I often think about how many people told me to enjoy Ella as a baby because in a blink of an eye she would be grown. At the time, I didn't think too much about it but now the reality of what they said has set in. I find myself saying all the time, "I can't believe Ella is already a year old!" Not only is Ella a year old, but Cory and I have been parents for an entire year! If I could only put into words what this first year of parenthood has been like. She has brought new meaning to our lives and to who we are as people. This first year has been challenging and frustrating at times, but has been the most rewarding experience we could have ever imagined! She makes us smile when we are having a bad day, love with all of our hearts, overlook the mess that needs cleaning up when we can play instead, appreciate the small things in life that money can't buy, and most of all thankful to God for the gift he's blessed us with!

Here's what's new with Ella...

~Ella is constantly making us laugh with her new expressions and her own little language she
speaks. She talks non-stop about something...if we only knew what she was saying!
~She loves pointing her finger to show us what she wants or to fuss back at us. We're trying to
teach her "NO" and every time we fuss at her she responds by jabbering something back and
shaking her finger at us! It's hard to discipline her because it's so funny!
~She loves Baby Einstein and The Wiggles (Daddy refuses to watch The Wiggles...ha ha!)
~She wrinkles her nose when she smiles big! I love it because her happiness shows on her whole
face.
~She LOVES blueberries! Nana & Paw-Paw have blueberry bushes and Ella has figured out how
to pick her own.
~She loves playing with puzzles and can actually put the pieces and shapes where they belong.
~When she's sleepy she starts pulling at her hair. Sometimes she gets a hold of mine instead and
pulls a handful out...OUCH!!
~She wiggles and squirms making it extremely hard to change her diaper! Often we end up
changing as well!
~Her favorite things are: ice cream, mac n' cheese, white grape juice & Paw-Paw juice (AKA
Pepsi--only when Mommy isn't looking), singing silly songs, swinging on her swing set,
swimming at the pool
~She's much happier in her car seat since she can face forward. She points at the DVD player
now when she gets in Daddy's car. Instead of the radio, we get to listen to classical music from
the Einstein DVD collection. I think I now know every song Bach composed!
~She puts the telephone to her ear and says "Hey!" She's 100% girl :) She's also managed to text message several of my friends while playing with my cell phone! We're in trouble since she's
starting at such an early age!
~She kisses with her mouth open and gives big slobbery kisses :)
~She likes to walk on her tip toes like a ballerina
~She has a temper (like her Daddy...ha ha!). I never thought such a sweet little girl could raise
such a fuss! :)

Everyday is a new adventure with lots of new discoveries both for Ella and us. It's so much fun watching her grow and discover the big world around her!

Here is a collection of some of my favorite pictures of Ella throughout this first year. I'm working on copying all my picture files to CDs and an external hard drive because I've already used up all the memory on my computer! I couldn't believe it but I have over 4,o00 pictures on my computer!

Ella's favorite food is ICE CREAM! We were at the pool on Saturday and Aunt Candy gave Ella a vanilla popsicle. Aunt Candy was eating a chocolate popsicle...BUT...somehow, Ella ended up with both of them! She would alternate eating the two flavors. By the time she was finished, there was ice cream EVERYWHERE! Her hands were so sticky! Here are some pictures I took of Ella enjoying her popsicles!

This evening we went to my grandparent's house to visit with family. Ella's Great-Great Aunt Mary and Cousin Carol are here visiting from Virginia and her Great-Great Aunt Jesse and Uncle Thurman are here from Mt. Airy. Ella spent the evening entertaining everyone! She is such a little ham :) We had such a good time visiting with them! The best part of the evening was Ella walking! We've been trying to get Ella to walk for a while now, but I guess it took a crowd to get her motivated! After she finished walking, she threw her hands up in the air and laughed and squealed! It was hilarious! She was SO proud of herself! We all clapped for her which excited her even more. She walked several more times and after she stopped she would clap her little hands together for herself. It was too cute!

Well, I must say that this 4th of July started out with a "bang!" We were at the pediatrician's office this morning at 8:30. Ella was there a little over a week ago with a fever and they started her on antibiotics. She finished taking her last dose of antibiotics and then the very next morning she woke up with a fever again. I called the pediatrician and he said to bring her in this morning. They did every test imaginable and found no sign of infection. So, based on her blood work they concluded that she has a viral infection which should clear up in a couple of days. Ella was feeling better this afternoon so we decided to join the Bolick Family for a cookout at the pool. We ate way too much...but it was so good! Especially the homemade chocolate ice cream! Ella had fun playing with her cousins Brittney, Gracie, & Madalyn at the pool. They all love Ella Baby and she loves them too!

We hope everyone had a happy & safe 4th!

Loving some chocolate ice cream!

Ella is legal! She can officially ride forward facing in the car! Yesterday, Cory installed the new car seats into both of our vehicles. Ella looked stunned when we put her in the car seat for the first time. She looked around for a few minutes trying to figure out what was going on. She looked at us like we had messed up and put her in the car the wrong way! Once we started driving, she was so amazed at all the new things she was seeing (instead of the back of the seat). She smiled the whole time! She LOVES her new car seat! She doesn't even fuss when we put her in it! Mommy & Daddy are loving this new sitting arrangement too because it is SOOO much easier getting her in and out of the car. Less work for all of us! Today we decided to introduce Ella to Daddy's DVD player in the Tahoe. She was amazed! She pointed at it and smiled from ear to ear! We watched a little bit of Cars on the way to Aunt Ashley & Uncle Matt's for dinner. I have a feeling we are going to be watching Barney & Baby Einstein all the way to the beach in a few weeks :)

Dad, are you sure this is right?