Could this be the beggining?

Ella started taking a few steps last night! We keep working with her hoping she will start to feel more comfortable and take even more steps. We are so excited!!!

Ella loves the snow

I took a break from taking down Christmas decorations today to take Ella outside to play in the snow. It was alot of work getting her all bundled in her snow suit. She couldn't sit up with it on either since it was so thick so the poor thing was pretty miserable. She loved the snow once we got outside. Unfortunately, mommy started to get too cold so we couldn't stay out too long. We are hoping to go make a snowman with daddy this week.

Happy New Year!

2007 marks the end of our first year in Ohio! This time last year we were unpacking a moving truck. I can't believe how quickly it went by.
We just got back from visiting our families in California for Christmas. We are already missing the weather and the sunshine! Where does the sun go during winter in Ohio? We had a great Christmas, and wished we could have had more time to spend with everyone. We miss our family and friends so much! We were able to squeeze time in with most everyone, which left us a little exhausted by the end of our trip. Ella had a fun time, she was actually able to go outside and not have to wear 10 layers of clothes! She had fun seeing all her great grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. She of course loved seeing Nana and Grandpa and Papa and Ama. She got SO many toys!! So much in fact that we ended up paying an extra fifty dollars for our overweight suitcases on the way home. I think next year we will have to enforce the "small presents only" rule.
Looking back on 2007 we see the amazing blessings God has given us. Being far away from the only home we have ever known has caused us to trust more in God and both Paul and I have felt our relationship with Him and with each other grow even stronger. It's such a comfort to know that God is in complete control of our lives and that if we trust and obey Him we have no need to worry! We are excited to see how God works in our lives this year and pray that we always draw near to Him in times of trial and of joy. We also can't wait to meet our new baby this year! Happy New Year!
I will try my hardest to keep our blog more updated, I realize I have been slacking these last few months.

Here is a slideshow of some pictures from Christmas.

Ella's first birthday video

I know this is very late but Paul just got done editing Ella's birthday video. I hope you enjoy!

Ella's loving it!

We took Ella to McDonald's today and got her, her first cheeseburger. She loved it!!!!!! We know that McDonald's cheeseburgers are not nutritionally the best choice of food for toddlers but we figured she had to have her first McDonald's experience.



Here is a cute video of Ella smiling after taking a bite.

Our first thanksgiving in Ohio

We celebrated our fist Thanksgiving in Ohio. It was Ella's second thanksgiving but her first time eating thanksgiving food. We went to the Clase's house who are Kurt's grandparents and celebrated with their whole side of the family. I made creamed corn, cranberry raspberry sauce, and a pumpkin caramel cheesecake. I LOVE thanksgiving food! I think I could eat it every day of the year and never get sick of it! The food was all so delicious yesterday! Ella must take after mommy because she loved the food too. She ate so much turkey and mashed potatoes! She was actually feeding herself with her spoon, it was very cute. She even enjoyed watching the football game after. Although we really missed our family out in California, we had a good thanksgiving in Ohio.

Ella's going to be a big sister!

So we can finally share our exciting news that we are expecting again! The due date is June 11th! We are very excited about having a new little blessing in our lives. I have been sick for what has felt like an eternity but I'm finally starting to feel like myself again. I gave Paul the responsibility to decide if we would find out the gender this time so I'm still waiting to hear what he decides. We are so thankful for this wonderful gift from God!

Our baby at 9 weeks


This is how Ella and I told Paul he was going to be a daddy again. I made this picture an iron on and put it on Ella's t-shirt, except I didn't type it backwards so it ironed on backwards so Paul couldn't make out what anything said. It was pretty funny though, at least I get credit for trying to be creative =)