Life With Ella

Ella got to spend some quality alone time with grandma today. I went into NY to meet a friend for lunch and then my dad and I came back into NY to go to AJ and Uncle Michael’s gig. It was great to hear them sing/play. Ella and grandma had a love fest. Here are some pictures that I took of Ella earlier today. She loves dancing in the mirror.

Getting ready for the dance.

Checking herself out in the mirror…

and dance!

Ella and I had a very busy day today. First of all, I’m happy to say that she slept through the night last night…midnight – 8:00 am. I’m starting to get some rest too – so are grandma and papa. We went into NY to meet KK (Carol) to go to Build a Bear. Ella fell asleep in the car and I wasn’t sure she was going to make it at all, but she woke up as soon as she saw all the bears and animals in the store. We had her pick out a bear – she was a little confused but did it all on her own. She picked out a bear that was orange and yellow and had some shiny silver hair. I asked her what she wanted to name it and she said, “Orange”. I’m glad she is finally learning her colors. After we picked “Orange”, Ella picked out certain sounds that the lady was going to put into the bear’s hand so that when you squeeze it, it talks to you. Hers says, “I love you”, “Let’s Go Home” and some other stuff. Then the lady put the stuffing in the bear and Ella kissed this little red heart and put it into the bear before the lady closed the bear. After the bear was fully stuffed, Ella picked out shoes (flip flops with bling on them) and a purse (very shiny) for Orange her bear. Once that was all finished, we had lunch with KK and the bear. Ella fed the bear some french fries and then decorated a bear cookie at the end. I will make a small movie about all of this tomorrow. It was a lot of fun. Ella was into it and had a great time with KK.

After the bear making, we drove downtown to see AJ, uncle Michael and Normyn. We hung around there for a little while and then drove back to NJ for a bar-b-que at grandma and papa’s. Grandma’s cousin Arlyne and her husband Gary were visiting from Florida and we had a fun night.

Here are some pictures from the evening.

Here is Ella hanging out with Orange. Notice the purse in Ella’s left hand.

Ella drinking out of a big girl cup.

AJ reading “Big Girls Use the Potty” to Ella with Normyn listening on.

Ella’s cousin Normyn

Ella practicing sitting on the potty

Here we are – mama and Ella – mommy makes 3. Hurry up and get here!!!

AJ reading the potty book to Ella again. Maybe she’ll be ready soon. (Ella not AJ!)

Uncle Michael sharing his ice cream with Ella.

What a beauty. Ella is winding down.

Ella, grandma and I arrived in NJ last night. We had a great flight (grandma was in San Diego so she flew to SF to fly back here with us). Ella slept for about 2 hours on the plane, sat in her own seat for about 2 hours and hung with us for the other hour. She is very happy to be at grandma and papa’s house. Sunny is joining us on Sunday and Ella and I miss her so much! Hurry up and get here mommy!!!!! Things here are great except Ella’s sleeping. I guess it will take a few days to get on some kind of east coast schedule. Here are a few pictures from this morning and today.

Ella playing with her new blocks.

Ella having a little bit of bread before dinner.

A beautiful picture of Ella and her grandparents. Ella is super hyper, grandma and papa are ready to go to sleep!