More summer fun

These two have no fun at all ;P

"Hey, I remember playing with you on the beach"

Super Ella (being a ham for the camera)

Mouth agape...must be her "Gerber Baby" impression

Summer is fading quickly. It's already the end of August! The nights seemed to have had a crisp nip there for a few days last week. At least that is what we experienced here in Beverly Shores. The days are getting noticeably shorter. It is dark by 7:30pm and the sun drops fast! This week we enjoyed my cousin Julie's baby shower. Ella will have another (2nd) cousin besides Addisyn on the Gettler side. This time it's predicted to be a boy. Julie flew all the way from North Carolina to have her shower in Indiana and it was great to have her back if only for a short time. I snapped a few of Ella playing with her 2nd cousin, Addisyn (my cousin Janet's little one) while at the shower.

We have been having a ball with Ella as she grows and discovers even more! Her hair is really starting to get thicker. On Sunday, August 29th, she put two words together for the first time. Clearly she said, "hi dad" as she saw him in the morning. It was very sweet and it melted both of our hearts. She gets very excited when she sees either of us and squeals with delight if she hasn't seen us in a few hours. Also, she is really getting into Elmo. She LOVES the Norah Jones/Elmo video on youtube. She stares intently and starts clapping and dancing when I put it on for her. Another item she is really interested in is my makeup bag, oddly enough. If I give that to her, she will play with it for quite a long time. Who needs toys when you have a makeup bag, right? :)

Last Sunday she went up two stairs at our house. It's a whole new ballgame now! She's a climber! Mike calls her "Jeep". She gets over just about any barricade that is short enough and if she stumbles or goes down, she just keeps trying.

El has gotten so big within a short time! Our little trips down to the beach now are more difficult as she wants to crawl around once we reach the beach. and won't stay in my arms. She isn't afraid of the water and doesn't mind the cool temperature. This past week we discovered she loves the song, Radar Love by Golden Earring. It came on the radio (in a car next to us while in a parking lot) and she started rocking back and forth and clapping her hands.

Ella at 10 months old!

Windy day on the beach....

Scratching in the sand (notice her finger marks :)

Kailyn and Ella on the beach

Awww!

Admiring one of her size

Chasing Aunt Joanne and Uncle Duane's cat

How fast time is going. Ella turned 10 months old on August 18th. She is busy, busy, busy crawling, clapping, dancing, giving kisses, chasing the dog around, laughing and playing in the sand on the beach. She absolutely loves music. She goes over to the stereo and stands next to it and "dances" when a song comes on. She is moving quick too. I never knew babies crawled so fast!! I guess one wouldn't know until they tried to catch a little one on the move. Wow! She loves to take stroller rides on the lakeshore. This week on a walk, a red fox jumped out of the woods about 5 feet from her. She thought it was a dog and got very excited. It froze for about 10 seconds and scurried away.
I took Ella to the Lake County Fair last week to see the animals. Cousin Sabrina came with us. Ella had a great time, but didn't want to keep her hands and feet out away from the animals as I held her to see them. She giggled as a baby goat licked her toes.
Earlier in the week, cousin Kailyn came by for a visit (Kailyn's dad, who is my cousin, brought her by to play on the beach). Kailyn and Ella had fun on the beach. It was very windy out there!

It's hard to believe the summer is already starting to close in on us this year. The days go by fast around here as Ella is keeping us very busy. :)

They had a blast.

Summertime Fun

The whole gang. The Gettler cousins.

Busy girls. Cousin Addisyn and Ella.

Ella and Addisyn hanging around....

"I will get that sand off you, Ella".

These two always look like they are up to something. :)

Gator ride....

Ella and her Bardot after swimming.

Mike, Ella and Bardot.

Ella looks so tiny here.

Just wanted to give an update for those of you who have been wondering what we have been up to. I haven't posted anything since mid July (where is the time going) so here goes.....

Mike and I drove to Fort Wayne at the end of July to visit our friends, the Sparks (Bardot, Wade and the boys) who were in from California. We had a a great time at Bardot's parent's house. Her parents live on a farm with a beautiful swimming pond, and cabins surround the pond and property. We rode the gator (Baby E too), and Mike took Ella swimming. She loved it!

Another event that occured in late July was our Gettler get together. All the Gettler cousins (my mom's side) got together on the beach. It was the first time in a long time so many of us were together. It was great to see everyone. A big thanks to my cousin Janet and her husband Eric for coming up from Indy with Addisyn. Addisyn is 5 weeks older than Ella. They played so nicely together. It was the first time the babies met each other. It was cute to see them together, especially on the beach.

Since then, we just been hanging out and enjoying summer. Mike and I are having so much fun watching all of Ella's new developments! She can say "dog" in her own little version ("og"). She loves to dance by the radio and is clapping her hands now all the time. Seriously, she would hang out by the radio most of the day if she could. She also loves to unpack boxes/bags that are packed full of clothes or other items. I discovered this the other day as she "rearranged" a bunch of organized clothes packed away. She is getting so big and crawling all over. Life is a different story now that she is mobile and moves everywhere. Can't believe she will be 10 months soon already!

We hang out on the beach quite often and she loves to crawl in the sand. She is getting better about leaving the sand out of her mouth. She does love to splash in the water. Definitely a water baby.