June 29th- Meeting UnDoug

Today's blog was filmed in front of a live studio audience. It was dictated by Ella and Transcribed by UnDoug.

Today was a big day! I started the morning with a trip to the airport to pickup my Uncle Doug from New York! It was very exciting to get to meet him for the first time. I put a bow in my hair to commemorate the occasion. It was totes sweet.

After picking up my "UnDoug" we sat on the couch while he had his coffee. He is super neat. He tickled me and I laughed alot.

I really like UnDoug! He is sweet, compassionate, patient, giving of time and energy and love, strong of character, intelligent, witty, and attentive. He is always available when you need an ear to bend and always knows the right thing to say. Doug regularly volunteers, is a gainfully employed Software Engineer, and loves children. Despite a rugged exterior, he is soft and contemplative on the inside; a side that only some girls like I have seen. I am very lucky to be his niece. As if that weren't enough, he is also very humble.

After that, UnDoug had to take a nap. Not me, though. I'm a party power house. A bunch of family came over to celebrate summer and we all partied on the beach. I hung out in my jumper and entertained guests with my mad DJ skills. I brought the house down. It was pretty awesome.

Next up I took a photo my Mom & Dad and their cousins.  We were all having a blast playing on the beach and going swimming and playing with the boats. I love them all dearly and my heart will ache until I get to see them again next summer. Family is pretty important to me, and it's nice to get to see them when I do. 

I wish I had more photos. My dad says you will never regret taking a photo

The other baby in this photo is my 2nd cousin 4 times around the may pole, Gretta

This is my Cousin, Ian. He's pretty dope.

At the end of the night we all chilled and watch the sunset. It was beautiful. I love this cottage.

June 28th- First Lake Swim

Today the grandparents went on a morning Kayak. Ella and I sat on the pier and watched as they paddled about. We enjoyed the waves and then put Ella's feet in the lake for the first time. In the afternoon Ella and I went for a real swim. It was a little cold and took some getting use to but she really liked it.

June 27th- Erie Life

Hanging out at the lake with 4 grandparents. What a life!! Ella has done really well with the time change. Seems like waking up at 4am and catching a 6:15am plane was the way to adapt to East Coast time. Today was a day of hanging out. We just enjoyed the lake, snuggled with the grandparents and had a good old time. The sunset tonight was incredible. The colors in the sky continued to change and be beautiful for over an hour after the sun finally set.

June 26th- 4 Months

Today we took our first airplane trip with Ella. She was a champ! She slept through most of the first flight and was a happy chatter box though the second. Ella is just a girl who goes with the flow. Gotta love it.

Wednesday June 25th- Miss Cheryl Photo Shoot

Miss Cheryl is in town and did a photo shoot for us. We are calling these Ella's formal 4 months photos since we will be on a plane all day tomorrow. It was pretty funny to watch 4 adults try to get Ella to smile. I wish I had a video of that.

June 24th- Packing

This morning Ella and I packed her up for our upcoming Erie and Branson trip. She has so many cute outfits its a daunting task. And in the mist of the insanity of packing for a first time long trip I realize that this is what she is going to spend the most time in......

I also got kicked out of the bed this morning.

June 23rd - HOME!

Mommy is home. After that few night stay in the hospital I was home all day with Ella. She woke up seeing me and I was not allowed to leave her sight all day. We also had out 4 month Dr. appointment. Her cute sleepy face is all I really need.

Due to Illness

Ella's page is lacking the last 7 days because Mommy (Julia) got really really sick and ended up spending a few days in the hospital. Turns out it was salmonella! We will back log soon. 

June 15th-Matt's First Father's Day

Today was Father's Day.  We were the greeters at church this morning. Below you can see Ella helping Matt out. After church we took Matt out to lunch. We came home from lunch and took a two hour family nap. (Thank you Ella!) After our nap Ella and I hung out and Matt worked on his ukulele.

June 14th-Monterey Adventure

Matt's friend Brandi was in Monterey visiting from San Diego so we went down for the day. It worked out SO well. Ella took a great 2 hour nap while we drove to Monterey and woke up just as we pulled into town. Brandi, her friend Rob, Matt, Ella and I headed to Cannery Row. We had a lovely lunch at the Fish Hopper right on the waterfront. Rob and Brandi were really there to visit with Ella, we were just bonuses. We saw sea lions and dolphins and otters while eating. Ella really liked Rob and they took some really good selfies. This is my favorite.

Ella also really liked Rob's sunglasses.

Ella, her glasses and Brandi got lots of attention.

After lunch we enjoyed walked the row and enjoyed the amazing tourist sites.

Bubba Gumps

Outside the Monterey Bay Aqurium

Monterey Harley Store

After our walk about town we decided we needed ice cream. There is a Ghirardelli Chocolate and Ice Cream shop on the row and we had AMAZING ice cream sundaes. Ella is starting to seriously check out food. Today we took some fun shots of it. Ella also has a drool problem and she got Rob good today.

June 13th- Hands in Her Mouth

It was a chaotic day. After a long day yesterday Ella woke up at 5am but we convinced her to go back to sleep and at 8:45 I actually woke her up. (Mostly because I was afraid her diaper would explode.)  We went to the last day of the playgroup we have been attending. (They are taking a summer break.) After that we hung out with GiGi and Marie and then headed home for a quiet evening.  This week's amazing accomplishment is that Ella can now take something in her hand and put it in your mouth. You don't realize how much of a big deal this is until you watch someone struggle with it and try to master it.

June 12th - GiGi's moving day!

Today GiGi moved. Ella and I were in charge of the new house. The morning started off cool so we had to sport some of our warmer wear.

We first watched over the floor men. Sigh...... it was noisy and dusty so we hid in one of the atriums. We made a great little hideout and had a grand little morning. UnRo (Uncle Ross) even hung out with us for a little while.

After the floor men left Nitsa joined us and we traded off cleaning and holding Ella. Nitsa was a master and took Ella for a walk that made her fall asleep. I don't think we would have gotten much done without Nitsa. Eventually we got Ella to sleep again and needed her out of the way of the movers. So her swing in the kitchen it was.

Matt came over at the end of the day with Beaker and we ended the move with a great dinner of mexican. It was a lovely meal and we used Ross' phone with the "capture" function to take a great picture. (All you have to do is say capture and it takes the picture.)

Nitsa got some good Beaker and Ella snuggles.

We were pretty tired at the end of the day. 

June 11th- Family Swimming

This morning we went swimming with the Wiita Family. It is an AWESOME kids pool. We all had a great swim and a fantastic picnic.

This is the super cool pool.

This is us having a great time!!