All I want for Christmas...

This is the first year that Ella has been really excited about Christmas.  She loves looking at Christmas lights and singing Christmas songs.  We tell her that she needs to be a good girl and her response is, "I'm not crying, I'm not screaming" 

She talks about Santa all of the time and is quick to tell you her wish list.  There is a little photo place next to Ella's daycare that has a really awesome Santa.  It was well worth the one on one time and we got a lot of photos.  I am really hoping they do the same thing next year.  Ella goes an waives to Santa every day after school.  I don't know how she's going to feel when he's no longer there.  

The morning before we had her photos done with him, she talked about it ALL day.  After school, we got her all dolled up and walked over to see him.  The second he spoke to her, she clammed right up.  Ella can be a pretty shy and timid kid but, we still got some good photos.  The moment Santa walked out of the room she whispered, "I want Cinderella, Tinker Bell, Snow White, Punzle, Mickey Mouse and Daisy Duck." It made us laugh and we told her we'd pass on the message.  Her wish list has remained very consistent.  It will be interesting to see what Santa will bring :)

Perhaps next year, Elf On a Shelf will be introduced. 

2.5

Our little bug hit her 2.5 mark yesterday :) She is growing like a weed!! I am not 100% certain on her height but she weighs 29.5 pounds.  I am so astonished with the things she does.  She is hilarious, stubborn, compassionate, sweet, loud, silly, and a true Princess.  

Ella has pretty remarkable speech for her age and is constantly amazing us with some of the things she says.  When you ask what her name is, she will reply "Ella Noon (Yun) Pierce".  She is definitely a sensitive kid, she will go as far as cry in movies when someone gets hurt.  

She loves everything Princess and all fairies.  Her favorite show right now is Sophia the First and her favorite movie is Tangled.  She loves to sing songs and will sing very high pitch when singing Princess songs. 

We love our little Princess so very much :)

Dress Ups

This child is in serious need of some dress ups.  She has changed her outfit at least a dozen times. She has a very unique sense of style.......

San Diego

We went to San Diego with Devin's mom and step dad a few weeks ago.  It was a nice little trip and we had a lot of fun.  It was really weird going to California and NOT going to Disneyland.  The weather was pretty much perfect and only rained just a little bit.  

Ella had so much fun, she LOVED going to both the San Diego Zoo and Sea World.  She was really good especially considering both days she went without a nap.  The night before we went to Sea World, she kept complaining that her stomach hurt.  When she woke up, she was a little grouch and wanted to cuddle with mom.  As we were headed out of the hotel, she threw up all over Grandma.  I was so upset not only because Ella was sick but, I really wanted to go to Sea World.  Ella had been talking about seeing the fish the whole trip.  We took her back upstairs, got her changed (both Grandma and Ella) and sat up in our rooms for awhile.  She did a complete 180 and was acting fine.  We decided to just go and see how she would do.  She did GREAT!!! We really enjoyed Sea World and Ella was thoroughly impressed with the Shamu show. Most of the kids were crying when they got wet but, not Ella.  She was laughing so hard and she kept yelling, "Again Mama, Again." I was not overly thrilled with how SOAKED we got but it was nice watching how happy she was.  We will definitely have to go back.  Thanks Grandma Jody and Papa Han.  We had so much fun with you both!!! 

Halloween

This is the first year that we took Ella Trick or Treating.  We've been telling her for awhile now all about it.  My mom was really the one who started telling her about Halloween and really got her excited.  

When we got home tonight we explained what we were going to do.  She was so excited!!! She couldn't wait to go.  I was very surprised how willing she was to walk up and say trick or treat.  We were very proud that she said Thank you and Happy Halloween to everyone after she got her candy.  A few of the houses we had to go up with her and one we skipped all together because it was pretty scary.  

We just love living in our house and having a nice neighborhood to walk around. 

Dentist!

Ella had her very first trip to the dentist today.  We had to wait awhile because Devin had an appointment too.  The entire time we were waiting, she kept saying "I see dentist Mama?" We would practice opening our mouths big and wide so that the dentist could see our teeth.  We talked about not biting him and knowing he was going to clean them.  She got a little bit impatient but generally speaking, she did well while we waited for daddy to be done.  When it was her turn, she ran straight up to the hygenist and gave her a hug.  Ella did so well during the "cleaning" and was only a little bit scared when the Dr. turned the light on above her.  We were so proud of this little girl.  All of her teeth are in now and super clean!


We love Dr. Hatch :)

Stylish

Ella loves to dress up- Her imagination is wonderful and I like listening to her talk to her toys.  She LOVES everything Disney and is really getting into the Disney Princesses.  I am so so in love with this little girl. 

Cars

A few weekends ago, Devin was so nice and decided to wash my car.  Now typically this would be a very boy thing to do but, Ella LOVED it.  She loved being outside with her daddy washing mommy's car.  She was so excited about it that the next day she asked if she could wash daddy's car too.  I love how much this little girl loves her daddy.

Grandma Washie

My mom came for a visit last week while my dad and brothers hiked the Grand Canyon.  It was really nice having her here and Ella loved every moment with her Grandma.  I took a couple of days off to shop with them both and to spend Daddy and Papa's money :) 

We watched princess movies, Halloween movies, decorated pumpkins, and made lots of yummy food.  

My mom makes everything so special and can make songs for just about any occasion/thing.  I am hoping that we can make it an annual thing for my mom to come and spend time with us.

Thanks for coming to play with us Mama :)

  

Potty!!

We are thrilled that little Miss. Ella is potty trained.  We had been putting off really working with her for awhile now.  This year has just been so busy that we really hadn't had a great time to focus on it.  A couple Friday's ago, I just decided we would do it.  I felt like she was ready and that she had been ready for awhile.  Saturday, we put her in big girl underwear and gave her as many water cuppies as she could drink.  Of course, she absolutely loved this.  She had three accidents at first but really understood the feeling of being wet.  After her first three accidents, she went the rest of the day in the potty.  Sunday was a bit challenging because we had to take a friend home.  Monday, we took her to daycare and we told them about what we did, they fully backed us on it and told us they would take her to the potty.  It has been two weeks since then and we have had very few accidents.  We are able to take her our in big girl underwear and she goes on the big potties.  She's doing so well and we are so proud how quickly she was able to pick it up.  

Chatty Cathy

Ella has been talking soo much! The director at her day care commented on how much Ella talks.  I love listening to her and there have been times when I've wondered if she has an off button.  She is learning and understanding so much now.  She is starting to get into the Disney Princesses and I couldn't be more excited.  However, her favorites are still Tinkerbell and Mickey Mouse Club House.  I started weaning her off of Yo Gabba Gabba just because I would have gone insane with watching too much more of it.  I am enjoying her age a lot right now.  Minus the fits, she's just a perfect little girl.

Grandma Flochie and Papa Moosies House

We went and visited my parents a couple of weeks ago.  This was a VERY long over due trip.  We haven't been up to the mountain since Christmas =\ with all of the wedding stuff and buying a house, we just really never found the time.  Not only that but, my parents were visiting us here a lot.  I was so excited about going to Pinetop.  

The week leading up to this trip, we would tell Ella we are going to go see Grandma Flochie and Papa Moosie.  She knew by Friday when I got home exactly where we were going.  I just knew Ella was going to love it there.  Ella has changed A LOT since last Christmas and I knew she was going to see there house in a whole different light.  My parents house is just so kid friendly and fun. 

We got there late at night and she was a little bit tired but you could tell she just didn't have enough eyes to see all of their fun things.  My parents have a very unusual house and it is very themed. We took her into my old room which is now the "Neverland" room, complete with Tinkerbell bed spread and LOTS of Peter Pan stuff on the walls.  Her reaction was so adorable, she gasped and said, "ooooh TEEENTER BELL" and very gently touched the bed spread.  She was also very excited to get her Tinkerbell costume. 

Ella woke up the next morning VERY excited to be at Rama and Papa's house.  She spent the whole day watering Grandma's gardens and playing in the grass.  Sylvie had just about as much fun as Ella.  She enjoyed romping in the gardens and eating Grandma's flowers.  We had such a nice time in Pinetop.  It was a nice way to celebrate Devin's birthday.

Terrible Twos :(

There have been times the last few weeks where I have thought, "Someone, please come take this child" Ella is definitely going through the terrible twos.  There have been nights where I have felt like I am going to go crazy from all of the tantrums.  Over all, she is a really good kid but she is VERY stubborn and strong willed.  Thankfully, time out seems to work wonders for her.  We sit her on her time out chair for 3 - 5 minutes and when she's done, she's very lovey and will follow instructions.  

With all of that being said, I am loving this stage of life that she's at right now.  She is learning every day and can actually understand what we're saying/asking her to do.  She learns so quickly but at the same time still likes being a baby.  She still enjoys cuddling with her mommy and is still in her crib.  I am not in a hurry for her to grow up, it seems like the time is just speeding up the older she gets.  

Sylvie

We have been wanting a dog for a VERY long time.  When we were in the apartment and I asked for a dog, Devin would tell me to wait until we moved into a house.  When we moved into a house, he told me to wait until the backyard was done.  When the backyard was done, he told me to wait until we got married.  When we got married, he told me to wait until we had the funds to do it. He has always said he wants a dog too. I honestly just felt like he kept stalling.  With the apartment I totally understood and with the backyard too....but I really really wanted a puppy.  Ella is GREAT with animals and she loves dogs.  I was just wanting her to have a little friend to play with.  Well, I finally got my wish.  We welcomed a very very as Devin calls her "little fluffy bundle of joy"  Sylvie is a wonderful addition to our family.  She was six weeks old when we got her, born July 7, 2012.  Ella loves Sylvie very much and enjoys playing with her immensely.  It has been a little bit hard adjusting because between the two of them, it is A LOT of work and A LOT of attention.  After work they both just really want to play with mom.  Ella does have a slight tendency to get jealous of Sylv but, we're working on that. I am just so happy to have another little Pierce in the family.  She is 1.5 pounds and I think about .5 of that is fur.