#1 Granny!

Okay I know two posts in one day is a little much, but it has been a while. I think my mom qualifies as the best granny ever, and not to mention the cutest! My mom HATES getting her picture taken so these were the only two I could find. I feel so bad because we live four hours apart and it breaks my mom's heart that she can't see her only grandbaby every day. There have been plenty of times my mom has called me crying because she misses Ella (funny how she doesn't mention me). Everytime those two see eachother they are on cloud nine. My mom has helped me so much since I have had the baby, and I wanted to thank her. There is no way I could have done it without her. Every time she comes to visit she takes care of Ella, cleans my house, and feeds my husband (which is not an easy task). She is always there day or night when I need someone to talk to, or have any questions. Thanks you so much for EVERYTHING mom! We love you and miss you!

Two Years!

So during this blog drout on October 8th Sita and I celebrated our Second anniversary! We celebrated with a traditional date, dinner and a movie. My sister was kind enogh to babysit and took these pictures before we left. These were taken at her house so don't ask what that guy is doing in the background. I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank Sita for two wonderful years! Sita works so hard to provide for our little family. I feel so lucky to have such a great husband. He keeps me laughing and helps to remind me what is most important in life. Thanks for everything Sita. I LOVE YOU!

The Way I Am

Have you guys seen that Old Navy Commercial with that addicting little ditty about sweaters? Shalie pointed it out to me and now I can't get the song out of my head when I see anything Old Navy. I feel like one of Pavlov's dogs with the exception that I only salivate at the sound of this indie-mocha-late jingle. I guess Shay has a way of doing that to me. When ever she has me listen to something or notice it, regardless if I like it or not, I can't get it out of my head. She has me so well conditioned. It might sound like she has me rapped around her finger, but that isn't how it works. For example, when Shay says, "Sita, will you get such and such from the store?" I have been conditioned to forget the moment I get there what she wanted and buy whatever I see that is interesting. Sometimes she will say, "Stop doing that." This is answered with more of whatever I am supposed to be stopping. There are many things that are to her advantage though. There are times when all Shay has to do is merely give her evil- yet beautiful- look and I will stop or start whatever it is she wants me to do. Other times she won't do anything at all or, more specifically, one thing and I will do whatever she wants. I guess that's how marriage works; learning how to respond at the right time to the right things with hopefully the right answer, yet being forgiving and helpful when you're wrong. Take a listen to this song and see if you like it. It seems to be stuck in my head like my wife is in my heart......is that the right answer, honey?

Daddy's Little Lamb

The other night, Ella started getting fussy so I picked her up out of her swing. As I picked up my little darling, I noticed her shirt was soaked with spit up. I took it off and let her roam free in her diaper. Clothing seems to be more of a restriction than anything else to little Ms. Ripley. Ella took some deep sighs of relief and satisfaction as she laid on the floor while I tried not to be too girly about how giddy it made me to hear these sweet tones. Ella suddenly gave a little shiver and I decided to get her a onesie. When I tried to pull it over her head, I noticed that it wasn't going to fit. Then it hit me. My little girl is growing up or at least she is getting bigger. I have only been a father for two months now and time hasn't really seemed to be doing anything but stand still. Ella was just a little thing that never needed new clothes because she didn't seem to be growing. Due to the long nights, it seems more like the past two months were more like one really long day. The only reason to take any notice of time was to know when to feed. I guess what I'm getting at is that time with family, specifically my two favorite girls, is timeless. Families really are forever or at least they are in my world. At first I got way ahead of my self and started thinking about how fast she is growing and how soon she'll be walking and talking. It kind of escalated into thoughts of her first day of school, her first date, all the boys I would have to screen and possibly knock out. Finally, I came to my senses and remembered that I need to enjoy these little moments.
Also, while I was having this epiphany, I noticed that Ella looked like a little lamb. What really helped the lamb effect is that when she got made about the onesie being stuck on her head, her cry kind of sounded like a baaaahhh. My baby is so cute. Shalie thinks I'm rude for putting up this picture. She says it's torture. I say it's timeless.

Date Night!

Sita and I had our first night out alone since Ella was born, thanks to my sister Nikki. I had her take a couple of pictures before we left. It felt so good to shower and get ready for a night out on the town. It is a rare occurance now, so I thought we better take some pictures. We started our night out by going to Christopher's Steak House. I am pretty picky about my food, and I must say it was amazing. We then went to the Gateway and made our way over to the Chocolate Factory for some ice cream. We ended our night with a movie. We went and saw Bourne Ultimatum. I am not really a movie fan, but I really enjoyed it. I had so much fun spending some one on one time with my hubby, I think he was feeling neglected :). It might sound crazy, but on our way home I started to get butterflies, because I was so excited to see my baby. I just couldn't stop smiling. Sita thought I was crazy, but I actually missed her.

These are a few of her favorite things....

I wanted to post some more pictures of Ella. So these are a few of her favorite things. She loves her bath time. After every bath I give her a little massage with her baby lotion, and she thinks she's in heaven. Ella loves it when her daddy gets home from work or school and they get to visit about their days. She likes to go for walks down to her Aunt Nikki's. She also likes to take naps and make cute poses. Ella loves to have her little piggies painted. And last, but not least Ella loves to fall asleep in her swing.

Ella's Blessing Day

Here are a couple of pictures from Ella's blessing on Sunday September 2nd. Sita gave her a beautiful blessing. I am so grateful to have such a wonderful husband. It was so fun to have most of our family there. I was so glad that my Grandma Houston could make it. My Mom and Grandma helped me a lot with Ella over the weekend, it was nice to have a little break.