Baby cousin...

Ella is expecting her first cousin sometime in the next two weeks. Hal's sister Erin is due any day now, and we are all SO excited to have another baby girl around. Two little girls, one year apart, what good friends they'll be!

It makes me think back to having Ella last summer, and what an amazing journey this has been and what a blessing she is to us. It also makes me look at her closely and really try and catch all the new things she's doing now that toddlerhood is upon us. New words, new emotions, new experiences and feelings, all wrapped up in one little no-longer-a-baby girl. Our precious girl.

A real boo boo

12:34 -- I sat down on the couch to quickly eat my lunch; Ella was holding onto the coffee table.

12:36 -- Ella tries to sit down from standing, loses balance, faceplants into the coffee table

12: 36 1/2 -- I pick up a bawling Ella from floor to find blood oozing out of her mouth, split upper lip, seriously pained disposition

12:45 -- After a call to Grandaddy (dentist), lots of hugs, kisses, and tears, and some disciplinary measures for the coffee table (including slapping it while saying, "Bad coffee table!" followed by petting Ella and, "Sweet Ella"), we survived.

Toddlerhood scares me. And excites me. But mostly scares me right now.

1 year

It's still hard to believe that a year has gone by. Ella turned one on Wednesday, and we had the best day together. It rained hard most of the day, so we stayed in bed and snuggled, napped, played for more time than usual, and I lived it up with her--cherishing the closeness with my now toddler who wants more independence each day.
She is becoming such a big girl, and each new phase really does get more and more fun.

A few favorite memories from this week:
-Hal put a little velcro toy shaped like a U on Ella's head (like a headband), and instead of taking it off like normal, she petted it on top of her head as we told her, "Oh, Ella! What a pretty girl you are! You're so beautiful, and what a pretty crown on your head!" I swear she would have batted her eyelashes had she known how.
-We tried out the neighborhood pool for the first time. It took her a bit to get comfortable, she clung to me for dear life for about 20 minutes. Then, finally, emerged a quiet "Ahhh" as her hand rippled through the water.


We're having a small, family party to celebrate her bday tomorrow. I'm excited to have everyone there together to spend time and enjoy Ella. My sister-in-law is due in 3 weeks with her first baby, a girl, so we're on our way to baby girl-bonding time!