Ode to Ella

As a younger sister who grew up watching her older sister win all of the beauty pageants, citizenship titles, sports awards, etc., I vowed to make sure Ella would never fall in the shadow of her older sister. Remarkably, I never let jealousy get in the way of accomplishing what was important to me and my sister was always proud of me when I did. That's the attitude I want both of my girls to have. I don't want them to think they are ever in competition with each other because they will be unique from one another. I am very hopeful!

With that said, I've noticed that I have a tendency to post more pictures of Adelyn than of Ella and I wanted to make up for it. The only excuse I have is that Adelyn is at an age that provides a wider variety of pictures. But that doesn't mean that you don't want to see our little Ella Bella Bean! So, here you go.... a tribute to our little baby.

Ella's latest milestone has been discovering her hands for the first time. She's been doing this for a while now but it has become a favorite thing of hers to do. Here is a sweet line from a poem that reminds me so much of Ella right now.

Ten tiny little fingers that from the very start,
Will reach out for tomorrow, yet always hold your heart.

Enjoy the pictures and videos!

As a sidenote, isn't it funny how genetics works? Andrew and I (and Adelyn) have dark hair, dark eyes, and dark skin tone so when Ella was born with light auburn hair, light skin tone, and light blue eyes (still TBD), we automatically thought of Andrew's mom and her side of the family. And look at these pics... could Baby Ella, Andrew's mom, and Andrew's mom's mom (Grandma Deckard), look any more alike? I love that Ella has a look unique from her sister and can't wait to see how she develops into a young lady. Did I just say that?! Nevermind... I can wait! :)