We had a pretty laid back Father's Day. Ella got to spend time with Daddy, Grandpa Mike, and Papa all in the same day! She could not have been happier. Ella, Chris, Grandma Donnie (aka Grandma Diane), Papa and I all went to the swimming pool so Ella could show off her swimming skills. As we pull into the parking lot, Ella shouts "SWIM SUIT, ON!" as soon as she spots pool. This is her way of letting us know she wants to go swimming, it is often one of the first phrases out of her mouth each morning.
Grandma Donnie bought this swim outfit for Ella. Ella loves it, and would wear it all the time if I'd let her, especially the flip flops, which Ella refers to as her "buzz shoes."
Notice the 12-18 month size swim suit pared with the 4T/5T hat? :) Here is a picture of Chris and Ella last year on Father's Day, and this year.
Can't believe how much she has changed! This girl has no fear of the water whatsoever. She likes to jump into water that is over her head, and after we catch her she insists that we put her down, even though we tell her she cannot touch the bottom there, she continues to say "down, Ella do it" in her French accent until you let go of her and she sinks below the surface of the water, where she then proceeds to smile up at us, so proud of herself for being underwater! I'm sure the lifeguards love it when we come to the pool. At least they can't complain about the child to swimming adult ratio of our group! Besides jumping into the pool and being under water, Ella also enjoys blowing bubbles, kicking her feet while on both her back and her tummy, playing in the fountains, playing motor boat, bobbing in the water, and watching Daddy go off the boards.
I had the last of my monthly doctor appointments this week. Now we begin going every two weeks, how can this be? The second trimester of this pregnancy just flew by! We listened to Baby's heartbeat again, which is still Ella's favorite part of the whole visit. I've managed to gain 14 pounds so far with this pregnancy, that's after the 10 I lost in the first trimester, so I should be right on track to reach 25 by early September. My belly is measuring right at 28 weeks and Baby is currently head down and kicking up a storm. I passed the glucose test, but my hemoglobin was half a point lower than they'd like, what else is new? I'll pick up some Double Stuff Oreos tomorrow, that should take care of it. ;) I also got my RhoGAM shot, Chris was sure the needle was big enough that it would go in one side of my arm and come out on the other side! It's probably a good thing we didn't catch a glimpse of the epidural needle when I had Ella! Ella informed Dr. Minyon that we will be having a boy and that we will be naming him Bow Wow. Dr. Minyon thought that was a very fine name for a baby. :)
Ella started her first dance class this week. Since she doesn't go to daycare I have been looking for activities for Ella to be involved in where she can get used to spending more time with kids her own age without Mommy around. I took Ella with me when I signed her up about a month ago and she got to watch a class of older girls dance. She loved watching them so much that when I pulled her away from the window, she wouldn't go without kicking and screaming all the way to the car. Since signing up every time we drive by the dance studio Ella points out the window and shouts "DANCE!" When Ella woke up on the first day of class, the first thing out of her mouth was, "Dance, tutu on!" She was so excited. There are only 2 other little girls in her class. Ella walked right into the studio after the teacher, and only started to cry after she saw another girl crying because her mother was leaving. The tears did eventually stop and Ella warmed up and was soon exploring the studio on her own, hanging from the barre, running around in circles in front of the mirrors. It was pretty funny to watch. Her future kindergarten teacher will have her hands full with this one!
Ella and I started our second year of Kindermusik classes this week. We started taking classes last summer and I wasn't really sure she liked it at first. I only signed up for the fall semester only because it got us out of the house, Ella got to be around other kids and I got to be around other moms. A few weeks into the spring semester Ella was singing along to the kindermusik cd in the car, and now she will randomly sing the songs out of the blue and we can tell what songs she is singing, even if she doesn't have all the words right. Chris and I are working on getting her to sing for us on camera. I will be sure to post the footage as soon as it becomes available.
