Ella's idea of crawling!

Happy Autumn!

Here is to a wonderful Fall with all of the upcoming holidays!
To start fall off - Ella is getting on all fours and rocking back and forth. She takes one crawl forward and then falls flat on her belly! We crack up...
It is fun to see her wave, say ga-ga-ga and da-da-da, and laugh at everything! She will be 7 months old in another week...time is flying!

Ella's Cousin Jackson...

we are so excited to welcome Jackson Robert - Ella's cousin- into our world. Jackson was born yesterday at 2:52pm and was 8.1 pounds! We saw him at the hospital last night - what a content, alert little boy. I can wait for these cousins to play, learn and laugh together as they grow up!
XOXOXO

Our Sweet Critter...

Boy oh boy did this puppy lead a beautiful life! Britney passed away today...she will be missed so much! Last weekend Dave and I went over to my mom's house to get a picture or two of Ella with our favorite pup! We got Critter in 1994...
Rest in peace sweet puppy. You were so loved!

Sweet Potatoes....

We tried sweet potatoes!!! 20.8 pounds at her 6 month visit and 27 inches long!

Ella is 6 months old!

Can you believe that Ella is 6 months old? We took an idea from our good friend Brennan and had a 1/2 birthday party (and a real birthday party for Uncle Mark) tonight for Ella! So much fun....
This was the perfect way to end a difficult week for me - my first two days back to work! While I love teaching and Ursuline Academy...it was VERY hard to be away from my girl...

an airplane ride, lots of swimming, a week with family, rolling over and lots of smiles...

We just got back from a week of vacation at Aunt Pat's house in Shannon, IL. It was Ella's first plane ride - which went so much better then we expected! Here is our happy host with Ella - AUNT PAT! Ella LOVED the sound of Aunt Pat's voice and especially her laugh. It was so funny to see her reactions to the sound of her voice! Ella even decided to roll over FINALLY from her back to her belly at Aunt Pat's!

We were at her beautiful home with 18 (or was is 19) of our family members! The laughs shared at that house were ones I will never forget!Here we are all together with the most of the family!

Ella did a LOT of swimming in Aunt Pat's pool. She absolutely LOVED it (after the first day when the water was TOO cold!) and I am sure misses that weightless time in the pool now that we are home!

Ella also got to meet and play with her "best friend", KATIE!!! So much fun to see them together...I can't wait for next year when Ella will be able to move around better - and maybe even TALK to Katie. Katie just couldn't understand why Baby Ella wasn't talking to her! HA

We got Toby to take pictures of our family on Aunt Pat's beautiful grounds...Here we are by the lake. I think this may be my favorite of his shots...but it is hard to decide! Thank you, Toby. These pictures will be treasured for EVER...

Before leaving - everyone always signs a WALL in Aunt Pat's basement. I have dates on there since 1993. Last year, when Dave and I signed we also signed, "BP" because I was pregnant at the time. It was a wonderful feeling to put Ella's name on the board with the year and her face next to the signature. WOW...how much has changed in my life since 1993 - the first time I signed the wall. The thought of that makes me smile....