McKinley Park Ducks & Squirrels

McKinley Park:
We had a fun day on Monday, June 25th - the park and swimming.  After we completed our morning errands, Ella napped on the car ride to pick up the Adair kids.  She loves having them in the car with her (and so do I!).  We love McKinley park and all of its creatures roaming around.  We spent a couple hours playing by the pond, chasing squirrels, and having a small picnic.  It was a fun lunch with the kids at the park.

Videos:  Ella, Paige and Jack feeding the ducks (June 25, 2012).

Video:  Ella wants to touch the ducks (June 25, 2012).

Video:  Ella walking around the play ground (June 25, 2012).

Video:  Ella chasing the squirrels (June 25, 2012).

Pictures: Ella at McKinley Park (June 25, 2012).

When we got home, Ella was thrilled to have the kids over and she loves to play with Isaac.  He has a certain charm that gets her laughing.  I love it!

Video:  Ella loves playing with Isaac (June 25, 2012).

After everyone took their afternoon nap, we joined McKenzie and Ethan at the Recreation Center for a swim.  Ella scraped her left knee while walking to the pool.  Sigh, now both of her knees are scraped up. She had a good time in the bench entrance splashing around.

Picture:  McKenzie feeding Ella grapes (June 25, 2012).

Busy but fun day!

Kids Swimming Party

We hosted our first kids swimming party with Ella this past Saturday, June 23rd for our congregation.  We had about 30 kids varying different ages come and everyone seemed to have a great time despite the breeze and semi-warm weather.  We were hoping for a hot sunny day, but it all worked out!  Ella was her usual clingy self at the beginning of the party but was more sociable towards the end.

Video:  Ella eating with the rest of the kids (June 23, 2012).

Video:  Ella at the recreation pool (June 23, 2012).

Picture:  Ella sitting and eating with the kids (June 23, 2012).

Picture:  Ella joining the kids playing with the punching balls (June 23, 2012).

Picture:  Ella with the big purple ball (June 23, 2012).

Picture:  Ella watching Wyatt playing with the ball (June 23, 2012).

Overall, we had a fun time with all the kids and their folks.  Ella behaved for most of it which was great especially since she didn't get her afternoon nap. When we got home, I notice she got her first knee scrape ;(  Doesn't seem to bother her but still breaks my heart to see her get hurt.

Picture:  Ella's first scrape on her right knee (June 24, 2012). 

Wayside Noodles and Library

On Wednesday, June 20th, we went on a wonderful play date with Tien and Claire.  We met downtown in front of the library, went to the farmers market, had lunch at Wayside Noodles, and then enjoyed the library.  Fun morning with the girls ;)

Video: Ella and Claire playing on the sidewalk (June 20, 2012).

Video:  Ella and Claire at Wayside Noodles (June 20, 2012).

Video:  Ella and Claire walking around the library (June 20, 2012).

After Tien and Claire left, we decided to stay a little longer until Brian was done with his errands.  Ella made a few new friends and just loves being around books!  I hope she continues her love for books as she gets older.

Video:  Ella making new friends at the library (June 20, 2012).

Pictures:  Ella making friends and enjoying the library (June 20, 2012).

We made it home just as Brian got home!  Spent the afternoon hanging out together as a family, went to the recreation center for a swim, and relaxed the rest of the evening.

Video:  Ella eating a snack after going in for a swim (June 20, 2012).

8th Grade Graduation Pool Party

Costco & Play Date:
We spent last Friday, June 15th at Costco, with the Adair kids and an 8th grade graduation pool party.  While at Costco, we bumped into Isaac, Paige and Jack and Ella had a blast with the kids.  Ella especially loved having Isaac entertain her while I was paying for our items.  Afterward, we were able to take the Adair kids home with us and spent the afternoon playing before the going to the pool party.

Video:   Isaac entertaining Ella at Costco (June 15, 2012).

Picture:  Paige feeding Ella her lunch (June 15, 2012).

8th Grade Graduation Pool Party for Genna and Olivia
Ella got invited to her first pool party to celebrate Genna and Olivia's 8th grade graduation.  We didn't go into the pool as she doesn't like the pool (but she sure does love the beach entrance at the rec center).  However, she loved eating watermelon and dancing in front of the friends.  Good times as always.

Video:  Ella relaxing on Sabrina's swing next to the pool (June 15, 2012).

Picture:  Ella chilling by the pool watching the kids (June 15, 2012).

;)

Wednesday - October 12, 2011

Happy hump day!  Ella woke up this morning about 7:30am and was one chatty girl.  After she was fed and changed, she played in her activity walker for most of the morning until we left for her swim class.

Video:  Ella in the pool

Our poor girl needed a nap so pool time wasn't the most enjoyable today.  Toward the end of the swim lesson, she already fell asleep on my shoulder.  BUT it was so cute!  We came home, gave her a bath, fed her rice cereal, and she went down for her afternoon nap at 12:30pm to 3:20pm.

Ella's First Moment:  Flipping from stomach to back

I am so excited to report that Ella has officially learned to flip from her stomach to back.  I've been giving her lots of tummy time and it finally paid off.  Practice pays off ;)

Video:  Ella flipping!  This is her third and final flip before she was ready for something else.

What's the best way to end the night?  with laughter of course!  Ella went down for bed at 9:20pm.  ;)
Video:  Ella with Daddy laughing

Wednesday - October 5, 2011

Ella made up for the previous night's lack of sleep as she went to bed from 11:15pm to 8:30am.  She slept like a rockstar last night.  I even had to wake her up this morning she was so sleepy.  Fed the dogs, got us dressed and then headed out to Davis.

Morning Activities:  Swimming?  Ella is over 5 months and we're now joining SwimAmerica in Davis ;)  We wanted to intro Ella to the pool, learn safety techniques, and have fun.  It's a great facility - indoor pool, heated, friendly staff, and patient instructor. 

Picture:  Ella after her first swimming lesson (thanks to Uncle Jason and Aunt Alicia for this awesome swimsuit)

Afternoon Activities:  Ella is on Day 3 without a dirty diaper.  I initially wanted to wait and see if she would go but decided to give her a bath right away as to rinse off all the chlorine from the pool.  Ella's hair is starting to get long and heavy as it doesn't stick straight up as it use to.  It still has lots of volume though!

Picture:  Ella after a bath

Ella took a mini nap and then woke up to Brian coming home from errands.  While Brian took a nap, we tested out the summer infant seat activity accessory.  As you can see from the video, it's a hit with Ella ;)


Video:  Ella playing in her summer infant activity seat

Pictures:  Ella trying to reach and grab her toys while in the swing

Evening Activities:  We haven't seen Ella's Great Grandpa Steele in a while so we made plans to bring dinner to him and spend quality time.  We were fortunate that Ella fell asleep on the car ride and during dinner (allowed us to eat with both hands!).  She eventually woke up and received lots of love from her Great Grandpa.
Video:  Ella with Great Grandpa Steele

Pictures:  Ella with Great Grandpa

Picture:  Ella with her Daddy

We got home, fed the dogs and played with Ella until about 10:30pm.  ;)