If there was ever any doubt

If there was ever any doubt that Ella was a true Thomas baby, I would say her love of computers (or should I say her love of ripping the keys off and pounding on the key boards) proves otherwise.

How do I get out of here?

Ella is ALL over the house lately; beginning to explore and test her boundaries. After seeing Carl go outside through the dog door this is what followed...

This is how I found her after she watched Carl go out the dog door.


Still trying to figure out how she can fit through the hole


Why does it feel like someone is watching me?


Hey Mom, now that your here help me get through this door.


*Note: Please excuse my dirty door =)

Spirit of Christmas

Christmas this year was great; full of family, friends, presents, and delicious food. Ella did not quite understand the present opening process, but loved to play with her new toys once they were open. (often times the wrapping was given more attention than the presents themselves) Through out the day, I found myself sitting back and feeling truly thankful to have such an amazing family and awesome friends. Looking forward to next year, I cant wait to see Ella's face on Christmas morning! I hope you all had an Merry Christmas full of laughter and love.

Ella & Santa

Here is Ella's first picture with Santa. Expecting a picture of her crying, we were pleasantly surprised when she gave us a smile.

Gone but never forgotten

It has been a rough couple of days! Our best friends Danny and Chrissy tragically lost their baby girl, Madison Hannah Bandfield, on Sunday December 13th, 2009. I can't think of anything more tragic than losing a child; and although she was not my own the feeling of loss has been overwhelming. Chrissy and I have talked about our girls being best friends since the day we found out we were pregnant; and given they have spent practically every weekend together since the day Madison was born, I would say they were well on their way. If anyone would like to take a look at the life of Madison please check out Chrissy's blog "A Day in the Life of Madison Hannah".

Chrissy,

If you are reading this I want you to know that Ella will always remember Madison, because she will live on through the stories we tell and the pictures we show her. There are no words to express how sorry I am for your loss. I hope you know that Guy and I are here for you guys! We love you a ton and are always here for whatever you need.

Happy Holidays

Here is a little present from our family to yours. Enjoy!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

The results are in

Guy's sister Valerie and her husband Alphonso found out what they are having...It's a girl! We are so excited the meet the new baby girl; hopefully the time flies by. When I was pregnant, a friend once told me it helps to pass the time if you just count the Mondays. So Val, only 23 more Mondays to go. (and Sara, just in case you forgot, 7 Mondays and counting!) Love you guys!

Thanksgiving Part Two

Thanksgiving part two was a success even though the weather was less than perfect for outdoor cooking. The turkey turned out perfect thanks to Guy babysitting it the entire time; rain decided to join in on the party half way through the cooking process but the Turkey was saved thanks to a giant beach umbrella. It was great to hang out with the family. Having a baby around really brings new life to the holidays. I can't wait until Christmas!

Thanksgiving Part One

We had an awesome Thanksgiving at Ella's Great Grandparents house! The food was delicious as always. The backyard was ruled by Max, Jake, Sampson, Carl, and Chyna, the family dog pack. On a couple of occasions, Carl led a Thanksgiving serenade in howl minor.. I'm sure that the neighbors were thrilled.

Leading up to dinner, I cracked the whip on Guy and got the Christmas lights installed on the house. Guy's dad Leon had the same idea, and when we arrived for Dinner we could see that their house was completely decked out with candy canes, penguins, and lights.

Ella entertained the family on her walking toy, and Alphonso was thrilled when we showed him how the electronic sounds could be switched from English to Spanish. Valerie was alight in her pregnancy glow, and is showing pretty significantly for only being 4 months pregnant! Finally a downside to being as thin as a rail.

It was a lot of fun, and a good warm up for our main event. Thanksgiving #2 at our house.. While I prepare for Saturdays feast, take a look below at some photos from Thanksgiving #1:

Thankful

I am thankful for so many things this year; I have a happy and healthy family, a beautiful house we can all be together in, a job that allows us to eat and do the fun things, and great friends to do all of the fun things with; but this year I thought I would make a list of the not so conventional things I am thankful for...

1) I am thankful for DVR. It has been a long time since I have been forced to watch a commercial and the time saved has been priceless.

2) I am thankful for my monthly stamping club. It is so nice to get together with "the girls", learn new stamping techniques, and talk about all of the stressful things life can throw at you.

3) I am thankful for Gerber Puffs. They have helped us, and more importantly our fellow restaurant patrons, enjoy an evening out minus one screaming baby. Ever since Ella has found her voice she has decided to share it with everyone...Very loudly.

4) I am thankful for ellamariet.blogspot.com. It has given me a way to remember the small things during a time when everything changes so fast.

5) I am thankful for hockey. We always have such a great time at the games.

6) I am thankful for Ellen Degeneres. Her show makes me laugh every time I watch!

7) I am thankful for our Basset Hound Carl. He is great with Ella; he lets her crawl all over him and play with his toys with out batting an eye. Some days he drives me crazy, but overall he is a great part of our family.

8) I am thankful for all of the holiday flavored coffee drinks at Starbucks! If you haven't yet tried a Pumpkin Spice Latte or a Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha you are missing out! It's not only delicious, but it gives an energy boost to your holiday spirit. (The pumpkin scone is awesome too!)

9) I am thankful for Mexican food! It is so yummy!

10) I am thankful for the Salsa Moves class at the gym. It's fun and it burns a ton of calories!

I hope that everyone has a great Thanksgiving filled with family, food, and lots of love!

New tricks...

You see kids waving hello and good-bye all the time, but who knew it was so exciting to see your kid wave back for the first time? Tonight when we realized Ella was actually waving, Guy and I spent the next half hour waving and saying hello in amazement that she was actually doing it back. And that's not the only new trick Ella shared tonight, she also perfected the "fishy face" as shown in the video below. Enjoy =)

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A tooth!

We have our first tooth! Guy and I have been able to feel a small bump on Ella's lower gum's for about a week now and today it finally broke through! We were beginning to think at the rate she was going she would be walking before we saw any teeth. Our baby is changing so fast...hopefully all of the pictures and videos will help us remember how much fun she is right now.

a couple extra's

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from Oak Glen...

Riley's Farm, Oak Glen CA

If you have never been to the farms at Oak Glen you should go, it is so much fun! I had never been before but after reading about it in my handy AAA West ways magazine a few months ago, we decided to check it out. Chrissy, Jared, the babies, and I set out today to explore Riley's Farm; they offer a ton of activities including apple & raspberry picking, pressing apple cider, archery, hay rides, and yummy food! We spent the morning chowing down on a family size (super delicious!) chicken pot pie and pressing our own apple cider. The weather was perfect and we were able to take some cute pictures of the kiddos. I plan on making it an annual family trip!

The girls...

Today Ella and I hung out with Madison. The girls are noticing each other more and more lately which is fun; although as you can see below, Ella spent most of the day trying to steal Madison's pacifier. Having both of the girls was a lot of fun, but I think we will stick to our family of three for little while longer.

8 months, 3 days

8 months

Our little girl is now eight months old and has become quite the character. Her personality is so much fun and always keeps us on our toes. Over the past month she has become extremely mobile, now walking along the couch and moving from the coffee table to the couch if anyone is there to grab onto; often times she forgets she still needs to hold on and lets go completely. Just today she was crawling around the house and decided the stairs looked like fun. (As you might guess our baby gates will be installed immediately) Although not a single tooth has made an appearance, she is now managing to chew bananas, peas, mango's, and potato's. It is so exciting to watch her meet new milestones like crawling and standing, but I have to say I miss the days that I could put her down and know she would still be there if I had to leave the room. We have not had a chance to take any pictures lately, but I promise some eight month pictures soon!

Toilet Paper...YUM!

Today I ran into the garage to get the stroller out of the car and ready to go for a walk. When I came back in the house, I found this...










and my personal favorite...


It's as if she is saying "Who me?"

Eagle Ranch Insane Asylum

We had a very eventful Halloween this year! Guy decided to put together a Haunted House which turned out to be a huge hit; we gave out a TON of candy and had a line to the street for 3 hours! Thank goodness we have great family and friends, willing to help out with such a big endeavor. Unfortunately while doing crowd control in front of our house all night, I wasn't able to take many pictures. Thank you Valerie for letting me steal your photos!

The front of our house...almost ready for the trick-or-treaters


The mastermind himself...


Valerie working the control center. Would you expect anything less than a monitor station complete with sound effects, hidden microphones, infra red camera's and remote control skeletons from my husband?


Caitlin playing an insane patient that had scratched her eyes out and was now psychic.


Mike prepared to eat our trick-or-treater's for dinner


It's not really a haunted house with out tons of spider webs!


Dino-bird was a sweet find from the Goodwill; with a little help he was a scary addition to the asylum


Grandpa Leon also scaring guests taking free tours of our Insane Asylum.


Danny as Swine Flu man, the first documented case...lets hope he doesn't escape the quarantine area!


The aftermath...we had a garage full of black plastic!


and for the not so scary stuff...

Lots of Halloween treats (Thank you Marie for the Halloween cookie ideas!)


Madison in her super cute pumpkin outfit


and last but not least Jared's pumpkins

When asked if he was going to do it again next year, the answer was NO! But I'm gonna bet by next year he changes his mind!
What a great Halloween!

Lady Bug Ella

We had a very eventful Halloween; Guy decided to put together a full on Haunted House and the whole family partied at our house(I promise pictures soon). Here are a few pictures of super cute Ella in her Ladybug Halloween costume.