Happy First Birthday Ella!

Wow!! What a difference a couple of months makes! Ella has become a little girl and it has been amazing to watch her grow and change over the last couple of months. She started walking in the middle of July and is now not crawling at all. It took her awhile to be able to stand up to the dogs, but now she is doing great and can withstand their over excited tail wagging. She also has 4 teeth and several others are coming in.
She is talking up a storm, most of which you can't understand, but she is very convincing that she knows what she is talking about. She says Dad, Mamma, Kitty, Hi, and on occasion, Ella. Just before she started saying mama, a friend of mine warned me that they always say Dadda in the most innocent of voice and always with a loving tone, but when Mamma comes out, it's like a curse word, boy was she right!! She knows that Mamma gets her what she wants and I am all of a sudden at her beckon call!
I recently quit my job to stay at home with Ella full time. It has been almost three weeks and looking back I don't know how I had time to work. I am going to be able to help Seth out at the church quite a bit more, and Ella and I get to have more "play dates" to the park, pool, etc. I wouldn't trade it for the world! Seth has been super supportive and I think he is beginning to enjoy the perks of a stay at home wife!
Seth's family was able to visit for Ella's 1st birthday. Being the excited first time mom that I am, we had quite the party with about 55 people. =) We had a blast and Ella looked just like a princess in her 1st Birthday dress. We had a great visit and Ella loves her grandparents! Maria's dad is here now and it didn't take her long to figure out that she has him wrapped around her finger as well.
We hope you enjoy the pictures and please e-mail Maria at her new e-mail address, smewaters@yahoo.com as she no longer has access to her old work e-mail. Seth's e-mail is still pastorseth@iriverchurch.com. We love you guys and can't wait to hear from you!