Ella Turns EIGHT!

It’s wild to think that Ella is eight! We celebrated with a “Celebrate and Donate” party in the backyard. It was Ella’s idea to ask her guests that instead of buying her presents, to donate to Three Square, our local food bank. Because of Ella’s generous heart, Three Square received $650 in donations!

Ella remains the same sweet kid that she has been; her decisions are full of kindness and her actions are full of love. She is reserved at school, always striving to do her best both academically and socially. At home, however, Ella lets loose. She is funny, goofy, and her silliness fills the house with joy.

This school year, Ella earned a writing award and an integrity award from her teacher, Ms. Baumgart. Ella was also selected for the GATE (Gifted and Talented Education) program at her school, which she will be a part of starting in third grade. She continued her record of excellence with all As. Because Ella is concerned with performing well, we make a point to not mention her grades…her effort is what matters. For example, Ella received a C on a reading test; and I put that C on the fridge! She puts enough pressure on herself, she certainly doesn’t need any more from us.

Ella continued to be a part of fitness club on Fridays and she also tried out for the school choir and made it. Choir was a much greater commitment with practice an hour before school for two, sometimes four, days a week. We are so proud of Ella’s bravery, as she volunteered for speaking parts in both the winter and spring choir concerts.

In addition to fitness club and choir, Ella started KidStrong on Monday evenings. The program is designed to give kids confidence through physical activity; it’s a bit like CrossFit for kids. I love watching her out on the mats doing sit ups, squats and running her little legs around.

At recess, Ella plays with her friend Cindy. Her good friend, Eliza, left her class this year to be homeschooled. Eliza and Ella have remained pen pals and write each other every few weeks. At home, Ella as grown incredibly close with our neighbor, Zully. Zully moved to Las Vegas in May 2025 from Belize. While Zully’s mom has remained in Belize as she awaits her Visa, Zully has come to live with her step-dad, Dion. Zully is at our house almost daily; the girls play tag and dance the afternoons away.

For (nearly all of) Miles’s life, he and Ella have shared a bedroom. Just recently, Ella and Miles moved into separate rooms. Miles moved into our guest bedroom and Ella remained in their shared room and earned herself a new bed! While their separate space has been nice, I do miss hearing their bedtime conversations with each other.

What else is this eight year old into these days? Ella really enjoys making bracelets, playing school, dancing with Zully, silly time with mom, writing stories, and playing/snuggling with the dogs. When Ella gets home from school, she finishes the snacks in her lunch, completes her homework, and then immediately asks if Zully can come over. She creates worksheets for her ‘classroom’ and loves any type of office supply. As for her favorite foods, Ella still loves pancakes and waffles, soups, edamame beans, and most fruits and vegetables. She’s recently determined that buttered noodles are her favorite dinner and asks for an after dinner snack (usually cheerios and chocolate chips) nearly every evening.

What does Ella not enjoy? She is becoming more resistant to her early bedtime and although she’s good at it, she doesn’t enjoy reading. She and Miles argue more often than I would like. She doesn’t like long car rides and as I attempt to think of more of her dislikes, I can’t come up with much…she happily does her chores and even offers to do mine (folding the laundry) often enough.

Just like her mom, Ella is still sensitive. She feels deeply; both the joy and the despair. While many people do not get the pleasure of knowing the depths of Ella, we feel grateful that we get to be a part of her heart’s desires and her heart’s aches. That we get to call this little girl ours.

Ella Turns SEVEN!

Whoa! We have seven year old in the house! We celebrated with a dog-themed, puppet making party to recognize Ella’s love for our dog, Topo.

Ella is still all the things she has always been: kind, empathetic, determined, smart, silly, and fun. She is excelling in 1st grade with Ms. de Graaff as her teacher. She likes math more than reading and library more than music, but continues to love school. Fun Friday, where the students get to cash in their class Dojo points in for prizes, is one of her favorites this year. With Miles in preschool now, Ella enjoys fitness club Fridays even more. While Miles catches each bug that comes his way, Ella has a rockstar immune system and hasn’t missed a day of school so far.

At school, Ella is still very stoic and shy, mentioning to us that she doesn’t usually laugh at school. While she has her small group of friends she plays with at recess, she doesn’t let loose at school. I understand her reasoning, but it makes me a little sad because she is so silly, goofy, and witty; I wish others could see this side of her. She doesn’t love doing her homework, but wants to earn the Dojo points linked to its completion. She grasps concepts easily and has earned all As. Because she is hardest on herself, we don’t tell her about her grades, just that we’re proud of her for her work ethic.

A couple of months after Ella turned six, she started losing teeth; her first one was in Helper, UT while playing Sequence with Grandma L. She has lost a total of eight teeth so far! She learned quickly how to ride a bike. learned how to jump rope in P.E., but has perfected it with practice at home. She’s received a few awards at school this year including a writing award, PE award, and integrity award.

Last summer she participated in Ms. Kim’s art camp again where she created art with all types of media. Her favorite TV shows are Bluey and Jurassic World (which is also a Miles favorite). Speaking of Miles, he continues to play the annoying little brother role; as Ella is teaching Miles to read, he is teaching Ella patience. While Miles does get on Ella’s nerves, the moments of kindness, encouragement, and love between them is more common than not. I hope that I never forget her little voice shouting, “Good job Miles!” as he ride a bike for the first time, reads a book for the first time, or chooses kindness at school. Sometimes, I wonder how her giant heart can fit inside her little body.

Ella enjoys games; especially the NYT Wordle, Strands, and Tiles. She regularly requests that we have ‘silly time,’ play tag, or Uno. If given the choice, she would stay at home in her PJs all weekend. She’ll oftentimes spell words that make a word backwards; for example, she’ll say, “P-O-O-L spells LOOP backwards.” Her ability to do this is quite impressive; like she’s always thinking of another word that it will work with. She knows it’s important to exercise and eat healthfully, but she will request a treat nearly every day after dinner. She eats most foods put in front of her, but her favorites are: pancakes, cheese its, ice cream, edamame beans, strawberries, and nutella. Her favorite dinners are: fish and rice, tacos, sloppy joes, and most soups.

Because Ella is short, we had her growth hormones checked. After enduring nine vials of blood drawn, we learned that Ella’s hormones are right where they should be. Her vision is stable; her right eye (which we patching up until a couple years ago) hasn’t regressed and she’s able to use both eyes together normally.

Ella has wanted bangs for awhile now, and although I was hesitant because her glasses already cover some of her face, we had them cut and she looks adorable as ever.

For her seven year check up, she clocked in at 41.2 pounds and 3 feet and 6.5 inches.

Being around this kid makes me happy. She wakes up full of joy each day and goes straight to pet Topo. She goes to bed asking for Topo to sleep with her. She doesn’t like to be alone, doesn’t love the dark, gets scared easily, and cries for the ‘bad guys’ in movies. She wants the world to be fair, right, and kind and if anyone deserved a world like that, it is Ella.

Ella Turns SIX!

Happy 6th Birthday Elle Belle!! We celebrated with a Taylor Swift, friendship bracelet making party in the backyard. It was a great afternoon with her friends, especially the new ones she has made in kindergarten this year!

The biggest update in Ella’s life is that she started kindergarten in August with Mrs. Van Buskirk at May Elementary School. When we went to her ‘meet the teacher’ event at school, Ella shocked us with her bravery; she didn’t want us to do anything for her and went to speak with her teacher all by herself. She basically told us, “Mom and Dad, I’ve got this!” And boy oh boy, did she!

She has come home from school every single day happy. She loves her teachers and her friends, especially Isabella, who is one of her classmates. Her favorite special is, of course, Art, with Mrs. Bruss. She has learned so much from being responsible for her library books to reading books at home to us. Her favorite series, and ours too, is the Elephant and Piggie books by Mo Willems; they are incredibly funny and entertaining. She received an art and writing award at school in the first semester and I’m so grateful for the incredible year she has had.

Ella continues to be incredibly empathetic and is hardest on herself. She loves ‘silly time’ as she calls it, where we basically wrestle and tickle each other in the family room. By the way, she is a very skilled tickler. She has a chore chart which earns her a weekly allowance for feeding Topo, doing laundry or putting silverware away. Speaking of Topo, Ella loves her so very much! She plays with her, snuggles her, and their bond has grown so much that Topo even falls asleep with her in her bed.

Ella loves saving her money (sounds a lot like me, haha!). She is so sweet with it; while I didn’t want to buy a $6.00 Valentine’s Day card for her to give me, she said that she would buy it. When we got home, she immediately went to her safe to give me the money. She cares about everything, even crying over the “lonely” bad guy in movies we watch.

Although we haven’t put Ella (or Miles) in any activities this year, she did do a week of art camp last summer at Ms. Kim’s house where she created incredible pieces while learning about the artists who inspired them. She was the youngest one there! Fortunately, with a pool in the backyard, not only did Ella master swimming last summer, but she started to dive for sticks and retrieve them from the shallow end of the pool. Her determination to accomplish tasks is incredible. She would dive and dive under water until she got a stick. We put her in fitness club, which meets every Friday morning, at her school. Here, she has met other teachers and students while learning how to play basketball, baseball, tag and more.

Ella continues to be an amazing big sister to Miles. She encourages him, shows him to do new tasks, and helps him take his shirt off sometimes. They continue to share a room and I love listening to them talk to each other in the mornings getting ready. They have so much fun playing together being silly, until someone gets hurt usually. Although Ella tries to control what they do most of the time, she’s learning to listen to Miles’s ideas. I’m so grateful they have each other and hope their love for each other grows and grows.

Ella still loves art, making cards, building with tiles, puzzles, playing on the play ground, playing tag, and climbing up our rope swing in the backyard. She loves to be at home, but is also willing to go on adventures with us; while she loves camping she isn’t a fan of the long drives it takes to get there. We got her a Camelbak for her birthday last year, so she is learning to carry her own water. She eats all sorts of various foods (and is willing to try anything), but her favorites are pancakes, waffles, edamame beans, chicken noodle soup, rice, strawberries, cantaloupe, and chocolate of course. She encourages Miles to try new foods too.

Her favorite show is Bluey, which she watches most mornings before school with Makenna. She asks a million questions during movies. She gets frustrated with Miles when he bothers her on purpose or me when I ask her to do too many things; she cries and walks away saying that she needs a break. She’s fast, like I need to run hard to escape her during tag. She’s smart; she’s at the 99%ile in school. She’s driven; she has an idea and she makes it happen. She’s incredibly kind; her heart aches for everyone. She’s shy; she needs encouragement to talk to her teachers. She’s creative; her artwork is framed all over. She’s silly; she gets in these laughing fits where she just doesn’t want to stop.

So I don’t forget, I want to share this story. Ella loves art and had made this red cardinal picture in white snow during her Art special at school. She brought it home, but it wasn’t finished; she needed to add more snow flakes. So she started using a white marker, a white colored pencil, a white crayon, but none of them gave her what she wanted. She said, “I wish I had the white pen from Mrs. Bruss.” I encouraged her to ask Mrs. Bruss, who she sees at the school gates each morning, but she said, “That’s too scary.” We talked to her that the worst that could happen is that Mrs. Bruss would say, “No.” Well, I picked her up from school and forgot about the pen. About 5:00pm Ella called for Scott and me to come in the kitchen and said that she had a surprise. I didn’t even think about the pen because I think Miles had a bad day at daycare so that’s where my mind was. And from behind her back she whips out the white pen and yells, “Surprise!” She did it! She did it! That’s little Ella in a nutshell. Shy, but brave. Patient enough to wait to tell us until we were ready to hear her good news. And determined to finish her red cardinal in the white snow picture just as she had imagined.

Ella went in for her six year check up and weighed in at 36 pounds and measured in at 40.5 inches! She may be small, but her blood flows with kindness and her heart is always bursting with goodness. Here is another story that speaks to who Ella is. March in Las Vegas always has random cool and windy days. I said, “It’s going to be cool and windy this weekend.” Ella replies, “Cool? I like cool. Windy? I like windy. It’s going to be perfect!” She will always make lemonade out lemons, limes, or dirt. She is happy regardless of circumstances.

Ella Turns FIVE!

Wow! Ella is five! She is such a great kid. She is kind, incredibly empathetic, determined, curious, sensitive, and happy. We love Ella, of course, but we sure like hanging out with her too. We celebrated her awesomeness with a pancake and pot painting party with all her friends! It was such a great day with wonderful people!

At Ella’s five year check up she measured a whopping 35 pounds and 37 1/4 inches tall. Small but mighty indeed! Here is what the Nugget has been up to for the last year. This past summer, Ella pretty much taught herself to swim. That girl was determined to not wear her floaties. Although it wasn’t graceful, she was able to swim across the entire pool! She loves to jump in on her own and swim to the edge. She never got comfortable swimming for a long time under water, but tread water, that girl can tread water.

School! Ella started preschool in the Typical Peer program at Ernest May Elementary School. Her teachers were Mrs. Campbell and Mrs. S. Although the transition was not the easiest, as Ella oftentimes cried when we left the house; after four months we were tear free! Makenna Higbee, as past student of ours, would watch Ella in the morning and then bring her to school. What a blessing Makenna has been to our family. Through preschool Ella has made some wonderful friends (Avery and Charlie specifically) and figured out how to be responsible without us. We are so proud of her.

So what is this five year old like these days. Ella loves art, adventure, camping, painting, wrestling, climbing, dancing, singing, and coloring. She is trying to ride a bike without training wheels because she wants to do BMX like her friend Avery. (I think it will be awhile til she masters no training wheels). She did gymnastics for a few months and has gotten pretty good at handstands and likes to have us watch her practice over and over and over. She has graduated to taking showers on occasion, but still likes it when I wash her in the bathtub. She loves to eat edamame beans, tacos, and rice. She likes Cheerios with chocolate chips as an after dinner snack. She doesn’t like brushing her teeth or getting her hair brushed, but tolerates them both. She goes to bed silly and wakes up sweet.

She goes with the flow on trips and likes to explore. She listens amazingly well and cries when she gets in trouble (which rarely happens). She tries to parent Miles from time to time. She is shy yet has become so brave. She is still tiny in size, but gigantic in love and affection.

She writes some words from memory: Ella, Miles, Mom, Dad, Topo, Love, Happy and gets so much joy in making cards for people. When she is sad or misses someone she draws a picture. When something dies (even a worm) she grieves and tries to save it by dumping water on top of it. She doesn’t like to be the center of attention but is constantly requesting our attention.

She goes to bed so quickly as she has transitioned to no nap for most of her fourth year of life. She loves Topo and occasionally cries that she misses Patches. She always asks to have her friends over. A perfect day for Ella would be to have everyone she loves at her house swimming in the pool.

Ella is sweet to Miles and looks out for him. She helped him gain confidence at gymnastics by hugging him and making him feel safe when he was scared. She gets incredibly frustrated (understandably so) with his lack of empathy and sometimes intense wrestling moves. She teaches him to forgive and say sorry. She holds his hand when he’s scared and shows him how to do all sorts of things (when he’s willing to listen). She comes home most days from school and immediately starts drawing. She didn’t have a single accident in pre school and I only got called from the nurse one time (apparently she hit her head on the playground). She has bad dreams and comes into our bed. She likes to wear dresses and bows in her hair but doesn’t hesitate to get them dirty. We are so grateful for her little heart and head…they are full of love and thoughtfulness!

Ella Turns FOUR!

If we could pause Ella at this age for awhile, we would. She is independent, helpful, sweet, smart, curious, playful, funny, snuggly and adventurous. And as we were hoping, with Ella’s help, we have tamed Miles! :)

Blowing out her candles at her very low key, rainbow themed birthday party.

What does our sweet girl enjoy doing? Ella loves to watch Rescue Bots and anything with Spider Man, Ghost Spider, or Miles Morales. It all started with a short clip of a Spider Man movie where Spider Man and Iron Man hold a giant ferry boat together. Since then, both she and her brother have been hooked. To celebrate Ella’s 4th birthday, we visited the Avengers Exhibit at Treasure Island. Here, she was able to act as Thor, see Iron Man’s progression of suits, and even sit on Capitan America’s motorcycle.

Ella continues to be an amazing eater, always eating her fruits and vegetables first before delving into her sweet treats at Ms. Janet’s. She is willing to try to new things and we are amazed at the quantity her little body can consume! When asked what her favorite foods are, she replied, “Chocolate chips, M&Ms, and Cheese-its.” She also loves edamame beans, rice, yogurt, waffles, pancakes, and strawberries. At her four year check up, Ella weighed 29.5 lbs and measured 3 ft. and 1/4 inch tall! She loves riding her bike and scooter, but is not a fan of brushing her teeth. She loves singing along to “Peace like a River” and “This Little Light of Mine.” She doesn’t like it when Miles bothers her or when she gets a time out. She continues to love to color, paint and read books. She excels at puzzles and magnetic tiles. She gets herself ready in the morning. The only thing she doesn’t do is brush her hair. She is still wearing an eye patch, but I imagine that she won’t have to much longer. She would love for Topo to sleep in her bed (but Topo sleeps with us) and will also pet Topo every chance she gets.

Ella and Miles both started soccer in January. Ella does a class where she is by herself with her coaches. We have heard nothing but positive comments from her coaches about Ella’s awesomeness. She is attentive and works hard. Nightly she asks me, “Can I sleep in your bed?” with a whiney voice. She is willingly giving up her nap and possibly starting pre-school in the Fall. She acknowledges that she is scared to start school, but declares that she will be brave. She loves to wrestle where I am the bad guy.

She says things like, “Where were we when dinosaurs were around?” and “I’m not sure I believe in God because I have never seen him, but I have seen Santa so I believe in him.”

Everywhere we go, someone will comment on her beautiful red hair, adorable glasses, or just all around cuteness. She draws eyes to her for her uniqueness. She gracefully accepts the compliments with timid ‘thank yous.’

Her relationship with Miles is amazing. He drives her crazy at times, but she wants to hold his hand, help him do things, let him go first, share her treats, wrestle, and love on him. Four looks so good on Ella. I want to keep her here for just a little while longer.

Ella Turns THREE!

Our sweet little Nugget is now THREE! Slowly, but surely, Ella is coming out of her shell! She has even started going to a dance class once a week, where she shakes her little body with other toddlers! Speaking of little, over the last year her adorable body grew to 33 inches tall and a whopping 26 lbs!

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First, let’s talk about some the things that Ella can do now that she wasn’t doing at two. Ella speaks clearly and uses complex sentences such as, “Mom, help remind me to turn Miles’s car seat around.” Or, “I want to take my sandals off so I can feel the grass on my feet.” She pretty much speaks like a little adult, which she likes to say, “I’ll pretend to be an adult, you pretend to be a kid.”

She loves to run in circles, play, “I’m going to get you” but only if she’s the getter. She loves watching Cocomelon and reading books from memory. She wants so badly to ride her bike, but her feet don’t quite reach the pedals, even with additional blocks Dad put on. She loves bracelets and being on the left side. She loves playing pretend doctor, pretend take care of baby, and pretend make a cake. She loves bike rides and tracing her hands.

She knows all her letters (capital and lowercase). She can count to 30. With chalk, she can write Mom. Because of Janet, she knows a number of site words and words in Spanish as well. She still loves blue and green, but has added teal, dark purple, and black to her list of favorite colors.

When Ella was almost two and a half, we potty trained her. She did amazing, however, it took us about six very long months, to get her to poop in the toilet. She would hold it until night and just poop in her diaper every night. BUT, we are sooo past that!

A few months shy of three, Ella got glasses! Her right eye has awful vision and is somewhat lazy (although it’s not noticeable), so she also gets to wear a patch over her left eye for half of her day. We are so impressed with her flexibility in wearing her glasses and her eyepatch.

Ella has mastered all of our backyard playground, including walking across the bridge. She loves to eat chocolate chip waffles and pancakes, yogurt, avocado sandwiches, peas and CheeseIts.

She is shy, yet shown her bravery (willing to go into her dance class without Mom in the room). She is tiny, yet big (she mastered climbing up the disks on the playground). She is serious, but silly. She is a rule follower, but also copies others, whether they’re following the rules or not. She loves Miles…there is no ‘but’ here. Even when he hits her and takes her toys, she is so forgiving. We could all learn a little from Ella.

Speaking of Miles, their friendship has become something special to watch. Miles is now in a toddler bed in Ella’s room and they have act super silly in there by themselves. She always wants him around. She wants to read to him, tuck him in, and teach him everything she knows. Scott and I joke that we’re pretty much done parenting Miles, because Ella can handle the rest.

She says, “Watch this!” all the time. She could nap all afternoon if I let her. She would sleep in until 7 if Miles let her. She got her first library card and enjoys picking out new books. She always helps push the grocery cart and has recently started helping Dad with his fix-it projects. She loves to drive with the windows down and eat fried green beans without the ‘fried’ part. She would rather be outside than inside, loves butterflies because Ms. Janet loves butterflies, and frequently asks to go camping. She loves painting and when Ms. Janet paints her fingernails. She wants to do most things by herself, but often whines, “I can’t do it,” shortly afterwards. She washes her own hair and body, and does a pretty darn good job brushing her teeth too. She loves the Golden Knights and her friends Olivia and Maxton. She cries when she know she did something wrong.

We’ve been waiting for this milestone and are thrilled with who Ella is: kind, compassionate, smart (she oftentimes remembers such tiny details from a single experience that we are amazed!), curious, and silly. Now we wait for her to tame her brother’s wild personality! :)




Ella Turns TWO!

Oh my goodness, the Little Nugget is TWO! We continue to enjoy Ella and her budding personality more and more! The only thing that makes me sad is that because Ella is still very shy, not many people get to see how curious, aware, happy, and silly she is! Her smile and laugh are simply the best!

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Ells started her third year of life weighing in at 22 1/4 pounds, standing 30 inches tall, and with a 19.5 inch round head on top! So what has this sweet face been up to the last six months? Ella continues to dote on her brother, who is no longer “Brather” but now, “Bro Bro.” Whenever she hears Miles cries, she promptly brings him a toy or blanket to try to comfort him. She also says, “Miles” with the cutest lisp. Speaking of what Ella says, her vocabulary has exploded the last few weeks; before she would say a single word, now she is able to string together three word sentences. Ella’s favorite colors are still green and blue, which she pronounces, “Geen and boo.” Hearing her say things like, “Thanks Mom,” or “Yes please,” without prompting just melts my ‘want my kid to have good manners and be kind’ heart.

It’s not all manners around here though. Ella is learning often that she just can’t take things from her brother. It’s like an immediate reaction; as soon as I give Miles a toy, Ella wants it. She is learning through her tears that she has to share…and wait…waiting is hard for a two year old.

What else does two-year old Ella enjoy? Ella loves doing puzzles, drawing (with markers, window crayons, chalk, you name it, she wants to draw with it), building with lego blocks, being outside playing with rocks or bubbles. Whereas Ella used to sit still for longer periods of time, she is becoming a very busy toddler going from activity to activity and our house would be a disaster if we didn’t pick up regularly. The only thing that really slows her down is a phone. She loves watching Daniel Tiger on PBS kids while munching on a bowl of cereal to wind down before bed.

Ella also loves being tickled, climbing on anything she can get her little legs up on, and chasing after Topo and giving her treats. Ella even gives Topo her breakfast and dinner all by herself. Ella knows her colors, letters, and numbers to ten. Although her pronunciation of her words isn’t the greatest, she can count to ten somewhat consistently. She refers to letter ‘M’ as ‘Mom,’ the letter ‘D’ as ‘Dad,’ and the letter ‘B’ as ‘Bro.’ How sweet is that? She loves to carry around these magnet letters, along with an ‘E’ and ‘T’ for Ella and Topo.

The Nugget continues to be an awesome eater. Because her favorite color is green, it is easy to get this kid to eat vegetables. She regularly eats peas, edamame beans, broccoli and green cauliflower. Honey and vanilla Greek yogurt has become a favorite along with Cheese Its. I’m grateful for her healthy eating habits and hope her brother watches her closely.

Her sleeping habits are as good as her eating habits. She still sleeps 10-11 hrs a night and takes a 2-3 hr nap. Most of the time she sleeps in her new toddler bed! It has been so fun to watch her look at books and fall asleep in her bed. Although she often cries when we leave the room, and sometimes even sleeps by the door with her blankets, she sleeps solid throughout the night!

Everyday Ella seems to grow up a little. We are grateful that she still has her baby belly and expresses her love so sweetly. We look forward to her becoming more independent, including the dreaded potty training. Watching her tender heart grow the last six months has been such a joy!

Ella at 18 months!

Little nugget rang in her 18 months with a visit to the pediatrician’s office where she measured 18 pounds even and 27 inches tall!

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We are so proud of Ella as she has accomplished a lot in the last two months. We are most proud of how loving, interested, and gentle she is with her little “Bratha.” We are thoroughly enjoying all of Ella, even her regular use of, “No, no, no.” :) So what has she been up to?

Ella knows her colors (most of the time). Dad and Ella play a fun game with various colored kid cushions we have. Dad says a color and Ella has to go stand on the cushion of that color. She is always laughing as they play. Ella is able to sign when she is doing something related to pooping or peeing…or farting. She gives the same sign for all three so if she’s grunting we know it’s a poop. Ella knows most of her body parts, including her elbows and shoulders. She pretty much mimics whatever we do and always wants to help. We bought her some steps so she can be at counter level in the kitchen, where she helps make breakfast.

She loves stuffed animals now, especially her elephant. She recognizes that she is Ella and although she doesn’t say her own name, she does say, “Mom,” “Dad,” and “Bratha.” She has also added (on occasion) ‘edge,’ ‘ice,’ ‘hot,’ and ‘chair,’ to her vocabulary.

Ella saying Mom and Dad

She enjoys playing with water more and more and has a small obsession with airplanes. Every time she hears one, she points to the sky and says, “Broom.” Because of this, we have spent some time at North Las Vegas airport watching the airplanes take off and land.

One of the most enjoyable things Ella does right now is reenact events, especially if she falls. She points to where it happened and brings her hand to her forehead to explain that she got hurt, all through her cries. It is quite entertaining to ask her again and again, “Ella, tell me what happened,” and watch her replay the events.

Ella at 16 Months

The little nugget is becoming a kid! Ella has grown up so much this summer: from practicing getting into and out the pool on her own to playing in the rare Las Vegas rain, Ella is figuring out her world!

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In July, Ella had her 15 month checkup. She was 27 inches tall and whopping 17 pounds! Although, not even on the growth chart still, she is growing so we are thrilled. Here’s what Ella has been up to the last couple of months.

Her favorite colors are green and blue. Every time she grabs a lego block or magnet off of the fridge, it’s a green one and a blue one. We’ve outgrown the traumatic days of getting dressed as Ella is now helping by putting her arms through shirts and lifting her feet up to get shorts on and off. She loves giving Topo treats and even gets Topo’s food bowl ready by setting it on the ground and picking it up and putting it away when Topo is done eating.

She is still afraid of everyone besides Mom, Dad, and Miss Janet. Speaking of Miss Janet, now that Ella’s hair is long enough Miss Janet has been styling her hair in all the cute ways! Although she isn’t tall enough to climb up on the couch yet, she can get off the couch on her own safely. She’s still a great sleeper as she’s graduated to one nap from about 10am-12:30pm. Ella also graduated to a convertible carseat so her brother Miles can use her infant carseat.

She’s still a pretty good eater, although now that she’s been exposed to Kids’ Clif Bars and bread, she has more of an opinion these days. She’s learning how to use a spoon and fork. She gives forehead hugs: where she puts her forehead against your forehead. (We should probably teach her how to give real hugs). She has all of her incisor teeth in and four molars; she’s working on the other molars now. Teething for Ella isn’t horrible, but it’s not a walk in the park either: she’s usually pretty needy, gets a runny nose, and requires some drugging every once in awhile. In early August, after a five hour afternoon nap, we knew something was wrong. She woke up on fire, with with a fever of 103.9. The culprit: new teeth!

Getting a ready smile from Ella isn’t easy, but once this kid starts laughing, it is impossible to not laugh with her. She laughs running away from Topo, getting tickled by Mom or Dad, and playing ‘Monster’ with Dad. She wants to play on our phones, bob her body around to music, and be wherever we are. Her next big adventure will be when her brother arrives. To be continued…

Ella at 14 Months

She’s on the move! Ella loves walking around the house, following Mom or Dad from room to room and from inside to outside. She loves practicing steps, up and down, up and down…over and over…and over :). Her explorations have not come without injury…you may notice some face bruises in these pictures. She knows that socks and shoes go on her feet and that she must be going somewhere when we put them on.

It’s amazing how much kids understand at this age! Ella is able to point to various body parts, waves at every animal that comes by, waves goodbye (after she can’t see the person anymore), is now able to sign that she’s ‘all done’ with something. We’re still working on ‘drink’ and have added ‘poop’ to the signing mix. When asked how old she is, she will hold up her index finger. She loves laughing when everyone around her is laughing. Ella has more teeth coming in, including molars! With summer here, we are spending a lot of time in the backyard.

We’ve visited with friends and even had a short visit from Grandma and Grandpa K!

Uploaded by Sara Lautzenheiser on 2019-06-18.

Ella is ONE!

Ella has made one full trip around the sun; we all survived and we’re still married! Scott and I decided that as neither of birthday party people, we would start our family traditions of ‘having experiences’ for our birthdays. Ella’s Year One experience will be a beautiful Sunday afternoon at the Las Vegas Aviators ballpark.

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Here’s where we stand after 365 days of growing the baby: Ella weighs 16 pounds, is 25.5 inches long and has a head that is 18 inches around! She is still at the very bottom of the growth curve for height and weight, but her head has her in the 50 percentile! Go Ella!

Food she won’t ever turn away: pancakes, bananas, blueberries, peas, green beans, grilled cheese, yogis, and puffs. By far, her FAVORITE food is blueberries.

Food she likes, but has to be in the mood for: cottage cheese, peanut butter, squash, corn, rice, eggs, and chicken.

Food she doesn’t seem to enjoy at the moment: carrots and yogurt.

Ella is no longer drinking from a bottle (um, sweet!); she’s graduated to sippy cups and drinking from a straw, which she absolutely loves. She now says, “Dada” and points at objects; mostly randomly at the ceiling.

Ella has also mastered a sign language sign for ‘more.’ She mostly associates it with food and lets you know when ‘more’ food better be added to her tray. We are working on ‘all done’ and ‘drink’ now.

Ella is still cruising along walls and toys, but especially loves holding your hand as you walk her around. She hasn’t gained the confidence just yet to take steps on her own. She loves looking out the kitchen bay window and bouncing her little body to all sorts of music. “Itsy Bitsy Spider” radio is playing on Pandora most of the day. She is still an amazing sleeper, taking two naps throughout the day and sleeping about 11 hours straight at night. She is shy and needs time to warm up to people. She is happiest when she is holding one of her blankies. She is most upset when she is getting clothes put on. She continues to be a great traveler. She is learning that she can’t throw food off her tray; instead she has to put it in Mom or Dad’s hand.

Her favorite books right now are: “The Shape of Me,” “Ten Twinkly Stars,” and “Goodnight Moon.”

Over the last month, Ella went to her first Aviators’ baseball game, traveled to Williams, AZ to celebrate both her grandmas’ 70th birthdays, hung with lots of friends, and explored the outdoors.

Ella at Eleven Months

Ella is doing fantastic! Although she hasn’t accomplished many new skills, she has had a couple notables this month: Her top two central incisors are almost in and she says, “Mama!” She says it without any particular awareness of me, but she still says it. Other than that, Ella is still working on Ella things.

Uploaded by Sara Lautzenheiser on 2019-06-18.


Ella at Ten Months

She’s hit double digits!! Ella is doing fantastic and Mom and Dad are super grateful for how ‘easy’ Ella seems to be these days!

First of all, our little nugget got her first two teeth! Her bottom, central incisors have come in without too much drama. Whew! Ella plays independently very well, which gives me a chance to update this :) She is also getting much more comfortable with other people holding her!

Physically, Ella is getting stronger. She army crawls on her belly, but it’s not her favorite way to get around. She would much rather hold on to Mom or Dad’s hands and walk around the house. She is able to cruise along the sides of furniture, which is pretty much her favorite thing to do these days. She continues to sleep great and will happily play in her crib for 30 minutes after she wakes up.

In addition to time at home, we enjoyed a visit from Grandma and Grandpa Kienzle and her first snowfall! A few other notables: Ella has learned how to clap and will bounce when music plays. She also is a huge breakfast eater! She’ll eat multiple eggs (scrambled), a whole banana, and 20 blueberries in one sitting!

Ella at Nine Months

What has this little Nugget been up to the last month? First of all, Ella is sleeping through the night consistently! Yay! She goes to bed about 6pm and wakes up about 5am. We have said that whether Ella is awake in her crib or Topo is bouncing around waiting for breakfast, the house doesn’t open til 5am!

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Ella is also pulling herself up to stand and getting quite a handle on her balance. Although she still isn’t crawling, she is pushing herself backwards on her belly (which she usually does whining because she’s trying to go forward).

Despite Ella still not having any teeth, she is expanding her diet. She eats spaghetti with ground turkey, veggie tater tots, Yogis (yogurt bites), cheese, and whatever else is soft enough for her toothless mouth to handle. Ella is also off breastmilk and entirely on formula…her dairy cow dried up.

Ella had her 9 month doctor’s visit and landed herself at 14 lbs even, 23.5 inches long and a head rounding out at 17.5 inches. She is still a less than 1% body holding up a 50% head.

Ella still loves being outside, the Golden Knights, her blankets, and watching the dogs do everything. She is happy being near Mom and Dad. Ella doesn’t love diaper changes, getting dressed (which explains the large number of naked baby pictures on this post), or being alone. We love you Nugget!




Ella at Eight Months

Ella embarked on her eighth month of life by getting her helmet! Her new accessory did not last very long, however, as she got a pretty bad sore on the side of her head. The future of her ‘pink hat’ is up in the air as of now.

Ella loves eating! She is getting quite adept at feeding herself. Puffs, eggs, and fruit seem to be her favorites for now.

Over the last month she has met more people, some for the first time, others for the second time. Although she still isn’t excited about unfamiliar faces holding her, sometimes she cooperates! She has also accomplished a few notable skills: she rolls easily front to back and back to front. Sometimes she’s so enthralled, she rolls across her bedroom carpet. She isn’t crawling yet, but she’s working on it. In the meantime, she loves playing peekaboo, whether it’s you or her who’s doing the hiding.

Eight months has also revealed Ella’s seemingly strong personality. When she doesn’t like something, she lets you know, loud and clear. On the other hand, when she’s enjoying playtime, her giggles fill the air.

Ella at Seven Months

Seven months has brought on many new experiences for out little nugget! Ella experienced her first two major holidays: Halloween and Thanksgiving! For Halloween, we dressed Ella up as a pumpkin without any resistance!

A few ‘not so exciting’ firsts also came her way. Ella experienced her first cold, which she fought off that stuffy and runny nose like a champ! Ella was also evaluated and fitted for a helmet to correct her misshapen head next week! We’re looking forward to rockin’ some Vegas Knights decor on it!

Ella went hunting for the first time. Although no one saw a single quail, Ella was still happy riding in the truck and walking around in the desert with Topo and Patches.

Ella has met more friends and family that love her. She had a chance to hang out with her grandparents for a week over Thanksgiving break. Ella had her first taste of mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes; although, what seems to really peak Ella’s tastebuds is Grandma K’s raspberry vinaigrette dressing! Who would have thought?!

Ella is sitting up on her own better. She still prefers to be on her back as opposed to her tummy. She’s trying (and swallowing) various foods little by little, although she still doesn’t have any teeth.

Ella is laughing. She laughs when Dad tickles her and when she knocks down her blocks. She laughs at puppets and the dogs. The ‘blanket peek-a-boo’ game seems to be one of her favorites. Her giggles bring us so much joy!

Ella at Six Months

Ella is half a year old! From a three-day old yawning shot to an almost six month old signature “Ella look,” she has grown! Although she is still dominating the bottom of the growth curve, she is growing! She weighs 12 pounds, 4 ounces, measures 22.25 inches long, and has a head that is 16.75 inches round!

Ella seems to have three signature looks. 1. Raised eyebrows (as shown below) which means, “I’m curiously exploring my surroundings.” 2. Furrowed brow, which means, “I’m being critical of whatever nonsense you are presenting to me. Even though I’m only a baby, I call B.S.” 3. Smile that fills her face, which means, “I’m happy. Happy that I see the dogs. Happy that you’re here. Happy that I see myself in the mirror. Happy that I finally got that fart out. Happy that I’m loved.”

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Ella has met a few more people in the recent month. She went to her first birthday party, where Fred got to love on Ella for the first time! She also met the old Gold’s Gym crew for Taco Night! Our little nugget even spent the entire day with Grandma and Grandpa while Mom and Dad worked. Lastly, Ella met Debbie and Dennis, who are the Mom and Step-Dad of our sister-in-law, Harmony.

Fall has provided the opportunity to spend more time outdoors. Ella explored the Aspen trees on Bristlecone Trail with Mom and Topo. When Grandma and Grandpa were in town, she visited Gilcrease Orchard for the second time and Red Rock Canyon for the first time.

Ella has had a few firsts this month. She has tried her first foods, which she proceeded to immediately spit out. She has tried butternut squash, carrots, apples, and rice cereal. Although she seems to enjoy rolling the food around in her mouth, she hasn’t quite figured out that she is supposed to swallow it. She is able to sit up on her own (for a few seconds) pretty regularly. In addition to breastmilk, we added formula to Ella’s diet, which took a little bit for her to get used to.

Uploaded by Sara Lautzenheiser on 2018-10-29.

Ella at Five Months

Ella has been a busy girl this month. She attended her first baseball and hockey games. And as any good mother would, I’ve made sure that she has cheered on the Spartans and Lions (from the couch) too!

Ella loves going to Miss Janet’s house, despite what her face shows below! All the kids are so good to Ella. They want to play with her, shower her with presents, and they cheer her on as she tackles new tasks, like rolling over. Her friend Paisley sings her ‘Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star’ on a daily basis. She is so blessed to be surrounded by such a great tribe!

Ella has spent time with family and friends, including dinner at Erin’s and An’s, where Aiden, despite Ella’s resistance, dotted all over her. :) Ella enjoyed a trip to work to watch Mom play in a Teacher vs. Student basketball game and she loved her visit from Grandma and Uncle Duane.

Ella is happy just hanging out around the house and going on short adventures! We think that we have discovered a little of Ella’s personality, although this is probably par for the course with most babies. We’ve noticed that she might be shy as she smiles at people and then looks away and covers her face with her blanket or hands. She may be impatient, as she seems to get frustrated easily when she can’t carryout a task she wants. And when she’s hungry, the girl needs to eat. She is also super observant. She notices everything and is content just watching the world around her. She is revealing more and more of her little self each and every day.

Ella at Four Months

Ella had her four month check up! She weighed 11 pounds, 5 ounces, measured 22 inches long, and had a head circumference of 16 inches. Her pint sized self is growing wonderfully! 

I have officially started working part time so Ella has been going to Miss Janet's house every other day. She has so much fun there; playing and watching the older kids learn cool stuff. Janet regularly sends us photos of Ella throughout the day that just warm my heart. I have no doubt that Ella will be a better human being because of her time with Janet. 

Ella is becoming more vocal; mostly talking to herself while she is playing on her mat. I think her words are self motivating, as she is loudest when grabbing for her toy lion, which she tries to eat. She is rolling from her back to her side, but not all the way over. She has rolled twice from her tummy to her back (but she was propped up so we won't call it 'official').

She is currently experiencing a little sleep regression. As opposed to her nine to eleven hours of straight sleep, it's more like six to eight hours. She will put herself to sleep, sometimes easily, sometimes with a fight.  I've found myself, on multiple occasions, scrolling through Ella photos while at work...I think she has my heart. 

Ella at Three Months

I'll admit it...the first month with Ella was really, really hard. It was really hard for all the reasons that you would assume: lack of sleep, crying, etc...and that wasn't just Ella! Thank goodness Ella didn't have sore nipples too! BUT, as we are bringing Ella's third month of life to a close, our lives has not only gotten easier, they are fun and full of joy! How so? Let me share with you. 

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Ella smiles all the time; she wakes up smiling. She smiles with her entire body.

She will sit on my lap for lengths of time just wanting to be a part of the group. She plays with her hands and sucks on them to soothe herself. She blows lots of bubbles and farts more than her parents (which says a lot!). 

She will sleep for nearly eight hours straight on occasion. She has a flat back of her head because I haven't done enough 'tummy time' with her. Because her intestines are more mature now, she only poops about once a week now. Boy oh boy, is it a big one, but it definitely makes changing diapers easy (for now). 

Although for awhile she didn't want anyone besides Mom or Dad to hold her, she has grown out of that fear thanks to Janet, the woman who will watch Ella while we are at work.

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Because Ella does amazing in the car, she has been able to visit lots of places including Boulder City, Mount Charleston, Oatman, AZ, Long Beach, CA, St. George, UT, and the Grand Canyon.

You could say that I am slightly excited to start the school year because of two reasons: I'll be working part time and Ella is with the most amazing caregiver I could have hoped. Ella has spent four days with Janet so far. If my biggest fear is that Ella will love Janet more than me, then I know she is with the right person. :)