Lessons learned in Ella's room

One of my most favorite things to do these days is watch my little Ella play. She has become so independent, and it fascinates me to watch her explore and discover things.  

It's crazy the things she has learned and how little I feel like I've taught her. 

Sometimes I just want to hover over her and be involved in every little move she makes, but a lot of the time it amazes me just to hold back a little, and see what she does, see the moves that she makes, see the things that are fascinating to her (with plenty of supervision, I promise!) 

A lot of the time my days are filled with poop, and snotty noses, pureed sweet potatoes, and pat-a-cake. But amid all of that, I catch glimpses of divinity. I think that's the greatest part of mothering this little girl--discovering new heavenly principles. 

Watching her play and explore and discover and learn has done just that for me. 

When I was in Young Womens, I loved the music of Lyndsi Houskeeper--she would come out with a new album every year that went along with the new mutual theme. To this day, a lot of her lyrics have stuck with me. And lately, some in particular have become prominent:

"I'm holding on, just a little

so you know you're not alone.

I'm letting go, just a little

so you can reach your goal."

Now, you guys, I know I have a lot of tear-filled days ahead--Ella's first day of Kindergarten, her first high school prom, her first day of college. I have a lot of letting go ahead of me! 

She is a toddler, and I get to cuddle and love on her anytime I want. But watching her grow has opened my eyes a little bit. 

Heavenly Father is ALWAYS there for us--we know we aren't alone. 

But he also lets go a little--letting us learn, grow, discover, and use our own agency to give us the opportunity to become the person he wants us to be. 

I'm grateful for these lessons that teach me more about Heavenly Father and teach me how to be a better parent to my baby. 

Because honestly, I fail a lot of the time. I am probably the epitome of a helicopter mother. 

But maybe sometimes I need to let go, or step back, just a little so as to make room for Ella to become the girl that God wants her to be. 

"We hold in our arms the rising generation. They come to this earth with important responsibilities and great spiritual capacities. We cannot be casual in how we prepare them. Our challenge as parents and teachers is not to create a spiritual core in their souls but rather to fan the flame of their spiritual core already aglow with the fire of their premortal faith."

-Neil L. Andersen 

Out of Ashes

We live just a few blocks away from this beautiful House of the Lord, and we've been so blessed to have watched its construction over the past couple of years. We were also so lucky to be able to be there together as a family a few times throughout the open house! It is amazing and has become such a treasure to us. 

"What a cherished piece of history we celebrate...like a phoenix rising from the ashes, a temple on the ground and out of the loving memory of our beloved tabernacle."

-Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

This temple has become a symbol to me: through the fire and ashes of our own lives, Heavenly Father can transform us into something magnificent, beautiful and consecrated. 

Life Lately

Our little life is pretty quiet most of the time, but realizing that Scott only has a few more months left of school and that we could very well be leaving Northern Utah soon, I've been trying to enjoy the fun place we live in a little more lately! 

We took Ella to the Living Planet Aquarium in Draper a few weeks ago. We were hesitant to head up there because Ella tends to freak out when it come to animals, and we didn't want to just have to leave as soon as we got up there! But she proved us both wrong, and she LOVED it! 

This is about the only good photo we got of Ella the entire time; she was mesmerized, and definitely did not have time to be posing for the camera!

She did get a little upset for a minute when a little piranha came swimming towards her, but those sharks swimming all around her didn't phase her at all--she cracks us up. 

Last weekend, we decided to take her to the Bean Museum on BYU campus. Now, Scott and I have been to this place probably a billion times while attending BYU, but things are infinitely more exciting when watching your own child experience them for the first time! Again, I was curious if Ella would be freaked out by all of the massive taxidermied animals (because lets be honest, they kind of freak ME out), but again, she had the time of her life.

At times, she didn't seem to care too much about the giant animals around us. The kids around her were a lot more entertaining. I'm pretty sure that's what she's focused on in this shot! 

 "Haa--ii!" 

She had to greet every animal we saw. 

Our little tour guide. "And over here is the bear eating the caribou!" 

The next night, we were able to go to the BYU-Gonzaga basketball game as a family! It was so much fun to be there together! We have LOVED being BYU students. And the fight song is officially Ella's new favorite jam. 

14-month-old Ella

My baby has become a toddler right before my eyes, and it is such a bittersweet experience--sad because my tiny, snuggly baby is big and doesn't want to sit still anymore, and yet it's so, so much fun because I get to see her cute personality emerge more and more everyday. 

She has curly hair that seems to go wild just a few minutes after I brush it every morning after bath time, but I love it. Her hair also finally fits into little, itty-bitty pigtails! 

She is a walking fool now! And is all. over. the. place! She will also chase after anyone and is such a social little girl (almost to a fault!) My mom and I were at the grocery store with her a few weeks ago and ran into an acquaintance. Ella has never met this guy, but he held out his arms to her and she reached for him and gave him a hug around the neck! Oh my! We've got to teach her some stranger danger.  

Classic Ella face. These days, she makes this face more than she smiles! She seems to gasp and pulls this face at every new thing she sees. Also if we ask her if she wants a cookie. We've trained her well. 

See ya later, Mom! This basically sums up my life right now. 

She is seriously in heaven every time we go outside. If we're having a grumpy day or if we're going stir-crazy, I just ask her if she wants to go to the park, and she jumps up and waddles over to the front door. It is her favorite thing, and we probably go everyday!  She loves swinging, walking around the grass and watching other kids. 

I love my sweet baby. 

Other Ella milestones: 

-She is FINALLY getting her top teeth. For months she has only had two little teeth--and just as we were worried she wouldn't get more teeth until she reached elementary school (jk), her little top teeth are starting to break up that gummy smile. She was getting really good at gumming through her food!

-Her favorite foods: EVERYTHING! Except pasta. She particularly loves chicken, applesauce, and yogurt. But for reals, she will eat anything. And I probably just jinxed myself for proclaiming that.

-Her favorite words: Da-da (her absolute favorite, if she doesn't know how to say a word, Da-da is the word she says), Ma-ma, Papa, Non-na (my mom), aaahh--daaah (all done, with a head bob), Haa-i (she says this to everything/everyone she sees), kickle-kickle (tickle, she even scratches our backs when she says it sometimes, it's the best concept we've ever taught her :)), ho-ho-ho (this was drilled into her head at Christmastime)

-She also loves to dance! I'm pretty sure all toddlers do, but seriously, this girl has got some moves. Her latest move is the Single Ladies hand twist. Thanks, Aunt Amanda! 

We are OBSESSED with her!! 

-

Our baby girl turns one

I can't believe it's been a year (more like 14 months! oops!) since we welcomed our precious Ella to her earthly home. She has brought more happiness into our lives then we could've ever imagined.  

We were able to celebrate her birthday over Christmas break with both her Snow and Cottle families in St. George. I was worried about Ella always having to have her birthday so close to Christmas; I want her day to always be special and not get lost among all of the holiday festivities. But I actually think it's going to be so fun to always be able to celebrate her special day with her grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins! It will always be a party--this year was no exception:

We are obsessed with this girly. She is silly, sweet and sassy--the perfect combo, if you ask me! 

Just the details.. It was so fun to plan this simple party with my amazing chef-sister! She made ALL of the goodies--and let me tell ya, they were delicious! If you ever need an amazing cake or baked good, hit her up. She has major skills! Love you, Panda!!

Princess Ella--soaking up the attention! 

"Get this thing off of me, and get me that cake!" I knew the crown wouldn't last long! 

"Mmmmm.... so good!" Ella did a great job of NOT destroying her cake! Rather, she broke off little pieces here and there like a little lady. She LOVED it, though. 

This is the little tent I made for Ella as her birthday gift. I have very little sewing skill, and this tent is quite lopsided (don't look too closely!) But I think Ella loves it (even if she just uses it as her hideout while she fills her pants.) 

It was so fun to spend this night with our family as we celebrated this little girl who has brightened our lives! We adore you, sweet Ella! And I am SO lucky to be your momma!