Fun

Wow, things have been crazy around here, crazy in a good way. Ellie is all over the place, she is officially a walker, though she still falls a lot. It is so fun watching her get all over the place and discover new things. She is getting into a lot of things she shouldn't but she is finding a lot of fun things too. She keeps me on my toes but I love it, we have so much fun all day. She is playing will Chloe a lot now and learning how to be more gentle with little Michael. We have also discovered this summer that Ellie LOVES water. Any kind of water, the bath, the hose, the squirt bottle and the spray ground at the Greene, she couldn't care less if she gets sprayed in the face. Here are some updated pictures.

Just crawling around

Ellie and Daddy watching a band at the Greene, our outdoor mall.

"Hmm, they are pretty good I guess."

She danced herself right off of the edge.

She found the sprinklers and loved them!

She had so much fun splashing around and watching the other kids.

"Yay"

We also got a new car! We were out growing our Fit so we up graded to a Mazda 5. I was a little hesitant to get a "minivan" but this car really is fun to drive and the perfect size for us. Ellie loves climbing around in it, when it's not moving of course, and playing with all the toys that we have stashed for her. 

We have so much more room! 

Our house finally got the updates that took almost a year to do. We had a storm about 11 months ago that damaged our awning, gutters and roof a little bit so our insurance paid to have them all replaced. We were so excited to get rid of the old, ugly awning! It looks so nice now.

Our house when we bought it in 2009

Awning gone!

The new one in progress.

The finished product, we love it!

Vacation

Here is the promised video of her clapping:)

Here are some pictures from our vacation too. We went to see my dad for his birthday this year and had so much fun. Ellie went to the lake for the first time and we got to see a lot of family that we haven't seen since March. Ellie wasn't a huge fan of the 8-9 hour drive but she did well considering.

Someone was a little bit sleepy I think.

"You want me to get out?"

Ellie and Grandpa Stanton

Ellie with Uncle Tyler

Sweet picture of cousin love. Thanks Max, for sharing your  movie!

Ellie's favorite toys

:)

Such a happy girl, even when exhausted.

Uncles Jeff and Tyler playing with Ellie

"Happy Birthday Grandpa!"

9 Months

I can't believe it has been a whole month since I have updated this blog. Ellie is now 9 months old and getting so big! She has been taking steps on her own for over a week now and is trying to clap:) I will get a video of that and post it as soon as I can, she's so cute! Here are a few pictures of our little girl this week. 

I almost forgot: at her doctor's appointment she was in the 95% for her height! Where did that come from? :)

8 Months!

Little Ellie turned 8 months on the 12th of this month. I thought I would share a few pictures and a cute video of our little girl.

Playing with Daddy at the park

Going up...

And sliding down.

She has her eye on something she wants.

Hmm, how do I rip this thing.

This is her "I'm concentrating" face...I love it!

"Oh, hi Daddy."

Yummy!

Enjoy!

4th of July!

It was so strange not to be in Iowa enjoying the cool of the lake this year for the 4th but we had a great time with some of our friends! My high school best friend was in town so we went to her parents for a cookout. It was so good to spend time with all of them. Ellie was a little nervous of the 5 dogs at first but by the end of the day she didn't mind them.

She makes some of the cutest faces:)

Not very happy that Mama put her on the floor to play when she was having so much fun on the table.

Mmmm delicious.

Saying hi to Sarah.

She had a lot to say.

Look how cute that little face is:)

She is just the sweetest thing I have ever seen!

We hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July!

7 1/2 Months

Our little cutie is getting sweeter and sweeter every day! She is now pulling up on EVERYTHING like a champ...like an empty toy bin for instance. 

Ellie thinks mess making is the newest Olympic sport. She's been practicing hard.

And the gold medal goes to...Ellie Nussbaum!

She thought she was going to help load the dishwasher, she ended up just  pulling out all of the dirty dishes.

She loves her baby brother, though most of the time she is a little too rough. (Sorry, we have to block him out)

Reading a book in her tent with her daddy.

She is getting so busy and so daring; and she has plenty of bruises on her head to prove it! It's so fun watching her little personality come to life!