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!!

We are back!!

Ok, I have been working on the same blog for a week now so sorry its just getting posted now. Its been crazy here since we came home from vacation.

Well we made it back from vacation. It was a wonderful, well needed trip. Ella did wonderful on the cruise. She slept and ate great the entire time so that made mommy very happy. Since there was a large group of us I had tons of hands to help out with Ella. Thank you to everyone for all the extra help it was very much appreciated. Eric and I even got some time out to ourselves which was really nice. During the cruise they had "aqua babies" which is a class for infants. Ella did so well and loved playing with Miss Rosie. It was a great activity for her. Ella went to Jamaica, Cozumel, and a private Island owned by Royal Caribbean. She is such the traveler!! I am glad Ella had a great first vacation and I am sure she is looking forward to many more. Thank you mom and dad for a GREAT trip and the help with Ella.

Ella is doing just wonderful. She will be 7 months on Saturday. I just can't believe it. She is such a joy to have in our lives and we couldn't imagine our lives without her. She makes me smile everyday, even those not so good days! ha She has a contagious smile and it just brightens my day. She is REALLY growing now. I can't believe how much she is changing too. She is officially crawling.......... I feel like my life has been turned upside down. It so great to see her on the move, but that means I am now too. Our house is officially child proof now. It has been a little challenging keeping up with her. She is also pulling herself up. Today we had to lower the crib because to jumped out head first!! Thank goodness I was in there to catch her before she hit. Gave me a heart attack. Her bottom teeth are now all the way in, they are just so cute. I think I see one of her top teeth coming in now too. She is saying dada all the time and I mean all the time and loud. Unfortunately she doesn't know who or what dada is but its nice to hear her say something. She is also saying baba. I like to think she is saying bottle, but I know she has no clue what that means either. As parents we like to think all our children are so smart!! ha Ella has also started going to music classes at the library. She seems to really enjoy it. I have also joined MOPS (mothers of pre-schoolers) at our church. Which I LOVE!! I encourage every mother to find one in their area. They are wonderful. Ella is considered a moppet ha! and she goes to the daycare with 4 other babies. She loves it. I think its just as good for me as it is for her. We are home a lot and this gives us an opportunity to get out and meet people. Ella is a people person for sure. She loves other children and anyone who will chat with her.

I will be posting pics from our trip, but I am having trouble at the moment!! Imagine that. Hope all is well with everyone. We love you all!

6 months and GROWING!!

Well we have so many new updates going on with Miss Ella, where should we start............ Well she turned 6 months last Wednesday and its seems she has changed and done so much since then. We are almost "really" crawling now. She gets on her all fours and rocks back and forth and will move forward a little bit but still not a "normal" crawl. She can also sit herself up from a crawling position on her own. She can also sit on her own for longer periods of time now without falling over. I guess the BIGGEST milestone is she has 2 TEETH!! So that has been interesting to say the least. She has been a little fussy and not sleeping very well at all. She is up almost 3 times a night b/c she is uncomfortable. I feel bad for her but once the 2nd tooth breaks through the skin I think she will be ok. She is also talking a little bit. I can't tell if its da da, ga ga or ba ba but she is saying something. They say around this time they will start blabbing something.

We went to the Dr today for her 6 month wellness visit. She is just growing up!! She is 14.9 lbs and 27 inches long. She is in the 90 percentile in height but not so much on weight!! She is still enjoying her veggies, carrots seems to be her favorite by far. We will be starting the greens next. I don't know how they will go, but we will see. All in all Ella is doing great. I love that I have the opportunity to be home with her, especially now that she is doing so many new things. We have a lot of fun together during the day. She loves her exer-saucer. That is a big hit. She also loves to hang out and swing some days too! I guess it depends on our mood.

This past weekend we went to Jasper, Indiana for a Manchir family reunion. We had a great time. Ella and I had a chance to meet some family we hadn't had a chance to meet. They are all so nice and we had a great time!! Thank you for making us feel so welcome. We are looking forward to our short week b/c next week we are on VACATION!! We fly out Saturday to my parents in Jax, FL and then Sunday to board the ship!! We are planning on going to the Western Caribbean but with all the hurricanes we might be going to the Eastern now. We will see!! At this point I think we all just want a vacation. I don't care if we just sat on the cruise and circled Miami! HAHA!! We need this!! I can't wait to share all my pictures and stories from our trip. I am sure it will be a blast with a lot of great memories. Hope all is well with everyone!!

All over the place

I am sorry I haven't had any updates lately, I have been a little slack with my blog..........oops! Everyone is doing really well here. Ella is changing more and more everyday now. I feel like everyday we wake up she has learned/discovered something new in life. She is all over the place now. The days of laying her on the floor and her just laying there are OVER! She has learned how to crawl. Its not a "normal" crawl b/c she hasn't figured out how to coordinate the hands with the legs yet, but she is on the move. She gets up on her knees and tries to move with her head down on the floor. She some how figures out how to move across the room that way. She amazes us. She can also sit up on her own now too. She can't do it for long periods of time but she will sit there for a little bit until she realizes she wants to be back on her stomach and GO!! She has a lot of energy, I think she gets that from her daddy. Eric is always doing something and that is how she is, Wow we are in trouble when she gets older. Ella will be 6 months next week. Where has the time gone. She is still being breast fed but she has officially started her veggies. I started them a little before 6 months b/c we are going on a cruise in 2 weeks and I didn't want to introduce it to her then. She seems to enjoy them so far. Her new interest is my cell phone and the remote to the TV, this is not a good sign ha! She can spot my phone a mile away. I guess since it rings all day for work she likes the sounds. Ella is still always smiling and laughing, which we just love. To see her happy makes us just melt. We are looking forward to our cruise next month with my family/friends. There are 12 of us going so it should be a BLAST. It will be Ella's first real vacation!! Too bad she won't know whats really going on, but we will have pics to show her when she gets older!! Other than that we are all doing well. We are meeting more people here and Ella has made some new friends here too. We took her and her "friends" ha to her first County Fair!! She loved it. I think the bright lights kept her entertained. I am sorry I have no pictures to show from the fair, I forgot my camera URH!! Hope everyone had a nice summer, I can't believe its already over. Time for some cooler weather I guess. I will post some recent pics as soon as I get some.

5 Months

Ella is 5 months today. I can't believe it. Where does the time go?!?! Ella is doing very well. She amazes us more and more everyday. I love watching her experience new things. She is now 13.3lbs and I am assuming about 26 inches long or so. Ella is still waking up at night but normally its only around 3am and then she goes back to sleep until 6:30am. She is really good about her bedtime though. When its 8:30pm she is ready. As far as her napping goes, that is a different story. She will take about 3 naps a day and they are only for about 30-45 mins. I am hoping that part will change!! She is still turning over from back to front and has only turned back over to her back a few times. I think she is still trying to figure it out. She loves being on her stomach b/c I think she really wants to crawl. She gets so mad that she can't go any where once she has turned over so she gets very frustrated. I keep telling her it will happen oneday just be patient!! She is VERY chatty ha! She will just talk and talk. I wonder where she gets that?!?! I tell Eric all the time we are in trouble when she really starts talking. She laughs and smiles constantly. I guess its a GREAT thing to have a happy baby b/c happy baby makes happy parents. She is still enjoying her cereal. Her new thing with that is she thinks its very funny to do "motor boat" while she is eating. So you can imagine what that is like, food is every where. My mom said I did the same thing. I can only imagine once we start veggies what my walls are going to look like. This past week MeMa (Eric's mom) came to visit. I think her and Ella had a great time together. It was very nice to have the company and especially the home cooked meals!! As you know I am no cook so its so nice to have breakfast, lunch and dinner cooked for you EVERY day!! Thank you again MeMa for coming to see us. On Friday Kari, Scott, PawPaw and Dylan came to see us. They went to see the Wiggles in Nashville. Ella did not go b/c we felt she was too young to enjoy it, but maybe next year. On Saturday we took Dylan and Ella to get their pictures made together. They turned out really cute. Other than that we are all doing well. Eric is doing really well in his new position here so we are very proud of daddy. As far as mommy, I am good. Working from home and really enjoying it. I have the best customers so it makes my job a lot of fun. I feel very blessed to be able to stay home with Ella. Hope everyone is having a great summer. We miss and love you all.