Spring Time is here! Ella and her momma are so thankful because we love to be outside. We kicked off the month of April with a park trip with Ella's best friend Carson. She loves to play with him.



We love to go on family walks or bike rides. Ella and her daddy sometimes stop and do some exercises!

"Let's go fly a kite!" Ella's first kite was a Barbie kite. She was amazed that it was flying in the air.

And of course, we can never leave our friends behind when we go outside. We need to have a baby stroller (sometimes even two).

March - 16 months

Swimmer baby had to come with us to the doctor. By the way, doesn't Ella look like the cutest Dorothy you've ever seen?!

Poor thing got a cold. She did an excellent job blowing her nose though.

Ella and Auntie Annette.

This little girl is seriously the best helper I have ever seen. She LOVES to do the dishes and LOVES to mop the floor. Mommy lucked out big time!

And of course, she loves reading books too.

 She is getting so big. A year and a half is right around the corner.



Run Baby Run

Ella ran her first marathon. I am such a proud mommy!

Some teachers at Sunset Hills and Miss Laura organized a charity marathon. We were lucky and Mr. Rolf was in town (Steph's then boyfriend - now hubby!). Steph and Rolf were amazing and stayed back with Ella and I for the baby portion before hitting the pavement to finish another lap!

Ella did great and had fun. She was thrilled to see people standing on the sidelines clapping and cheering for her. As an extra bonus she got a balloon and a snowcone for finishing!

Nice! Ha ha.

Jets!

Jimmy loves to take Ella to see planes. Anytime he can, he drives by Luke to let her see and hear the jets. Ella loves it!

We wanted to go to Luke Days this year but it didn't work out. We did end up leaving the house and still got a great show. Jimmy pulled over and let Ella see the jets!

And of course he couldn't resist leaving without scaring me! Ella loves water and apparently her dad does too.



A Day at the Zoo!

Ella really loved her first trip to the zoo. She went with her friend Chase. I think her favorite part was the petting zoo. She really loved the train, giraffes and fish too! I cannot wait to take her back.

When we first got there, she was so excited about all of the birds running around. Chase and Ella decided to follow the peacock. They got so close to it!

Awww...so cute. Being this close to the kangaroos made mommy a little nervous though.



I think the petting zoo made daddy nervous too. Those goats are impatient and ruthless!



On the choo choo!



Phoenix Children's Museum = BEST PLACE EVER!

My new favorite place to take Ella is the Phoenix Children's Museum. I went there with a couple of friends and their kiddos. It was a blast! Ella was pretty quiet most of the time, just taking everything in, but I can tell that she thoroughly enjoyed it. Her favorite parts were the kitchen area where her and Charli went "grocery shopping" together. She also made a St. Patrick's Day craft since we were there on St. Patrick's Day. I can't wait to take her back!

Carson helped her out putting the balls in.

Concentrating so hard.

Ella running through the Noodle Jungle.

Ella loved the 3 and under room. This ball maze was there and she was mezmerized!

Wheeee!

Spring Break

This Spring Break was a wonderful and much needed break. It was very different from last year's break. At that time Ella was still very much an infant, she slept a lot and was being held all of the time. She didn't even crawl yet. This break was much different. We went on a TON of walks, went out to lunch, colored, played outside and tons of other fun Mommy/Daughter things. It was an amazing break with time spent with my even more amazing daughter! Love her!

Ready to go for a walk!

Cracking up because she is feeding me her snack.

Coloring with the super cool crayons Miss Laura made for her birthday.

Playing IN the sand table. Not with it...IN it.

Getting ready to go to a super chic 16th birthday party for Haley.

On another walk.

Lunch with her daddy.

And ANOTHER walk.