Little Pumpkin

Today we went to the Pumpkin Patch!

We saw lots of neat stuff like baby animals and a guy milking a cow. But the coolest thing was watching all of the other people.

This guy tells me his name is "Baba." Okay. Baba carried me around a lot.

Being silly with my Daddy and Nana.

Look! I love to "walk."

Watching intently.

Who is this? Do I know him?

My silly family.

Look who I found at the farm! Riley! (and Mitch and Kelly :)

Riley showed me how to dance.

Pick me! Pick me! Aren't I the cutest pumpkin?

Baby Doll

Apparently my mom think's I'm a doll. She made me put on all of these different outfits and take pictures.

But at least she lets me play in comfy clothes sometimes...

Growing up fast

Guess who's 9 months!

Ella passed with flying colors at the pediatrician yesterday. She's in the 50th percentile for weight, and the 90th percentile for both height and head size. Yes, she has a large noggin!

At nine months she is:

--Saying all sorts of words like mama, dada, yaya, baba, emma (yes, we try and tell ourselves that she knows the dog's name), all sorts of random vowel-consonant combinations (things like "alvin") and our favorite -- "lordy lordy" which she repeats over and over. (Probably because we laugh every time she does it).

--Crawling everywhere and getting into everything.

--Trying very hard to stand up and getting frustrated when she can't.

--Playing with Emma and Nana's dog Eli - she loves Eli and screams in delight when he comes over on Monday and Tuesday.

--Obsessed with balloons - including a red balloon she carried around the house - until yesterday when she let it go in the 2-story family room. Now she just looks up at it and screams expecting us to get it for her.

--Done with baby food. Everytime you try and feed it to her she refuses to open her mouth and pushes it away. Instead, she only wants "big girl food." We went out to dinner last night, and Ella's meal consisted of:

• Basil pesto chicken
• Split pea soup
• Quinoa with roasted beets and squash
• Bartlett pears

--Waiving "bye-bye" - but mostly at random things like the light switch and dining room chair.

--Clapping.

--Making us laugh and smile a thousand times a day!

Hmmm...what can I get into in here?

Look! This is Grammy's sweater from when she was a little girl!

With my Grammy.

Laughing - I do that a lot.

Who's that pretty baby in the mirror??

Fall has arrived

With the temperature dropping, football on TV, and pumpkins everywhere, Fall is definitely here. Ella is enjoying her first Fall as she gets better at crawling and makes ever more interesting and louder sounds.

Ella's crawling is getting better

Which means we need to do some baby proofing and keep a close eye on her!

Ella hanging out with dad on the couch. Ella is getting more mobile as dad becomes immobile.

Playing with dad's crutches in my jazzercize outfit

Ella watching the boys watch football

Look at the pumpkin I found

This little one is just right for eating

Nana give me that pumpkin!

Had to put the rain coat on for the first time during this rainy fall

Swimming, Swimming, At the Swimming Pool

Ella has recently signed up for swimming classes at our local Rec Center. She as always loved the water from her first bath and now this is a chance for her to practice with her peers!

Ella was amazed to see so many children at the pool

She got right into it with a little freestyle

Playing a game and learning new skills

Practicing sitting on the side of the pool

And launching into the water

Doing some laps

Uh-oh where did Daddy go?

There he is!

Taking a break

A little backstroke practice

Are we done yet?

Blowing bubbles, at least Dad is

All done and warm in my towel