Happy 9 months Ella!

Not much to report since I have been blogging like crazy lately. No pics today but TONS to follow as we leave for Myrtle Beach tomorrow night. Can you imagine how many pictures this mommy can take with a whole week away from work, at the beach, with a baby? Ill apologize in advance. Only news to report is Im pretty sure we are convinced to make the switch to cloth diapers! I actually asked my sitter how she felt about it yesterday and she stated she had just ordered a couple cloth diapers and was going to see if we were interested in switching! we could not be blessed with a better sitter! We are attending a workshop at Family Enrichment Center May 15 regarding cloth diapering and will probably make the switch at that point.
Happy 9 months Ella! We could not imagine our lives without you!

9 month checkup

We had Ella's 9 month check up yesterday. I cannot believe that before long, she will be on this earth longer than she grew inside me. She is growing up way too fast! She was 19 lbs (60th percentile) and either 27 1/4 or 3/4 inches (50th percentile). The doctor said she is doing great and is advanced with her clapping, waving, pointing, and attempting to imitate everything we say. Below are a few photos of Tom and Ella reading while we waited for the dreaded vaccinations.

Japanese Butterfly Show...

Ella and I enjoyed a couple hours at the Japanese Butterfly Show at Krohns Conservatory with Nicole and Madeline. Ella loved watching all the people and looking at the flowers.

More Music videos....

We got Ella a new ride on/walker toy as well as some magnetic letters to play with while mommy is cooking. The stationary entertainer is just way too boring for her at this point so we need new strategies for while mommy is in the kitchen. Ella is learning new things everyday, literally. She is pointing like crazy (which you can see in the videos), pointing at things she wants and pointing at things she wants us to label. And the diff is clear...when she wants you to label she points, makes a distinct sound then waits...when she wants something she just points then looks back and forth between you and the object of desire. She also is trying to imitate EVERYTHING we are saying. May not be perfect articulation but definetly an approximation. Bird, balloon, boom, and ball sound pretty much dead on. The videos below are her standing at her musical toys (all she wants to do anymore), her version of music with yelling and banging toys together, and helping daddy work.

Pleasantly Playful Packing Peanuts...

Our sitter is always sending us such fun pictures of Ella and comes up with great play activities. Below are pics of Ella playing in a baby pool of packing peanuts which is a great sensory activity and she loved of it! Of course she's wearing her favorite face- scrunch face :)

The thighs are cute for now...

Tiny Tots Music Class

Ella and mommy are attending the 9 week Tiny Tots Music class at The Cincinnati Family Enrichment Center. There are 8 mommys and babies ages 6 mos to 14 mos. During class we sing, dance, finger games, and experiment with instruments. I was able to get a few pictures today (although its hard to see Ella). The pictures I took were during the time that the teacher gets out a hat box which the kids drum on, then we get out scarves and sing songs and play peek a boo with the scarves. On a side note, I have the smartest child ever :) Ella just keeps amazing Tom and I. Her pincher grasp (which shes had since 8 mos) is absolutely amazing and shes able to pick up the tiniest things and get them to her mouth. She is pointing at objects in books and things she wants. This is super advanced and a skill that typically does not appear til 12 mos. She is clicking her tongue for the word quack, which is absolutely adorable. Her duck that sings quack quack quack etc, she clicks the entire time. Also, she has been saying mamma, dadda, babba, etc for quite some time but i was SOOOOO impressed today when she dropped something and I yelled boom and ella imitated it!!! It was more like boo than boom but she literally will repeat that boo each and everytime i say boom! Ill have to get it on video. What an amazing little girl. We could not be more proud to be her parents!

Splash!

Ella absolutely loves bathtime. These videos were from a couple weeks ago. Of course once we got out the video camera we could not get her to splash as furiously as she normally does. Normally daddy and I leave the bathroom soaked as she likes to put her face as close to water as possible and just splash away. Enjoy!

Fun in the Sun

Ella just loves being outdoors. The first two pictures (with sunglasses) were sent to me by our sitter yesterday as Ella enjoyed watching the bigger kids play in the sprinkler. Tom, Ella, and I have begun running as a family this week. We have already put in 8 miles, which Im very proud of as I havent ran since before I got pregnant. The last picture is of her gearing up for last nights run!

My daughter the bully

Ella and I spent time with Katie and Livi today. Ella is turning into quite the bully and clawed poor Livi's face! Ella loved seeing new toys, talking with Livi, and swinging on the swing. Thanks for lunch and time to chat Katie and Livi!

Fun with Family

What a fun and busy day Ella had with grandma, aunt Tonia, and cousin Emma and Alex. Ella got her Easter gift from grandma which included a singing duck, a bunny rabbit and bunny plate, a summer dress, and a beach bag for Ella and mommy with our names on it for our trip next month (just wait and see how many pics mommy takes on a week long vacation!) Ella played at aunt Tonia's house where she went down the slide the first time (with daddy's help), sat on the trampoline (with a little bouncing), and saw lots of pretty flowers. Of course mommy took WAY too many pics again!