A few of Ella's favorite "toys"

So I know that like all of my posts are about this little girl but I just can't help it. I guess she's the most interesting part of my life right now. Anyway, these are just a few pics of her favorite toys.

Mommy's make up...

That little dingle thingy behind the doors...

Mommy's People magazine...(oh the horror!)

The little broom and dustpan...(which I know is gross and I should put it up somewhere.)

Mommy's shoes...

So these next couple pictures don't really go...I just thought they were kinda cute.

This is my sis' little guy, Carson. We are now calling him Hoover. You can just guess why.

When we were at my sister's house last week, Ella just had to try on Carson's Halloween costume. My favorite was how Kaitlyn kept saying that Ella was such a "cute little guck!"

Silly Ella!

Here's just a few of our funny little monkey...

She's been eating baby food for quite a while now but a couple days ago I came across some diced peaches in the fridge from when I was watching my sister's kids (Carson loves them!) and I thought I'd give some to Ella and see how she liked them. It was hilarious to watch her try to grip those slippery little things. She was laughing so hard at first but then got pretty frustrated and needed a little help getting the peaches in her mouth.






K, this is like the ugliest picture but it was so funny! I was cleaning out Ella's drawers of clothes that are now too small (so sad!) and I came across this hat. We used to put it on her at night when she was tiny and we were living in freezing cold Omaha. It used to look so BIG on her and now it just look ridiculous.

Toofers!

I don't know...maybe Ella heard something about how her daddy is in the tooth industry but she is a champ when it comes to growing the teeth. She now has her two on the bottom and FOUR on the top! It's so funny to see her little smile with teeth behind it. And, man, is she a little biter! She'll even sneak up on me and bite my foot. I've had many a bite marks recently from my shoulders, to my cheeks, to my fingers, even my earlobes. She's my little piranha!

Surprise!

Last weekend we got to go up to Salt Lake to surprise Ryan's parents who are both turning 60. We were only there for 48 hours but we packed in a lot of fun for just one weekend!

We were picked up at the airport and went straight to "The Roof" where the surprise went down. It worked! Dave and Lynda were totally surprised.

And for an added bonus...we ran into some dear friends from Omaha (who now live in Idaho) the Wyatts, who were also in Salt Lake and having dinner at The Roof.

The next morning we went up Big Cottonwood Canyon to get a big family picture taken.

Here's Sammy holding Ella

Thanks to Ryan's sister, Debbie, Ella had the cutest little outfit: a cream sweater, brown miniskirt, cream tights and brown boots. She was stylin'!

Seriously, how cute are those boots!

Just so you know, if you ever ask Steve to hold your camera, you will get a picture of him left on it. Good thing he and his wife Stacy are such a cute little couple!

After the big photo shoot, we had tickets to go to the Utah game. I have to admit, we were all expecting Utah to get stomped on by UCLA...but what do you know, our Utes did a little stomping of their own!

Ella's favorite place to sleep?...Grandma's lap!

Ryan's sister, Debbie and her husband, Chris...a former Runnin' Ute.

Us on our way out...even Ella was happy with that game!

Ryan took this picture for a little mommento...and a little more proof for all you Cougars!

Ella's favorite toy at Grandma's house?...the fake grapes!

Here's Ella with her cousin Claire.

The best part of staying at Grandma's house is that it comes with a free bath! :)

Ella's cousin Hailey.


Ella and her cousin, Josh.

K, this last one is Ryan's brother, Scott. Apparently Halloween came a little early as Scott decided to show up to the party in his best 80's attire. All he needs is a braided, leather belt. Actually, I think he just looks for any excuse to show a little leg! This is the same guy who decided to go all around Cancun looking to buy a Speedo, but due to his lack of Spanish speaking skills, just would ask "Do you sell Speedo? You know...sexy?" Needless to say, he is still in search of the Speedo. Oh, I just got an idea for whoever picked his name for Christmas!

Labor Day at the D-land

That's right...this past Labor Day we decided to spend the day at Disneyland. Yep, in all its 95 degrees and everything. There was a debate the night before as to whether we should go to D-land or head to the beach. The family was half and half and it all came down to my cousin Hallie's vote...in that it was her 8th birthday, we thought we should let her be the deciding factor. It actually wasn't crowded. I guess everyone was at the beach!


We love the Bug's Life Chew-Chew Train...


My little bro, Owen, and his wife, Jules.


Ryan and Ella with Mike and Carson...taking a break...again.

This picture is dedicated to our friend Abe because Lightning McQueen told us he wants Abe to come see him!

My mom and I on the Bumper Bugs

My Aunt Mel and cousin Kylie

Lindsay and her little Katie-bug

Ella has a new favorite uncle. Owen's giving her some of his frozen strawberry lemonade.

All of us in "the classic shot"