Merry Christmas!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!! We had a fabulous time here. Food, fun, family, and more presents than a little girl could ever hope for. I think we have finally managed to stuff all her new toys into every last inch of our house. Ella had so much fun opening all of her gifts, singing Christmas songs, saying grace at the dinner table, saying "Cheers," and just being silly with her Mimi, Poppa, Nana, Baba, Uncle Brent, Aunt Farrell and Uncle David.

All dressed up for Christmas Eve service.

A quick game of Christmas tic tac toe.

Cheers Dada!

Learning how to take pictures with Mimi's camera.

Ready to head out to church!

Walking with Mimi and Nana.

A kiss for Mimi.

Ella thought this was funny. I'm not so sure Emma agreed.

Sitting down for Christmas Eve dinner.

It's Christmas morning! Check out my new kitchen!!

Ella can make so many things in her kitchen - pancakes, eggs, soup, cheesy toast - whatever you request! And the best part is she asks you to please sit while she makes it. Works for me!

At Nana and Baba's... where to start...

Checking the stocking for goodies.

And then to Mimi and Poppa's. Woah - this is a huge present!

Look! It's a neigh! My favorite!

Learning how to cut her new food with Uncle David.

Another big present from Uncle David and Aunt Farrell!

Wow - an easel!! They must know Ella is a budding artist.

Giving her neigh a kiss.

Eating a frosty the snowman dessert! Yum!

Check out this cool new sleeping bag from Nana. She also got me one for my doll! Mom and Dad actually let me sit in it while we watched a movie last night. So cool!

Look how tall I am!

'Tis the Season!

Just like everyone else, we've been busy, busy, busy! Here are some pics from the past couple weeks... Only two days until Santa comes!! Ella could not be more excited!

Being silly with Daddy at a holiday party.

Ready to go out in the snow with Mimi!

Showing off "little frosty."

And "big frosty."

Helping Daddy make pancakes.

I love pancakes!

A reindeer pancake!

And a frosty pancake! Yum!

Chillin'

Making a gingerbread house!

Hard at work.

Lookin' good!

Ready for church!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Hanging out with my friend Olivia and reading stories with the Dads.

Someone is all tuckered out after all this Christmas fun!

Ellavision, The Musical Edition

Here she is, singing her favorite tunes. They are a little long, but at least she can sing better than her dad (even with the hiccups). Enjoy.

(Note from Erin: Brian posted this -- I love Brian's singing! Especially when he sings to Ella!)

Computer's Down...But We're Still Having Fun!

So, the computer's been down and in the shop for over a week -- which means Mommy can't download her pics and update the blog! But Nana and Mimi have been kind enough to send along some pics of their adventures with Ella -- so here's a glimpse. We've also all been sick recently -- cough, fever and ear infection for Ella -- and poor Mimi has picked it up too :( But I think we are finally all doing better! Just in time for Santa!

Getting ready to splash in the puddles.

Making gingerbread men with Nana. She now loves singing the gingerbread song -- "Run, Run, as fast as you can, you can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!" All day long...

Busy at work.

The gingerbread man is hungry.

Hanging them on the tree. They looked so pretty when Mommy and Daddy came home! (p.s. -- Ella has decided that Mama and Dada are now "Mommy" and "Daddy" (or sometimes "Brian" :). Out of the blue, two weeks ago, she changed our names!

Then, it snowed!!! And Mimi helped me make a big frosty...

...and a little frosty!

We hope you all are having a wonderful holiday season! After a week of being cranky because of being sick, Ella is back to her normal funny, wonderful self! She told me all about Santa tonight and loves to sing Christmas carols. She normally says that Santa is bringing a "neigh" and a "kitchen" but she told me over and over tonight that Santa is bringing her an "airplane that goes zoom in the sky." Hmmmmm....

Let Christmas Begin!

This weekend we got started on Christmas! Saturday morning we went to the Scottish Christmas March in Alexandria. Mimi, Poppa, Nana and Baba came too!! The best part is that there were LOTS of doggies to watch - all wearing silly outfits like kilts! It was cold, but I was all bundled up in my Christmas clothes :)

I had such a great time!

Hangin' out before breakfast. Crepes, yum!!

With Nana.

Watching the parade from Poppa's shoulders. What a great view!

Nana and I pet lots and lots of doggies.

Now watching from Dada's shoulders.

Walking with Poppa and Dada.

And, I got to see Santa! Again! My third time seeing Santa so far this year! Boy, he sure is all over the place. I told him I wanted a "neigh" and a "kitchen."

Turning into such a big girl.

This is what I do when Mom says to "say cheese!"

We decorated the tree, and Dada made a wonderful fire!

Putting an ornament on the tree. I was a big help!