Mommy and me

" I love my mommy! ", says Ella Reese." you make me laugh ma ma"...


" I love da da too!", love Ella Reese

Standing and Laundering

She is standing every chance she gets. This bouncy chair was been dormant in the corner of her bedroom and all of a sudden last week she took a great interest to it. She loves to pull up on it and stand bouncing the chair. She always tries to grab the mobile thing on it... ..And successfully gets to it sometimes. Sorry it is sideways...
It is so weird to me seeing her stand and all stretched out. She is begining to look more like a toddler to me than a baby.
Helping mommy with the laundry. Actually she was crawling down the hallway while I was doing laundry so I stuck her in the laundry basket to confine her while I finished folding.
But she liked playing in it and peeking through the holes at me...

April bunny

Before April is over I posted these Easter pictures I took. Since Easter is long over these are her April bunny pictures. It is a winter coat but worked out perfectly for this Easter since it was so cold out. I wouldn't mind if she wore this all the time...

" ma-ma.."

She stared saying "ma-ma" today. We were at the grocery store and she started babbling ma ma ma ma ma....Yeah,..I love it. Melts my heart!

"You complete me..."

Ryan and I went to a marriage retreat with our church in Chattanooga this weekend. Now that we have been home we both can say that it was such a refreshing time together and also a time to evaluate our marriage. We both took away soooo much wisdom, teaching, and encouragement! It has been such a special weekend and definately marks the begining of a new season in our marriage. The theme for me that I took away (there really was so many things...) was that GOd truly has made me for Ryan and Ryan for myself. In GOd's perfect wisdom we were "designed" for one another. And my marriage exists not so that I can enjoy myself and say "I have a wonderful marriage" or " I am happy so that means I have a great marriage or husband", but the Bible would teach that my marriage exists to be a reflection of how Christ LOVES the church and our marriage is meant to bring glory to GOD! There were so many jewels of wisdom that I anticipate to further digest and pray over. But I left with a new love for Ryan and thankfulness to God! Thankful not only for Jesus Christ and the gift of faith he has give me and changed my heart, but also in addition to that he knew what exactly I needed... and he provided that in Ryan!

My precious sister Sharon. It was her birthday...
I was trying to get a pic of us and Ryan was making me laugh. He is the funniest person I know. I love this pic of us laughing..
Best picture that came out. He was making silly faces in other ones...
Hangin out with our friends Friday night after the first session for some desert.
Me and my love...

I remember back to when we started courting and people would comment on how odd it was that we were together because we were soooo different. Which we were and still are. It is funny to think how different we are. BUT, GOd knew this and also knew that we needed each other. Like two puzzle pieces fitting perfectly together...

There is no one who knows me like Ryan does. We joke and say that he knows what I am thinking simply by hearing what I am doing in another room. Which he really can!

I love you so much babe! I am so thankful for what a GIFT you are to me and how KIND God has been to me to provide you for me. After this weekend I can say, with all cheesiness aside, that you TRULY do complete me!

Gettin' around and scary noises

For a long time Ella Reese would just play on this huge area rug between our couches. Since she has been crawling she will book it to our hardwood floors and try to get to the rest of the house that we have yet to completely baby proof. Here is Ryan in his attempt to keep her on the rug...
She is doing this all the time and will sit on one knee bent and the other leg bent and propped up. I would not be suprised if she started standing soon...yikes!
Leaving the rug to venture the house...
"Ella Reese, no, no, no!".

This is the face she gives me when I tell her no. She smirks then continues.
She loves this bug toy. It talks to you and tells you letters and colors and when you touch the things that come out of it's head (feelers?) it laughs and says, "That tickles!". In my attempt to bring variety to her toy selection I took out this plush toy car that when you squeeze a certain part it makes a car rumbling and honking noise. It is her cousins' so it sounds like it is about to die. I gave it to her to play with and she is so scared of it! She starting crying and crawling away from from it. It suprised me because I have never seen her react to anything like that. She kept clinging to me and when she looked up and saw it she would cry some more. The next day I discovered that she is also afraid of our garbage disposal, which makes a similar sound to the toy car. It is so funny beacuse I have always used it around her and then all of a sudden it scares her!

Stepping Heavenward

I have a very terrible habit of never finishing books. It took me three years to finish "Disciplins of Grace", by Jerry Bridges, and it has the appearance that would fool anyone that I had read it 5 times over. Well this book "Stepping Heavenward" by Elizabeth Prentiss has that same appearance but I have read it NONE times. I was spring cleaning our bedroom and saw it on our bookshelf and I picked it up with a sigh as I recalled how badly I wanted to read it and how over the years I would attempt and attempt but never could really get into it. Pages are falling out of and the entire books looks like it was dumped in a pool. Actually I took it to the beach and a tide came over it...sand is stuck in the binding and everything. Well I began reading it the other day and it struck me how much of myself and my heart I saw in this young lady who is journaling from the age of sixteen throughout her life durng the 1800's. There were so many rich fruits and pearls of wisdom that this young lady was documenting as she was growing in her walk with the Lord and in her understanding of God himself. I was so compeled by her longing to know and love Christ more and it moved me to follow along with her as she sought the Lord.
Needless to say I am very compeled to begin and finish this book this summer.
Anyone want to read it along with me? I need some accountability to finish this one so please ask me about it in a month's time. Any takers?
I am also reading Shepherding a Child's Heart, Helper by Design, and doing a Reading the Bible in year plan. So I am hesitant to even add this one. But with your help,...please ask me about my reading with these things! I want to be disciplined in reading and also to finish it. Thanks family and friends!

My Lil Pumpkin

Owen loves Ella Reese.
Playing with Nana Prince
This is her favorite thing to do. She has been doing it for a few weeks now.

She is so little and lean. I am curious to see how much, if she has, grown any at her 9 month appointment in May. All her meager chuck is only in her legs,..but not much. But I certainly am enjoying her being so little for a little longer,..plus less weight for me to carry!

Mermaid and Eating Like a Big Girl

What are you smiling about Ella Reese?....What happened to your feet!??
Ella Reese decided to practice being a mermaid and stuck both her feet in one PJ leg..hilarious.

I thought something was odd when I went to get her from her nap. She usually is standing there waiting for me and this time she was just laying their on her back. Silly girl...
It is finished!!! I finished hte highchair and I am waiting for it to warm up so I can put a gloss finish on it. Ella Reese is eating cherrios and those Gerber puff things on her own. And I discovered that she loves drinking her milk out a sippy cup. SO I only nurse her in the morning and at night now. She is eating 3-4 times a day of rice and other baby foods. Last night we had breakfast for dinner and I gave her a bite of bluberry waffles with syrup on it. She loved it...of course Who wouldn't?

" I love my highchair mama! Thank you!"
" Ok, are you going to feed me already??"

Spring time!

I love love love this time of year. Except it has been quite chilly lately and that pollen has been getting to me a bit. I love seeing all the flowers blooming! I just don't get too close...I am sooo sooo very behind on posting. She is napping so I am going to try to catch up.

These are from two weeks ago, I think, taken in our backyard when the Azaleas were in bloom. Now they are all dead because of last weekend's frost. Again we have only partial family pictures...till we get a tripod or a fourth person.We both still think that she really doesn't look like either one of us. When she is with me she looks really Caucasian and when I see her with Ryan her skin looks Oriental.Oh well..does it really matter? We love her muchos anyways!

She's learning too fast...

Ryan went to get her from her nap and found her standing in her crib. She is learning way to fast!!

Mobility...

For a few weeks now Ella Reese will get on her knees then stick her right leg out like this and try to stand on it. It reminds me of the pose spider man does as he is about to web someone. This is what it looks like behind. Like she is one-legged.
Ha ha!!!This one below was taken like 5 seconds from the one-legged one. She got on her belly and spun around pretty fast...

I never seem to have a camera when she gets on her knees..but here is one. In this one is where she was practicing her crawling moves and picking up her hands.
This is her Pop-Eye the sailor man face. She will suck in her lips and wrinkle her nose and smile more with one side of her face. Someone mentioned that she looked like Pop-Eye and now everytime she does it that is all I can think of! But she really does... A cute one though!