Christmas with Jimmy's Family

Jimmy's mom moved to Colorado this year so it was a wonderful treat for Ella when her and Grandpa Mark came out to Arizona for a Christmas visit. She loves her Grandma and Grandpa so much! It was a very nice visit and we are so glad they came.

Wore out



I had to add this one...we are never in any pics!



Ella loves her new vest from Grandma!



Bubbles with her cousins. They are so sweet to her!



Little Reindeer

Last year, a few of my friends with children a little older than Ella and I got together around the holidays and took some very cute Christmas pictures of all of our little reindeer kids. We decided then that it would be a tradition to get the kiddos together for a picture each year. It is always a blast getting them together. Even though Ella is younger than them all, she still enjoys chasing them around acting like she is a big girl. I can't wait to do it again next year!

LAST YEAR

Christmas 2009
Carson, Noah, Ella and Charli

Christmas 2009
Ella and Charli

THIS YEAR

Christmas 2010
Carson, Charli, Ella and Noah

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Pictures

The holidays were coming up so that meant it was time for another photo shoot! We had Stephanie take our pictures this year for our Christmas card. We went to a park at Marley Park here in Surprise. We brought a ball and bubbles to keep Ella entertained. She didn't cooperate all that great with looking at the camera but she did good for a one year old. Here is a sneak peak at some of the pics. Enjoy!

 

Ella looks like a sweet little Christmas angel in this picture. It reminded me of when my mom found out I was pregnant. We were kind of doing math in our head and at first thought I would be due in December and my mom said, "Oh we will get a Christmas angel." Then I broke the news that it would be November and she said, "Well then, we'll just get a turkey!" I think we got a mix. She is a funny little turkey but also a sweet angel at the same time. Love her!

November 2010 - One Year Old

Ella's new obsession is rocks. She loves to throw them, pick them up, stack them, anything!

Our TALL girl can reach in the drawers now. Uh oh!

Ella's snack of choice is cheese and crackers.

She is also quite the fan of the sink. She loves to play and bathe in there when she can.

The left-over ball pit from her birthday party. Wow, what a mess.

Her One Year Dr. Visit. She was healthy, developing right on track and still tall.

Meet Me At The Park!

Ella is quite the social butterfly and I think that is mainly why she loves the park. I don't know if it actually a social butterfly thing as it is possibly a "nosy" habit, but either way, she loves people.

When we are at the Surprise Park, there are usually so many people and I just follow her around. She really gravitates more toward the older kids. I think that may be because all of her cousins are a bit older. She will follow them around and try to interact with them by sticking her hand out or mumbling something. The Surprise Park also has a lake with ducks. That is usually fun for Ella but not so much for me or her dad because she screams when we make her leave the lake or won't let her dive in and swim with the ducks!

Sarah found an amazing neighborhood park not too far from our house. That is my new favorite park for Ella. It is just the right size and has great slides and is very clean. On this particular park day it was freezing outside so we didn't stay long. Ella could have stayed out there all day with her friend Carson if I let her. Thanks for playing with us Carson!

Thanksgiving 2010...Gobble Gobble!

Now that Ella is a year old, we are done with all of her "first" holidays. So, this is her second Thanksgiving and it was a lot different than the first. Last year at Thanksgiving she was just a few weeks old so she stayed asleep in her mommy's arms for most of it. Oh how times have changed. Now that she is a big one year old she is moving on! At my parents Thankgsiving, the first picture below was the only picture I could get of her. After she saw her cousins and grandma outside, that was it. She was out for the day!

Then, it was much the same at Grandpa Frank's Thanksgiving. We played basketball with the boys after eating and it was so hard to get any pictures of Ella because she just wanted down to play basketball too. Here are a few of Ella with her dad and cousins.

Happy Thanksgiving! We were most thankful for Ella, our health and having family together this year. It was a wonderful day. I'm looking forward to many more amazing days with my family.

Welcome to Ella's Birthday Clubhouse!

Super Cheers! Ella is one years old!

I cannot believe that our angel baby is already a year old. It literally seems like a few weeks ago when on November 13th (Friday the 13th) my water broke while at home. We were so excited then but really had no clue what we were in for. Then on November 14th early in the morning Ella Justine Messner finally made her way into the world. This last year has been the best ever as I was blessed with the most amazing little girl. Constantly, people tell you how fast your kids grow up but never did I realize how much that would mean to a parent. She's walking, running and playing all on her own and we just can't believe it. She is only one and has already made her lucky parents tremendously happy. She brings so much joy to everyone she encounters. Ella is a happy girl who loves to laugh and play. She sings, dances and is kind to everyone. This last year has been a blast! I cannot wait to see what kind of wonderful person she becomes! She is growing up so quickly that I won't have to wait long to find out!

Of course, to celebrate this amazing little girl we had to throw a big bash. Check out Ella's Minnie Mouse 1st Birthday Party!





A parent from school made these amazing cakes! She even surprised me with the smaller cake.

My friend Theresa Purtyman made this awesome Toodles cake. It is so spot on and it was DELICIOUS!

I hope everyone enjoyed themselves at the party because I know Ella did. She loved playing in the ball pit and with the bubbles. She also kept hugging a lot of her guests. It was a great day to celebrate a wonderful year with a sweet and precious baby girl. We love you Ella Justine! Happy Birthday!