Happy weekend!

The amount of joy my daughter brings me is ridiculous.

4.5 months

Yesterday Ella had her 4 month appointment. She weighs 15.5 pounds (which puts her in the 90% tile) and is 26.5 inches long (which pretty much puts her off the charts for her age). She got her next immunization shots which of course was torture for us probably more than her. That crying just tears your heart. Luckily it didn't last super long and Ella felt just fine the rest of the day. She is healthy in all ways and the doc said she is developing right on schedule. During our weekend in Yosemite, Ella found her feet and loves to grab on to them. Then, in Tahoe, she learned how to stick her foot in her mouth! I tried in vain to get good pics but every time I pointed the camera at her, she stopped. Her strength is amazing - she is now able to pull down on her zebra jittery pal to make it jitter all by herself and her hand-eye coordination is getting really good. She is so much fun and I can't get enough of her.

Snow bunny

Apologies for the radio silence but I have been trying to figure out which of the 650 pics we took I should use for this post. President's Day weekend was a most amazing 5 days. We went up to Yosemite to celebrate our 3rd wedding anniversary, Valentine's Day, Ella turning 4 months, and Benny & Foxie's first time in the snow. The original plan was to spend 3 nights. After what should have been about a 4 hour trip, 9 hours later we arrived at the Tenaya Lodge. Just like for our wedding, it started snowing on Friday and the road conditions made it a long trek but we just saw it as a part of the adventure. Ella was amazing - not a peep out of her, she just went with the flow. The rest of the weekend was like a fairy tale - so so so much snow we had to stay an additional 2 days and took full advantage of the beauty that is Yosemite.

Ella was fascinated with the snow
Benny & Foxie too

On Valentine's day we went on a dreamy sleigh ride

And on Sunday, we went to the Ahwahnee and showed Ella where we got married The more it snowed, the more beautiful it was and the more fun we had

Surreal landscape all around us

Ella stayed warm and snug as we hiked around

Happy family
Believe it or not our car is somewhere under there It was truly a trip of a lifetime and the best part was getting to experience it not only with my wonderful husband but also with Ella and our pups. Ella was her happy self the entire time and not once held us back in doing what we wanted. The pups LOVED the snow and couldn't seem to get enough.

*Watch for our best pics yet coming soon, I just need to narrow down the Yosemite pics a bit more (ONLY 500 are allowed in a Picasa album :) )

Snow bunny Part 2

Just 2 days after we got back from Yosemite, we headed back up to the snow - this time to Lake Tahoe to do some snowboarding. We took turns hanging out with Ella while the other went riding. Luckily we had our friend Steve with us so neither one of us had to ride by ourselves. Ella did not disappoint and was just happy to chill. I got to try out my new snowboard - and while I was a bit wobbly the first day, I felt much more confident on it by the second. You see, my new snowboard has something called Magne-Traction - this crazy wavy edge that is supposed to have better control and edge hold. It took a bit of getting used to but it was sweet. Most likely this will be our only trip this season and it was great that the awesome snow at Kirkwood didn't disappoint. I can't wait until Ella is old enough to snowboard :)

Today

This was during tummy time today after the nap, before the outfit change.

After the outfit change, just chillin

Throwin up gang signs while testing out rolling to the side
And just taken a few minutes ago in her playpen - Ella has managed to turn herself perpendicular to how I layed her down

Ella is a very active little girl and most days bring something new. She is definitely practicing her voice and new sounds are emerging. The goo's and gaa's are now accompanied by brrr's, mmmm's, waa's. We think she's going to be quite the talker. Ella is also now not just swatting at her toys but reaching out and actually grasping them. She also reaches out for the pups, our food or drink, anything you hold. But the best is when she reaches out for you and explores your face with her little hands while looking you in the eyes. It's awesome.

Ella's hobbies

How do 2 weeks pass so fast and no post?? Somehow the days slip by and I don't get around to it. Ella is taking a nap at the moment so I figured perhaps I could FINALLY do a little update.

Ella loves to:

practice standing

practice her balance

watch the fishies

just chill

play with Foxie

play with Benny

read the paper

Since starting this post, Ella has been asleep, woke up from her very short nap, changed from her pajamas to a lounging around outfit, got a diaper change, had tummy time, ate, fell asleep, almost made it upstairs for what I hoped would be a continuation of her nap, woke up again, and is now playing with her toys in her playpen while I eat a bit of leftovers for lunch and try to finish this entry. And so I guess this is how time passes and all of a sudden it's two weeks since the last post.