Random Photos July and August

Get ready...LOTS and LOTS of pictures.

On the 4th of July we went to the park downtown where they have a few little things going on during the day before the fireworks are night. One thing they do is sidewalk chalk contests. There were some amazing ones. This doesn't even compare to some of the art we saw. 

Ellie started crawling on her knees at 7.5 months. Looking back, it's funny how slow she was.

Before she started pulling herself up in the crib, she'd pull down the bumper and watch for me to come. So sad.

Great Grandpa and Aunt Cherie stopped by in and out of town for a place to sleep. Ellie is Great Grandchild 43 or 44. 

Bath time is so fun. She loves it. She tries to unplug the drain though because the stopper comes out. But she also plays with her toys and lays on her belly and "swims" like crazy. 

She sleeps on her belly mostly. But I have seen her on her side and back a few times. She likes to tuck her hands under her.

Around 7 3/4 months she started to get the hang of pulling herself up on things. This is the first time it was a full on pull up and she stayed standing for quite awhile. Then, she didn't know how to get down. I'm glad I keep my camera close by for these little mile stones. 

Ellie loves being on daddy's shoulders. You can tell she feels "proud." I think daddy loves it just as much.

Our good friend, Trevor, stayed with us while his brother was getting married here in Idaho. Of course though, we were the highlight of his trip. Trev played the piano at our ring ceremony. 

While Trev was here, James went to go get Ellie when she woke up and eagerly told me to come see. I saw, ran to get my camera, and took a picture. Trevor laughed telling me to just enjoy it, but no, I want to remember the exact moment of her standing in her crib for the first time.

August:

She is very "into everything" in the morning. I caught her causing mischief.

I should have taken a before picture. But that whole tree area looked like one HUGE bush. I kid you not. It was so over grown with the tree's limbs growing out from the bottom and roots and then two nasty twiggy bushes on each side. I was ready for it to be gone. We also thinned out the tree on top. Looks so much better!! Tons of people stopped as they drove by saying how good it looked.

We had to borrow a trailer to get it to the dump.

Different day, same pajamas, daddy's shoulders.

 I was outside sweeping and I saw Ellie stick her face on the window and it got all squished. I went, got my camera, and tried to get her to do it again, but of course it wasn't the same. My door desperately needs to be painted!

My sister came and visited for a few days, sadly, we didn't get the opportunity to take any pictures. I always regret that.

After my sister left, my mom came. It so happened to be the weekend of a 25cent sale so I made her come. Before that, I had been looking for one of these swings on Craigslist and they ranged from $10-15. I was hesitant to buy on thinking "What if there is one at the quarter sale." I waiting, and sure enough, my mom spotted one!! She ran to it first and got it for me. The larger items are priced as marked, this was $2. We bought chains and stuff and got it hung up on the patio. She loves it. Yay!

My mom and I took Ellie to the zoo. Seeing how much she loves animals I was so excited. But we went right at nap time so she happily sat in her stroller and observed without much reaction. Maybe next time.

First time on Carousal (Grandma trying to stop her from licking the bar-eww)

She made it almost 2 hours past her nap time. Once I fed her, she was out.

(Outfit picked out especially for the occasion)

Picture my mom took before she left. 

*Both Cassidy and my mom helped me with a lot of projects around the house. Pictures will be (should be) coming soon.

Ellie is really into climbing on these barstool chairs. She has flipped over them a few times which results in hysterical crying. She should learn soon enough, I hope. James thinks that maybe she just wants to be a gymnast. We shall see.

This is one of my favorite smiles of hers. This didn't capture it perfectly, but it's close enough. She chin shrinks in and cheeks push out. Aww, I love it.

Now that she's a pro crawler, she has the one legged bear crawl down.

Constantly getting into the dog food. Jolie (Bottom left) was barking to get her in trouble. I moved the food into my bathroom, but now Jolie forgets it's there and whines by the old spot. Drama.

 I don't normally let her get into it this much. I catch her beforehand but I wanted the pictures.

For the past few weeks I've been practicing "more" with Ellie while she's eating (which is once a day, but not everyday). I usually manipulate her hands or sign it while saying it and she'll copy and then I immediately reinforce with praise and "more" food. Just like a dog. Ha, kidding. Yesterday, I asked her to sign more and she did it. I didn't have to show her or do it for her. Then she continued, each time I asked her! I couldn't stop recording it. I was so proud!! This morning I was swinging her and I stopped the swing and asked her to sign more and she did it! I made this little video because this was one event/milestone that I am most proud of so far.

Things I wanted to include in her 8 month update:
*She is now out of her 3month clothes. 3-6 month clothes still fit. 6-9 both fit and are big, just depends. When people ask her age I often get the response that she's so small.
*She plays the piano with daddy almost daily. They both enjoy that special time. We are trying to foster a prodigy. (Oxymoron?)
*recently moved to size 3 diapers