Ellia Turns One

Ellia turned one last week and it was definitely something to celebrate! What can I say except that she fills our lives with so much love, smiles and laughter? I had no idea how much she would change our lives when they placed her in my arms one year ago. To know her is to love her. She is a busy little bee these days running around like a "tornado" as I lovingly refer to her with a smile on her face. She "talks" quite a bit but, unfortunately, we have not figured out what she is saying just yet. She claps, waves and follows simple commands such as "give Mommy a kiss" or "hold Mommy's hand". She loves her big sister, bubble baths, hugging her baby doll and bouncing on Bianca's PBK chair. She eats almost anything you put in front of her to the point where most nights I have to cut her food supply off for fear that her tummy will explode! She has at least 5 teeth that have cut through at this point with more on the way. She is our little princess and I wouldn't trade her for the world.

P.S. We are going to the doctor tomorrow for her one year check-up so weight and height stats will follow.

***Update*** Height - 30 1/2 inches - 90th percentile
Weight - 20 lbs. 4 oz. - 50th percentile


Where's my cake???

Getting a hug from her big sister...

Bianca and Vanessa

Brianna and Bianca

Party hats are on...let's get some cake!

She actually wasn't that into the cake. She kept squishing the icing in her hands...I don't think she knew what to make of it. I fed her some pieces that she ate but, all in all, she could have passed on the cake.

ALL of the Tadrissi Girls

Rainy Day Fun

The other day I heard Bianca come out of her room saying, "Daddy, go get my raincoat!". I looked up to see her in her rain boots and carrying her umbrella. She was ready to go! For those of you who may not know, it doesn't rain here too much in the Fall (or at least that is how it seems to me). Mimi and Poppy had purchased her a matching mermaid rain coat/boot set but, she received it after the rainy season was over. I guess she was really looking for an opportunity to use them!

I tried explaining to her that she didn't really need her umbrella since she had her rain coat on but, she wanted that umbrella...

Splashing in some puddles!

Big jump!

She finally decided to forgo the umbrella...

The Dragon and Her Princess

As many of you know, Bianca decided to be a green dragon this year for Halloween. I wasn't sure how I felt about this for a while being that all of the other little girls in her class were either princesses, mermaids, etc...you get the picture. But once I ordered the costume and saw how happy it made Bianca, I started to change my mind. She is a very special and unique little girl and as her Mommy, I, more than anyone, need to embrace that. The only obvious choice (at least to me) to go along with the dragon costume was a princess costume. So that is how we decided what Ellia would be.
Bianca was so excited for Halloween. She has been wearing that blessed costume almost every day since it arrived. It is pretty much too small for her and I needed to exchange the size but, I didn't have the heart to take it away from her to send it back in the mail for a new one. So when Halloween day actually arrived she kept saying, "I'm so excited for Halloween! I can't wait to go trick or treating! Mommy, Halloween is getting even closer!".
We decided to go to the "trunk-or-treat" at her school where they had plenty of candy for little dragons and games to boot. Bianca got to play golf with Daddy, fish, do bean-bag tosses and all sorts of other fun games to earn even more candy. She really didn't have that much candy at the end of the night, just enough to fill the bottom of her Hello Kitty treat bucket. But, she thinks she has a lot and she has been enjoying it ever since!

This little ham ran around like she was queen of all the land!

I'm guessing the half-naked man in this picture was a rapper?

Ahhh...the goods at the end of the night...

Walking Everywhere

Fast forward two weeks and Ellia has decided that she is now going to walk everywhere. Even when she falls, she picks herself up, gets back on her feet and keeps walking!

Sugar Sand Park

Uncle Jim and Aunt Chara were in town on vacation and they met up with us at Sugar Sand Park in Boca. The girls have such a great time there with the science playground, the Children's Explorium (which now has a dinosaur exhibit), and, of course, the carousel! Another reason why we are enjoying Florida. Having Uncle Jim and Aunt Chara there just made it that much sweeter!

Making music at the playground!

Bianca has to ride on the "sparkle horse" about 52 million times before we leave the park...

We enjoyed the park so much that we had Lisa and Jules meet us there today!

Farm Day at School

If each of us were able to pick our own individual and unique heaven this would be Bianca's choice. It was Farm Day today at Bianca's school where they celebrated the Fall harvest with a big meal and a visit with farm animals. I wasn't expecting much when I was driving to Bianca's school...I thought maybe they would bring a couple baby chicks and bunnies or something but, Animal Kingdom delivered. There were baby goats, pigs, rabbits, chickens, turtles, puppies, and even a baby donkey, cow and llama. Bianca kept jumping back and forth from animal to animal, brushing them, feeding them, petting them. It was actually hard to get any decent pictures because as soon as I would move to where she was she was already off to greet another animal friend.

Getting ready bright and early for Farm Day!

Bianca's classmates and Miss Sue and Mrs. Auz.

Of course, Ellia came out to show her support for Bianca on Farm Day as well!