

A shy, Mommy's girl...

Another busy weekend! It was a weekend full of family time. For the most part, the Beaners was very shy around everyone or acted strange. She is really turning into a Mommy's girl! Yesterday, she quietly observed Daddy and cousin Alex building sandcastles from an exersaucer while at Oma and Papa's house (for Mommy's bday). Ella has now taken to "lounging" while eating in her highchair much like she does in her stroller (note her feet). She loves sitting at the table and playing with water bottles.

Miss Social Butterfly!

Yesterday, Ella had a playdate with her friend Michael. Ella enjoyed staring at him and playing with his toys. Mommy and Patti (Michael's Mom) had a nice lunch and the babies had fun together. Soon we will all be taking music classes together.

In the afternoon, Mommy and Daddy had an optometrist's appointment. Ella was Miss Social Butterfly. She is usually a similing, chatty, sociable baby at home; however, as most of you know, she tends to be really shy and reserved in new or different situations. This time, at the doctor's office, she smiled at all of the staff and laughed a lot. Everyone kept commenting on how good she was. She had lots of attention and enjoyed Dr. Walker most of all. We're sure it helped that everyone who worked there was female - no man in sight. This is the second time in a week where she's been smiling at new people with incredible ease. She's turning into quite the ham!

Patience Grasshopper!

This weekend, Ella discovered the lawn. She had great fun picking the grass, trying to eat it, and getting dirty! She didn't like it when we stopped her lawn fun!

Ladies who Lunch!

Today Ella and Mommy went for lunch with friends Marni and Lisa at the mall. There was some shopping that took place too. Marni bought some nice pants from LuLu Lemon and Lisa purchased a new bathing suit to accommodate her growing belly. Ella picked out some new books, including Who do You See?, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and But Not the Hippopotamus. Lisa read Ella the new Hippo book and she loved it. Ella was also quite entertained with Marni's attempts to get her to smile (which she finally did). It was a fun girls' day out!

Fun in the Sun on Simcoe!

What a warm day! Today the whole family went for a walk. Ella enjoyed the stroll and Bronte really loved the swim in the lake (a bit too cool and contaminated for Ella just yet). If you look closely, you can see Ella's two teeth in one of the closeups. We came back from the lake and Daddy and Mommy had a cold beer and Ella enjoyed a cold bottle of water. Bronte drank most of Lake Simcoe during her swim, so she was plenty hydrated. It was a nice day for everyone!

A busy day!

Yesterday, Ella spent the morning with Oma as Mommy had an appointment. Ella was a good girl for Oma - she never cried once. Oma made sure they had lots of fun: they went for a walk, played with toys, read stories, and had snuggle time. Papa was sad that he missed her but he called in the evening to say "hello". After a nice day, Ella spent time with Mommy, Daddy, and Bronte in the backyard before bedtime. Here she is with Mommy!

Happy Birthday Oma!

Yesterday was Oma's birthday. As she is away at a cottage, Ella created a little card to send to her. These are the pics we took to send to Oma so that she could get her well wishes this morning on her Blackberry.

She's a Technically Minded Tot

Ella loves her new blog! Here she is, checking it out and suggesting possible changes.

A Life (thus far) in Pictures...

It's Better Late than Never....

This is our first blog! We think that it will be a great place to share everything Ella. Here's a quick update on our little one:

Name: Ella Grace
D.O.B.: December 12, 2008
Current Weight: 17.5 lbs

Likes: "You are My Sunshine", Sophie the Giraffe, Bronte kisses, prunes, carrots, GoodNight Moon, Barnyard Dance, rolling over, exersaucer, noisy toys, the grapey goodness of Losec, Vitamin D drops, ice cubes, her toes, people's faces, kids/babies, water bottles, white noise, vocals, tickling, pacifier, Mommy's hair, and Daddy's beard.

Dislikes: Peaches, napping, baby swing, men (except Daddy and Uncle Andrew), sitting still, acid reflux, teething, and being tired.

Here are some pictured highlights of Ella's life thus far: