Ella Walks. . .

Tonight we were finishing supper with Flo and Jay when Ella decided she wanted to get down and play. When her dad sat her down, she walked off. It was as if she had done it a million times before. She would walk from me to Flo and we would clap for her. She got very excited about the clapping. She wanted to do it faster and faster to make us clap for her. Uncle Jay got into the action too when Daddy pulled out the video. Ella also got her two year old Molars. She is very proud of them and if you put your finger in there, she will show you how they work. Yeah Ella!

Ella was a good girl this year. . .

Santa came to see Ella and brought her all kinds of new stuff. She really likes her Tunnel and her baby doll.

NO! NO! NO! HO-HO! NO! NO! NO!

Well, Ella officially does not like Santa. Thought these photos were just to classic not to post, This was at the James Island County Park in Charleston.

Happy 1st Birthday Ella Bella!

Ella had a very happy 1st birthday. She and Mary Catherine have been sick most of the fall. They got over the stomach virus just in time for the birthday party. Ella had a Duck Party. There were ducks everywhere. She had a duck cake...which I saw the pan while shopping at the beach and just had to have. We had her party at our house where we had Ella's favorite lunch of ham, green beans, mac n cheese and brown rice. Gaga and Meme helped me cook everything. Ella was excited as she got to have Soy Ice Cream and cake for the first time. At first she was a little hesitant but once she realized...she dug right in there. Ella loved opening presents. I can see Christmas is going to be a challenge this year. Ella now has four teeth on top and two on the bottom. We gave the bottles to the baby horses this past week. We are now drinking out of only sippy cups. Ella has shown no desire for her bottles. She has become very attached to her passy. She now says Duckie instead of duck. She also says No! No! and ummm! ummm! Ella loves to eat more than any child I have ever seen. She eats more than Mary Catherine . . . seriously. I am very concerned about the amount she eats and is still hungry. I am going to talk with the Doctor about it. We also changed her from formula to Silk Organic Soy Milk. Ella loves it. Ella is really an easy baby and she is happy most of the time. She loves her big sister and especially likes to pull her hair. She is not interested in walking at all. She would much rather someone carry her. Ella loves to jump and her favorite toys are her animal train and the spin around farm. Happy Birthday Ella!

Busy! Busy! Busy!

It has been a busy few weeks at the Rawlinson house. We have all been sick. First, it was just a cough. Then we all got this sinus thing and fever. We are still a bit under the weather. Ella is officially into everything. She opens drawers and cabinets then takes everything out. She puts everything (and I do mean everything) in her mouth. She makes a b-line for the dog food anytime she gets in eye shot of it. She likes to unplug lamps if she can get to them. We really have to keep a very close eye on her. Her favorite game right now is to get under things and hide. Her favorite hide outs are the end tables in the downstairs den. She likes to get under them and just sit there. She thinks it is soooo funny! She has learned to say "BYE! BYE!" and she waves like a little beauty queen when we leave or when she wants to leave. She finally did it yesterday (however, I didn't hear it until today) but she called MAMA! YEAH! She also says DUCK. It is too cute....she says "uck". Then you ask her what the Duck says and she says "ACK! ACK!". So precious! Yesterday she got mad about something and said "GAGA". She has been saying "Dada" for what now seems like 9 months. We are really building quite a vocabulary for a 9 month old. She has a new toy that we take everywhere...it is awful. It is a blue plastic bath fish with these giant bulging eyes. I have no idea why she is attached to this ugly fish but she wants it. Thank goodness we had three of these ugly things...we have already lost two. Ella is stalled out at 3 teeth. The fourth one is there but doesn't seem interested in popping through. We are about to give up on baby food. Ella wants real people food. She loves real people rice, green beans, broccoli, chicken, ham, peaches, bread, potatoes and noodles. She also loves Cheerios and puffs. I am still trying to encourage her to eat her baby food but we are moving on fast.


Ella made a new friend this week when she went with me to the Vera Bradley Show in Charlotte, NC. Lindsey Howard and Melissa Vilar rode with us. Lindsey also took her son Hunt. He was so cute. He and Ella really liked each other. They shared Cheerios and liked to watch each other in the car. Speaking of Vera Bradley. . . I bought some extra VILLAGER bags at the Charlotte show and have put them on E-bay for sale. My E-bay screen name is very easy StephanieRawlinson1971. Melissa and I have decided to go to the show in Atlanta next Thursday. If you are looking for a specific bag drop me an e-mail and let me know and I will look for it at the show for you. Typically, the price on Ebay is 1/4 - 1/2 off the retail price. If you would rather not use E-bay, just call me and you can come by and look at what I have before I put it on there next week. Happy Bidding!

9 Months Doctor Visit

We had a great visit with Dr. Whitehead today. No shots at 9 months! Ella weighed in at 18 pounds and 12 ounces. She is 29 1/8 inches long. Her head is 18 5/8 inches round. She is a happy healthy baby. She is in the 50% for weight but the 90% for height. Even after being so sick last week with the stomach virus she still gained a little over 2 lbs since our last visit. She is gona be another tall girl! She is already wearing 12 month clothes. Ella is doing all of the things a 12 month old should be doing. She is into everything. She pulls up to a standing position. She wants so bad to walk. She is saying Dada really clear and this week we started waving Bye! Bye! Her favorite game is peekaboo and she LOVES to pull hair. We have a third tooth breaking through. This one is on the top. Still no MAMA!

She has grown quite fond of Bunny Bun. Which is what we call the pink pottery barn bunny she got for easter. She wants to carry him everywhere and it is really showing. Bunny bun looks like he has been nawed by a dog. His tail is no longer soft and fluffy...it looks more like a gnawed cotton ball now. But she loves him so... we just let her do it. Ella is beginning to eat some table foods. This week she has tried ham, small pieces of bread, rice and some green beans. She loves to drink from her sippy cup. She doesn't want the cups with handles. She prefers the ones for older kids. She however prefers the hard tops as opposed to the ones like bottles. I can't say I am disappointed about this. I think the soft tops are too much like bottles.

Dr. whitehead wants us to take her off the bottle by the time she is 1 year so we will start weaning now. We are back to four 8 oz bottles a day now. We suppliment with juice and water in between. I am going to begin putting her soy formula in two of the sippy cups at 10 months. Then when she is 11 months we will try to put formula only in sippy cups. Then when she turns 1 year he wants us to try whole milk again and see if by some chance she has out grown the lactose intollerance. He says it can happen. He says if she doesn't we will have to do SILK soy milk for her as a child. YUCKO! LOL! I can't imagion a childhood less ice cream and cheese. Mary Catherine lived on Mac and Cheese the second and third year of her life. I hope we out grow this!

Going to Visit Meme & Mel

Mary Catherine and Ella went on their first adventure together as sisters. They actually left Mommy and Daddy at home (to work). Bless Meme and Mel's hearts, they took both girls for the weekend to give Kevin and I a chance to unpack. What a wonderful house warming gift. The girls had a great time in Charleston. Meme and Mel took them down town to ride on the horse and buggy. They had so much fun. Ella squealed with delight. Both girls also went over to Aunt Pam's for swimming. Ella loves the water. She sat on the steps with Meme and Aunt Pam and splashed. Upon arrival home, Ella has a second tooth. Both teeth are on the bottom. She likes to show them off! The girls can't wait to go back to Charleston for another visit!

This week as we were napping, we awoke to our sweet little Ella singing from her crib. When her Daddy got to her, she was standing on her tip toes on top of her bumper pads looking over the END of the crib. Much to my dismay, we had to remove the beautiful bunny toile bumper pads from the crib. The first time we put her in there with out them....guess what...she bumped her head. Oh well! Special thanks to Meme for making us some beautiful curtains from the bunny toile to use in the nursery. They are gorgious!