Ella's First Thanksgiving

 Ella had a great first Thanksgiving, spending time with both sides of the family in Iowa. She wasn't too crazy about the turkey (she prefers cheese), but she did figure out that, depending on the house, dropping food on the floor means the puppy will clean it up. Too bad we don't have a dog at home, because she's been flinging food like crazy! Ella had a blast playing with her cousins, and spent a lot of time crawling after the dogs or cats we encountered. Over the weekend we noticed that she stood on her own more often, and with the help of the push cart we picked up from her cousins, we're betting on a walker by Christmas. We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Hanging with her cousins.

Ella and Reid.

Ella did really well in the car this time!

Our trip was full of puppies and kitties - Ella loved it!

Ella with her second cousins - Briella and Blake.

Someone found Grandma's magazines!

So close to walking!

Gabba gabba

Lately it sounds like Ella is speaking her own language - check out this conversation!

Ella's Top 10

For a change of pace, I thought I'd share some facts about our little lady, as she's constantly displaying more of her personality. Enjoy, and have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

1. Her favorite foods are cheese, applesauce, and yogurt. She won't touch the carrots or chicken on her highchair tray.

2. We're not sure if its intended to garner attention or if it's a dance move, but bouncing up and down on her knees and waving her hands in the air while squealing is her favorite thing to do lately.

3. Three little teeth on the bottom and two big bunny teeth on the top fill out Ella's mouth.

4. While she loves to eat shoes, she can't stand wearing them.

5. Climbing the stairs is a non-stop activity.

6. Lately Ella sounds like she's talking; however, it's in a language we don't understand.

7. She enjoys bath time so much that she'll often crawl into the bathroom and pull herself up to the side of the tub.

8. Ever the domestic baby, Ella loves watching clothes swirl around in the washing machine, scampers over to the dishwasher as soon as we open it, and is strangely fascinated yet terrified by the vacuum.

9. Ella is proving to be a tough little lady, always exploring and getting right back up again after a tumble.

10. She may only be 10 months old, but Ella is quickly developing an ability to get her way by throwing a fit. Oh boy.

Erin is getting married!!

Congrats Erin and Martin, we're so happy for you!

Snagging her first ornament off the tree.

Double Digits

Ella turned 10 months old on Thursday, and is truly seeming more and more like a little girl and less like a baby. She enjoyed plenty of socialization this weekend. On Friday I took her to a play cafe where you pay an admission for 90 minutes of open play. It's a great spot when the weather isn't ideal, and it was hopping on Friday. For the first 10 minutes or so Ella simply watched all of the kids play, but soon she was trying to get in on the action. Saturday brought another successful swim class, and in the afternoon we had a play date with the new mom's group I joined back in April. Ella is one of two girls among about four other boys (all around the same age). It was so entertaining to watch them play together, or really just try to take toys away from each other. A couple of the moms commented that their boys seemed to have met their match with Ella, as she was playing just as hard, including trying to climb over everything, and tumbling down to quickly just get back up and repeat the same action. I assured them she isn't a princess, and can easily hold her own:)

10-month photo take 1.

10-month photo take 2.

Laundry basket rides with Aunt Erin.

All bundled up. It might be a little big.

Playing in the hallway.

Pushing her piano down the hallway.

A common view.

Fun in the Hallway

A Duck or a Fish?

Below are a few more pictures from trick-or-treating on Halloween. Jeritt had class, so Aunt Erin joined us and we strolled through the neighborhood. While Ella was content to chew on the same Milky Way the entire time (with wrapper on, of course), we still snagged some candy for mom:) We had a great weekend, enjoying some of the nice fall weather and taking in our first complete baby swim class (no floaters this time). It's mostly a lot of singing and splashing, but Ella did go under the water for the first time. She seems to like it so far - perhaps we have a little fish on our hands!

More Halloween fun - trick-or-treating in our neighborhood.

Chewing on a Milky Way.

Aunt Erin joined us!

One sleepy duck.

It's not the best photo, but we had to get one of the NYC onesie - thanks Sara!

Easily amused by the simplest things...

Getting her hands on the ipod.

She climbed into her toy box in order to reach it.

Swim class!

She found more food in her bib.

What a face!

Swim Time!

Here is a scene from Ella's swimming lesson yesterday.