Two year check up

Yesterday I took Ella in for her two year check up. As soon as we walked in Ella was terrified. I couldn't even sit down in the waiting room, or she would start to freak out. She wanted to leave. Luckily, they called us back pretty quickly. They got Ella's height and weight, and the nurse tells me there are no rooms available yet. They put us in a back waiting room, and we waited for 30 minutes. Ella SCREAMED and CRIED. I couldn't do anything to make her stop. She kept handing me her hat and coat, because she was ready to go. Later on I found out they could hear her out front.  Once we were moved to the room the doctor was going to see us in she continued the screaming and crying. Luckily, right before the doctor came in Ella decided she was fine. She started eating gold fish and looking at an Elmo book that was in the room. 

It was our first check-up with Ella's new doctor, Dr. Stone. She is super nice, and Ella really seems to like her. Ella talked to her the whole time. Dr. Stone was surprised how clearly Ella could talk. She told me I needed to start working on potty training her (do I have to?). She also said I need to start brushing her teeth with a fluoride toothpaste twice a day, and by the age of three I should be able to floss her teeth..LOL! She doesn't know what I'm dealing with here. The appointment went great though. Here are Ella's 2 year stats:

Weight: 26 pounds

Height: 35 1/2 inches

Ella is in the 95th percentile for height and 50th percentile for weight. The doctor told me awhile back she would be tall and skinny, and so far she is on the right track. 

Ella is in a size 5 diaper. She wears mostly 24 month clothing, but she has a few 2T tops. She wears a size 5 shoe, but I am guessing it won't be long before she can wear a 6. 

She is getting to be such a big girl. 

Christmas 2010

We were lucky enough to have a white Christmas this year. There is nothing better than snow on Christmas!! Luckily, it wasn't a huge snow so it didn't affect any of our plans. Ella had so much fun opening presents and spending time with family. It is so fun having Ella at Christmastime. There is something about seeing a child get excited that makes all the craziness worthwhile! 

Ella looked so sweet on Christmas Eve. My mom made her a Christmas dress. I was dying to get a cute picture of her in it, but here is what I ended up with...

She HATES pictures with a passion. If I don't trick her this is what I end up with:) 

One Christmas Eve we headed to my parent's house to eat lunch and open gifts. It's gotten a little more chaotic with two little ones running around, but they have definitely made it a lot more fun. Ella and Autumn had a great time opening presents together and playing with each others gifts. 

Autumn laying in the middle of wrapping paper, boxes, and toys just taking it all in!

Ella with her baby doll car seat and baby doll. 

Ella really got the hang of unwrapping gifts this year. She kept saying, "opie, opie (open)." 

The stocking I have had since I was a baby. This thing is almost 29 years old..SCARY!! 

 Autumn and I. Autumn has just started saying my name, and it makes my day every time I hear it! 

Here it is SNOWING on Christmas Eve! 

Ella in her ball pit in ball heaven. She dumped this thing four times last night, and I picked up 170 balls four times. 

On Christmas morning Ella was raring to go around 8am. She didn't really know what we were talking about when we told her Santa came. She was really excited when she walked in the living room and saw this...

Santa brought her a doll house. 

She loves this doll house more than I thought she would. I have a feeling it will provide hours of entertainment. 

Ella checking out the baby accessories. 

Opening up a few more gifts from mommy and daddy. 

Ella's all Elmo stocking. 

Before we headed to the in-law's house I was determined to get a picture of Ella and I out in the snow. She was not happy about it, but we managed to get one decent one. Isn't she just precious?! I could just eat her up! 

Ella opening gifts from Mammaw and Pappaw. They got her a little four wheeler, but Ella is a little unsure of it right now. I think once spring/summer hits Ella will be riding it like a champ! 

Our little family of three. It was a beautiful white Christmas! Notice Ella has on Elmo house shoes. She wore them all day..haha. 

Ella and Aunt Lacey

Once we opened gifts we went to the Winslow Community Center to eat lunch and open gifts with all of Adam's family. Ella is a lot more socialized this year. She kept going up to cousin Tyler saying, "hi baby." Tyler is a year old. She thinks all kids are babies! 

All the cousin's kids minus Bree and Mallory. It's impossible to get a picture of all of them together. Ella and her buddy Tyler are trying to take off! 

I thought this was so sweet. They are brother and sister. Grace is like a mini mommy. So cute! 

Ella opening another gift! 

Tonight we are celebrating Christmas with Adam's dad, step-mom, and sister. We are ordering pizza. YUM! Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas! 

Merry Christmas!

 MERRY CHRISTMAS!!  

I have LOTS of pictures to upload, but they won't be up for a  few days. It's been an exhausting couple of days. Check back soon! 

One Year Ago Today....

I started "All About Ella." I knew I would love blogging, but I didn't realize I would love it this much. I think it's so neat I have been able to document almost every day of the past year. I am even going to turn this blog into a book for Ella to read one day. I am hoping she will have one for each year of her life. It's like a modern day baby book:) 

You can read my first blog post here if you are interested. It's amazing to see how much Ella has changed in one short year!

This is Ella today. I can't imagine what she will look like next year at this time.

Isn't she lovely?

I think she's beautiful.

 Only 3 more days until Christmas. Brody is so excited, can't you tell?! =) 

Baking with Mammy

Yesterday Ella and I were over at my mom and dad's so we decided to make some sugar cookies. About a month ago my mom ordered some new cookie cutters so I have been wanting to try them out. We of course had to get Ella involved since she is such a good helper;) 

Helping Mammy pour...

Ella has a sweet tooth like you wouldn't believe. She was eating candy corn the entire time! 

I love these cookie cutters! I found them on my favorite blog, The Pioneer Woman. The Pioneer Woman, Ree, is my idol. Not only is she a great cook she also takes great pictures! 

This was Ella's favorite part. I think she ate more icing than she did decorating. 

YUMMY!

From left to right: Mammy's cookie, my cookie, Ella's cookie. We are so talented! 

TWO!!

Ella turned two years old yesterday. WOW! I have been thinking back two years ago, and I still remember it like it was yesterday. The excitement definitely outweighed the nervousness. I had been waiting 9 LONG months to meet her, and at 3:03pm out came the most beautiful baby I had ever seen. She stole my heart at that moment, and she'll have it forever. 

Here we are two years later. Ella is no longer a baby. She looks like a little girl and acts like one too!  She talks non stop. She LOVES LOVES LOVES Elmo, babies, and balls. She goes non stop from the time she wakes up in the morning from the time she goes to bed at night. It's exhausting! She is such a sweet little girl, but she is also stubborn. She likes to do things when she wants to do them. She is also getting very independent. She wants to do things on her own. Ella is getting to be a lot more outgoing than she used to be. She still enjoys shopping with mommy. Shopping for me these days = grocery shopping. My mall shopping days are few and far between with a two year old. We had our first fit at Schnucks the other day. I think it was the two year old coming out in her. There were random screams and cries coming for our shopping cart the whole time we were in there. People were staring and smiling at me. I just ignored it and went on my merry way:) 


It's been an exciting year with Ella. We went to Chicago and Florida. I wouldn't say they were enjoyable trips, but they were trips we will never forget! We also made our first trip to Holiday World, and Ella loved it! Ella stopped taking a bottle in September. I thought she would have a hard time, but she did great! She went from saying 10 words to well over 50. She is still learning and growing each day. She started her first kindermusik class back in August. She loved it. It was so neat seeing her interact with other children. 


Ella started saying "dada" a long time ago, but it has recently developed into daddy. She just started saying "mama" a few months ago, and I still love to hear her say it! She has also started saying family members names. Somehow Grammy is now "Mammy." Grampy is now "PP." Grandma is "mamaw." Lacey is "cey."   Autumn is still "Au'um." She has also recently made friends with cousin Bree, and she calls her "Bee."  Ella also knows the difference between Elliott and Brody, and she can say both of their names. I think it is crazy that she can tell them apart at such a young age. The three of them get along so well now. Elliott doesn't hide like he used to, but I think that is because she doesn't pull their tails anymore. 


Yesterday we celebrated Ella's birthday by having a small party. The party would have not been complete without an Elmo cake. I didn't show it to her until it was time to blow out the candle, and she fell in love as soon as she saw it. After she blew out her candle I took it away, and she started crying. Adam, being the softy he is:), gave it back to her. We gave her a fork, and she dug in! I finally had to salvage what I could and throw out the rest. Ella was still looking for Elmo later on in the evening. I told her Elmo had to go bye bye. Hopefully she forgets about this cake soon. We had a great party. She received lots of nice gifts. Everyone stayed to help us put it all together. Ella had a great 2nd birthday. Even though I am excited to see what this next year will bring, I wish time would slow down a little bit. Ella is growing up faster than I ever imagined. 

Happy 2nd Birthday Ella! We love you! 

Ella's Birthday Slideshow