Merry Christmas!!!

What a wonderful Christmas! Oma and Papa came over Christmas Eve, as per our new tradition. We had a lovely meal and some fun playing with Ella. She was quite loud at dinner - desperately wanting Oma to take her out of her highchair. We hope Oma and Papa enjoy their trip to Florida - they leave today to visit Auntie Lisa, Uncle Andrew, and Matthew who are vacationing at her father's house.

Christmas morning was nice and quiet. The three of us (Bronte included) enjoyed opening presents and watching Ella play with her new toys. Bronte loved her new bone and squeeky toy too. In the afternoon, we went to Great Aunt Willie and Great Uncle John's house for dinner. Ella was a hit - she eagerly went into everyone's arms (okay, only the women) and showed off her new hugging and snuggling abilities. She has changed so much from the incredibly shy little baby that she once was. She was loud and sociable. She even managed to smile for the male family members. It was nice for Ella to show the side of her personality that she only would share with Mommy and Daddy for so long. All of her great aunties offered to babysit anytime they were needed - a great piece of news as they are available during the day for when Mommy returns to work. Mind you, Oma has first dibs!!!

Hurry Santa! I need new toys!

Ella received lovely toys for her birthday and for Christmas already. Unfortunately, she found it more amusing to crawl into Mommy's closet and find new things to play with. These new discoveries include feminine hygiene products, a curling iron, and breast bump bottles. She's quite fascinated with all of Mommy's personal care products. Alas, nothing is sacred in this house anymore!

The Hug that Warms the Soul

Ella, for the past couple of weeks, has become a hugger. She wraps her arms around your neck and rests her head on your shoulder. It is the best feeling in the world! When Mommy puts her to bed, Ella immediately hugs her as soon as the lullabies start and the pacifier is in place. Mommy can't help but sway to a lullaby or two with her sweet daughter snuggled in her arms before putting her down to sleep. Ella is so busy, so when she takes time throughout her day to hug us, it's so lovely. The daycare teachers love it too - they say she snuggles the most out of all of the babies. They admit to loving the hugs from her and relishing in the snuggly moments too. It is pure Heaven! Mommy will hopefully post a picture of a hug soon - somewhat hard to do when your arms are wrapped up in such a wonderful hug!

Daycare Diva!

Ella started daycare on Tuesday (Montessori). Mommy was a mess but kept herself composed until she got in the car after dropping Ella off. She then became a bawling baby and hoped that the pain would soon stop. She returned to pick up Ella a few hours later - quite nervous to see how she faired. Upon entering the house, Mommy could hear Ella - no, she wasn't crying but screaming the loudest out of all of the kids. She was playing the loudest and having a great time. Ella didn't appear to miss Mommy and already seemed quite attached to teachers Cecilia and Lori. Ella barely acknowledged Mommy as she was too busy having so much fun. Mommy worried about the second day - but she was just as happy and even napped for the ladies. She is adjusting wonderfully. Oddly enough, it was good to hear "she didn't miss you one bit". As long as Ella is happy, Mommy is happy. She is quite the daycare diva. One of the little boys, who is a bit older, calls her Bella. Here is a pic of Ella in one of her new outfits from Auntie Lisa and Uncle Andrew taken today.

Happy Birthday Ella!!!

It's official - The Beaners is 1 year old! It may be a bit of a cliche to say that time has gone by too fast, but it's true. It's hard to believe that Ella is a big girl now (well kind of). Mommy returns to work January 4th; however, Ella will be attending Montessori next week for a few hours each day so that she becomes familiar with the staff.

For those of you who don't know, Ella was hospitalized again this week for a couple of days. She started vomiting again and her paediatrician admitted her for some testing. All seems well; we will continue to monitor her diet. We suspect that icing sugar hurt her tummy - Uncle Chris and Papa couldn't handle certain foods as babies too. We hope that Ella, like them, will outgrow her food sensitivies. It was another few scary days for all of us. We pray that this illness will end soon (sheesh, and we though reflux was enough stress). She such a trooper - she didn't even cry when she had blood taken. She managed to smile at the nervous nurse. Oma thankfully kept all of us company at the hospital. Ella is quite smitten with her Oma. She eagerly wants to be in her arms all of the time. She amazes us each day.

Ella LOVES to stand and will try to stand next to anything. She's been quite keen on standing for some time, but now it's becoming highly frequent. She prefers standing to sitting now too. We will often find her standing with the help of the couch, toy bin, etc. Walking must be soon on the horizon.

Loving the Loot

As promised, here she is enjoying some of her Christmas loot. Mommy couldn't resist taking the picture of Ella napping with her 'baby'. She was quite happy when I let her have her doll in bed with her. She nuzzles the doll's face and tries to share her soother with it. We think that Ella believes that she has a real baby. It's unbelievably adorable!!! She was spoiled by her grandparents and her aunts and uncles.

An Early Christmas

Christmas came early this year! We celebrated the family Christmas early as my siblings will be with their inlaws on the actual day (and Oma and Papa will be in Florida on the 27th). Anyhoo, Ella received many wonderful gifts. She has some very cute clothes, some new books, and lots of fun new toys. The highlight that seems to be quite amusing for her is the doll that Oma and Papa bought for her. She loves to chuckle at the doll and nuzzle her face. It's so funny to watch her. She's never been that interested in stuffed animals, but this doll seems to have caputred her. She just can't stop smiling at it and laughing at her. Even as I type this, she is laughing at her 'baby' and sharing her new toys with her. She's quite the little mommy already. I will post more pictures of Ella enjoying all of her gifts soon.

Mmmmmmuffins

Ella enjoys eating gluten and dairy free muffins (they are quite good - surprisingly)! She especially loves them when we put apricot or peach jam on them. She continues to enjoy eating solid foods; however, her favourite food is spelt toast with humus or jam. This weekend is our family Christmas (early as my siblings are away with their inlaws during the holiday this year). Next weekend, it's Ella's 1sth birthday!!!!! She is growing up too fast. The pictures are of Ella enjoying her muffins and of her reading her great Aunt Johanna's cookbook.

She soon starts going to Montessori school (daycare). Mommy is so sad to return to work and to leave her Beaners. Thankfully, her napping is much improved (in her crib - yay) and she started sleeping 12 hours at night (waking 1-2 times). This may not seem impressive, but it is considering how poor of a sleeper she's been. Getting a baby to sleep well is tough - getting a baby to sleep (and stay asleep) who has reflux is impossible! Reflux makes sleep for a baby so difficult. Thankfully, the right combo of meds and diet seem to be helping. Also, no weird vomiting spells have happened since the new diet. Fingers crossed everyone!!!!!!!!