Weekend Pictures

Spencer, Ella Ann and I didn't do to much this weekend. Ella Ann had a runny nose, but no other problems and was her normal self. Our friends, Kane and Jana, came over friday night for dinner with their little girl, Mara Kate. Ella Ann loves Mara Kate and wanted to play with her so badly, but we tried our best to keep them separated so that Ella Ann didn't pass on her runny nose to her. We had a great time and it was nice for Kane and Spencer to see the girls together because it's always just Jana and I when we have playdates.

We snapped a few pictures of Ella Ann sleeping like a mummy with her blanket. She now sleeps with this blanket and a little duck that her Aunt Emily gave her last weekend. She sticks her thumb in her mouth immediately when she grabs the duck and carts that thing around with her wherever she crawls to! It's soooooo funny! We took her to the pool on Saturday, which is the next picture. We are going to have to buy her another new swimsuit because the one she has on in the picture is 12 months and it's too small! Yikes! The last two pictures are of Ella Ann after her bath. That's about the excitement of our weekend!

My little mummy!

Somebody please put me in that pool!

In her flower towel that her Aunt Emily gave her.

Get this off of me!!

Happiest Baby in America!

Honestly, I have to admit that I am the mother of the happiest baby in America! Spencer and I are afraid to have any more babies because we're scared that they won't be as easy and happy as Ella Ann! Don't worry grandparents, we aren't that afraid! :)

These are some pictures we took last night of Ella Ann. Who else would we take pictures of?!?! She is modeling some new pjs that were given to her, but she hasn't slept in them because they are too warm right now. So we thought we would at least get a picture of her in them! She is also modeling a robe that her Aunt Andrea gave her. May I add that Spencer was the one playing dress up with her while I cooked dinner! I don't think he would let her be a tomboy either, even if she wanted to be!

The last picture is of her and Spencer playing in her room. She loves to be tossed in the air and screeches with glee when she gets airborn and lands (safely) back in her Daddy's arms. I know you all know how happy Ella Ann is, but we wish you guys could really see how she is when it's just Spencer and I. She constantly smiles and smiles and laughs and laughs! It's a treat for us, but we wish she would let everyone else in on her secret happy behavior! Also, if you will notice Ella Ann smiles with her ENTIRE face and always with her mouth wide open!

On another note, I took her to her 9 month checkup yesterday and she has grown so much! Ella Ann now weighs 18.6 pounds and is 29 inches long! She's going to be tall like her Dad!

Dinner Club

A couple of months ago, I asked a few girls from church if they would be interested in starting a Dinner Club. We would have themed dinners once a month and rotate houses. The girls I asked were very interested and the Club quickly ballooned to 20 "members"! We have had new girls come each time so it has been so much fun for all of us to meet new people and catch up with good friends.

Last week we had Dinner Club at my house. The theme was Fiesta Mexicana and Jana, Jennifer and I prepared the dinner. We had Mexican dip, chips, salsa and guacamole as an appeptizer and everyone helped themselves to some fabulous maragaritas complete with umbrellas stuck in the limes and lemons. For dinner we had make your own taco salads and burritos and to finish off the night, we had chocolate chip wafer sandwich cookies, mango sorbet and chocolate carmel cake. We have copies of the receipes at each dinner for everyone to take home. I had decorated my house with festive decorations and had Mexican music playing on my television. We truely went all out Mexican style when my air conditioner quit towards the end of the evening and we all broke out in a sweat!

It was a blast, though, and I managed to cram 17 girls in my home while Ella Ann slept peacefully in her pack-n-play in my closet with a fan going 90 miles an hour to drown out the noise! Below are a few pictures that were taken of the evening. I forgot to take a picture of the beautiful spread of food we prepared!

Jana, Jennifer and I posing with some decorations from the evening.

She's Getting SO Old!

Ella Ann turns 9 months old this week and I can hardly believe it. The time is flying by and it's kind of sad! I don't know if I REALLY miss the first months, but I sure do miss Ella Ann being my itty bitty baby. Now she's my extremely active baby that always seems to have ants in her pants! I can barely keep up with her in our condo!

I took the below pictures of her this morning before church. She looked so pretty in the dress her Aunt Laura gave her at a shower her and 3 other friends of mine had for me when I was pregnant. I also posted the picture of the dress after I opened it at the shower. I guess seeing that picture and her in the dress today made me realize how quickly she is growing up. I remember looking at that dress when I was pregnant, along with the other beautiful dresses she received, and thinking it will be FOREVER until my baby can fit in this! Wow, and look at her now!

Do I have a ham on my hands or what??!!

Papa and Nana Come to Play

This weekend, Ella Ann's Nana and Papa came to visit us. We had a fun time just hanging out and they enjoyed some much needed time with Ella Ann. Spencer and I got to enjoy some time out and about minus Ella Ann on Saturday; he played soccer with some friends and I went to the salon for a haircut and pedicure. Ahhhhhhh! We went to church on Sunday and took some cute pictures of Ella Ann. She has so many pretty dresses in the size she's in right now, so I have to put her in a dress every time we leave the house, or take pictures for that matter, so I can make sure they all get worn more than once!

Thanks Gary and Gayla for coming to visit us! We appreciate all you do for our family and we were very sad to see you go home. I know Ella Ann will miss you the most! At least we get to see you again soon!

Papa captured a classic Ella Ann pose with her favorite blanket and stuffed animal.

Ella Ann with her Nana

After church on Sunday

Bathtime with Ella Ann

Ella Ann really, really enjoys taking a bath now. Once she hears the water running, she immediately takes off on a sprint crawl to the bathroom...naked as a jaybird, by the way, and pulls up on the side of the bathtub waiting for Spencer or I to pick her up and put her in. It's the absolute cutest thing you've ever seen! She gets SO excited and cannot wait to get in the tub to splash around and play with her toys. I know she'll hate us for it in the future, but I couldn't help but post these pictures of her and will, of course, keep them in her album to show future boyfriends! Just kidding! :)

Cousin Thatcher & Ella Ann

Yesterday we had the pleasure of meeting Ella Ann's newest cousin, Thatcher! Spencer's first cousin, Chad, and his wife, Danielle, live hundreds of miles away from us so this is the first time our family has met Thatcher, who is 6 months old. We had such a good time catching up with Chad and Danielle and enjoying dinner with them. It was so cute to watch Thatcher and Ella Ann "play" together. There wasn't much playing, just Ella Ann attacking him and pulling at his clothing! Poor Thatcher, he couldn't get a break! :) He was a very good sport, though, and would just sit pleasantly in his Mom's lap and smile at me. Very, very sweet! The last time Chad and Danielle saw Ella Ann was right after she was born, so they got to see how much growing she has been doing.

We really had a good time with our family and it was a treat to have them at our house. We look forward to the next time we get to see them and see how much Thatcher has grown!!!

Ella Ann giving Thatcher a little pat on the head. She kept trying to give him kisses, too!

Thatcher checking out some of Ella Ann's toys.

Ella Ann with her Cousin Chad.

Grandpa & Mimi Visit

We had a great, but too short, visit with Grandpa and Mimi this weekend. Unfortunately, Spencer was working all weekend and didn't even get to see them. They couldn't believe how much Ella Ann had grown since the last time they saw her. They hadn't yet gotten to see her crawl or pull up, so of course Ella Ann was showing them all she can do by taking off everywhere and chasing after all of us if we left the room!

Her Grandpa and Mimi played and played and played with her on Saturday. We also took a nice, hot walk in the park, which we all enjoyed despite sweating our tails off, so to cool down we got some yummy ice cream afterwards. We loaded up Ella Ann in her stroller and went downtown to eat at a great seafood restaurant Saturday night. Ella Ann did wonderful throughout dinner and especially loved to watch the fish in the huge aquaraium close to our table.

My parents also stayed for church on Sunday, which was great! They got to spend a little extra time with their grandaughter and I got to introduce them to a lot of my friends. They headed home afterwards, in tears, but we'll be seeing them again next month. Poor Ella Ann is already missing her playmates!!!

Ella Ann playing house with her grandparents.

Mimi feeding Ella Ann practically another meal with all the food that dropped into the catch on her bib! Doesn't that sound good????

All dressed up for a night on the town!

This is the pretty dress from her Aunt Andrea that she wore to church.

Cute Pictures

I took these pictures of Ella Ann this week and I just had to post them because they were so cute......and funny! We went to lunch yesterday with a friend of mine so I got to dress her up in a pretty dress.

Ella Ann pulls up on anything and everything now and once she's up she usually wants back down but hasn't quite figured out how to do that without ending in a big thud on her bottom! We are trying to teach her to bend her knees to sit. This evening she was getting into her toy basket searching for something, usually her pink rabbit, and fell in! I grabbed the camera as fast as possible!

Ella Ann plays on her learning table every single day now.

Can't....quite....get....that....rabbit!!!!

Little Mermaids

Jana and Mara Kate came over to our place yesterday and we spent some fun time in the pool. Mara Kate was an old pro in the water and was kicking her legs and everything! Ella Ann just chilled out in her float and would sit with Mara Kate in it for a little while. They both looked so cute in their swimsuits and matching hats!

Jana and I got to chat a little bit while the girls played in Ella Ann's house in her room after swimming. It is no fun going to the pool by yourself, so I was thankful they came over to spend some time with Ella Ann and I. Sure makes for a brighter day when I have company!

Ella Ann's checking out Mara Kate's stylish hat!

Look at these bathing beauties!

Mara Kate's sitting pretty (legs always crossed as a lady should sit!) in front of Ella Ann's house.

Fun-Filled Weekend

This weekend we went to Spencer's sister's house and spent some time with our family. Ella Ann got to see her Aunt Mandy, Uncle Zach, Cousin Carter, Aunt Kasey, Uncle Craig, Nana and even her Aunt Emily! It took Ella Ann a little while to warm up, but she was showered with attention and just ate it up! She got to show everyone how she can crawl, babble, eat lots of finger foods, clap, pull to a standing position on her own and she even waved bye-bye for the first time while we were there!

Her Cousin Carter is 16 months old and they loved playing with one another and the adults enjoyed watching them. Carter would give Ella Ann one of his toys and then immediatly want it back! It was very funny! Ella Ann tried her best to keep up with him, but with Carter always on the move so that was pretty much impossible.

As always, we were sad to leave and look forward to our next visit. Thanks Mandy and Zach for your hospitality and Ella Ann thanks Carter for being so kind and sharing all of his toys with her!

Ella Ann saw her Daddy holding Carter so she decided she wanted to be held too!

Kissing Cousins! Toooo sweet!

Ella Ann got to visit with her Aunt Emily who hadn't seen her since she was just 7 weeks old.

Ella Ann got to play with her Aunt Kasey and Uncle Craig.

Hitching a ride to the swing set in Carter's wagon. Ella Ann flapped her arms in glee the entire ride! She loved it!

Ella Ann LOVED swinging! It made her SO happy! She was getting pushed by her Aunt Kasey in this picture.

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July from the Jensens! Ella Ann is celebrating her very first Independence Day today! Of course we don't plan to do anything! Hopefully we can catch some fireworks downtown tonight by sitting in our parking lot.

She wore her patriotic dress to church on Sunday and is wearing it all day today, that is until she gets food all over it!