Ella's (& Duste's) Buffet

Well, now that Ella is walking, she is all over the house. Up & down stairs, from this room to that room. Wow! She has been opening drawers and cabinets for a few weeks now and has figured out where some things 'belong'. Case in point, her Cheerios!

Apparently I didn't get the lid on too tightly and Ella knew right where to find them. As she picked up the container, off came the lid and the Cheerios were all over the floor.

So what did she do? Sat down to her buffet. And...her partner in crime, Duste, decided to have a little snack right along with her.

Ella grabbed the Cheerios by the handful and shoveled them in her mouth just as fast as she could. Then she started to move her leg back and forth (that would be her right leg) and kick the Cheerios all over the kitchen floor.

So tonight, after playing for a while, Ella walked up to the kitchen, opened the cupboard, pulled out her Cheerios. Then what? She walked over to her dad and handed him the Cheerios to open up. After he gave her a couple and shut the lid (tightly), she walks over to me and shakes the container as if I am to open it and give her some more.

Ella turns 10 months old this week -- I can hardly believe it. She is really getting to be a fun baby. She hasn't really turned down any baby food specifically and really likes yogurt a lot. Table food is starting a little bit at a time. She ate green beans from the can last night and cheesy potatoes over the weekend. Like I said, a little bit at a time.

Charles & I count our blessings every night for such a wonderful little girl. She is truly a happy baby and a joy to be around. And a sleeper too! Enjoy your fall like week here in Iowa...

Are you ready?

Ella is walking. She started today...a few steps at a time. Before going to bed for the night, she was probably taking 20 at any time. For those of you who know our house. She was walking from Charles (sitting at the base of the fireplace) to I (sitting on the love-seat) We agreed that we have not seen her that tired in a long time. She was pooped...

Over the weekend, I traveled back to my parents' to go garage-saling...found lots of cute new toys for my little Ella and a few clothing items. Came back to Des Moines for my new sister-in-law, Sarah's, bridal shower. Fun times --

At any rate, the weekend goes too fast like normal -- but having Ella to keep me busy and entertained is so much fun.

Have a good week!

Busy times...

I know that it's been a very long time since I last wrote. We have been busy ending our summertime fun. Grandma Hohensee & Great Aunt Debbie came for a visit and stayed a few days to spend time with Ella.

We went back to the Iowa State Fair for a 2nd time and had a nice day w/ Grandpa & Grandma Anliker, Uncle Clark & Cindy. Although Ella didn't quite like it as much as the first time. Something about the building we were in -- oh well, she's over it now.

Then we had a quiet weekend to ourselves here in DSM. Got a few things done that we had been wanting to. We got to spend some time w/ Uncle Brian & Aunt Sarah out at their house and cousin Logan.

Ella went back for her 9-month checkup....22 lbs 8oz and 29 1/4" long. She's growing!

Sometime in this mix, Ella decided to work on getting some top teeth through. We can see both I-teeth on the top and one has popped through. She also got one of her top middle teeth. She's doing really good w/ Cheerios and has even started to munch on some real food. She's had chicken and potatoes (mashed and chunked) and even a little hamburger. She continues to be a good eater (suprise there, huh?) and really likes yogurt.

Thursday evening (08/31), Alyse's Godfather & Uncle arrived from Florida, so Ella got to meet her Great Uncle David for the very first time. It didn't take long before she was comfortable with him!

This past weekend, we went back to see our parents and our family. A few of Ella's great aunts & uncles, great-grandparents and even Uncle Josh and Cousin Paige. Got to spend some time at Lost Island Lake with some family and Ella got to experience her first bonfire -- even though it was cut really short by rain. That's where both of these pictures were taken.

We came back on Sunday night, so we could relax all day Monday and boy did Ella ever relax -- 6 hours of naps worth of relaxing! Plus she still slept 11 hours overnight before we had to wake her up!

Well I'm tired from all of this writing -- sorry again for the long delay in posting. I'll try not to get so lazy in the upcoming weeks/months. Hope all is well with each of you -- keep in touch!