Catching up! (again…)

As a younger person, I never believed anyone who said things like, “Just wait until you get older!  Time flies!” or, “Wait until you have children.  They grow so fast!”  But it’s so completely true! 

I just uploaded several months’ worth of photos, and I can’t believe how much Ella has changed and grown. 

I saw this picture of her playing in the kitchen in July, and thought, “wow, she was still a baby then!” 

In August, she was starting to change.  She built her first block tower(s) by herself and was so proud of her work!  We went to Pittsburgh for Janna and Eric’s wedding and she screamed in the car the whole way there and the whole way back.  It was the longest I’ve ever been away from her in one day.  The wedding was gorgeous and so much fun! 

 

In September, I was able to put two tiny pigtails in her hair!  We went to the Pumpkin Festival and she slept on my back while we walked around. 

In October, she was finally walking!  She walked around the block as a ladybug on trick-or-treat night. 

 

In November, she decided that she liked Gram and Grandpa reading to her.  The Buckeyes beat Michigan and she proudly wore her OSU garb.  :)  We drove to Tennessee to see her other grandparents!  The car ride was stressful and long, but we made it there and back safely. 

December was crazy busy with Christmas with all kinds of family! 

 

  

And here we are, at the end of January!  I celebrated my birthday this month with friends and family, and had the best birthday ever!  We ate at Genji’s, our favorite Japanese Steakhouse.  Afterward, we ate cake and played on the wii and sang Karaoke.  A great time was had by all.  And since then, time has been steadily moving along! 

Ella’s New Hat

I decided last week that I wanted to try knitting again.  I tried several months ago to make a pair of baby booties.  But, they were very tiny and progress was slow.  This time, I wanted to try a bigger project that would knit faster.  It seems kind of backwards that a bigger project would be better—but it is!  When using thicker yarn, you also you bigger needles, and thus, the stitches are bigger and you see progress much faster. 

Anyway, I had found some cheap yarn that I liked, and it was perfect for this hat project.  So over 3 days, I made Ella a new hat! 

 

The lines are kind of wonky, but that’s because it was 1 skein of yarn that had many colors—I didn’t switch yarn colors at certain intervals. 

At first, it didn’t have a pom-pom.  But Wes suggested that I add one, and I thought it was a great idea! 

We also had a fun couple of weeks doing new activities!  Ella had a fun time playing in a container of rice:

…and cornstarch:

 

…and has discovered a love for crayons!

A few more fun ones:

Ella with Aunt Heidi—“Go Bucks!”:

Riding on her horse!  …without pants, apparently! 

And finally, sitting by her pumpkins!

(can you see the cat in the background?)

And, she’s officially walking!!  Well, when she chooses to.  She still crawls a lot, but is fully capable of walking when she wants to!  :)