Elle's First Birthday

Elle's first birthday started off with some cute smiles and a traditional first birthday pancake-cake for breakfast. 

I think it is safe to say Elle enjoyed them :)

Later that evening we opened presents. Thank you everyone who thought of our little girl and sent gifts from overseas!

Jayne was pretty excited about Elle having presents as well ;)

Elle eventually got the hang of ripping the wrapping paper to open the presents. After she finished we just gave her the paper and she played for a while with it.

We loved that the princesses quickly went into her mouth. Silly girl! 

We ended the night with cupcakes. This was Elle's second time with cake (after her party) so this time she didn't waste any time diving in.

See what I mean! 

I can't believe she's one already. I still feel like she arrived just yesterday and I miss those newborn cuddles!

It was a happy day to celebrate with our sweet girl. Happy 1st birthday Elle Marie!

Elle - 1 year!

Our little miss is one year old! We absolutely adore this little girl and can't imagine our family without her. 

Elle's 1 year stats:

• Eats anything and everything. If someone in the house is eating, you can bet Elle is too :)
• Crawling on all fours
• Says "momma", "daddy", and "woof"
• Teases us/makes us laugh any way she can - climbing on us, pretend hitting herself in the head, making funny noises
• Signs "more", "all done", and "milk" 

Elle has grown into our own little entertainer and is such an easy going girl. She is such a joy to have in our home. 

Happy Birthday Elle!

Elle's First Birthday Party

We invited some family and close friends over to celebrate Elle's birthday. It was fun to give her a party for her special day!

  We watched this short video featuring Elle's first year:

Then we opened presents, at cake and visited. It was perfect!

She liked the cake more than Jayne did. She was slow to start but eventually figured it out :) We loved celebrating this little cutie!  

Elle - 11 months

11 months old! I am in serious denial that my baby will be 1 year old next month!

Elle's 11 month stats:

• Quickly army crawls any where and every where. No interest in getting onto her knees unless she's on the grass or concrete
• Climbing up on and over everything. She is very determined and is so proud of herself when she pulls herself to a stand
• Just cut her 5th tooth and the 6th should be here soon. Something about getting those top front teeth makes her look so much older!
• Really interacts with Jayne these days. Its so sweet to watch and I love it!
• Loves to feed herself and we have to use portion control or she'll try to fit it in her mouth all at once
• Babbles as she 'reads' books to herself - its adorable!

Love you little mini! Happy 11 months!

Elle - 10 months

How have 10 months passed already?! This cute little girl is just growing so fast!

Elle's 10 month stats:

• Says momma and dadda, not really consistently with who she wants but sometimes she associates the words with us 
• Plays peek-a-boo with her hands and peeking around objects/people
• Army crawls to get places but has started rocking on all fours
• Loves to dance by shaking her head and body
• Still has roll-y legs but cheeks aren't quite as chunky as the once were 

I pulled out the camera and she gave me this cheeser grin! She definitely knows what the camera is!

Happy 10 months little Elle!

Elle - 9 months

This little chubby cheeked cutie is nine months old! She's so much fun to play with and is so easy going. We love her so much!

Elle's 9 month stats:

• Rolling everywhere and anywhere like a champ (no more bonking the head with bumpy rolls)
• Loves small pieces of anything we're eating
• Her two bottom teeth make her smile so cute
• Rode her first airplane and did wonderful
• Learned how to wave but is very picky about when she'll perform her new trick
• Makes a "popping" noise with her mouth/lips and will often do it for quite a while

Happy 9 months!

Elle - 8 months

Elle's little personality is growing and we love interacting with her more and more each day! And her cheeks, well we just love those too! :)

Elle's 8 month stats:

• Rolling a lot these days. She's figured out both stomach-to-back and back-to-stomach
• Discovered that actual food isn't all that bad :) It took some persuasion but not she loves purees, especially fruits
• Got her first tooth (on the bottom) and the second one is coming soon!
• Sitting on her own and only tips when she lunges for something
• Moved into Jayne's room

Happy 8 months little Elle!

February/Valentines Day

We had to take photos for the girls' passports this month so I was able to get some cute shots of them. We certainly love these two!

Just over 7 months old here 

Elle has discovered her tongue. She loves to poke it out these days! 

Oh my heart! 

Jayne chose a pink (of course) shirt at the store which was perfect for Valentines Day. She was excited to wear it!

 My sweet girl, she melts my heart

Elle had a Valentines outfit too...and that tongue! :D

  

Love my two little Valentines! 

Elle - 7 months

We've begun the tongue stage with this little girl! She lights up our lives each day and we love her so much! 

Elle's 7 month stats:

• Hair is growing a bit and its reddish-auburn, same as Jayne's. Who would've thought!?
• Learning to eat food with a spoon. She's funny when she eats: sometimes she shudders and makes a disgusted face
• She sucks on her bottom lip to self-soothe
• Rolling over but isn't too smooth at it yet-she often bonks her head when trying to go fast