Hanging in the Crib

So Ella is on the move and is getting stronger every day. She greets us in the morning hanging onto the side of her crib, one hand holding her for support, the other grabbing at anything she can reach...the mosquito net, her mobile... She is so proud of herself too. It's nice to see that she is accomplishing this set of milestones and is becoming so much more active. Gone is the snuggly baby. Now, she just uses us as leverage to get around or if we're sitting on the couch, we become jungle gyms for her. She's so much fun! Each stage she gets more so and we can't possibly believe she could get any better...then she learns something new and we love her even more (if that's even possible)! I've been posting a lot of videos because they sum up Ella's day and it's much easier than typing. Besides, I know a lot of people read this to see Ella so here she is!

Toy Box

Ella has so many toys, I've had to find something to put them all in. Today, I was playing around with her and put her in her toy box with all her toys. She was in heaven! She played and threw her toys for a good half hour. I was able to get some laundry and cleaning done. Ella is on the move now so it's hard to get anything done. She scoots every where and is even starting to get her knees up under her. She can't quite crawl, but she's so close. She can sit herself up, roll around, spin, and pull herself up. It's changing our routine because she needs a lot more supervision, but I am so proud of her! She greets us in the morning standing in her crib, chewing on the railing or playing with her mobile. She's quite vocal too so we don't get much sleep after 6:30am. Hope these videos are still working for you.

Erin - I can't wait! 11 days! I'm looking up all the fun stuff we can do!

Beach Girl

Today, after a lazy morning we headed into Pearl Harbor to do a bit of shopping and hit the beach on base. Ella really doesn't like waves coming towards her, even though these ones were so tiny, she was only getting her feet wet. I guess the big wave the other day traumatized her! We'll work on it.....

More Christmas

Hope these videos are working for you.....

Merry Christmas!

What a new joy Christmas is with Ella. Even though I shopped and wrapped all her gifts, I was so excited to watch her rip up paper and discover her presents, especially because we've been pulling her away from the tree until today. She was ripping paper and looking at us a little confused as we weren't taking it away from her. Santa was good to all of us. Ella, of course was spoiled: lots of clothes from Grandma and Granddad; a bracelet from Grandpa; pajamas and books from Mommy and Daddy; toys, toys and more toys from Santa.

We took a gazillion photos! She got about half way through her gifts and was overwhelmed. We ended up opening the rest as she was quite content with the first few toys. A play cell phone from Maddison seems to have taken the cake and once Ella had her hands on it, was not about to put it aside for anything else! It's proved to hours of mindless entertainment and the stacking blocks and cups have been a hit with her as well. Good job, Santa.

I hope everyone else was blessed as much as we were. What a fun first Christmas...it'll only get better!

Christmas Eve

Today, like no other Christmas eve, Ella, her Grandpa and I had a nice drive around the island and stopped at a few beaches. (Ron has thrown out his back and has been pretty immobile since Friday.) How beautiful it is here! Ella is fascinated with the ocean. The sound of the waves crashing on the North Shore was amazing...until we got too close. Ella and I were out with our toes in the sand watching the waves break when the surf came right up to my knees and up to her waist. She was so not happy having salt water splash up her nose but I was quick to pull her up and she clung to me. The water was kind of scary for her and she wasn't sure about the whole beach thing. (Check out her cute surfer tankini!)

Tonight, as Ron slept, Dad and I made Dahl for dinner and tried to capture a Christmassy picture of Ella in front of the tree. Nice try, Mommy. There are too many bows, ribbons and shinny bulbs for me to grab at! Here are a couple of ones that we were able to get. That's right Ella, one more sleep and Santa will have been here!

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

Dear Santa

Dear Santa,

I have been a very good girl this, my first year. So good that I sometimes worry my parents about all the naughty things I must be gearing up for as a toddler or worse still, a teenager. I will do my best not to give Mommy too many gray hairs and help Daddy keep his sanity.

It's been a big year for me and I am working hard on all my milestones. Crawling has been a little difficult, so I hope you don't mind if I just skip it all together and begin to walk in the next couple of months. Seeing as I can Pat-a-cake, wave, sit-up, eat some table food and I try my best to talk, I figure it would be okay for me to concentrate on bigger and better things.

I don't fuss or cry unless I'm hungry or tired, and then only because I'm still training my parents on being parents. You can understand, I'm sure. They try hard but sometimes need a little guidance, don't we all.

This year, as I continue to grow and develop, I would like some toys that help me build my motor skills. Blocks and stacking sets would be really nice, and I always love anything I can put in my mouth. Books are my favorite and seeing as I grow so quickly, some clothes could really help Mommy and Daddy's bank accounts.

Thank you and Merry Christmas, Santa!

Love Baby Ella.

p.s. Mommy wants diamond earrings for Christmas...can you tell Daddy for me. :)

Life's a Beach

I love this hat! Thank you Auntie Stephanie & Uncle Matthew!

The onsie is for sun-protection, not at all my cutest beach outfit!

Today we all packed up and headed down to Ko Olina, a resort area that has some beautiful man-made lagoons so it is protected from sharks...not that many people seem to worry about that, but we do. :) Anyway, it's close enough to the house and very quiet. Ella has some floating things (like a walker but for water) and after the initial shock of cold water, loved being in the ocean. Best part...no diapers just a cute bikini! So about the cold water...it was freezing! I thought it was supposed to be warm??? It was okay after a little bit, but still wayyyyy colder than I heard it was!
Here are some pics from our day at the beach.

Grandpa is on his way for Christmas! He'll be here tonight for the holiday. YEAH!!!!

It's Beginning to Feel A Lot Like....

Well, summer actually. I can't even get used to the idea of 80 degrees and sunny every day. Ron's been golfing almost, no, every day and I haven't been able to go as they don't allow babies or any kids under 7 on the golf course. I guess the few hours of day care I'm going to put Ella in will be my golfing time. Before Ron went today I drew the line and made him do some chores outside first. Come on, lets be fair! I cook, clean, and take care of Ella 24/7. Yes he goes to work (most days he's off at noon, some days he doesn't go in at all) and then he golfs. Tomorrow he has the day off so I am making him spend it with us at the beach...we've been here 6 weeks and I have yet to spend anytime at the beach. Yes, I'm pulling the neglected wife card...or as people in Hawaii like to call it, the "golf widow". I think I'll be leaving Ella with Ron at least once a week so I can go work on my swing at the driving range...though to be honest, it was a lot more fun when we both got to go together. Here's Ella on our front porch watching Daddy wash Mommy's car. I have taken over the Honda as "mine" because it makes Ron keep it clean, and I remind him he does have his motorcycle...though his beloved motorcycle can't carry his golf clubs....ah, isn't life funny sometimes ;) Ella quickly realized it's much easier to keep an eye on things if you can actually see. It's so bright here, sunglasses are a must and Ella no longer fusses with hers!

It Takes a Tree

We have finally learned what motivates Ella to get her move on...PRESENTS with big shiny bows and lots of ribbon! Our Christmas tree has been up and decorated since we came home last week and I've been adding to the presents underneath it. Ella finally discovered it across the living room today and within minutes of me leaving her on her play gym, managed to shimmy her way over to it. I caught her with a pile of shinny ribbon running from a present to her mouth. She's been scooting around the living room ever since! She doesn't crawl yet as she hasn't figured out how to get her knees up under her, but she uses her arms to pull herself around. She is also standing for long periods of time...the little woodchuck is standing in her crib and eating the paint off it! We had to buy a plastic crib rail protector to keep her from eating paint chips. Cheeky monkey!

We're busy getting ready for the holidays. I'll post some pictures tomorrow. Hope everyone is getting excited about Santa, I know we are!

Pictures of our Trip

Burrrrr!!!!

Karen, Maddison, Ella and I

Ella finally meets her Uncle Andrew!

Really, could it get much colder out here???

Ella with a couple of her Aunties

We loved staying with Auntie Erin!!!

Dinner out with the girls

I can't wait for your baby, Auntie Stephanie

Maddison and Ella, girlfriends out on the town.

It really feels like Christmas time here!

Sweet Home

Ella and I flew home yesterday. We caught a flight from Seattle to Sacramento at 6:30am and got a whole row to ourselves. I even got to take on Ella's carseat even though we didn't pay for a seat for her. Alaska airlines are my new favorite airline. They checked my luggage all the way to Honolulu even though I switched airlines, whisked me though check-in and security because I was with Ella alone. The flight attendants offered to hold and watch Ella if I needed to get up and they were super nice. We both fell asleep after take off and only woke up when we were landing. Now that's how I need to fly! I've never fallen asleep in travel before...so nice.

Switched over to Aloha Air in Sacramento and they, well, not so accommodating. They did block the seat next to me for Ella, even though I hadn't paid for an extra one but they wouldn't let me take on her car seat. Luckily, the lady in the window seat loved babies and played with Ella and didn't mind letting her stretch out in the middle seat. It was a long 6 hours but Ella was good as usual. There were lots of other children on board and many people came up to me after the flight and said how good Ella was...one guy asked me what I gave her on the plane to keep her quiet...I almost replied "Boob". :)

We had an hour layover in Maui and then it was back on Aloha Air, this time I was allowed to take her car seat but the flight was only 30 minutes...by the time we got up we were already descending for landing within 10 minutes. (Maui looked amazing - we will definitely go back to visit).

It is so wonderful to be home. I am blessed with a husband who is thoughtful, respectful and generous. Ella and I came home to a clean house, with clean sheets, a made crib, folded laundry and asparkling kitchen and bathroom. Ron gave Ella a bath and we all went to bed early. I love my husband, my family and my home, it's nice to be warm again. :)

Milk Run

It seems all the military flights into Hawaii are being cancelled with no sign of any in the near future. Today, Ron found a flight from Seattle to Sacramento to Maui to Honolulu for cheap and we grabbed it.
It's late, I've got to be up in a few hours and Ella and I have a long day ahead of us. But we are going home! It's a bit of a milk run way to get home but at least it's in one day.
Will post pictures and blog when I get home.

Keep us in your travel prayers!

Forever, ever??

So, there was a flight going back to Hawaii tomorrow at 6am and I called all day to confirm it was still on. I checked one last time tonight at 10pm to confirm how many seats were available and it's cancelled...or at least no longer listed. What the *^!????

The news is forecasting some storms, well lots of rain really. Does the military know something we don't? Do they cancel flights for heavy rain forecasts? The flight is now on Thursday; doesn't help that I'm all packed and ready to go NOW. I have to finagle my backpack and stretch out our clothes for another couple of days. Grrrrr. I also managed to have the extact amount of food for Ella and diapers to get us home...two extra days and I have to buy a whole pack of diapers. Crap! I'll have to try to smush it in our luggage!
Erin lent me a small duffle bag to take back with me, but being here and shopping has led to borrowing a whole suitcase from Karen.

Karen and Maddison have been great to us, and we've had an awesome visit. I am so glad to have gone to Victoria (though I would have also gone over to Vancouver had I known I had so much time) and it's great to hang out with Karen again. But there is no place like home. Ella has some red shoes, maybe if I put them on her and tap her feet together....chant with me people...there's no place like home.....

Still Here...

It's been a week and a half and Ella has been doing some great things...she now grunts as much as she squeals, which is funny and a lot nicer on the eardrums. She is also almost crawling. She can reach for anything and wiggle or shimmy her way over to it. She has 2 more teeth, well almost. Her two teeth on each side of the front ones (the pointy ones...inscissors?) have cut through and will be full teeth in a few days. That makes 6 teeth all together. Do all teeth come in pairs??

Ella and I are still stuck in Washington state. There have been no flights and so far none up to Monday either. We are going to wait to see what comes up in the week and if there is still nothing we are catching something out of Seattle.

Ella and I are exhausted! I've gotten a cold and am drinking as much orange juice as possible. Maddison hasn't mastered her bedtime so there is a lot of drama and it's hard to keep Ella asleep through it. Other than that, it's been so nice to see everyone and visit. We're just really missing home and want to go back to the nice weather, a full wardrobe and get into the holidays. I love Christmas and want to go do my shopping and wrap presents to put under the tree. I will have to decorate when we get home, so I'm looking forward to that. Ron has been golfing everyday and could care less about Christmas so he is fine with Ella and I waiting for a "free" flight. Ba Humbug to him...Ella and I are so ready to come home!!

p.s. Check out Christin's Blog for some pics of Ella and I from Victoria. We have never been so cold!!!! I wrapped Ella up in a fleece blanket and carried her on me for extra warmth. Burrr.

One It Is

We're in Washington state at Karen's. We made it across the border and through customs no problem and reached Karen's by late afternoon on Tuesday. yesterday we went sightseeing downtown Seattle and walked around Pikes Market. Very trendy and totally Vancouverish. I really love the west coast.

There was a flight at 4 am but there were only 2 seats so we didn't try to make that one. Can you imagine pulling Ella and Maddison, a toddler, out of bed at 3 am to find we can't even make the flight anyway.

Maddison is in her twos and she has so sealed the deal for me. I am so done at one child...at least for a very very long time. Maybe when Ella is 5 I'll want another but I am exhausted after one afternoon. Karen is off at the dentist and Maddison isn't used to having her Mommy away. Maddison is blissfully distracted but so far we have baked bisuits, colored, taught her dolls to go to bed without drama (let's see if she remembers any of this tonight), read books, danced to the Wiggles, had lunch and now we're going to see about going for a walk to tucker her out and get her a nap. Ella, I'm sorry but there won't be any sibblings for you anytime in the near (or far) future. Ella and a toddler in the house have banished any doubt I might have had! :)

Goodbye Canada...

Tonight is our last night in Victoria. We're off to Port Angeles tomorrow and then onto Karen's house. So far there are no flights up to Thursday, I'll phone tomorrow about Friday's schedual. (Ron, you might just make that tee time on Saturday after all).

Sunday we went to Stephanie and Kristi's baby shower and I ran into some old friends from way back in grade school. So fun. And then of course we were so excited to go for family dinner at Sue and Stu's. How I am blessed with all my friends and extended family here. Ella wooed everyone and has a new boyfriend, Zachary who is the cutest little thing and such a cuddly bug. (I'll post pictures of all this when I get back home). If anything in Victoria could feel like home again, it's definately at Erin and Steph's parents.

Today we had lunch with Uncle Andrew, Stephanie and Erin. Our waitress was an old friend from elementary school. So bizarrre, I've been home for 4 days and I have run into so many old friends. More people at Superstore. 13 years out of high school and everyone looks the same! Funny I think. We visited Grandma's resting spot and I told Ella all about her Grandma, who shares part of her name. It was really pretty with all the snow and pink flowers. I know if they could have met, she would have been so in love with Ella. I know I wouldn't be half the mom I am to Ella if I hadn't such a role model. The hardest about coming back to Victoria is missing my mom. I can't wait to tell Ella all about her.

It's been an exciting 4 days, I'm sad to leave but really I am so tired of the cold. I have a perma-kink in my neck from being so tense. The boat leaves at 10:30 in the morning and we should be at Karen's by late afternoon. Ella and I will be going through immigration...happy thoughts, happy thoughts....see you on the other side!!

Friends

Just a quick note because we've been so busy visiting today. We had a wonderful visit with Barry and Diane and Jack and Phyl (and some of the family) and it was so nice to see them with Ella. Ella was a perfect lady! THen it was off to meet Uncle Andrew for a quick visit and hopefully we'll see him again Monday. Dinner with Christin, Stephanie and Erin and to Butchart Gardens to see the pretty lights in the snow. Ella once again didn't get any napping in as I kept taking her out of her carseat not long after she had fallen asleep to meet more people who couldn't wait to dote on her.
Butchart Gardens are gorgeous and Ella and I walked through all bundled up with a fleeced blanket and lots of layers of clothes. Burrrrrr! But oh so pretty. Ella is out, I'm exhausted. I can't wait to post some pictures when I get home. Ella is missing her Daddy, and will "dadadada dada dadada" and look around. I know, Ella. I miss him too :)

Tuckered Out

We are in Victoria and Ella finally got to meet her Auntie Erin! Ella and I left this morning at 7am to catch the ferry from Port Angeles to Victoria. We made the boat in plenty of time and walked around Port Angeles and had a nice lunch. With all this new and exciting stuff to see, Ella hasn't napped much in the past couple of days and it seems everytime she falls asleep in the car, I wake her right back up. Ella slept through customs and immigration but it was only about 15 minutes to Erin's so when we woke her up when we arrived she had a little moment. Here I am telling people how wonderfully behaved this kid is and she takes one look at Erin and breaks down! (Though I did wake her up and thrust her into Erin's arms...I guess waking up and seeing a stranger would freak anyone out!)

The weather has warmed up to a balmy 42, but there is still lots of snow on the ground. Hopefully tomorrow we can get a picture with Ella and the white stuff. Erin's at a Chrismas party, Ella's zonked out and I am on my way to bed (I'm glad the party was tonight...Ella and I aren't much company, we are so tuckered out from the excitment and traveling.

Funny news...sort of...I asked about flights back to Hawaii to get on the registration list and apparently, although flights arrive from Hawaii almost daily, they sporatically fly back to Hawaii. "Not often", I was told means maybe 1 or 2 a month. ONE OR TWO????? So, what are y'all doing for Christmas this year??? :)

Burrrrrrr!

I made it to the west coast!!!! I left on Wednesday morning and took a military flight (free, but we were on a cargo plane and sat in canvas seats along the side of the wide open cargo hold...just like skydivers!) which was long and cold but Ella was wonderful and they give you really warm wool blankets. It is freezing here! We landed at 6pm to cold and snow. Ella was a bit fussy with all the warm clothes I put her in but as soon as they opened up the cargo door and all that cold air came in she went completely still and only her eyebals moved around in wonder at the new place.
Karen picked us up and it's been so nice to visit with her again. Tomorrow morning Ella and I will be off to Victoria for the weekend. Can't wait to see everyone!!! It's apparently going to warm up to 40 so that will be a treat! :)

West Coast

Snow here we come!!!! I'm leaving tomorrow to try to catch a flight to Seattle at 6:55am. I should arrive in Seattle about 3 or 4 local time and can't wait to see Karen and Maddison! I'll be heading over to Victoria on Friday and staying with Erin. I'm so excited to see everyone and have Ella meet all her extended Aunties.
Freakishly, the west coast has been hit with snow. What the ????? I guess Ella and I are in for a treat and shouldn't complain about the cold, it's not like we'll ever have to worry about that kind of weather for a long time!! Hee Hee.

See you west coasters soon!!!!!

Potty Training...sort of...

Out of shear boredom, I have been playing around on my blog. I took the clock idea from a friend of a friend's blog. I think it's great! We are 5 hours behind Atlanta, and two hours behind the west coast...just to insure we don't get any "early" wake up calls. There may be some kinks in the layout but I'll fix them up in the next day or so.

Ella had a long day today, she didn't nap very much and I gave her some Tylenol before she went to bed tonight. Hopefully her teeth stop bothering her soon. The past couple of days I've been putting her on her potty when she looks like she's doing her business. So far, she's used her own potty twice and tonight she went to the bathroom as soon as I put her on it. I have no idea about potty training but I figure if I can see her trying to poop, I might as well let her use her own toilet. She is so proud of herself and not at all intimidated by the potty. It's been out of the box and in the bathroom since we moved in. ("They" say you should put it out early and then the child gets used to seeing it around so it doesn't scare them when it's actually time to train them). I know, I know, it's really early for this but it's so easy with her right now.

Teething

It's official, Ella is teething and it's been rough. Her bottom two teeth gave her so little trouble, just 2 nights of waking up and going back to sleep, one of those nights after some Tylenol. These top two teeth are a different story. She's been rather grouchy and her nap schedule is interrupted. She's only napping an hour and tonight, she was up at 10:30 screaming. We changed and rocked her, laid her back down only to have her keep crying. Ron went to bed at 11, it's now 12:45am and I finally got her to sleep after some Tylenol. I had tried the teething tablets at 11, but they didn't do anything. We've been sitting up watching TV, and as long as she was distracted and had something to chew on, she was fine. You'd think I'd be exhausted, but the night owl in me is wide awake and ready to clean the house. I have no idea why I feel the need to clean in the middle of the night...always have, it's just so much harder with a baby! I must go to bed, if I don't, I'll regret it in the morning.....

Pumpkin Pie

I didn't think it was possible, ever! But alas, I think I've eaten so much pumpkin pie, I actually can't think of eating again...at least for a while :) Ella has had her first taste of it this Thanksgiving and she loves it too. While Ron and I had lasagna last night, Ella got some turkey and green beans, some sweet potatoes and some carrots. She had more of a traditional Thanksgiving than we did!

She is growing and learning so much. She has the whole "walking" concept down. She picks up her feet and knows the moves. She just isn't strong enough and doesn't have enough balance on her own. Ron will walk her around the house, holding onto her arms and she will walk like a champ! Yes, it really may be that she just skips the whole crawling thing all together. She squeals when she gets to Mommy, or her toy, or to another room...she's so proud of herself! She has also learned to give me what's in her hand if I ask for it, "Can Mommy have it?". Though once she gives it to me she immediately wants it back and tries to grab at it. I'm putting it in her other hand to teach her the idea of "share and share alike". Hopefully next time she sees Nolan, she'll be all grown up and polite about playing with his toys:)

Happy Thanksgiving

Today is Thanksgiving, we hope everyone enjoyed their turkey and stuffing. Here, it doesn't even seem like Thanksgiving (except for the never ending football on tv). It's 84 degrees and sunny, and our family isn't here. Ron decided he wanted lasagna instead of turkey (fine by me!) so we're getting ready to sit down and have a nice, regular dinner. I did bake some pumpkin pies so that seems festive enough for us. I guess I should say goodbye health kick until they are gone :)

Ella's top two teeth are coming through and it looks like she definitely has her mama's big teeth! Thank goodness for Ron's dental coverage! Poor thing didn't have a chance between Ron and I and our messed up smiles. I think I alone made my orthodontist enough money to retire early.

Ella and I are still going to try to come out for Stephanie's baby shower next Sunday. We are just getting the final paperwork together and hopefully we'll be on a flight to Seattle by Thursday. We really have no idea how available these military flights are as it's basically like flying standby. We will call and let you all know when and if we arrive and make sure we get to see everyone. Keep your fingers crossed!

House Tour

Let me take you on a tour of our new house... As you walk through the front door, the office is on your left, the laundry closet is on your right. It's a short hallway and the kitchen is also on your left next to the office. The main living space is at the end of the entry hallway with a patio out back.

This is a view of the entry hall and front door
from the living room/dining room area:

The kitchen has an open counter to the living room/ dining room. This is a view from the living room, through the kitchen and into the office...

Here is our main living area. We decided to put the dining and living room together so we could use the room in the front of the house as an office instead of a dining area.


The right side of the house has another hallway with two large storage closets, the master bedroom on the left, the bathroom on the right and Ella's room at the end of the hall.






And Ella's beautiful room...you will notice there is plenty of room for a spare bed. Reservations are on a first come first serve basis...management cannot guarantee that during your visit you will be given a bed, and making reservations for more than two parties, may constitute some in sleeping on the floor. :)



It's really small but we've made room for all our things and still managed to make it look cute. I am loving the whole single floor thing and can put Ella down for a nap and hear her from everywhere. Plus the laminate floors make it look more spacious.