The Zoo

We recently took a trip to the Zoo with the Macklins, and it was so fun to see Ella react to all the animals. She is in such a fun stage where the tiniest things fascinate and thrill her. Ants on the sidewalk are a delight! Here are some pictures from the zoo...

Andy and baby Graham....

This is one tired (but happy) girl, enjoying a ride in Graham's stroller....

Recent Pictures of Ella

This is a DAILY occurrence - Ella gets into my jewelry box....

I appreciate that Ella will actually put the mess away for me when I ask her to.

This is Ella having her first candy! It's a pink sucker that she got from the bank. She loved it so much....and made a gooey mess of her hands and clothes....

Waiting for Daddy to come home by the front door....she was carrying his drink for him...

Playing with mama's scarf....

Lounging on the couch with Daddy....

Taking an evening bath with Charlie...

Eating dinner, wiping ketchup in hair, and then attending a birthday party for Natalie with ketchup slicked hair....

Meeting baby Emma

In May, Ella and Amy had a road trip together. It started with a 5 hour drive North seeing our family by the Canadian border, and ended with meeting Alison & Dustin's new baby Emma!

Welcome to the world, Baby Emma!! You're a doll...



Sleeping Emma....

Love the stretch....

Here are our firstborn daughters....just being cute....

And a hilarious attempt at a group shot of all the ladies...Ella clearly was not into the photo shoot. :)

Ella's accessories

Well, I didn't really realize how excited Ella has been about accessories until I took a glimpse back at our pictures of our trip up North in May. Here we are at Grandpa Mike & Grandma Lisa's house, and Ella is wearing her Aunt Courtney's necklaces....

And then seeing Grandma Gretchen. Cute piano picture....but wait for it....

Earrings!! YES, Clip-ons! Grandma had a few lingering in her jewelry box, and Ella was pretty thrilled. Ella is so interested in earrings that, to my dismay, I can only wear little tiny ones for fear that she will get too excited about them in my ears and pull on them. Ah, the many sacrifices of a mother....

Ella and Charlie

Thanks to Amber for these cute shots of Ella and Charlie!! Love these....

Our big girl

Ella has changed so much recently. She just started walking and toddles all over our condo. It's the cutest thing. Really....I could watch it all day long. She also wants to be doing whatever I'm (Amy) doing during the day. She wants to "fold" clothes with me, sweep the floor, wipe her hands, empty the dishwasher, cook, stir, vacuum (as you see below), etc. Of course, these helping behaviors really just create more work for us. :) She has opinions on everything, says yes and no, can communicate most anything she wants to. She is an incredibly sweet and cuddly girl, but has a strong will and can throw a seriously major tantrum. We love her for exactly who she was created to be.

She also loves going for bike rides!

She is eating a lot more these days, and if you even say the word "Ketchup"....she smiles....

Oh, cute girl.....this makes me just want to kiss her cheeks forever....

And here is a sweet picture of David with Ella and Charlie. Ella wore pigtails for the first time that day ("Ella's Ponies"), which she LOVED. I love the faces on all three of them here.... :)

A Wine Spectacular

To kick off the month of May, we got to go to an amazing wine event with the Macklins. There were 3 restaurants within walking distance of each other featuring Pinot Noirs from 15 wineries in Oregon - YAY! So, at each of these 3 restaurants (we love all three!) there were appetizers specifically paired with pinots from 5 of the 15 wineries. We walked from place to place, but opted for the pedicab back to square one.

Here we are at the rooftop of Noble Rot....

And the pedicab :)

And a cute end of the night picture of Ella with Andy before she headed to bed....