October 31st Happy Halloween!!!

It was such a fun day - Ella went to swimming lessons and then got dressed up in her Halloween costumes and hit the road!

Here's Ella watching Julia get dressed early in the am as a Mama Cat to Ella's puppy head dress while she will still in her pj's!

And here's Ella getting ready to be in the MidPen Halloween parade - she teamed up with Eric - one of her field trip friends from Catalina Island - Dog Walker and Dog - they won a prize!!!

And here's a staged  - but all too cute picture of Ella sitting in all the candy and decorations her Mom used to make the MidPen Halloween day fun for everyone!  Marie took this shot

Somewhere's there is a picture of Ella with her puppy costume - and a picture of Beaker with the head dress of that puppy costume - Matt and Julia can add! those!!

 Ella  went 'trick or treating' via car - and visited the Rosens and Betty and Nitsa's family and Ann and Syd -

Ella was much more treat then trick this first year!

October 29th- Giants Win the World Series!!!

Tonight was game 7 of the World Series. Ella did not wear her lucky outfit today after last night's disaster of a game. We also went back to listening to the game not watching it. So as a family we listened though dinner, and bath time. Ella was technically asleep in my arms when we won so I did the quietest happy dance ever.

October 28th- Meeting Heather

Today we met Baby Heather. Steve and Marci have the littlest girl I have ever seen. I would love to say that I remember when Ella was that small but I can't because Ella was born two pounds bigger than Heather is at 5 weeks. Ella was VERY interested in checking out Baby Heather and even left all the cords that were on the floor alone for awhile so she could check her out. Heather was chill and didn't even notice she was there. More meetings in the future with real play for these two.

Memory Lane - Musical Slide Show of Ella's First 100 Days

Julia and Matt had a 100 Day celebration for Ella  back on June 6th - 'some people' suggested it could also note the first '100 outfits' she wore!

I made this musical video to celebrate - and at the time we had some trouble sharing it    I saw it again last night and am amazed how much changed in the next 100 days - and then the days after that!  The first 15 seconds or sound 'wobbly' but keep going until the full soundtrack kicks in

Ramble down memory lane and see when Ella 'was young' - her first 100 days!

October 27th Monday Monday!

After days on Catalina Island and helping the Giants take a lead over the Royals - Ella thinks its finally time to get back to the normal routine

Job 1 today - thinking about a Halloween costume - Ella was going to be a Lady Bug - but Julia figured out this morning that Ella had outgrown the outfit while we weren't looking!  Matt did tell Julia that after not seeing Ella for 4 days - he thought she'd grown!

So here we are trying on some possibilities - what do you think?

Princess?  This was suppose to be a Christmas Dress - but if she doesn't wear it this week - it won't fit either

Or she could be a witch - but is she too round and cherub to be a witch?

How about a candy corn?  Is that fair if you aren't old enough to have eaten one yet?

She could just always go as Matt - as you can see - she definitely looks like Matt - same hair and everything!!  Maybe if we put a plaid shirt on her?  

We might have to extend our search and creativity a bit further - let us know if you have any good ideas - 

The real accomplishment of the day?  Ella can drink from a straw!!!!!  WoHo - a whole new world of water adventure!!!!

And its only Monday!

written with no periods or commas - because for some reason they are still broken on my computer - 

P/GiGi

October 26th - Day of Family Fun

After a long Saturday we decided to have a slower Sunday. So much so that after an early breakfast it was clear that Ella needed a nap before church. At 9am we all were resting in bed and before we knew it we were all asleep. We woke up at 11 missing church . Oops but I guess we all needed it.  We decided that Beaker needed a long walk so we headed to Seal Point and took a nice long walk and stopped and played at the park a little

 Wake up a happy girl!

Getting ready takes some time! 

While getting ready to take Ella and Beaker for a walk today and this happened. I was impressed that she got ahold of the leash and even more impressed that Beaker didn't try to drag her around. Not that he could because she out weighs him by at least 10 pounds.

Slides are FUN!!!

After our walk Ella decided to help Matt with the baby proofing projects he was working on. 

October 26th- 8 Months Old

Okay I confess these were not actually taken on the 26th. After being in Catalina all week and having the floors in the kitchen replaced while I was alway there were just not enough hours in the weekend. But Marie did come over this week and save me by taking 405 pictures. I have picked the best 21 for you.  :)

Ella is on the move. She went from scooting around at the start of the month to full out racing by the end. She also is pulling up on EVERYTHING. Including in the shower today with me which was a little more excitement than I needed. She has also learned to transfer from one thing to the next. Watch out world nothing is safe. This has also become really clear to Beaker. I am not so sure he is trilled with the new mobility and we have had to move his toys. He is great at not playing with Ella's toys, Ella is not so great at leaving Beaker's toys alone. Ella is also a chatter and a flirt. She grunts and squeals and laughs and makes some of the best noises ever. She has also started to sleep in her crib for multiple hours.

Here she is!

October 25th- Let's Go Giants!

Let's GO Giants!!!

October 24th- Coming Home from Catalina

The kids are still in LOVE with Ella. They steal her when ever they can. I really don't know what I am going to do with myself when I have her all alone again.

Riding the boat with her crew.

They say real men wear babies. Chris has a great future in front of him.

 Nap time on the plane:

New plane friends:

October 23rd- Catalina Day 3

More baseball watching. Ella has watched more TV in the last week than she has her entire life. But really it was all baseball so I don't think we will count it. 

October 22nd- Catalina Day 2

Today we woke up early headed to the big red boat and made our way to the island.  The swell was at a horrible interval and I think Ella was feeling a little sea sick at the end but she is such a trooper that she just snuggled in. Once we hit land she was happy again. You may be asking how I got to bring Ella on such a field trip. Well on my schools end they just rock and knew that the only way I was going to be able to do the trip this year was to bring Ella. Mom (Gigi) rocks because she came with us to help with the babysitting so I could snorkel and play.  Bear (Mark) who runs the site that the Catalina Island Marine Inst. Cherry Cove uses let Ella and I be his guests, stay in his house and he all over the place was how I got to sneak a baby into camp. THANK YOU to all those who made it possible.

October 21st- Catalina Field Trip Day 1

From after school on the 21st to Friday the 25th Ella (and Gigi) joined my classes Catalina Island Field Trip. Today we flew from SFO to LAX, took two vans to a hotel in Long Beach and spent the night. Ella has a fan club. They fight over who gets to hold her and carry her. It is like traveling with my own set of babysitters. It's pretty awesome. 

Here we are waiting for our flight: 

Watching the World Series while we fly.  You will see a lot of this outfit on Ella the next two weeks. It became her lucky outfit and I washed it what feels like a million times. She also just wore it dirty once or twice. 

October 20th- Cutest Hand Me Downs

Today when I got to Nitsa's Ella had a new to her outfit on. This was Kendra's (Nitsa's Daughter) when she was little. It is so lovely to get such special clothes passed down to her.

We also had dinner at Gigi's house tonight and she had special halloween decorations for Ella.