11 Months

Ok, so I have been working on this since Tuesday!! Its been a long week and a busy one at that!
Wow our little Ella is 11 months today (the 27th). I can't believe how much she has grown. Just the other night I was looking at old pictures of her and she doesn't even look like the same baby to me. She is truly the love of my life and makes me so happy and proud to her mom. She is still not walking, but I know its just a matter of time. She can stand tall for long periods of time and cruise from one thing to the next but she just won't take that step. I am on pins and needles b/c I know its just a matter of time. She is still talking all the time and some words I can make out, but the rest is all Ella lingo! Her new obsession is Woody from the Toy story. Our nephew Dylan had one at Christmas and she was always playing with it. So MeMaw (Eric's mom) found her one and sent it. Woody went everywhere with us. He went to Kroger, Church, dinner you name it he has gone. Well one night at dinner he was left and they couldn't find him. Its a good thing she is still too young to understand b/c it was like he was never around in the first place. Out of sight out of mind. As parents though you feel like you have to replace it b/c she loved him so much. Well we called around and looked on the internet for some reason woody is a HOT comity. Well MiMi (my mom) found him in South Florida. It was more to ship him here than the actual cost of the doll. Well Woody is back!!! She is so happy with him again. The new rule though is Woody doesn't leave the house. He has to stay here!!


Ella had her "real" first playdate today (Tues). It was at 10am so I knew she wasn't going to last long b/c that is typically around her morning nap time. She had a GREAT time and played with all the other children. She was the youngest but she LOVES other "little" people so she was in her glory. She lasted about an 1hr or so and she ended up taking a nap at their house ha!! Only Ella. I guess she gets that from me. When I am tired I will sleep anywhere at any time!! So Sara set up a pack and play and Ella was OUT!! She had a great time and we can't wait to do it again.

Another thing Ella is doing and probably shouldn't be is standing in her grocery cart. Her Aunt Julie and Uncle Ryan got her a Fisher Price sing along grocery cart. Instead of playing with all the "groceries" that go in it she takes them all out and sits it. Here are a few photos we took of her. She is a mess!! Each day is something new with her. We hope everyone is doing well and your New Year has started of great!! My pics are soon to come! I haven't downloaded them yet.

Ella's 1st Christmas

Ella's 1st Christmas was a BLAST!! She had a great time. I know she didn't understand what was going on but when you have children it gives Christmas a whole new spin. We had Christmas with Eric's family this year. We rotate every year since our family's live so far apart. We went to Jasper, Indiana where Kari (Eric's sister) and PawPaw live. We came in on Christmas Eve. That day they had a cookie decorating contest. Mine was picked by Dylan (our nephew) for Santa to eat! You can tell a child did the judging b/c it was not a pretty cookie. We went to 5 o'clock mass, which Ella did very well. I was nervous she was not going to make it b/c at our church she is always in God's Garden, a.k.a daycare. Thank goodness for Cheerios!! That night we played games and waited for Santa's arrival!! Christmas morning we watched the kids (Dylan and Ella) open their gifts. Santa was very good to them so I assume they were very well behaved this year. I also had a great Christmas. Santa was very good to me too!! I got a new watch, diamond necklace and a food processor ha!! I got a few other items for the kitchen as well. I am taking the hint I need to get in the kitchen more!! I will let you know how that goes. We had a great Christmas dinner and Wii for dessert ha!! The theme of the weekend was Mario Cart. The guys were addicted. I have to admit the bowling was VERY fun too!! Ella had a great weekend with Dylan. She loves to play with other children. We had our 2nd Christmas this past Friday when MiMi and PopPop sent their gifts. Ella LOVES her new giraffe with tags!! Ella has always been obsessed with tags. If something has a tag on it she will find it!! Thank you to everyone for making Ella's first Christmas so wonderful. I know she will never remember it, but we will and we can share the stories with her oneday.

All in all we were VERY blessed in 2008. Our move to Nashville was a great transition for our family. We LOVE it here!! So come visit. ha We were blessed on Feb 27th with Ella Marie and life has not been the same since. She is our pride and joy!! I truly love Eric but you when you have a child you fall in love all over and even harder. We have met some great people here and found a church we really enjoy. God has been so great to us and we are very thankful for that. We love you all and wish you the best in 2009.

Minnie Mouse

Here is a recent picture of Ella. She went to a Birthday here in Nashville and as you can see the theme was Mickey Mouse!! She loved her Mickey ears. Hope everyone had a great Christmas and Happy New Year. She is talking to us about how much fun she was having!! She is always talking!

It's Been Awhile

Hey everyone! Sorry its been awhile since I have blogged. Got a little behind on things I guess you could say. Well all is well here at the Manchir house. We are getting ready for Christmas. We are so excited that we have Ella this year to celebrate with us. Last year she was still baking in the oven ha!! Ella is doing so well. She is the GREATEST little girl. We are so blessed to have her in our lives and we LOVE her to pieces. She is 9 months now. WOW the time goes fast. Before we know it we will be celebrating her 1st bday. That makes me sad.........She is crawling all over the place and standing tall. She has not tried to walk yet, but I am sure its coming. She has discovered the stairs YIKES!! Not a good thing. She waves bye to us and even likes to clap her hands when we sing. Her daddy has also taught her to dance. He plays ring tones off his cell and she LOVES that. Her new favorite word (thanks to Mimi) is WOW! Everything is Wow! She can also say mama, dada, dog (in her own way) and baba. I think she is saying bottle. She always has a lot to say we just can't tell what she is saying, but as long as she knows I guess thats all that matters. She is still loving her veggies, fruits and meats. I HATE meat so I think she got that from the Manchir side. Beef is her favorite. She is a GREAT sleeper as well. She was still getting up a lot in the night until about 7 months and one night I just said if she wakes up I am not going in there. That night she woke up and cried for about 12 min and went back to sleep on her own that was the end of it! She now goes to bed at 8:30 and sleeps until about 7:30/8am. I will take it!! Last week I took her to the Dr for her 9mth wellness visit. She is doing well. She is still in the 88% in her length and 25% on weight. The Dr says she is looking as if she might take after me and be thin and tall. Too bad I am not very tall ha! She is a little petite thing, but I think that is what makes her look so cute. All in all Ella is a great baby. She is fun loving and always a joy to be around (we do have our days)! I am still working from home, which is going really well so Ella and I get to hang out A LOT!! We have fun together. We like to take breaks and go out to lunch or run a few errands. She loves getting out b/c she loves people and always wants to be in the mix. As Christmas approaches I hope we all can take the time to remember what the true meaning of Christmas is all about. I know God has blessed us in so many ways this year and we are truly thankful for that. The BEST gift was Ella!! She is truly a blessing! Merry Christmas to all and Happy New Year. I promise to post some recent pics of Miss Ella soon!

Pumpkin Patch

Well today we took Ella to her first pumpkin patch. She had a wonderful time. She got to look at all the animals at the petting zoo. She got to see her first pig, sheep, cow and horse. She didn't seem too concerned about it ha!! She just loves to look at all the people! She is a people watcher for sure. We took her on a hay ride to go and pick out her first pumpkin. She picked out the smallest one but it fits her perfect. We also got one for Brutus, Harriet, and us. So everyone is the family got their own pumpkin. Here are some pics from our day a Pumpkin Hill.

Happy Halloween

I couldn't wait until Halloween to dress her up so I had to share. She is a pink poodle!! She just loved being dressed up. She thought it was too much fun! Ella is doing well. We have all been sick for the last week but we are all starting to feel a lot better. This past weekend we made a trip to Atlanta for the Norton boys 30th bday. We had a GREAT time and it was so nice to see everyone. Thank you Ashley for a wonderful PARTY and we love everything you have done to the house, it looks GORGEOUS!! Grandma Manchir babysat so Eric and I could have a night out. We had a BLAST! Ella has learned to clap when she gets excited. She doesn't have the coordination down so her hands and arms go everywhere. Its the cutest thing ever. She is still trying to say dada all the time with a few other words but its all babble for now. She knows what she is saying so I guess that's all that matters ha!! Other than that we don't have too much really going on. Looking forward to the fall and all the holidays ahead!! Hope all is well with everyone.

Gator Baby

Here is Ella supporting her gators. Her daddy says she is a buckeye, but we will see!! Go gators!!