8 Weeks Old

 

Ella's Blessing

Today we blessed our little Ella Ruth in the Inwood 1st Ward. We were so blessed to have some family there and Great Grandpa Elliott and Great Uncle Doug were able to participate in the blessing. I wish we had gotten of photo of Ella with all the priesthood bearers, but alas, we can't catch all the good moments, can we? It was a beautiful blessing and Matt spoke slowly enough for me to be able to jot down most of what he said (not verbatim, but I'm still happy with what I got). Ella wore a dress that has been worn by generations of women in my family. My mother, her sister, me and all my sisters, my cousin and now both of my daughters. There is a photo of all the women (including Great Grandma Elliott who began the tradition by dressing her daughters in the dress) and only my sister, Laura, is missing. We don't have photos of Ella by herself in the dress yet- those should be coming shortly!

City of Brotherly Love

Philadephia, PA 7/18/07

Yesterday we took a day trip to visit good ol' Philadelphia. Matt has never been and the last time I went was on a field trip during middle school. It was pouring rain when we left and as we pulled away we thought, "Is this a mistake? Are we going to regret the 2 hour drive?" But it cleared up by the time we arrived- although the humidity was pretty intense throughout the day. We were able to see a few good sights like Christ Church, Elfreth's Alley, Benjamin Franklin's home site and printing shop, Independence Hall, and the Liberty Bell. Of course we were able to find a carousel and playground to spend some time in. Also drove around Society Hill to check out what the locals were up to... and had Philly Cheesesteaks for lunch. A good day- but exhausting after corralling 2 children.

Open Wide!

I just love these photos... this was an attempt to capture one of Ella's smiles...

Sleeping Beauties (& Prince)

Matt had taken Ella for awhile while I read a few books to Lexi. She was practically falling asleep while I was reading, so after we finished, she picked up and went into our room where she apparently found dad and Ella sleeping and decided to join them. (They really are all sleeping in this photo- no posing!)

Smile for the Camera!

Smile!

So Ella has been responding to our smiles for about a week now. She's still not extremely proficient, but each day she gets a little better. There are times when I will sit and smile at her and she will respond with the biggest toothless smile she can, but as soon as I take out the camera, she turns off the smiling act. Just like her big sister.... I did manage to get a few decent shots, I think.

Lexi's Artwork

Great-Grandpa made a desk for Lexi back in January and ever since, she has been working on her art skills... so much so, that we have had several piles of paintings and drawings all over the computer room. I recently read in a magazine about a mom who had the same *problem* and chose to take digital pictures of all the artwork. She downloaded everything onto her computer and the pictures are now a part of her screensaver. That helped her feel better about throwing away most of the work but still being able to enjoy it daily on her computer. Great idea, me thinks.

Joyful Father

The other day we were out doing some errands and a woman asked us if Ella was a boy or a girl. When we said she was a girl, the lady said, "Well, you can have a boy next time." Matt was the one to reply, "We're very happy to have two girls." And I think this picture shows that he is indeed happy to have another daughter...

One Month Old

And The Answer Is...

posted in the comments section of this post... didn't want to spoil anyone else's guess by posting the answer right out here in the open...

Who's Who?

Can you guess which one is Lexi and which one is Ella? These photos were taken of them when they were three weeks old...