Gymboree

Today I went to a place called Gymboree with my mom, my friend Evan and his mom Lindsay. It was pretty cool! There is so much to do there! There are slides, balls, parachutes, toys, trampolines - everything! And there was a really cool teacher who I loved and followed around everywhere. I mean, can you blame me? She would burst out into song every few minutes like a princess from a Disney movie! It was awesome.

Here I am checking out the slide:

Here are me and Habba... oops I mean Evan (that's my little nickname for him and it sure has caught on)

This is the teacher I was talking about... mom says that I am going to be a teacher's pet, just like my daddy! Super fun! Love, Ellie xoxo

Disneyland

On Sunday I went to the coolest place EVER! It's called Disneyland. My Uncle Beto works there and he was nice enough to get us all in for a fun filled day. Apparently I had been there a couple of times before, but I don't remember it being this much fun! I really enjoyed every second of it.

Had to get up on dad's shoulders to check this place out! This is in California Adventures:

Mom and I had so much fun together:) Tried to squeeze my way onto the ride but I guess that's not allowed: Waitin' in line with Uncle Beto and Auntie Luzka! I love them so much! This ride was crazy! We were seated in these little hot air balloons that flew up into the air. Thrilling. And this one spun around so fast! Mom and dad were worried that it would be too fast for me but I loved it! This ride was a bit lame... slowest roller coaster ever! I was jealous that I couldn't go on the big one with mom and dad. Not sure what the hype is about this "Mickey" fellow. He's super weird and big and doesn't even talk! Not really impressed. Can't wait to go again! Ellie xoxo

July 4th and my new cousin!

July 4th was so much fun... we all went to Auntie Kathryn and Uncle Kaare's house. Check out me playing with TWO sparklers! They were soooo cool! This is just a random shot of my and Auntie Jess. I love her so much! I think this was from one of the many times she was babysitting me. Guess what? I have another new cousin! Her name is Ashlin, isn't she so cute!? Her mom and dad are Uncle Bryan and Auntie Lydia! I have been waiting to meet her for so long. I loved poking at her when she was inside Auntie Lydia's tummy and it's so surreal that she's here now!

Here is my mom holding her next to Auntie Lyds:

Here is daddy and Uncle Bryan (or Uncle B as I call him)! I am so lucky to have so many kids in my family to play with!!

Love to all,

Ellie xoxo

I miss my grandpa

Hi everyone,

Last week was really really sad. Grandpa Carlos passed away on June 21st, 2010. The entire family and our friends were so surprised because he was in such good health. I mean, he used to tell me that he cycled at least 100 miles per week! Everyone, especially my dad and aunties, are really upset but I am doing my best to cheer them up by hugging and dancing for them. My dad gave the most amazing eulogy at the funeral, Grandpa would have been so proud of him. I am sad that I will not get to know him as I grow up, but my dad promises to tell me lots and lots of stories about him. Plus, my mom says that daddy is a lot like him in so many ways so that makes me happy.

I wanted to share some of my favorite moments with him:

Here we are on the day I was born. I was his first grandchild ever and he was so excited to meet me.

Here we are on Father's Day 2009. I love my dad, Grandpa and Uncle Kaare so much!

When I was 6 months old, we went to Colorado for a vacation. He carried me the entire time we were hiking through the Rocky Mountains. He really allowed me to enjoy the beautiful scenery. I will always remember this trip.

This was at my 1st birthday party, we had such an amazing time.

I love you Grandpa Carlos - we all miss you so much!

Love forever, Ellie xoxo

Hilton Head Island

Last week we took an amazing trip to a place called South Carolina. It's so far that we had to take TWO planes to get there. My grandparents go there often so I had to see what the hype was all about. I was so excited to see them and my Uncle Alan!

The first thing I wanted to do when we arrived was go swimming (or "mimming" as I call it). Grandpa and I posed for a shot before heading out!

Here I am with Uncle Alan, Grandpa and Grandma walking over to the pool! I loved the pool so much, I must have jumped in about 100 times. We went to this beautiful wildlife reservation - I have never seen so many birds in my life! It was so pretty there! On our last day there, we went to the beach. There was a really cool fountain that I loved, can you tell? Grandma took this pic! I love travelling - I hope we get to go somewhere else soon! Love, Ellie

My Tribute to MJ

This morning I just couldn't contain myself. I don't know what came over me. I miss Michael Jackson so much that I needed to do my version of the baby moonwalk.

Easter

Happy Easter everyone!

We had such a wonderful day at my Auntie Kathryn and Uncle Kaare's house.

Check me out hunting for Easter eggs! Almost didn't see this one...

Could it get any better... beautiful day, beautiful view... so much fun. Had to stare this one down first. I loved finding all of the eggs! Crazy thing... while we were eating lunch the room started shaking! Can you believe that there was a 7.2 earthquake in Baja, California? That was my first earthquake experience (well, I guess my mom says I felt one while in her tummy but I don't remember that for some reason). Don't worry, we were all okay. My mom was a bit scared that a tsunami was going to come but I hugged her to make her feel better. Here's a video of me helping out with some chores. I love feeding Lexi!

Miss you all!

Love, Ellie xoxo

One year old and lovin' life

So far, being one is fabulous. I'm finally getting the hang of this walking thing, learning so many new words and signs, and all in all just having a great time.

For my birthday, I had a huge party and so many of my family and friends were there. I honestly didn't know that I knew so many people! Grandma even came all the way from Oakville to celebrate with me! Here are some highlights from the big day:

Me and Abuelita Clara having a great time (look, we have the same smile!)

Me and Grandpa Carlos

My mom made me my own HUGE cupcake cake, to go along with the cupcake theme At first when they gave me my own cake, I thought it was a bit ridicuous. I didn't want to put my fingers in it (my mom and dad tell me that's not polite). But I sneaked in a touch, and everyone started cheering me on. Then I just couldn't control myself and I got right in there and made a huge mess. Honestly, there was even icing in my ears and nose. It was actually pretty awesome. I'm not sure why my parents don't let me do that anymore... ? Here I am with my great grandma and a lot of my aunties! They are so cool... I'm so lucky to have such amazing role models. By the way, sorry 'bout the look on my face here, I was in an icing coma. OK apparently I was stricken with these juice boxes - how embarrassing. Anyways, here I am with my mom, my Uncle Kaare's mom Sheri (who came all the way from Tucson!), my Grandma Shirley, and Abuelita Clara. Don't worry, they don't really wear glasses like that - it's a costume the judges wore for the cupcake decorating contest. I was about to tell them those frames didn't suit them but my mom filled me in. My parents are training me early on what glasses are in style but it doesn't take a two year old to notice that those ain't pretty. Here are some other pictures I thought I'd share. This is me with my new friend Karis, who was born at the start of December. Her parents are Jeff and Angelina and they live right across the hall from us! Isn't she so cute! Every time we walk by their door I say "baby" over and over! I just can't help it, I love her so much.

One of my model poses again... I have the serious look down.

I love Lexi soooo much. She's my best friend. We wrestle and roll around like crazy. I just hate it when she licks me so much! So guess what else I did, I can't believe I almost forgot! I saw SNOW for the first time! I know that's pretty sad, seeing as I'm half Canadian, but I just haven't had the chance yet! We took a family trip to Park City, Utah and it was so much fun. Apparently the skiing was amazing but unfortunately I wasn't allowed to go yet. I was pretty bummed at first, but the daycare at Deer Valley was top notch and I had so much fun. It was honestly a perfect trip - so nice to get away from the harsh realities of the real world, ya know?

Me and my dad equally confused by the cold air

Walking on this white stuff is a bit tricky! Not so sure yet... OK, here I am getting the hang of it. Mom and me makin' our way down the trail So that's what I've been up to for the past little while. Sorry for babbling, I guess I had a lot to tell you!

Love you all,

Ellie xoxo

P.S. I changed the settings so everyone should be able to comment on the blog now. It was a bit tricky to do before and the only one who was able to figure it out was my super smart Auntie Jess. If you have the time, I'd love to hear from you all. Plus, I think it will be so cool to read them when I'm older, ya know?

My Photo Shoots

Here are some pics of me from a couple of photo shoots that were taken by my amazingly talented nanny, Jen! She and her husband Joe have their own photography business and they are fabulous.

These first couple of shots are from when I was much younger, about 9 months I think. They were taken at Laguna Beach, my favorite place ever! And it's only 20 mintues from our place - lucky me!

Here I am with my mom and dad, chillin' by the ocean:

Me, loving the sand!

These next shots were taken a couple of days ago at Jude's house:

Longing to grab that camera!

I saw a model do this pose in a magazine once so I thought I'd try it. Me and my best bud Jude! He is so great, he always shares his toys with me! Sometimes we play games - here Jude is pretending to be a dog eating the toy. What, we learned it from Lexi and Jude's dog Napoleon! Love, Ellie xoxo