Catching Up

I finally got the pictures off of my other camera today that have been sitting there for a week or more. Here are a few of Ella working on her tummy time.

 Grandma Nancy's Birthday party.

 She got a little help blowing out the candles.

 Here are some pictures of Owen at school today. This is Owen, his teacher and some of his classmates at circle time.

 Checking out the turkey in the happy can.

 Working hard on a play-doh turkey.

 Hard to see the boy but he is back there behind the turkey.

 Today was also Ella's first day at school. She came with us to Owen's class and she was SUPER excited about it!

 There she is hiding with the coats. She did make a turkey with her foot prints. I will have to take some pictures of that for a different blog post!

 Owen doing some important computer work. Owen had fun showing off his sister and showing her all the cool toys! He didn't even mind sharing his teacher and classroom!

Got It!

This is the video I have been trying to get! This is what Ella sounds like ALL. DAY. LONG. She is quite a happy baby but boy is she LOUD! Usually she is too interested in the camera to keep talking but I guess she is getting used to the camera in her face!

New Video

This video was supposed to be of Ella talking but Neil forgot to turn the camera on while she was doing it. Oops! We got the end of her talking and ended up getting some video of Jack talking about the picture he drew. He was supposed to draw a self portrait at school but swore he could not do it. This just proves that he totally can!

Ella Belle

Ella learned a new trick this week! She figured out that she can reach her toys with one hand while she lays on her belly and holds herself up with the other hand. I wanted to get video of it and of course she does the one thing I can never get her to do on video - rolls over - the one time I don't want her to! Not to fear, the video just under has her showing off her new skills!

Writing.

Jack has made huge strides with his writing in the past few months. Today we tried something new and he did remarkably well. He has been writing his name but today I had him write his first sentence, "I love you", in a card for Grandma Nancy's Birthday. I told him the letter he was supposed to write and he did them all by himself. I had to explain or show him on another paper what the "v" and the "e" looked like but other than that he did it on his own. Here it is at the top of the card (click the picture to expand). Obviously some are backwards but I am so proud and impressed with my big guy!

 Here is where he signed his name. I wish he would do this stuff every day but sometimes you ask and he refuses to write anything!

 Here is where Owen wrote his name. He does the "O" and "w" (which is actually an "m") by himself but needs guidance on the "e" and "n" still. Not too shabby!

First Cereal

Ella got a chance to try cereal for the first time this week. She has reflux and the Doctor suggested it might help keep her food from coming back up if it had more substance to it, we we gave it a try! She did really well but it took FOREVER and she ate very little. Our schedule doesn't have a few extra hours every day so we are going to wait a few more weeks to try again. We did capture the experience in pictures of course. Here is Ella watching me prepare her cereal.

 Taking her first bite.

 Not too sure.

 Jack was very interested in the whole ordeal.

 Owen had to check it out too.

 Still not convinced.

 Starting to get in to it.

 Some smiles from our girl.

Back to unsure in the blink of an eye.

 Changing her mind again and liking it.

 She just can't make up her mind!

 This smile is how I picture Ella in my head. Such a sweet girl.

 In the end she ended up liking it. Hopefully when we try again it will go a bit more swiftly so we can keep it up!

Dad's Day

Last Saturday was Dad's Day at Jack's school. Neil and Jack headed up there for a morning of fun. I wasn't there so I don't know exactly what they did but here is Jack working on a few of the projects.

 He also got a balloon racer which he loved (until later that day when he broke it of course!).

 Back at home I hung out with Mr. Owen.

 And Miss Ella.

 Here are Jack and Ella together later.

 More of Owen.

 Before bed the DJ Lance Rock hat from Yo Gabba Gabba came out. Owen was excited.

 This is what happens when Jack takes the hat away.

 Then he gets it back!

 Jack with the hat after Owen finally gave it up!

Drum Solo

I am working on new pictures for a blog post but in the mean time here is a video of Jack on his drum set. He is ready to take his show on the road!

Ella Videos

I took a few new videos of Ella last night. The first are of her "talking" and laughing at my funny noises. The last few are of her playing with her snail toy (which shows her new found awareness of her hands) and then some videos of tummy time. In the tummy time videos you can really see how much stronger her head and neck are getting. I was trying to get another rolling video but it wasn't happening! During the last video she was totally done being on her tummy so she starts yelling at me. She doesn't really cry, she just yells until she gets her way!

Ella Girl

Here are a few new pictures of Miss Ella. Daddy and Ella after trick-or-treating last night.

 First time in jeans! Clearly thrilled about it.

 The weather is quite chilly now so Grandma Nancy bought Ella a new hat this weekend. Cutest. Thing. Ever.