Wow! I feel kind of bad I haven’t written a blog in a long time. I guess we’ve just been busy! I cannot believe Ella Rose is 13 and a half months old. Man time is flying by. I am truly enjoying every minute with her- this is by far my favorite age (even though I say that every month haha)- it just keeps getting better and better. Her personality has really come out lately. She is very girly- loves her baby doll, Taylor Swift, bows in her hair, smelling flowers, and her favorite color is of course pink. She is also very strong & feisty. Ever since she was two weeks old she has told us what she wants- in a way it’s helpful, other times I’m thinking wow she is going to wear me out! Floral tunic
Pink sparkle TOMS Green & hot pink vest
Now let’s rewind…..
Ella Rose started scooting around when she was nine months old- she did this funny scoot/crawl thing- which was perfect for her personality! Man could she go fast!!! My family said she looked like a hermit crab :-).
We went home to our parents’ houses in Chicago and South Bend for Christmas this year and spent a few days with both of our families. Ella Rose had a blast running around with her cousin Lucy and the boys- that was really fun to see. She loves older kids.
White smocked Christmas dress Ralph Lauren cozy coverall onesie
After we visited our families, we went to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico with the Tessalones. That was a great trip! We rented a villa, which was perfect with the babies. We also had our own pool. So while the babies napped- we could actually enjoy the pool and some bebidas. A few of the nights, we had chefs come-which ended up being these adorable Hispanic ladies, and they made delicious Mexican dishes for us. Their guac was to die for. Nick supplied the Margaritas- and they were amazing as well! A few of the days, we took Ella Rose across the street to the beach- she loved dipping her toes and legs in the water and sand for the first time. We had a great week-long trip there. In the future, we will always try to rent villa type places with children, as we really enjoyed the setup.
Smocked swim suit Floral dress
When we returned back to Denver, Ella Rose got another ear infection-her third one in three months! The doctors had warned us that if she got another one, we would have to see an ENT, which really made me nervous. So I prayed she wouldn’t get another, and luckily we steered clear. We went back to Gymboree with our friends, and also met some new buddies. We also started hanging with our neighbor, which has been nice with the cold, long afternoons this winter. Grancy and Bonka also came to visit, and Grandma and Grandpa Krueger came before the Christmas holiday. Bonka helped baby proof the house when he was here, and Grancy took us shopping 🙂 .
Ella Rose’s first word was “mama” followed by “baby.” She developed a strong attachment to her baby dolls and started rocking them, hugging them, and patting their backs, it is truly the sweetest thing to see. I was amazed she knew how to do this so naturally. February was a little bit of a slow month…However, Brendan and I did go skiing up in Breckenridge with some of my college friends. Breckenridge is my favorite mountain town so far- I love the village and shops! My mom will love it, I can’t wait to take her there when she retires.
March rolled around and it was time to celebrate Ella Rose’s first birthday! My Mom, Dad, Andrea, Matt, and Joshua came into visit for it- we had such a blast. Before they arrived, on March 4 (her birth date), Ella Rose and I went downtown to have lunch with Daddy (Brendan). We then let her try ice cream for the first time- which we want to do as a tradition for all of our kids’ birthdays. She loved it! When my family came in town, we celebrated by having a birthday party with them and all of her baby friends- it was so much fun. I put tons of effort into decorating and preparing for it- I also made her smash cake and cupcakes!
It was really fun planning everything. On the day of her party, Ella Rose was a little bit overwhelmed with all of the people, but she and Joshua had a lot of fun playing in the ball pit later that day. I can’t believe our baby is 1! By one year oldshe had four words- baby, mama, bye bye, and more. She continues to love Taylor Swift music, standing, clapping, waving, giving kisses, laughing, rocking and patting her baby doll, and crawling/scooting all over the place. Her favorite food is cinnamon raisin bread and grapes. We had a great time celebrating her birthday & can’t wait for future birthdays to celebrate as a family.
A few weeks after her birthday, Brendan and I went skiing for the second time with our good friends Eric and Sandy. However, I had a little accident and broke my lateral plateau (bone behind your knee)- on the “last run.” So these past few weeks have been a little rough. My Dr. wants me to use my crutches as much as possible, but honestly it is just too hard chasing Ella Rose around, so I have kind of ditched them. Can’t wait for my leg to be back to normal. We have a running joke now that we are not too fond of Easter, as every year we have something bad happen- this year was the broken leg, last year, my appendix! We’re hoping next Easter is accident free! We signed Ella Rose up for a music class- and she absolutely loves it. She is learning so much these days!
Now, she is almost 14 months old. She started walking completely on her own around 13.5 months. It is so neat to see her walking around. I have found the best walking shoes for early walkers to be Stride Rites. She walks with her right hand in the air for balance, too funny. She loves the “Good Night Denver” book and is really into animals lately. She can do animal sounds (elephant, monkey, penguin, cow, fish) knows her body parts-especially the face, and now raises her hands/shrugs her shoulders to say “I don’t know, ” and goes “shhhhh” when a baby is sleeping. She also likes things to be clean- and hates when her feet get dirty- a little perfectionist on our hands, perhaps? This age is just a blast. Her personality has blossomed and she is one social, happy, feisty girl. We love her so much and it is so neat seeing her change. She is just the best.
Clothes: These were some of my favorite outfits in this post. I absolutely love the Smocked look! I provided links to the brands and their websites and/or outfits. Indulge! 🙂