didn't forget...

i have been busy since Ella's first birthday so i didn't have a chance to post anything until today.

Her birthday was wonderful. we were granted a sunny, warm March day after a series of gloomy ones. Family and Friends met us at Sunsets (in Woodbury) for brunch. This was the same place Jessica had given me a baby shower a little over a year before.

Ella was looking and acting wonderful. She is a social butterfly and always at her best when around others. we had brunch then spent some time opening Ella's gifts. Ella has had a lot of fun with those gifts. Clothes, toys, and a lovely little stuffed lamb. I think Ella's favorite item has been a bucket that she can carry around and fill or empty as she pleases.

After Brunch we came back home so Ella could wind down and nap. She was a bit under the weather and needed to rest. We didn't have her cake until after dinner. by that point Ella was running a slight fever and was fussing. She had some cake, and seemed to like it, but one could tell she was not up to it. Well, perhaps next year she won't be sick. she won't remember anyway.

Ella walks

Ella has finally found the confidence to walk. well, sort of. she is taking a couple of steps here and there on her own but she always ends by diving into us. i posted a short (i mean real short) video of her first steps (well, maybe the 4th or 5th try) on my web album titled All About Ella Aviv. check it out.

 

Good Values

 

this photo is totally set up for those of you who might wonder. the gun is a pellet gun for scaring off squirrels and the beer is beer, yum. Beth was in town for a week in between visits to Miami and since she was to miss Ella's birthday we captured this quality moment of the two of them together.

 
 
 


I have been wanting to dress Ella up in her penguin outfit all winter long to do this photo shoot and i finally got around to actually doing it today. She was confused as to why i set her down and started snapping photos but i was surprised that she didn't try to take her cap off the whole time. she normally hates wearing any type of hat. Perhaps the snow just mesmerized her. this was perhaps the second time that she has just sat in it and had an opportunity to touch it.

chocolate fix

i love chocolate. Not as much as i love Carl and Ella but i really love chocolate. Unfortunately, that means that i eat chocolate frequently, and being the mess that i am i sometimes drop pieces of my chocolate snacks into the deep abyss of the sofa cushions. on the rare occasions, such as this morning, that i decide to clean between the sofa cushions i am surprised at what i find. Well, this morning it wasn't me who found lost pieces of chocolate, it was Ella.
i had stripped the cushions off the sofa and was taking my time at cleaning while i let Ella climb around the cushions onto the bare sofa. my attention was diverted to some coupons i wanted to clip and Ella was being so self-sufficient at entertaining herself that i lost focus of her as i clipped. when i finally did turn towards her to see how/what she was doing i found her face covered in something. At first i thought that she was bleeding but that didn't seem right as i went closer to her and noticed that the stuff on her face was thicker and darker than blood. it was then that i smelled chocolate. Chocolate? i was confused. where did she find chocolate? the only answer to this mystery was that she found it in the mess beneath the cushions.
i must say that Ella was not only happy but she seemed downright proud of her find. Well, she won this time as it was too late to do anything about the chocolate expect for wiping the remainder off of her face and brushing her teeth.
i have been so careful about keeping junk food away from her since there is no need for her to have such things at this age. makes me laugh though. i must always be one step ahead of her or things like this will happen. actually this wasn't all that bad...expect i wonder how long that chocolate had sat in between the cushions?