Hi everybody!  I’m having all kinds of fun being 2 years old.  Most of that fun comes from doing exactly what I want to do 95% of the time, but I can attribute some of that fun to all of these cool birthday gifts!

Here’s cousin Emma and me, playing with all the neat kitchen stuff I got from Grandma and Grandpa.  I like to cut up the fruits and vegetables, and Emma likes to fry them up in the skillet.

Here I am sitting and reading in my big girl toddler bed.  I don’t know why they just now started calling me a toddler, because I’ve been toddling professionally for over a year now.

This is what birthdays make me feel like — a queen on my throne.  We went to trade in my big girl bed for a better one, and wouldn’t you know… The toy store gave me a crown and a balloon.  Score!

And Mommy and Daddy’s favorite way for me to use up some of my endless energy is by jumping on my new trampoline from Nana and Papa.  It even fits in the living room, so I can go bouncing, rain or shine!

Thanks again to everyone for all the cool birthday gifts.  Now, I just can’t wait until Christmas!!  Just 3 more months until Santa comes!

Here’s the happy birthday girl (a couple of weeks ago).  What can we say, ever since Ella found the Sesame Street games online, Mom and Dad have trouble getting enough computer time to accomplish the things we like to do — like update her website.  Oh well, she’ll be doing this herself in a matter of … months.

Here’s the “fam” on the big party day, and Ella loved the happy birthday sign and bee decorations.

“Ella Bee” even had a bee birthday cake, with enough for every kid in attendance to have a bee slice of cake (and wouldn’t you know it, they all asked for one).

Here’s a great photo of Nana and her three grandkids.  Believe it or not, this was the longest that the three little ones sat still together all afternoon.  Oh wait…I mean except for when the cake was served, of course.

And it just wouldn’t be a party without this little dude.  Ella’s cousin Bennett even made the trip.  Wow, not even two months old, and he’s already hit at least 3 states!  Too bad he’ll have to wait until next year to try some cake.

Ella says thanks to everybody for coming to the party, and for all the cool presents.  Check back in a few days and we’ll have some of Ella’s favorites on display here.  See ya!

Hi again!  Sorry it’s taking us so long to keep the site updated.  It seems like Ella turning 2 years old really takes it out of old mom and dad!  Ella is ‘writing’ the captions for this fun trip to Chicago back in August!

Daddy took me for my first airplane ride, and I was so excited!  Here I am clutching my new Elmo pillow.

Lucky for us, we were able to get on the plane and play around a little bit before it got full.  Then I had to sit on daddy’s lap, but that’s OK, I’m used to doing that on my bus ride to school.  Of course, this time, I was on my way to meet my new cousin Bennett for the first time, so I couldn’t sit still in the seat!  (We were also meeting Mommy there, because she got to spend a couple more days with Bennett before us. Lucky!)

Here’s the big moment; I’m exhausted from travel, and Bennett was already asleep.  But boy oh boy did everyone want to take our picture together!  I got a little shy, but I did manage to sneak a little kiss on the head of my new cousin — after the cameras were put away.

As an extra bonus, I got to watch my first Cardinals-Cubs game with my friends David and Lisa.  They told me the place was called “Wiggly Field”, so I knew I would like it there.  We stayed for 10 of the 11 innings that they played that day, which is pretty good, considering that I skipped my nap altogether!

Here I am in my very own seat, hoping against hope that the Cardinals still might pull out a victory, but it just didn’t happen.  Oh well, by the time they lost, we had enough fun already and were on the way back to see baby Bennett again.

I can’t wait to take Bennett to a baseball game here in St. Louis someday, when he is bigger.  I hear that he has a jungle-themed swing and bouncy seat, so I know he’ll like “Bush Stadium” as much as I do!