Happy Thanksgiving!

Road trip! We headed for Bryan/College Station Wednesday late morning. Carrie and Maggie rode down with us which made the trip infinitely better for Ella. I don't think she fussed once on the way down or back despite being tired. Either Jeff or I always sit in the backseat with her if we're both in the car, but I guess we're just not as entertaining as Aunt Carrie and Cousin Maggie. This was during our brief stop in Waco for a potty break, leg stretch, snack, and coffee.

Ella and Daddy walking to Uncle John and Aunt Carolyn's house on Thanksgiving. She walked the whole way there from Uncle Steve's house. It was a slow walk, but she loved it and she was so good about holding Jeff's hand the whole time.

My Aunt Carolyn set up a little table just for Ella and Maggie, it was so cute.

Ella and my cousin's dog. She was just Ella's size. Ella had a great time with all the cousins. The weather was perfect for playing outside.

Ella at Cracker Barrel Friday morning. I think her allergies were bothering her again, they seem to get her every time we go down there.

Itsy bitsy spider!

Ella always wants a drink of anything I'm drinking. Saturday morning she was bugging me for my coffee. After I had drank most of it, I let her pretend to take a drink, which mostly consists of her chewing on the side of the cup.

Ella and Kyle at Kyle's first Birthday party on Sunday. Ella is a month older than Kyle, but you'd never guess it looking at them!

We had a great Thanksgiving. As always, Uncle Steve went above and beyond to make us comfortable and keep us full. Thanksgiving day with my extended family was wonderful. We usually only get to see that side once a year, so it's always a little overwhelming to try to catch up with everyone, but it's great to see them all. And of course, the food was delicious too! I'm so glad that Carrie and Maggie were able to go down with us and we got to spend a lot of time with them. Saturday when we got home, we continued the Thanksgiving celebrations with dinner with Jeff's parents and Thomas. Again, the food was yummy and we enjoyed relaxing with the family.

13 months

Ella and Kevin.

Ella and Daddy.

Ella loves sitting in her bumbo still, but she's getting a bit to big for it so we always have to help her get back out.

Ella, Maggie and Roo Dog having a cheerio feast. What a mess!

Big girl!

Hello!

It's been a very busy and kind of stressful week. I'm hoping we'll all get to relax some over Thanksgiving!

Outside!!!

Friday afternoon at the park:

Still not a fan of the swing.

She loves the slide though.

And this little spinning thing.

Ella is definitely an outside kid. She is her happiest when she's playing outside. It can be difficult since the outside isn't baby proofed. I have to be very vigilant to keep dirt, grass, acorns, bugs, etc., out of her mouth. She's better behaved and sleeps better when she gets lots of outside time, so that motivates me to make sure it happens.

Ella in her house. We're almost finished painting it, just a few details left to do.

She likes to push her house around the room from the inside. Since it's made of cardboard, it's light weight and she can easily move it around. She got a little too aggressive about it on this occasion and popped the front open. She was very surprised and pleased with herself.

Ella and Daddy reading. Her attention span is short, but she still loves to look at books and be read to.

Ella got bored with her cabinets and moved on to exploring the tupperware cabinet. She's a fan of the squeeze bottle.

Jeff took this picture of her in the cabinet. It's just so cute, we can't help it!

I think, at least partly, because of the reaction she gets from us, she's taken to "loving" on things. It's so cute and sweet and she always checks to make sure we're watching her.

Another afternoon in the backyard. Grandpa, Grandmo, and Maggie came over to play this afternoon. Ella was thrilled to have guests in her backyard. She was a great host!

Bucket head

Ella and her new bucket.

Ella's new favorite hangout- the backyard.

She's bringing me a handful of dirt from my plants. At least that handful didn't make it into her mouth.

Sweet baby.

Ella loves straws. She's started really getting into trying to figure out how things work together. I think she was trying to figure out how to get water out of my bottle with her straw.

Playing with Mommy's face.

One of these days I'll get tired of taking/posting pictures of Ella in the cabinet, but not today.

Ella introducing her first international friend, Liva.

Ella's tummy...

Ella and Liva playing on Liva's cool little papoose, mat thing. Of course, Ella was very interested in all of Liva's toys and things. Poor Liva didn't know what to thing about Ella. I think she liked her except when Ella screamed or cried and that would make Liva cry.

Ella stealing Liva's toys.

Peek-a-boo!

This was moments before I decided to start painting Ella's house. I'll post after pictures when it's finished.

Ella's naps have gotten a little better this week, but getting her to sleep at night has still been a bit of a struggle. She cut another tooth, tooth number 7, yesterday, so I don't know if that's part of the problem or what. I'm afraid the end of daylight saving time is really going to mess things up, we'll see.

She's been imitating simple actions. She'll blow on her food before she takes a bite, especially if she sees us to it first. She's also been trying to tickle people. It took me a while to figure out that's what she was doing because she does it to my face, but then I saw her trying to tickle Liva and it clicked.