Life With Ella

We miss everyone back east.  Big hugs and kisses to all of you.  Ella of course has adapted to business as usual.  I love that about her.  She does not dwell.  She’s pretty much in the here and now.

Cindy, Ella and Sunny on their way into the Acme Chophouse.

Jumping off the Willie Mays statue.

Another crazy outfit.

At the aquarium.

I think this relationship has the potential to be a great children’s book.

Our little princess.  How did this happen?

Best buddies no matter what kind of mood they are in.

Ella and Juliet singing to KJ…

WATCH THIS ADORABLE VIDEO

It seems like we have so much going on.  Cindy left today after visiting for 3 days and now we are getting ready to leave for Hawaii next week.  I am very tired so I will put a few pics up of Ella and then a happy birthday message from Ella to Heather.  Happy birthday SIL – Aunt Heather.  We love you.  Hope you have a beautiful day.

Ella learning how to use a screwdriver.

The loveliness of Ella.

NOW FOR HEATHER’S BIRTHDAY SONG…

While we were in NJ, Ella spent a lot of time in the pool.  At the Leonia pool, Ella played most of the time in the kiddie pool.  At papa’s club, Ella hung out in the kiddie pool and then really started to love the big pool.  By the end of July, Ella took 2 swimming lessons and was taking some risks, but really did not want to put her head under water.  Ella built up a lot of confidence over the past month and all of her hard work finally paid off.  The video at the end of this entry shows Ella “swimming” at the pool that we go to.  Grandma and papa – you will be so proud when you watch this video.  Now we need to get her lessons so she can really learn how to swim.  Sunny’s sister Cindy came in tonight and we had a great dinner at Nama and then we came back here and Cindy read some books to Ella.  The books were “Angelina Ballerina” books and Ella and aunt Cindy acted out some of the dance moves.

Ella fooling around and enjoying her noodles at Nama.

Reading “Angelina Ballerina” and then acting it out with aunt Cindy.

Here’s the swimming video…

It just seems like the days roll by…some big news for Ella – she has officially slept for 4 nights without her pacifier.  This bedtime pacifier was the last thing that Ella really had to give up.  It’s been rough.  Ella has been falling asleep much later and spending more time in our bed than I like, but it’s a transition and this too shall pass.  After she sleeps for 7 nights without her pacifier (we figure she’ll be over it by then) she will get a gumball machine.  The machine is already in the house and Ella can look at it every day, but we are waiting for that goal day and then she can put a magic penny in the machine and a surprise color gumball will come out!  This weekend we went to the SFMOMA on Saturday and then to Stern Grove on Sunday with Debby, Toby and some of their friends for a picnic and a live Roberta Flack concert.  The day was beautiful.  The 3 of us took public transportation to the concert and Ella was a fantastic trooper.  The video at the end is of Ella “reading” Green Eggs and Ham to herself.  She can’t read at all, but she’s a fantastic actress.

Ella dancing around in this strange sculpture that they had on one of the terraces.  Look carefully in photo #2 and you can see mommy watching from the other side.

I look at this and think of happiness.

Ella walking on the bridge.  She is fearless. At one point she squatted down to see the people 5 floors below.

Butterflies and spiders.

Exploring…

Relaxing…

The other day Ella told me that I was short and she was tall like mommy.  She is already more than half my height!

Making a wish in front of the Jewish museum.

Chillin’ with mommy and eating a co0kie at the Roberta Flack concert.

Ella let me wear her headband for a while.

Hanging out with Debby.

Beautiful shots of Ella with Debby and Toby.

Roberta Flack singing “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?”

Now for the video…

This is going to be really quick.  We are all very excited about our trip back east.  Ella is counting down the days.  Yesterday, Sunny came home with a jump rope for Ella.  Watch the video at the end to see a happy kid and a jump rope.  It’s pretty funny.

Our beauty getting ready to go to school.

After school.

Fun and friendship.  Ella and Brickelle having a blast after school.

Jumping rope is a great hallway activity – especially the way Ella does it!

This is a really unflattering picture of me, but it’s also really cool…Ella took it.

Now for the video…

Today was a sweet day.  We hung around the house, friends came over for brunch and we did more playing and hanging out.  Our good friend Carol (KK To Ella) just came home from having 2 knees replaced and Ella has a shout out for her.  Hang in there Carol – all your hard work is going to pay off!

Before the video here are a few photos of Ella and Towby from today.  Ella was playing with Towby and asked Sunny to take some pictures.

And now for the shout out…

The weekend is finally here!  Hopefully we’ll be able to sleep in.  Ella had a great week.  Today after school, Sunny and Ella and 2 of her classmates and their moms went to see “Up”…a new Disney Pixar movie.  Sunny said that Ella was so excited to be at the movies with her friends that she was squealing.  Both Sunny and Ella reported that the kids had a great time.  Ella told me that she wants to get “Up” on DVD.  Ella is also really into Cinderella.  She loves the old movie with Leslie Ann Warren.  Sunny introduced this version of Cinderella to Ella because it’s the version that Sunny grew up on.  Sunny used to listen to Cinderella for hours and hours with her big sister Cindy.  Tonight, Ella gave a shout out Aunt Cindy and sang “A Lovely Night”.  The really sweet song is at the end of this entry.

Here are some pictures of Ella from the past few days.

Ella and Brickelle leaving school.

Crossing the street holding hands.

Hanging on the railing.  Ella likes doing tricks here.

Crazy Ella.

Ella concentrating really hard.

Playing with here mini sand box.

Playing catch with a squishy eye ball.