Chilly nap time

I guess the room Ella's pack'n'play was set up was a bit cold Friday afternoon... I put her down for her nap and when I went back in to check on her about an hour later she had somehow managed to wrap herself up like a little burrito in her blankets. Silly girl!

I love cucumbers... and so does my baby!

Anyone who knows me well knows that, as a child, the only "green" food that ever went into my body was cucumbers. I absolutely loved (and still love) them... I guess Ella has taken a liking to them as well. This past week at the beach when her gums were bothering her my mom had the bright idea to giver a cold cucumber to chew on. It worked like a charm! She didn't want to put it down! I guess she comes by it honestly.

Sunset Beach

Last week Ella and I were lucky enough to be invited to the beach with my parents. Hooray, I love the beach! Well, beach vacations are very different with a baby. I usually just grab my chair and book and hit the sand as soon as I wake up in the morning and just sit out there all day long. Not so much when you have a baby with you. I waited till after Ella's morning nap everyday to get her all greased up with the sunscreen (I used SPF 70- probably going a bit overboard) and into her swim diaper and bathing suit. Then load up the beach bag with the necessecities and head out. This trip was even different from when we went a couple of months ago because now Ella will not go to sleep out there- she wants to make sure she doesn't miss anything. So I could only stay out there as long as she wasn't having a meltdown from exhaustion. Anyway, we put her in the ocean for the first time and she LOVED it!! Which really comes as no surprise as much as she like to splash in the bathtub. But even the salt didn't bother her. She couldn't quite figure out the sand, tried to eat it and realized maybe she shouldn't put it in her mouth, but enjoyed digging around in it all the same.
We also figured out that Ella enjoys cold water to drink. I have tried to give it to her before and she wanted nothing to do with it out of a sippy cup... but straight out of the water bottle she was all about it. It probably helped that it was getting the taste of the seawater out of her mouth. When we got back inside the empty bottle rolled out of my bag and she scooted right over to it, and I think was a bit irritated that there was no water in it for her to drink. But she did enjoy playing with it for a while.

Cat's dress

Ok, so Fox did post some pictures on line from the results show. Unfortunately there is not a close up of Cat's dress so you'll have to settle for a group shot. Love it!!

Why bother with crawling?

Ella's not so new favorite activity is standing up. She's always been a fan of it but lately it's all she wants to do. Obviously, she can't do it by herself. But if she's laying down and you hold her hands she will stiffen her body like a board and pull as hard as she can to get herself vertical. She's got some serious muscles in those legs of hers! Now she's also figured out that if she puts one foot in front of the other we pretty much have to go wherever she wants to. Here she is leading Bryan around the bonus room.

But don't be decieved... her legs are not all muscle. There is plenty of meat there too. Seriously, the girl's got some chunk! Chekc these puppies out.

Cute Shots

Here are just some cute photos of Ella I've taken over the last few days. Enjoy!
Teething is awesome.
I kind of think she's looking at me like, "I'm going over there Mommy, and you can't stop me!"
A new fave toy... pull the tail and it vibrates plus the wings are filled that crinkly paper. She loves it!

Hamming it up for the camera.

So You Think You Can Dance week 2

First and foremost... THANK YOU Shane Sparks for not completely bailing on SYTYCD. The group piece last night was fantastic and I hope to see much more this season!

Thank God we finally got rid of the "club rat" (so aptly named by my sister) Susie. What a joke of a dancer she was... I think it was self-evident when she drew the salsa out of the hat, her supposed strength. She biffed it big time. In fact, Alex Da Silva, the choreographer, even said she was a street salsa dancer, not a real one. Peace out, Susie, you won't be missed by me.

Oh Marquis, I think you got robbed last night. Are you the strongest of the bottom 3 boys? Perhaps not, but you did, however, kick everyone's butt in the "Dance for your life" section and I'm sorry that the judges thought you were all tricks. To me that was way better than Chris just running around the stage and contracting every now and then. Alas, I am not the decision maker.

And oh Cat Deeley, once again you did not dissapoint. I'm so sad that there are no pictures yet of the fabulous dress she wore last night! What I would give to have it hanging in my closet along with an excuse to wear it. Hopefully Fox will update the website soon and I can post a picture so all of you to feast your eyes on it.

Ella's friends

Ella and I have been going to Kernersville every Tuesday for the last 4 months to a Mommy & Me group that has been most fun. It's getting harder for me now that Ella's on the move but we've (I've) learned so much there from the other moms and the guest speakers. A few of Ella's buddies have "aged out" so we took some pictures this morning. We've got plans to keep getting together every couple of weeks since the girls are so close in age... hopefully we'll get that going soon!

Kira and Ella... Kira is 9 days older than Ella.Kira, Ella, and Camryn all very interested in the Baby Signs flash cards. Camryn's 5 weeks older than Ella and twice as big but such a cutie!!A better picture of Camryn... that's Irelyn in the back about to snatch the card out of Ella's mouth.Ella was not too happy about Irelyn taking her flash card and was in a big hurry to get it back.
One last picture of the girls... Kira, Ella, Camryn, and Irelyn.

More from the beach...

Okay, so I finally took the other disposable camera from our "girl's weekend" at the beach with the Brundage girls... again, let me curse the fact that I left the digital camera battery at home b/c disposable cameras are the worst. For some reason I don't ever remember pics being this bad when I used them in the past, but whatever, they're all I have so I guess I'll just get over it and embrace them, fuzzinness and all. Just to make myself fell better I'll call them "vintage" rather than "fuzzy"... maybe that will help.

Here's Ella chewing on her toes... I know this was a while ago but at the time it was pretty amusing to watch. She's not doing it so much these days.

Riley, Logan and Ella (starting at top) lounging around in their diapers after a long day on the beach. What a life!

Riley entertaining the little ones.... I'd bet $1000 she was keeping them busy so Carrie and I could pour another glass of wine.

Ella and Logan ready to hit the beach.

My apologies for posting such old pictures! They're just such cute girls I couldn't resist.

So You Think You Can Dance

All right, I admit it. I have a not so secret obsession with the show "So You Think You Can Dance." Usually by the end of the first show I already have decided who's going to win, and so far have been pretty close, if not right on the money, with my guesses. However, the talent this year is scary good and I honestly have no clue who it's going to be. I hate to think I might not get to see any Shane Sparks hip-hop choreography this year- bad move on his part if he's jumped to America's Best Dance Crew (on MTV) permanently. Nappytab's routines have been solid so far, but not as great as Shane's so that will make me very sad.

Sadly, I think I am as obsessed with Cat Deeley's wardrobe on the show as I am the dance pieces. Seriously, how much do I want this dress???

I can't wait to see what the rest of the season has to offer!!

S'Mores Brownies

We had some people over this weekend for some BBQ and beer... sadly I have no pictures to post. That's really pathetic on my part, I know. Anyway, everyone raved about the s'mores brownies I made so I figured I'd post the recipe for those interested. Also, if any of you are ever in the mood for a glass of Pinot Grigio please feel free to stop by anytime... I bought a case and I swear we only went through 4 bottles. With 50 people I have no idea how that happened.

10 HONEY MAID Honey Grahams, broken in half (20 squares), divided
3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) butter or margarine
4 squares BAKER'S Unsweetened Baking Chocolate
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup flour
2-1/2 cups JET-PUFFED Miniature Marshmallows
1 cup BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chunks

HEAT oven to 350°F. Line 13x9-inch baking pan with foil; grease foil. Place 15 grahams in pan, overlapping slightly. Break remaining grahams into pieces; set aside.

MICROWAVE butter and chocolate in large microwaveable bowl on HIGH 2 min.; stir until melted. Add sugar, eggs and vanilla; mix well. Stir in flour. Pour over grahams in pan.

BAKE 30 to 32 min. or until toothpick inserted in center comes out with fudgy crumbs. (Do not overbake.) Sprinkle with marshmallows and chocolate chunks. Bake 3 to 5 min. or until marshmallows begin to puff. Press reserved graham pieces gently into marshmallows. Cool. Use foil to remove brownies from pan before cutting to serve.

Six month check up

This morning Ella and I were off to Northwest Pediatrics for her 6 month check-up. I cannot believe she's already half a year old! Everything was great... she's weighing in at 14lb, 12oz and is 24 5/8 inches long (tall). Right on track for where she should be. She's a bit on the small side of average, but based on her progress since birth no one seems very worried about it. Basically she's perfect... not that I needed a doctor to tell me that!

Hooray for Sweet Potatoes!

We ended up delaying real food for Ella a bit... at her 4 month check up the Dr. Vapne said we could start her on rice cereal so we tried and it was a disaster. She just wasn't ready for it yet. Well, now I'm starting to think she was ready for food- just not that nasty rice cereal. I made an executive decision to delay the food, partly because I didn't think she was ready and partly because of all the travelling we were doing there was no way we would be able to get her into any sort of routine. So when we returned from Orlando I tried the rice cereal again. Major trainwreck! It was all over the place because she just kept spitting it out she'd get her hands away from me and smear it all over her face and bib, anything to keep from swallowing it. But she was opening her mouth for the spoon so I knew she'd figured it out, it must just taste awful. Monday night we tried sweet potatoes... jackpot! We had figured out that she has a bit of a sweet tooth because she loves to suck the juice off of our fingers if we've been eating fruits. Boy did she go to town on those sweet potatoes! And hooray for her Daddy, who's so good at feeding her! She's a very neat eater, and he's so good about scraping the excess off of her face. And it's a great bonding time for them each night.

Since the realization that she likes "real people food" better than the rice goop we've given her applesauce and green beans too... both were sucessful! I think tonight we'll try a little butternut squash and see how that goes over.

I'm still putting the vitamins in her bottle once a day so the Dr. says she doesn't really need the rice cereal since she's geting iron from that, the only benefit it has is to fill her little tummy. I'm gonna try oatmeal I think and see if she likes that better.

Fun time in Orlando

Yes, we put Ella on yet another plane this past weekend. She's such a great little traveller! We left Thursday afternoon on Southwest headed to sunny Florida, again. Only this time it was just for fun and relaxation. The point of the trip was to visit our friends the Parks. We hadn't seen them since last March, when we went skiing in Breckenridge together. It was so wonderful to catch up with them! Thursday night we went to dinner at a cool place called City Fish, right next door to Michael's office. Angel and Michael are expecting a baby boy, their first, in October so we decided to break Michael in... here he is carrying Ella's seat and Angel's purse. That's my kind of man! And don't worry- we've already talked about an arranged marriage for Baby Parks and Ella.

Friday the girls hung out by the pool in the backyard while the boys went to play golf. Friday was my birthday (the big 30) and Ella's 1/2 birthday. Angel and Michael were so sweet and got me a cake! We went to dinner at Houston's, which is on a gorgeous lake in Winter Park and the food, atmosphere, and company were perfect for the celebration!!
We spent the rest of the evening in thier hot tub watching the basketball game and drinking. I'll let you choose which drink was mine and which was Ella's.

Saturday we were able to see the shuttle launch from their backyard, which was pretty cool. The PIcs don't do it justice but I'll post some anyway. Angel and I went to get pedicures and do some shopping while the boys were on baby duty. Saturday night was more good food and conversation. As I'm going through these pictures I've realized I don't have one of the four of us, darn it! Oh well, we're hoping they'll head up our way late summer and I'll be sure to get some then. Here's a cute one of Angel and Ella. They are going to be such great parents!!!

Steel City

Another trip to add to the books of Ella's short life... a drive to the Steel City, Pittsburgh, PA. Bryan's Aunt Becky got married the weekend of May 23rd. Thanks to Skybus closing their doors we decided to make the drive in the Yukon. We let around 5PM Thursday night, just in time for Ella's nap. Good call. She slept for a good hour and half. The next hour and half I sat in the back seat an entertained her. We stopped in Summersville, WV to spend the night and got back on the road Early Friday morning. Made it to Pittsburgh in another 3 hours or so. Checked into the hotel and we were set for the weekend. All the cousins came in from all over the country (GA, TX, MI, and CA) so it was great to see them all. Friday we just hung out and went to dinner with everyone. Here's a pic of Ella and her 2nd cousin, Chloe.

Saturday we did a lot of sightseeing during the day. We went down town to Pointe State Park. Ella enjoyed the time in the Baby Bjorn, taking in all that the city had to offer. Here a a few shots from downtown.

Ella fell alseep on the way to lunch.

For lunch we went to Primanti Brothers. Great place, total dive. Looking at the menu we noticed that the Philly Cheese Steak was the #2 best seller but no one could find what was #1. So we asked. The number one seller at Primanti Brothers? The beer, of course! The concept of the place is simple, no overhead and no utensils. So they just go ahead and put the cole slaw and french fries on your sandwhich, and serve it to you on wax paper. It was so tasty. Ella really wanted to tryBryan's Cheese Steak.

Saturday night we went to the wedding. Here's Mike, Jessie and Nathan waiting to be seated. And a family photo of us in our Sunday best.

And perhaps my fave picture from the whole weekend.... Ella and her Holcomb men. I love this photo!!!