Maternity top

So here is the result of my sewing . . . (Ok, please don't laugh at my goofy camera faces (that means you Megan!). I am so terrible at posing for pictures. . . . ack,  who are we kidding? I look silly. Enjoy. : ) ) But I really like the way the top turned out. It fits great! And it was fun to figure out how to work the belly part.

Sewing

I finally got inspired to pull out my sewing machine and make a new pattern yesterday. It's a maternity top, which I've never tried to do before. I'll show it to you when it's done, hopefully tomorrow.

Here is Ella helping.

She climbed in and out of the case about a bajillion times. Another reason why it's been so long since I've sewn anything is the intensity of Ella's activity. But maybe she's getting a little more predictable or something these days? At least she'll stay and play with one thing for a few minutes now. We both had fun!

Hellooo . . .

Ella is starting to do things purposefully. Here she is talking on the phone . . .

And here she is putting on a headband we got at a friend's birthday party.

The little phone clip really makes me laugh. It is so funny to see her doing what she has definitely learned from me. I guess I do cock my head to the side when I talk on the phone. : ) It's less than a week 'til she's one now. She is getting to be such a big girl.

Pretty

Roses

 Ella loves spring too . . .

It's delicious!

At least, it was worth a try.

We had to bring our mini rose bush inside last night because it was cold. Ella thought the flowers looked pretty enough to eat, apparently. She pulled off the most beautiful blossom before I realized what she was doing. This may make me a bad mother, but we had to have a photo shoot with the dirt all over her mouth and the blossom being squashed. And tasted. You live, you learn.

Daffodils

I love spring! Cut these from the sideyard today!

Gifts

Ella has found a new way to play . . . find toys and give them to Mama. This was my collection this morning: Lucie's duck toy, several rings, the stacking tower, and a tupperware lid. I was quite touched.

Working in the garden

Playground

Today our friends Mama Beth and Baby Mari invited us to the park to play. It was Ella's first time and I was kind of afraid she would be really dangerous, diving off of platforms and getting run over by big kids. Not at all! It was so much fun! She was absolutely in her element.

She played in the sand:

and in the playhouse:

and on the jungle gym:

and with trucks:

 And on the swings:

This was sort of the grand finale. She had been getting tired, but I wanted to try swinging before we left. She giggled a lot while swinging, and when I took her out, she cried and tried to get back in. We will definitely be back. Maybe tomorrow!

Toddling

Watching Ella walk around the room in pigtails, I can't believe how big she's getting. It is so much fun to see everything she is learning to do. She is so different from the little baby I brought home from the hospital! It's amazing. In three weeks, she'll be a big one-year-old. But I think she's already more of a toddler than a baby! I love it, but at the same time, I just want to freeze her for a minute. It's going so fast!

Sunday afternoon nap

Aren't Sunday naps the best?

Funny hat

It was really nice out today! So we hung out on a blanket in the front yard for a while. We played with rings, and of course, Mama's phone.

We also played one of our favorite games, funny hat. You play by putting something on your head that is not a hat and saying, "funny hat, funny hat, hahahahahaha!" And you shake your head until the hat falls off. If you are Ella, you don't have to say anything, just laugh and shake your head. Here is Ella with a funny hat:

Here is a funny hat falling off of Mama's head (great timing huh? total accident):

Ella will even put her own funny hats on:

It's a great time!

More funny hats Ella thought of:

(this is actually 2 funny hats! One leaf stayed on, so she added another one.)

Anything can be a funny hat:

Hahahahaha!

Valentine's day

Here's something pink, snuggly and cute for your Valentine's day! I hope you have a happy and lovey one!

Ella's valentine:

Splish splash

Ella loves to go in the big girl bathtub. The first few times were a little scary. But now any time she is in the bathroom, she grabs her toys and tries to climb in. These pictures would lead you to believe that she likes to just sit and and quietly enjoy the warm water. Not so. She just thought the camera was interesting enough to look at that she could stop playing for a minute. She kicks, crawls around, belly flops and splashes till her whole little face is red from water in her eyes and nose. And she loves every bit of it. It does look like a lot of fun, I'll be honest! : )

Being silly

In the late afternoon, it can go one of two ways, either despairingly fussy, or wildly silly. I love the silly days. In this shot, Ella is jumping up and down and then I jump up and down, which is hilarious. It is also the reason the camera is so shaky. But I think you'll enjoy it anyway.

Unfortunately, today we are having a fussy day. But I thought I would post this to brighten our afternoon. Wish me luck!

Progress

The walking is getting steadier and steadier with each day, as you would expect I guess. It is so fun to watch her get better. At the same time, she is so adorable as a little drunken sailor. : ) This is from a couple of days ago.

Look how much more in control she is this morning, turning around and changing directions.

Pigtails

 Ella's beautiful hair has been growing and growing and look what we can do now!

Eek! I love them. So cute on her. Ella, on the other hand, doesn't exactly think they are the best thing . . .

This is how she feels when she wears them:

 They lasted, oh, about 45 seconds. But it was an adorable 45 seconds. We'll keep trying. Don't you worry.

February

It has been a bad winter for health in the McCall house. I have spared you the complaining until now, but sitting here with my sinuses throbbing and my nose dripping about a week after I finally shook the stomach bug that just wouldn't go away, I am ready to whine. Waaaaaah! I hate being sick.

But did you hear? Punxsutawney Phil came through! Let's hope the warmer weather sends all these germies packing. Speaking of packing, it's high time I mentioned here what I'm sure all of you have learned somewhere else by now. Paul and I are thinking of going on a little trip soon and leaving Ella with my parents. That is because pretty soon it will be doubly hard for us to get away on our own if you catch my drift. Yup, come this June there will be another little McCall baby! And we just found out its a girl!

Disclaimer: the ultrasound tech got a good look just a few moments in and said, yes, I'm pretty sure it's a girl, we'll get a better picture later. And then later little girl McCall was waving her little legs around like mad and we never got another good shot. So, my persistent fear of being predicted to have the wrong gender kiddo is more likely to come true this time. Oh well. We definitely saw a good heart, brain, spine and the rest. Such a lovely thing to see!

 That's about it for tonight folks. I've got to keep restocking my tissues and it sort of feels like all the gunk in my sinuses is clogging my brain too. But I wish you all a very happy early spring!