Our Little Frenchy Fry

Ella's First Birthday Party!!

2010-08-19T10:28:00.000-07:00

Ella's Birthday Party was something I planned for and anticipated for months! My BFF Nicki and I had so much fun putting our minds together long distance and planning this party together! She played a huge role in pulling off Ella's party...she made all the paper supplies for me, which tied everything together so nicely!! Thank you so much for all your help Nicki!! Ella's party was such an awesome memory!!

The cake table: my friend Amy and I took a beginner cake decorating class this past winter so that we could both make our babies' first birthday cakes! It was a lot of work, on top of making everything else, but it was also a lot of fun!!

So hard to believe our baby girl is one already!! She brings so much joy into our lives!

I made all these little buckets with balloons that were supposed to go on the tables outside, but it ended up being way too windy, so they ended up being scattered around the house.

Jeff and his mom took care of the food so I could concentrate on the decorations and desserts. It was a joint effort for sure. Also, my friend Amie made the beautiful fruit arrangement, and our friends the White's brought the veggie trays.

I had so much fun decorating for this party!!

So girlie!

Me and my baby girl. She was a little overwhelmed by how many people came over.

Some of the outside decorations. Yummy lemonade and strawberry lemonade. Nicki also made me some adorable personalized water bottle labels. She put so many personalized details into this party for me! Loved it!!

Ella's smash cake. She didnt get into it very much.....she mustv'e known 40 people were watching her! :o)

Getting into it a little....it was so bright outside!

Opening all her wonderful presents! Thank you everyone that came for all the generous gifts you brought Ella!

I love this picture of Ella! So cute!

I took one last picture of the cake before we cut it....hey, it was a lot of work to make! lol

The birthday girl all tired out from a super fun birthday party! Grandma gave her a bath and put in her jammies. Ella didn't even notice all the balloons in the house until everyone left. She had fun playing with them.

Whoa.....trying to catch up!

2010-08-19T10:26:00.001-07:00

Yikes....it's been three months and I havnt made a post. I think it's because I tried to load way to many pictures per post, and it takes so long that I dread it. So, I am going to try to condense the amount of pictures in my posts. So.....pardon me while I try to go back and catch up over the last three months- the shortened condensed version! :o)

Ella's one year pictures

2010-05-13T14:45:00.001-07:00

We had Ella's one year pictures taken at JcPenney's. I was overall very pleased with how they turned out! It's so hard to believe how fast this last year has flown by!! How did my little baby girl already turn one?? I love this pink dress! It was also her Easter dress.

One of my FAV'S!!!!

Such sweet innocense!

I am so glad we got a few of her standing...it shows how tall she has gotten!!

This is one of our favorites too~she looks just like Jeff's brother in this picture!!

I made a giant cupcake cake for Ella to tear into....she wasn't quite sure at first.

Getting a little more brave.

There we go!

Now we're talkin'!

Now to bring her down off the sugar high! :o)

April 13th 2010

2010-04-13T18:49:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to my dear sweet Ella Grace! I had no idea one year ago today how much my life was going to be blessed with you in it. You bring joy to my EVERY DAY! You are such a happy girl....you always have been. You have been such a joy to take care of, and you have for the most part been easy to take care of. I love you so so much, and cannot imagine my life without you. Thank you for loving me. Your love is so unconditional and makes me feel so special. Thank you for loving your daddy. His world lights up when you are in it. I love watching you two love each other....you are two little peas in a pod. This last year has been somewhat of a whirlwind!! It's so hard to believe that a whole year has past, yet it also is so hard to remember what our lives were like without you! You have changed your daddy and I so much. Our hearts are so much more full than we ever knew they could be. WE LOVE YOU!!!! Happy Birthday our little Ella Bear!

April 1-12, 2010

2010-04-13T07:28:00.001-07:00

The first part of April has been a good one in our house. I worked my very last night shift on April 2, so we were all happy to put the chapter behind us. I'm sure it will take most of April for me to get used to dayshift, but it will be so much better overall for our family.

Easter morning all ready for church. This is the first Sunday mommy has been able to go to church in several months! So glad that is over too!!

Mommy and Ella all dressed up for church.

Sweet baby girl!

I don't know what I was thinking wearing five inch heels....our bodies just weren't made to be able to do that! :o)

Quick picture in the parking lot at church. Ella wasn't into it!

Try again. It was really overcast and humid that day. The sun came out in the afternoon though. We went over to Andy and Amies for Easter brunch. I forgot to take pictures from that.

I painted Ella's toes for the first time. They looked so cute, and she loves to play with them.

My beautiful flowers from Jeff and Ella for being done with night shift.

My friend Rayanne and I are learning how to make hairbows. This is all the ribbon we ordered! FUN!!

This is my little gymnist. She likes to play a game where she gets into this position, and then has you flip her the rest of the way around into a summersalt.

Pretty Princess in Purple

Waking up from a nap....ready to go PLAY!

So excited!!

And of course, more swinging time!!

We go to the park quite often, but I never remember to take my camera with me. She LOVES the black baby swing at the park. She can see it from a distance as we are walking to the park, and she starts squealing!

Such a big girl!

Daddy giving underdogs.

I got a new mirror in my bedroom, and of course it already has baby handprints all over it! She loves to look at herself. And, as you can see, she also loves her toothbrush!! :o)

Hi Mommy!

Our friends Joseph and Jennifer are moving to Ohio, so we all got together one last time and had dinner. All four of us girls had on the same color, so we had to get a picture!

Their daughter Gena and Ella are only a few months apart. It was a lot of fun to watch them play together. Gena was having fun pushing Ella around on her little train scooter.

Ella also got to try out Gena's rocking horse.

Trying to stand on her own! It won't be long now!!!

This was the first weekend that I was on days. Daddy didn't take very many pictures, but he took this one of Ella trying to play the piano. She loves to sit and play the keys. She is very gentle with them too....she usually doesnt bang.
Jeff and Ella also came up to my work this Sunday afternoon and had lunch with me!! That was so much fun and brightened my day!!!! Just one of the many benefits of working days now!

I can't believe our baby girl is going to be one this week!!! It has been an amazing year!! I wouldn't trade it for anything!! Ella brings so much joy and laughter into our home!! We are so blessed and so thankful!!

March 2010

2010-04-06T14:11:00.000-07:00

March brought "mostly" much better health. We had three weeks of feeling great and being active. Then we had a freak snowstorm right after it had been 80 degrees. A few days later, Ella started acting like she was getting a cold. Within a few days, she took a bad turn and ended up having to be hospitalized for a day and a half for croup. She recovered pretty quickly though, and ever since then, has had boundless amounts of energy. She is definetely NOT acting like a baby anymore, but a little girl. A little girl who wants to know what EVERYTHING is and is into everything! She keeps us very busy. She LOVES to go on walks, and loves to swing in her swing in the backyard, and in the swing at the park. She and the puppies continue to be best of buds. They have to know where she is and what she is up to at all times! One big problem we have run into now that Ella is a pretty independent eater is, she loves to feed the dogs, which we thought was adorable at first.....until we noticed that they were starting to get FAT!! Now we are having to train her to not feed them, and train them not to sit at her feet when she is eating. Let me tell you, it's hard to untrain a bad habit. Ella finally got the hang of sign language this month. We have been working with her to teach her basic mealtime words like, "more" and "all done". One day, it just CLICKED, and she started doing the signs to tell us when she wanted more food, or when she was finished. We were so excited!!! I never thought she would catch on, but it's amazing what they can learn at such a young age.

Like always, I have just uploaded a random assortment of every day pictures....some of them are pretty boring, but they just give you an idea of our every day life! :o) Here is a picture of Jeff and Ella right after a shower!

Nothing really significant about this picture....I just think it's cute!

This is my third cake. My frosting didn't go on very smooth, so I had to heavily decorate it to cover up my mistakes. It was fun learning to do different techniques.

Jeff took this cake to work....so I wouldn't eat it all!! Cake is one of my weaknesses!

Amy and I with our cakes! :o)

Ella discovered the cabinet where we keep all of the tupperware. It's her favorite thing to do...pull everything out, and crawl inside the cabinet. It's a daily activity!! LOL

Little miss is into exploring everything lately. She likes to crawl into any little space she can fit her body into.

Including hiding under the clothes basket. She is constantly on the MOVE!!!

We have so much fun in the swing in our back yard. It's nice to have one right at our house. We use it every day that it is warm enough, and sometimes multiple times a day. Ella laughs every single time you push her. It's the simple every day joys like this that I love so much!

LOVE the hair!!

Jeff loves to read to Ella! He wants her to be smart! :o)

We went on a shopping date with my friend Brooke, and her baby Luke. It was a beautiful day, and the babies were so good.

Taking a break from shopping to feed the little ones!

Not too sure what to think!!

Jeff tiled the backsplash in our kitchen. The one that was there before was hideous! It was burgundy, pink, and white checkered. This is a much needed improvement. So thankful to have a handyman around!!

Other side of the kitchen.

This picture speaks for itself....TOTAL BUDS! Dawn told me I should enter this one into a photo contest....it really is adorable!!

Met up with some friends at the Cheesecake Factory. We missed you Rayanne!!

This girl jumps so much and so hard, that she wears herself out. It's funny, if it's her bedtime, and she is acting like she isn't tired yet, we stick her in her jumper, and she will jump herself to sleep. I hope she doesn't grow out of this too soon.

Just Playing in mommy's room and making a mess.

And keeping a watch of the neighborhood.

Cake #4. I wanted to practice making a tall square cake because I will be making a square cake for Ella's birthhday party.

I was able to buy a Kitchen Aide with my birthday money!! It makes doing cakes and making frosting so much easier! Plus it looks pretty in my kitchen! :o)

Jeff decided to tear the old tile out of our guest bathroom. The old tile was pretty ugly too.

New tile. He did such a great job!!!

Big girl all ready for church!! My first little pony in my hair for church.

Daddy and his little mini me!

More swing time....it was a little chilly, so we just bundled up.

Taking a bath in the newly tiled tub. This is one of Ella's favorite times of the day. She crawls into the bathroom whenever the door is open and stands up at the side of the tub and starts jumping and screaming! haha.....she has such a funny little personality.

She LOVES her five little rubber duckies!

This is a sad picture of Ella when she was in the hospital. I brought Jeff's swimming trunks up so he could take her in the shower. She usually loves showers, but you can tell from this picture that she felt horrible!! Poor baby!!

Ella in her little hospital bed.

It didn't take her to bounce back to her happy healthy self. These last pictures show a little glimpse of miss Ella's sweet little personality.

February 2010

2010-04-06T13:40:00.000-07:00

February was a rough month is the French household! We were all pretty much sick the entire month! We all got a really bad cold, and we all got a stomach bug. Literally, we all got sick on Feb. 2nd, and weren't all better until the very end of the month. BUT, we still made some great memories, and had days of feeling good in between yucky days. Ella didn't let sickness slow her down much. I managed to take a cake decorating class, which was fun, but a lot of work. I am hoping to make Ella's birthday cake for her party!!

These are a few pictures taken with Luke two day's after he was born. Rayanne and I went up to the hospital to see him and Brooke. He felt so small in my arms. It is so hard to believe that Ella was once this small!

Luke with his two "aunties"

Proud and tired mommy Brooke

We did a lot of jammie time in February. Not only because we didn't feel well, but because it was cold.

Chillin' with daddy while drinking my bottle.

We had a huge snowfall....supposedly the biggest one in Texas history. It was kindof fun to see our neighborhood covered in snow. Not to mention, I have never seen so many snowmen in my life!! Every single house had a least one snowman, and most had several! :o)

So Pretty!

This was my very first cake to decorate at my cake class. It was a picture transfer. I thought it turned out pretty well! It was fun too!

Amy and I with our cakes.

One nice day that we could be outside after the snow melted. You can still see the rest of Jeff's snowman in our yard behind Ella!

Our big girl is starting to try to walk around furniture. She is so proud of herself that she can stand up and get around on her own.

I LOVE these next two pictures. We were all waiting for daddy to get home from work, and Ella figured out that she could stand up on the bed and look out the window. She and our dogs are such good buddies, and I just love these pictures of the three of them together.

HILARIOUS!

These are our second cakes that we made. 3D characters out of frosting. We could either learn to make clowns, or penguins.

Just hanging out in one of her favorite spots in the house. Ella loves it that our windows go all the way down to the ground. She loves to look outside, and see what is going on.

She crawled in the clothesbasket one day when I was doing laundry.....that was big fun! :o)

Lovin' on mommy before she went out for a girls night! Pretty soon we can go out for girls nights together!!

My good friend Carrie to me out to eat and to a movie to celebrate my birthday! We had a great time. It was just so nice to get out of the house after being cooped up all month and not feeling well.

We were glad when February was over. We still had fun with Ella, but we were ready to get rid of the cold weather....and all the sicky bugs that came with it!!!

January 2010

2010-04-06T12:27:00.001-07:00

January was an exciting month for Ella! She officially started crawling as soon as she got home from Wisconsin. She took a few little crawls up at grandma and grandpa's house, but really took off when she got home, and then didn't stop!! :o) She also started trying to say more words this month. Mama, Dada, Uh-oh, Pu-pu(puppies), and about five other consonents.

My great friend Jana took some nine month pictures for us. I am so sad she just moved to Japan! I'm going to miss her so much as a friend~ not to mention she is an amazing photographer!! These were taken out on her family farm. Here are a few of my favorites!

My friend Rayanne and I threw our friend Brooke a baby shower. It was fun to decorate with little boy things. Rayanne and I both have girls, so we had fun playing around with boy stuff! :o)

Brennely and Ella hung out while we set everything up. Their daddy's picked them up when they got off of work so we could enjoy ourselves, but it was nice for all of our coworkers to get to see them for a little bit.

Rayanne, Brooke, and I (and Luke)

We had several couple friends over for fajitas and taco ring. Jana hadn't seen Ella since she was a week old, so they had fun getting aquainted. For some reason, Ella loved Jana's boots! She kept trying to lick them! haha And yes, this is the same Jana that took our amazing nine month pictures!

Jana and Robert, Jay and Nicole, Kyle and Ashley, and Jeff and I. We had so much fun! We played a wild married couples game that night.....LOTS of laughs!!!

All bundled up for church on a cold January Sunday morning!

We had a playdate with Rayanne, Brennely, Brooke, and Luke(inutero). Can't wait until our kiddos are old enough to actually play together.

Ella was trying out Luke's awesome car jumper/walker. She loved it!

Jeff took off of work and went to New Moon with me for my birthday. We got a babysitter, and headed to the movies for the first time in a year and a half. Now, that's a good husband to go to a girly movie with me!! :o)

After the movie, we went and picked up Ella and all went to the Cheesecake Factory. It was so nice to all be together on my birthday.

Amie and Andy invited us over for a birthday dinner and amazing chocoloate cake!

Daddy's little buddy!

Happy baby girl!

Chester and Ella have figured out how to play tug of war with each other. They entertain each other quite a bit.

This is the last time Ella took a nap in her swing. She loved it, but is just getting too big and too mobile. She looks so sweet and peaceful. I will miss having her in my room during nap time.

Story time with daddy.

Digging for cherios in her bib.

Crawling ALL OVER the house! Having a mobile baby forces me to have to clean the floors a lot more often!

Ella really came into herself this month. She just really started being interested in everything around her, and her little personality really started to shine! She has amazing amount of energy, and LOTS of smiles to go around. LOVE this little girl!

Alot more confidence with standing!

Christmas in Wisconsin

2010-02-03T14:25:00.000-08:00

All packed and ready to go to Wisconsin for Christmas! First time we were able to go home for the actually holiday in six years. We usually celebrated Christmas at Thanksgiving because that's when we could get away. So excited to get to take Ella home for her first Christmas! :o)

Grandma and Grandpa French were pretty excited to see Ella at the airport. Pretty sure Grandpa boxed Grandma out to get to her first. :o)

Getting reaquainted with Grandpa! She acted like she remembered them.....I am convinced that Skyping every weekend makes a huge difference.

Grandma had a turn pretty quick too! Uncle Tim hadn't seen Ella since she was two weeks old!

Uncle Tim still a little nervous holding Ella! That will change quick...as you will see in later pictures! :o)

Grandpa was pretty excited to get to feed Ella her breakfast!

We drove through a horrible blizzrd all the way home from the airport! So, of course, just like old times, Jeff and Tim got up the next morning and snowblowed the whole block! They loved it...esp. Jeff, since we don't really get snow in Texas.

Spending time with Grandma. She pulled out all of her special toys and dollies for Ella to play with . Ella, of course loved it!!

Uncle Tim and Grandpa had a fun time playing with Ella and getting reaquainted with her.

All bundled up and ready to go play out in the snow.

Ella and Uncle Tim

Sitting on Great Grandpa French's old bobsled. It was so fun to see so much snow again!

Ella thought this was so much fun! You can tell she is the first grandbaby/ neice on this side! :o)

Ella loved being outside in the snow. Plus, she loved all the attention she was getting!

I LOVE this picture! She was literally stuck down in the snow!

The three of us!

It's tradition to have Christmas Eve dinner at great Grandma and Grandpa French's house and open gifts with them. Great Grandma made a wonderful ham and potato dinner. Ella was the star of the show...she made us all laugh by making funny faces and laughing all the way through dinner! she is such a little ham. she feeds off of attention for sure!

Christmas Eve night...ready to open presents.

Ella playing with Kristi.

Like father like son!

Of course Ella loved all of this attention!

Great Grandma French

Great Grandpa French

Early Christmas morning

So much fun at grandma and grandpa's!!

Present from Great grandma and grandpa

Look at all my presents!!

A dolly! So excited!!

Grandma helped me open some of my presents!

Right before Ella's first haircut

Grandma gave Ella her first little haircut! :o)

Mommy gave very strict instructions.....only take off the very tips!

The French family(minus Chester and Oliver) Christmas 2009

Take two

Our little family... God is so good to us!

Tim and Kristi being silly.

Grandma and Grandpa with the light of their lives! :o)

Snuggle time with Kristi

Last night at Grandma and Grandpa's house before meeting up with my family for three days. Ella decided she didn't want to go to bed.....and since it was our last night, we fudged her bedtime by like three hours! She was so proud of herself that she got to stay up with the big people! :o)
We had such a wonderful three days together!! It went by way too fast! So much fun to be able to bring Ella home for her first Chrstmas! Thank you for the wonderful time!!! We will be back! :o) Love you guys!

Mauston with my family.

We rented a huge log house with my family in Mauton, WI...which happened to be a great place for us all to meet in the middle. It was great because they had a clubhouse with a pool....so great for the kids to wear off some of their energy. I love this picture of Danny and Caleb in the pool.

Jeff, Ella, and Sophia swimming.

Ella got to meet Uncle Jon for the first time! He got acquainted with her ears right away! For those of you that know Jon, you know what I'm talking about! :o)

All of the kids exchanging their Christmas presents! It was so much fun to watch.

Ella loved taking baths in the kitchen sink. It was really big and deep....the PERFECT sink for a baby bath!!

And of course Grandma and the girl cousins wanted to help.

Ella getting to know Uncle Danny and Aunt Krissy

Uncle Jeff and Anthony

SISTERS!!!

Sophia loved feeding Ella...she was such a great little helper!!!

My brother went outside and picked us this beautiful "Charlie Brown" Christmas tree! lol

We all had fun playing the Wii.

Grandma reading Anthony(Bubba) a story.

Lots of snuggle time with Aunty Dawnie

Brittany and Sophia....such little buddies

Uncle Jeff pushing the girls down the hill. They had so much fun sledding.

This is the beautiful log house we rented for three nights. It was perfect for our family!

The DiCandilo's out for some sledding!

We celebrated Danny's 29th birthday on December 28th.

Anthony and Micah were such little buddies! It's so much fun to watch the cousins play together!

Too bad cousin Sophia doesn't live closer...she would make the best babysitter! Between her and Brittany, we would always have someone to watch Ellabear!

The Lowery Family

The whole clan! Mom and Dad Lowery, Scott, Deann, Ryan, and Brittany MacPherson, Jon, Dawn, Sophia, and Anthony DiCandilo, Danny, Krissy, Caleb, and Micah Lowery, and Jeff, Darla, and Ella French.

It was so nice to all be together again!

Sweet girl cousins!

You have to love cousin pictures! Even if someone is crying, and someone is picking their nose, they are always so fun to look at....esp 10 years down the road.

Take Two! ;o)

My BFF Laura was able to stop by with her husband Andy on their way home from their family Christmas! It was so special to get to spend a few hours with them! It was especially fun to see Laura because she is pregnant and was definetely starting to show at this point!!! We have had such a special friendship throughout the years....starting on our first day of college our freshmen year! ;o) Love you to death Laura!

Love, love, love this picture!!!

Ella thought Andy was interesting. She kept wanting to touch his face. lol

Grandpa Lowery loving on Ella.

Snuggling on the couch our last night together! We were telling goofy stories and drawing silly pictures for each other!! Love these guys!!

Giving Ella kisses before mommy flew home to Texas. She and daddy were heading back up to Grandma and Grandpa French's for a few more days while mommy went back home to work her holiday. It was so hard to say goodbye!!!! sniff, sniff.

Cousin Sophia saying bye to Ella bear!

I think Grandma and Grandpa were pretty excited to have Ella back!

Lots of loves and kisses for Ella.

"Grandpa's girl" as he calls her! :o)

Trying out Grandpa's new leather chair he got for Christmas.

Playing with my new stuffed toy from Great Grandma.

Playing dollies with Grandma.

What a ham!!

Ella with Great Grandma!

Ella learned how to hold her own bottle while she was at Grandma and Grandpa's. I am also told that she took her first few crawls there too while I was at home. I'll let them think what they want....LOL ...no, she really probably did but she didn't really take off with it until she was back home for a couple of days. Grandma and Grandpa did work with her a lot though on learning how to crawl!!! :o)

PLAYTIME!

Bathtime at Grandma's!! She has fun rubber duckies for me to play with!

More playtime with Grandpa.

Great Grandma and Grandpa French came down one last time to say goodbye to Ella.

Great grandpa French teasing Ella.

I know Grandma and Grandpa were sad to see them leave, but I was SO ready for them to come back home. It was no fun being apart for those four days.!!!

It was so special to get to go home for Ella's first Christmas!! We had such a great time with both of our families!! It was fun to get to go play in the snow, but also fun to go back home and not have to deal with it everyday! Thank you everyone for such a wonderful Christmas!! We love you all so much!!!!!

December 2009.....up until Christmas

2010-01-15T11:10:00.001-08:00

We had a photo shoot taken for Christmas. This was by far our favorite one of the three of us. We sent this one out as our Christmas card as well. I love the sweet smile on Ella's face. We are so blessed to have her in our lives this Christmas. It was so fun to have a baby around for the holidays. She lit up every event and made things so much more fun. Ella was so close to crawling all month long. We thought it was going to happen before Christmas, but she just didn't quite get there. She is very active though...never wants to stay still, and there is never a dull moment.

Here are some of the other pictures from the same photo shoot. I love this one. This was just before she was totally sitting up on her own, so we had to sit her up and snap the picture really fast before she would slump over to the side. :o)

I thought this was such a cute idea, so I brought my own lights with me....well, little did I know that these lights get HOT really fast! We had to snap a few quickly and then shut them right back off.

She liked the lights! :o)

I love her little Santa hat! I brought all these little props with us to the studio, and they turned out so cute. :o) I love the little drool about to fall out of her mouth....she is really focusing on that big shiny ornament!

"Do you think Santa will bring me anything for Christmas?? I'm good most of the time!"

So thankful for our little family! God has blessed us so much!

Here's a few more that we liked.

LOVE THIS! A true daddy's girl for sure!

We had one snow fall in Texas! It melted in a matter of an hour, but I had to get a picture of Ella with her very first snow fall.

I loved her little snuggly teddy bear suit.

It did make it a lot harder to her to move though! :)

This looks like a typical play afternoon in our family room. We were skyping with Dawn and Sophia. Skype is such a great way to keep in touch and for Ella to remember all of the special people in her life that live far away.

All dressed up for church on a December Sunday morning!

I think this picture of our tree is so pretty....this was before I had a chance to decorate it, but I still love the lighting.

We keep our house on the chilly side, so Ella and I dress all nuggly in the morning hours of the day. I love these little fleece suits on her...so soft. They just made it a lot harder for her to try to crawl. She certainly still tried though!

I finally got the tree decorated by the second week of December, and Ella was facinated by all the shiny ornaments.

I bought a few new special ornaments this year...This one is in honor of my friend Laura. She is having a baby girl this year after a long hard trial time of waiting. They are naming their little girl Hope, and I wanted to get this ornament to commemorate this special year.

This one speaks for itself. A shiny sparkly "E" for my little Ella bear. My sister Dawn also bought me a baby's first Christmas ornament. I didn't take a picture of it yet, but it will be on our tree next year.

Just a few more pictures of Ella trying to learn how to crawl. Mommy makes it a little more difficult by dressing her in outfits that make it harder to move. I can't help it...they are just so cute! :o)

This is Ella's little friend Drew. Drew's mom Amy watches Ella for me one day a week so I can sleep after working night shift. It's so cute to watch Ella and Drew interact with each other. They always light up when they see each other. It will be fun to see them play and interact more as they get older.

Aren't I cute?

Ella played so hard that she fell asleep in her jumperoo! :o) Hilarious! She is like that though...she plays and plays and plays until she just drops! This girl has way more energy than me, but is quite the match for her daddy! I'm so glad they have each other to wear themselves out! :o)

In the process of learning how to hold my own bottle.

Trying on mommy's scarf. It's so cute to see her sitting up on her own. She had only been able to do this now for about a week or two. This was the week before we left to go home for Christmas. I was excited that she was sitting on her own by Christmas. It's so much easier to play with her now that she can sit on her own.

Three stockings on our fireplace this year! I don't take this for granted and am so thankful for the new precious life in our home this year! She has forever changed us, and brings joy into our home every day! WE LOVE YOU ELLA GRACE!

This was the last Sunday before Christmas. Ella is wearing her red Christmas dress from Grandma. It ended up fitting her just perfect! Thank you Grandma French!

We were asked to dress up as Joseph, Mary, and baby Jesus for the preschoolers at church. I unfortunately had to work, but my friend Lindsay was gracious enough to step in for me. I think Ella made a pretty cute little baby Jesus. And then there's Jeff! :o) LOL

We are so excited to get to leave for Wisconsin in just a few days! We havn't been back to Wisconsin for the actual Christmas holiday in six years!!!

November, 2009

2009-12-15T08:29:00.001-08:00

Our November started out with another trip down to Florida. Jeff and I flew down for 5 days to candidate at a church for a youth pastor position. As it just so happened, my mom had already planned a trip down there at the same time to see her mom. It worked out perfect because Jeff and I were so busy, and my mom was able to be such a huge help with Ella. We had a great time all being able to be together.

Bath time at Great Grandma's (Mama's) house.

You can't tell these grandmothers are enjoying themselves now can you?? :o)

We went swimming at Tim and Maria's one afternoon. Maria found this cute bonnet to put on Ella so she wouldn't get a sunburn.

Complete with her shades...ready to go swimming!!

Here are a few pictures from swim time.

Samantha, Rebecca, and Breanna loved playing with Ella. They made good little baby sitters.

So special to have four generations together! I come from a line of beautiful godly women! So thankful for them!!

I LOVE this picture of Ella! It shows how beautiful her eyes are....they are lit up like this most of the time, but it is hard to catch it in a picture. She is happy to be having some time with daddy!

Spending time with daddy before he goes back to the church. He was gone a lot during these five days, so Ella was always so excited to see him.

My mom had a fun time playing dressup with Ella.

Pretty baby!

Look at those two little teeth!

We got together with our friends Jeff and Sarah and their little boy Nolan while we were in Florida. We met for breakfast at Cracker Barrel. Nolan is about a month and a half older than Ella. He is definetly ALL BOY! Such a little sweetheart! Jeff and Jeff were really close friends in college. They are always excited for an opportunity to get together!

Nolan thought Ella's feet were pretty interesting. LOL

The boys with their babies. So proud!

Sarah and I with the kiddos.

Sarah and Ella.

Sunday Morning before church with my adorable Grandmother!

We had a great time in Florida! It was a crazy whirlwind of a trip, but among the craziness, we were so thankful to be able to spend time with family and friends while we were down there. It will be interesting to see what the Lord has for our future...we are excited to watch everything unfold in HIS timing!

Back at home hanging out with daddy while he works on putting our digital photo albums together. This baby girl loves her daddy!!!

"Don't bother me..I'm with my daddy!" :o) I love it that she loves Jeff so much! It's just way too sweet!!

Inseperable!

I love, Love, LOVE this picture!!! They look so much alike, it's rediculous!!!

Hangin' out with mommy! Look at those beautiful eyes!

I love my days at home with Ella! She has got to be the world's easiest baby....I think I am spoiled ROTTEN! We just hang out and have a great time. She is always so sweet to sit patiently with me in the bathroom while I take a shower and get ready....such a little sweetheart.

Aren't you done getting ready yet mommy?? I LOVE her eyes in this picture. They are somewhat of a mixture of Jeff and I's eyes, but are for sure a beautiful Hazel.

A new toy to play with! Ella has all of a sudden really gotten into her toys this month, and her fine motor movement have improved tremendously. She picks up little things with her fingers, and notices everything. It is so much fun to watch her learn things and develop. This was the first time she played with this toy, and she figured it out right away. So fun to watch her get so excited.

She had so much fun with these rings! I think she played with them for an hour straight.

ELLA IS SITTING UP ON HER OWN!!! This was one of the two exciting milestones she hit this month. It only took one or two times of doing it, and she had it down. The other big thing she learned this month was saying "mama", "dada", and her favorite...."blahblah"! :o) It's so cute..every time I try to get her to say mama, she looks at me and says DADA!!! :o) Of course, Jeff loves that!

Ella and her little playmates. They are wherever she is....very good little watchdogs!

This toy entertains Ella for a long time. She loves to make the music play, and there are little balls that she likes to pick up.

So focused!

Bath time has got to be Ella's favorite part of the day! It's even more fun now that she is sitting up on her own. She always gets fussy when it's time to get out of the tub...she would stay in there for hours if I would let her. She loves to splash and play with her rubber duckies.

More play time. Trying on one of my new bows I just got in the mail from Nicki.

My amazing friend Nicki made all these bows for Ella...twice! The first time, the package got lost in the mail, so she had to remake all of them! What a fun package to get! Ella now has a bow to go with any outfit! So fun!

Hilarious but oh, so adorable! One day, she is going to look back at these pictures and say, "Mom, what were you thinking??" :o)

Another evening of hanging out as a family. These are the times that I LOVE....when we are all together, not really doing anything special, but enjoying each other.

This girl LOVES to be upside down. She leans back when you are holding her and gets the biggest smile on her face when you finally give in and tip her upside down. Hilarious!

Hee, hee.....daddy being silly! These are the times we will miss someday!

This is something Ella starting doing when she thinks something is funny. We call it her stinky face. She shrinks up her nose and sniffs in and out really loud! It is SO FUNNY! We die laughing everytime she does it! This girl is a HAM and LOVES to be the center of attention!

What are you looking at??

We went to Andy and Amie's for Thanksgiving dinner. We have celebrated either Thanksgiving or Christmas together with them for the last three years. It's been nice to have each other to celebrate with.

Playing on Amie's soft rug with my toys. It's so much easier now that she is sitting up on her own because she entertains herself so much more.

My little eskimo baby

Ella figured out if she pulled her shirt up, Jeff would blow on her belly! haha...it was so cute!

Right before eating our amazing Thankgiving dinner that Amie made.

I worked all of Thanksgiving weekend. Jeff and Ella took it upon themselves so set up the tree on Saturday while I was sleeping. Ella thought the lights were pretty fun. :o)

This is what happens when you let Jeff take care of a little girl....he dresses her up like a little boy! :o)

Too funny!

It's still just so much fun to see her sitting up by herself. What happened to our little baby?? They grow up So Fast!

It was a cold Sunday in Texas so we decided to wear some warm jeans instead of the frilly dresses that she usually wears. Of course, she still had to wear a bow!

SO BIG! Ella loves to stand! She will probably walk not to far after she crawls, because she loves to be up on those two feet. She has really strong legs! Probably from all of the jumping she does in her jumperoo every day!

All snuggled in for a nice Sunday afternoon nap. Daddy keeps Ella busy on the weekends, and esp this long weekend he had off for Thanksgiving. They love their time together, and I'm so happy she has so much one on one time with her awesome daddy.

November flew by pretty fast!!! It was a pretty big month for Ella developmentally, and it was so much fun to watch!!!!

October, 2009

2009-11-17T12:28:00.001-08:00

October was a pretty uneventful month. We did a lot of hanging out around the house. Jeff took a trip to Colorado to go hunting with his brother, so Chris Ward came to stay with me.

Here is a picture of Ella taking a nap on the kitchen floor after wearing herself out trying to learn how to crawl.

She mustv'e been really tired because this doesn't look very comfortable!

We still have a lot of beautiful days in October here in Texas. We have been able to enjoy Ella's swing outside quite a bit in the afternoon. She is content to swing for as long as you are willing to stay outside and push her.

Loves her swing!

Ella loves to snuggle her Laura bear. We were laying on the bed watching a Baby Einstein video on the laptop.

Hangin' out with mommy in the bathroom. Ella is so sweet and patient. She sits in her bouncy chair every day while I take a shower and get ready. She plays with her toys or just babbles at me. haha

Ella bounces for HOURS in this jumperoo! She is going to have some really strong leg muscles.

Playtime on the bed with daddy and the puppies.

Since we don't have fall in Texas, I figured I would find a way for Ella to "play in the leaves." No, we were just playing in my room one morning and it was cold so I wrapped her in this blanket. I thought it made a cute fall picture. I wanted to take Ella to a pumkin patch and get some cute pictures, but every day I planned to go, it was either raining or too cold. ( I know, I'm a wimp.)

Happy girl!!

Jeff got Ella already for church, tights, bow, and all....and thought she looked so cute, he had to get a picture. But....he put her dress over her bumbo seat...and it made her look HUGE!! haha....it's still so cute though!! All the ladies at church were impressed that Jeff knew how to put tights on her! Jeff has gotten pretty good at getting Ella all dolled up on Sundays since I have had to work weekends. It brings out his soft side! :o)

We met up with some old friends from college/high school to go to a football game. Our friend Andy coaches football...so we went to one of his games. It was a little too cold for the babies to stay the whole game, but us girls stayed until halftime and then went back to Andy and Amie's to make food. Here is a picture of Kyle and his daughter Mya.

Jeff was excited for Ella to be at her first football game. He was teaching her all of the plays. She loved watching the band....this girl loves music.

Amie, Kim and Mya, & Ella and I
It was a cold night for Texas!!!!

Back at Andy and Amie's for pizza and hot cider.

This is Martha...a sweet girl from our church that MADE Ella this dress and embroidered her name on it! What a special gift. We made sure to get a picture of her with Ella when she wore it to church.

All snuggled in for a nap on a cool October morning.

Jeff feeds Ella a lot of mornings before going to work. He loves his daddy/daughter time.

I figured out that Ella loves fruit leather...not so much to eat, but to chew on since she is teething!

Haha....if any of you know Oliver, you know that he is obsessed with playing with his squirrel. He has learned that if he brings it to Ella, she will play tug of war with him! It's so cute...and actually really nice because it keeps both of them entertained for a while! :o)

Chris and Ella playing one morning after Ella's bath.

It was so nice to have her here. I was able to get a lot of much needed rest, and able to get a lot of things done that have been on the back burner. It's so much harder to get things done when you have a sweet baby pulling for your attention all day.

Out to eat for Mexican the night Jeff got home from Colorado.

Here are a few pictures from Jeff and Tim's hunting trip. I am so glad they were able to spend time together as brothers. Sounds like they had a great time. Franklin(Tim's dog) even made it in this picture! :o)

this is a picture of Jeff and Tim being.....well, Jeff and Tim! haha

Good times!

Um...ok?? Not sure!

Ok...this is like the classic hunting picture....looks like it came right off the RedGreen show or something!! Hilarious.....a keeper for sure!!

Ella being silly after breakfast.

This girl spends HOURS jumping in this jumparoo.....she is going to have great legs!

My friend Rayanne and her baby Brennely came over to hang out. We went out for lunch and did some shopping with the girls. It was so much fun! Hopefully we can do it again soon!

Mimi's Cafe'

Ella looks HUGE in this picture....besides the fact that her pants are hiked up way too much! haha she still looks like such a big girl!

Mommy made me a new flower for Halloween. :o) Thank you Rayanne and Brennely for my cute little skeleton shirt! It even glows in the dark!

Ella checking out Brennely!

Sweet baby girl! haha...I love Ella in this picture...she really was just falling over, but it looks like she just wants to make the cut into the picture!

Mommy's first attempt to make Ella a bow...um...looks nothing like Nicki's, but I'll have to keep working on it.

Daddy showing me my Halloween costume in the mirror.....I thought I looked pretty funny!!

This costume was my neice Sophia's....she wore it seven years ago! I would love to see a picture of them side by side. I'm sure it's hard for Dawn to believe her baby girl is that old! Thank you Dawnie for saving this for me!!!

Happy Six Month Birthday Ella!!!

2009-10-13T16:03:00.000-07:00

I cant believe it has been six months since these were taken!!! It is hard to believe we have had the privilage of having Ella Grace in our home for half of a year! We could not be more thankful for her and in love with her!!! It's funny because it makes me sad to think that she is already six months old, but also so happy because we are having so much fun and she is in such a fun stage of life right now. Also, we have so much to be thankful for to have a healthy and happy child!! Thank you Lord for blessing our home with this precious life! We will never be the same because of her! She is a gift from God!!! We love you so much Ella! Happy Six Month Birthday!!!!!!

Enjoy these pictures of Ella from when she was one day old!

Children are a heritage from the Lord!!!!!!!

September, 2009

2009-10-13T12:26:00.000-07:00

Ella and I had a photo shoot done together in September! We hadn't had any pictures taken together yet. I am so glad we had these done because I love how they turned out!

Pretty flower.....

Laughing at mommy!

So sweet!!! LOVE HER!

So pretty!

This is a cute outfit my friend Jana sent Ella in the mail! Thank you Jana!!!

Jeff's parents came back down for another visit. They got in around 10pm and that's when Ella has her night time bottle, so Jeff's mom got to go in and feed her when they got in from the airport. I don't think she had a problem with that at all!! :o)

Grandpa came in to say hi too!

Snuggle time with grandma and grandpa the next morning.

Grandma fed Ella her rice cereal and fruit for breakfast.

Getting reaquainted :o)

Grandpa's Girl!!!

Waiting in JCPenney's to have a photo shoot with grandma and grandpa!

Grandma entertaining Ella in the waiting room of the pediatrician. She had to get her shots, so grandma came along to help comfort her afterwards. She did really well....cried for about 15 seconds and then got over it! Daddy wouldv'e been so proud!!!

Grandma and Grandpa French bought Ella a swing! She LOVES IT!! We can swing her four hours and she smiles every time you give her a push! So cute!!!

Hangin' out in the baby pool! Ella is a water baby for sure!

Spending time with G'ma and g'pa in the mornings while mommy slept in!

I don't think they love her very much! LOL ;o)

Some of these pictures are out of order, but this was they day I took them back to the airport...we went and saw Jeff up at work.

Typical French picture......they all hate the camera! Out to eat on Jeff's lunch break from work.

Me and my lovely Mother-in-law!!!

This is the second day they were here! It was hot and we decided after Ella played in her baby pool with Grandma, that we would go to the big pool!!!

Grandpa and Ella at the pool!

The French girls at the pool!

Play time!! Cant see her teeth yet when she smiles, but you can feel them!!!

"But Grandma....I dont want to eat peas!!"

Sooo tired after a full afternoon of swimming!!!

Pretty Eyes!!!

All ready for church!

Jeff introduced his dad to XBOX 360. They had a blast together!

Playtime with Ella! What a happy girl!!!

"Are you talking to me??" :o)

Smiling for Grandma!

Getting those legs strong!

Ella was never a drooler until she starting teething! This is an outfit that Uncle Tim gave her! It's adorable! Thank you Uncle Tim and Kristi!

I love my Grandpa!! He plays with me and reads to me, and tells me all kinds of random trivia that he thinks I need to know to make me smart one day!!

Spending time with Grandma outside in the beautiful mild weather.

Playing with Grandma in one of the cute outfits she gave me!

Grandma and Grandpa imparted to me all of their knowledge and wisdom so that I am very smart and don't do anything stupid! LOL :o) Oh...and grandma told me her secret chocolate chip recipe, but I'm not supposed to tell my mom! :o)

Giving Grandpa kisses!

Grandpa fed me my last bottle before leaving for the airport! :o(

Thank you so much Grandma and Grandpa for coming back down to see me!!! I have gotten to spend almost a whole month of the first six months of my life with you! Thank you for investing so much time into my life!! I love you very much!! -Ella xoxoxo

I finally got Ella's painting hung on her wall in her nursery! I love how they turned out!! Thank you Jana and Robert for painting them for me!!!

This dress was my neice Sophias! She is seven now, but my sister Dawn saved me all of her clothes and because they were born in the same month, it has been a lifesaver to have all of her clothes! Thank you Dawnie for being so thoughtful and storing them for me for almost seven years!!!

Chester and Ella watching Baby Einstein together. Chester will literally sit and watch the entire thing!

He is going to be ONE SMART DOG!!! :o)

Quick weekend trip down to Florida. Jeff and Ella were playing together in the airport.

Ella got to meet my grandmother..who we call Mama. She has now officially met all of her grandparents and great grandparents...and she has a lot of them!!

Mama had so much fun with Ella. She said she couldn't remember the last time she got to hold and play with a baby. Ella loved her too! Every time she would talk to Ella, she would giggle! It was cute!!!

What an awesome great grandmother getting down on the floor to play with me!

Tummy time at Mama's house!

Some of our family that lives in Florida. This is Mama, My Uncle Tim(mom's brother), Aunt Maria, and cousins Samantha, Breanna, and Rebecca. It was so good to see them while we were down for a few days!

Spending time with Ella before leaving for work!! Friday nights are sad for me because that means I barely see Jeff and Ella all weekend!

Giving mommy loves before she leaves for work. Sweet girl!

All dressed up and ready to go to a baby shower with mommy!

Twinkies!

Fun playtime with my daddy!!!!!!

We did a lot this month! It was a fun month of Ella really coming into her personality, cutting teeth, and trying and loving baby food. She also learned how to roll over. She loves to roll over to her belly, but then gets stuck on her belly and can't roll back to her back. I have found her asleep on her belly a few times after going to sleep on her back. She is a sweet baby girl, and we are absolutely soaking up every day the Lord has given us to enjoy this baby girl!!!!!

August, 2009

2009-10-13T09:05:00.000-07:00

August started with wonderful stage of teething! Ella is still a very well behaved little baby, but starting drooling and rubbing her gums with her hands and toys. I didn't realize baby's could teethe so soon, but she starting cutting her first tooth at four months! Nothing major this month. Just a lot of playing dressup, hanging out at home, and having a great time together as a family. We did start giving Ella baby food this month...which she LOVES!! My parents also came for a visit this month!!

All dressed up to go to a birthday party!!

Daddy and little mini me!

Trying on some more of her hair bows from Nicki!

Smily!! LOVE HER!

Precious!

Here comes the drooling!

Is my mommy going to make me wear ALL of these flowers on my head???

Evidently she is! And I don't seem to mind...most of the time anyway!

Movie night with my friend Carrie!

Oliver loves Ella and is very protective of her!

My good friend Kay AKA....Mimi came to see Ella and I for lunch! It was so good to see her!

Thank you so much for coming to see us!! Love you so much!!!

All ready to go pick Grandma and Grandpa up from the airport! First time to meet Grandpa Lowery.

Story and singing time with Grandma!

Grandma time is so special!

Swim time in my brand new swimming suit!!

My mom bought Ella her first Baby Einstein video! She loved it!!!!

As you can see, she wasn't the only one that loved it! My dog Chester sat and watched the entire video! It was hilarious!

Out for some Texmex with Grandma and Grandpa

Three generations

LOVE THIS MAN!!!!! I couldn't have asked for a better life partner!

Ella figured out how much she loves to go swimming! She started splashing as soon as she hit the water, and didn't stop until she fell asleep!!!

So much fun with Grandma!!

Ella loves it when my mom sings to her!

And yet more pool time!

All tuckered out!

My mom loved to rock Ella to sleep for her naps! So when she went home, guess who wanted to be rocked to sleep for every nap??? Love you mom!!!! She got spoiled, but I guess that's what Grandma's are for right??

Laughing with Grandpa

this is usually how Ella wakes up from her naps! Such a happy girl!

Hee hee!!

Tummy time! Not Ella's favorite thing to do, but she has to learn how to crawl sometime right?

I love this one! What a little dolly!!

Getting frusterated! Enough tummy time already mommy!

July, 2009

2009-10-08T12:25:00.001-07:00

Happy Fourth of July!!!!!!!!!

My sister gave Ella this outfit for the fourth! The pants were my neice Sophia's, and the shirt was new for Ella! So cute!!!! Thank you Aunt Dawnie! Ella hung out with daddy on the fourth. It was my first full weekend back to work, so he was sure to take some pictures of their holiday weekend together!

Hangin' out together on the fourth! Who do you think Ella looks like?? LOL

Getting ready to leave for a fourth of July get together with people from church. Daddy even put a flower on my head! (mommy made him do it) :o)

Daddy and Ella at the fireworks! He said she loved the lights!

Fourth of July Sunday in my red dress!!! All patriotic! This is one of my alltime favorite pictures!!!

SWEET BABY FACE!

Hammin' it up for the camera already!

First time in her bumbo seat! She loved being able to sit up on her own!

Mommy trying to stay awake after getting off work and then going to church. I just have to keep moving...so Ella and I primp on Sunday mornings! :o)

LOVE HER!! She doesn't look to thrilled here though!

Playtime in the bathtub because it was chilly and rainy outside. Ella LOVES to be in water!

Awe...poor baby! Daddy, just put me in my crib!

Emily's last night before moving back to Lousiana. We will miss you Emily! Brooke, Rayanne, Emily, and I all went out to eat and to a movie together! It was so much fun!!! First girls night since becoming a mommy!!!

Love these girls!!!

Rayanne and Brooke....the two preggo's!!!

I love this outfit! It says.....I can make you smile........so true of this little girl!!!

We moved Ella to her crib right about this time. I thought it was going to be rough and that she would throw a fit! Well, it ended up being a ton harder on me than it was on her! She LOVES her bed!! And she sleeps so good in it! Whew!! Thank goodness! No more getting up every three hours all night long. As soon as we moved her to her nursery, within a week, she started sleeping through the night!!!!

Hangin' out with mommy!

Chester and Oliver watching for daddy to come home from work! They watch for him every day!

Jeff is a very well loved person! We all fight over who gets his attention! This is a typical scene in our house! :o)

Such a happy girl!!!!

All dressed up for church! Thank you Nicki for making my adorable big brown bow!!!

Story time with daddy!

This is Ella's "Laura Bear". We named it that because it is from my close friend Laura. Ella sleeps with it and snuggles it every day! It is so cute!!!

This was right about the time when Ella discovered her feet! She never stopped playing with them once she found them. I walked into her nursery to check on her during her nap, and saw that she had fallen asleep holding her foot!! It was so cute, I had to take a picture of it!

Trying on more of my bows from Auntie Nicki! :o)

All dressed up and ready to go to a pedicure with mommy and the girls!!

Very happy little girl today!

Playing with Brooke during the pedi!

So much fun! Ella was the center of attention because she kept singing super loud! It was hilarious!

Such a good little sleeper in her crib!!

Hee hee! I love this picture! She is such a little ham!!

These are a few of Ella's three month pictures we had done! I thought they turned out pretty cute!

This one is my favorite!!

What a face!!!!

July was such a bittersweet month! It was hard because it was my first month back to working fulltime nights. It was fun because it was our first month when we didn't have any company and were able to settle into life with just the three of us! We LOVE having company, but as you can see, we had lots! So...we were just ready to get into a routine and figure out life with a new little baby. Ella changed so much this month! She started noticing so many more things(including her feet), and starting coming into her little personality! We had an absolute BLAST spending time with her and getting to know her better. This was also the month when she started sleeping all the way through the night, so we were able to enjoy her more because we felt so much more rested!!

Aunt Spooky comes for a visit! AKA....Alyssa! :o)

2009-10-07T10:49:00.001-07:00

Alyssa is a girl from our youth group in Illinois who has become a good friend of mine! She usually comes down at least once a year for a visit. This time she came down at the end of my maternity leave and stayed for two weeks to help me with my transition back to work. It was so helpful to have her there so I could rest up while she watched Ella for me! Thank you so much Alyssa for coming! She made the 16 hour drive all by herself!

Alyssa got really good at putting Ella to sleep!

Swimming time!!!

Alyssa and Ella at the pool.

I love this picure! I walked in the bedroom to see what Jeff and Ella were up to and found them asleep together on the bed! :o)

Jeff's first Father's Day! Opening his present from Ella!

Ella just LOVES her daddy!!!

A picture of Alyssa putting Ella to sleep.

This is my favorite picture of the two of us!

Chester has always loved Alyssa! We still get him to come in from outside by saying her name! It probably has something to do with the fact that he has known her since he was a puppy! :o)

Carrie, Alyssa, and I at the pool. Alyssa stayed with Carrie on the nights that I had to work, and then would come back over in the morning and watch Ella so I could sleep while Jeff was at work! It worked out so nicely! Why did you have to go home again???

Just a picture of Ella being adorable!

She doesn't care that we think her hooded towel is adorable! She just wants to get dressed!

So, Jeff and I were trying to be frugal on my maternity leave since our income was significantly less, so Alyssa and I had this novel idea that we would try to groom the dogs ourselves! We actually didn't do too bad of a job, and it gave us time to wait to get them groomed until I had gotten a few regular paychecks again. Don't worry, we bleached the counter tops when we were done! :o)

Ella Hangin' out at Dickey's BBQ

Carrie and Alyssa at Dickey's. Something must've been really funny! Can't remember now.

Alyssa and I found Ella her first pair of sunglasses since we were going to the pool so much. They were a little big on her, but still so cute!

Alyssa bought me a new wallet. She was giving me a hard time because I have had the same wallet since she met me, and let's just say....it was WAY outdated. So she got me this super cute one! and of course, it's GREEN!!! :0)

Just hanging out!

So, Alyssa and I tend to act pretty silly when we get together....so you'll have to excuse the next few pictures. We used to go to the store and buy a cake and just sit with two forks and eat off of it...great, I know. Anyways, so we decided to get a cake a few times when she was down here(great for the weight loss plan), and we decided to have stupid things written on them. I guess you had to be there, but that at least somewhat explains the next couple of pictures!

Oh dear....there are no words for this picture!

Just being goofy!!

Ella taking a nap at the pool while mommy and Alyssa get some sun!

Swimmy time!!!!!

Sandy flew down to make the long drive back to Illinois with Alyssa. Sandy is a lady from our former church as well. It was great to get to see her again!!

Out to eat at Babe's Chicken! YUMMY!!

Jeff and I at Babe's

All three of us have matching Camry's, so we thought we would be cool and take a picture with them! LOL Arent' we just so cool?? :o) haha

Thank you so much Alyssa for coming all the way down here to help out for a few weeks! You were a big help, and of course as always......we had a TON of fun!!!

Here are a few more pictures from Father's Day that I uploaded in the wrong order. This is Jeff getting Ella ready for church that morning!

Alyssa with Ella on Father's Day! Thanks again for getting Ella this cute dress!!!

The three of us on Father's Day. Once again, just like our Mother's Day picture, Ella looks Thrilled!!!

Out to eat on Father's Day! WE LOVE YOU DADDY!!!!! I couldn't ask for a better husband and daddy than I have in Jeff!!! He is amazing and such a gift from God!!!

Ella's first trip to Wisconsin

2009-10-07T08:42:00.000-07:00

Ella went on her first big road trip when she was only two months old. Jeff and I decided it was important to take Ella up to Wisconsin to meet her great grandparents. Some of them are getting up there in age, and we knew they couldn't travel to see her, so I took the opportunity on my maternity leave to take her to them. I am so thankful I did too, because two days after we came home, one of Jeff's grandfathers was diagnosed with a very progressed lung cancer! So thankful we were able to get up there in time for Ella to meet him and have pictures made with him. So, on our way up to Jeff's parents, we made several stops to see people. We made our first stop in Kansas City and stayed with my good friends Eric and Christina Stanley. I hadn't see them in a few years, so it was nice to be able to catch up a little bit. Christina had a fun time feeding Ella her bottle and giving her a bath!

I don't know how excited she was to feed Ella....I kindof just handed Ella to her!!! :o)

I used to live with the Harrisons, and I loved to spend time with Christina and Cara! I love these girls! Miss them so much and wish I could see them more often.

The happy couple holding Ella!

Our next stop was in Geneseo, Il. We were only there one day, so in order to see everyone, we decided to all get together at a pizza place so that everyone that wanted to could come and meet Ella! It was a lot of fun!

My good friend from nursing school Missy came by to see us for a little while. It was so good to see her!

We spent some time at Chris's house before meeting everyone else. Missy and Dan and JoAnne Rocha came over to have some one on one time with Ella!

Poppa Rocha got Ella to sleep! :o) So sweet!!!!

Some of the church group that got together so we could see everyone! It was really hard to be able to talk to everyone, but it was great to be able to see everyone and for everyone to get to meet Ella!

Sandy did a really good job calming Ella down. She was pretty upset after being passed around for a few hours.

After spening one day in Geneseo, Alyssa drove us to Rockford where my sister picked us up and took us to Madison to spend a day with my family. It was a short but sweet visit! Here is a picture of Aunt Krissy meeting Ella for the first time!

My Grandma Lowery was also able to come over for the day! She just ate Ella up! She loves babies, and I am so thankful she was able to meet Ella at such a young age! What a special moment!!!

Uncle Danny holding Ella for the first time! Look out Ella...he looks innocent, but this one is a teaser!!! :o) Love you Danny Boy!

Meeting my nephew Micah Abi for the first time! What a sweet sweet boy!! I almost snuck him into my suitcase! Danny and Krissy were able to pick him up from Ethiopia around the same time that Ella was born! It was very special for Danny and I to get to meet each other's baby's at the same time! So happy this worked out!

What a sweet kissable little boy!!!
Man, he makes me look pasty white! :o)

Bath time with Uncle Danny and Aunt Krissy!!!!

So Sweet! Krissy is so good with babies!

Hanging out with my other nephew Caleb on the floor. He is in such an active stage right now, that I had to jump down there with him to try to get a picture with him! He is another sweetie!!!

Danny and Caleb being silly! I think Danny thought it was funnier than Caleb did!

Sweet cousin Brittany crashed on the couch with Ella!

Krissy told me that when they first got Micah, he didn't want her to feed him his bottle. He was so used to having to hold it himself, that he wouldn't let her. But she kept trying, and now he LOVES to be fed his bottle!!! So sweet! It's such great bonding time with him and his mommy!!!!

He even let me feed him some of his bottle too!

Great Grandma Lowery with her two newest great grandchildren! She was eating it up!

LOVE my Grandmother! She is such a neat lady! I have so many wonderful childhood memories with her!

Krissy spent a lot of time bouning Ella and calming her down. Poor baby...she was a little out of sorts from being on the road for the last three days and having a million new people holding her. Krissy had the touch for sure!!!

So glad we got to meet each other's little ones!!!!! Even if it was only for a short amount of time!

Grandma Lowery with us kids(minus Dawn). WE MISSED YOU DAWNIE!!! So glad we were able to spend some time with grandma!

Jeff's parents drove down later that day to pick us up and take us on the final leg of our journey! They got to meet Micah too!

We arrived in Barron late Saturday night. We had decided not to tell any of Jeff's grandparents that we were coming, but thought we would surprise them! This was a picture of Great Grandma French meeting Ella for the first time on Sunday morning. She was so surprised when I walked in with Jeff's parents on Sunday morning! It was a great surprise!!!

Grandma French was convinced my whole pregnancy that we were having a girl! She wanted a little girl in the family again. Ella is the first girl to be born on the French side in over thirty years. So you tell me how spoiled she is going be?? :o)

Great Grandpa French holding Ella for the first time!

Very special moment for the great grandparents!

Three generations! Jeff's mom with her mom!

Granny just loved Ella!!!

We got to spend a whole week at Jeff's parents, so Ella had a lot of stories read to her! It was such a great time, we just wish Daddy could've come too!

It ended up being unseasonable cold in Wisconsin for that time of year! Good thing Grandma had picked Ella up some warmer clothes. All I had was her cute little summer outfits.

Jeff's Aunt and Uncle got to meet Ella too while we were up there!

More story time with Grandma and Grandpa

Grandpa French is a GREAT storyteller!

Bath time at Grandma's house!!!

Great Grandpa andGrandma Hutch stopped by to meet Ella!

Jeff's mom with her dad! A very special moment!

Four generations. ( I had to take Jeff's spot)

Ella and Grandpa catching a nap together on Grandpa's lunch break from work! I love this picture!!!!

More snuggle time with great grandma French!

So Sweet!!!!!!

A huge highlight of my trip was that I got to see my dear friend Laura for a few hours.!!!! It was special to me that she got to meet Ella as a baby!!!!

LOVE YOU LAURA!!!!

Tuckered out on the way to the airport! Ready to go back home and see my daddy!!!!

I am so thankful we were able to make this trip! It was a very special time for Ella to get to meet so many people that are so important to Jeff and I! Thank you to everyone who made this trip possible!!! There were so many people involved in our transportation! It will be a week to be treasured forever!

Chris Ward comes for a visit!

2009-09-30T13:45:00.000-07:00

Chris is one of our dear friend from our church in Geneseo,Il. She was like an adopted mom to Jeff and I for the five years that we were there! It was so special to have her come down and see Ella! She came down for four days and then Ella and I rode back up north with her to visit friends and family.

I really enjoyed the time with her at our house. She is quite the seamstress, and was gracious enough to bring her sewing machine with her and make curtains for me for our family room. She slaved over them and cranked out five lined panels of curtains in two days! They are beautiful! She also brought a BEAUTIFUL quilt and playmat quilt she made for Ella! Thank you so much Chris for sharing your amazing talents and skills with us!

Chris had fun giving Ella a bath!

Just got done feeding her a bottle so mommy could get some rest!

Going shopping with mommy and Chris! Sounds dangerous to me! :o)

Hangin' out on the back porch! The weather was beautiful when she was here! Chris thought it was HOT, but I guess we are just used to it.

Cutting out the curtains!

More fun bath time!!!

Poor thing! She worked SO HARD to get those curtains done!!!

Play and snuggle time!

The beautiful quilt Chris made to match Ella's nursery!

Us being silly!! :o)

Just hangin' out the night before we left for our road trip! Spending time with daddy! He didn't get to go, so he wanted to soak up some time with his baby girl!

Haha! I love this picture! It's Chris with the Whole French Family!

Thank you so much Chris for taking the time and making the sacrifice to come down and see us! It was such a joy to have you! Thank you for all the beautiful gifts you gave Ella and for your generosity to Jeff and I! More importantly....thank you for your friendship! We love you like family!!! So special to have to with us!

Random Summer....Inbetween Company

2009-09-30T12:47:00.000-07:00

Jeff and I had a pretty steady flow of visitors during my maternity leave! It was nice to have all the help and to be able to see everyone. We had a few weeks in between visitors where we were just able to enjoy the newness of being a family! Ella is such an easy baby, and we just ate her up! Here are a few random pictures from those few weeks that I love!

Sleeping in my bouncy seat! Thank you Grandma Lowery for my cute and comfy dress! Daddy loves it because it's brown!! :o)

LOVE those kissy lips!!!

We went on a long walk on Memorial Day! It was really hot...so Chester decided to jump in Ella's pool and cool off!

Carrie came over for a while to hang out on Memorial Day!

We went to a cookout at the White's before the concert in the park. Clay holding Ella!

Concert in the park on Memorial Day

Happy little family!

I love my little girl!!! I love it when baby's take a nap on your chest! So sweet!

Ella loved Cory! :o) She chilled out with him during the concert!

Our first "date" since Ella was born! She came along of course, but it was fun to go out to eat as a family!

Dinner at Abuelo's

Proud mommy!!!

My Beautiful Sisters Come Visit Ella!!!!

2009-09-30T11:48:00.001-07:00

My sisters Deann and Dawn came down to visit us when Ella was just over a month old! We realized that because of life circumstances, we had never had sister time...just the three of us! We were so far apart in age growing up, and by the time I was old enough for us to all want to do things together, they were married and had babies. So, this time with the three of us together was PRICELESS! I wish we could make a yearly event of it! I love my two sisters more than anything! They are so loving, and are beautiful on the inside and outside! I am so thankful that God blessed me with the privelage of having them as my sisters! Not only are you my sisters, but you are some of my BEST FRIENDS!!!! I love you both SO MUCH!!! Thank you for making the sacrifice to come meet your baby sister's first baby! It meant the world to me, and I will always treasure the time we had together!

This is a picture of Ella after she went swimming in her baby pool from Aunt Deann for the first time! She bought Ella her first little bathing suit and a little baby pool! I am sad we weren't able to use it when they were here, but the weather was a little too cool and rainy. Jeff and I put her in there for the first time the day after they went home. I accidently uploaded these pics backwards, so they go from the end to the beginning of their trip! :o)

Ella wasn't quiet sure what to thing of the water at first! She loved water from the very beginning, but this was much cooler than her bath water!

Still not sure what to think! Her first swim lasted about 2 min! It was fun to see her in her cute little swimming suit though!!! :o)

Daddy checking out Ella in her first swimming suit! Thank you Aunt D!!!

Deann and I were both not feeling well the whole time they were here! :o( This was the last day when we went out to eat on the way to the airport! She was starting to feel a lot better and was sad that she got so few pictures with Ella! I love this one!!

I LOVE MY SISTERS!!!!!

All dressed up for church on Sunday!

Some special time with Aunt Deann

You can tell Deann and I were both feeling under the weather in this picture! But I still love it! Even Ella is smiling for the camera!

Aunt Dawnie loved to sing to Ella! And of course Ella LOVED it when Aunt Dawnie sang to her! :o)

Snuggle time with my Aunties!!!

Aunt Dawnie had to see the Nakey Baby!!! :o) Bath time!!!!

I LOVE this picture of the three of us!!! Such a happy little family!

You can definetely tell Dawn and I are sisters in this picture!!! :o) Love this one! I love you Dawnie Doodle!!!

Singing to the baby!!

My sisters were such an amazing help to me! They even took the night shift one night so Jeff and I could get a FULL NIGHT'S SLEEP! I never knew how amazing that could be! It was so much fun to be able to hang out just the three of us! (well, and Jeff too, but he let us have our girl time! ) Thank you again so much for coming to see us!!! We all love you!

Mother's Day.....and Tami Comes for a visit!!!

2009-09-30T09:58:00.001-07:00

Poor baby girl! We couldn't resist...Uncle Tim sent Ella her first pair of Nike's and we had to try them on her! As you can see....she wasn't as thrilled as we were! Thank you Uncle Tim for my cute shoes!

Mother's Day was so special for me! Not only because it was my first, but it was also Ella's baby dedication at church. What an amazing gift it is to be a mother. I don't take it lightly and treasure it EVERY DAY!

Ella doesn't looked too thrilled about going to her baby dedication in this picture, but she was a perfect angel up on the stage. We had people come up to us after church and say that from where they were sitting, she looked like a doll! They werent even sure she was real! LOL

Daddy, Uncle Tim, and Ella on mother's day. This was Tim's last day before he flew back home to Colorado. Thank you for coming to visit Uncle Tim!!!

Here is a picture from Ella's baby dedication. We were one of several families that were having a baby dedicated. They read them meaning of each baby's name and chose a verse that went along with the meaning of their name. They also gave Ella a nice certificate, and her first Bible!

As we dropped Uncle Tim off at the airport, we picked up my childhood friend Tamara(or Tami to those of us from the good ole' days). I hadn't seen her in several years, so it was great to be able to reconnect! Tami has three little boys and is a very busy mommy, so I really appreciated her taking time out of her very busy schedule to come down and see us! Thank you so much for making the sacrifice! I hope we can see each other more often!!!

This is a picture of us at one of Jeff and I's favorite Texmex places....which has since then closed!! :o(

We went and got a pedicure together. Ella behaved pretty well!

Thank you so much for coming down to see me Tami! It meant the world, and I had a ton of fun! Thank you for being such a huge help and letting me get some much needed rest!!

Chad and Tamara have started their own photography business in the last couple of years, and Tami was gracious enough to spend several hours taking newborn pictures of Ella for us! They turned out amazing!!!! I am so thankful to have these precious pictures captured from when she was just a month old!! Thank you so much for taking the time to take these for us! We LOVE THEM!!

Grandma and Grandpa French meet Ella for the first time!

2009-09-30T08:52:00.000-07:00

There is something special about first time grandparents! I know each grandchild is just as special, but it is so fun to watch the glow that brand new first time grandparents have! I know in the case of Jeff's parents....It changed their whole world!!!!! They came down when Ella was two weeks old. I know they wouldv'e come right away, but they were gracious enough to give me time with my mom and to have some time to heal. We had a great eight days together. Jeff's brother Tim was able to come towards the end of their stay as well. I could tell he loved being an uncle. We all had a great time together. They were all such a big help taking care of Ella and helping with projects around the house! I treasure the time they were able to have with Ella when she was so little! Thank you so much for making it a priority to come see her and invest time in her life! We all love you!!!

This is a picture of Jeff's mom getting to hold Ella for the first time. They got in late from the airport and took showers before they held her because this was during the first scare with swine flu. They got to feed her her night time bottle! It was a very special moment for all of us!

So Sweet! It was love at first sight!!! Noone wanted to go to bed that night. We just all sat around enjoying the moment together. Of course Grandma and Grandpa came bearing gifts from everyone back home!

Grandpa French was a natural! I think he was SMITTEN! They didn't want me to take pictures of them because they had just jumped out of the shower, but I'm so glad I captured this very special moment!

Snuggle time with Grandpa!

Jeff and his mom giving Ella a bath together! It was so much fun to watch them!

This was Ella's first Sunday to go to church! It was so fun to all go as a family! What a special day! I love Ella's little dress! It was a gift from my friend Emily! Thanks Em for spoiling Ella with all the cute dresses!

SO HAPPY!!!!!!

Tummy time with Grandma! She loved laying on the floor and playing with Ella!

More bath time with Grandma! :o)

Grandma and Grandpa read stories to Ella every night! They want to make sure she is very smart!! LOL

Jeff's mom had quite a thing for Ella's feet! She was always playing with them! It was so cute!!!

Sweet baby snuggles! There is nothing else quite like it! Ella and Grandma French got a lot of bonding time in together!

We hung out in the garage a lot because we wanted to be outside, but it was too sunny for Ella! LOL ....so we hung out in the "man room" as Jeff loves to call it! :o)

Just checkin' each other out!

The French men at Babe's Chicken. You cant tell they're related at all!!!

Such special times with Grandpa!

Grandpa feeding Ella one last time before having to leave for the airport! sniff, sniff!!!

The Whole Clan right before Grandma and Grandpa had to go home.

Uncle Tim got in some snuggle time after Grandma and Grandpa went home!!!

We had so much fun with all of you!!!!! Can't wait to all be together again!!! Thank you so much for coming and building memories as a family!!!

First two weeks at home.....time with Grandma Lowery

2009-09-02T19:51:00.000-07:00

Jeff and I were a little worried about how our dogs would respond to Ella, but they did great! A little pouty at first, but they have learned to love her! The first two weeks home from the hospital were so much fun! It was so special to have my mom there, and I couldn't have done it without her!!!! Thank you so much mom for slaving over me for two weeks! I love you so much! We were so blessed by our small group at church by bringing us meals for over two weeks. I had no idea how much of a help that would be! Thank you everyone for your love and generosity!!! It was so much fun getting to spend every day with a new baby!! We were so excited, and everything was so new and fun. Jeff worked half days for the first few weeks, and he was always so excited to get home to see his little girl. We were just awe struck by her!!!

My mom loved getting Ella all to herself most of the time!!! That is one of the privilages a grandma gets!

Ella sleeping in her cradle from Grandma and Grandpa French for the first time.

Daddy taking his first nap at home with Ella on his chest. Oliver was crying, because that used to be his spot to take a nap.

Everyone loves Daddy!!!

I just couldn't get enough of this sweet precious girl!!!!

Sweet baby girl!

Some more special grandma time!

Jeff and Andy putting my swing together.

Amie snuggling with me .

My special presents from Laura.....Thank you Auntie Laura!

All God's Grace in One Sweet Little Face!!!!!

So tired, but so happy!!!

Talking to Grandma and Grandpa French

How can such a little baby make you so exhausted?? :o)

There is nothing sweeter than baby breath on your neck!

Announcement sign from our church.

I LOVE my swing!!! Thank you Daddy and Andy for putting it together for me!

Brooke came to visit several times and SPOILED Ella rotten with clothes!!! Thanks Brooke!!!

More snuggle time with Aunt Brookie!!!

Look how tiny I am!

I am so in love with this little girl!

Such a great friend~~~Love you girl!

First three generations picture.

Awe....we could just eat her up! SO SWEET!!

The French Family

My mom's last night with Ella! Sniff Sniff ....We will miss you grandma!!!

One last bathtime with Grandma! Daddy helped too!

Hospital Stay

2009-09-01T11:43:00.001-07:00

The new proud Daddy holding his baby girl for the first time! He is so in love!!!

First French Family Photo

Mommy getting a first look at her new little princess!

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!!!

Dr Watts with Ella and I

The nurses let Jeff give Ella her first bath! He did such a good job! He is getting her all dressed and swaddled in this picture. What a good daddy!!!

All clean and swaddled after her first bath! Jeff looks a little star struck in this picture!

Whew! That was exhausting Daddy! I'm all clean now, and ready to snuggle with Mommy!

Uploading pictures for friends and family to see. I was so tired at this point. The adrenaline was starting to wear off BIG TIME, not to mention, so was my epidural!!!! YEOUCH!

My dear friends and coworkers, Brooke, Charlotte, and Rayanne came to visit us, and showered Ella is all kinds of gifts. Our friends Andy and Amie came too with gifts for Ella. I forgot to take a picute with them. Thanks everyone for coming and supporting us on Ella's first birthday!!!

The next morning, Grandma Lowery arrived!!!!! So glad she could come help me for the first two weeks of Ella's life! I could not have done it without her!!!! Thank you MOM!!!! I love you!

My friend Carrie, along with a bunch of other people from my church came to visit on the second day in the hospital. It was so nice to see everyone! We are so fortunate to have so many supportive people in our lives!

Actually, by the looks of this picture, Carrie came the first night. Because after that, I wore my own clothes. Sorry Carrie, I'm having a hard time remembering back that far right now! Thank you for staying with Chester and Oliver that first night! You are so good to us!

Daddy getting some good snuggle time at the hospital!

SO TIRED!!!!

Brooke came back to love on Ella some more!

Jeff could not get enough of his little girl! Good thing I was the only one that could feed her, or I never wouldv'e gotten to hold her! :o)

Jeff was practicing taking some pictures of Ella. Here's my favorite one

All tucked in my carseat and ready to go home!

Bye bye hospital!!! I get to go home and meet my puppies!!!

April 13, 2009....The day our lives changed FOREVER!!!

2009-08-27T20:40:00.000-07:00

Jeff and I woke up at 3:45 to be ready for my 5am induction. We were so excited and of course nervous!!! This is the day we had been waiting for for almost a year!!! It was hard to believe it was finally here!!!

I had my bag packed for the hospital several weeks before my due date, and actually kept it in the trunk of my car every time I went to work. (Since I delivered at the hospital where I work).

One last look at the massive baby belly!! Its the Ellabelly!!! :o) So ready for her to come out at this point!!!

IV started and all ready for my doctor to come and break my water. At this point Jeff thought he was in for a LONG day!!! Little did he know that Ella Grace would make her appearance in just a few hours!!!

SO READY!!!! Bring it on!!!

My doctor came and broke my water at about 8am. I had really hard contractions for about a half an hour before I got my epidural. Once the epidural was in, we had such a great time laughing and joking...not to mention trying to solidify our baby names of which we argued for the last nine months!!

My doctor came back to check me at noon, and I was complete!!!! She gave me some time to let the epidural wear off enough that I could lift my legs and feel the urge to push. By 1:55 pm we were ready to push. Four pushes and 15 minutes later.......Ella Grace French was born!!! We didn't know what we were having, so it was an extra fun surprise!! Here are some pictures from when she was first born.

Happy Birthday, Ella Bear!

Going Back in Time

2009-08-19T18:17:00.000-07:00

I have decided to start a blog to keep up with the many changing stages of a new baby! I am going to take the next several weeks to catch up on Ella's life. Bare with me as I try to remember the last four months. Hopefully I will catch up soon so that I can start to put up NEW updates! Wish me luck!