House pics - before...

Front stairs - before

Foyer - before

Kitchen - before

Kitchen - before

Study - before

Dining room - before

Master bath - before

Master bath - before

Living room - before

Living room - before

Play room - before

Lia's room - before

Foyer/Living room - before

Before

Breakfast room - before

Butler's pantry - before

Mother-in-law suite - before

Ella's 1st birthday party in Houston

All ready for the party!

Ella wearing the same dress I wore for my first birthday party : )

Lia and Daddy putting 1 candle on the cake

Singing Happy Birthday to our sweet girl

A hug from the birthday girl!

Jessica and Keri helping serve the cake and ice cream - thanks!

Ella trying her first taste of cake - she didn't like it : (

Happy 1st birthday to my beautiful angel!!

Happy Halloween

Rapunzel ready for trick-or-treating!

Rapunzel and Baby bumblebee

Here we go!

"Daddy you go with me. Mama you wait at the street!"

Watching sister say "trick or treat"

"Just pick one, and don' forget your manners!"

Success!

Checking out the stash!

October trip to Nana and Papa's/Highlands, NC

Helping Nana make breakfast

Making fresh OJ with Papa

Meeting Erin and Pat's new baby girl Piper

"Petting" sweet cousin Carleigh

Spending time with Uncle Douglas

Our gorgeous hotel room in Highlands, NC

Awesome bathroom at our hotel

Relaxing by the fire in Highlands

Hiking Glenn Falls, Highlands NC

Mommy and Daddy enjoying dinner on our trip to Highlands NC

Ella is 12 months old

Singing Happy Birthday!

Ella is 12 months old!

Happy birthday to our beautiful angel!! Ella is now 1 year old! She is growing up so quickly. We are so very proud of her. She is our little firecracker and her huge smile is infectious! She always makes us laugh and has such a happy disposition. We thank God for her every day and can't imagine life without our little Belly Boo : )

This month's stats: 19 lbs 8.4 oz


Nicknames: E, Belly, Lil Sissy, Boo

Likes: Anything crunchy, like goldfish, wheat thins, chex cereal, puffs, cheerios, pretzel sticks, etc. Her other fave is watermelon! She eats fruit, veggies, meat, cheese, and pasta too. And she likes grilled cheese sandwiches : ) She also likes brushing her teeth.

Dislikes: Being told "NO!" This results in a total meltdown...she definitely has quite a temper :)

After being told she wasn't allowed to touch my coffee

 
Milestones: Ella is walking all over the house these days. She mastered that skill so quickly and she can really move these days : ) She loves to follow Sissy around and explore in general. She now has 10 teeth and she's got some molars coming in too! She learned how to drink from a straw on her first try. Ella also celebrated her first Halloween! She went as a bumble bee and loved riding in the wagon and watching Lia running up to knock on doors.

Learning to drink from a straw

Rapunzel and Baby Bee all ready for trick or treating

Feeding: Ella has 4 bottles/sippy cups a day, usually about Horizon Organic Whole Milk. She eats the same things we do now, like spaghetti and mac and cheese, along with her fruit, veggies, and other snacks.

Sleeping: She sleeps about 7:00 pm to 6:00 am. She takes a morning nap and an afternoon nap, each usually lasting about an hour and a half.

Behavior: She is very out-going, independent and brave. She will try anything and doesn't seem to have any fears! She loves to play with Lia and explore.

Walking around the new house

Clothes: 12 months

Favorite Moments: We took a great trip to the cabin, then to see Nana and Papa (the girls stayed 3 nights there while Daddy and I took our own little trip to Highlands, NC.) Lia and Ella had SO much fun staying with their Nana and Papa, going to "school" with them, and playing with their cousins, who they just adore!! Thanks again for keeping the kids for us - we all had a blast!!

With Nana on the back porch

Looking Forward To: More talking! She loves to babble right now and will just talk your ear off, but I still can't understand anything she is trying to tell me...

The 12 month comparison:

I think Ella is just about the spitting image of me at this age!

Sweet Lia at age 1

Ella gets ear tubes

Brave girl in pre-op

Daddy kept her entertained when she got fussy

Fast asleep in the car on the way home

Yesterday, Ella had surgery to get tubes put in her ears. After six ear infections in six months, we are praying that these tubes put an end to Ella's non-stop infections and continuous ear pain. She was, as always, an angel through the whole ordeal. We had to get up at 3:45 am to be at the surgery center for the first appointment of the day. Ella was not allowed to eat or drink prior to the procedure, so she started to get a bit fussy around 6:30, probably both from not having breakfast and from being woken up so early! They took her back at 6:45 am, and we were only in the waiting room 10 minutes before her doctor came to say all went well and she was in recovery. It was a bit unnerving waiting for her to wake up, but it only took about 5 minutes for her to come out of the anesthesia. She was fussy and confused, but took a bottle and settled down quickly once we got her in the car to head home. We are so happy to have that behind us, and we are looking forward to no more ear infections for our baby girl!!

Lia's first day of pre-school