18 Month Stats

September 16th Ella went for her 18 month check up and here is her stats.

Weight 20.2 lbs. (3%)(Yes she lost 3 lbs.)We know the problem and are fixing it. Ella was asking for milk all day and was filling up on milk. Did you know a child can have too much milk? Well they can and she did.

Height 30.25 inches (14%)

She walks quickly, kicks a ball (Daddy will have her playing soccer in no time), recognizes 6 or 7 body parts, scribbles, uses a fork and spoon, walks up stairs with help and understands simple commands.

Ella is doing great and amazing us everyday.

My Little Dancer

This is Ella with her "binkie" (and yes she can say it). Since day one it has gone with her to Mother's Morning Out but it seems like today was the first day she started liking it and wanted to have it around.

Today I ask Ella her name and she told me Ella. I was so excited. She is learning so much every day. Her teacher commented again today what a big vocabulary she has.

We are still here

We have had a lot going on lately so I have been quite distracted.

Mike's company has been in the news lately and we have been really worried about his job. Unfortunately we will not know anything for 3-4 more weeks.

September 16th Mike and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary. YEAH!!! It was kind of hard with the recent news of mike's job to celebrate. Either way our marriage is still going strong and I love him more and more every day. During this time Ella was trying to cut 2 teeth. (teeth number 7 & 8)

On Wednesday nights we are rotating going to bible study. Since we both work full time we are struggling with putting in church nursery any more than we have to.

Friday Mike started working the yard getting it ready to put mulch down. Bless his heart he worked in the yard all day Saturday and Sunday as well. And Tuesday and Wednesday after work. He deserved a metal for all the time he put in working on the yard. I would like to also than Ann and Dave our WONDERFUL neighbors who also helped spread the 15 yards of mulch. We are so grateful to have you two as neighbors and friends.

Not much has gone on since Monday but Ella is talking up a storm. Her teacher even commented that she has a large vocabulary. Her new words lately are teacher, diaper, picture, and careful.

I will leave you with a couple pictures from tonight.

Guate Get Together

Saturday morning I met up with some other Guatemalan adoptive moms and their beautiful children. Hopefully we can do this once a month if not at least more often.

Random Stuff

Saturday at daddy's soccer game

Ella's new favorite past time
Not suppose to be doing this
Ella is getting better at mother's morning out. She still cries when we drop her off but they say she does great the rest of the day. Today when I dropped her off they commented she has a big vocabulary (yeah).

Today I bought Ella a tutu and tried it on her and she cried. So hopefully I can post pictures of her in the tutu soon. (Hannah, did Sophia like her's at first?)

You may have noticed that I deleted the Halloween post and voting poll. Well since that post I have gotten a lot of suggestions of other costumes and now I can't narrow it down. I guess Ella's costume will now be a surprise to all of you.

6 Months Home

Today marks Ella being home 6 months. It is hard to believe 6 months we landed at our local airport to be greeted by family and friends who couldn't wait to meet Ella . I know Mike will agree that it has been the best 6 months of our lives. We are very fortunate that Ella has had no adjustment issues. She is a blessing beyond measure and are so very thankful to have her in our lives.

Scroll down for more more updates.

Teacher's report

Just wanted to share a little of what Ella's teacher's are telling us.
-She loves art time, even colored an extra picture
-She is a very good eater
-Has befriended a little girl named Clara
-Ella enjoys playing in the sandbox
-She will only sleep for about a half an hour
-Very talkative

Pictures from the lake

Ella survived MMO

Ella survived Mother's Morning Out yesterday. When I dropped her off she said bye so I slipped out the door and as soon as I closed it I saw her start crying. It tore me up to leave her like that but I know it was harder on me than her. She would only sleep while being rocked and that was only for about 30 minutes.

Here is Ella's backpack for school

A picture from tonight