Happy 1st Birthday Ella

Ella opening her packages from Aunt Lori, Uncle Eric, cousins Sarah and Libby.

Ella crashes from all the excitement. (Notice her "Party Girl" pin).

Ella with her two new favorite things..her horse and her Birthday balloon.

At G&G Martin's house in the evening for a small party...look at that cake face :)

The morning of the 18th--on our way to her one year checkup at the doctor.

Ella with her Elmo. A gift from Aunt Lori and family. (She loves Elmo)

It's October 18th. Our sweet baby Ella was born at 4:24 pm on this date 1 year ago. Her first birthday seemed like an eternity away this time last year. It's really hard to believe we experienced the first year year of her life already. We are truly blessed to have had such a sweet little girl.
During the day, we took her to her one year check up. (Yes, I scheduled this ON her birthday). She is really growing. She weighes 18 pounds and is 29 1/4 inches tall. On the night of the 18th, we had a small party at my parent's house to celebrate on her birthday. We found out how much she loves balloons. Her cupcake balloon was a hit and her favorite new "toy". She received a new rocking horse (from G. & G. Martin) that talks and sings. She was content as can be riding her horse and holding her balloon. Her big family birthday party is on October 24th and we can't wait to celebrate with everyone!

Autumn Update

The last 4 weeks or so have been very busy for us around here. I just wanted to update everyone on the eve of Ella's First Birthday. Her First Birthday tomorrow. I can't wrap my mind around it. It was one year ago tonight that I denied being in labor. haha. I went to bed around 11pm and had a great night's sleep after a very long day of shopping with Mike. The next day I surrendered myself to the hospital. ;P

We made our big move to Valparaiso. We didn't have a lot to move, yet this move seemed monumental. We plan to stay here for awhile - at least a few years until we outgrow this house. Mike and I are back where we started....literally. Back to the house where I used to visit him when we were dating. I used to pull up in the driveway and Sadie would be barking to greet me and be waiting for me outside my car door. Then I would walk up and knock on the door until Mike answered. That was about 5 years ago before he moved away and right after we got engaged. A lot has happened since then! It is so strange to think back to moments that seem like yesterday. I now pull up with Baby Ella in tow. Sadie still greets me with vigor. Now I don't knock and open the door to "our" home.

We have been making it ours even more for the past few months (as you know) by doing some renovations. It is all to be complete by the end of the week. One thing we are really enjoying are our walks in the neighborhood. Especially on warm Autumn mornings when the leaves crunch under foot. Ella loves to stroll. She insists she hold Sadie's leash from her stroller. It is very cute. Walks around these old haunts were another favorite pasttime of me and Mike's when he lived in Valpo.

Another favorite thing these days is going to the park. Ella loves the swing and giggles when she is pushed into the air. We went to the little park, Melorose Park, in Long Beach many times. Ella still is a dancing queen. Music could entertain her for long periods of time, clapping dancing and "singing".

Two weeks ago she started saying, "what's that" and pointing. She does this constantly and is very inquisitive on everything. You can't help but to just love her when she exercises that little voice of hers and points her finger.

Ella at 11 months...

Four generations here...oh and there's Mike too. (Grandma M, Aunt Irma, me and Ella)

E and Brigette sporting their camo

Pushing the tire swing on the farm

Party Girls

Ella going strong late in the evening.

Listening to Karaoke

Ella and her fans :)

September 18th- just one month until she turns the big 1. The custom tutu I ordered came in the mail. I plan to use this for part of her 1 year pictures. I was thrilled on how it turned out, thanks to my friend Erin Phillips!! She did a great job. If anyone is interested in one for your little girl, let me know....she custom makes tutus of all sizes and colors!!

Ella just sprouted her EIGHTH TOOTH this past weekend. Maybe she can be Baby Jaws for Halloween. haha. Speaking of Halloween, we are hard at work on costume ideas.

This past weekend we had a lot of fun. We traveled to Fort Wayne to visit Brigette (who is in town from California) and her entire family before Bart (Brigette's brother) leaves on his mission to Afghanistan. Everyone was wearing camoflauge to show their support. Even Ella sported camo. I joked it was the last time Baby Ella would ever wear camo. She did it just for Bart. It was quite a party they had for him. Kareokee, lots of food, and dancing. And Brigette's nieces adore Ella. They are always a big help by holding and entertaining Ella.
It was good to see everyone again on this trip. Brigette grew up on her family's farm, so it's a completely different environment for Ella. There is so much for Ella to absorb when we visit the farm. Mike and Ella looked for barn cats in the barn...and found one black cat. Then, they checked the rain gauge for water...it hadn't rained too much. Then they looked at all the big farm equipment. Our trip to Fort Wayne is always adventurous.
The next day, Sunday we were due in Crown Point for a family dinner hosted by my Aunt Barb and Uncle Robert. We drove from Fort Wayne straight to Crown Point. What a busy day! We had a great time there too and enjoyed seeing everyone on my mom's side. My great Aunt Irma (Ella's great great aunt) loved seeing Ella again.

It's a beautiful day and Ella and I are off for a stroll!!

Summer Wrap Up

Watch out! - clear the road (and sidewalks)

Taking the keys...nice day for a ride

How she loves her Elmo. Really, really, really loves him.

Ella playing with her block while Sadie supervises.

"Hi Sadie" or "hi deedee" as ella says

Hanging out with Grandpa Martin

Enough of the horse, I want the Elmo car!

Dinnertime, mom!

Ipod= her favorite "toy"

Let's go Elmo!!

Practicing reverse....checking mirrors :) Intense concentration on her face

Well, it feels like summer is closing in on us. Cool evenings will turn into colder days. Looking at the calendar we are headed for Autumn soon! Ella will be 11 months old soon and I don't know where time is going. E now says, "all done" after she is finished eating. So sweet! This past summer flew by but we really enjoyed our schedule. Mike was home with Ella and I, and we had a great time.
For those of you who don't know it yet, I just wanted to inform you that we are on the move!! We have moved out of Beverly Shores and are in the process of extensively renovating our Valpo home. It is coming along smoothly with the help of our contractors. Can't wait to experience the end result!

We wait to be in a more kid friendly neighborhood and have ammenities closer such as grocery stores, shops, and our much desired SIDEWALKS (which we lacked in Beverly Shores).
Mike and I have such fond memories of the Valpo home. We have never lived there together, but have many memories of Valpo from when we first met and were dating. We feel our lives will have come full circle in a way when we bring Baby Ella "home" to Valpo. :) Although we purchased our Crown Point home with the intention of staying for awhile, we always missed "the cottage" as we referred to our house in Valpo.

As we await completion of the construction we are back in the Long Beach house for a bit. Mike and I moved here in 07 and didn't realize how much we missed LB when we lived in Beverly Shores. We are so happy to be back in such a place that feels so alive. There are actually flowers and manicured lawns here. Not to mention the friendlier people. Ella likes to point out the birds as the wind blows on her face on the beach.

There seems to be a lot less mosquitoes so we can enjoy the outdoors. (The "environmental enthusiasts" of Bev. Shores didn't believe in spraying for mosquitoes). We are loving it here and enjoying the weather while it lasts. It seems Old Man Winter will be at our doorstep again in no time.

Sabrina and I took Ella to the Lighthouse Mall. She loves the Elmo car there (as you can tell by the pictures). She screams when she sees that thing! So, I had to share with you her excitement (in the pics). It is a blast to take her there. She makes me laugh by dancing to the music on the speakers outside (at the mall) and waving to everyone.

Hope everyone is enjoying the rest of their summer!

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.