Go Texan Day!

We had a fun afternoon at the rodeo cook-off to celebrate Go Texan Day.  Hot, but fun.  Didn't get many pics at the actual cook-off so we had a mini photo shoot in the front yard when we got home! 

 Photo taken by master photographer Addy!

 Now that Ella is on the move, getting a pic of the two of them posed is nearly impossible.  Addy was trying to get her to sit next to her! 

 Happy cowgirl!

 Addy checking out one of the super elaborate tents at the cook-off.  There was a waterfall - is that really necessary?!

Addy and James playing at the cook-off. 

Ms. Ella

We went to Ella's 9 month checkup on Monday and the doctor said she is doing great.  She is 19lbs which is the 60th percentile, 27.5" long which is the 40th percentile and her head circumference is in the 80th percentile.  She is a great eater and some of her shirts are hard to get over her head, so those numbers seem right! 

Wow, things are busier now that she is moving around.  It is nearly impossible to get her to sit and just play, she is always on the go, pulling up on everything.  She officially has her first bruise on her forehead from hitting her head on a door frame when she was trying to pull up on it. 

One of her favorite spots to hit her head is on the end tables. 

Turns out the dishwasher is perfect for pulling up on.  

Poor little girl had to give blood and got a cute little bandage on her arm.  I was really surprised that she didn't mess with it at all.  

Thanks for the cute Valentines card Granny!  Ella used it for a place mat for a while.  Another great pic with a puff stuck to her face - she is puff obsessed!  We need to start trying finger foods, I think that she'll really enjoy it.  Oh, Ella had her first guacamole the other night at the Mexican food restaurant.  We don't know what to do with such a great eater!! 

Super Helper

Addy has turned into one super helper around the house.  Not necessarily when it comes to picking up her toys all the time, although sometimes.  It started in full force this weekend with her deciding to start by making Michael and my bed, then she moved into her room and made her bed.  Then she helped set the table for dinner Saturday night by setting out all of the silverware and napkins.  And then on Sunday and Monday she made her own lunch.  We may have maxed out for the week though because there is a HUGE pile of stuffed animals in the living room right now that she has zero interest in picking up!  I'm just leaving it there for now in hopes that the clean up bug strikes again soon. 

Here is the lunch she made on Sunday

Birthday Party

Happy Birthday Grandma and Granddad!  A super fun family celebration on Saturday night.  We are so lucky to live so close to be able to celebrate all together.  Addy and Ella love having their grandparents over! 

 We were especially excited to have Ella here to celebrate with us this year!  Seems hard to believe that this time last year we were counting down the days until she made her debut.  

Grandma and one super excited 4 year old who was dyin' to dig into her brownie and ice cream! 

Baby It's Been Cold Outside

Thank goodness, as I write this blog, the highs are in the 70s instead of the 30s.  Seriously can't remember a time in Houston when it has been in the 20s multiple days, or even one day really - I live in the South for a reason and let's just hope that this nonsense is over with!  Bring on the humidity and 90 degree weather (I'll be cursing this statement come August - I know!)

But to make the cold more bearable, we did a little science experiment that Addy had fun with - the old trick of putting a dish of water out at night and seeing it a frozen block of ice in the morning.  We even put a rock in our water, mainly to keep the dish from blowing away in the artic wind, but also because it is fun.  It was early in the morning before school, hence the "I just woke up and I'm holding a freezing block of ice and really want to put it down" look on Addy's face! 

9 Months

3 months from now we'll be celebrating Ella's 1st birthday!  How quickly time has gone by.  This time last year we were gearing up big time to have a new baby in the house, wondering how in the world we'd handle 2 kids and look how far we've come!  Think the adventure is really just beginning...Ella is officially crawling.  Going forward and everything.  This morning we were playing in the front room and she crawled around to the back of the couch and discovered Star's bed by the front windows for the first time.  Later in the afternoon she was up front by herself for a bit and Michael walked up and found she had crawled over and helped herself to some of Addy's construction paper.  We are so not baby proofed!  And trying to get Addy to pick up after herself is going to be a challenge, especially with her art projects!

Here are some pics from this past weekend.  We haven't done too much since with the freezing cold weather and all.  Was really hoping to have some snow pics to post, but all we got was ice which was not photoworthy!

 Last Saturday the weather was nice enough we could play outside.  If you look close this is a good pic of Ella's 2 bottom teeth.  Haven't seen any new ones, but know they are on their way!

I'm not a fan of headbands on bald babies, but Addy put this on and it looked pretty cute.  Hair is coming, slowly but surely.  

 I'm not sure what was wrong in this picture, but her facial expression is super cute and pitiful at the same time.