A Funny Little Girl

The family enjoyed a walk to the lake today. Ella had no idea that she was "walking on water". She is finally recovering from a chest/sinus infection that put her in a state of misery for a week. Her whole class at school seemed to be affected too.

Ella has started saying some rather amusing expressions. This week she said, "Daddy, I need a kleenex. Seriously." She also declared, "I put my milk in the fridge. It was a miracle". She then greeted Mommy with "Hello, Gorgeous!". She has since loved to use the word "seriously" - she even uses an appropriate tone. Daddy and I laugh at her often. She will then note, "I'm hilarious".

She correctly identifies "man/boy" versus "lady/girl". She is conjugating verbs well and now knows the last name of her grandparents, aunts/uncles, and cousins. She also gets a kick out of calling Mommy "Julie Sayles".

Ella believes that the baby in Mommy's tummy is her baby. She loves to give the baby kisses. She continues to love sharing and is kind with others, especially little ones.

A New Sayles Baby on the Way!!!!!!!

A new edition to the Sayles family will be arriving around July 22nd!!! We got the the shots of the soon-to-arrive little one today. Ella knows that there is a "baby" in Mommy's tummy and she was quite thrilled to see her future sibling on the computer screen today. She wondered where the baby went as she kept looking at Mommy's tummy. We are all very excited - Mommy is especially excited now that the nausea seems to be subsiding and the sleepless nights are getting better.

We will have Ella and sibling X's adventures to both record on the blog very soon. We hope to see if Ella will be getting a sister or brother at the next appointment in February. Daddy and Mommy feel like a boy is on the way (what else does Mommy's family produce anyway - hahaha) but we would love to have a little girl for Ella to play with too - it's a win-win situation regardless.

We feel very happy and very blessed.

Love to All!!!

Darren, Julie, and Ella

A Christmas Report

Ella grasped Christmas quite well this year. She quickly understood Santa Claus, reindeer, and presents. Her favourite Christmas tune was “Jingle Bells” (pronounced “Gingle Bells” in Ella-ese). She thoroughly enjoyed opening her gifts, only to reply "I need more presents" when all was said and done (she seemed to love the unwrapping as much as anything). She gobbled up all of her chocolate in her advent calendars (thank you Oma and Papa and Auntie Dar) daily. It was such a fun Christmas this year and we look forward to many more to come. Ella, Mommy and Daddy thank everyone for such a wonderful holiday and for all of your thoughtful gifts. Thanks to Marni (for her Christmas Eve shirt) and to Patti and Michael for the lovely pink sweater and leggings worn on Christmas day (seen in these pics)!

Here are some highlights with a few added pictures from her birthday.

Birthday Cake

Opening Birthday Presents

Two of Santa's Reindeer on Christmas Eve

Santa and his Reindeer

Opening Presents on Christmas Day

Playing with Pots and Pans