Ella 1 Year Update

It has been a while since I've wrote a blog post but I've been wanting to do this one for a while. Ella turned one June 11th and I still can't believe a year has gone past already. Not to mention the fact that Ella is about the size Harper was at 6 months - so that always makes it difficult for me to wrap my head around the fact that she's a year old. 

Weight: 21 lbs

Height: 30"

Teeth: Four

Sleep: 12 Hours straight at night and has one nap a day ranging from 1 hr 30 minutes - 2 1/2 hours.

Walking: More like running. Yes. And has been since she was exactly 12 months. 

Nursing: Yes, whenever she can get it - which seems to be constantly when I'm not at work. It doesn't bother me because I LOVE breastfeeding and she's my last baby so as long as she wants to I will continue to nurse her - unless of course she's 4 and is able to lift my shirt to pull my boob out..

Confession. When she was first born I was really really concerned her squished nose was going to stick forever and ever. I was very relieved when it settled back down after a few days - poor thing was all squished from being over due. As if her scowl isn't intense already - imagine her scowl with that crease in her nose! Wowza, she would have taken RBF (also known as Resting Bitch Face) to a whole new level!

I remember this day like it was yesterday. Not just because her labour was the most intense pain I've been in in my life BUT how much I immediately loved her. I obviously had all of the sames feelings when Harper was born but I didn't think I could love another baby as much as our sweet Harper. But I did and do. Ella is seriously the perfect end to our little family. She is the fiery babe who makes us grind our teeth when she's been sassy and bust out laughing when she's doing something funny.

Also, her relationship with her big sister is something made of dreams. They LOVE each other so so much. Harper constantly calls her "Ella Marie" and "Baby sister" which melts my heart every.single.time.

Sisterly love.

Favourite foods: These organic Squoosh packets - which seems to be the only way I can get veggies into her unless I'm hiding them in her dinner. She is obsessed with any type of berry but LOVES oranges. She enjoys chicken and ham (although we mostly eat chicken). She drinks water like her big sister and almond milk.

Ella is seriously the funniest baby ever. She is the perfect addition to our little family. Fraser and I could not be happier with our sweet girls.

Ella's 10 Month Update

This post is about three weeks too late, but hey! Where do I start with this little fire ball. Ella is finally crawling correctly. She's been doing the army crawl since she was about 7 months old and come to think of it Harper did the exact same thing until about 10 months old. Next is going to be walking and I'm not sure I am ready for that. Ella is so tiny and petite that I think it will freak me out her walking around, looking like a little doll.

It is finally safe to say that we have sleeping at night under control. It has been about a month and a half of her pretty much sleeping through the night. She does still get up at around 4:30/5am to nurse, then goes back to sleep until 7am. I'm totally okay with this. I've said in a previous post, that I am not ready to give that up yet, not until I'm back to work at least! Right now she is teething like crazy and is having a rough time. Her napping is ALL over the place. These past few days she does not want me to put her down..ever. Today after three attempts to put her down in her crib to nap, which normally isn't a issue, and having her scream her head off - I caved and let her nap on my chest. I felt awful for her, that she was so uncomfortable that the only thing she wanted was me. Ugh, I love her. I always try to remind myself during these times that even though it can be frustrating, I will seriously miss the days of her needing me. So when Harper is napping, if Ella wants to nap on me, I'm all for it! After she snoozed on me for about 30 minutes, she was crashed and I was able to slip her in crib where she slept for another hour and a half. Poor babe. Teething must suck which is probably good us adults don't remember it.

Watching these two babes interact together is one of my favourite things ever! They love each other so much it's ridiculous. Harper is always looking out for Ella to the point that it is cuteness overload. 

Ella has learned "more" and "all done" sign language. She knows how to use Harper's magnetic puzzle, which is baffling. She remembers things like crazy, just like her big sister. They are both little smarty pants. 

Ella still nurses in between meals. She isn't giving any signs of wanting to wean off anytime soon, which is fine with me. I nursed Harper until she was 19 months old (right up until I went into labour with Ella) so I'm fine to keep going for as long as we can.

I'm officially at the end of my maternity leave. I return to work June 13th which is both exciting and very sad for me. I'm going to try to soak up every last moment and memory with my girls until then!

Ella's First Easter 2016

This Easter weekend was amazing. I was so excited that this was going to be Harper's first Easter finding eggs hidden around the house. Last year I hid a few eggs in her playroom, but she was still too young to grasp the concept of actually looking for them.

We started off the festivities Saturday night by getting the girls dressed into these adorable BabyGap bunny jammies after their baths. I had to snap a few pictures and the results were amazing. It is so apparent how much these two love each other.

After we got the girls to bed, Fraser and I got the girls Easter gifts ready. Fraser built their new little tent while I rearranged their gifts and hid all of the eggs around the house. I could not wait until they woke up the next morning and of course everyone slept in!

Harper immediately saw the Easter basket sitting outside of her room with a trail of eggs going down the hallway. The second I put the first egg in her basket, she started running around collecting them all. It took her a while to find them all since I hid about 80 eggs around the house, no exaggeration.

The last few eggs were hidden in their new tent, both girls were excited to crawl in and find them.

After the egg hunt was done and the girls started playing with their new toys, I started getting everything set up for our Easter brunch. I didn't want to do a big dinner since we entertained for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I figured a brunch would be easier and something different. I baked homemade banana bread the day before. We got bought some freshly baked croissants and fruit to put out. I also prepared a french toast bake the night before (it has to sit in the fridge overnight) which I popped in the oven about an hour before family arrived.

I took some pictures of my littlest bunny and I since it was her first Easter. Gosh I love this little girl so much,

After family came over for brunch and the girls had a nap, I couldn't help but get the girls dolled up to take more pictures. They turned out so good! Probably my favourite pictures of them together. Shortly after my little photo shoot was done we brought the girls for a cruise in their new wagon from Grandma and Grandpa. The weather was beautiful and the girls loved it.

After our walk, everyone was pooped, hence Ella's not so thrilled expression above, and we were eager to hit the hay. We are so thankful to have such an amazing little family and to get to celebrate the true meaning of Easter with those who we love. Hope everyone had an amazing weekend.

Ella's 9 Month Update

 Our sweet Ella turned 9 months a few days ago. I just want time to slow down. I want to keep her a baby a little while longer. The idea of both my girls being "big girls" is enough to make me sob.

Ella had her doctors appointment last week, she weighs exactly 19 lbs and is 27" long. She is still our tiny toad. Like I've said since she was born, she makes up for size with her personality. I have however, noticed she has mellowed out a bit lately. I'm thinking that's because she has a tooth up and another that's poked through the gums. She is a lot happier and a lot less sassy!

Ella is a complete ham. She makes Fraser and I laugh daily with her funny little quirks. For instance she is obsessed with Fraser's facial hair, constantly pulling at his beard the second he picks her up. She is also fascinated with ears - especially if I'm wearing earrings. She dances already, which is completely hilarious. The second music comes on, even if its in another room, she starts to bob up and down. Even if music isn't on, and you start to sing, she will start dancing. Melts my heart, having two tiny little dancers.

Ella is also on the move. She has been crawling for the past month (although she doesn't do it entirely correctly, it's more of a scoot). She is also pulling herself up using anything that can hold her weight, which terrifies me because it seems so wrong since she's so tiny! I think she just wants to keep up with her big sister.

Napping still isn't the greatest. She was an AMAZING napper up until 4 months old. Then the 4 month sleep regression and teething hit and it's been a yo-yo since. I see a slight improvement the past two weeks but still not great. Her sleeping at night has gotten a lot better though (thank goodness). She goes to bed at around 6:30/7pm and wakes 1-2 times to nurse and sleeps until 6:30/7am. I can't complain and it's only getting better so I anticipate more improvements in the next few months.

Ella still breastfeeds in between having solids three times a day. Her favourite foods are yogurt, applesauce, rice and potato.

Her first word was ma-ma which she usually says when she's tired and cranky. It is still the sweetest thing to hear!

Harper and Ella have a total blast together. They love to play in the patio curtains, staring outside giggling while playing peek-a-boo with one another. They also love having baths together before bed. These moments are what make me so fortunate to have two little girls so close in age, they are going to be the best of friends when their older.