Eating is hard work

So this is my second post today which is a lot for me. I couldn't fit these photos on my other post but they were too funny to be missed. Ella fell asleep in her high chair again in the middle of dinner. I think she had only had one nap this day and she just couldn't stay awake anymore. Of course I took tons of pictures while trying to control my laughter at the same time. These were two of my favorite shots. She kept changing positions trying to get more comfortable.

Tons of pictures

The last few weeks have been really busy but so fun. We have already had 2 Christmases and we have 2 more still between both our families. Ella is growing so fast and she is crawling all over the place. She is learning to stand up and walk but she still holds on for balance. In the last few weeks she has learned to wave and give high fives. She is such a good baby and is rarely upset. Dustin and I feel spoiled that she sleeps 11 or 12 hours straight every night. Although, we get our excercise in during the day chasing after her. Below are some pictures of some of what we have been up to lately. Enjoy!

Playing with Daddy, one of her favorite things.


Ella in her cute Christmas dress, I had to put her in it for church a little early because it was starting to get short. She did not want to be still for pictures and these are the only two we got where she is not crawling away.



Ella eating her first french fry.


All bundled up at Gardner Village.



Opening her first Christmas present ever from Grandma Jana and Grandpa Rob.


Ella fell asleep in the car like this and I had to get a picture.


Opening another Christmas present.


Ella loves to stand at her toy bins and pull stuff out. I love this picture with her pants she can't keep up. So cute!

Thanksgiving and 9 months

For Thanksgiving we went to St. George and spent the holiday with Dustin's family. We had a good time relaxing and continuing with the tradition of making gingerbread houses. We went out to eat one night and Ella sat in a restaurant high chair for the first time and absolutely loved it. We really enjoyed the warm weather, the good food, and the fun times We truly have so much to be thankful for. In separate news, Ella is 9 months now and she had her doctor's appointment today. The time has really flown by. Below are some photos of her today standing up with her toy and just making a funny expression today. Lately it is really hard to get a good picture of her because she squints her eyes when the light comes on our camera. She did great at her appointment and she and I were both thankful that she didn't have to get any shots. Here are her stats:

Height: 28" (67%)
Weight: 18 lbs. 4 oz. (40%)
Head: 17.3" (51%)

Her weight percentile did go down quite a bit but her doctor wasn't too worried. We have a new way of preparing her formula to try, but she might she just be kind of a petite little girl. I guess we will see :)

Happy 4 years!! (one day late)

Dustin and I celebrated our 4 year anniversary yesterday. I almost can't remember my life without Dustin in it because we started dating 8.5 years ago. From the very beginning we spent as much time together as possible, except during our two years apart while Dustin served a mission. Even though we were apart for so long, I knew that we were meant to be together. Dustin has always made me so happy, and no one could ever compare to him. We have always been best friends, and that still hasn't changed today. I feel like I could write pages about why I love Dustin so much, but the truth is, a girl could not ask for a better husband (or if you talk to my mother, a better son-in-law :) ) Dustin is a very happy, genuine, and laid back person, and over the years he has helped me to stop worrying so much about all the little things. He makes me want to be a better person, and that is what I love about him. We have been through a lot in the last four years (6 moves, Dustin finishing school, buying 2 homes, moving across the country for his internship, 2 miscarriages, a flooded basement, home renovation done by us, and so much more). Even though we have been through some hard times, I still look back on it all with fondness because we had each other through it all. Plus, all the hard things make the good things even better. The best thing we have experienced as a married couple is definitely the birth of our beautiful little girl, Ella. It was a long road for us to have a baby, but it was so worth it and the timing could not have been better. Dustin was so great my whole pregnancy and was a champ in the delivery room. Ella is such a joy in our lives and I love seeing Dustin as a father. He is so amazing with her and will do almost anything to make her laugh. I know when she gets older she is always going to think her dad is so cool. I would love to write more but Ella just woke up and is screaming. I just want Dustin to know that I love him so much and I appreciate all he does. I feel like I hae the best husband in the world and I can't wait to spend forever with him. Below is a picture from our wedding day (I don't have digital copies of our real ones) and a recent picture of our little family now.

Ella is crawling!!

So Ella finally figured out how to crawl. For awhile she has only been moving backward, which I read is because baby's arms are much stronger than their legs. Anyway, on Monday she just started crawling so I tried to get her to do it again so I could capture it on film for her daddy. So far she only is interested in crawling short distances, but it is very exciting nonetheless. Our little girl is growing up so fast.

Wheeler Farm and Halloween

These pictures seem so old already but I had to put them up since it was Ella's first Halloween. The week before Halloween we went to Wheeler Farm with my sister, Amy, her husband, Loran, and her little boy, Riley.







For Halloween we went up to Park City and hung out with my mom. Ella loves her Grandma Diane and she really enjoyed playing piano with her. Unfortunately we didn't get any great shots of Ella in her costume. By the time we tried to take some she was getting ready for bed and was cranky. We were trying to pacify her, enter in the spatula. :)

Brittany G Photo Shoot

In the slideshow are most of the pictures of Ella's photo session with Brittany G. Some of the pictures are duplicates but in black and white or color. Thanks to Alicia for recommending her!

Ella's Photos

A little while ago we had Ella's photos done and we have been so excited to see them. She was being a stinker that day and did not want to smile which is so unusual for her. Anyway, the photographer put a couple of the photos up on her blog and you can check them out by clicking on the title of this post.

Ella Talking

So it appears that Ella is going to be like her mother and talk a lot. The other day she was just babbling continuously so I caught a little on video. In this short time her personality is really captured. Enjoy!

New Haircut

So I finally got a much needed haircut with highlights today. I am so happy with it and I love the girl that did it. She lives in my neighborhood and thanks to everyone for the recommendations. This was taken at the end of the day so it is a little flat, but I think you can still get the idea. Anyway, I had to put these pictures up so that my mom and anyone else who cared could see.

Lately

We have been doing all kinds of stuff lately and Ella has been experiencing a lot of firsts. She is already almost 7 months and we can't believe it. You can see in the pictures how much she has changed.

My cousin was in town with her baby Reese. Reese, Ella, and Ella's cousin Riley were all born within about a week of each other. As you can see Ella and Riley are getting used to each other and they like to grab and hit each other.

I turned around the other day and this is what I saw. She is such a funny little thing, and she stayed like this for awhile just chilling out.

Ella has started eating her meals in her high chair and she loves it. I always laugh because she looks so tiny in it. She is still loving her baby food and now she eats the little baby crackers too. Those took her a little bit to get used to(even though they basically dissolve in her mouth) because they are hard, but now she is figuring it out. I love to watch her pick them up with her tiny fingers.

Ella has finally figured out how to hold her own bottle too. It can't be too heavy and she can't be too tired, but other than that she does great with it. Thank you to Linzy for introducing me to the handles.

Ella is sitting up all by herself now too. We have really been trying to help her figure it out because she has to be able to do it for her pictures this weekend. She is so proud of herself everytime she does it.

I met up with my friend Marie who was in town from Iowa. We saw the elephant parade at Gateway. It was pretty short but I think Ella was entertained. She just dropped her bottle and stared at them. It was cool to see them just walking down the street.

This is Ella and me with Marie and Joshua.

The other night Ella was really tired during dinner. She had hardly napped during the day and she was ready to sleep. I have a video of it too and it is hysterical. Dustin and I could not stop laughing because this had never happened before. Here she is going, going...

...and gone.

Ella woke up from a nap upset and would not let me put her down. She is starting to get into a little bit of a clingy stage, but for now I don't mind at all.

We had this bin in our DI pile and Dustin put her in it for a minute and she loved it. She likes to hold on to the sides and attempt to pull herself up.

Our Cute Little Girl

These are just some recent photos of Ella for all to enjoy. :)

This is Ella trying to sit up with the help of Daddy's legs.

When she makes this face she looks so much like her Daddy.  She was really concentrating on trying to figure out her new toy.
This is Ella and me after we went to get the mail down the street.  She hates the sun in her eyes, so thanks to Grandma Diane for getting her these stylish shades. 
Ella absolutely loves her baths.  She splashes the whole time and drenches whoever is bathing her.  This just proves that this girl really never stops moving.  She sure keeps us busy.

McQuay Family Photos

A few weeks ago we attempted to take family photos with Dustin's family.  Unfortunately not too many of them turned out, but with 3 kids in the pictures that is to be expected.  Plus, a storm was on the way and we were in a rush to finish.  Dustin and I were able to get a couple good ones with Ella.  She wasn't really looking at the camera, but the two pictures I am putting on here are the best ones.  The best part was that the place we took the photos in Park City was beautiful.  Way to go Britt for coming up with it. 

Pose #1

This is the same picture, but in black and white.

Pose #2

The best group shot.