Happy Halloween...Ella celebrates her first!

Ella celebrated her first Halloween a few times this weekend.  First was a Halloween party at our friends' house.  I was a cat, Mikey was a banana and Ella was a super cute watermelon.

Second party was at the oldest Scripps brother's house.  All the Scripps' were going to celebrate at the Alexandria Halloween parade.  Unfortunately the parade was cancelled so we had a mini parade in the basement.  The cutest kids I know!

Here she is in her Halloween outfit for "school"...I really hope she stays in it till I go visit her at lunch.

Ella's First Trip to FL

A couple weeks ago we took a trip to FL to stay with my parents for a few days.  This was Ella's first plane ride and our first big trip away from home since having her.  We had lots of nerves with this trip - how will she be on the plane ride, will this completely throw her off her good sleeping schedule, how will we manage in the airport, etc.  Well we more than survived.  We had an amazing trip and Ella did fantastic.  We ended up flying in and out of regional airports which made it a lot easier.  If you ever need to fly to Orlando then I definitely recommend Allegiant Air.  That's the airline we flew and it was VERY affordable and we flew out of Hagerstown, MD which was the smallest airport I've ever been in.  We literally parked right in front of the airport.  Ella did great on both flights only fussing a little.  We had such a great time with my parents and Ella was such a good baby during the trip.  Here's a recap of our trip in photos.

At the airport with all our stuff 

Someone's ready for her first plane ride 

Ready for the pool

 Enjoying the water 

 Someone had too much fun...time for a nap! 

 Story time at dinner

 Watching the WVU game

 Pool Day 2

 Coordinating swimsuits...not on purpose

 Hanging in the pool

 She loves the pool! 

 All smiles!

Hanging with Grandpop!

 Catching up on the news

We are heading home.

We tried to document every moment of Ella's trip so here are some videos -

Ella's Signature Face

Since day one Ella established her signature expression.  Anyone else think she's channeling her inner Blue Steel? 

 

 

And the most recent shot from her Baptism...

It's been fun to look back on these pictures. I can't believe how big she's gotten and how fast the time is going by.  I can't believe my sweet pea is going to be five months old in a week?!!?! 

This is what happens...

...when Daddy's in charge.  :)

Ella and the Bumper Jumper

Over the weekend we decided to put up the bumper jumper for Ella to see if she'd like it.  It's another winner.  It took her some time to figure out what was going on but she was super content and happy.  She loves being upright and "standing" so this is the perfect thing for her.  Here's a video of her bopping around.  Ignore the commentary provided my me and my aunt.

Busy Busy Weekend

We had a very busy weekend.  We celebrated Ella's Baptism on Sunday so we had a house full of family and friends Saturday and Sunday.  Pictures of the Baptism to come...need to go through pictures from all the family and friends to pull together a big post.  Here's a rare picture of the Johns kids with our mom.  It was so nice to spend time with our family!

During the festivities Ella got to spend some time with her two friends Brooks and Ryan.  It's amazing how fast they are all growing. 

First up is Ella and Brooks.  They are two months apart in age.  What a difference a month makes.  Here's a picture of the two of them when Brooks was a few weeks old.  Ella doesn't look like such a giant anymore. 

Next up is Ella's neighbor friend Ryan.  They are two days apart.  Ella is always the older woman. :)  Pretty soon they won't be able to share the key board play mat. 

 

Milestone: Eating Cereal

 

It's been a very busy week and a half in the Scripps house with lots of firsts for Ella.  Last Friday we gave Ella rice cereal for the first time.  She sort of enjoyed it.  Each day she gets better and better with it.  She makes a big mess but is so cute doing it. After she gets the hang of this then we move onto oatmeal cereal and then veggies!!!

Here's a video of her taking her first bites. 

Visiting with Old Friends

The other outing we had this weekend was visiting some of my old college friends.  They recently moved to the area and I'm so excited.  I haven't seen them since 2004 so needless to say the two hour catch wasn't nearly enough.  It was soooo good to meet their boys and for them to meet Mikey and Ella.  I look forward to many more gatherings of our families.

 

A Visit to the Pumpkin Patch

This weekend Ella was getting over her first cold so we decided to lay low except for two outings.  One of these outings was to the "pumpkin patch" (aka a local nursery near my brother-in-law's house).  Ella was very good and sat for some pictures me.  I wonder how long it will take for her to stop being patient while I try and document every moment of her life. 

Of course it wasn't just the kids being kids...Mikey and his brother goofed around too!

And the one out take...poor Ella fell over.  She was ok but it made for a funny photo!

Four Months Old!

We can't believe our little girl is four months old today!  My how she's grown!  She's starting to sit up better, smiling and laughing often, follows us when we are in the room, is the sweetest little girl when we get her in the morning, still has no hair, already is a Daddy's girl and is the light of our life each and every day.