Summertime is here

Ella is definitely a water baby! She loves it!

Trip to Texas

Talking to cousin Erin

I love Katie

Zachary, Erin, Gina Carol, Rodney, Aunt Regina, and Ella

So we had a rough week this week. Cameron's dad passed away Sunday and we went to Texas to be with family for a few days. It was a quick trip and we wished we could have stayed longer but we had to get back. We are sad that Ella isn't going to have the chance to grow up knowing her Grandpa and what a wonderful man he was but she will always know how much he loved her! Everyone out there had heard all about Ella from him....people we didn't even know came up to us and told us how he talked about Ella all the time....one thing is for sure....he was a proud Grandpa! We will miss him tremendously! Here are a few pics from the trip. Ella, of course, was a trooper! We drove and broke the trip up as much as possible.

9 Month Checkup

See my big gappy teeth?

What?

Could I get any cuter?

This is so fake but I love it!

We went a few weeks ago for Ella's 9 month checkup. She was a trooper during her shot....only poked that little lip out and that was about it! Her pediatrician said she is as healthy as can be. She weighs 22 lbs. and is 30 1/2 inches long. She is in the 90th percentile for weight and off the charts for height....imagine that.....she is thinking really hard about walking but knows she can get wherever she needs by speed crawling across the floor. She is cruising around holding onto to things and I keep thinking she is going to let go and take off one day. She can stand by herself for a few seconds but then either gets so excited she falls or gets scared and falls. Needless to say, our baby is growing up way too fast! I am so excited about summer and spending everyday with her.

E.C.C.

Tired little baby

Foster loving on Ella

Tatelyn and Ella...these

two are going to be trouble when

they get a little older...

Our family

Ella and Aunt Liz
The Smiths

Natalie Jane

So NJS is not feeling like being

photographed and Ella was concerned

Here are a few pics from our weekend...

Mother's Day

My sweet girl

I felt so blessed and loved on Mother's Day. Today I thought a lot about how God chose ME to be Ella Craker's mom. How blessed am I? Last Mother's Day at church they asked all the moms to stand and I remember sitting there.....big and uncomfortable.....and thinking about what my first Mother's Day would be like....today was great! We spent the day together as a family and I couldn't have had a more perfect day!

Fun in the Sun

So we bought a plastic pool and stuck it in the backyard and it is now Ella's favorite place to be! She loves it!

Ella and Roseola

Ok so as bad as these pics look, if you could have only seen her in person... Ella and I went up to Aliceville during my Spring Break and she seemed a little cranky towards the end of our trip. Well we came back on Friday and on Saturday morning she seemed to be REALLY fussy....which is not Ella's style at all. I decided to take her to the doctor just to get checked out....I am so glad I did! We saw a dr. that I had never seen before because Ella's Pediatrician wasn't working that day. As she looked in her left ear she asked,"Has she ever had a problem with her ears?" I said,"No, not at all! She has always had perfectly good ears!" Then she looked in her right ear and said, "Here is the problem!" So I guess I jinxed Ella's run of no ear infections. She gave her some meds and said it should clear it up! So Wednesday Reise called me at school and told me that Ella had a fever...I was worried that maybe the antibiotics weren't working so we went to Dr. and he said it was something viral....no big deal at all! Gigi came so I wouldn't have to miss work. Around noon on Thursday she called me at work and said her fever was above 104 and so I called the Dr. and once again, we went back! They did lots of tests and we came to the conclusion that she had probably had the flu.....but was on the tail end of it....I was upset....How could I have not known she had the flu?????? So we kept giving her motrin to keep her fever down and Saturday morning I went upstairs to get her out of bed and when I walked in her room and looked in her crib there was this little spotted baby laying in the bed.... so to make a long story short...she had Roseola! I would like to think that I have read everything there is about sick babies but obviously not, I had never heard of this! Apparently it is very common, much like Chicken Pox! Baby runs a really high fever for a few days and when the fever breaks they break out in a terrible rash....it's terrible alright....see the pics....

9 months old

Reise and Ella at the pool

Working on feeding myself

Our little girl is 9 months old! It is so hard to believe. Before long we will be getting ready for her first birthday party. She is pulling up on everything and tries to let go sometimes but she usually falls down right away! She is a determined little girl and stubborn. She can sometimes be a little sensitive. She has become a "mama's girl" but also loves the attention she gets from her daddy! She is all over the place....loves to try to sneak up the stairs but I usually catch her... a few nights ago I was making bottles and turned around to catch her on the 6th step. She is still a happy girl...of course she has her moments, but don't we all? We went back to the eye dr. yesterday and he said we might have to eventually go in and put a stint in her left eye because it is not working the way it should but it could correct itself on its own......that is what we are hoping and praying for. I have to admit I have been slacking when it comes to updating her blog....with only 3 weeks of school left, I promise to do better!

Fun with friends

Hey what are you looking at?

One decent one after about 20 tries

Ella won't take her own sippy cup

but sure loves Bryant's

Sitting outside enjoying a beautiful morning

Here are a few pictures of Ella...she is growing and changing everyday!