september

Our monthly "photo shoots" were getting to be a little too tricky with such a mobile little girl so we decided that ending them at 12 months was a good stopping point. I'm sure she wouldn't appreciate having to sit by a sign that posted her height and weight when she's 16 anyway.

However, the monthly recap works well for me to remember to sit down and upload the pictures from our camera and record the happenings of our little family.

So here's what we've been up to for the last month or so.

We checked out the Davis County Fair. It was a bazillion degrees that day so we didn't stay too long but Ella really enjoyed looking at the animals.

Checking out the bunnies... (This is her classic "O" face that she makes all the time. I love it.)

 chickens...

 and saying "hi" to the ponies. Too bad she was too little to take advantage of a free ride.

We also had a little pool party in the backyard with her buddies Ben and Maura. I love getting together with my friends and I'm loving that the babies are starting to interact more and can grow up to be good friends as well.

I also introduced Ella to the joy of stickers. She had fun with them for about 3 minutes and then was off to the next thing. Pretty typical of our time together.

Witney and I spent an entire day making and canning salsa. The girls had fun playing together. I wish this picture captured it better but Ella automatically took on the role of little mommy. She was leaning into Maura's face and "talking" to her in a high voice, rocking her seat and making faces at her. It was hilarious.  

Here they are with the babies. Ella's brown hair and brown eyes and Maura's blonde and blue eyes. So cute.

Ella has also enjoyed being introduced to lots of new foods.

Here's she's loving some Spaghetti O's.

Her own box of cheerios. She loved reaching into her little box.

And some corn on the cob that she stole from me.  She also loves mac & cheese and peanut butter & jelly. Every day when I'm making her lunch I can't believe I have a kid old enough to be eating these things.

She has also become a master mess maker. It is impossible for me to keep on top of the messes that she makes on a daily basis. She's a very curious little girl.

She absolutely loves to go into her room and go through her drawers. I have completely given up on folding and organizing her clothes. We just clean up by putting pants in the bottom and shirts in the middle. Good enough I say.

She also finds it fascinating to crumble her food, unload whatever cupboard she can open, spread shoes throughout the house, etc.

With all the mess making we felt it was important to teach her how to clean.

When I vacuum she keeps a watchful eye on it while keeping a safe distance. She'll poke her head around the corner and then run away. But when I turned it off and it was quiet. She kept walking up to it and trying to give it toys.

She also loves to mop the floor. I can keep her busy by giving her a dishtowel and she'll happily go along wiping the floor. One day I was wiping down the cabinets and I gave her her own rag and she wiped along beside me. I love having a little helper.

The biggest accomplishment of the past month is that Ella is a walker. It's so cute to watch her tiny little frame toddle around and she is so proud of herself!

She loves to walk all around the house holding various things. She also loves her shoes. I need to get a picture of her in them. She'll go find them and bring them to me to put them on her.