Little DIVA Breakfast!

Every morning Ella wakes up and knows exactly what she wants for breakfast. Most of the time she asks for juice and lolo (yogurt). This morning was unusual, she could not decide what to eat. First she asked for doose (juice), then milsh (milk), then reroos (cheerios), then po-pples (apples), then b (peanutbutter toast). It was kind of annoying and SUPER cute at the same time.
She usually has NO opinion whatsoever, and either eats alot or a little of what is put in front if her. I hope this is not starting a new trend. Daddy is a VERY picky eater and I hope she is not following in his footsteps.

Rockin' the Pony Tail!

This is Ella's FIRST pony tail!
In my opinion this is a HUGE milestone in a little girls life.
It was very exciting for me too.
So here is the picture overload of my excitement.

I am so PROUD of Ella, she has enough hair (finally) for a small pony.

TRUCKS TRUCKS

Ella is obsessed with trucks.
When we are driving she points out every single one she spots.
From a little tiny beat up old Datsun to a 18 wheeled big rig, she LOVES them all.

You can imagine her excitement while sitting passenger

in a nice extra cab truck for the first time.
She was on could nine.
I have never seen her so excited.
It was a huge deal for her.
She just beamed the whole ride to Grammie and PaPa's.

Elliott and PaPa (my Dad) took Ella with them to the store today.
This is the picture they sent my cell phone while they were there.
Looks like so much fun eh?

Halloween Spooktackular!!!!

So of course we used our Sea World passes to enjoy their special Halloween themed shows.

We saw the Shamu show.

We went to the Sesame Street "Lights, Camera, Imagination" 3-D movie.

We watched the Sea Lion and Otter Thriller special.

We fed the Sea Lions.

We admired the Beluga Whales.

This trip to Sea World we also did some things we have not done before.
We played in the Wild Arctic and saw the polar bears.

We spent some time racing cars in the Arcade.

We played in the making music area of the Bay of Play.

Elliott and Ella braved the "Oscar's Rocking Eel" ride.

We let Ella touch sea stars and urchins at the California Tide Pool.

It was another AMAZING trip.
We hope to go one more time before the end of the year when our passes will expire.

Happy Halloween!

Ella was a very cute lion.
We went to our ward Halloween Carnival and she won an award for the "cutest costume".
She loved all the attention.

Priceless

Window Watching

We recently changed some furniture around in our bedroom. We put our bed (which is actually just a queen size mattress sitting on the floor) next to the window. Ella is LOVING the new layout. She can stand up on the mattress and see outside. Often times I walk by and all I can see are her little legs coming out from behind the curtain. She spends a lot of time there. The funniest part is that the only thing outside the window is a ugly bush and the back wall of the apartment garages. She finds it mesmerizing.

Eights

So I was tagged by another fellow Mommy Blogger so here goes...

8 things I did today:
1. Met my walking partner for our morning stroll.
2. Forgot to bring Ella's stroller on the walk. (ooops)
3. Watched a recorded episode of Flipping Out.
4. Drove a dear friend to Upland.
5. Went to "Sacks Thrift Avenue" with my sister.
6. Bought Ella a much needed white church sweater.
7. Made chicken enchiladas. (with extra cheese)
8. Painted faces on pumpkins with Activity Day Girls.

8 things I am looking forward to:
1. Sea World trip on Saturday.
2. Any weekend that my husband gets off work.
3. Visiting with my little sister and her new hubby.
4. More financial stability.
5. Moving into a house.
6. Substantial weight loss.
7. Each new day of Ella's life.
8. More children...?!...?!

8 favorite t.v. shows:
1. Top Chef
2. Flipping Out
3. Nancy Grace
4. CSI : Miami
5. Project Runway
6. American Idol
7. So You Think You Can Dance
8. Dancing With The Stars

8 favorite restaurants: (although it has been a long time)
1. Macaroni Grill
2. Casa di Soto
3. T.G.I. Friday's
4. Black Angus
5. Red Lobster (YUM)
6. Claim Jumper
7. Sky Grill
8. Red Robin

8 blogs I am tagging to complete this post:
1. A Pruett Life
2. Chennault Chronicles
3. TRICK or TREAT
4. Auntie Amy
5. The Jackson 2
6. Desert Dreamers
7. Frosting, Firsts, and Family
8. The high heeled Mama

An evening in the PARK

This girl LOVES the PARK.

This girl LOVES her DADDY.

An evening at the PARK with DADDY, what more could a little girl want?!

Obsession of a Hippo

Last week I went to some great Second-Hand stores with Ella. My friend Angela came along (Ella calls her G-La). Angela and Ella are special friends. While at one of our bargain shop stops Ella fell in love with this Hippo toy. Angela noticed that Ella had taken a major liking to this toy and bought it for her for a great price.
It is now Ella's favorite toy!!! She is obsessed!

THANK YOU G-LA!!

Sea World - take 3

3rd trip in 3 months.

Introducing Mr. & Mrs. Eddy

Kelly Jo and Gavin

Doesn't my baby sister make such a BEAUTIFUL bride!
So blessed to be a part of such a Special day.

A Fist Full!

Ella and I wake up pretty early to get our morning walk in. She loves it once she gets in the stroller and we get going. Actually getting out the door and around to the parking lot is another story. Ella has started this new thing where right when I open the door for us to head out, she runs to her room to grab something to bring. Sometimes she goes back 3 or 4 times before we can even get out the door. She grabs things, fists full of things, that are completely unnecessary for the trip. She grabs toys, shoes, purses, extra clothing, hats, anything she can find. Our trip from the door to the car consists of her dropping something every 3 or 4 steps. It takes us a good 10 minutes just to get to the car. It is a bit annoying, but I laugh at it and have found myself taking a quick picture of it everyday. Needless to say- all of these toys end up in the back seat of my car until the end of the week when I bring them all in.

Water Baby

This summer we have had the opportunity to take Ella swimming a few times.

The first time she was a little reluctant, had to be held, and did NOT even want to get her hair wet.

Now she is jumping in from the side, splashing around, kicking her feet, and putting her face in.

She has turned in to quite the little " Water Baby".

Thanks to all our pool owning friends who let us swim this summer!

18 months

I cannot believe Ella is already 18 months old!

Time is going by so fast and I don't want to forget anything about each precious moment.

Ella is...

happy - pretty much all the time

busy - very busy, always doing something

helpful - when Daddy is mopping or Mommy is folding laundry

kind - wants to give kisses to everyone, even strangers

smart - learning new things daily

Ella loves...

singing - espically at church

babies - every time she sees a baby she is excited

outdoors - cries when having to come indoors

football - cheers and cheers at the t.v.

popcorn - otherwise known as "pop pop"

Chef - Boyar - Ella

This is Ella while helping Mommy bake...

I had a very busy day of cleaning and this is what I found when I came out of the kitchen to check on my little Ella.

Little Miss

So much attitude from such a little thing.

BELIEVE THIS - she runs the show!

Where in the world does she get all this sass???

Auntie JoJo is getting married!!!

They met.

They fell in love.

The rest is history.

Kelly Jo and Gavin are so happy together!

SEA WORLD

My sister Tatia got us a Fun Pass to Sea World. We decided to take a trip down there again this past Saturday to get as much use of our free admission as we can.

Ella was mesmorized by the fish in the Aquariums.

Ella was very fond of the Sea Lions.

Daddy gave in and bought Ella a popcorn bucket.

Ella having a BLAST in the Sesame Street Bay of Play.

The Pet's Rule Show.

The tunnel of SHARKS at the Shark Encounter.

We had such a WONDERFUL time. Thanks to Auntie TaTa!!!

Precious Anger

Just in case anyone was wondering...

This is what sweet little Ella looks like mid temper tantrum.

Still pretty cute when she is ANGRY about nothing!

Yum Yum

There is a gentleman in our Ward who is a retired Baker. Last Sunday he brought huge delicious cookies in for all of the women in Relief Society.

I had one bite, Elliott had on bite, and you can probably guess who (after being stripped down out of her church dress) had the rest.

Dinner Cruise

My parents got us tickets to a dinner cruise in Newport Beach. What a wonderful, fun, romantic evening it was. Our first date without the baby.

While you were sleeping...

I recently had surgey to remove a sick Galbladder. My sweet husband took a 4 day weekend so he could take care of our little Ella so that I could rest. The weekend is a blur to me, although I am doing much better now. Thanks to Elliott I can see exactly what our daughter was doing all weekend. Daddy LOVES to take her for walks with her baby and stroller in tote. So cute.

I Love to See...

...and I went there today.

(for the first time)

Our Happy 4th Weekend

My little sister Tatia flew in from Utah for the most exciting and fun weekend we have ever had! Our weekend included :

Sea World

Fireworks

Park Fun

Pool Fun

Church

Point Loma Seafood

THANKS Auntie TaTa for all the Good Times!!

So Sweet

A Lady and her Grandbaby.

There is nothing in the world so sweet.

Thanks Mom, for loving my little Ella so much.

A box of Diapers

Who knew that a box of diapers could be this entertaining. Usually we buy Huggies which comes in a white box with a bit of red trim. Ella has never had an interest in a box of Huggies. Recently I bought Luvs because they were on sale and I thought we could give them a try. Well I hate the diapers but Ella LOVED the bright purple box. She pushed it into the corner of the kitchen and played with it for almost an hour!!!

(Please excuse her mis-matched outfit. Her daddy dressed her.)

Aunts that Spoil

After I got Ella ready for church yesterday, I realized that not only is my little girl precious and cute, but her clothes are too. Without trying to sound to vain- my little girl really does have a lot of really cute stuff. This is all because of her Aunts who buy her things constantly. She really is so lucky to be the first born of all of us sisters cause my oh my she is one spoiled little girl.

(cute new dress - THANKS Aunt Tia)

(cute new shoes - THANKS Aunt TaTa)

(shelves full of toys - THANKS Aunt Tia, Aunt TaTa and Aunt JoJo)

WalMart FISH

There is a Super WalMart about 2 minutes from where we live. I like shopping there because we can get everything we need all in one store, so YES we are there quite often. Last weekend while there Ella wanted to help push the cart (she does this alot lately) and she insisted on pushing it straight to where she knew she would see.....

THE FISH!!!!

She really EnJoYs the little things in life.

FATHER'S DAY

Ella's sweet little handprints.

Daddy and Ella ready for church.

Isn't She Lovely?!?!?!

Sweetest little girl in the world!

FUN in the SUN!!!!!!!!

Ella - cutest beach baby I have ever seen!!

Daddy is such a good sport.

We know how we will be spending many Summer Days!!!

Too Cool...

A little SASS

 A little STYLE

A whole lot of 

PUNK ROCK!!!!!!!

TWO Clippies!!!

So I know this might not seem like a big deal to some, but to me it is HUGE!!!

I finally got Ella's hair into TWO clippies!!!

She has NO hair, and I have been a little concerned about it.

 Elliott and I both have ALOT of thick hair and poor little Ella still has NONE. 

So I managed to put the little hair she does have into TWO little clippies - I was so thrilled.

Isn't she sooooo cute!!

(cell phoe pics - not very good, I know)

BOUNCY BOUNCY BALL

Grandpa bought Ella a bouncy ball and she LOVES it!!!

She never gets tired of running around the patio chasing the ball, picking it up, throwing it, rolling it, bouncing it. 

She keeps herself very busy and it is so nice to be able to spend some time with her outside.

I read a book while she plays with her bouncy ball. 

She cries when I make her come inside. 

p.s. I took these pictures with my phone, pretty good quality eh?

Our Saturday Afternoon

Just a Saturday afternoon - 

strolling through Michaels Craft Store playing with funny hats.

Ella goes to the DENTIST

Ella was sooooo BRAVE at the dentist and I was so very proud.

The Laundry Mat

A few weekends ago Elliott spotted a local Laundry Mat advertising a 25 cent dry. 

SCORE!!! (not) 

Sure 25 cents seems ECONOMICAL or is it?

The dry cycle is ONLY 6 minutes long and the dryer does NOT blow hot air. So it actually took us $11.00 to complete two loads of laundry. 

It is SAFE to assume that we will never go back there again. 

Here is the ONLY reason I LOVED being at that Laundry Mat:

I bet no one has EVER seen anything THIS cute at a Laundry Mat.

Chocolate Pie

My My Me Oh My 

Mommy and Daddy let me have a piece of chocolate pudding pie.

I'm so glad when Daddy comes home.

Ella LOVES when Elliott gets home from work at night. She follows him around and insists on being in his lap with his full attention. The poor guy gets up at 6 every morning and works all day in a super hot warehouse. I am sure he would like to come home and just relax but he doesn't. He plays with his daughter, and she LOVES it. 

And I LOVE how much they LOVE each other.

Mamalicious Monday

I Love being Ella's Mom. 

I Love it when she discovers "new" things.

I Love that she recently discovered the rain.

To see what "Mamalicious Monday" is all about - click here.

Exhausted...

This is what happens when I leave Daddy in charge for the night. I was gone for 2 hours at a church activity and this is what I came home to. A very tuckered out little Ella. Too cute

Easter Egg Hunt

The loot the Easter Bunny brought ELLA.

Easter Sunday

Ella was definetly NOT in the picture taking mood, but she looked absolutely adorable.

Ella's BEAUTIFUL dress and bonnet (which she refused to wear) was handmade by a good friend of mine Julia. CLICK HERE to view her website.

OH MY ... CROCKS!!!

I bought Ella some pink and purple Crocks.

YES, it is true.

I said I would never buy them for my kid, but I gave in.

I have some excuses:

They were on sale.
They are perfect for the summer.
She does look very adorable in her new Crocks.Let's face it, she LOVES them!

Happy 90 Daddy!!

We are so PROUD of you!

SPLISH SPLASH

Ella received this adorable activity pool for her birthday from her "Aunt T" (Tami Miller Hengen). It fits perfectly out on the patio of our new apartment and Ella loves spending time outside running around in her bathing suit playing with her new favorite toy. - Thanks Aunt T

Graduation Day.

Congratulations Ella Theresa Lingo!

Today you graduated from the rear facing infant carseat

to the forward facing toddler carseat.

We are so very PROUD of you!!

Brusha! Brusha! Brusha!

Ella really likes it when we brush her teeth - thank goodness. I use a little finger brush and baby toothpaste and she loves it. Our new apartment has an extra long counter and the other day she was sitting up there next to me while I was brushing my own teeth. She didn't take her eyes off my mouth, her stare was beyond intense. I decided to hand her Daddy's toothbrush (sorry Honey) and see what she would do. She was very good - put it right in her mouth, mimicking my moves. Her brain soaks everything up like a sponge. She is so smart. We think she is ADVANCED!

Getting Domesticated?!?!?

1-2-3 COOKIES

1. a box of cake mix

2. two eggs

3. 1/3 cup of oil

Bake at 350 for 12-15 min.

SUPER SIMPLE & SUPER SWEET!!

A friend of mine posted this recipe to her blog and a challenge to see how many different versions could be created. I made a batch for little Ella's 1st birthday party using funfetti cake mix and strawberry icing. (YUM YUM) So here is my latest version that was inspired by my AMAZING husband and his love for Reese's peanut butter cups. I used a chocolate fudge cake mix and Reese's peanut butter chips. They were very good! Love this idea, it is so easy and you really can get soooo creative and come up with lots of different versions. I think my next attempt may include a Spice flavored cake mix?!?!? The options are endless!!!

ELLA - a baby no more.

Ella is growing so fast. She is becoming very independant, wants to do everything herself. She does not use a bottle and I kinda miss that cuddley bonding time. Clothes and shoes that fit her yesterday do not fit her today. She looks more and more like a "little girl" everyday. Her "baby" face is going away. It makes me sad. I want to freeze time and keep her my little baby who needs her mommy forever!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEAR ELLA!

Ella is 1 year old!!! Time has flown by, I cannot believe she is already 1. We had a family party over at Grammie and Grampa's house. Auntie TaTa (Tatia) flew down for the party. Auntie Tia (Petrea) and Auntie JoJo (Kelly Jo) were there too. The whole house was filled with pink streamers and pink balloons. She was spoiled by everyone with wonderful gifts - and of course we stripped her down and let her demolish her very own cake. Lots of FUN had by all!

So Long, Farewell

We are moving. Yes, you heard me right -

WE ARE MOVING!!!

We are very excited to be moving to a little town called San Jacinto. It is not too far from where we are now (about 35 minutes north east). It is kinda scary to move to a new place where you have no friends or family but exciting at the same time. Ella will even have her own room! So glad we have things like blogging to keep us connected to all our friends and family. Wish us luck!

TWO front Teeth!!!

Yippee!!!!!

So Ella finally got her two front teeth. No more "vampire" baby. The only way I can even get a decent picture of her baby chompers is to take the photo mid temper tantrum. She is still cute - even when she is mad at me.

Total tooth count is now 7!

Ella's trip to the E.R.

 FACT #1   - I am a totally paranoid first time Mom

 FACT #2   - I am a hypochondriac for my daughter

 FACT #3   - I over react to every little thing when it comes to her

 FACT #4   - I think "better safe than sorry" applies to everything

 FACT #5   - I just can't help it 

 I am her Mom, and I LOVE her more than I could ever express.

It is so heart wrenching to watch your little baby so sick, even if it is only the stomach flu.

DIAGNOSIS : stomach flu

       CURE : nausea medicine and TONS of fluids

Ella cruises around.

Here is a clip of Ella cruising around last Sunday before church.

She is getting really fast (good for her bad for me). 

Watching someone so small WALK around is beyond adorable. 

I could watch her walk around all day long ... oh ya ... I do!

Look at that hair!!!

I know she is my daughter - but you must agree that she is simply ADORABLE!! 

Another cute picture of my little Ella with her hair all spiked up. 

Ella WAVES!

So Ella learned how to wave about two months ago. Her daddy takes her out to the  front gate of the house every morning before he goes to work (7 am) and he yells "GOOD MORNING EVERYBODY" and she waves ferociously. Well about a week ago she learned to say "BUH-BYE" and so now she says this and waves to everyone, everywhere, all the time. We think it is pretty hilarious.

ELLA loving up the beautiful so-cal weather. Yes it is the middle of January and we can hang out outside for hours enjoying the bright sun, the cool breeze and crisp air. 

Yea Winchester - so nice and cool!!!!!

ELLA loves her goodnight dolly.

 Grammy gave it to her for Christmas and she sleeps with it every night.

 (she actually uses it to cover her eyes because she will not sleep unless it is pitch black)

ELLA is very good at playing.

 She knows where her toy box is in our bedroom and she entertains herself for quite sometime.

 (allowing Mama to get the laundry and cleaning done.)

ELLA really loves being in the car.

 Mama and Dada use Saturdays as the shopping and errand running day. Sometimes we will be gone for 5 or 6 hours running around getting in and out of the car but she loves it.

 (thank goodness!!)

ELLA is a really good sport.

 We like taking her to the mall to try on different hats. She smiles and lets us laugh and take pictures. 

(she usually draws a big crowd too)

ELLA has teeth.

 It is hard to capture them all in a picture but she has 5 already and 2 more on the way.

 (on top her "eye" teeth came in first - she looks like a vampire baby)

Ella taking her first steps!

ELLA is walking ... well kind of.

Look at her go!!!!

 It is amazing to me that such a tiny little girl can balance on her tiny little feet enough to get back and forth from her toys to the bed. Her brain must be working a million miles a second to be able to figure out that she can motor around upright all on her own.          

  Love it!   Love it!   Love it!

Meeting SANTA

ELLA saw Mommy kissing Santa Clause (oops!)

Ella really enjoyed opening her presents!

                                                                               

Meeting SANTA for the first time was exciting and scary for our little Ella. I am sure SANTA can be very overwhelming to someone so small, so all things considered, I think she did really well. ( it is safe to say - they are not best friends :))

Halloween Fun

Ella will be crawling any second!!!

Ella holds her own bottle...
she is growing so fast!

Ella and Maxx are best friends!

Ella plays piano with Grandma

A concert pianist in the making?!?!?

what?














it's just a sock.

Fresh as a DAISY

I was BORN singing Opera, Mama!

gurl POWER

Don't get me wrong, we're not tryin' to front. But Cindi was right, girls just wanna have fun!

It's a girl thing with the right swing.
G for the girl and P for the Power. 'Cause life's a game and we all like to play.

Some say we are physically demanding.
Only 'cause we're the last ones standing!

ELLA with DADA.

ELLA with MAMA.

Ella Laughs

Ella finds strange things HILARIOUS!!!

Ella gets her ears pierced

Ella got her ears pierced today. She was sooooo BRAVE. She sat in her daddy's lap and only cried for a minute. Her new earrings are a very light pale pink stone on a 14 karat gold setting. They look very girly in her precious little ears. She is the most stylish baby in the world!

Ella gets snuggly at Bedtime

Ella is growing sooooo fast!!!

Laughing with Grandpa

ELLA eats her baby cereal for the 1st time!!!

Ella loves her toys!!

Ella LOVES the clip-clop horse her Aunt Tami gave her.

Ella is so precious when she is asleep!!

ELLA is 2 months old!!!

Ella is 2 months old!!!

Her mommy and daddy cannot believe how fast she is growing. She now weighs 9lbs. 8oz. and is 22 in. long. On May 10th Ella rolled over for the first time ... all by herself!!! She loves to smile now and is still the cutest baby alive.

having fun with grandpa

I love my daddy!

I love Reese's - just like my daddy!!

ELLA GETTING BLESSED

Ella Theresa gets blessed at church.

ELLA

baby's first pictures

ella theresa lingo
born thursday, march 6, 2008
2:58 pm
weighing 7 lbs 5.6 oz
19 inches long