Finally I can express myself!

For weeks my mom and dad have been repeating these random sylables to me and I had no idea what they were saying. Finally, last Saturday, I learned how to say something! It sounds something like this - "MAMA". I have no idea what it means but I just say it to everyone and everything and it seems to get a good reaction from people. I'm pretty excited that I learned my first word. Here's a video of me in action:

Last weekend was so fun. We had a BBQ at our place. The best part was I got to meet Abuelita's new dog Bayle! He is sooo cute.

He is so fun to cuddle with. This picture is of me petting him. I thought it was fun but apparently I was being too rough. What - Lexi can take it so why can't Bayle?

Here I am swimming - I love the pool!

So I told you in my last post that I was going to meet my new cousin, Cambria. Well I did, and she is sooo cute and small! My mom says I was that small when I was born but there's just no way. I mean, I look like a giant next to her! I can't wait until she grows up and I can teach her things, like how to say MAMA (whatever that means).

Here is Cambria with my uncle Joe and my other cousin Owen. And me and my dad of course.

Guess what? I met this new little baby today! She is so cute. And she lives in my house! I had so much fun playing with her this morning - watch the video of us hanging out!

Wow, what a busy week! And this weekend is going to be really busy as well. It's my dad's b-day on August 4th and my Uncle Kaare's b-day tomorrow! Tonight we are going to their favorite restaurant, Javier's. They don't let me try the food though. I guess I'm stuck with rice cereal and mushy veggies for now.

Love you all,

Ellie xoxo

So many boy friends!

OK dad, don't freak out - I said boy friends (i.e. friends who just happen to be boys), not boyfriends! In addition to Jude, who I now hang out with twice a week at least, I am also friends with Evan and Kai. They are neighborhood kids and we have so much fun together. Here are some pics of us hanging out.

Here we are just chillin' on the couch: Evan is so cool... Oops, how did this one get in here? Um... I guess I was a bit forward here... We also decided to go hiking one day. Since it has been so hot here lately, mom and dad said we needed to leave really early. So I decided to wake them up at 5am. Aren't I such a nice daughter? This time we went to Laguna Beach - the view from the top was so beautiful! Here I am posing in my new dress - auntie Jess bought it for me in Spain! It's so beautiful and soft. Tomorrow I get to meet my new cousin Cambria! I'm sooo excited. I know we're going to get along so well since we are only 6 months apart. She was just born on Tuesday!

Love y'all,

Ellie xoxo

Ch-ch-changes...

The time has come for my mom to return to reality and start working more days per week. I'm glad I got to hang out with her so much for almost six months. She will be there Mondays through Wednesdays, and every other Saturday. She seems pretty sad about it. I think she thinks that I will miss her, but really I think it is harder on her than it is on me. I'm actually excited because I will get to hang out with my new buddy Jude! He is my mom's friend Megan's son. So... every Tuesday and Wednesday I will be hanging out at his house with our new nanny, Jen. Don't worry grandmas - she has a lot of experience (she used to be the director of a daycare for nine years). We went to Jude's house today for a trial run and it went great! The best part was that we got to try out our new double stroller!

We can hardly contain our excitement.

Other than that, I have been busy learning a lot of new things. I finally learned how to sleep on my stomach without freaking out. For the past few weeks, I have been waking myself (and my parents) up at night every time I rolled over! We're all getting more sleep now. Actually, today I even learned how to roll to my back again so that's even better. I don't know why I couldn't figure it out before. I'm starting to babble a lot more too. My favorite word is "bah-bah-bah-bah". Actually, last week I said "Ow-bah-mah" and my mom keeps bragging to everyone that I already know the president's name.

Here's a video of me just hanging out with my dad! He's so hilarious.

Buh bye for now!

Ellie xoxo

Photography

In my humble opinion, here are some of my best shots from the past couple of weeks:

Lovin' my mom and dad's huuuge bed:

Ready to swim (thanks grandma for my bathing suit!): Where's Waldo (AKA Ellie)? Pretty flexible huh?

Walking, walking and more walking...

No, I'm not walking yet. Give me a break - I'm only 5 months old. But my mom has decided to go on these long walks every day to get back into shape. It's kind of fun - we go to different places each time to get some variety. We usually walk about 2-3 miles. We have to go in the morning or in the evening so that it's not too hot outside. Here are some pictures of what I've been up to lately:

Hiking

Here is my mom, Lexi and me getting ready to go hiking at Peter's Canyon. My dad, Lexi and me at the top of a big hill with a beautiful lake in the background.

Walks

This picture was taken today, while we were walking in one of the neighborhoods in Irvine (Woodbridge). The lake was so pretty!

Hanging out with mom and dad

This was taken on father's day (thus the "I love daddy" bib). I love my dad so much.

Hanging out with my Aunties

This was so hilarious. I was pulling and spitting all over my Auntie Jessica's hair, while jumping up and down on her shoulders like she's a horse. I loved it! Sorry about ruining your hair Auntie.

By the way, lately I have noticed that there is this big slimy thing in my mouth! I think it is called a tongue. I stick it out all the time and use it to spit like crazy. This makes me laugh so hard. My mom is getting frustrated trying to take pictures of me without my tongue out but I think it's hilarious.

This thing in my mouth is endless amounts of fun!

Okay, time for bed now! G'night!

Ellie xoxo