Ella Turns One!

Ella was born at 3 am on September 21st and she was 7 lbs 11 ounces

Ella is one!

Allison and Connor help with presents

Celebrating with GG and Papa

Cousins Kathryn and Mary Violet feed Ella her birthday cake.

Ella wearing her new hat made by grandma Alguire

It is hard to believe that Ella is a year old. The last year really has gone by like a whirlwind. Between having Ella, Craig finishing up his final year, selling the condo and then moving to Grand Rapids, her first year was filled with excitement. I have to say that I was actually sad to see her turn one. She is such a little sweetie pie and I just hate to see her grow up. We celebrated her actual birthday with GG and Papa (my parents) with some pizza and cupcakes that Allison, Connor and I made. Then we had a party for her on the 26th with all of her cousins, her grandparents, great grandparents and a few close friends. There were a ton of kids, but it was a lot of fun. She is loving her new Bitty Baby, Elmo, and Peek-a-Boo book. The knitted outfit that grandma Alguire made is priceless.

Here are a few things she can do as a one year old.

1. She can climb up the stairs in record time, so we now have a gate up!

2. She takes 4-5 steps consistently and has taken as many as 10.

3. She talks up a storm. A few of her words: Mama, Dada, blanket, hi, NaNa (Connor), ganma (grandma), GG, Papa, puppy, Elmo, baby. She tries a ton of words and many times just says random things.

4. She loves to copy Connor and scream back and forth with him.

5. She loves to hug and kiss.

6. She loves her pink swankie blankie, she calls blanket.

7. She has three teeth and her top two are coming through as we speak.

8. She loves to play in her kitchen with the play food.

She is 21 lbs (70%ile), 29 1/4 inches (75%ile)

What a joy she has been. I feel so lucky to have such a sweet and fun little girl. We are so happy to have her in our family.

September Fun!

Connor at the East game

Connor and I enjoying the field at the Pioneer picnic

Going for a bike ride

Dress up at grandma's

New $2 stroller from a garage sale

We love East!

Sisters

My little climber

Charlotte and Owen's party

Having fun at the b-day party

Connor was so tuckered out

Breakfast at the Cherry Inn

Birthday party for another friend

We have been having lots of fun this September. We spent some time in Grand Haven and Allison had a playdate with her cousin, Grace. We also traveled to Ann Arbor to spend some time with our good friends, the Bruderly's whose twins, Charlotte and Owen celebrated their 5th birthday at Chelsea Treehouse. Later we went to another friends' house to watch some football and eat lots of good food. We took in our first East Grand Rapids football game and we all sported our new EAST sweatshirts. Connor loves his so much he has slept in it on several occasions. On Sunday we went to a new restaurant, the Cherry Inn and then to a birthday party for a girl in Allison's Class. Connor and Ella went too and we all had a great time bouncing! Needless to say, the kids were pretty tuckered out. It wasn't easy getting them out the door this morning for school.

First Day of Kindergarten for Allison

It was a windy first day of school

Hanging up her backpack

Getting in line for the flag raising ceremony

First day of school was a success!

It seems like we have been waiting for this day for months! Since Allison has a December 15th birthday she starts Kindergarten as a 5 year old, but turns 6 very soon! She was super excited about her first day of school with Mrs. McIntosh. She loves going to school everyday and is meeting lots of new friends. I am so happy that she is starting a new chapter in her life. She is certainly ready for all the challenges that school has in store for her. I am hoping for a happy successful school year with lots of learning and lots of fun for sweet girl.

Friends

Tess, Madeline, Allison and Connor

Ice Cream

Best Buddies
Last week our good friends from Ann Arbor came to visit. We had a great time with Meg, Madeline and Tess playing at the house, having lunch, going for ice cream, and then to the local playground to burn off some energy. Thanks so much for coming to visit us! We miss you guys.

The last taste of summer

Ella and Papa

Rosalee, Allison and Mary Violet

Connor getting ready to go Kayaking with GG

Grand Rapids Children's Museum

Kathryn, Anna, Grace and Allison at the zoo

Our finished kitchen

New appliances, counters, backsplash and these cabinets to match the older ones

Looking into the breakfast nook

The last few weeks have been super busy and lots of fun. We had the Springer girls with us at my parents' house to enjoy the kayaks and have fun in the water. The girls enjoyed going down the channel on the orange kayak and jumping off into the water. They figured out how to paddle around and get back on too. Craig and I took the kids to the Grand Rapids Children's Museum. Later in the week we went to John Ball Zoo with the Ackerman girls. To wrap things up, the kitchen was finished and we unpacked the remaining boxes. The amount of packing paper that was used is crazy!!!! We are all so happy to have our kitchen finished and all of our stuff unpacked.