JDF Walk

Hi there everybody. Hope everyone is doing well. I don't mean to take up any Ella face time on here but I figured I could use this forum to help Laci and I raise money for the Juvenielle Diabetes Walk that we are doing on March 15th. I thank God that Ella doesn't have any symptoms or signs of any type of major illness, but there are a lot of kids that do. We're going to be doing this as a family and I hope you can help. To donate, you can just click on the link below. Thanks for checking out our blog as much as you folks do. We love getting the comments and getting to share with everybody what's going on in our neck of the woods. We love you guys.

http://walk.jdrf.org/walker.cfm?id=86976969

Big Babies!

This week Ella seems older than ever..It's really starting to get sad! I'm excited- I love all the cute new things she can do, but it has started to sink in that in only a little over 4 months (YES 4!!) She will already be a year old. Just doesn't seem right. She is doing all sorts of new stuff though! Last night she was having some juice (she has some potty issues right now- poor girl!) in a bottle and she decided to take it from Randy and feed herself! I'm sure most babies do this way earlier, but Ella very rarely has a bottle so it caught us off guard! It was the cutest thing ever, though. She also LOVES to eat bitter biscuits and toast sticks! She can eat the whole thing in 5 or 10 minutes! I posted a picture below taken of her on Monday at playgroup- she even LOOKS older now! Can someone please tell me where the "Pause" button is?!

So cute- eating peaches (still a little hard to pick up for her compared to Cheerios)

Our other "Baby" was found like this today- her new "bed" I suppose. This basket has all of her toys inside.

Say Cheese!!

I got a call from our good friend, Lindsay yesterday..She works at a photography studio here in Greenville called Say Cheese (saycheeseofgreenville.com). They got in some of the stuff they are planning to use for Easter and needed to screen test it. I grabbed a pink dress Randy's mom bought for Ella (and a bag full of other outfits!) and we stopped by. They were having some problems with shadows because of the lanterns in the backround, but the pics still came out awesome! Ella just LOVES getting her picture taken..Some of the smiles are so sweet! Randy works very close to the studio so he came by to help- I don't think there's anything better than a whole load of pictures of a little girl smiling at her daddy :)

check em' out:

On the job...Both of us

So today I was sitting at my pc at work and was thinking to myself, "Man, Laci really needs to update this thing." Just as I was finishing my thought it occured to me, "Wait a second. I'm the one who actually set this thing up to begin with (see July posts). I haven't posted on here in forever!" So here I am. Figured I could give everybody the update.

Ella eats....a lot! She's a pig. She didn't get those size 14 cheeks from her parents. She got them from the table. She loves Cheerios and these little apple puff things. She eats them all of the time. She was in nusery on Sunday and ate an entire tub of puffs.

Laci's at the Ebeling's today playing teacher for the boys and Sarah. She's liking the whole homeschool idea more and more. She makes for one hot teacher though, I'll tell you that.

I'm just chuggin along. Two jobs is getting rough but it makes the time that I get to spend with Laci and Ella even mroe special. We had a great weekend hanging out around town and spent some time downtown. We went on a date last night to see the Bucket List (Which everybody on the planet should see. Great movie and it'll make you want to get off your butt and do something). Then we went to the Dorriety's house and filmed a commercial for The Price is Right series at church. Hillarious. It's going to be great.

All in all, the state of the Strickland union is great. I love my family and love the life we have. God is awesome. I think the harder you lean on Him, the more you realize it. Love you guys!!

Valentine's Tradition

Probably as long as I can remember, my sister and I have recieved cards throughout the year from our dad-ESPECIALLY on Valentines Day. Today when I brought the mail in, I found my card as expected. This year was super special because Ella recieved her very 1st Valentines day card from her Papa. I can't descibe how sweet and special it was to see our tradition carrying on through her. We also have special "codes" for what's inside the card. This one said, "Ella's first Q.C. card" I can't tell you what it means (then it's not secret anymore!) and some of you could probably figure it out, but I wanted to share the experience with you!

7 Months Old...

So Ella is 7 months old today..Still seems pretty crazy to me, but when I look at how much she's grown I can tell.

She had a doctors apt. this morning..NOT FUN! She had to get 2 shots and drink one, too. She just became "fever free" over the weekend so hopefully she wont have too bad of one with all of this. The Doc said her lungs sound great! She is still coughing up some stuff, but no more wheezing :) Even feeling sick, she still manages a smile.

NO more THIS:

This is the Inhaler and chamber that Ella's been using to clear up her chest.






She is now back to her usual ways..We have been trying to do a little more "tummy time"















This is how our morning went...

I was taking some pictures of Ella this morning..

While she was sitting there, she found a little "handle" to hold onto. Turns out it was the spring doorstop! When she went to let go it made a really loud "BOINGGGG" This next picture is priceless because I took it as she went to try a second time- I can totally imagine her mind thinking, "Hmm..I wonder if this is bad or good? Well, I'll go ahead and do it and see if she gets mad!"

Of course I though it was a fun game so we did it for quite awhile!

After our time of playing, I came back into the living room and found that my other "kids" weren't being quite so cute...Rusty had carried the toilet paper all through the house AND chewed up a basket!

All of this before 9AM! Lucky for me, the rest of the day has been MUCH better!

"CinderELLA"

We just got home an hour or so ago from Sarah's Birthday party. It was a "Princess Party" so all of the little girls had to come dressed as their favorite princess. They played some really cute games and ate cupcakes. Ella was the littlest one there in her tiny pink dress. While the girls were off playing, some of the adults got on the subject of "father/daughter" songs. Seeing all of the little Princess' sitting around so sweet and innocent, I think we all couldn't help but realize how fast they grow up. I can still remember playing dress up and pretending to be a real princess or a mommy. It's just a huge reminder for me to enjoy every second with Ella watching her grow. She is already changing so quickly!

Ella and Sarah the birthday Girl!

Listening to the story The Princess and the Pea

"Stealing Cinderella" by Chuck Wicks

She was playing Cinderella

She was riding her first bike

Bouncing on the bed and looking for a pillow fight

Running through the sprinkler with a big popsicle grin

Dancing with her dad, looking up at him

In her eyes i'm Prince Charming

But to him i'm just some fella

riding in and stealing Cinderella

Poor Ella!

Well, we just got back from the doctor with Ella. They think she has RSV..(2 other babies from her playgroup had it last week) At the office they gave her a breathing treatment and she has an inhaler to use here at home..Unfortunately she and Bria were together alot last week and Shanna said Bria was up all night, too. I'm sure this is not the last time they will share viruses, but it's still sad!

I will post more pics of her at home treatment later..but for now, heres one from the Dr.'s Office..

She weighed in today at 12lbs. 15 oz and 26 inches long..

Sorry for slacking..

I have all sorts of pictures on the camera that I WAS planning to blog about during the week....I'll just give a brief update because it's been a busy week!

Randy is still working hard and trying to build up more clientelle at WNCT. He has been working a few nights a week at the bowling alley, too. Despite the late hours that make for a long day, he likes it. He enjoys being around the bowling alley since he can't bowl as often as he'd like with his wrist. Hopefully he won't have to work there much longer..

I just completed my 8 hrs. of cont. ed on Monday to keep my Esthetics liscence in good standing. I am planning to start working on Saturdays very soon. Randy is off on Saturdays so he will be with Ella. I'm really excited! I have really missed my job and the girls I worked with. I'm looking forward to staying home with Ella through the week and still being able to work some.

Ella is growing so fast- it's scary. She is loosing her "baby" look more and more each day. She has suddenly become a little more independent. She likes to play with her toys on her little mat. She has figured out what buttons to push to turn on the music or make them squeek. Wednesday night we had Bria over and Randy and I were blown away at how much they had grown. They really like to play with each other. They will take toys from each other and get really frustrated. As much as I am already missing the "infant" side of her, I am having so much fun watching her grow. She really is just so sweet.

The doggies are doing good, too. Princess hasn't changed one bit. Rusty was just about on his way out..but he got a second chance! He is slowly but surely learning the rules of the house. Randy and I get mad at him, but we just really like him. He completes the family.
Oops..did I say that was going to be a "brief" update! Sorry ;)