To my Sunshine

My little Ella Bella,

You are one year old today. Just yesterday it seems like I was holding your tiny little body in my arms and smothering your bruised face with kisses, happy tears and love. We all thought you looked so much like a good mix of me, your Granny Suzie and your cousin Angie. Big, curious eyes and a cute little pug nose...

We had a little bit of a rough start when you had to go into the NICU after the first night due to being Coombs Positive (ABO) , a blood incompatibility between you and I. It causes pretty bad jaundice.

You were there til the 4th of July when we got to celebrate
more than just freedom but your homecoming as well.

You have been the sweetest baby from the very beginning. You truly are a godsend.

You have the most beautiful little soul that shines through your "old soul" eyes and

your knowing, dimpled smile, which you give so freely.

The personality that you have is so addictive, so easy to love and so fun to watch. You are curious about everything, wanting to explore the world around you through your mouth... ha ha. One of the biggest challenges in parenting you so far has been making sure you don't pick up anything off of the floor and put it in your mouth! You want to eat EVERYTHING. It's very comical to see. You are now starting to know what no, no, no means because you shake your  head when I say it to you and you smile
and hand over whatever the object of the moment is to me.

You say Mama, Papa, Jackie, & Cha cha, bouteille (bottle), and assis (sit) so far...
You pat your chest when we ask where Ella is, bat your pretty
eyelashes and wave hi to everyone you see...
Recently, you have found that you LOVE to throw balls.

The second anyone take you in their arms you are so happy that you lay your head down on
their shoulder and just smile.
You're a very friendly girl and happily get passed around from person to person.
Smilin' that smile and patting on the back to show your approval...

You are such a perfect addition to our family and so perfectly loved in return.

These perfect little footprints have forever made their way into our hearts...

We've gone from this...

to this...

We love every little thing about you and wouldn't trade you for anything in the world.

Happy first birthday, baby.

"You are my sunshine...my only sunshine.

You make me happy when skies are gray.

You'll never know, dear, how much I love you.

Please don't take my sunshine away."

Love always,

Mama

xoxo

Ella's 1st Birthday Party

We held Ella's 1st birthday party on June 27th, 2010 at Granny's house.

My kids' birthday parties always seem to go by so quickly...

A months worth of planning and sewing and crafting and going over details with Jaclyne is over...

Everything goes by in a blur until we're sitting there,

under the moonlight in my Granny's backyard

and my feet are throbbing so much I can almost not stand it anymore...

My wonderful husband, Eric, the lovely and VERY gracious aunts and my parents who stayed and helped us to clean it all up and wipe away every last detail of the party are there with us, reflecting on the days events, hugging and kissing my babies, chatting with us while my 3 night owls are swinging

and running around at midnight among the crickets.

There, in the midst of all that, I see that my birthday girl and her siblings are

and for that I am forever grateful.

They spent another day with the people they love.

They had a fun, memorable time.

Yeah, Ella won't remember any of it.

But she sure will adore looking at her photo book years from now and see how happy

she was in the nearly 2000 photos we took just of her eating cake for the first time.

It means a lot to do this for them because their lives and each day

they are with us, is SO worth every needle prick from sewing a zillion fabric flowers,

every argument in the month prior to the event, every late night

spent gluing, painting, punching and cutting...

Thank you, J, for doing this for her. For our little bear, Ella.

Thank you for loving us.

It is worth it all...

With that, I leave you with a few snippets of our day celebrating Ella Grace...

(I took a few photos and so did J, but the rest of the shots are soon to follow

as we have to wait to get them back from the photographer...)

I made the cake topper myself...

Charlie & company stuffing their bears...

The kids decorating their bears' t-shirts

The girls drawing on the cement

Ella was a happy camper until we all started singing happy birthday to her...
She kinda got a little spooked but thank goodness Grandpa
came to the rescue.

But she thoroughly enjoyed eating cake for the first time.

A few shots of the birthday princess and her adorers.

 Ella in her bounce house

and that was our little Ella's first birthday.

The professional family photos should follow as soon as I get them.

I'm so thankful to God that I was blessed with such

an amazing little family and all the people I love so deeply who love us back.

The Beach and Buzz

I took Ella to a small beach in Long Beach for some Mommy/Ella time today.

I wanted to spend a day with her, just the two of us and

really be able to capture who she is now...

when I walked onto the beach with her, she got excited right away.
She squeezed me tight and her big, brown eyes
scanned all around us, drinking it all in.

Little giggles escaped and big smiles appeared.

She was smitten.

 

Of course, she ate half the sand on the beach, like I knew she would.

______________________________________________

...and tonight, we had a special treat.

We got to go to the El Capitan Theatre
 to see Toy Story 3...

(the 3 rugrats in front of the El Capitan.)

I have to say, I know it's a cartoon and all, but I loved this movie.
It touched me deeply and I openly admit, I cried like a big ol' baby.
In Andy's room, I see Charlie's.

 He used to watch the first Toy Story when he was 2
and cry when Buzz fell and lost his arm.
His sensitivity and compassion, even at 2, was so amazing to witness.

Charlie loved the entire movie. He didn't move once with his little 3D glasses on.
It was adorable.
He was annoyed at me for taking this picture with my Blackberry...

Ella on the other hand, she was a handful. Luckily, there were other babies in the theatre
and the other mommies were more forgiving. Kate also loved the movie. She loves her some Jessie.

They escorted us after the movie showing to a little Toy Story 3 carnival/ toy zone.

(Aren't they so sweet when they get along??)

Ella took a liking to the aliens... she is dressed like an alien. She somehow managed to dump
an entire sprite all over herself at the theater so she is sporting Charlie's shirt and socks.

He got to do a bungee bounce and he was so proud of how high he went.

Kate and "her Jessie"...

I will end this post with this... I hate Lotso. He's just mean!

Once Upon a Saturday Afternoon

I heard the giggles on and off. I heard a little bit of crying too so I went

to investigate the little girls who were supposed to be napping.

What's better than walking into the girls' room and finding this...?

 (Really, not much is better than this...)

 2 little monkeys jumping on the bed...

Doin' each other's hair

and then 2 little mommas playing house.

Be still my heart.

I almost didn't want to interrupt. It was so ... what I always envisioned when

I imagined my daughters together playing. 

A little bit of giggles, a little bit of fighting, and lots of love & girliness.

and our new little walker...

Sometimes, she gets upset with me for making her walk.

It's sad but secretly, I love her face when she's crying...

 

What a lovely way to spend a Saturday!

P.S. the Fourth of July is coming soon. I'm really looking forward to it. I ADORE the 4th...

BBQ, family, friends... itty bitties adorned in red, white and blue to show off our

patriotism, sparklers and fireworks... fun, fun, fun!

Plus, Ella came home from the NICU last year on the 4th of July.

Even more reason to love that date.

What are you looking forward to?